biscotti

three kings day

working on a gift for korrina . . 

a sewing kit . .

based on a smaller one that rolls up and was made at sturbridge (based on a pattern from the 1800's) . .

brunch was at noon since that was when greg would take a break from work.

 

reading the hint on her gift . .

 

korrina is left handed but has always used right handed tools. morgan thought it would be fun for her to try using a left handed scissor when cutting fabric to see if it's more comfortable, but she still has a right handed one in case it isn't!

a florida state university t-shirt from the nyc fsu club.

 

 

after a few songs greg went back to work, korrina left for work, morgan left to help ellen with the nine year olds and chanda took a nap until she had to be up for alumni class. 

 

it was just a really nice afternoon together.

 

in the evening greg, morgan and i had a simple dinner (we were still full from brunch) and lit the candles on the tree to sing silent night . .  

three kings day

the three kings

three kings came riding from far away,

melchior and gaspar and baltasar;

three wise men out of the east were they,

and they traveled by night and they slept by day,

for their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star.

 

the star was so beautiful, large and clear,

that all the other stars of the sky

became a white mist in the atmosphere,

and by this they knew that the coming was near

 of the prince foretold in the prophecy.

 

three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows,

three caskets of gold with golden keys;

their robes were of crimson silk with rows

 of bells and pomegranates and furbelows,

their turbans like blossoming almond-trees.

 

and so the three kings rode into the west,

through the dusk of the night, over hill and dell,

and sometimes they nodded with beard on breast,

and sometimes talked, as they paused to rest,

with the people they met at some wayside well.

“of the child that is born,” said baltasar,

“good people, I pray you, tell us the news;

for we in the east have seen his star,

and have ridden fast, and have ridden far,

to find and worship the king of the jews.”

 

and the people answered, “you ask in vain;

we know of no king but herod the great!”

they thought the wise men were men insane,

as they spurred their horses across the plain,

like riders in haste, who cannot wait.

and when they came to jerusalem,

herod the great, who had heard this thing,

sent for the wise men and questioned them;

and said, “go down unto bethlehem,

and bring me tidings of this new king.”

 

 so they rode away; and the star stood still,

the only one in the grey of morn;

yes, it stopped—it stood still of its own free will,

right over bethlehem on the hill,

the city of david, where christ was born.

 

and the three kings rode through the gate and the guard,

through the silent street, till their horses turned

and neighed as they entered the great inn-yard;

but the windows were closed, and the doors were barred,

and only a light in the stable burned.

 

and cradled there in the scented hay,

in the air made sweet by the breath of kine,

the little child in the manger lay,

the child, that would be king one day

 of a kingdom not human, but divine.

 

his mother mary of nazareth

sat watching beside his place of rest,

watching the even flow of his breath,

for the joy of life and the terror of death

were mingled together in her breast.

they laid their offerings at his feet:

the gold was their tribute to a king,

the frankincense, with its odor sweet,

was for the priest, the paraclete,

the myrrh for the body’s burying.

 

and the mother wondered and bowed her head,

and sat as still as a statue of stone,

her heart was troubled yet comforted,

remembering what the angel had said

of an endless reign and of david’s throne.

 

then the kings rode out of the city gate,

with a clatter of hoofs in proud array;

but they went not back to herod the great,

for they knew his malice and feared his hate,

and returned to their homes by another way.

by henry wadsworth longfellow (1807 - 1882)

----

we had our usual three kings breakfast at lunchtime, as greg had work early in the morning. morgana and i ran out for a coffee at buvette to start the day and then came home to celebrate. (we stopped at st. luke's thrift store on the way back and returned with two $5 items - a fun side trip.)

after our meal chanda went to visit friends and morgan finished packing for a night time flight to london.

a four o'clock tea treat . . 

this panettone was larger than the first one we had, though it was the same company. they were sold in different places though. i bought this one at my local italian pork store, and the first was from the eataly store on 23rd street (the latter place was more expensive - not surprising).

making sure that all necessary travel documents are available on morgan's cell phone.

at 5:30 we were in the car and on our way to the airport with a stop at bridgeview diner in bay ridge for dinner. (the verrazzano bridge lights are the ones just below the green street sign.)

 

(wearing the sweater we found at the thrift store.)

we shared a bowl of delicious matzoh ball soup.

shrimp salad sandwich on rye toast with lettuce and tomato, cole slaw and a pickle . . my favorite diner food.

morgan and greg had omelettes (feta and bacon), home fries and toast.

london bound . .

twelfth night

we had our epiphany feast tonight and i spent the day preparing the meal. chanda ran a few errands for last minute food items i needed, and also put in a batch of laundry. morgan met up with a friend outside and also looked for a covid testing area to have the results for the plane ride to london tomorrow. 

morgan arranged the cheese and other hors d'oeuvres on plates for the table.

korrina brought my christmas gifts: beeswax food wraps that she made. the material is from her local neighborhood swap table which she covered with a mixture of beeswax, pine resin and jojoba oil. i needed these as several of the plastic covers for my glass jars are cracked and no longer stay on well.

 

i also received two wonderful books, one is a cook book from eleanor roosevelt's val-kill home (which we visited in 2018 and which i have not posted about! i put up photos from the friday and saturday of that rhinebeck sheep and wool festival weekend, but not the sunday when korrina and i visited val-kill. i'll have to fix that) with recipes compiled by her granddaughter and illustrations by her niece. the second book is a beautiful book of seashell drawings titled neptune's garden, by wendy frost, which is reminiscent of the mollie katzen cookbooks also published in the early 90's.

prosciutto and apple pyramids . .

dinner was arctic char with mashed potatoes and roasted green beans and brussel sprouts.

before dessert we wrote out our wishes, or a word that described our hopes for the year.

they sealed up their envelopes and i'll mail them out next new year's. greg's already has a stamp.

there were a few gifts given out. greg received a notebook made from an old 1960's album cover that i found in the record store in amagansett.

and i gave the two of us the water mill blend from hampton coffee which is my favorite (and can only be bought in water mill!).

greg and i gave korrina a book titled this long thread, with writings from women of color in the fiber arts community, whose conversations explore belonging, identity, cultural misappropriation, privilege, community support structures and much more. i was happy to find it in strand bookstore. morgan received a garnet hill sleep shirt that was on a wish list and also on sale, and chanda's gift is still on the way (a t-shirt from woods hole oceanographic institute that had been requested).

for some reason i was inspired today to make vanilla panna cotta for dessert from the around the world cookbook.

the sugared candies are rose flavored turkish delights which morgan buys in bulk at a store in london. they're my favorite and very delicious.

 

we sang we three kings and then silent night by candlelight.
 

korrina is ready to head home in her half and half wrap, knitted with verdant gryphon yarn from her stash. it's a purl soho pattern that is relatively simple, if you can handle german short rows. it's very popular these days. i met a woman one day on west 11th street coming out of her house wearing one she had made. i called out to her, "is that a half and half wrap?" we talked for a minute as we walked along, but i haven't seen her since.

the second to final hand of may i. it was the final one that did me in . . i didn't go down before morgana went out and i was left holding 155 points, which didn't put me last, but it certainly didn't allow me to win the full game. hmmmm, i don't think i've ever won a full game, which comprises seven rounds. my mom and dad used to play many full games with their friend greta. they were card sharks!

morgan won with a total of 140 points (my final tally was 190).

a last hot chocolate with mah ze dahr's homemade marshmallows . . and then good night.