Tag: christmas

CSO For Kids And Other Activities

The CSO is doing a fantastic job with the concerts for the little kids: “Once Upon a Symphony” series. Today was the third time for Nadia and the second time for Kira, and the performance was based on Three Little Pigs (the Big Bad Wolf was a Building Inspector, so nobody was eaten :)). I think it’s really admirable how they can keep even very little kids engaged for forty minutes! This time, Anna was able to come (John drove), and we all enjoyed the performance.

The girls wanted to go back to my house, but today we had time for the concert only, they had to go back home right away, and I am also trying to finish ten different writing projects. Next weekend, however, will be all about family events: my Christmas presents for Anna and John and for Nadia. Also, we are going to celebrate my and my mom’s birthdays.

Tomorrow, my Christmas Tree will be removed, and last night and today, I spent a lot of time putting down all the decorations, taking down the ornaments from the tree, and packing everything into boxes. As I promised to Nadia and Kira, I brought them the gingerbread ornaments, which they ate surprisingly fast (I was sure that they were too hard to chew).

Now I can see that I have several “groups” of Christmas ornaments:

  • the very old ones, some older than me, some from my very early childhood
  • my ornaments from the 1970s
  • the ornaments we hand-made for our first US Christmas
  • the ones I bought on garage sales during the first two years in the US when we had very little money
  • gifts from friends
  • ornaments I brought from different places
  • some cool ornaments I purchased because I wanted them 🙂

And I am going to make sure that each Christmas, even if I do not have all of my ornaments on the tree, I have some form each group!

Just before I took the tree down

USPS – 2

In addition to my troubles with mailing packages, there were similar troubles with receiving them. A package from Ukraine arrived on Saturday, right before my departure to Prague. They left a note in my mailbox, stating that “there was nobody to sign for the package.” That was not true because I was at home at that time, but granted, they wouldn’t have time to get out of the gate and buzz me down when they were already inside. Having that our post office is located very inconveniently for me to reach it, I worried that I will never get this package on time. Then I discovered that I could request redelivery and wave the signature and that I could do it online. I scheduled redelivery for next Saturday when I would be back. The request was accepted, but then nothing came that Saturday. The status of the package was marked as unknown, and the redeliver request “expired.” In addition, there is no way to call the local post office directly, they only list the centralized USPS system customer service number.

To my surprise, the package was magically delivered two days later (with no notification, of course!). Then, I received two more packages from Japan and from Germany; both were left by our mailboxes. And then, a day later, I received a notification from USPS that the packages could not be delivered because nobody was home!!!! 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

I am still waiting to hear about what happened to a package from Ireland which was apparently returned to sender (!!!) because the address was incorrect (!!!)

I also heard from another person about the certified mail letter being returned for an unknown reason, and also, one of my two packages to Switzerland was already returned twice for “incomplete customs declaration,” and I am about to give up on it!

Once again, not for next year: do not mail things last -minute!

Did They Have These Wreaths Before?

I do not recall this decoration, and in any case, I find it very amusing 🙂

My Cookies Story – 2023

As I already mentioned multiple times, this holiday season was challenging, and I knew what was coming in advance. First, when it was just the conference, I planned to bake cookies on the first December weekend, and I asked Lena to mark her calendar. But then Anna’s surgery was scheduled for November 28, and that weekend was not an option anymore.

Christmas cookies are very important to me. It’s not like “just because I promised” or because somebody forced me; it’s just that I really enjoy both baking and gifting; that’s why I wanted to find a way to make the cookies happen. I decided to take December 8 off, and Lena agreed to do the same.

I purchased all ingredients well in advance. I worked on my Christmas messages to friends. One of my European friends agreed to mail my cards to my friends in Russia from her country, so I prepared ten cards, printed the addresses, and attached them to the envelopes.

Continue reading “My Cookies Story – 2023” →

Merry, Merry Chicago at CSO

On Friday, I took Naida to the CSO Christmas concert. We went to that concert last year, and at that time, I was surprised that Naida sat through the whole thing, even though I told her that we could leave during the intermission if she felt it was too much. 

This season, since Anna could not come, and I would have both Nadia and Kira in my house, I asked her whether I should keep the tickets and find a sitter for Kira or return the ticket, and she said – the first one :).

So we went to the concert, and it was amazing! Probably the best concert since the time they stopped doing “stories” for these Christmas concerts. 

We had first-row tickets right in front of the conductor. Thomas Wilkins was the best possible conductor for this concert, and Ashley Brown made it spectacular. Thomas Wilkins immediately noticed Nadia in her Sant hat and addressed her when he talked to the audience. Then he asked her to step forward for a second, and when she did, he snatched the Santa hat from her head but returned it right away. 

The concert was perfect, with a mix of old and new melodies and a sing-along.

