Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, December 8, 2018

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Mountain View News Saturday, December 8, 2018 

KATIE Tse..........This and That


WALKING SIERRA MADRE.. The Social Side By Deanne Davis

UNSEASONAL

Have you walked through Kersting Court and admired our 
really handsome Christmas tree, with wonderful red bows, 
ornaments, and even a gift or two beneath? And the dreidel 
and the Festivus Pole, so named by Robert Gjerde. I think it 
gets better every year! I was delighted to see a family of Mom, 
Dad and three young adult kids, decked out in red Santa hats, 
standing in front of our community tree, tripod set up on the 
sidewalk, Dad taking one last look into the lens then vaulting 
over the wall to get into position for the family Christmas 
photo. They were having such a great time. If you haven’t 
done yours yet, there’s a new idea. 

 All this Christmas tree talk reminds me that my moment 
is coming, too, when it’s time to trim the tree. Lovingly, all 
the boxes of Christmas stuff is unearthed, I try to remember 
what I did last year with the manger scene that made it look 
so sweetly reverent, promise myself I’m not going to do so 
much this year, and then put up more than ever before.

 There=s no way we can=t put out all the Christmas 
goodies the children made in Sunday School through 
the years; the little hands pressed into plaster of paris, the 
pictures mounted in bread dough frames, the miniature red 
felt stockings with family names in glitter, the red globes that 
date from the beginning of our marriage, which are cracked 
and crazed (which occasionally, our marriage was, too), but 
precious in our sight.

 Yep, it=s two weeks before Christmas, you’ve bought a 
beautiful real tree at enormous expense that smells so fresh 
and forest-y that you want to bury your face in it. It=s in the 
house in the time-honored Christmas tree spot and it=s time 
to decorate. The family scatters like roaches when the light 
is turned on, and you and Tree find yourselves alone, even 
though you made cookies to convince everyone how much 
fun this is going to be. This intimate moment deserves a 
small celebration. It=s definitely time to make Egg Nog!

 Look through any Christmas Cookbook and you=ll find 
Egg Nog, all right, the Victorian version requiring way too 
much labor, and you=ve already got the labor ahead of you: 
Tree, Naked.

 Here=s your traditional Egg Nog: Beat yolks and whites 
of 8 eggs separately. Add 1/2 lb. sugar to whites, beat until 
stiff. Add beaten yolks to whites, mix until blended. Beat in 
2 jiggers Rum. Add 1 bottle (4/5 qt.) Whiskey. Beat mixture. 
Add 1 pint heavy cream. 1 quart of milk. Mix. Chill well. 
Grate nutmeg over top. Serve.

 A bottle of whiskey?? Make this and Tree will still be 
naked tomorrow and you=ll have an unbelievable headache!

 Here=s a much easier, kinder, gentler version:

1. Buy a carton of prepared low-fat eggnog right out of the 
dairy case at your favorite market.

2. Put a tray of ice cubes in your blender.

3. Fill the blender two thirds full of eggog mix.

4. Add a half cup of rum, brandy, or a little of both to the 
blender (or more, or less, depending on how annoyed 
you are).

5. Blend until ice is pleasantly crunchified.

6. Pour into a large, beautiful, stemmed glass. Grate fresh 
nutmeg over top.

7. Sit down and admire Tree, while enjoying eggnog.

8. Realize that peace reigns now that family has scattered to 
unknown destinations.

9. Put on the Christmas CD that YOU likeY. the one that has 
AGrandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer@ on it, if that=s 
your cup of eggnog.

10. Allow joy to flood your heart, soul and mind.

11. Plug in that first string of lights and think about that first 
Christmas night, that first Light.

12. Rejoice! Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men!

13. Know in your heart that Tree will be the most beautiful 
one ever!

14. Invite friends and family over to share your eggnog and 
admire Tree.

“On a night like this, centuries ago,

A brilliant star rose in the East,

To show the Wise Men where to go.

They set out on a journey,

To find an unknown King.

Their hearts were filled with happiness

And praises they would sing!”

(“A Night Like This” from “Star of Wonder – A Christmas 
Musical”

Book & Lyrics by Deanne Davis, Music by David Wheatley)

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

 “Star of Wonder – A Christmas Story,” 

 A Kindle Book which will fill your heart with joy is 
available there!

 As is “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter” 
which would make

 An absolutely terrific Christmas gift for all the people on 
your list!

 Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@
playwrightdd

 
Did you like the rain we 
just had? Winter’s finally 
here, at long last. I’ve been 
pretty good recently about 
not recycling old articles, 
but this was a busy week. 
Besides that, I barely even remember this article, it’s 
so old! And like I always say, if I hardly remember 
it, that means for sure you won’t! It’s unseasonal, 
though. The topic is summer, but in the dead of 
winter we need to remind ourselves that there’s a 
light at the end of the tunnel, as far as the calendar’s 
concerned. But before I launch into my lightly used 
article, let me apologize for my photo of Fibs, my 
parrot, not making it into the paper last week. My 
last story referenced it, and I asked you to use your 
imagination to envision rabbit ears on his head. 
Looks like you had to imagine not only the rabbit 
ears, but the whole parrot! Anyway, sorry about 
that. So here goes. I promise I’ll try harder next 
week. Thank you for your patience!

 Ah, summer! Three mellow, sunny months that 
make the other nine tolerable. There are a myriad 
of ways to celebrate summer. People enjoy the 
beach, gardening, barbeques, floating in a pool, 
or just chilling on the deck appreciating being 
alive in Southern California in the summer. One 
of summer’s many advantages over the rest of the 
year is there are not gift-giving holidays you feel 
obligated to attend (Fourth of July doesn’t count). 
But on that same note, summer has one pitfall --it’s 
wedding season.

 Have you been to a wedding this summer? I 
haven’t... yet. Possibly you got by without having 
to go to any, but most likely you’ll have to do face 
time at at least one. Is it just me, or have a lot of 
weddings (like the rest of the culture) become totally 
overblown spectacles of excess? I must confess a 
couple elements of my wedding (not my idea) were 
more elaborate than they needed to be, but that’s a 
whole other article.

 In the olden days, being a bridesmaid only 
required that you wear an ugly dress and show up 
for the rehearsal and wedding. But these days I’ve 
heard of brides asking their bridesmaids to change 
their hair color or get Botox in preparation for the 
big day. And bachelor/bachelorette parties have 
grown into week-long affairs such as golf excursions 
in Arizona and cruises to Mexico. Resorts spas are 
also popular. I understand that some girls like to 
bond while getting peeled and exfoliated together, 
but I ain’t one of them. 

 Of course probably the most annoying new 
wedding trend is the “surprise” first dance. This has 
been so overused it 
hardly warrants the 
terms “new” and 
“trend.” If you’re 
unaware of this 
gimmick, it starts 
off with the bride 
and groom slow 
dancing to a tame 
wedding classic. 
Then SUDDENLY 
the music turns to 
static. The happy 
couple is “shocked.” 
When the sound 
comes back, it’s a 
rock or rap song, 
to which the bride 
and groom start 
break dancing and 
doing other gown-threatening stunts. Some even 
go as far as having their bridal party join the action, 
and put on a highly choreographed show. It’s hard 
enough coordinating ten or more people for the 
wedding and one regular rehearsal; I can’t imagine 
the planning necessary for a group that size to learn 
something worthy of “The Lion King.”

 While the whole surprise first dance idea is 
ridiculous in and of itself, it reveals a larger concept 
now widely accepted regarding weddings. They must 
be unique and entertaining. Those aren’t evil desires, 
but they have become the driving force among many 
weddings. I’ve quoted the book, “The Narcissism 
Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement” before, 
and this seems like a good opportunity to put another 
plug in for it. I agree that no one should purposely 
bore their guests, but when everyone is trying to have 
a unique wedding, that means no one really is. And 
frankly, if I remember someone’s wedding because 
the groom arrived by helicopter or they had Justin 
Timberlake MC-ing, I’m just going to remember that 
they overdid it. 

 I can only speak for myself, but I would wager that 
most guests don’t come to be entertained. If that’s 
what they wanted, they’d go to a Lakers’ game. They 
come because they like you or they’re related to you 
--sometimes even both. At the end of the day, guests 
have only a few requests: don’t make them sweat 
(literally), don’t ask for audience participation (If 
uncle Bob didn’t plan a speech, don’t have your MC 
stick a microphone in his face), the food need not be 
gourmet, but shouldn’t bounce if it falls off the plate. 
Finally, and most universally agreed upon: make it 
brief. That’s all! No helicopters necessary!

SMPD TOY DRIVE

FALSE ALARM REDUCTION AND 

REGISTRATION PROGRAM

Nearly 98% of all fire and security alarm calls are false alarms.

In an effort to reduce the number of flase alarms and conserve 
valuable City resources, the City of Sierra Madre is partnering 
with PM AM Corporation to implement and administer an 
Alarm Permit Program for residents and business within the 
City of Sierra Madre.

*The annual registration fee will not apply to Fire and Life Safety 
systems or Med-Alert systems. 

For more information, FAQ and registration link visit 

www.CityofSierraMadre.com/FalseAlarmProgram

The Sierra Madre 
Police Department is 
once again pleased 
to participate in toy 
campaigns for the 
United States Marine 
Corps, "Toys for 
Tots" and Pasadena 
Foothill Air Support 
Team (FAST). Please 
bring unwrapped 
toys to drop in the 
appropriate bin in the 
SMPD lobby from 
now until Dec. 24th!


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com