The Neighborly Thing to Do

Would you like to live in a mall?  No?  Me neither!

I am not a world traveler, but I have been to enough places in the US to know a Foot Locker is a Foot Locker, whether it is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania or Phoenix, Arizona.  Olive Garden, Parsippany, NJ serves the same faux food as Olive Garden, Charlotte, NC.  One of the major selling points of national chains is also its greatest drawback – consistency – SAMENESS.

This time of year, many of us will succumb to the draw of the national retailer – the consistency of holiday purchasing.  We’ll buy the same electronics gadgets at the big box, the same sweaters at the strip mall boutique, the same gift certificates to the chain restaurants we have always purchased. We will rely on the Hallmark folks for cards and decorations that will look just like everyone else’s cards and decorations     .   .   .

Sounds more like a “to do” list than the holiday spirit to me.

This year, as in years past, my family and friends will receive gifts purchased locally from small retailers and hand-made originals by artists, many of whom I’ve come to know personally.  There will not be a single box from a mall store.  Why is this important to me – and why should you care?  First, money spent in locally owned stores on locally made items stays in our community; it does not go to China or Mexico or Malaysia.  Second, there is a special feeling of joy attached to an artisan-made gift; it was made of inspiration and love, not to meet a production quota.

Support the small business owners, artists, and fine service providers within our community.  They are the loveliest neighbors and they’re a big part of what makes where we live unique and wonderful.  There’s no place like home. Let’s keep it that way!

What’s the Difference?

What’s the difference between a coffee mug from Pier Whatever/Pottery Stable/Sur le Dinette and a coffee mug from a local artisan?  What’s the difference between a jacket from Nordsnooz/Cheekos/Tallbutts and one from a local designer craftsman? How about a nice greeting card from the grocery store rack or a gallery whose inventory comes from gifted local hands?

Well, kids, one thing that might surprise you that is not so different is price!  So many of us believe we can buy cheaper through a big retailer than from local businesses and artisans (because the big retailers spend a lot of advertising dollars to tell us that.)  Saying it does not make it so. 

              At left, one of a jillion stamped by machine. 

Right one is hand made and one of a kind.              

  Really, a mass-produced-in-Asia cup or 

a finely-thrown-hand-glazed-8-miles-from-your-house mug?

You don’t want to know these are just a few bucks different in price – difference in quality and beauty is priceless!

I remember how amazed and thrilled I was to see the variety, quality, style, and affordability of works offered at the first show I ever attended.  I had no idea that I could own original fine art and craft on the same budget as if I’d shopped at a department store.  Now, I always shop first at fine craft shows and my favorite locally owned artisan’s gallery for home décor, apparel, kitchenware, gifts . . . did someone say gifts? 

Last Christmas, every single gift I purchased came directly from the artist who made it or from my local fine craft gallery. The recipients ranged in age from nine months to eighty years, men and women, tots and teens, artsy and practical. The gifts were extremely well received (putting it mildly) and I did not go over budget – and I did not have to hunt for a parking space at the (bleechhh!) mall.

Visit fine craft and art shows and see for yourself.  Yes, there are admission fees to some, but there are fees to belong to the mega-savings clubs, too.  Go ahead; go to a show or two. Visit some local galleries. See what fine craft is really about – it’s about better.

This December

This December, there are no lights on our house, no tree twinkling with colors, no stockings hung on the mantel, no freshly baked cookies, no Jessica.

No, wait, of course, there’s Jessica!

There’s Jessica in every gift we give to our family and friends.
There’s Jessica in every luminary shining at Children’s Lake.
There’s Jessica in every ring of a Salvation Army bell.
There’s Jessica in every holiday greeting exchanged among neighbors.
There’s Jessica in every happy moment we share.

Mothers who have lost children feel an indescribable void. We must fill that emptiness with things that honor our child, even if it feels painful to try, so this December, I will light our luminaries with all our neighbors on Christmas Eve; I will find comfort in the closeness of my family; and I will keep love and joy in my heart, where my Jessica stays with me forever. She will like that.

