Helen Mathey-Horn's Blog, page 23

Traditional Christmas Cooking?

As a teacher you almost never lose track of what day of the week it is. Your days are so preplanned, even if they go past in a whirl. Being retired is like an extended summer vacation, where I wouldn’t know if it was Monday or Tuesday if it weren’t for tv programs. One of the funniest PSA commercials on AFN (Armed Forces Network) consisted of two British patrons in a pub and their bartender talking about an American sergeant they had not seen for a while. The bartender shows them a card he got on Tuesday telling all the places the soldier was visiting. Point being, make the most of your time abroad and see the sights. But punchline is at the end when one man says to the other, “When was Tuesday?”

Being retired is a lot like that. “When was Tuesday?” I look back and geeze-Louise the last post is over a week ago. I can’t really blame it on Christmas and being busy. It is and I am? Time just doesn’t have much meaning when you don’t have deadlines everyday.

However, Christmas is coming and I need to get some cooking decisions made. Like, will I make panforte? (Italian equivalent to fruitcake only better.) If I lived near Siena, Italy I would buy it (probably more than one!). But I don’t so if I want a slice, and I do, I’ll have to make my own. I really want to make enough to gift slices of it to people. This usually means make one round and cut wedges. It is so dense and thick that one sliver is plenty with a cup of coffee. (See the opening picture.)

I don’t make other Christmas cookies, although a batch of pineapple-oatmeal cookies are sounding good right now. They technically aren’t Christmas cookies. They just are so good. Yes, oatmeal cookies can be tasty. These have parts of gumdrops on top that if you choose only red, white and green, makes them look all Christmas-y. I almost won a Christmas cookie contest at junior college with theses cookies. I lost out to a giant gingerbread cookie of Mickey Mouse. Granted the theme for the week was Disney Christmas, but the judges said they loved the flavor of my cookies. Hah! Anyrate, I’m over the upset of that loss fifty years ago, almost.

The other ‘cooking’ I plan to do is make enchiladas for Christmas day. So traditional! Not! I just like enchiladas and my guests asked if I would make them. They obviously like them too, so chicken and cheese enchiladas it is. My enchiladas have flavor but no real ‘heat’. I’m not crazy for hot peppers, so nice tame, chicken enchiladas.

Does your family have ‘non-traditional’ traditions for Christmas?

‘Tis the Season

The stores are decorated, the houses on the streets are decorated and I’m kind of … well not ‘Bah, humbug,’ but more ‘Ho hum’.

I have multiple containers of ‘Christmas’ stuff. Kind of happens when you’ve lived multiple places and see interesting things and then spend Christmas in The States and compensate for all your Christmas stuff being on the other side of an ocean and finally putting it all in one place only to store it in multiple places.

I had hubby bring up two of the boxes from the basement and called it quits with that much. There is more upstairs stored under the eves, but maybe another year. Even so I’ve got my garland (fake…sorry Aunt Norma) on the front porch up. There is an electrical outlet on the porch, but I started with green garland and red ribbon against our white house long ago and I like the look. If I want it lit at night I leave the front porch light on (until bed time) and it looks very inviting.

I’ve found several ‘trees’ to put on the writing desks in the living room. They are of various materials from different places. My reindeer from a craft show…I want to say it was in Maryland and the big (14-16″) stuffed fabric Christmas tree my mom made at some point. A garland (fake greens again) over the front door with painted ‘tin’ socks that I know I got in Germany.

Last year my ‘fake’ Christmas tree’s lights ‘bit the dust’. Only part of them lite up. I’ve got some strings of lights, and I could just do it ‘the old fashioned’ way, but we’ve left the tree in the basement for this year. That and a gazillion ornaments too. Again I think there is a trove of ornaments upstairs under the eves that haven’t come out.

In the dining room there is the garland over the windows, that I missed last year when I was putting away. When I realized it I decided it could stay rather than fight to put it away. Just got an early start, right?

In the den, I put up one garland on the back windows and a couple of candles on the fireplace mantle.

Right now I think there is just enough Christmas around the house.

My brother Al always said, “If some is good, and more is better, than too much is just about right.” But I think I’ll stop at ‘some’.

Ignore the pumpkin, lol

Future Self

This Month’s Prompt –

December 4 question – Let’s play a game. Imagine. Role-play. How would you describe your future writer self, your life and what it looks and feels like if you were living the dream?
Or if you are already there, what does it look and feel like? Tell the rest of us. What would you change or improve?

 

The awesome co-hosts for the December 4 posting of the IWSG are

Tonja Drecker,
Beverly Stowe McClure,
Nicki Elson,
Fundy Blue, and
Tyrean Martinson!

Honestly – I think I’m sort of in the second category. I’m retired from the ‘job’ so now my time is my own and if I don’t spend it working on writing, it is on me.

