Never say never

Well, 2023 has come and gone and here we are in 2024. It was a good year for us with travel and new and old things to keep us entertained. We are fortunate in our friendships and we just returned from a wonderful visit with relatives in Vancouver.

While I was there I made an interesting discovery. There aren’t many foods that I don’t like but brussel sprouts is pretty high up on the list. I’ve always found them bitter and I ate them if I could completely cover the taste with something else. Since folks generally serve brussel sprouts with turkey dinners, I found gravy and cranberry sauce did a good job of masking the taste. When my cousin suggested we have brussel sprouts one night for dinner I said they weren’t really my favourite. She told me she hadn’t liked them either if they were boiled but they were good roasted and I should try some.

I was willing to give them another try. Turns out she was right. I enjoyed them and even went back for a second helping. I’m always on the lookout for ways to increase the cruciferous veggies in my diet and I was pleased to have found a way to cook the sprouts that were not only palatable but delicious. When we got home and Richard did the first grocery shopping of the year, he bought a bag of brussel sprouts. He cooked them up as instructed and again, they were delicious. From now on I’ll be looking for them in the grocery store and whenever I see them, I’ll buy them. I’m not sure why adding brussel sprouts to my diet delights me but it does. Maybe it’s knowing that long standing tastes can change for the better or maybe it’s one of those very small things that I’ll be looking for and savouring in 2024.

The second thing that falls under the ‘never say never’ category isn’t quite as positive. I remember when I first taught high school we went cross country skiing almost every weekend during the winter. We also skied after school in the parks and golf courses around Calgary. There was always abundant snow and it was easy to get out for an hour or two. I haven’t had the motivation to get out on snowshoes or cross country skis for years now but that’s a different issue.

We flew home from Vancouver on New Year’s Eve and drove directly to our friends’ house for snacks and fireworks. They very kindly invited us to share the evening with them understanding that we would have very little food in the house. They live in a lake community on the south side of town and the community puts on a fireworks display on New Year’s Eve. We thought about going to the lake to watch but then decided to stay inside and watch the fireworks from the kitchen window instead. The fireworks display was short and beautiful. We didn’t have to go anywhere; we simply stood at the window with the lights off in the warm kitchen and watched. Now, that’s my kind of fireworks!

Not being as young as we used to be, and feeling no compulsion to stay around until the stroke of midnight, we left for home around 10:30. We walked out of the house and into the rain. Yes, RAIN! This is Calgary. It’s December 31 and, regardless of how lovely warmer temperatures feel, it just shouldn’t rain in the winter here! It wasn’t just a case of ‘can’t make up my mind to rain or snow’ either: it was a hard pounding rain. It should be cold and snowy at this time of year. Cold kills pine beetles and other creatures that we haven’t had to worry about at this latitude before. Snow lands on the glaciers and in the mountains and fills up our rivers in the spring. While I don’t particularly enjoy freezing my butt off, I don’t have to go to work and can get what I need when the weather warms slightly or when it’s not dumping snow. I couldn’t help but think that this coming summer we will, again, have a serious and prolonged forest fire season. Our snowiest month is usually March so there’s still time to replenish some of that ice and water in the mountains. I wouldn’t mind getting some of that snow now.

Anyway, the world bumbles along as do I. The sun is shining in an almost cloudless sky and the temperature is slightly below freezing. Odie is sitting beside me on his perch, head tucked into his back feathers having a nap and my tea cup is empty. Odie probably deserves his own post but that’s for later. Right now it’s time to make another cup of tea and smile at the memory of brussel sprouts and fireworks. In 2024 I’ll be savouring little nuggets such as these. May you also find small things each day that make you smile.

Christmas Eve 2014

I can't believe that it's Christmas Eve again.  Christmas seems to creep up just a little faster every year.  Despite that,  I have all the presents wrapped and under the tree. I think this may be the first time ever.  Usually I'm  wrapping presents after the late Christmas Eve service.  Last year I was still making Christmas presents and arranging IOU's for some people whose gifts weren't finished until after Christmas.

