Gingerbread cookies, country plaid, and pine cones decorate Nic's kitchen.
The phrase "home for the holidays" has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? I've always thought so. But I have a confession to make. During twenty-some years on the move with the military, "home" always meant packing up and heading back to the state where it all started for Mr. Christoff and me. If at all possible, we'd travel across the continent each holiday season to crash at his parents' place, and then mine. We'd swing by my grandma's for plenty of home cooking. As if we were kids, we'd stay up late with siblings and cousins, and we'd always meet up with childhood friends. As a result, the house where we lived the rest of the year often got neglected at the holidays. Oh, I might manage to hang some kind of wreath on the door, but that would be about it--until this year!
All year long, you awesome reader, have followed each of the Rockville 8 on our personal journeys of growth and discovery. My own path has brought me to that stage of life called "nesting," and now that I'm in a house for the long haul, I can't think of a better time of year than the long, dark nights of winter to do just that. As a result, I've got homey gingerbread hearts decorating my kitchen this season. My living room is dressed in gold-tipped, glistening evergreens. And in the bedroom, flannel snowmen sheets chase away the chill when it's time to cuddle up at the end of the day.
There have been days this December, however, when it's still hard to think of our house as "home." However, maybe that has less to do with the habits developed over my husband's military career. Maybe, instead, it has to do with accepting that some of our loved ones are aging. Some have even passed away. "Home" has changed, and maybe, deep down, I suspect it's slipping away.
Of course, the true meaning of home doesn't have to disappear. Home, quite simply, is where the heart is. So, this year, I'm opening my heart and decorating my house. We'll crash at our place where we've followed grandma's recipes and we've got cousins are on the way. I'll be truly home for the holidays, and I hope you will be, too.
The holiday season is a magical time: twinkling lights, flickering candles, our hearts full of joy. But it can also be one of the most stressful times of the year: cash runs short, shopping lines run long, patience runs thin. So this year, we at the Rockville 8 decided to give ourselves a mini-holiday from The Holidays.
Letting our imaginations run wild, we asked ourselves, if money were no object, if distance were not a factor and if family obligations were magically suspended, how would we spend the holiday? Where would we go, what would we do, and who would we do it with? We hope our fantasies give you a break from the holiday stress. Feel free to share your own holiday fantasies with us in the comments!
Nichole Christoff
Where: A deluxe cabin in the Adirondacks
What: Is there anything more dreamy than an old-fashioned Christmas like the kind Mel Torme or Bing Crosby sang about? I'd love my own personal blanket of white, Jack Frost, and chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Snowshoeing in an evergreen forest by day, hot toddies at night, and heaps of handmade quilts on an antique bedstead in a luxury log cabin? Ahhh! That's the holiday for me!
Who: Book boyfriends are a-okay, but when it comes to my dream holiday, I'd want Mr. Christoff snuggled up in front of that fireplace with me.
Misha Crews
Where: Santa Fe, New Mexico. In the past few years I've developed a fascination with the American
Southwest, even going so far as to set one of my novels there. Something
about the confluence of cultures, combined with the vast landscape,
which in pictures manages to be both austere and lush, captures the
heart and inflames the imagination.
What: I would take Barbara Harrelson's Literary Walking Tour of Santa Fe, and spend hours wandering, listening to stories, and reveling in the spectacular greatness of storytellers, authors and literature. Then I'd spend Christmas Eve Santa Fe Plaza, admiring the hundreds of farolitas (votive candles in paper bags full of sand), drinking cider and singing carols.
Who: This took some thinking over! And with all due respect to my real-life husband, I think I would most like to take Mike Hanlon, the fictional character from Stephen King's It. This may seem like an unusual choice (not to mention that the fellow doesn't actually exist, except in imagination), but as a librarian, Mike would appreciate the finer points of the tour. He also has a sense of humor and an appreciation for history. Plus, if we were confronted by ancient evil, he would know how to defeat it. And after everything he went through in Derry, Maine, the guy could really use some time away!
