The kitchen is closed for the holidays. We’ll be back next week with a new recipe, something new on the boombox and more. In the meantime, a quick word about big and little celebrations of the season.
The house in the picture above is an example of big. It’s in our Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago. The people living here have done this for years now, and every year it gets more involved. It now includes sound and a small working ferris wheel. People come from all over to see it; in fact, I was only able to photograph it sans a steady stream of cars because I went late at night when it was about zero degrees out, with winds gusting to 50 miles an hour.
We call the place Harry Potter’s House. When it’s not festooned with more lights than a small town, you can see the two huge bronze dragons flanking the front door and the giant fountain out front covered with little birds and perhaps more dragons. Obviously the residents favor flamboyance and celebrating in a big way.
At the opposite end of the celebration spectrum is the small, beautiful poem below by American poet e.e. cummings. I remember first hearing it when I was a child. One of the many teachers who touch our lives more than we know at the time read it to our second or third grade class. Poems were of course supposed to rhyme, so I thought she was reading us a story.
I rediscovered it in college when I stumbled on cummings’ amazing poetry, thanks to another teacher. Only this person wasn’t really a teacher—he ran a small bookstore near school. He sold my girlfriend and me only a handful of books over our many visits, but he spent countless hours sitting and reading poetry to us.
I’m embarrassed to say I don’t remember either of these wonderful teachers’ names. But I will always remember the wonderful gifts they gave me. One of them was this poem.
little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower
who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly
i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don’t be afraid
look the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,
put up your little arms
and i’ll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won’t be a single place dark or unhappy
then when you’re quite dressed
you’ll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they’ll stare!
oh but you’ll be very proud
and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we’ll dance and sing
“Noel Noel”
—e.e. cummings
Whatever holiday you celebrate and whether you celebrate it big or small, I hope it’s filled with wonderful moments and memorable gifts. I’ll see you next week. Or as we used to say in grade school and think ourselves the kings and queens of wit, “See you next year!”
Happy holidays to you and Marion, and thanks for a year of wonderful blogging.
Merry Christmas, Terry B. I hope it is your best yet.
Happy Holidays to you as well!!
Beautiful poem…
Our Xmas are very small, but I enjoy it… kids already opened the gifts and they are playing happily 🙂
What a sweet post this is. Merry Christmas to you and yours! Wishing you and “Blue Kitchen” a wonderful new year ahead.
I love the poem, and this is the first time I’ve seen it. Merry Christmas and happy 2008 to you both!
Merry Christmas to you and yours, and a very happy New Year!
Happy Holidays!! What a lovely post and poem.
I had to crack up at your comment re: getting a clear shot of the house. I do NOT miss the Midwest winters. 🙂
Can’t wait to see what culinary adventures the new year brings.
Merry Christmas and thank you for bringing such a lovely light to our kitchen
To all my wonderful blogging buddies, thanks! One of the best, unexpected gifts of this whole blogging adventure has been the smart, warm, talented friends I’ve met. I hope the year ahead is a great one for all of us.
Kirsten—Every year, we go through the same psychological cycle. The first time it drops below 40ºF [that’s about 4ºC], all Chicagoans have one collective thought: “I’m not ready for this.” It’s followed by another collective thought: “In a month or so, weather like this will feel warm.” It happened yesterday. We went to Chinatown for Christmas dinner—yes, you read that right—and walked around gloves off and coats slightly open. The temperature was in the mid-30s and it felt positively springlike. More cold will come and, by February, we will be thoroughly sick of winter. But in the meantime, we adapt.
carol w.—Hope you’re having a lovely holiday too, my friend. Here’s to a stellar new year for all of us. I love that you’ve so embraced the bacon, marmalade, pumpernickel sandwich, by the way.
What a fantastic holiday photo! I just dropped by after following a comment thread from Mimi. I love your blog name too — I have usually had blue kitchens, myself!
Thanks, Betty C! I know I’m going to be visiting your blog a lot—always happy to find a new one. By the way, if you check out What’s with the name? in my Pages, you’ll see that my kitchen isn’t actually blue—just the air in the kitchen when things start going wrong.
Terry, this is the first time I’ve read the poem and I loved it! I’m looking forward to another year of your wonderful stories! See you next year! 🙂
Hi Terry,
Happy Holidays to you too! Hope you and your family enjoy many joyful and delicious meals in the new year 🙂
Cheers,
-Helen
Nice blog mister Terry B – from your co-worker in blustery colorado..! wishing you, marion, the kids and the cats the best for 2008… we can at least hope! Keep up the inspiration – it’s hard to compete with the best blog in the net – I know SOON I will hopefully be doing it meself! See you Wednesday.
Nicole—Thanks! And after enjoying your adventures in Sicily, can’t wait to hear your take on life in California.
Helen—I’m sure the new year will hold many joys and adventures for you and Jason, with your lovely new baby. And your blog. And your cooking school…
Matt—See you Wednesday. Don’t break anything on the ski slopes between now and then. Everyone, Matt helped me design my Something on the Side graphic.
Happy New Year to you, Terry! I look forward to seeing what the Blue Kitchen will come up with in the coming year!
Mary
Wow! Those lights! Wow! Happy New Year, Terry!
It has been cold, damp and chill here in the Black Forest. Some friends from Spain briefly visited. We had a wonderful meal at the crowded and very popular Bauhofer Family Brewery Gasthaus in the small town of Ulm. Great Ulmer Winterbock beer. This has to be one of the finest of over 1,000 breweries in Germany.
Mary—Thanks! I must admit, sometimes from week to week I find myself wondering what Blue Kitchen will come up with next.
Susan—Pretty impressive, aren’t they? We’re guessing their neighbor’s heating bill goes down during the holidays, just from the heat all those lights throw off.
Helmut—What a great way to celebrate! I remember all the smallish local breweries when I traveled in the UK. Increasingly, brew pubs are taking hold here in America too now.
Wow. Cummings is my favorite poet in the whole world, and somehow I’ve always missed that poem. Thanks for the present Terry!
Happy New Year to you and yours!
In all the years that I’ve read cummings, I don’t recall this poem. Thanks once more for sharing something of beauty with us.
And thanks for keeping up with this wonderful blog. Your blog has been a source of intelligence, creativity, humor, terrific photography and yes, even fabulous recipes. Thanks, Terry, for all those wonderful gifts! Hope you and Marion have a terrific New Year, filled with health, happiness and prosperity.
Ann and Toni—Glad to introduce you both to this fabulous poem. And really, really glad to meet both of you, one of the real treats of this year and change of blogging.