I find I’m not as disciplined about the writing as when I had limited time in the day for myself. But…I also am not ‘burning the candle at both ends’ and therefore enjoying the time I do put in writing. I do want my books (on Amazon) (shameless plug) to sell and in the past week I had what to me were great sales (under a $100, but hey…books sold).

Current me…too easy to fall down the ‘let’s check the internet’ hole. I almost wish my computer were a stand-alone. (Any of you out there remember those days?) I say that because when you don’t have it, you don’t have that distraction and yes, I’m easily distracted some days. I find I really have to be more disciplined about the time element. Somehow, when you have ‘all the time in the world’ it is easy to waste it.

I may have to do the ‘kitchen timer’ thing, where you set a timer for ‘x’ amount of time and sit down to your computer and write for that amount of time, ignoring all other calls for your attentions (short of a house fire).

Perhaps this is growing into a New Year’s Resolution?

This post seems to be full of ‘comments in quotes’, but as the PBS news segment might say, “This is my brief, but spectacular take on December 4th’s “Insecure Writer’s Support Group” question.”

Why Radio Silence in a ‘Million’ Pictures

Can you tell? Have you been here and seen this yourself? If you’re not sure here is a second shot.

The south rim of the Grand Canyon. We had rooms in mid-November at the El Tovare, in the park on the rim..

With dog. She stayed at the kennel. This was taken on the way out. To????

This is in southern Utah.

Okay, some snow on the way to Idaho.

We left a few days early from Boise due to weather conditions.

Too much snow for me to be bothered with picture taking as I was busy

1) finding a place to stay, (hole up)

2) trying to help see what the traffic was doing, (Thanks Colorado roadside cameras connected to the web!)

3) worrying we didn’t have chains or snow tires.

So a few days in Vail, at the Hilton, by the fireplace or in their lounge. Then on the third day we left with hopes of clearer roads.

Home a few days later than we planned, but home safely.

No pictures of the ‘kids’. Bad mother!

And reminder to self…don’t take a road trip in the northern states in WINTER!

Oh wait…while at the Grand Canyon I did do two small watercolors based on the pictures I took at the GC. Another post!

Upcoming Holidays

With the start of the holiday season in the US, I expect my posting to be less frequent. I’ll be back.

Reviews –

Looking at Goodreads and Amazon today I had two more reviews to read. I try to take anything written with a grain of salt. They ‘love it’ great, but I know I’m not ‘the best thing since sliced bread’ in the writing world. If they didn’t like it…I am also not the worst.

We all have our own tastes and what I like, you may not. And how I write, may drive you crazy. I don’t claim to be an English major (Science and Mathematics if you are interested), and on those achievement tests they used to give in high school in the 1970’s (now I’m dated) English was lower than my other scores. Only in the 80’s so not terrible, but not top flight.(now I’m bragging.)

The reviews this morning were very encouraging so I’m not sure how I got off on the more negative ‘feels’. One person was responding to reading Dark Queen and the other to Nightingale. And both included comments which are interesting to read along with their ratings, because comments let you know why the number, at least in that reader’s head.

I didn’t have a particular direction with this post except 1) if you read an author’s book, especially if they aren’t ‘established’ please give them feedback. It might be the only real reward they are getting out of writing. I am making a very small amount of money on each book sold, but being retired it isn’t my ‘income’ if you will. 2) We may not agree on what was written, but I would like to see it from your point of view and I’m pretty sure other authors would too.

Link to these books and others on Amazon.

First Snow

Well I picked a strange day to get my nails done. Even taking the dog to Pooches it was obvious that the weather wanted to sleet/snow/wintry mix. But husband was ready for a haircut and I really wanted to get my nails redone before I started picking at the edges and making a mess of them and the nail place is around the corner from the hair place.

No one else there as the woman opened the door for me. So immediate seating and as I know she doesn’t get paid unless someone comes in, I am glad I went.

Changed out my Halloween orange nails for slightly sparkly deep wine red. Gosh they look so pretty when they are done. This is a pleasure I started very late in life…like last year when my dil gifted me a nail spa treatment for Christmas.

So back to the weather, the temperature must have dropped about forty degrees from last night. The black gum trees in the front yard were still yellow-green yesterday. Today they are yellow tinged with orange. We’ll see what they look like tomorrow. Temperature is at 31oF. Just at freezing and it is trying.

The cat is unhappy as she wants to go out but finds it isn’t very nice outside. Maybe out the back door will be different from the front. Nope!

I brought in some wood to burn. Pull a chicken carcass left from a previous dinner out of the freezer. I sauteed carrots, celery and onion and put the carcass on top to finish thawing and put in several cups of chicken broth. It is now on low.

Meanwhile as I hunted for the chicken I found a bag of scones I had frozen as the recipe makes too many for me to eat and I obviously didn’t take the extras to the neighbors on that bake. So I am enjoying a glass of iced tea and a couple of scones. I’ll light a fire in a little while and sit and knit on socks.

