Christmas in California - Part 2

On Christmas day, after all the presents are open, the adults always sit around, eat, and think... so, what should we do now? This Christmas we had two sweet girls to keep us all on our toes! 

Ella and Emery had us all harnessing our inner-child and play with their new toys. Emery's "Frozen" barbie dolls were a big hit - with Emery! The two barbie's hands clicked together and made sweet, sweet music. Music that played over, and over, and over, and over, and you get the idea. Bill and I joked - It's not Christmas with kids unless there's a new toy with obnoxious, repetitive sounds! 

Em and her "Frozen" Barbies that drove us all crazy

Ella got her Katniss Everdeen on with her new Nerf bow and arrow set. 

Ella as Katniss Everdeen (Nerf version)

Christmas in southern California meant warm weather... and the weather was particularly warm the week we were there. I believe it was in the low 80s! And all I brought were light, long-sleeved t-shirts! I had to borrow a short-sleeved T from my awesome sis-in-law, Kirsten. (Thanks, again!) On the plus side, we were all happy to sit outside in my parent's newly landscaped back yard patio and bask in the sun.

My handsome husband!

We hung out, had yummy food and tasty beverages, and generally had a good, mellow time. And of course there was friendly teasing - you don't spend time with your siblings without a good dose of teasing! 

Typical Todd pose

Towards the end of Christmas day, Ella and Emery talked several of us to play cards with them. 

Go Fish!

We had several intense games of Go Fish, as Emery declared we had to keep playing until EVERYONE WINS! I think there was a fair bit of cheating to ensure everyone eventually won and we could finally play something else :-)

"We keep playing until everyone wins!" - Emery, age 5

Christmas in California - Part 1

I was in much need of some family time, so Bill and I flew to California for a whirlwind, 7-day visit. My whole family made it to Mom and Dad's house, so it was quite the special treat. 

It's always fun to have kids around on Christmas morning, and our youngest nieces, Ella and Emery, infused quite a bit of fun for all of us to enjoy.  

Christmas morning

And my sister's dog, Malik, who is one of the best behaved dogs on the planet, also gave everyone a chuckle or two as he "helped" the girls (per their request) open many of their presents.

"I openz de pressents, tooooo!" - Malik

During present opening, my brother Todd had to keep a watchful eye on his girls, who had a hard time waiting for their turn. Don't we all remember that? Being so excited, and having a hard time waiting for your turn to open another present? I sure do! 

Todd and his girls

Ella was very pleased with an outfit she received - a very smart ensemble!

Pretty Ella and her sassy new outfit

I got a super-cute hat that is sure to keep me warm now that I'm back in England. I sure didn't need it in CA, though - it was in the low 80sF for the week we were visiting! And all I packed were long-sleeved Ts!

A much needed hat for the Yorkshire winter

Dad got a present from Mom that we're all excited about - a National Geographic genome kit that will tell him where his ancestry was from. My Mom knows she's mostly Danish, but Dad's side of the family has been in America for so long, they don't know their origins. We hope we find out we're descendants from the Mayflower or related to some cool historic figure. But truth be told, we'll probably find out we were originally sent to the New World from somewhere in Europe because of various misdeeds and random hooliganism! 

Dad and his genetics kit

Ella loves, loves, loves the fact that Emery got her Minecraft for her computer! And Emery's super happy with her My Little Pony from Ella.

Happy sisters

But, let's be honest. The best part of Christmas morning is popping all of the bubble wrap!

Emery going to town on the bubble wrap!

Ella's bubble wrap blast!

Handmade Christmas Treats from Betty's Cookery School

In early November, I attended a one-day class at Betty's Cookery School where I learned how to make all sorts of traditional, British Christmas treats. If you haven't read that post yet, you can read it by clicking HERE. It finally came time to start eat said treats! 

When Beverly and Allen were visiting we made sure to have one night set aside as "Christmas" where we exchanged gifts, ate heartily, and popped open some Christmas crackers.

Christmas cracker fun

That night, we also re-steamed my traditional Christmas pudding. It's a concoction made up of dried fruits, nuts, citrus juice and peel, etc. and steamed for 5-1/2 hours at Betty's, matured at home for six weeks (the minimum maturing time) and must re-steam for two hours before it's eaten. Once the re-steam is complete, you un-mold the pudding, and then set it alight with brandy. I was scared, and therefore, made Bill preform the final pudding task while I photographed the event. We used whisky, as we don't have any brandy on hand. Bill heated the whisky over the gas hob in a metal ladle, and once it got hot enough - boom - we had flame! Sorry the photo's a bit blurry, but it all took place in about 3 seconds, so I had to click as quickly as I could. The pudding was spicy, dark, and very delicious! I will definitely be making it again next year. 

