{"id":10589,"date":"2006-12-17T20:11:09","date_gmt":"2006-12-18T03:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/2006\/12\/17\/yule-rules.html"},"modified":"2006-12-17T20:11:09","modified_gmt":"2006-12-18T03:11:09","slug":"yule_rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/12\/17\/yule_rules.html","title":{"rendered":"Yule Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/div>\n

The latest meme, via Les<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \nEgg Nog or Hot Chocolate?<\/strong> Hot chocolate is certainly good (esp. with a bit of peppermint schnapps), but I love egg nog. Especially good egg nog. Never mind it’s a zillion calories per tablespoon. The real stuff — spiked or not — is faboo. And then there’s my Mom’s “recipe,” which is essentially booze with cream and, maybe, eggs, that gets served up on Christmas morning. Yum.<\/li>\n
  2. \nDoes Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?<\/strong> There is always wrapping involved. If worse comes to worse, it’s wrapping in a giant Target bag, but it’s wrapping nonetheless. Except, as I recall, Katherine’s bicycle, which was unwrapped (but hand-delivered by Santa at home, so it was there when we returned from the holidays).<\/li>\n
  3. \nColored lights or white on tree\/house?<\/strong> Growing up, we had colored lights, but I kind of like white ones — let the color come from the ornaments. Though we’re talking here about tree lights, not house lights, which was never a Thing growing up, and remains not. Though Katherine is expressing a serious yen for them (we’ll have to do something about that next Christmas — perhaps lining the living room windows).<\/li>\n
  4. \nDo you hang mistletoe?<\/strong> Never been a trad in either of our families. Not that it stops us from doing the face-mooshing thing,, mind you.<\/li>\n
  5. \nWhen do you put your decorations up?<\/strong> Never before Thanksgiving. Afterwards — well, it depends on when we get off our keisters. There have been years when it hasn’t been until just before our Twelfth Night party in January … This year, though, with Jim and Ginger here for the Thanksgiving weekend, we got them up in a very timely and expeditious manner. Yay.<\/li>\n
  6. \nWhat is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? <\/strong>Probably my mom’s cheesy potatoes. Oh, yum. I could gorge myself on those things (and, in the past, have).<\/li>\n
  7. \nFavorite holiday memory as a child?<\/strong> Probably when we lived in Diamond Bar. Our bedroom window overlooked the driveway, and we weren’t allowed into the living room until Nono and Nona arrived, so we sat with our faces glued to the windows, watching eagerly …<\/li>\n
  8. \nWhen and how did you learn the truth about Santa?<\/strong> I don’t really recall, to be honest. I seem to recall possibly spoiling it for John, but that may be a miscollection. It wasn’t traumatic or anything, and I don’t even know that it was a big “Aha!” moment. I think, for most kids, there’s sort of a period of consensual fantasy, until it becomes annoying and “kidlike.” Kitten, so far as I know, still believes, but is also happy not to poke too mightily at the myth …<\/li>\n
  9. \nDo you open a gift on Christmas Eve?<\/strong> Only one year, growing up, did we do a Christmas Eve thing. Given our current travels, we usually have some sort of quick pre-Christmas here at home before heading to the airport — but nothing happens Christmas Eve proper, except lots of carrying of gifts downstairs …<\/li>\n
  10. \nHow do you decorate your Christmas Tree?<\/strong> We haul it up from the basement. Put it together. Break open boxes of ornaments, and start (whoever is around) putting them up. Garland goes up before ornaments, if we’re doing the garland thing. Then, until the tree comes down, I obsessively shift ornaments around and bend the branches in different directions to make the Perfect Tree Decor.<\/li>\n
  11. \nSnow, love it or dread it?<\/strong> I like snow. Yeah, it can be a serious pain, but I don’t need to worry about it too much (being able to work from home as need be) — and it’s not like it’s ever a problem when we’re in California for Christmas …<\/li>\n
  12. \nDo you know how to ice skate?<\/strong> I’ve tried it. Once. Not my cuppa. \ud83d\ude42 Kitten, though, does great on skates (so does Margie).<\/li>\n
  13. \nDo you remember your favorite gift?<\/strong> Crikey. No, not really. I can remember playing with Hot Wheels in Santa Barbara — and some cool “Hot Wings” metal jets when older. I don’t recall a single favorite, though.<\/li>\n
  14. \nWhat\u2019s the most important thing about the holidays for you?<\/strong> Hmmm. Definitely time with the family. Good food. Swag, sure, but more the giving thereof than the getting.<\/li>\n
  15. \nWhat is your favorite holiday dessert?<\/strong> The endless array of cookies at the Ks. Especially some of the layer bars, and the lemon squares. Mmmmmm. Maybe I’ll bake a pecan pie this year, just for kicks.<\/li>\n
  16. \nWhat is your favorite holiday tradition?<\/strong> Gotta be our Standard Migratory Pattern during the holidays, pretty much unchanged since our marriage. We stay at the Ks. We have Christmas Eve dinner there (my folks come down to join in). We open gifts at the Ks Christmas morning. In the afternoon we go to my folks or my brother’s, and open gifts there, then have dinner. Then we head to where the Ks are for dessert (either Margie’s brother’s or his in-laws).
