Tale of Christmas Eve

To: My nephews.

‘Twas the night before Christmas. Mom put out biscotti and milk for Santa. Alwin and Pascal did not believe in Santa but their brother did.

That night Callahan began to tell a story, “It happened on a Christmas eve just like this one, three boys just like us put cookies out for Santa then they went to bed but, two of those boys didn’t believe in Santa. Boy were they wrong!!!” Callahan realized his brothers were already fast asleep. As he drifted off, he chuckled softly to himself.

Around midnight, Alwin woke up very thirsty. So he slipped down stairs to get a glass of water, hearing a creak, he spun around and saw Pascal standing on the bottom step.

Pascal asked, “Can you fill me a glass too please.”

Alwin turned on the faucet “What was that noise?”

Pascal whispered urgently, “It could have just been Callahan”

“I Don’t see him!” Pascal whispered … CREEEEEAK!!!

The brothers clung to each other in terror. Soon Pascal worked up his courage grabbing a rolling pin he whispered, “Get the spoon, the BIG one.”

The boys tiptoed into the living room brandishing their improvised weapons. Alwin switched on the Christmas tree lights; the sight before them took their breath away. There bending down in front of the tree was the FATTEST man either of the boys had ever seen. Alwin looked at his brother recognition, shock and maybe a little awe dawning on his face. “Is that…?”

“I think so”

The Man looked up, smiled then went back to work. “Do you think he’ll talk to us?” Pascal whispered

“Well kids, Mr. Claus is VERY busy tonight considering he has to visit each child’s house–even the naughty ones—so, he really doesn’t have time to exchange pleasantries and you two really should be asleep.” said a voice very quickly as the brothers turned they glimpsed a leprechaun like face grinning mischievously, then they collapsed for some reason, completely exhausted…

The next morning Alwin woke up back in his bed, immediately he shook Pascal awake. “Did you see him?!?” Alwin asked urgently

“Yes, but… What are we doing back up here?”

“The elves must have carried you back up stairs.” Interrupted Callahan smiling.

At breakfast Alwin and Pascal excitedly told their parents that they had seen Santa. “REALLY! You actually caught him!?!” exclaimed Dad.

Mom glanced at Dad with an odd look.

The End

Reach for the Sky

I just finished reading Reach for the Sky by Paul Brickhill. It is a biography about British World War II flying ace, Douglas Bader. Before the war, he was an avid sport player and pilot in the RAF. In a training accident he lost both legs, one above the knee, the other below. With his usual spirit, he threw himself at physical therapy and recovery. During the war, he greatly distinguished himself with his skill in the cockpit. After the war he continued to fly and he took up golf.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it, it is a fascinating read about a very unique person.

Sledding

Audrey is… Well, being Audrey

This is the first good sledding snow. We went sledding last month, but could not stay long. Saturday Audrey, Dad, Mom and I went to the park. Audrey played with Cy, Dad and I went sledding, and Mom took pictures. Then we took a short walk.

Beach Day

Yesterday we went to the dunes, so we could have a mini vacation. The lake was very calm and nobody was there.

We went paddle boarding, it was calm enough even Mom could stand up. Cy came too, last time Cy was afraid of the water. He is almost over it now. At the end he leaped on to one of the paddle boards with Daddy and then rode with Audrey for a little bit.

Daddy was being silly and pretended to fall off, that might be why Cy jumped on the paddle board to make sure he was okay.

Blast Off!

Ten… The clock started the countdown. I checked my seatbelt again. This was the real thing! Three, two, one, zero! I felt the G-force press me into my seat, it hurt! I gripped the armrests tight, wishing I could relieve the pressure. I looked out the window hoping for a distraction… The view was breath taking, the earth blues and greens shrouded in wispy clouds.

I needed to write a short paragraph for school about the narrator’s first blast off in a rocket.

A Love Story Part 1

For school this year, I am going to learn to write stories. My first one, dedicated to Andrea, is a love story, because she teasingly told me to write one.

Johnny tried to impress Barb by doing her dishes and also greased all Barb’s cast iron pans but, he accidently greased all the handles too. Catastrophe struck! Barb was flipping pancakes when the pan slipped and hit Johnny on his head knocking Johnny out, and breaking Barb’s favorite cast iron.

Barb was less than impressed by the greased handles.

To be continued…

Gnudi and Vodka Sauce

For school every Monday, Andrea and I decided to make dishes from different cuisines around the world. Last week it was Indian/Scottish tikka masala. This week it is Italian.

Yesterday, Andrea and I made vodka sauce and gnudi (actually we made ricotta gnocchi, gnudi without the spinach). The word gnudi comes from the Italian word “nudi” which means naked. The idea is that gnudi is ‘naked’ ravioli, just the filling.

Vodka sauce is Italian/American; unfortunately, it does not have an interesting story behind it. 🙁

When the Sea Came Alive

I really enjoyed this 576 page oral history of D-Day by Garret Graff. He tells it with the quotes of soldiers and others involved. From the beginning, preparing for the invasion, getting on the boats, the first few hours, to the world finding out that Normandy was invaded. This book creates a bigger picture while at the same time zooming in to what these individual soldiers experienced.