Mackenzie Lucas
Where: El Camino de Santiago in Spain.
What:
I've always wanted to do a pilgrimage. This is the Way of St. James,
one of the apostles, and a favorite pilgrimage of Christians since the
Middle Ages. After watching Martin Sheehan in The Way and Reese
Witherspoon in Wild, I've desparately wanted to experience this kind of
pilgrimage walk to see who I meet along the way and who I find deep down
inside myself when challeneged mentally, physically, and spiritually to
this degree.
Who: I don't think I'd take anyone in particular,
but I'd be interested to meet other seekers along the way and learn
their stories. It would be a fascinating journey.
Lisa McQuay
Where: Perhaps it’s the influence of Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” but nothing says Christmas to me like England. Specifically, I’d love to be whisked away to Bath, England. I remember being fascinated the first time I read about Bath in a novel where the Regency heroine spoke of “taking the waters” there.
Picture from http://www.bathchristmasmarket.co.uk
What: I’d love to visit the Christmas Market in Bath. Tiny chalets are interspersed between the Roman Baths and Bath Abbey. Shoppers wander through the chalets, purchasing gifts, drinking mulled wine and eating mince pies. I’d also love to see the Christmas Carol service at the Bath Abbey. Of course, then I’d tour the city itself. After a full schedule of shopping, eating, touring, and caroling, I’d make a trip to the thermal spa to relax and wash off the dust of the day.
Who: My husband. I know that may sound boring but I’d only want him there with me. If he’s there through the tough times then, of course, he’s there for the fantasy trip.
Keely Thrall
Where: A Dude Ranch in The West
What: Riding dudes. No, wait! Riding horses. Yeah, riding horses. It’s not so much that I’m a fan of cowboys (although, come on, it’s not hard to see why a lady might linger over a pair of well-worn Levi’s). I’m not horse mad either. But ever since I first read the words “Big Sky Country,” I’ve felt a deep tug of longing to spend some time in Wyoming or Montana. The scale of the world is different there, in my imagination, the pace more relaxed, perhaps, and a little friendlier. What a perfect place to gather with family and friends for a little unplugged down time (as long as there’s hot water and indoor plumbing. Big sky, yes. Cold showers, heck no.).
Who: Lately, I’ve been falling in love with the Winchester brothers. I’m up to season 7 of Supernatural and I just can’t get enough of their emo vibe, even when I want to slap them upside the head when they act like doofuses (or possibly the writers’ heads when the plot goes awry). In Frontierland (Season 6, episode 18), Sam and Dean travel back in time to the Old West. Sam looks pretty hot. Dean wears a blanket. Snort. Regardless of Dean’s wardrobe fail, I think I’d take the brothers with me. Because if my holiday is ever invaded by monsters, these boys know a thing or two about saving the day.
It's that time of year! Halloween is spook-tactular, haunt-abulous and scare-tastic. And what's more fun than looking back and remembering the joy of Halloweens past? So this year, the Rockville 8 are happy to share with you, our most memorable Halloween costumes.
Evie Owens
The first costume that came to mind was the wizard costume I made for my eldest. Nobody who knows me now would believe this, but I sewed her that costume. It was cheap black cotton but I splurged on the shiny silver stuff I lined the dagged sleeves with. She loved it but I can't put my hands on a picture. She was 11 or 12.
When I was a kid, we went for the kind of costume we could make out of whatever was in the house. I usually ended up as some kind of gypsy. I don't have any pictures of that, either. But one of my best friends at work goes ALL out on the holidays, and last year, on a whim, I joined her. I picked up a cheap purple wig and some false eyelashes and aimed for "animeish." I do have a picture of that and it's memorable mainly because I was doing the online dating thing for a while and I posted the picture there. You'd be amazed how many guys in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area have a thing for women with purple hair. None of them were the right guy, though. Hmmm. Maybe I should have tried a different color...
Keely Thrall
Most memorable costume: Athena, goddess of wisdom.
Age: 10 or 11 (the costume was memorable, what year I wore it...somewhat less so.)
