Tuesday 31 December 2013

The Daily Maze

Word of the day

Hogmanay – New Year’s Eve in Scotland.  See also ‘first foot’ – the first person to enter a household in the New Year.  By Hogmanay tradition a dark-haired person who crosses the threshold at midnight brings good luck. 

(From Collins English Dictionary 1984)

The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come - Val

Dickens’ ‘Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come’ had a sole purpose – to show Scrooge how people would react to the news of his death if he continued through life with his selfish, miserly ways.  Scrooge took note and amended his behaviour.  I don’t blame him, because if Death appeared at my bedside one night in his black, hooded cloak, pointing his skeletal finger, I think I’d be willing to listen!

Joking apart though, it makes me think about the fact that, sometimes, we need to be open to other ideas and be willing to change.  It seems that if we only ever do what we’ve always done, we’ll only ever get what we’ve always got.  We should try to stretch, to explore and to challenge ourselves, and as a result, celebrate the growth those challenges bring.  Every New Year, people make resolutions.  They might resolve to do something new, or try to kick an old habit...or whatever.  Some might stick with their resolutions, some will break them, and some might never even start.  The value here is in the doing though, not in the thinking or saying.  So, if you decide to do something differently, try to stick with it, and see how life changes.

Dori and I will be challenging ourselves this year (see tomorrow’s post), and we’ll do our best to stick to those challenges, documenting them along the way.  You are most welcome to share your challenges with us in the comments section, if you’d like to.  Perhaps, like a problem, a challenge shared is a challenge halved?

Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come - Dori

In Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, in the "Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come", Scrooge is faced with seeing what it would be like if he didn't change his ways and live a different life. Change is inevitable and sometimes it's just what we need in our lives.

As we're coming to the end of 2013, I can't help but think about the changes that I want to perhaps make in my own life. I think it's in our makeup to see if we can improve in some way and for me it often comes when we start a new year.

I've done a lot in 2013, but there is always more to pursue in the new year ahead. So it will be interesting to see how it all goes as we go forward. I'm always excited to see what's ahead, but I try to keep myself in the present moment as much as I can.

Here's to change and what it may or may not bring in 2014!

Sunday 29 December 2013

The Daily Maze

On this day in 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was assassinated in Canterbury Cathedral, by followers of Henry II.

(From: http://www.historyorb.com/events/december/29)

Friday 27 December 2013

The Daily Maze

On this day in 1831, Charles Darwin set out on a voyage to the Pacific aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin's discoveries during the voyage helped him form the basis of his theories on evolution.

(From: http://www.on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/dec27.htm.)

Thursday 26 December 2013

The Daily Maze

Boxing day (also known as the Feast of St Stephen) – the day when employees would receive their Christmas box or gift from their employers.  Also a day when the poor would receive church alms from the church collection box, raised through parishioners’ donations.

(from: http://www.factmonster.com/spot/boxingday1.html)

Wednesday 25 December 2013

Merry Christmas

SEASON'S GREETINGS
 
FROM
VAL AND DORI
 
 


Video courtesy of The Piano Guys ~ "Angels We Have Heard on High"

The Daily Maze

Word of the day

‘Noel’ – 1. another word for Christmas, especially as a refrain in carols and on Christmas cards.

             2. a Christmas carol.

(from the Latin natalis meaning ‘a birthday’

Tuesday 24 December 2013

The Daily Maze

Word of the day

‘wassail’ – 1. spiced ale or mulled wine drunk during celebrations for Twelfth Night and Christmas Eve.
                 
2. lively and noisy festivities involving the drinking of plentiful amounts of alcohol; revelry.
     
3. to drink plentiful amounts of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way.

4. [with object]  historical (in SW England) drink to (fruit trees, typically apple trees) in a custom intended to ensure a fruitful crop: it is the custom, in the cider districts of Sussex, to wassail the apple trees.

