Are you up for an art adventure that’s messy but loads of fun and teaches a little science? On one of my summer visits to my granddaughters it was too hot to go outside. So Juliet got out her
National Geographic Little Kids Magazine and said: “Let’s make Blue Goo, Baba!”

We probably should have followed the directions and covered her art table with lots of newspapers. But since it’s washable, we just put our supplies right on the table. We used one large mixing bowl, a measuring cup of water, a box of cornstarch, 4 small bowls, and a box of neon food coloring.

In just a few minutes we had whipped up a large bowl of white goo. We divided the goo into the four small bowls, added about ten drops of food coloring into each bowl and the fun began. The weird goo hardens in your hands when you squeeze it and feels like a solid. When you open your hands, the goo feels like a liquid and rolls out of your hand. Juliet squealed and giggled as she squished her hands into the bowl, happily enjoying the physical sensations of the “goo.”

Two hours later we had four bowls of greenish, bluish, reddish goo all over our hands and smiles on our faces. Reluctantly, we cleaned up the mess but promised to make it again with Amelia next year.

Blue Goo Recipe

You will need:

• Newspapers
• Mixing bowl
• Cornstarch (16-ounce box)
• Measuring cup
• Water
• Blue food coloring

1. Pour a box of cornstarch into a bowl.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups (240 milliliters) of water.
3. Add about 15 drops of food coloring. You can also try this with different colors.
4. Mix it all together with your hands.

Have fun squishing!

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December 21 is the first night of Chanukah. One of the rituals I enjoy most about the holiday is frying potato latkes—a tradition I learned from watching my dad prepare them every year for our family Chanukah party.

This year I will take out my dad’s old wire grater and pass on the legacy of the latkes to my two granddaughters. I will tell them about their great-grandpa Mort, who made the crispiest, most delicious latkes in the world.

My dad didn’t cook all year, but when Chanukah came around, he became King of the Latkes. He’d lay out two dozen potatoes, one per guest, and after he peeled one, he’d place it in a bowl of cold water. Then he’d set the flat wire grater over a large wooden bowl. My dad and I would take turns rubbing the slippery white potatoes back and forth across the rough metal wires of the grater until just a tiny nub of potato remained. The challenge was to avoid scraping our knuckles on the grater. As the raw potatoes sat in the bowl turning pink and mushy, he’d tip the bowl every few minutes to pour off the excess liquid into the sink. Next, he grated an onion while tears streamed down his cheeks. He cracked in several eggs and sprinkled just enough flour to lightly cover the surface before he mixed the batter with a big wooden spoon.

My dad used three cast iron skillets on our gas stove and put a generous scoop of Crisco in each one. We didn’t begin cooking them until the guests were about to arrive. Reheated soggy latkes would have been heresy to my father. When our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins came to the door, the smell of hot oil greeted them.

Everyone made their way into the kitchen to watch and wait for this once-a-year tradition. The oil had to be hot enough to sizzle but not burn. Wearing a dishtowel around his waist, he stood at the stove dropping spoonfuls of the chunky batter into the oil and waited for them to turn golden brown. Then he flipped them with a fork, browned the other side, and drained them on brown paper bags spread over the counters.

As soon as a batch was done, my mom placed the crispy, fragrant latkes on a platter. Before she could set them on the table, they’d be snatched up by our guests to be covered with sour cream or applesauce. Dad beamed with pride as everyone cheered: “You make the best latkes in the world!”

My dad’s been gone for twelve years, but every Chanukah when I stand at the stove frying latkes, I feel my dad’s spirit come through me. He taught me well and I know he’d be kvelling that I’m passing on his latke secrets to his great-granddaughters.

Mort’s Chanukah Latkes

8 large Russet potatoes
2 eggs
1 large onion
1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper
Peanut oil or Crisco

1. Peel the potatoes and keep them in cold water until ready to grate.
2. Grate the potatoes and onion on a wire grater. If you don’t have one, you can grate them on the small holes of a box grater. Pour off the excess liquid from the mixture.
3. Blend the potato mixture with the eggs, flour, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour about an inch of oil into the pan and heat until a drop of water sizzles.
5. Drop about one heaping tablespoon of mixture for each latke into the skillet and spread it into a circle.
6. Fry until golden and crisp then turn once to cook the other side. Remove and drain on brown paper bags or paper towels.
7. Serve with sour cream or applesauce.

Serves 8 — 10

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This morning when I woke up, I remembered a chapter from Richard Carlson’s book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. He had a simple strategy for cultivating inner peace: Spend a Moment Every Day Thinking of Someone to Thank.

