Of Christmas doings and a make ahead breakfast~~~~

Hello Darklings,

Well step by step, inch by inch, minute by minute we are edging closer to Christmas,  my two younger nephews, the Twins, can hardly wait.

They came with us to the Dickens Fair this last weekend after joining us (surprisingly) to see a local community theater’s presentation of “A Christmas Carol”.   

 When we got to the Fair, they were suddenly overwhelmed by the sounds, sights and scents of the Fair and although they were wearing modern clothing compared to our Dickens garb they got into the swing of  it, even so much as asking their parents to buy them those “news boy” flat caps,  now they are getting the idea why their older siblings like the genteel Victorian way of life---although as we know during those times certain things like sanitation and women’s rights were almost nil,----but they are getting the idea, much to their Mother’s relief. 

This morning I got a call from my sister in law and as we worked on what to have for Christmas dinner she told me that the boys are now insisting on wearing their caps to school but of course taking them off in class,  she made sure their names were written on the inside of the caps.   But, she said, they seem to cherish them, even my brother bought one and now is wearing it every time he goes outside or to work, “keeps his head warm” she said he told her and she thinks the Twins have found out the same.

I think that is marvelous.  

I recently read an article about Ghost Stories at Christmas time and this goes beyond Dicken’s “Christmas Carol” 

 “A Plea to Resurrect the Christmas Tradition of Telling Ghost Stories”  by Colin Dickey at the Smithsonian Magazine web site   https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/plea-resurrect-christmas-tradition-telling-ghost-stories-180967553/

He says “Though the practice is now more associated with Halloween, spooking out your family is well within the Christmas spirit”   I think that is a perfectly Gothic idea.  I mean why should Ghost Stories only be confined to Halloween, after all “A Christmas Carol” is a ghost story in the very meaning of the word.

I recommend this article to all you Gothic Darklings and find a way to be able to tell them around the fireplace or by candle light or the lights of the Christmas tree,  it would be a wonderful new and dark tradition.

I’m also going to have a make ahead breakfast for Christmas day, although it will only be myself, Doyle, Sis and her roommate Brian (the Rodgers will be out of town) it makes perfect sense to do this.

So the night before Christmas (or day before) you can make this without having to fuss about breakfast on Christmas day.

The ingredients is:

1 pound hot sausage

6 slices bread, cubed

6 to 8 slices of pre-cooked bacon crumbled

1 cup grated cheese

6 eggs

2 cups of milk

1 teaspoon  of salt

1 teaspoon of mustard

To prepare in a skillet crumble and cook the sausage until brown, drain (do the same with the bacon), Grease a 9 x 13 inch Pyrex pan or dish, line the bottom with the cubed bread.

Then top with the sausage, bacon and cheese,  in a bowl combine the milk, eggs and seasonings and beat well then pour over the layers in the pan, cover and refrigerate overnight.   Next morning, take out and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, cut into squares and serve.  Will serve between 6 to 8 people.

Of course you’ll have the orange juice and coffee which you can prepare while it’s baking and toast and butter.     I just love make ahead foods and this is perfect.

Well I need to go,  Sis and I have to do a bit of Grocery shopping and I know we’ll be going back again on Saturday for the dinner,  which means we’ll be cooking and baking Saturday and Sunday with my sister-in law’s help.

In the mean time Dear Darklings you have a wonderful Christmas.

Later Darklings 

Of the approaching Christmas Holidays~~~~~

Hello Darklings,

Well the frost is on the rooftops and the cars only to be melted by the sun.  

The house is now decorated for Christmas and I know we’ll be finding the needles from the trees well into July,  we had fun selecting the trees at this tree lot run by one of our local churches for their school programs so it works out very well.

My brother and sister in law decided to go with a smaller tree to sit on top of a table,  Melissa my sister in law said that with two very active boys in the house it was wiser to go that way.  Coralline and Christopher were helping with the selecting,   I bought two trees, a larger one for the formal parlor and a smaller one for the family parlor.  Later that evening I had a tree decorating party with family and friends,  with nibbles and refreshments it was good fun.   And now they stand in all their glory for the Holidays,  we also got wreathes for our front doors as well.

And afterwards everyone relaxed and I could let the dogs out of their holding place in the kitchen so they would not be underfoot, but I did see Mr. Rodgers giving them treats (doggie treats) every so often.

