quality time

it's almost that time.

that christmas time.

now...i'm not one of those ladies who goes to town decorating every inch of their house and is on a mission to get all the perfect gifts (handy hint: buy all next year's gifts on boxing day! your friends will hate you 'cause they can't ask for stuff next november, but you can rest assured they'll be pleased with the thoughtfully selected and prepared trinkets in the end and you get to spend weeks stress-free, walking in soft snow rather than through store stampedes.)

but i do like certain traditions. i'm repulsively nostalgic, which you probably already knew.

lefse.

if you don't know what that is, your life is meaningless.
(same goes for if you're only familiar with the icky kind and not the cream kind.)
but maybe i can make you some.
(i'm coming to visit most of you next week, so maybe it could be one of our fun activities?)

my grandma and i make lefse together at christmas. those are some of my very favorite memories. i have a lot of good memories of my grandma. she stays up late and is crafty and clever and bakes a lot, so we were always two peas in a pod. we never really set out to discuss any given thing when we make it, and a lot of the time is just spent in silence, the sounds of the rolling pin and brushing hot flour off the griddle...but usually towards the end when we're finishing and folding it, sitting around the table making a great sugary mess and nibbling on the scraps, we've fallen into a delightful conversation about the way things are or could be or might be. mostly though, we just enjoy each other's company. me, smiling as she measures the salt in the palm of her hand, and her, stopping to gaze at me and say "your hair--you look like mother when she was young."


mmm...i also really love listening to "i celebrate the day" in the dim christmas glow when everyone else is sleeping, and looking out the windows at the snow coming secretly down at 1am, and going for walks in knee-high boots through alleys full of fresh powder at 3am...i guess the majority of my best christmas activities take place in the wee hours. it's nice to have time alone with God like that, when you feel like he came tossing pebbles at your window or like you conspired to stay up late together and sneak out...

so. i guess i found out at michelle's a while back that my love language (receiving-wise) is time...so i can't really say that it's the same kind of commodity for everyone...but i think it's safe to say it's a wonderful gift. i hope you know that your presence is valued, dear reader.

spend some time this week.
and save a pocketful for me. ;)