Noodles before the Ornaments

This weekend, the second day in a row with my family found us at Rich and Dixie's helping with the annual decorating of their Christmas tree. Always having a good time there, it is sometimes hard to pick a favorite moment among the chaos. Could be:

the overwhelming amount of outside lights upon driving up,

the many musical, moving decorations,

the family eating together,

the reminiscing while pulling out past ornaments,

the sweetness of the next generation helping,

the company,

the conversations,

or, the post-tree desserts!

Potentially, any of those hold reason to be the year's favorite bit...

BUT, my favorite part of this decorating night came BEFORE the party started.
This year, the noodles rank higher than the ornaments on my favorites list!

This year, I did what I have been meaning to do for several years. Knowing the Rich would be making his requested/annual chicken noodle soup, I asked if I could come in the afternoon and peek over his shoulder to learn the tricks. Getting there and seeing that he had the ingredients lining the counter waiting for me, listening to him explain the whats and whys, watching him pause while Dixie cut in with a question, writing rough guessimates of what he was adding to his dough, learning unknown details of how he got the recipe from watching his grandmother "back in the olden days when this soup was made as the day-after-Thanksgiving meal" and how he loved to cook from his days as an army chef, and sitting for a calm visit (sans kids) while he sat shredding the meat from the chicken...THAT was the highlight of my time this year! Now, with a recipe and bottle of his garden-grown sage in hand, there is hope of my ability to repeat his infamous noodles! Perhaps, in several years, his soup will become my family's after-Thanksgiving or while-hanging-ornaments meal?