What I like about December...
Short days. It’s not so much that the days are short; it’s that the nights are LONG! When I get up early once a week to drive to a class location in the hinterlands, it is dark the whole way. I love driving at night. The quieter highways, the dimmed dash lights, the mystery of what’s around the next bend, driving at night is romantic in the classical sense! Saturday morning last, I was scheduled to teach at Flagstaff and it was still dark most of the way. The sky was crystal indigo until the morning light started swelling up in the east – and I could see the contrails* of the early transcontinental flights overhead in almost three-dimensional glory with the starlight behind them. It reminded me of how the dark side glows in the first couple of days of the waxing crescent-first quarter moon.
Crystal clear skies. Summer time atmosphere in Arizona with its heat, sun and dust, is often indistinct and yellow-hazy in terms of visibility. Not so the winter. Starting in about October, the skies around here get what pilots call severe clear. You can see definition on the hillsides of mountains nearly 100 miles away. When I can see deer running along the ridges of Table Mesa (35 miles north of here), it makes me want to get out and go! OK, so maybe I exaggerate a tad…
*Contrails! Along with those crystal clear skies, there is a certain moisture content at high altitudes in the fall and winter that breeds jet contrails. When the hot dry air of a jet’s exhaust hits that cold moist air, it immediately condenses and leaves that tell-tale trail and we can watch them for miles. I love that.
Snow. One of the best things about living here is I don’t have to shovel snow off the sidewalks, but any time I want to play in it, from about December through the end of February, I can FIND it within a one or two hour drive. And even then, unless the storm is happening right at that very moment, the roads are still going to be clear. There’s nothing prettier than Flagstaff after the snow has begun to melt off, and there are patches here and there and some on the Ponderosa branches all around – or pristine white snow contrasting with the red rocks of Oak Creek Canyon.
The Electric Light Parade. We have our traditions, and one of the best is the Electric Light Parade in Phoenix in early December. We used to have a rodeo parade years ago, but that is no longer held; heck, we don’t even have a Jaycees Rodeo anymore. What’s up with that? We do have a Veteran’s Day Parade, and you can always find a 4th of July parade, but there’s something really great about seeing the floats and the horses and everything all decorated with Christmas lights – there can’t be a prettier parade anywhere. I don’t always, but I should go every year.
Friendly People. Once we start getting closer to the holidays, starting right after Thanksgiving, people (some of them anyway) start to be a little warmer. The pace of activity (despite the bustle of Christmas shopping and the heavy traffic) is a bit less frenetic. I especially like that part – most folks are not as serious about working as they are at other times. Maybe it’s just my imagination. I think that is one reason why January is so depressing! It’s back to the normal and the holidays are O-V-E-R. I will have a much more difficult time trying to come up with a list of what I like about January, I think.
Sleeping in a cold room. Summer is very expensive for me – as I don’t sleep well when I am too warm. In December, I can open my windows and run the ceiling fan and sleep surrounded by blissful frigidity under a mountain of blankets and quilts. There’s a down-side though – a person does not want to get up when the room is 40 degrees! So my natural tendency to stay in bed all damn day is amplified. There’s a remedy, but I’ve never implemented it. Maybe there’s a New Year’s Resolution for me… I don’t usually do any of those but that might be a good one!
Autumn Leaves. We don’t get the vivid colors of the Midwest or northeast, but here in the desert southwest, wherever there are deciduous trees along a watercourse, or planted along a boulevard with an irrigation ditch, we do get some fall colors! Because it stays warmer here longer than other places, the colors don’t always come at the normal time – but later – like in December! Yay! Today, I drove along north Central Avenue from Missouri to Northern, and all along that route there were hundreds of yellow, gold and brown-leaved trees. The afternoon sun was shining through them at a hard western slant – and the effect was magical – the air underneath those trees just glowed. I’m going back again tomorrow just to have another look.
Hot Chocolate. 'Tis true, you could drink chocolate or cocoa any time – but think about it – in the summer when it is 110, it’s just not as attractive an idea, right? But when it is cold outside, there’s nothing quite as perfect as a steaming cup of hot chocolate. I like mine with whipped cream or even ice cream floating in it – I’ve been making Nestle hot chocolate out of the little paper packages. I use milk, not water. And I find it is much easier to mix completely if you whisk it. I hate little bits of un-dissolved chocolate floating in my hot chocolate… yuck. Another treat of a different kind is to float just a touch of rum or bourbon in it. Just a touch. Smooths the "harshness" of the chocolate right out...
Tamales! December is tamale month! For such a simple food, the humble tamal can contain a wealth of complexity in its constitution. I especially love a green corn tamal with just a touch of green sauce on the side. Done well, it is like dessert! And one of my cardinal rules of food enjoyment is you always have dessert first! One of the best parts is the “surprise” in the middle. Why is December tamale month? It is part of the southwestern (or if you prefer, Mexican) tradition to make tamales at Christmas time – it is often a family affair and everyone helps make the labor-intensive little buggers. If you want to see a culture that knows how to celebrate Christmas, just check out the culture of Mexico and the Southwest. We know what we’re doing when it comes to celebrations (y fiestas)!
