Santa: You'll prick your finger. Ho. Ho. Ho.
This year, I asked my family for gift certificates to my favorite LYS so I could buy a spinning wheel. I wasn't sure if it would happen, and I was beginning to feel a little sad. I knew I would still have a fantastic Christmas, wheel or no wheel, but I couldn't help sympathizing more and more with Ralphie from A Christmas Story. His sad, glum, face kept popping in my head and I told Italian that I knew how Ralphie felt. Italian just patted me and said "I know, sweetie," all the while knowing I would have a complete Ralphie experience (minus the pink bunny suit).
On Christmas morning, Italian handed me a gift. I unwrapped it and found a Schacht box. I began to get a bit confused and thought maybe it was a drop spindle to tie me over. I opened the box and it was filled with spindles and a lazy kate. I looked at Italian and he told me the rest was at his parents. Then, I cried. (For those who know me, this isn't a big shocker).
Italian went through quite a lot to ensure the wheel would be a surprise. He had purchased it a week before Christmas, when he was pretty sure I would not be going back to the yarn store until after Christmas. Imagine his shock when I announced on December 23 that I was running a few errands and would stop by the Shop. He said he would stay home and get a couple of things done around the house and take care of Little Clover. I drove off. Italian then turned to Little Clover and exclaimed, "Quick! We have to go!" He got the wheel from the attic, called the shop and asked if he would drop the wheel off for a few hours because I was coming over. The owner agreed and the plan was put in motion. Of course, I did my part and glanced longingly at the wheel while I was in the store. I even asked the Spin Meister and shop owner extraodinaire if she rents out the Schachts, since I didn't think I would be able to buy it after Christmas. She smiled and told me that yes, she does rent them out. We chatted a bit more, I paid for my yarn and left. As soon as I walked out, she was on the phone with Italian telling him the plan worked and it was safe to pick up the wheel. You can be sure, this shop will always be my favorite, and that this Christmas was better than I could have hoped.
Now, for some Christmas food!
Suzie's Spicy Sausage Balls
Once upon a time, there were a group of friends who were in their final years of college. They were homesick during the holiday season and decided to have their own holiday dinner. Three friends excitedly volunteered to make old family recipes for dishes that graced their family tables and would hopefully make the dinner more special. So, Foxy called her mom for the family pumpkin pie recipe. Aaron called his dad for the family cranberry sauce recipe. Suzie called her grandmother for the family sausage ball recipe. Each of these three brought their dishes to the dinner and each was very, very, mad at their families. What they had thought were special secret recipes were really recipes from the packages of the ingredients.
I was aggravated enough that I decided to make my own sausage ball recipe, and they've been a hit every year.
1 package (roll) of Sage Sausage
1 10 oz. package of Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 cups of Bisquick
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Chipotle Chile powder (optional)
Tabasco Sauce (optional)
Shred cheddar cheese. Place shredded cheese, sausage, Bisquick, and minced garlic in a bowl. Sprinkle with chipotle chile powder. Dash Tabasco all over the top of the mixture. Mix all the ingredients together. I mix by hand and stop when my hands are clean. Roll into balls. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Balls should be brown all the way through.
1 comment:
Such a great story - I was getting all teary just reading it. You obviously have a very special someone looking after you....
Get thee some roving and spin, gal, spin :)
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