5. to go from house to house at Christmas singing carols.
(from Old Norse ves heill meaning ‘be in good health’)

Monday 23 December 2013

The Daily Maze

Word of the day
(from Collins English dictionary 1984)

‘carol’ – 1. a joyful hymn or religious song, especially one (a Christmas carol) celebrating the birth of Christ.

                2. (archaic) an old English circular dance.

                3. to sing carols at Christmas

                4. to sing something in a joyful manner

Sanctuary - Self

This Christmas season, I’m going to relax.  For the first time in four years, I don’t have to think about study or essay deadlines, and it’s going to be great.  I’m looking forward to spending quality time with my family and friends, catching up on films, TV and reading, and designing some new knitwear pieces.  I’m going to allow myself the time to appreciate how lucky I am.

I am fully aware, though, that the shadow side of Christmas can mean financial and family stress, and can amplify feelings of loss or loneliness for some.  I know something of loss because early this year my father passed away, having been in the grip of worsening dementia and heart disease for some time.  We lost him years ago, really – he became a lonely, and confused soul, and I miss him.  So, it means that this year there will be an empty chair at my mother’s house...  Something we’ve not dealt with before, and it’s heartbreaking, despite the festivity.

Every year at Christmas, we have a friend come and stay with us who might otherwise be lonely.  He’s expected now, almost part of the furniture (in a comfortable way!) and we think of him as part of our family.  It feels good to share what you have with someone else, even if you think you don’t have much to share.  Company, especially at this time of year, means so much more than material things.  Another friend of mine, who would be completely alone, has been invited to share Christmas with some kind friends of hers, which is wonderful.  During the last century, Norman MacEwan said, ‘Happiness is not so much in having as sharing.  We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’  Perhaps you have something you can share with someone this Christmas... 

Sanctuary - Health

Christmas can be a time of indulgence, when we can ‘eat, drink and be merry’, but we can be left feeling pretty grotty through over-eating and drinking.  Remember Dawn French in one of the Christmas episodes of The Vicar of Dibley?  You know, the one where she visits everyone from the parish council for Christmas lunch because she hasn’t the heart to turn them down?  Mmmm...  I love that episode, but I don’t want to feel remotely like that after my Christmas lunch (and I did last year), so here’s my plan for a slightly healthier version (note the slightly!), and of course, cutting down those portion sizes matters here too.

Roast potatoes and parsnips:  I’ll use King Edward potatoes, parboiled (with the parsnips) with a pinch of salt and then roasted in olive oil with some freshly ground black pepper.  For the last couple of years I’ve experimented with duck and goose fat, with sunflower oil and with lard, but for me, olive oil works best because the ‘roasties’ develop a fabulous crunch and golden brown colour, and they are a little healthier!

I’ll have plenty of steamed veg – carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and mashed swede – as well as the seasonal spiced red cabbage, and the Brussels sprouts cooked with diced pancetta (okay – I know, that bit’s not particularly ‘healthy’, but it’s delicious).

I won’t be eating any turkey skin, but I will have some stuffing and a bacon-wrapped sausage (again, not healthy, but lovely!).

If there’s room for dessert, I’ll either have a small piece of Christmas pudding (made the evening before so it’s lighter than the traditional ones) or homemade cranberry steamed pudding, or even a cranberry and apple pie with custard or cream...

Mmmm...  Doesn’t sound that ‘healthy’ really, does it?  So, after an hour or so, a walk in the woods with the dogs will sort everything out!
 

Sanctuary - Across the Miles

I'm very far away from home. I live here in England and this is home but I have another home too back in the States. I'm a long way from there and at this time of the year I know I'm not alone in feeling a little sad because I can't see my loved ones back home. This is the plight of expats like myself, but it's also similar to those who find themselves unable to get home for whatever reason.

I received a Christmas card from my brother the other day and it made me feel that love across the miles. I don't get to see my brother much at all right now. I see my sisters on Skype fairly regularly, but it's been a long while since I've seen my brother. So it was so nice to see his familiar handwriting on the envelope. It was good for the soul.