Carlson began his day by thinking of the people he felt grateful for and practiced this ritual as soon as he awoke. He explained that doing this little exercise reminded him to focus on the good in his life. “If you wake up in the morning with gratitude on your mind, it’s pretty difficult to feel anything but peace.”

With all the bad news in the world today Carlson’s advice is worth remembering. Wouldn’t we all feel better if, instead of starting our day by making a “to-do” list, we made a “to-thank” list?

I developed my own gratitude ritual many years ago. It evolved from a game my daughter and her friends played when they were in elementary school. Whenever the numbers on the digital clock came up all the same — 11:11, 4:44, or 2:22, for example, they would stop whatever they were doing, close their eyes and shout, “make a wish!”

This little game caught on with our whole family and long after my daughter left for college, we were still closing our eyes and making wishes. Then one day, in a moment of enlightenment, I realized that instead of wishing for something I didn’t have, it would be a much better practice to be grateful for what I did have. And from that moment on I changed my ritual. Whenever I see those numbers on the clock come up all the same, I take one minute to say out loud all of the things in my life I am grateful for.

The funny thing is that on a day when I might be feeling a little down, the mere act of expressing my gratitude for the roof over my head, my health care coverage, the rainbow in the sky, or the friend who just called, reminds me how truly blessed I am. I can feel a noticeable shift from negativity to appreciation.

I encourage you to try this simple ritual. Watch the numbers on your clock—in your car, on your cell phone, on your computer—and see if that minute of minfulness doesn’t lift your spirits and remind you that you have many reasons to be grateful.

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This year share some family stories at your holiday celebrations. It’s a wonderful low-cost form of entertainment and a great way to instill in your grandchildren a sense of identity and connection to their heritage.

Holiday gatherings are natural settings for sharing stories. People are upbeat and haven’t seen each other for a while and the opportunity to reminisce with multiple generations can provide enjoyment and inspiration for all ages. The interest in sharing and preserving family stories has grown in popularity as witnessed by the increase in genealogy websites and family blogs.

Grandparents play a vital role in passing down family stories to the next generation. By sharing your stories you help your grandchildren learn who they are and what’s important to their family. They gain a sense of identity and connectedness that strengthens family bonds. Listening to stories is a wonderful way to de-stress, and as people share memories, they trigger forgotten ones in their listeners.

Every human being is a walking collection of stories and sharing them with your grandchildren is a life affirming connection between the generations. Grandchildren especially love hearing about meaningful events that happened to their parents. It gives them a chance to see their parents from a new perspective. Family stories also provide an opportunity to keep alive the memories of departed family members.

If you’d like to start a new tradition of sharing stories this year, talk it over with a few family members who will be attending your celebration. During a holiday get-together it’s best to think of the activity as a light-hearted form of entertainment. Enjoy the moment of storytelling rather, than trying to make it a structured collecting of family history with tape recorders and note takers. Keep some paper handy and jot notes for future interviews if you discover some great family storytellers and historians in the group.

When you invite your guests, let them know that part of the celebration will be sharing memories. Suggest they bring a photo or memento of a favorite family memory. That way, they have some time to think about a story to share. If you call them “memories,” it won’t be so intimidating to the guests. If some people are shy about sharing stories about themselves, ask them to talk about their parents or grandparents instead. Once they get started it’s easier to shift to their own lives.

When the meal is over, invite everyone to gather in a circle and get comfortable. Prepare some simple questions on slips of paper, put them in a bowl, and let people select a question to get the process going.

If you’d like the children to participate, you could start with one question that everyone answers, e.g., “What was the best gift you ever received?” The stories will reveal how gifts have changed over the years. Some examples of holiday-related questions are:

• What is your favorite holiday memory?
• What is your funniest holiday memory?
• What is your favorite holiday food?
• What is your favorite holiday tradition?
• When was a time when you were far from home for the holidays?

If you want to share stories about other aspects of life, consider using some of the questions below. Again, to involve young children, you could select questions like:

• What did/do you like best about school?
• What was/is your favorite toy?
• When did you get the messiest?
• Which book made you cry?
• What was your hardest decision?
• What were the worst shoes you ever had?
• Did you ever play a trick on someone?
• What was special about your first pet?
• What did you think the future would be like when you were a child?
• What was the best story someone told you?
• Who influenced you without you knowing?
• When did you feel like a grownup?
• What was the most dangerous fun you had?
• What was your best family vacation?

By looking at life experiences and remembering emotions you may not have thought about for many years, you can evoke wonderful stories to delight your family and create a memorable holiday for all. As author Chase Collins says in her book, Tell Me a Story, “stories that spring from your spirit and your love, will help your children and grandchildren sense their own worthiness and perhaps sense a worthiness in the broader sweep of the human race.”

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