Why: I was in a Greek gods phase, with my nose firmly stuck in D’aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths. Athena was clearly the coolest of all the Goddesses, so smart, so reasonable and clever. So totally me! I got a wooden staff (possibly a broom handle?) and had a little stuffed owl perched on my shoulder (when not in working as my familiar, my brother used that poor owl as a football, tossing it down the laundry shoot for field goals. Stupid boy!). But the best part of the costume was the toga. Mom and I found a vibrant, purple, velvety cotton that draped beautifully. 35 years later (give or take), I still have that fabric and it still makes me smile. It’s a little worn around the edges, but still vibrant. Like me.
Lisa McQuay
Most Memorable Costume: It's hard for me to pick just one but for our purposes here, I'm going with my Harpo Marx costume.
Age: 13
Why: I wasn't even going to go trick or treating at the ripe old age of 13, but my mother asked me to go with my brother who was 9. We decided to go as Harpo and Groucho. My mother rolled my hair in rags for Harpo's curly hair. I used my mother's trench coat, and an old fashioned squeeze-style bicycle horn my grandmother had given me for my bike. My brother, who is dark, had my father's horn-rimmed science experiment glasses from his college days (we both had hours of fun with those), slicked back hair, and the black suit my father had worn to my baptism. Everyone knew who we were. When we went to the door, my brother said "Trick or Treat" and I blew the horn as Harpo always did instead of speaking. It was memorable because it was my last time trick or treating, but more importantly, it was because my brother and I were a team and because we were able to use things we already had.
Mackenzie Lucas
Most memorable costume: I dressed up as an old lady, with gray frosted wig, granny shawl, and long skirt and cane.
Age:8
What made it memorable: I had my picture in the local paper. It was pretty cool for an eight-year-old. And, too funny that my mom used to actually wear that wig. It was really a frosted blond color, but it could easily pass as old-lady-gray hair. ;0) The other very cool thing was that I was able to do a Google search on this article to find the picture in the local paper.
Marjanna Bogan
I remember wearing Casper the Friendly Ghost. I was 4 - would be 5 that December. I was in kindergarten at St. Patricks Episcopal. And for whatever the reason (and I don't remember now if I ever knew then as a child), we were on Panorama News at Noon on channel 5. Which I think was hosted by Maury Povich. I just remember milling around a stage, there was candy in a bowl, and somehow my costume - complete with a mask that covered my face and didn't allow for clear vision - was a focus.
My second most memorable was my brother's. We were, gosh, in junior high? I was wearing Alec Bourgeois's cut-aways and a bowler. Eugene was in his kilt and carrying his bagpipe. And for one piped song, he was given the mythical Toblerone by the family that gave one out to the best costume each year - and I received full sized packages of M&Ms.
Misha Crews
Most memorable costume: Okay, so I know this isn't original, but my most memorable costume was dressing like a cat in fifth grade.
Age: 11
Why: Because of the parts that are most important in a cat costume: the ears and the tail. My mother had a fake fur hat which happened to be black, and she generously sacrificed it to make me a beautiful pair of ears and a long tail. The fact that they looked and felt real made me feel extra-catlike. And now that I think about it, the fact that my mother went the extra mile to add that perfect touch is what really made that costume memorable. Thanks, Mom!
Nichole Christoff
Most Memorable Costume: Nancy Drew, Girl Sleuth
Age: 7
Why: After finding a vintage Nancy Drew novel in a box of books in my attic, I was hooked. And when I went back to school in the fall, I was ecstatic to discover my new teacher had the entire, yellow-covered series. I gobbled them up. Reading about a smart girl with a can-do attitude who starred in hardcover chapter books made me feel so grown up! It was my mom who then suggested I be Nancy Drew for Halloween. I wore my blue polyester pantsuit, my white blouse with a big loopy bow, and carried a notebook and a magnifying glass. I felt like a grown-up--and that it just might be cool to be a smart girl with a can-do attitude.
And what about you...?
What's your most memorable costume? Please share below. And Happy Halloween, from the
Rockville 8!