It was a very good and happy evening.

This last weekend we went back to the Dickens Faire to keep us in the Christmas Spirit,  but I have to admit both my brother, sister in law and I got very tired but the children had fun looking at one exhibit or display or performance to another.  My brother got into the swing of it having cobbled together a Dickens type outfit but I wasn’t too sure about the cloth hat (newsboy style), that was remedied when we stepped into one of the men’s clothiers and he bought a proper top hat and spats, then it was perfect.    The food, the entertainment, the pretties, such an assault to the senses, but like memories of sugar plums leave a lovely lasting impression.

The family was over the other night for a simple dinner,  afterwards Chris asked if we could watch a PBS program about Sherlock Holmes and how this fictional character helped create or inspire modern forensic  science,  Christopher is very strong in science and is thinking of majoring in it at college but he wasn’t sure what classes he’d need to take.   I think I’ll introduce him to a friend of mine to help give him an idea.   

 Coralline was writing down the book titles that some of the interviewees’ had written, but what made such an impression on them was the film recording of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, hearing his voice and comments on Sherlock,  both of them said they’d like to go to London just to go to the Sherlock Holmes museum,  my brother said there’s more to London than that and they said “Of Course!” and Christopher immediately ran off a list of sights to see and tours to take.    I was pleased.

One remark that impressed me was the idea that Sherlock Holmes is very gothic in style, and outlook, I had not thought of that only that I enjoyed the stories,  I had only thought of “the Hound of the Baskerville’s” as being gothic but when one takes it in they all are. 

We have other Christmas events planned, and we all agreed to not exchange presents, what with the price of goods going up, but I think I’ll surprise the children with a few gifts on New Year’s.

I’ve come across  a wonderfully delightful program on PBS and I believe the series is available on DVD, it’s call “Dickensian”  these writers managed to put together some of the characters in the different Charles Dickens stories such as A Christmas Carol, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, The Old Curiosity Shop etc. into what appears to be a Prequel to the individual stories using the death of Jacob Marley as the event to start it---he gets murdered,  the time line seems to go from one Christmas to the next.   And in some way the characters have a connection to Jacob Marley so they come under suspicion.    I love it so far, and want to see how it develops.    In it’s own way it’s dark and Gothic.

But I’ve found a perfect gift that is also Gothic and morbid, it’s Chris Woodyard’s book “The Victorian Book of the Dead”

This is how the description of the Book goes:

Chris Woodyard, author of the The Ghosts of the Past series, digs through long-buried newspapers and journals, for this fascinating look at the 19th-century obsession with the culture of death. The Victorian Book of the Dead unearths extraordinary tales of Victorian funeral fads and fancies, ghost stories, bizarre deaths, mourning novelties, gallows humor, premature burial, post-mortem photographs, death omens, and funeral disasters. Resurrected from original sources, these accounts reveal the oddities and eccentricities of Victorian mourning. Packed with macabre anecdotes, this diverting, yet gruesome collection presents tales ranging from the paranormal and shocking to the heartbreaking. Some of the stories in The Victorian Book of the Dead *mourning bicycles, black boudoirs, and sable cigarettes for the up-to-date widow *a child ghost who beckoned for her father to follow her into death *black dogs and shrieking banshee who foretold death and disaster *the widow who fired the undertaker who would not give her trading stamps. *a corpse that spontaneously combusted in the coffin *the fiendish parrot who murdered his mistress *The petrified corpse furniture created by Professor Segato *visions of the Grim Reaper and the Angel of Death *the man who lived in the tomb of his wife *A mourning wreath made from the hair of a murdered family *interviews with undertakers, post-mortem photographers and morgue attendants And many more tales from the crypts

Well I am certainly going to get my own copy, and look into the other books that Mr. Woodyard has in this series, Ahhh the beauty of ordering on-line.

In the meantime My Darklings, you enjoy the Holidays with all the joys and headaches it offers.

Later Darklings

Of Thanksgiving and Christmas and a tragic Fire~~~

Hello Darklings,

Well I have been out of the loop but a lot has been happening, so where do I start.

Well we slowly took down the Halloween decorations and carefully packed them away, but then I had a leak in the hot water heater!  A good thing I don't keep anything at floor level, so the water was shut off to it.  

