ARE YOU READY?

For a new year, of course!

While you're waiting to turn your calendar page to January 1, here's something to ponder?

--What is your personal new year?

Many people go along with January 1st--simpler, in a way--but they personally believe their new year starts somewhere else.

Mine--as I've told you many times--is in early September, when school starts. (Or when it used to start back in the day.)

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Until next time, have a good week--give thanks for the year past, look forward to a better year ahead. Be kind, tell others you appreciate them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR (WHENEVER IT IS FOR YOU)!

Thursday's Child

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. Hal Borland

 DECEMBER 23RD

It all started nearly sixty years ago, when we lived in Ann Arbor and I listened to Bud Guest's radio program on WJR out of Detroit. Each year as Christmas approached, Bud told us about his family's tradition of trimming the Christmas tree on December 23rd. Theirs was a grand occasion, for family, friends, and neighbors. The magic and joy that came through his radio show found a way to my heart. And several years later, when our little family was settled into a big house--old and not at all grand, but definitely a family house--we established our own tradition of trimming the tree on December 23rd.

The reason for December 23rd? A couple of things. First, we avoided Christmas Eve, when many families had big dinners or went to church programs. Second, we waited till close to Christmas Day so that the live tree would be healthy throughout the twelve days of Christmas, from December 26th through January 6th (also known as Twelfth Night or Epiphany).

Our first time we had only two guests, but later, when we moved to the country and had a  rambling farmhouse--also an old house and still not grand--we introduced more friends to our tradition.

We began the evening with food, always a good start. The menu ran something like this:

--Beef Fondue--little chunks of tenderloin speared on the fondue forks and cooked in bubbling oil

--Cheese Fondue--chunks of French bread speared on the forks and dipped in a pot of piping hot cheese sauce (made with gruyere cheese and white wine)

--Green Salad--served with homemade oil and vinegar dressing

--Red and White Wine, sparkling grape juice

After dinner, we adjourned to the living room. The men went out to haul in the tree, usually a seven- or eight-footer (we had ten-foot ceilings in those days). And then the fun began!

No matter how carefully the decorations for the tree had been stored away the year before, there was always a string of something or other in a mess--often it was gilded walnut shell halves, glued back together over a long string holding twenty or more shells. Sometimes it was the lights that managed to get themselves tangled up. While guests worked out the details, I played carols on the upright piano so we could sing as we worked.

Eventually the tree was decorated! We celebrated that feat with a tray of baked goods one of the guests brought each year--Christmas cookies he baked himself, along with slices of his fruit cake that had been started around Thanksgiving and fed brandy off and on ever since. Some guests continued with wine. Others drank the coffee pot dry. 

Gifts were exchanged--everything from handmade needlework to the latest big book, or maybe a little excellent book. We were an eclectic group, but everyone was interested in reading and learning and talking about ideas.

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Like many traditions, the tree-trimming party changed as the years passed. Our children grew up, married, had their own children. The group dynamics changed rapidly. Eventually there wasn't room in my home for that many people, especially if we were going to bring in a big tree and decorate it. And then each of the children had a home and small children, and each young family wanted to establish its own traditions. 

I still honor December 23rd, and I still think of it as Tree-Trimming Day. For several years I've had an artificial tree because it was what I could handle on my own. As the years pass, my tree grows smaller, and this year my daughter and I will lightly decorate two tiny pencil trees, each about 30 inches tall. The magic is there, no matter the size of the tree(s).

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What is important about traditions? Lots of answers to that one. For me, a tradition links me to something in my earlier life that had deep meaning for me.

Decorating a tree or two brings back memories of tree-trimming dinners with friends whom I no longer see.

When I listen to Handel's Messiah from some choral group around the world, I recall singing with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Choir; we performed Messiah every other year.

If the weather cooperates this year, I'll go to church on Christmas Day and hear again the age-old stories, sing the familiar carols, and greet friends I've not seen much during our years of pandemic. And I'll feel again the joy of making music when I was church organist at three small congregations in my county.

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Do you have Christmas traditions? I hope you do. I hope you continue to enjoy them even though our global village is suffering through a number of problems. 

And I wish every one of you a Happy Christmas, and a healthy and happy new year.

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

OVERWHELM!

 Verb--second definition: SUBMERGE

Are we there yet? On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm about a 4, or maybe a 5. Some things going well, some rolling along on Fred Flintstone's square wheels. But going forward!

To help you in your own journey through a possible slough of Overwhelm, here's a gift. Easy to make, tasty, good enough to serve to guests. Reheats well in microwave. Even freezes well. What's not to like?

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SPINACH PIE - NO CRUST 

(Approximately 8 servings)

Ingredients

10-ounce pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

12-ounce container small curd cottage cheese

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded cheese (your fave)

2 eggs, slightly beaten (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)

1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)

1 1/2 Tbsp. flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 deg. Fahrenheit. Lightly grease glass baking dish, about 7x11 inches. (See below for other options.)

2. In large bowl, mix all ingredients. Spread in the greased baking dish (or other option).

3. Bake 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.

Alternate Baking Options

Bake in foil muffin liners, sprayed with oil. 18-22 minutes. Makes about 12.

