Christmas in Northern California

While this post is full of pictures, it isn't about the clothes. It's about spending Christmas with the person you love. Super Boo & I are often separated during the holidays because his family lives in Northern California. We have been together 11 years, and this is the 4th Christmas we've spent together, 3 in California & 1 in Wisconsin. I felt very lucky to be able to spend a week with him in California this Christmas & we even got to fly home together. 

These first photos were taken on Christmas Eve on the way to & at Super Boo's 92 year old grandma's house. I still remember the first Christmas I spent here & the joy of experiencing citrus season. Being from Michigan, I had never picked an orange right off a tree before. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't even know December *was* citrus season. S. Boo's grandma has several orange trees, mandarin trees, & a Meyer lemon tree that were all bearing fruit. The mandarin's are my favorite, but these navel oranges are a bit more photogenic. 

They have the most marvelous scent! I love to smell the peel of the mandarins, they smell like orange & pine & Christmas. And Meyer lemons...they are unlike anything else...a mixture of orange & lemon perfection. Super Boo eats them like you'd eat an apple, peel & all.

I picked several naval oranges for the purpose of making jewelry. I'm going to slice & dry them, then seal them in resin to make a necklace & earrings. It's something I've wanted to do since the first Christmas I spent here. 

Growing up, we didn't have any Christmas traditions beyond getting together, opening presents, & having a big meal. This is entirely different than SB's family & I remember how magical it felt to experience Christmas this different way for the first time. Theirs is a large family & they get together on Christmas Eve at Grandma's house. There is a Christmas program they do each year, with everyone getting a homemade booklet with their name written on the front. One person is chosen to read the story, while many others act out the scene of Mary & Joseph in the manger, complete with a crib & costumes. Also, there is piano playing & singing. When the program is over, song requests are taken, the lyrics are printed in the booklet to make singing along easier. Super Boo & I got to sing I'll Be Home For Christmas while together this year. He is my home. 

On Christmas morning, I made Eggs Benedict at SB's parent's house. Yum. And then there were presents...lots & lots of presents. Super Boo got me a REAL camera, a Canon Rebel. As soon as I learn to use it, my photos here will be better, soooo much better! As special as that camera is, equally special was the box full of fuzzy bunny sockies he gave me that I wear to keep my feet warm at night. 

My most treasured part of the trip was being able to spend the day at S. Boo's grandma's house with him. She had picked bags & bags of walnuts out of her yard that were waiting to be cracked & shelled. SB cranked while I dropped walnuts in the bin of the nut cracker he'd gotten her years before.  

Then, while he took out his grandma's vegetable garden for the winter, I shelled a bag of these nuts to bring home with us, never realizing how much effort went into these walnuts we enjoy throughout the year. It was a gorgeous sunny day in the high 60s & I sat here for hours with the sun on my back enjoying the sounds of the house, the train in the distance...soaking up the feel of this place that was & is so special to my Super Boo. Happy to be able to do this. Happy to be able to spend Christmas with my love.