Actually, the Finns Are Here. My stepfather is of Finnish extraction, and has gotten to know some of his relatives there, and he and Mom visited them there; and this year, three of them have come here for Christmas!
They arrived yesterday, here in My Old Home Town (well, where I went to junior high and high school anyway). It’s been fun hanging out at Mom’s house and getting to know the “new” relatives. And helping Mom with cooking. Here she is with her stuffing:
The interesting thing for me is, I lived here so long ago, it’s familiar but just, well, different. Usually we stay at Mom’s; now the house is full of Finns, so we’re staying at a nice hotel…a newish hotel…in a part of town that never existed before. When I lived here, this whole development was an empty field out by the airport. I cannot shake the sense that I’m heading nowhere, and then we turn a corner and here’s three hotels and a Starbucks and five restaurants and twelve little stores and a yogurt shop and a Walmart, for crying out loud.
Anyway! I’ll get over it.
Mark decorated some Christmas cookies:
And we walked downtown, where Stepdad showed off the Finnish tree he planted at the courthouse (when he was the official county groundskeeper! it was totally legit!) from a cutting decades ago.
Tomorrow is the big gathering at Mom’s–fourteen people around two tables. Should be fun!
Happy Holidays, everyone!