God Loves Us All
Hot Rum Toddies, courtesy of Schuyler our genius barmeister. We're glad he loves to experiment with new cocktails or just make the tried and true ones better. Max and Art made sure that the fireplaces in the great room and dining room were roaring before everybody arrived. We mentioned to you yesterday that we don't just chop down trees for our firewood; we plant replacement trees immediately and thus contribute in small measure to conservation. So far, the system has worked out beautifully, and hopefully it has taught the teenagers something about taking care of the earth.
We're having an evening of sleet and frigid temperatures, so all of us are glad that we live in relative proximity to each other, although out here "relative proximity" can still be thirteen miles!

Tonight, because of the sudden cold snap, a lot of us started thinking about the inevitable cards that have to be sent and that will be received. In our fortunate "community" we have so many ethnic groups represented, so many faiths held dear, a few wonderful couples who profess no faith, so many races and sexual preferences integrated into our "family" that we thought it would be wonderful, this year, to come up with a sentiment, feeling, thought and card that nobody could find offensive and that to the extent possible, would be all-inclusive. Yes, we know December 24 is still a couple of weeks away, but we just thought tonight would be a good time to begin, since time seems to fly and things have to be put in the mail early, rather than late.

Does a Special Season Card Have to Be Typical?
Nyet, was the resounding thunder. Why? Not everybody subscribes to the Manger Scene or the Santa Claus cuteness. For some, this is a season for contemplation, for some it's the time of year when you just visit people you don't see very often, for other's it's a time to remember loved ones who have left us: in a nutshell, this time of year affects quite a lot of the world, but in as many ways as there are stars, so what to do if you want to say something meaningful? We decided to go to an ancient culture that slowly, is growing better known here in the United States.

But first, we tried to remember, for those of us who live in the United States, that we are occupying the land that from time immemorial belonged to those we condescendingly call "Native Americans." Fortunately, they share some traits and some beliefs, with the natives of Mexico, from where we borrowed our Card For This Season, via the amazing talents of artist Catalina Qualtrough Delgado Trunk, who kindly provided her web site address to us so we could see other amazing pieces of ephemeral cut paper work: www.calaca-arts.com

An Amazing All-Inclusive Card For A Special Season
This beautiful cut-paper image*, though not cutesy in the Santa Claus vein, or exclusive of other faiths in the "manger" vein, expresses universal expressions of wonder and hope. It represents universally recognized hopes and needs: the lizards are a symbol of regeneration and hope; from the desert we see the power of creation in the beautiful flowers blooming in the harsh environment of the desert, but, in the artist's words: "we see the power of creation in the beautiful flowers blooming in the harsher environments on earth, but beautiful and filled with the potential of wonderful gifts which we can either turn to ashes or to gold."

Well, Kim and Elizabeth said, can there be a better message or image than that, to celebrate this special season for Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, or any other belief system? Also, it doesn't have anything in it that would offend even our dearest friends, atheists and agnostics. Hope, regeneration, beauty: that's all that needs to be expressed at this time of year, it helps bring us all together, and one year, perhaps people everywhere will feel the same thing and realize that we all want just that.

Season's Cards Give Way to Teenagers' Needs: Dinner!
Several couples helped in preparing our dinner tonight, and though some brought dishes in their cars, the freezing weather made us all thankful for the myriad ovens we had put in during the remodeling of the kitchen. Our first course, the appetizer, consisted of Frittatas of Smoked Salmon, not spicy, but full of tarragon, dill, chives, scallions and ground pepper. Scrumptious, and paired with a beautiful and very affordable Carta Nevada Freixenet sparkling wine.

Our next course was a deliciously warm and comforting Barley and Porcini Mushroom Soup. With so many vegetables in the soup, this could have been dinner, but we served only small bowls of the fragrant soup and paired it with a 2004 Dry Creek Vineyards Dry Chenin Blanc, which had light pear and lemon flavors, unorthodox pairing perhaps, but we enjoyed it, and the wine was very affordable.

Our next course was prepared by the always remarkable pair-chefs, Max and Charlotte. They served us an exquisite Whole Roasted Sea Bass, with potatoes and ripe California olives, and paired their dish with the same Chenin Blanc we had with our soup. Exquisite braised endive served on the dishes completed this perfect presentation.

As frigid as the temperature is tonight, Max didn't seem to mind running back and forth to the pool house to grill his presentation for tonight: Grilled Quail with Mango Salsa. Talk about brave, and talk about perfectionist, that's Max, but his dish was absolutely appreciated. The dish was actually quite spicy because of the overnight marinade in chili sauce, ginger and garlic, but probably all those spices is exactly what we needed on a night like tonight. The perfectly steamed Brussels Sprouts with Drawn Butter and Chanterelle Mushrooms was all we needed on our plates, and Max served us an unusual Portuguese Aveleda 2004 Loureiero Vinho Verde, with its beautiful grassy flavors.

Calling It a Splendid Night
Home for all of us means making sure all the horses were blanketed and all the cattle and sheepare in the barns. Dinner was beautiful, but up here, there is always just a little bit more that you have to do before turning in. Unkind people always tell us that for eons animals have lived outside in the cold, but what they forget is that eons ago they didn't have us, sentient, caring human beings willing to make animals a bit more comfortable. Have you ever known a thing made of flesh who didn't prefer comfort to discomfort?

Summary:
All beings, irrespective of faith, wish to be recognized by kindness. This is the perfect time of year to express that kindness, even if it means drawing from a foreign culture. The only thing that matters is expressing goodwill and friendship. Maybe we can begin a better era, one which, whether it borrows from a foreign culture or not, allows us to embrace our brethren?

*"Desert Flowers"
26"X20" - Cut paper over collage
Artwork provided Courtesy of Calaca Arts