I’m back from Minnesota, and the new digital camera I got for Christmas allowed me to bring back a few select photographs of my trip. Arriving on the 23rd created some strange timing, since we traditionally have our family Christmas gathering on Christmas Eve. By the time Mom, Dad, and I ate dinner and drove back to the house from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, it was time to turn in. A twelve-hour day of driving, passing security, waiting through delays, and sitting next to Snoring Guy in the plane wore me out. When we got to the house, I had just enough energy to chat for a while, drink an old-fashioned, and crash.
That meant Christmas Eve was a busy day. I needed to run in to town and pick up a few last-minute gifts I couldn’t have packed for air travel, wrap everybody’s presents, and be presentable for dinner by about 6 o’clock. There was no time for relaxation, just yet. At dinner time, Chissom and Cameron came out to the house, along with Chissom’s girlfriend, Joey. Cameron’s girlfriend, Mandy, wasn’t able to make it because she was at a family gathering of her own. By the time Mom, Dad, Chissom, Joey, Cameron, Cameron’s dog Tanner, Dad’s dog Maggie, Chissom’s dog Tinkerbell, and I all gathered, the house was chock-full of people, dogs, drinks, and presents.
Mom always hangs the Christmas cards she receives in the archway that leads into the living room. Here's Chissom standing beneath the cards and watching what's happening under the tree.
Most years, the scheduling of my vacation allows me to arrive before the 23rd, which means that I can help Mom decorate the Christmas tree. This year, though, she decorated it before I arrived. Luckily, she kept all of my ornaments aside so I could hang them when I arrived. As usual, the Lindner family tree was a complete menagerie of mismatched ornaments from the last 30-plus years. The tree always looks really full, but each of those ornaments has a story. We can’t leave any in the box.
The 2009 edition of the Totally Random Christmas Tree. That's Great-Grandma Bonack's tree topper.
Once everyone arrived for dinner, Mom served about four or five different appetizers she had made that afternoon and Dad mixed whiskey old-fashioneds. Soon, the turkey was also served, and everyone ate just a little more than they could comfortably hold. We placed the Christ child in the nativity scene, as we do every year, while singing along with Anne Murray’s recording of “Away In A Manger.”
Somebody has to hold the camera, and it's usually Mom. Here's everyone else: Chissom, Joey, Me, Cameron & Tanner, Dad & Maggie. Tinkerbell is outside the frame somewhere.
Every year that I can remember, my family has baked and frosted Christmas cookies together. When my brothers and I were younger, we took turns standing on a footstool so we could reach up onto the kitchen counter and use cookie cutters to make stars, bells, Santas, camels, snowmen, and trees from the dough mom rolled out for us. A few years later, she added gingerbread men to the mix. In recent years, we’ve switched to pre-cut cookies for the sake of convenience and a clean kitchen, but one thing never changes. Mom always makes home-made icing, and we always sit around the kitchen table and frost the cookies by hand.
Mom and Joey frosting cookies. Notice the cups of icing, the shakers full of sprinkles, and the outstandingly artistic designs we created.
Over the course of his Christmas vacation, Cameron embarked on the process of building a fish house. Dad got him a 6′ by 10′ trailer, and Cameron built the fish-house directly on it. The plan is to just haul the house out onto the lake behind his truck, throw it in park, and get to fishing. (That’s right, Texans; we drive on the lakes.) I helped Cameron work on the fish house one afternoon, and it’s a most impressive set-up. This is no simple shelter. Cameron’s house features lights, a ceiling fan, bunks, a 30,000 BTU heater, a propane stove, and a television. In this fish house, you’re relaxing in style.
Dad helps Cameron by sliding a 2x4 over the wall of the fish house. The workspace is a shop that belongs to Cameron's girlfriend's mother's boyfriend, Rod.
I didn’t get to test out the fish house. In fact, I didn’t ice fish at all on this trip, which is a departure from my usual yearly routine. We would have fished, but the house wasn’t quite ready to go when I left. There was some trim left to hang, and the caulk was still curing.
Fish house construction requires catlike balance. Check out the size of those windows! It's a good thing the heater in this bad boy is big enough to heat my entire house.
Mandy and her mom, Kim, invited Cameron, me, Mom, and Dad to join them for dinner after working on the fish house all afternoon. They take their holiday eating, drinking, and card-playing seriously, so we got along just fine. Cameron and I destroyed Mandy and her cousin (Kari? Kara? I can never remember which is which.) at a game of 500 after they casually mentioned that they’ve been playing together for years and never lose. As it turns out, Cameron and I have been playing together for years, too.
Here's Mandy, opening a gift a few days after Christmas.
I’ve often said that my Christmas trip to Minnesota never changes. It did change a bit this year, with a lack of ice fishing and a decision to attend mass on Christmas morning rather than Midnight Mass, but I still had a fantastic trip.
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