Hubby announced the temperature just dropped to 30oF. You’ve got to love those remote thermometers. Don’t even have to get up from the desk to read it, let alone go outside.

Meanwhile the cat is trying to amuse herself as she has now tried the front and back doors and darn the weather is the same at both. Nothing like a bored cat to start tearing around the house. “Change of plans,” she says, “I’ll just sit on your desk and watch the cursor move around your computer screen.”

And if you don’t have snow and would like some ‘virtual’ snow, try this site. You ‘cut’ your own and they add it to the ones cut by other people worldwide. It is incredibly fun. Make your own blizzard.

I can’t figure out how to download my snowflake, so I’ll leave you with a photo of a real one. (not my photo)

Strange but True

November 6 question – What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever googled in researching a story?
The awesome co-hosts for the November 6 posting of the IWSG are Sadira Stone,Patricia Josephine,Lisa Buie-Collard,Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie!

Cholera in London 1831.

I some how came across a reference to a Dr. W. B. O’Shaughnessy who treated cholera patients in 1831 by saline injections. I had a story, Laurel, set in that time period in which the female protagonist masquerading as male comes down with cholera during the London epidemic and her friends (medical students) try O’Shaughnessy’s treatment in an attempt to save her life and therefore also discover she is female.

I had one reviewer who found the masquerade premise a bit of a stretch. In the process of looking up the time period, I also found several articles about women posing as men only to be discovered after they were dead. I, as a woman living in even these more ‘enlightened’ times, don’t wonder why women might pose as men. The reviewer was apparently willing to accept the injection of a questionable solution as acceptable, but a female pretending to be male, nope.

Any rate, sometimes we fall down rabbit holes on the Internet and sometimes it is productive.

If you are interested in reading more.

Cholera comes to Britain.

O’Shaughnessy’s technique

Who knows where a rabbit hole may lead.

A couple of more notes/comments. It was during a later cholera epidemic in London that John Snow began a ‘statistical’ study of where cholera was occurring that led to the understand of how cholera was transmitted…in the water contaminated by ‘latrines’ built too close to wells used for drinking water or water taken from the Thames, where it flowed through London, as sewage was washed into the river at that time. Water taken from the Thames upstream did not cause cholera. How cholera was transmitted was not a question anyone in the story pursues as it would not have had an answer at the time. I worked in Laurel drinking some ‘very watered-down ale’ at a cheap dive, and leave it at that.

Fun makes a comment on diseased water supply.

18 August 1866

Well I guess this was hardly a cheerful post.

Internet Gems

I confess I spend too much time during the day looking at other websites. Some are blogs, some tumblr sites and facebook. But sometimes you find a gem in the dishwater. Here is today’s gem in my estimation.

“In [fairy tales], power is rarely the right tool for survival anyway. Rather the powerless thrive on alliances, often in the form of reciprocated acts of kindness – from beehives that were not raided, birds that were not killed but set free or fed, old women who were saluted with respect. Kindness sown among the meek is harvested in crisis”

— Rebecca Solnit, The Faraway Nearby. (via wraithlings)

Isn’t this true if you think back to childhood fairytales? Although a few of the characters have to learn the kindness before they get their reward, those that are kind gain powerful allies.

It seems like something we still need to learn. Treat people with kindness and respect…you don’t know if they are a fairy or witch in disguise, or someone who might help you in the future even if you can’t possibly see how that might be. That is a mercenary view, perhaps, but then what can it hurt you to be kind? Love that old ‘What goes around, comes around.”

So like Androcles, take the thorn out of the lion you meet on your way. It might never pay off, and Androcles did not do it for payment, but you never know.

If that seems a little mercenary perhaps you can think of it as, ‘what you practice is what you become’. You want to be a nicer person, you have to practice being nicer. And isn’t being kind/nice, as a choice, a powerful thing?

Nightingale

There have been two new reviews of “Nightingale” on Amazon, both favorable which delights an author.

Sweet romance. Rose is just delightful. and A wonderful storyline about a girl who’s life changes

Some stories I’ve written have a dark side to them, but Nightingale isn’t one of them. It is pretty much a straight forward story of a young girl trying to make an honest way in a world that keeps changing on her.

Rose does have a ‘fairy godmother’ or rather a few mothers and fathers. There is the old couple who would have taken her in after her father died leaving her penniless, the young man on the ride down to London who searches for her in London, the gentleman at the job market, the butler and his wife at her new employment, and even her boss’s aunt play a role in her new life .

Rose is not without skills. She is a cheerful, hard worker with a heart of gold and a voice of a nightingale. The last both helps her and creates the conflict.

But it is Rose who shines in each opportunity and leaves you hoping it will all turn out right for her.

You can find a copy at Amazon, free at the moment. And if you read it and like it, (or I guess even if you don’t) would you be kind enough to leave a review? Thanks.