OR, bake in mini muffin liners, also sprayed with oil, about 10 minutes. Makes 30-36.

This would be good for Christmas morning breakfast, if you make it ahead of time.

Spinach Pie is great served as a luncheon dish with fresh veggies and a bread or muffin.

IMPORTANT - be sure you squeeze all the moisture out of the spinach--use your hands and really work at it. Paper towels work also, but you'll have chopped spinach sticking to the towel, so be aware of that.

The 1 1/2 tablespoons of flour help soak up any moisture you couldn't remove; just don't rely on it to do all the work. You want your spinach pie to solidify.

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SPECIAL THANKS to my Arizona daughter for sharing this recipe with me several years ago. She got it from a work colleague, so the origin is unknown. Our family has eaten Spinach Pie together many times!

If you're trying to keep it simple, buy a muffin mix to bake up ahead of time also. Or those yummy cinnamon rolls in the freezer section of your store--the kind you tap (or whap) on the edge of the counter to open, then spread in a pan and bake.

And if you're gluten-free like some of us in my family, substitute GF flour in the pie and make your own muffins. Options are everywhere!

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See you next week . . .hope we all stay afloat!

Thursday's Child

INSPIRING THOUGHTS

Along about now, mid-December, I get a little off the path. Not in a good way--looking at new things, exploring different terrain--no, this is closer to losing my direction. Shouldn't happen, but it does.

First I notice my journal is going over and over the same territory--a little whine here, a criticism there, some self-pity around the edges--and I end my writing session wondering why I bother. 

Later I watch some tutorials online--painting, quilting, sewing--and that often gets me out of the doldrums. If it doesn't . . . then something drastic has to be done.

In my writing room I have a number of inspirational sayings on the walls and in frames sitting on the short filing cabinet. Here's one of my favorites:

     There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle,

      or the mirror that reflects it.

                            Edith Wharton (American author 1862-1937)

Edith Wharton was the first woman to receive the Pulitzer prize in 1921 for her novel Age of Innocence.

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Today I want to share inspirational thoughts from a variety of folks. If you need a lift, take one of these.

Ben Okri, born 1959, is a Nigerian poet and novelist.

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Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) was dubbed the "First Lady of Song." Known as a singer of American jazz.

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Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish novelist. Many know him as the author of Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

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Morgan Freeman (1937--); American actor, director, and narrator.

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Don't know about you, but I feel better just writing about these folks.

Have a good week!

Blessings,

Thursday's Child

ARE YOU UP FOR A GAME?

As you've no doubt gathered, I'm a word person--I like words. I collect words. I use them when I speak and write and think. Of all the possibles, words are very likely the basis of my existence.

Other people are number people. They think them, they live them--words are much lower on the scale of existence for number people.

I understand about numbers--about, I said, not, I understand numbers. My understanding is quite basic, learned by fifth grade: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division (long and short). I also know about decimals and fractions. As I say, by fifth grade I knew all that. (Yes, I took math in high school and college, but not much of that stayed with me. It went off and hooked up with a numbers person for its happiness.)

So! Back to words.

We're starting a new month, and already today we're on Day 2. (See? Can't get away from numbers.)

I propose a game--activity--to accompany us through this last, and nearly blackout-dark month of the year, until we can start writing 2022 on our checks. Are you up for it?

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I like simplicity. So this is a very simple game. Only a couple of rules:

1--choose a new word each day--long, short, whatever part of speech--but just one word. FYI: a hyphenated word is considered one word. 

2--think or write about or just meditate on your chosen word for that day. See how many times it comes up for you--words have a habit of doing that; once they're in your head, they're like those ear-worm songs that won't go away.

That's it! No need to keep a record. No need to tell anyone what you're doing. (Unless you want to share the game with someone else; but remember, it's a one-person game. No competition.) No prizes or awards, except whatever fun you get out of doing the game.

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Some examples:

If you like nouns, you have a whole world of choices: dog, cat, candy, pizza, tree, presents, ribbons, money, truck, happiness, anticipation . . . you name it. 

The nouns may spawn a few more: mess, expense, greed, disappointment, joy, excitement . . . .

Your choices will come from your life and your imagination. Have a go! Might lighten your day.

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Now, for you numbers folks:

--there are 31 days in this last month of the year. How about working with each day's number?

--does the number 2 ring a bell for you? Or 7? Or 19? Think about each day and its number, what it means, if anything; or if it means nothing, make up a meaning for it.

--do you prefer even or odd numbers? Do you have favorite numbers? Or lucky numbers?

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For all of you--word or number people--by the time you get to the 21st day of the month, you'll be past the shortest daylight day of the year, and it's all up from there.

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Q&A:

What if I miss a day? You missed an opportunity to play. Start again the next day.

What if I don't want to play? Go do something else--wash the dog, shop in a busy store at rush hour, eat something really bad for you.

Why are there no prizes? Because they're not good for you. If you only play to win a prize, what have you learned? Probably only how to play to win that prize.

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Start when you're ready . . . the fun is about to begin.

Winter Solstice