I called my plumber and he quickly came out, for some reason there was a defect in the bottom of the tank, still under warranty,  so had that replaced at no cost. 

Then the Washing Machine broke a belt,  now try and get wet clothing out of a tub full of water and hand wring it out and bail the water out of the tub,  called my appliance repair man,  he replaced the belt, tested the machine,  only just over $100.00.   And we finished wringing the clothing,  Thank Goodness the dryer was working.

Then the original refrigerator that I moved from the kitchen into the large walk in pantry died,  I was a nice large side by side refrigerator freezer, but nothing was going to resurrect it, so moved most of the stuff in the freezer to my sister's and the chilled beer was left out.  

The good thing is my much newer refrigerator works beautifully, so I was deciding, do I move the one in the kitchen into the pantry or install a new one in the pantry,  I mean how hard is it to move a refrigerator?

Well Doyle said "Nope ain't moving it, buy a new one for the pantry and have the delivery guys handle it"  so did that.   Nothing fancy, a good dependable Maytag refrigerator, plain white,  and energy efficient.

With all this happening my brother and sister-in-law said "Thanksgiving at our house!"   What a relief!    So Sis and I brought side dishes while the main feast was cooked at my brother's house,  and relatives and children all over the place,  Thank goodness my brother has a "Man Cave" for the children,  that way we could cook and set up without worry.   And everything was delicious.

My brother yelled up from below that Santa Had Arrived so Christmas is now officially here.   A flash of memory went through my mind of all those Thanksgivings when Dad and my Uncles would watch the Macy's parade with my brother and a couple of nephews, and Mom, Grandma, a couple of Aunts, Sis and I would set up the table and then Dad would call out "Santa arrived!!! You ladies can go Christmas shopping!!"   And Mom and Grandma would roll their eyes.   But it never gets old.

The next day, my sister in law, Coraline, Christopher, Sis and myself we went to the Dickens Fair, I had to use a cane and rest a lot because my leg muscle is still weak but still it was so enjoyable, seeing all the Dickens characters, and the entertainments, and all the lovely things to buy,  Coraline and Chris were wearing Dickens finery thanks to an on line shop called "Recollections"  and the children were having fun researching how to behave in a proper Victorian manner.   We are going back for one more weekend to see what we've might have missed.  But the scent of spices and baking and cinnamon buns,  and hot tea,  and watching scenes from some of the Dickens novels.   It does add magic to the season.

Christmas dinner will be at my house,  we bought the trees today,  a large one for the formal parlor and a smaller one in the family parlor,  bit by bit Christmas decorations have been put up,  I've hired Betty full time to help me,  of course the Maid Service will do the house cleaning,  it's far too much for Betty to handle, but with her and I and occasionally her daughter to assist, along with the Cleaning service it's not so bad.  

But last night was very difficult for me and for some of my friends and I was glad that Sis was at my house to help.

We've had a very tragic fire in town,  if you Google "Oakland Ghost Ship Warehouse Fire" that will give you all the news,  it seems in this Artist Collective Warehouse, where people were illegally living in, a party, some people call it a Rave, was held and a fire broke out and people were trapped, the place was a "fire ready to happen".

My artist friends, the ones I call very Ghostly, had been planning to go to this party to meet someone there but for them luck was on their side, they didn't get there til nearly midnight when the fire was at it's height,  their friend was fine but she couldn't find someone that she met there that my artist friends knew,  only today did they find out this person had died in the fire.  They were grief stricken.

My artist friends didn't know for the last few days, where to go or who to talk to to process their grief, the memorials and areas of prayer didn't seem to assuage their feelings,  so they came to my house,  I think the warmth of the house, the candles burning in the fireplace, the Christmas decorations and the hot lemon ginger tea helped them, I let them talk and talk, even if they were going over it again and again it helped them process it.

They told me that a few weeks ago they were looking for cheap space to rent to do some of their larger works and had checked it out,  at first it appeared enchanting but then when they looked closer, well as she told it to me it was like seeing something that's beautiful on the surface but it hides the decay and rot underneath.   They didn't feel comfortable about it.   They weren't even sure about going to this party so they kept putting off going there and it seems their feeling was right.

He kept saying it was a monster of flame, devouring all that was inside, people crying and calling out if someone had seen someone,  I cannot even write down how they described what they saw.   They were so upset that I put them up for the night saying they should not be alone right now.

