New Beginnings

The first day of the year, and it begins with Scout. Certainly auspicious.

We got up and got ready to head south, where we would be meeting (for the first time) my PenPal and her family for a New Year's Day feast. We had to stop at the Starbuck's, of course, to get fortified for the trip. The day was already perfect. Fairly warm, sort of sunny. No chance of snow.

As we approached the PenPal's homestead, Scout got her first sighting of the Amish out on the roads in their buggies. She did not know that there is only one approved buggy style, that they were all basic black, and the only way to tell them apart is by the horse that is pulling it. I have to admit, it is kinda cool to see them out on the road, and I love the sound of the hooves clomping on the pavement. I need a sample of that...

Anyway, we arrived and were welcomed into a full house of family and food. Unbeknownst to me, Scout was thinking that a gathering centering around pork and sauerkraut was quite odd; to me, and obviously to the PenPal's family, it is just what you eat on New Year's Day. So this lead to a lot of research as to what exactly are New Year's Day traditional meals. Even though I am not German, it was always what you ate. In the South, I guess it is black-eyed peas.

Penpal's Dad gave us an extensive tour of his vast and impressive Steinbach nutcracker collection. He even has an autographed book and photo of Herr Steinbach, who really looks like he could emerge from a cuckoo clock with a tiny hammer and chime the hours... and by the way, Scout thinks PenPal's father is quite a catch, and good looking...

The Penpal's LilSis is the proud owner of a new home, and so we walked over to see it. It is a very comfortable place, and the heart of the home is the unbelievable 4-oven AGA cooker, which must be seen to be appreciated. LilSis gave us a great story of unearthing one of these behemoths very close to her home, (rather odd, since they are cast iron and made in England and she is in Amishland in Ohio after all), and that it was the color she wanted - claret- made it even more amazing. These stoves are constantly "on", and hers has four ovens that are at a constant temperature, ranging from 250 to 400 degrees. Here's a cool quote from their brochure:

Estimated Operating Life: 100+ years

I'd never seen anything like it. Very, very cool.

It was so nice to PenPal and The Mighty Bobster (as well as the other assorted aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents). We just don't get enough time to be together now that they live in California. The PenPal gave me my Christmas gifts, one of which was very sweet - a copy of the DVD Something Wicked This Way Comes, because at one point I was a complete Ray Bradbury scholar, and I insisted she read the book, and she loved it as well. And, there was a Starbuck's gift card. Sigh. PenPal was also the recipient of an iPod (Nano) and I was showing her my (engraved!) iPod, and the amazing slideshow Scout had pre-loaded onto it. I didn't want anything to happen to that, since I am incredibly sentimental, but now that they have seen it, PenPal has publicly scolded me to "PLAY WITH IT!", so I have my work cut out for me.

On our way back, we took a detour through Sugarcreek, the "Little Switzerland" of Ohio, and the home of the Swiss Festival, which features yodeling, rock throwing and God willing, alpenhorn playing. We have to put this on our calendar for next year! Not much was happening around five o'clock in the evening on a Sunday in the heartland of Ohio. Not a soul to be seen, not a random dog prowling the streets. Restaurants all dark and deserted. And it seems that putting menus in windows or doors is just not done here. Scout was very interested to know exactly what Amish cooking entailed, but we could garner no hard evidence on this trip. But we will. And Scout must have some Heinie Cheese.

We when got home, we watched Something Wicked. Scout enjoyed it, and I , of course, still love it. And I still am somewhat leery of getting on carousels now...but man, Jonathan Pryce is superb (and quite handsome and dashing), and the scene of Jason Robards touching his son's fingertips through the grate when he is in hiding still moves me. I got October Dreams: A Celebration Of Halloween, a wonderful book of memoirs and short stories and essays this year specifically because of the essay by Gary A. Braunbeck entitled First of All, It Was October - An Overview of Halloween Films in which he states:

...this handsome, reverent and extremely well-acted adaptation of what many consider to be Bradbury's masterpiece. Something Wicked is an affectionate, respectful and at times dazzingly scary variation on one of THE classic novels in American literature.

Anyway, what a great start to the year. Good food, and PenPal and Scout all in the same place. I couldn't have been more content.