jalléCafe

The way Christmas changes

Countdown to Christmas, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Christmas morning here. What a difference the years make.

Instead of cinnamon rolls and opening gifts right away, we've chatted over two cups of coffee. Mom - who spends the holidays with me every two years - is now sending emails to my brothers and their families from my home PC. I am blogging from my sofa via wireless laptop.

In a few minutes, I'll post this entry and start making blueberry pancakes for brunch. With bacon and real maple syrup. Later, we'll make a fondue chinois with seafood (our adaptation of the Swiss tradition). It's a day to stay 100% inside. As Mom says, a day for no make-up!

This is my first quiet moment in weeks. To write. To relax. To consider how things are going.

Last night we enjoyed a perfect Christmas dinner in the home of a good Swiss friend. Five of us together. Two years ago, I adopted the Christmas Eve dinner tradition with my friend Peter and his family.  (Our family always celebrated Christmas on the 25th.) We made turkey then, served family style.  I knew in that moment, it was one of my best ever Christmas evenings.

Last night was a four course dinner with traditional meat pie as the main course.  Different, but still warm and happy.

I love the blend of different traditions, often with a new twist. And mostly, I feel lucky when the people around me at Christmas are a reflection of friendships made and love shared during the year that led to it.  A reflection of what is important.

I've learned to be flexible about how it happens and grateful for the chance to collect the memories.

And - that's not the only thing I collect at Christmas.  As I hit "save," I'm now happily off to collect more calories, too!  :-)

Snowy Commute - 17 Dec 08

Snowy Commute - 17 Dec 08, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

I simply must quickly show you our holiday surprise this morning! I love crunching through snow on the way to work, especially so close to Chrismas.

BUT

Now my to-do list says: send invoices, finish expense reports, send revised text to two different clients, get the holiday cards in the mail to clients, update a potential job candidate about status, review my new web design concept, then meet with the web designer, talk with our CEO, and telecon with a client in Brazil. All followed by a holiday hair cut. (This is EXACTLY the list I made over a coffee this morning!)

So...off to the races. Let's all hope for a good day!

How do you explain this?

Clauses 6 Dec 08, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.

Last Saturday was "Sami Claus" day in Switzerland. As usual, I forgot until I ran into the Clauses.

I've often wondered how one explains to children here why there are so many Clauses. They look modern these days, too: on the cell phone, wearing backpacks and driving Harleys.

Then again, I once believed that one Santa flew all over the world on one night and magically popped down every chimney by scratching his nose.

Sami Claus - like why I keep overbooking myself  during the holidays every year and then expect to relax and enjoy it -  is not a logical concept!  :-)

Week 48: Officially the holiday season

It's always a mad dash to buy my advent wreath on time. And normally, it can be a challenge to find one if I start the hunt late.

This year seems a little different. You can still find wreaths in the stores even after the first Sunday in advent.

Despite reading dismal economic news nearly every day now, I will persist in the tradition of lighting my own candle in thanks for another year. Each new December, I change the wreath's style. This year - to celebrate my other changes in hair and living - I went colorful. (Not trendy brown or cream!)

The color also matched my red nose that hung around all week. (I finally recovered from my cold on December 1...12 days to restored creativity.  Ugh!)

We don't know what 2009 will bring. I've decided on my marketing plan and given some thought to options when client budgets run thin.  Preparing the implementation.  That's all I can do, I think.

For now, I'm going for gluhwein and hoping what I've learned all of these years about weathering change will pay off in the next one.

First Day Advent 2008, originally uploaded by jalléCafe.