    \nThat can mean a triangle route of as little as 60 miles or as much as 150-200 miles (never actually clocked it), but it’s a really neat way of spending time with everyone.<\/li>\n
  17. \nWhat tops your tree?<\/strong> Margie has this very nice angel with lights in her hands that plugs right into the tree lighs. Spiffy.\n<\/li>\n
  18. \nWhich do you prefer giving or receiving?<\/strong> Well, I love getting stuff, like a kid, but the adult in me loves giving gifts and seeing expressions of joy and pleasure when they’re opened.<\/li>\n
  19. \nFavorite Christmas Song?<\/strong> Standard carol? Probably Adeste Fideles<\/em> or Joy to the World<\/em>. But run the first third (the Christmas part) of Handel’s Messiah<\/em> past me, and I’m in choral heaven …<\/li>\n
  20. \nFavorite flavor of Candy Canes?<\/strong> If it ain’t peppermint, it’s not a candy cane (just as if it’s not gin, it’s not a martini).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The latest meme, via Les: Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate is certainly good (esp. with a bit of peppermint schnapps), but I love egg nog. Especially good…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41752,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/04\/17\/easter-eggnog.html","url_meta":{"origin":10589,"position":0},"title":"Easter Eggnog?","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 17-Apr-14 9:10am","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay, makes sense to me. Eggs are more closely associated with Easter anyway, so it's a nice fit.But Jelly Bean Milk and Chocolate Marshmallow Milk? \u00a0First off, thsoe are not \"Old Recipes,\" no matter what it says on the carton. Secondly, ew.Reshared post from +Les JenkinsI'll use almost any excuse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3335,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/12\/18\/its_tues_okay_i.html","url_meta":{"origin":10589,"position":1},"title":"It’s Tues — okay, it’s Wednesday","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 18-Dec-02 8:48am","format":false,"excerpt":"But that doesn't mean it's too late for this week's Tuesday This-or-That ... does it?...","rel":"","context":"In "Personal Q&A"","block_context":{"text":"Personal Q&A","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/personal\/personal-qa"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11109,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/04\/08\/easter_swags.html","url_meta":{"origin":10589,"position":2},"title":"Easter Swags","author":"***Dave","date":"Sun 8-Apr-07 8:33pm","format":false,"excerpt":"So Kitten made out like a bandit, chocolate Easter Egg-wise.\u00a0 Saturday, there was an Easter Egg Hunt with Rachel in the living room, as part of the Saturday festivities....","rel":"","context":"In "Food & Drink"","block_context":{"text":"Food & Drink","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/food-drink"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/easter-eggs.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8187,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2005\/04\/30\/too_clever_for.html","url_meta":{"origin":10589,"position":3},"title":"Too clever for me","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 30-Apr-05 8:57am","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Okay, you let us sleep in until 8. You can have one more chocolate Easter egg.\" \"That makes four!\" \"Yup.\" \"Can I have another one?\" \"How many have you had...","rel":"","context":"In "Parenting"","block_context":{"text":"Parenting","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/personal\/parenting"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24068,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/11\/26\/tweets-from-2011-11-26.html","url_meta":{"origin":10589,"position":4},"title":"Tweets from 2011-11-26","author":"***Dave","date":"Sat 26-Nov-11 9:45pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Now is the time we put up Christmas decor. And play Christmas musc. And drink egg nog. Hey, where's my egg nog? # Was surprised to discover to find out how few of our guests last night had heard of the Monkey's Paw. Link # At my penultimate write-in. Waaaay\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~Tweets"","block_context":{"text":"~Tweets","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/tweets"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13407,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/12\/29\/fill_the_cup_and_dont_say.html","url_meta":{"origin":10589,"position":5},"title":"“Fill the cup and don’t say when”","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 29-Dec-08 12:54pm","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're going to make egg nog, make it spiked. For, y'know, safety's sake. With one in every 20,000 eggs contaminated with Salmonella bacteria, drinking homemade eggnog can be...","rel":"","context":"In "Food & Drink"","block_context":{"text":"Food & Drink","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/food-drink"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/xmas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}