Christmas came early this year to my Richmond Communities in Schools study buddy, a precious elementary student not quite to where she could be in her reading and writing. A few days before Christmas, Nate and I paid a visit to her mother’s apartment to deliver a bookcase that Nate had put together, I embellished with little purple flowers, & we both filled with books gathered from all over–eBay, Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc.
In total, we were able to deliver almost 90 books, many within her current reading range, to a home with fewer than 10. Thanks especially to the generous eBay seller who, upon learning who the books I bid on were intended for, included many many more at no extra charge!
Nate & I celebrated “our” Christmas on the Tuesday before heading to see his family in New York. Two shots of our tree:
Nate was given a pair of cthulhu slippers, a donation to the Free Software Foundation, bike etc from buyolympia.com, including two Portland-area bike zines and a pair of bicycle socks, a donation to Bikes To Rwanda which came with a free t-shirt, a Kubuntu mug, a Kubuntu t-shirt, a lb of ginger green tea from TeaGschwendner, a silver teaspoon, Sjaak’s vegan truffles, and some C. Spencer Yeh 7″s.
Me? Well, for starters, the new laptop I’m using, refurbished by someone on eBay and found at a great price. I love it! Also, an adorable owl mug, some vintage mushroom juice glasses, toasted coconut vegan marshmallows from Sweet & Sara, more chocolate, a cthulhu plushie, mushroom slippers custom-made on etsy, and lots and lots of love.
Ah, the redundancies of vegan coupling (aka four boxes of “surprise” truffles under the tree):
The long, slow drive to New York: here, through the Pennsylvania Wilds:
Continuing the tradition of doing something outdoors on holidays most people spend inside in front of televisions, we took a walk over the (relatively) newly-installed Walkway Over the Hudson, “the world’s tallest pedestrian bridge–a 120-year-old railroad bridge re-engineered 212 feet above the Hudson River.” Nate & his dad:
The view of the other bridge into Poughkeepsie from the Walkway:
On Christmas day, we opened presents with Nate’s parents and his sister and brother-in-law and then sat down for a big late breakfast. (organic cheerios with soymilk and Tofurkey biscuits for us. :)) No pictures of those wonderful events, but later that night I suddenly encountered a Rancor Beast while at Nate’s rich aunt’s:
The Rancor Beast ATTACKS!! aaaaagh…my nose…
The Rancor was uncovered in the Star Wars Pop-Up Guide to the Galaxy, which we delighted in while waiting for dinner at the Aunt’s. What a surprise to receive it from Nate’s parents just a few days later as a New Year’s present!
And, of course, that which completes one’s holiday break: watching little ragdoll twins (named One & Zero) attempt to eat various succulents:
Don’t worry–they didn’t get far.
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Greetings from Pleasant Valley, New York! I’m here visiting my partner’s family in a little town about 15 minutes from Poughkeepsie. I regret the fact that I haven’t updated in well over a month. (Specific apologies to specific questioners–Lizzy, Sarah & Aden, Andrea, and best of all, Erin, who apparently read my entire blog one bored day.) First the flu got me, then finals, and so on and so forth and well, you know how the story goes. I’d love to say that I’m going to be back at it regularly henceforth but the truth is, I’m just not so sure. The first completed draft of my MA thesis (long time comin’) is due March 1. Since breakfast ended today I’ve been brainstorming and outlining, drawing hieroglyphs in a little notebook and ruing the number of weeks I have to finish a 100-page paper. Thankfully, I finally have some delicious inspiration…but more on that another time.
I’m happy to report that I’ve been eating well–folks have been remarkably understanding and accommodating this season. Thanksgiving was easy in Richmond and Georgia. At church, I pressed the Ministry Team to consider providing a vegan entree for all our vegetarians and vegans, as the church is in the habit of providing a turkey. They were delightfully responsive and enthusiastic; come Thanksgiving potluck, we veg*s had three Tofurkeys and marinated tofu and walnuts as main courses. (Relatedly, I’m happy to report that Richmond Church of the Brethren will soon have a write-up on the popular All-Creatures.org site, which is associated with the Christian Vegetarian [where Vegetarian means Vegan] Association, CVA. Awesome! I’ll post a link with the write-up once it goes live.)
In Georgia, Nate & I had Thanksgiving lunch with my grandmother, called Nanny. She’s not quite 80, but I’ve worried for years that she didn’t quite “get” the “whole vegetarian thing.” The morning before our lunch, Nate & I worried aloud to my parents–would she assume Nate isn’t vegetarian, and serve a Thanksgiving ham? Would she make her beans with hamhocks? Might we discover three casseroles, contents indiscernable on account of a thick topping of bright orange cheese-stuff? And yet, upon our arrival, we found a vegan feast fit for Southern royalty. Funny how folks’ll surprise you sometimes, eh? Note: prayer/sending good energy works.
Christmas in New York and Nate’s mom is so thoughtful. She called a week in advance to ask questions about what to buy and had soymilk, organic cereal, good tea, organic chocolate, fruit, and Imagine organic soups and broth waiting on us. For Christmas eve dinner she prepared two Tofurkey roasts with roasted carrots and potatoes, steamed vegetables, and even made the traditional pumpkin pie with soymilk. Best of all, apart from a minor comment from dad about non-existent preservatives in the Tofurkey, no one questioned–or should I say, challenged–our choice to be veg. This is doubly fortunate, as one of the most common experiences for vegetarians at holiday dinners seems to be The Challenge: someone from the family, no doubt insecure about his/her own choices, puffs up and starts demanding answers about why we do the way we do…and no amount of polite re-directing will help. Of course, this makes us feel positively awful and unloved…you know, all those feelings totally inappropriate for family gatherings. Happy to say there hasn’t been a moment of discomfort with this delightfully hospitable family.
With that, I’ll get back to outlining my thesis. Peace, loves!
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