This morning they thanked me and said they were going home to change clothing and go out among people and have breakfast,  I said they were welcome to come by again if they needed to talk.   I feel they will take me up on that. 

I listened to them, and Belladonna and Wiener Dog cuddled next to them, I watched as they absentmindedly petted the dogs and scratched their heads,  doing that seemed to relax my visitors, making them drowsy, and helped them to unwind their tensions.

Doyle was very up on the events, and would encourage them to talk, while Sis helped them go through and process the emotions they were feeling. 

This morning they told me that they have idea's for their next series of art work, dealing with tragedy and monsters.   I sort of questioned about it with Sis but she said it will be their way of processing their grief, and I could understand that. 

We watch horror movies to be terrified but then when one sees it, in real life and know that they've lost someone in such a horrible tragedy,  it is a totally different.   I am going to check in with them in a few days to see how they are doing,  something like this one does not get over instantly.  

I'm going to have a Christmas Evening tea, I think I'll invite them, during this time of the year one should not be alone.

I have not posted about wonderfully gothic things,  I did see the Dr. Strange movie and I'll talk about it in my next post.

Later Darklings

Of a "new Home" and an awakening at the Dickens Faire~~~~

Hello Darklings!

I was up early this morning, enjoying the fresh cold air and watching the clouds being painted with a soft baby pink with soft baby blue sky behind it, something only the very best of Victorian painters could only hope to capture.  And the wonderful sense of stillness before anyone had to scurry off to work today.  I enjoy moments like that.

And it surprised me to be up early after such a busy weekend.

To start we had a bit of a surprise Saturday night and a good one as well.

My brother and his family came over Saturday to help decorate the Black Christmas tree in the Entrance hall and decorate the house for Christmas and we had a pot luck supper afterwards as we relaxed with coffee (for adults) hot cider (for the children) and dessert, when my brother made an announcement, they are in the process of selling their old house and buying a "fixer-upper" much closer to me and Sis.

It's near the house of my sister-in-law's aunt (Trisha you know what city) and what they did was make a deal with the remaining family member who does not want it at all and wants to get it off of his hands quickly and not go through all the bidding wars. 

My brother and his wife had been considering for sometime a larger house anyway, the boys are jammed into one small bedroom and the oldest is needing his space, so they knew they would need a 4 bedroom house and also figure out a way for 3 bathrooms or 3 1/2 bathrooms.

Well Monica's aunt was friends with the elderly couple who lived in this very large house, but when the husband died, the wife did not want to live in the house anymore, so their oldest son was happy to have her move in with him, but also didn't want to go through the hassle of the sale of his parents home, Monica's aunt put the man in touch with my brother and her niece, and through the assistance of a real estate agent that my brother knows, they are hammering out the deal.

It will mean that the children are going to be changing schools, but my brother said that he will have them finish out the school year at their current schools  and do the change during the Summer break, moving will be enough of a change for them, even though it means commuting to get them to school and making arrangements with their soon to be former neighbors to pick the children up and watch them after school lets out, but they and the neighbors children are good friends, it will mean that any after school events are out unless the neighbors children are also involved.

And instead of them taking nearly an hour to come to my place or to go to work,  it will only be 15 minutes, much closer to where my brother and sister in law work and her aunt is close by to pick up the children from school and monitor them (mostly the two younger ones)

Coralline was just bursting with this news "It's a Victorian Auntie!!! A Victorian!!!"

And my brother said "And it needs work that is why we got it at such a very good price",  the good thing he said is that the foundation is earthquake resistant, because nothing is proof.  But the first thing it will need is a new roof "it has a leak or two, but the whole roof will have to be replaced"

Monica asked if I could be of some help "I want to keep it as original as possible but we'll need a few modern things--like central heating, but I don't want things ripped out"   But she did stress that a "Man Cave" to watch their sports programs was going to be down in the Basement.  "I want that Dickens' feel" she said of the main part of the house, it seems that my home has inspired her.

But I was surprised to hear my oldest nephew say "it be nice if the 'man-cave' was like one of those Victorian men's clubs" to the moans of the twins, but surprisingly my brother was all for that, "all in keeping with the theme" he said,  then he told the twins when they can each afford a home of their own they can decorate it any way they want.

Of course I am all for it!