Flaming Christmas Pudding

The other item I completed from my Betty's Cookery Class is the Christmas Cake. After the cake has matured at least six weeks and been fed (sherry brushed on top) at least three times, you can decorate it. The cake is a fruitcake, heavy with dried fruit, spices, and citrus rind. And when I say heavy, I mean it - this sucker weighed in at 3 pounds! If you want to see a picture of the cake just out of the oven, click the link HERE.

Christmas cake with first (marzipan) layer of "frosting"

The first step is to roll out enough marzipan to cover the cake top and sides. Once the cake is topped with marzipan, it must be left alone for 24 hours for the marzipan to dry. When the marzipan is dry, you roll out enough fondant to cover the cake top and sides. And then all you have to do is decorate the darned thing! I have seen many websites with elaborately decorated Christmas Cakes, but I opted for a more simple solution. I purchased edible gold and silver sprinkles and just dusted them on top of the cake. 

Christmas cake with second (fondant) layer of "frosting" and edible sprinkles

And then all you have to do is eat the cake! Before cutting into the sucker, I made sure to get a few photos for posterity sake. 

Christmas cake, crackers, and tree

Christmas cake and crackers

As always, the first slice came out a bit mangled, but I don't think I did too badly. The cake is quite tasty, and like with the pudding and mincemeat, a rather complex, mature flavor; no wonder so many kids don't like it! I have had "fruitcake" purchased in the states before, but this cake is nothing like something store-bought in cardboard! I may just have to make one of these every year from here on out :-) 

First slices of Christmas cake

Here's an up close look at the fruitcake insides.

Christmas cake guts

I still have three jars of mincemeat maturing in my cupboard. I will wait until we've eaten all of our Christmas Cake before whipping up a mincemeat strudel - I hope it turns out as tasty as all the other dishes I've brought home from Betty's Cookery School! 

Fountains Abbey by Festive Floodlight

Christmas in England is really pretty special. All of the towns are massively decorated and many places (like Castle Howard in our last post) have special Christmas events. And in a country that does not have separation of church and state, it's Christmas, not the "holidays" as most refer to the season in America. 

I had heard that Fountains Abbey is lit up by colored floodlights two weekends a year in December. It seemed like a neat way to take Bev and Allen on a tour the abbey, so we went! We arrived around 3:30 in the afternoon, since we knew by 4:00 the sun would be setting. As we arrived, the sun was already going down and the floodlights were illuminated. It didn't take us long to begin to see the floodlights in all their glory.   

Before Sundown

In one of the few remaining enclosed halls (most ceilings have long since been torn down) a vibrant, festive display of light set the mood for a Christmas concert.

Festive Floodlights

Festive floodlights from another angle

A local band played Christmas carols and music for the whole time we visited. Here's a short snippet of one of their songs. (Reminder, this video will play on a computer or laptop, but not on a tablet or phone.)

Along the Abbey's ancient nave, more floodlights illuminated the stone columns. In the second picture below you can see a man and his shadow which I think gives a good perspective as to how large this nave was and is.  

Abbey at dusk

Abbey columns with stranger and his shadow

As we left Fountains Abbey to find some much-needed warmth and refreshments, Allen turned around and noticed the full moon, perfectly situated in the center of the Abbey's window. We all had to stop and take many more pictures. It was truly a beautiful sight!

Posing with full moon through abbey window

Bill and Beverly at Fountains Abbey

Full moon at Fountains Abbey

Castle Howard at Christmas

We took Bev and Allen to Castle Howard, the backdrop for Brideshead Revisited (the '80 movie and the recent remake staring Emma Thompson). It's amazing to think that such a house is still a home! Many of the manor houses nearby are closed for the holidays, but Castle Howard remains open to visitors (only one wing of the house is ever open) and decorated top to bottom for the holidays.

As per Bill and my modus operandi, we arrived about 20 minutes before the house was opened for the day, which gave us some time to walk around the outside a bit.  