We are far better people than we could ever have been had we not known Jessie. Every heart she’s touched – and she could reach you with just a smile – carries her beautiful spirit.

Merry Christmas.

The End (of 2010) Is Near

Here we are in the no-man’s land that is the middle of December – that time when we are “almost” finished shopping; when we are trying to desperately to not cookie ourselves out of fitting into our little black dress; when we’re promised a Holly Jolly Christmas, but we just know Grinch is poised to steal it.  It’s the time of year when everything smells of cinnamon, cloves, peppermint, and parking lot exhaust fumes; when anticipation peters out and “Can we just get this s#^t over with?!” sets in.

Can I get a “Bah, Humbug!”

Nah, with all its conflicting emotions, logistical nightmares, diet-busting delights, and scheduling disasters  – not to mention cranky strings of lights, tippity trees, and tipsy relatives – I still wish you a Merry Christmas.  We miss our beautiful Jessie, but we have wonderful memories of Christmases past to share and wonderful memories yet to be made with our family and friends this year.

Don’t spend what is left of your 2010 fretting about presents not wrapped or cards  not sent.  Spend the time with people you love. Wrap them in your kindness and send them into 2011 sure in the knowledge they matter to you. 

Punctuating holiday well-wishes with cookies always improves the message, so here is my gift to you – one of my favorite holiday cookie recipes for the serious chocolate lover – Viennese Raspberry Brownies.

Viennese Raspberry Brownies                  

BASE:                                                                                                            

6T butter                  3 oz unsweetened chocolate                  

1 ½ c sugar             3T confectioners sugar        2 large eggs   

 1C flour                    3T cocoa powder                   ½ t salt    

½ t red wine vinegar                2T seedless red raspberry jam  

½ c blanched almonds, chopped

Glaze (recipe follows)

Icing (recipe follows)

Grease a 10” springform pan. Melt butter and chocolate; cool. Mix flour, cocoa powder, and salt in small bowl and set aside.  Process sugar and powdered sugar in food processor for 3 minutes.  Beat eggs with sugar mixture until thick and pale.  Add jam and vinegar and beat one minute.  Fold in chocolate and butter, then dry ingredients.  Fold in almonds.  Bake in prepared springform pan at 325º for about 32 minutes, until tester inserted in center comes out almost clean.  Spread glaze immediately over hot brownie. Cool completely.  Make icing and cool about 30 minutes, until cool, but still pourable. Spread over cooled glazed brownie and let stand at least 2 hours. Cut into 16 pieces – this is rich as can be!

GLAZE:  Stir together  ¼ c raspberry jam + ¼ t red wine vinegar

ICING:    Melt together:

2 oz. bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate,  2T butter ,3 T seedless raspberry jam, and 1/8 t red wine vinegar

Conspicuous Consumption

What is it about December that makes folks lose all common sense?  Is it the Christmas music that affronts us at every turn, wearing down our resolve, brain-washing us into submission?  Is it our guilty consciences pressing us to make amends for a year’s worth of unkindnesses – small, large, or imaginary – to family and friends?  Is it the advertising pressure to “make this the best Christmas ever!?”

For me, it is none of the above – it is the COLD!!!!

Seems my brain does not function well when being shaken by severely chattering teeth and general shivering.  This sad state apparently disables a few key mental processes, so I find myself overtaken by an evil twin of sorts whose dual goals are to deplete my bank account and increase my waistline.  

Through the looking glass I go, purging my savings and padding my body.  I can’t help myself.  There are never enough gifts – always some little something that cries out to be wrapped up and presented to someone I love; never enough get-togethers/lunches/dinners to celebrate friendships; never enough cookies   .   .   . but it’s not my fault.  I’m cold!

Seasons will change and when the days get longer, I’ll be able to enjoy simply basking in the warm glow of friendship.  For now, I will surrender to surrounding myself with beribboned boxes, steeping my psyche in wassail, and wrapping my soul in cookie dough.  After all, where would New Year’s resolutions be without conspicuous consumption?