The sale of their current house will cover the purchase of the new one, pay off the RV and still give them funds for some of the major work that needs to be done on the house. 

When is the move going to happen they don't exactly know, but it will be as soon as the elderly owner moves into her son's home, but it could be at least a month possibly more. 

In the mean time bids are coming in fast and furious on my brother's house, "We're going to have to store stuff  for a while until we can move in" he said and I said "You can always stay with me"  Sis chimed in and said that if it was too much for my house they could also split staying at her house with my brother and the boys with her and Monica and Coralline at my house.

We'll see how this all works out, but I was amused at how Coralline was dancing around with a dreamy look on her face and humming the Snowflake waltz, and also with some serious questions from my oldest nephew.

He asked if he could come with Sis, his Mom, Coralline and me to the Dickens' fair, we were planning to do it yesterday and next weekend.  I said that was fine and his face brightened up as he said "Auntie said its O.K. Mom!"  

My brother gave me the evil eye and said "So I'm stuck with the twins while we watch the Battle of the Bay?"  I said "teach them how hard it is to catch a football in the rain or cheer for one Bay Area team or the other."

But it puzzled me why my oldest nephew is now so interested in Victorian things, after all Sunday was the 49'ers/Raiders game, he'd never miss that, so as Monica and I were in the kitchen cleaning up things she told me that after last year Coralline could not stop talking about the Dickens Fair and Dunsmuir House, and at a Library book sale he found a copy of "The Boys' Sherlock Holmes"  which had selected short stories, he read it voraciously and then found the complete Sherlock Holmes stories on the family book shelf, started reading it and became interested in the history of the Victorian period.

It happened slowly with him asking Coralline about Victorian things,  Monica told me that Coralline has been helping him  and they research it together. 

"And the Twins?"  I asked,  "Still sports nuts, rooting for the 49'ers, Raiders, A's and Giants, they still bounce off the walls, of course your brother doesn't help."   but she told me he also encourages my nephews' new interest.

"Do you know your brother took him to the "Skulls" exhibit without the Twins and they had a fantastic time?" she told me.

I was surprised at that news because earlier when the exhibit opened we all had gone together to see it earlier in the year, of course the twins were like well like any young group of boys "Gross and neat". 

"Now he wants to go to see the History section over at the Museum but without the Twins to bug them"  I said I'd be happy to take him and Coralline to see the exhibits there.  Monica was grateful for that, it would take pressure off of her.

After they left I talked this over with my sister and she said "He's growing up, finding his interest, who knows where it will take him"  

Sunday we went to  the Dickens Fair and he got hooked!  It was amusing to see his head just turning this way and that, trying to take it all in, but the presentations in Mr. Dickens' Parlor where we saw a magic show, the Adventures Club and the one that does Jules Vern type things grabbed his attention.

 I think Archie the Sea Monster tickled his fancy, he was studying the displays and asking very serious questions from one of the gentlemen there who very kindly answered each and every one, he was so intrigued that at the Book Shop I found a copy of "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", and surprised him with it, much to his delight. 

As we ate Fish and Chips I told him that in reading Vern, Doyle and Dickens he'll get an idea of how they spoke back then, but Coralline was not left out, I bought her a cape and gloves for her as well as a purse, my nephew didn't know how, for his age he should dress, but we did get some suggestions from the clothier, how he could build up his own costume for next weekend. 

Of course they had to play the children's games and saw the characters from Dickens' novels come to life, so I decided that I would go to Barnes and Nobel and get them each a copy of "A Christmas Carol", they have reproductions in beautiful bindings. 

But by 7 p.m. it was getting late for them and with one last meal for their dinner and some roasted Chestnuts to eat on their way home, the two of them could not stop talking about what they saw. 

We arrived at my home where my brother, Doyle and the Twins had watched the football game, the twins talked about the game but their older brother told them about the giant squid! 

Monica asked about other Victorian houses in the area where during the year they could take tours, and I mentioned a few such as the Pardee Mansion, Ardenwood Farm, and a few others and said I'd be happy to gather up the information and we could make plans.

Who had it better, the Twins with their football games or Coralline and Chris at the Dickens Faire with a Giant Squid?  I don't know but the hugs my Sister and I received from Coralline and Chris told us that they had a wonderful Dickens of a time.

Later Darklings