Christmas is an amazing time of the year! Magic seems to happen and sometimes magic is simply having a wonderful little surprise like a card from a big brother....Merry Christmas!

Sunday 22 December 2013

The Daily Maze

On this day in 1882, the first string of Christmas tree lights was created by Thomas Edison.

(from: http://www.historyorb.com/day/december/22)

Saturday 21 December 2013

The Daily Maze

Word of the day
(from Collins English dictionary 1984)

‘solstice’ – 1. either the shortest day of the year (winter solstice), marking the beginning of the astronomical winter, or the longest day of the year (summer solstice), marking the beginning of the astronomical summer.

                    2. either of the two points on the ecliptic at which the sun is overhead at the tropic of Cancer or Capricorn at the summer and winter solstices.
(from the Latin solstitium meaning literally ‘the (apparent) standing still of the sun’)

The Ghost of Christmas Present - Val

It’s pretty unbelievable how quickly Christmas has come around this year.  Does that sound familiar to you?  Yes?  I know – I seem to find myself saying something similar every year.  But, this year in particular, Christmas has turned up on my doorstep like an unexpected visitor with a huge suitcase, a massive smile, and oh crikey, with wide open arms that are ready to suck me into his enormous embrace.  I’m embarrassed, but I force a smile, walk willingly into his arms and hug him back, wishing I was more organised and I’d made the time to tidy the house yesterday!

Oh well...  There’s no such thing as perfection, I suppose.  Perhaps, if I am a good enough hostess, he won’t notice the dusty corners and the dog hairs I can never seem to get out of the carpet.  He’ll just enjoy the company and the fun, laughter and love that fill this house when we’re all together.  I wonder if he plays Poker?

The Ghost of Christmas Present - Dori

Well another Christmas Day is quickly approaching and it's unbelievable that it's here once again so quickly. Time does indeed fly. Where does the time go? A lot of people that I know are like me...they aren't quite 'ready' for Christmas, but no matter what we all do it's coming anyway. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited for it to come, but I just wish that I was more prepared. But then you can't prepare for everything. Sometimes you just have to let go and go with the flow. So that's what I'm gonna do this Christmas. The day will come and I'll just let it wash over me.

Friday 20 December 2013

The Daily Maze

Word of the day (from Collins English dictionary 1984)

‘Yule’ – Christmas, the Christmas season or Christmas festivities - in combination ‘Yuletide’.
(Old English geola originally a name of a pagan feast lasting 12 days; related to Old Norse jol, Swedish jul, Gothic jiuleis)

The Ghost of Christmas Past - Dori

My memories of Christmas take me instantly back to my childhood.  A time when all seemed perfect on Christmas morning. We didn't have much, but my parents always made sure that I had enough. They made sure of that for all of their children. That's what parents do. Those memories of Christmas during my childhood will stay with me forever.

As an adult, I have memories of good Christmases also, most especially these past few years since I've lived here in England away from what I knew before. I've had to make new traditions in my own home and it's been a joy to create new memories.

The Ghost of Christmas Past - Val

Take a moment to think back to your childhood.  What did Christmas mean to you?  What do you remember most about it?

For me it was magical; a time ripe with excitement from the build up to Christmas at school with carol services, card making for mums and dads and the usual primary school Christmas play where we’d all parade across the stage wearing tea towels in one form or another.  Great times!  I remember the sheer joy of putting up the Christmas decorations at home and dressing the tree with streams of tinsel and glitzy baubles of all shapes and sizes.  There were always foil-wrapped chocolates to hang on random branches, and when you finally got to pull one off to eat, tiny strips of tree foliage would come with it (It’s funny what you remember!).  Gradually, over the years, the tree got balder and balder.  Then there were the paper chains Mum or Dad would buy – thin strips of assorted brightly coloured paper with glued ends you’d lick and stick, one chain through the other, into great multi-coloured snakes we could suspend from the ceiling.  I absolutely loved them, despite the gluey taste, and living in London, we’d always take a walk along Oxford Street to look at the Christmas window displays in the big department stores, which to me were fabulous.  All of this, and then the anticipation of what Father Christmas might bring... 