Castle Howard's front entrance

Guard owl

Castle Howard's back yard

Once inside, we warmed up by the fire and spent quite a while walking through the beautiful house. 

Warming up by the fire

More warming up

The house had so many Christmas trees, I lost count! Here is one of the first trees we came upon - sorry the photo is a bit blurry, I had to take it quickly before someone walked in front of me! 

Blurry but sweet photo of Bill and his Mom

All of the rooms were decorated for Christmas, some more than others. One of the three dining rooms (yes, three - and this was only one [no longer used by the family] wing of the house!) was especially beautiful.

Fancy-schmancy Christmas dinner table

Even statuary in the hallways were decorated with Christmas wreaths and garland. Everywhere you looked, there was amazing art, architecture, and gorgeous decorations. 

Festive bust

Festive statue

As I've stated, Castle Howard had a Christmas tree in almost every room. When they didn't have a Christmas tree, they had a Christmas branch - apparently a holiday tradition in England. It seems the branches they have are family heirlooms that are brought out each year and decorated. My guess is that they are downed branches from the family estate that have been stored year after year just for this purpose.  

One of the many, many Castle Howard Christmas trees

Decorated Christmas branch 

It was really special seeing the house decorated for Christmas, but we were also surprised to see several of the family members while we toured the house. As we walked through a few of the rooms, we spotted the two family dogs doing their morning chores by delivering firewood with either a family member or a member of staff. The dogs were mostly obedient, but the black one was visiting the "open" wing of the house for the first time, so s/he was a little over-exited to see so many people!   

Family Howard's dogs

And in one of the last rooms on the visitors' route, there was a wonderful pianist playing Christmas music. As we were listening a woman about my age and a ten-year old boy came running in, stocking feet and all, and stood behind the piano to listen. A docent I was speaking with told me it was the lady of the house (Lady Howard!) who used to play in a concert band with the pianist, and the ten-year old heir to Castle Howard. They looked so normal and down-to-earth, it's hard to fathom the fact that they own and manage such a massive and beautiful estate! 

Howard Family members and pianist family friend

Grassington's Dickensian Christmas Festival

In mid-December, Bill's mom Beverly and her boyfriend Allen came to Yorkshire for a week-long visit. We had a lot of fun with them, especially visiting all of the local Christmas-themed events for the first time. While driving to the small village of Grassington for their annual Dickensian Christmas Festival, we spotted one of the iconic British telephone booths, and had to stop to get a picture. The phone booths are not as prevalent as they once were, and are often devoid of a phone. Some have been repurposed as small art galleries for local artists, village lending libraries, etc. 

Beverly and Allen

I had been warned to arrive in Grassington prior to the 11am Festival's start time, as it is a small village and the festival can get so busy one can hardly walk around. We arrived at 10am, and by the time we were bussed to the village center, we had about 30 minutes before the festival's official start time. Plenty of time to get in trouble with the local law enforcement!  

Busted by Bobbies!

Another Bobbie bust!

Yet another n'er-do-well

We walked around a bit, and then headed back to the beginnings of High Street in order to watch the Dickensian Festival's Opening Parade. I was able to record the parade in its entirety.  (Reminder - This video works using Quicktime. It will work on a laptop, but not on a tablet or phone.) After the parade, Allen asked "Is that it?" and I had to reply "It's a VERY SMALL village!" :-) 

We walked around some more, bought some hot roasted chestnuts, gawked at all of the decorations and dressed-up Dickensian characters. My favorite were the little kids dressed as street urchins with coal rubbed on their faces, running around having fun. Alas, they moved too quickly and I didn't get any photographs. We watched a few minutes of a Punch and Judy show, listened to the town crier and village band, and tried in vain to stay warm. 

Punch and Judy

Trying to get warm!

Almost everyone who dressed in character were happy to have their photograph taken. As the afternoon wore on and the crowds increased, it became more and more difficult to do so. But I did get a few good photographs! 

Town Crier

A very tall Bobbie 

A depressed-looking Dickensian

All in all it was a lot of fun. We left by 12:30 as the clouds were beginning to look ominous and the crowds were getting thicker by the minute. As we were bussed back to the quarry parking lot a few miles away, we saw additional busloads of people being delivered to the festival. I am very glad we took the advice of arriving early, as we were able to see everything and have fun without dealing with the height of the crowds.

Steam punk Dickensians