Santa arrived unannounced before the last two songs. They are doing Santa really well in the CSO! Nadia remembered each word Santa said last year, and she was pleased that he didn’t repeat himself. After the last song and applauses, Santa reappeared carrying a music stand, asking the maestro to play one more song, “which everybody from the audience wanted to hear” (audience burst into applause). He added that “although there are no words for this song in the program, everybody in the audience knew them.” Indeed, how could we not? I am so thankful to the CSO for keeping this tradition of “one more song, and we all know what song it is!”

(The recording is one of the previous years).

CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO
Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas
It’s just what Christmas ought to be
Snowflakes fill the frosty air, skaters frolic on the square
And on State Street dazzling windows are a beautiful sight to see
Christmas in Chicago, as hearts fill with wonder
Lights sparkle all along Magnificent Mile
I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas
At Christmas all Chicago wears a smile
The City of Big Shoulders wears a robe of winter white
The lion statues wear their wreaths of green
Picasso’s sculpture wears a cheerful multicolored glow
Reflected from the city’s Christmas tree
Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter
And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall
I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas
It’s like no other Christmas at all
Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas
It’s just what Christmas ought to be
We’ll make a trip to carol at the zoo in Lincoln Park
We’ll sing for kangaroo and chimpanzee
We’ll warm up with hot chocolate there and then we’ll go downtown
To Marshall Field’s and sit on Santa’s knee
Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas
It’s just what Christmas ought to be
Sleigh bells ring on horsedrawn cabs near Water Tower Place
Church bells peal from steeples ’round the town
Salvation Army Santas add a joyful ring-a-ling
The Loop is filled with happy Christmas sounds
Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter
And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall
I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas
It’s like no other Christmas at all
Chicago’s kind of Christmas is a magic kind of Christmas
It’s like no other Christmas at all
–Music and lyrics by Gary Fry, Copyright 1996 Fry-By-Night Music (ASCAP)

Catching Up With Christmas

This season, more than ever, all I want is some additional time in my life, and nobody can give me it! There was a marathon of writing cards, packing and shipping, and finding the last missing gifts, and I didn’t go to bed earlier than midnight (and one day, it was 1 AM again!). So many things went wrong this season, that I can only hope it will never happen again.

To answer the question I was already asked: Hettie, why won’t you skip this season or just downsize – I can’t describe the joy of seeing parcels mounting on my dining room table, going into big bags, and then to the Post Office counter! It feels so good that I was not even tired the other night when I stayed awake until 1 AM. I just feel an adrenaline rush, and I am so glad I did it!

A Week In Review

Time will tell whether it was a good idea to try to accomplish the impossible. For the whole week, I would go to bed about midnight (except for Saturday, when it ended up being 1 AM Sunday)and wake up at my usual time, which is between 4-30 and 4-45 AM.

At work, having been in the office for only four days between two weeks of time off, I had endless meetings and then worked after hours trying to do some actual work. I was planning my presents, ordering things, writing the cards, etc. In addition, I had many problems with my conference website, sending tons of emails trying to correct them and meeting with the Talk Selection Committee. I had to prepare a million things for the upcoming PG Conf EU week and manage several 2024 conference submissions.

I took Friday off, and I decided not to go to the Corporate Christmas Party because otherwise, there was no way for me to bake my Christmas cookies. I want to be very clear here: this was not a sacrifice on my side; these are my priorities, and I would be way unhappier if I didn’t do cookies this year.

Lena also took Friday off and left work earlier on Thursday to drive to Chicago so that we could start baking early Friday morning.

I do not recall whether I mentioned it, but this year, due to all of the time constraints, I decided to utilize the Tree Santa company for my Christmas tree delivery because I knew I wouldn’t have time to go and choose it. Since Friday was literally the only day I was at home, I also scheduled the tree delivery for Friday.

It turned out the tree was too thick to fit into my tree stand, so they had to give me one of theirs, and it was not as nice as mine. As for the tree itself, it was fine, but the shape was not as I liked it (too thick in the middle), and the top was “tripled,” and Lena and I spent a lot of time trying to put the star on it.

At 5 PM, we called it a day and went to the Christkindle Market and then to Millennium Park to see the Chicago Christmas Tree and listen to the carolers.

Continue reading “A Week In Review” →

We Are Baking!

While I Was Away…

I didn’t even think that I ordered that much on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but that’s what I found when I returned…

Christmas Tree At Anna’s House

Yesterday, I went together with John and the girls to get a Christmas Tree.

Unfortunately, most of the trees were too small, and all the bigger ones had some visible defects, but I think we picked the best we could find.

Today, we decorated the tree, and I really enjoyed the process. This one is way smaller than the one I usually have, so decorating is not a multi-hour thing. They have a lot of very interesting old ornaments that feel so good to touch and put on the tree, and the tree looks just adorable!