Thursday 19 December 2013

The Daily Maze

On this day in 1843, Charles Dickens’ novel, A Christmas Carol, was published by Chapman and Hall.

(from: http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2009/dec/22/christmas-carol-flop-dickens)

Wednesday 18 December 2013

The Daily Maze

Word of the day

‘festive’ – 1. relating to a festival, especially Christmas.
                  2. cheerful and jovially celebratory.

(from the Latin festivus, from festum, (plural) festa meaning 'feast')

Tuesday 17 December 2013

The Daily Maze

Word of the day

‘recipe’ – 1. a set of instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of the ingredients required.   2. something which is likely to lead to a particular outcome.
 (from the Latin recipere meaning to receive)

Seasonal Recipe - Apple, Cranberry and Mincemeat Tarts

Ingredients:

1 large Bramley apple (peeled & cored, mine weighed aprox. 250g)
100g fresh, washed cranberries
100g soft brown sugar
1 large knob of butter
Cinnamon, to taste (I used about a quarter of a teaspoon)
1 pack ready rolled shortcrust pastry (I know, that’s cheating...)
Mincemeat (I used Robertson’s Classic)
Icing sugar to dust

 
Method:

Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a large frying pan, and turn off heat. Peel, core and chop the apple into chunks about twice the size of a cranberry, and place in the pan with the butter. Wash the cranberries, and drain and place them in the pan with the apple. Add the sugar and cinnamon and cook over a gentle heat until the apple and cranberries have softened.

Seasonal Recipe - Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 cups vegetable oil  (1 cup = 8 fl. ounces)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour / plain flour
⅛ teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon   baking soda / bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon white vinegar

For  the frosting:
8 ounce package of cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick of butter, softened (1 stick = 4 ounces)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups confectioner's sugar / icing sugar
1 tablespoon of milk

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 180 Celsius

In a mixer, combine the vegetable oil, sugar and eggs until creamy. In a separate small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and the food coloring and stir. Once you have a thick paste, add it to the mixer.

Monday 16 December 2013

The Daily Maze

Word of the Day

‘Labyrinthus’ is the Latin term for labyrinth, from the Greek laburinthos (from Collins English dictionary 1984)

***
‘labyrinth’ – 1. a complicated or irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze.   2. an intricate and confusing arrangement.

***
The Labyrinth, in Greek myth, was a huge maze constructed for King Minos in Crete by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur.

Sunday 15 December 2013

Welcome From Val

Forgive the clichĂ©, but here is the truth.  This summer I reached a point in my life where I was standing at a metaphorical crossroads, having trouble deciding which path to take.  There were no handy road signs and they don’t draw maps for this sort of dilemma.  I knew a Sat Nav couldn’t direct me when I didn’t know my destination.  There wasn’t even a Hansel and Gretel trail of breadcrumbs to follow, which I could quite rightly expect after four years of studying Literature!  There was nothing.  Just me...and the crossroads...and Robert Frost’s poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’.  Then, of course, there was my own fear of making the wrong choice, because unless we travel all available paths, how do we know which is right?  I felt I couldn’t afford to make the wrong choice.  But, therein lies a positive:  At least I had a choice, and it seems that how we respond to the events our choices trigger is what makes us individually human.

Hello From Dori

I am at a point in my life where I am wanting more from it and recently I've found myself floundering. I finished my university degree about three months ago and I thought that that would set me upon a course to other things in life, but it hasn't worked out that way. I didn't expect the world to stretch out a red carpet before me at all. I just thought that I would seize the moment better and get started with the next chapter of my life. But this has not happened.

When I think about what I want from my life, many things come to mind but not enough of them stick in order for me to make a real plan. The truth of the matter is that I want a life less ordinary. If I can be so bold, I'd say I want an extraordinary life. I don't mean a life of fame or anything like that...I mean a life where I'm truly alive and taking all of the experiences that I encounter with an open heart.