May your December holidays be happy, warm and filled with everything (and everyone) you love! May you find peace no matter your circumstance. Uncle Bob
Short days. It’s not so much that the days are short; it’s that the nights are LONG! When I get up early once a week to drive to a class location in the hinterlands, it is dark the whole way. I love driving at night. The quieter highways, the dimmed dash lights, the mystery of what’s around the next bend, driving at night is romantic in the classical sense! Saturday morning last, I was scheduled to teach at Flagstaff and it was still dark most of the way. The sky was crystal indigo until the morning light started swelling up in the east – and I could see the contrails* of the early transcontinental flights overhead in almost three-dimensional glory with the starlight behind them. It reminded me of how the dark side glows in the first couple of days of the waxing crescent-first quarter moon.
Crystal clear skies. Summer time atmosphere in Arizona with its heat, sun and dust, is often indistinct and yellow-hazy in terms of visibility. Not so the winter. Starting in about October, the skies around here get what pilots call severe clear. You can see definition on the hillsides of mountains nearly 100 miles away. When I can see deer running along the ridges of Table Mesa (35 miles north of here), it makes me want to get out and go! OK, so maybe I exaggerate a tad…
*Contrails! Along with those crystal clear skies, there is a certain moisture content at high altitudes in the fall and winter that breeds jet contrails. When the hot dry air of a jet’s exhaust hits that cold moist air, it immediately condenses and leaves that tell-tale trail and we can watch them for miles. I love that.
Snow. One of the best things about living here is I don’t have to shovel snow off the sidewalks, but any time I want to play in it, from about December through the end of February, I can FIND it within a one or two hour drive. And even then, unless the storm is happening right at that very moment, the roads are still going to be clear. There’s nothing prettier than Flagstaff after the snow has begun to melt off, and there are patches here and there and some on the Ponderosa branches all around – or pristine white snow contrasting with the red rocks of Oak Creek Canyon.
The Electric Light Parade. We have our traditions, and one of the best is the Electric Light Parade in Phoenix in early December. We used to have a rodeo parade years ago, but that is no longer held; heck, we don’t even have a Jaycees Rodeo anymore. What’s up with that? We do have a Veteran’s Day Parade, and you can always find a 4th of July parade, but there’s something really great about seeing the floats and the horses and everything all decorated with Christmas lights – there can’t be a prettier parade anywhere. I don’t always, but I should go every year.
Friendly People. Once we start getting closer to the holidays, starting right after Thanksgiving, people (some of them anyway) start to be a little warmer. The pace of activity (despite the bustle of Christmas shopping and the heavy traffic) is a bit less frenetic. I especially like that part – most folks are not as serious about working as they are at other times. Maybe it’s just my imagination. I think that is one reason why January is so depressing! It’s back to the normal and the holidays are O-V-E-R. I will have a much more difficult time trying to come up with a list of what I like about January, I think.
Sleeping in a cold room. Summer is very expensive for me – as I don’t sleep well when I am too warm. In December, I can open my windows and run the ceiling fan and sleep surrounded by blissful frigidity under a mountain of blankets and quilts. There’s a down-side though – a person does not want to get up when the room is 40 degrees! So my natural tendency to stay in bed all damn day is amplified. There’s a remedy, but I’ve never implemented it. Maybe there’s a New Year’s Resolution for me… I don’t usually do any of those but that might be a good one!
Autumn Leaves. We don’t get the vivid colors of the Midwest or northeast, but here in the desert southwest, wherever there are deciduous trees along a watercourse, or planted along a boulevard with an irrigation ditch, we do get some fall colors! Because it stays warmer here longer than other places, the colors don’t always come at the normal time – but later – like in December! Yay! Today, I drove along north Central Avenue from Missouri to Northern, and all along that route there were hundreds of yellow, gold and brown-leaved trees. The afternoon sun was shining through them at a hard western slant – and the effect was magical – the air underneath those trees just glowed. I’m going back again tomorrow just to have another look.
Hot Chocolate. 'Tis true, you could drink chocolate or cocoa any time – but think about it – in the summer when it is 110, it’s just not as attractive an idea, right? But when it is cold outside, there’s nothing quite as perfect as a steaming cup of hot chocolate. I like mine with whipped cream or even ice cream floating in it – I’ve been making Nestle hot chocolate out of the little paper packages. I use milk, not water. And I find it is much easier to mix completely if you whisk it. I hate little bits of un-dissolved chocolate floating in my hot chocolate… yuck. Another treat of a different kind is to float just a touch of rum or bourbon in it. Just a touch. Smooths the "harshness" of the chocolate right out...
Tamales! December is tamale month! For such a simple food, the humble tamal can contain a wealth of complexity in its constitution. I especially love a green corn tamal with just a touch of green sauce on the side. Done well, it is like dessert! And one of my cardinal rules of food enjoyment is you always have dessert first! One of the best parts is the “surprise” in the middle. Why is December tamale month? It is part of the southwestern (or if you prefer, Mexican) tradition to make tamales at Christmas time – it is often a family affair and everyone helps make the labor-intensive little buggers. If you want to see a culture that knows how to celebrate Christmas, just check out the culture of Mexico and the Southwest. We know what we’re doing when it comes to celebrations (y fiestas)!
May your December holidays be happy, warm and filled with everything (and everyone) you love! May you find peace no matter your circumstance. Uncle Bob
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