Holidays and City

A few quick things that were great about this weekend.

1. Unsilent Night: A symphonic walk through the Village with 200 (?) strangers, carrying boom boxes. It's becoming quite popular; this was the first year there was a police escort. Look for it in your city. This year, it was made more hilarious because it fell on the same day as Santacon, guaranteeing we'd run into the requisite "Drunk Santa" "Chain-Smoking Santa" "Lecherous Santa" etc. etc.
2. British Cooking: That's riiiight. Boys and I went to annual party of friends from England and she always makes this really amazing dessert. I've just emailed her because I've decided it has to be put into the repertoire and it's perfect for the holidays. Count this as a teaser because I will post whole recipe, if given permission. It's a meringue with some sort of chestnut cream. (She also serves loads of fantastic champagne on a Sunday afternoon.)
   
3. Babies! Once per month, I work at a shelter for homeless, pregnant/newly mom'd teens and there is not an altruistic thing about it. All day I snuggle with these adorable little bundles. If you are looking for a worthy charitable donation for the holidays, this is definitely one I can endorse. These women/girls are given a furnished studio from their third trimester till the baby is one year old. They are given support, training, and resources to get them back on their feet and they are given many rules and responsibilities too. They are expected to get their GED and the staff helps place them in work. It's such a warm environment and such a change from the typical shelter scenario for these women and their babies. You can see that they have a chance.
   

So there you have it: Symphonies, champagne, and babies. A Christmas Trifecta!