Countdown to Christmas 2025…Day 21

In high school French class I learned about the Buche de Noel. Our teacher made a copy of the recipe and challenged us to make one. 

I did and have repeated it several times since then. 

It is always so fun to make and delicious to eat. 

The original recipe is quite faded and covered with previous attempts to create the perfect log.

My mother probably cranked this ancient piece of paper out for Madame Kerbaugh because she worked in the office and was the master of the mimeograph machine which is what they used back in the day.

No fancy printers for Nell Lochner. 

She would turn that handle and the yummy smelling purple ink would create copy after copy for all the high school teachers. 

So this morning as I squinted to make out the measurements between fading of time and cocoa powder stains, I am remembering a lot of things. 

As I sat listening to our teacher share her passion for what Christmas Eve traditionally looked like in France, I dreamed of late night Christmas Eve services lit by only candlelight, coming home to some fancy desserts at a lovely table with our family and then sending little ones off to bed. 

This was what I hoped adult life Christmas Eves would hold for me. 

This dream has never been fully realized, but I have experienced a wonderful share of candlelit Christmas Eve services where little ones rested their heads on our shoulders. I have had lots of treats made by me, by others or by some company somewhere that we shared around the table. 

I have enjoyed the glow of tree lights in quite a few of our own homes and the homes of family and friends. There have been carols sung as we walked the neighborhood with others, sat in church, enjoyed a concert by professionals or our own offspring. 

The years have been mostly good and the handful of hard parts only make us thankful as to how few they have been in the grand scheme. 

So for today, I am savoring the last few details that need to be completed as we ride out the remainder of this Countdown Journey. 

I hope this day finds you surrounded with love, some nice sweet treats and a manageable to do list. 

God bless us everyone <3