Maybe part of the reason I'm ahead this year is that I took part in three Christmas craft fairs starting in early November.  I had to have things finished in order to sell.  The craft fairs were fun, largely because of the other vendors I met.  I had a great conversation with one guy who is a student and makes a bit of extra money turning pens all year and selling them during the Christmas season. He says he doesn't make enough to offset his school fees but at least it offsets the amount he spends on materials and pen-making supplies.

I understand exactly what he means. I'm extremely grateful that I don't have to pay the electric bill with the proceeds from my woodworking.  The fairs were still worth it for two reasons: I did make a bit of money to offset production costs and I was able to move some of what I made out of the house. If you do any kind of craft there comes a point when you need an outlet otherwise the work just piles up around your ears. Some of the things I thought would sell well didn't and some of the things I wasn't sure about sold out. Perhaps with experience I will get better at discerning which is which. In the meantime, the things that didn't sell will give me a start on stock for next year.

Most of my sales were to friends and some people bought things out of the blue. One woman contacted me through my website saying she was unable to get to one of the fairs and wondered if I had any ornaments left.  I did and, as I was out and about the next day anyway, I delivered them to her at work.  She told me she would be sending them to family in Nova Scotia. I'm delighted that some of my work will be making the trip part way across Canada.

Some people want cooking spoons made from our green ash tree that was cut down in early November.  They are willing to wait until after Christmas for their orders and I'll be starting on those once the turkey soup is made and the wrapping paper tidied up.  I've been out of the shop for several days now and I miss it.  It will be no hardship to get started on the next batch of projects,  some for others and for us.

The lead-up to Christmas has been a great deal of fun.  We've had time to visit with friends and attend parties for the various musical groups we belong to. For the first time we shared a Chanukah dinner with friends and it is one of the highlights of this season.  Christmas Day will be quiet and relaxed. Richard's brother is with us tonight and Richard's dad will join the three of us for dinner tomorrow. We're cooking a turkey roll rather than a whole bird but there should still be enough left over to make soup on Boxing Day. That's almost as good as the Christmas dinner.

At this time of year I'm prompted to consider all the people who make our lives so rich.  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Chanukah or the winter solstice, whether your gatherings are with family or friends, whether your celebrations are large and noisy or small and quiet, I wish you much love and laugher.  Thank you for being part of my circle. Good wishes and good times are among the most precious of gifts. All the best tonight, tomorrow and throughout 2015.

Just another Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve once again.  Christmas seems to be coming around faster each year. Anyone else notice that? Christmas is a time when I slow down a bit and think of all the people who are important in my life. I appreciate those of you who constantly encourage me to keep at this blog irregular as it is. Thanks for reading it and letting me know that what I say is worth saying.

To those of you who get an ear-full every so often. Thanks for listening to me. I live my life with my mouth open and can't imagine how I'd survive without your ears. To those of you with whom I laugh, I hope we will always be able to find amusement in life.

To those of you who teach me music, thank you for your patience with my stubborn fingers and my brain that is slow to memorize.

To those of you with whom I sing, thanks for making music with me and for steering me in the right direction when I get totally off the track, either note-wise or with the order of things. 

Some of the earliest Christmases I remember include singing. My grandfather had a grand piano in his living room.  He didn't play but it was his dream to own a grand piano.  My mother played Christmas carols and I sat beside her on the piano bench and sang.  At later Christmases, after I joined the junior choir, I remember walking through the snowy night to the church carrying my choir gown which was white with a giant maroon bow.  I thought it was the coolest thing ever.  The junior choir led the processional from the basement, where we got organized, up the stairs and into the sanctuary. The processional hymn was always "Once in Royal David's City."  There was no sermon on Christmas Eve.  The minister's wife told a story instead.  Later I learned that the minister's wife used to start looking for stories at the beginning of January.  I don't remember any specific plot-line but there was a sense of magic that came to a climax with the dimming of the lights and the singing of "Silent Night."

When I was in grade 8 I had music vocal from Marilyn Perkins and singing became even more important to me.  By that time there was quite a gap between what Marilyn was teaching us in school and what the choir leader at church was expecting.  As soon as I could persuade my dad to let me,  I stopped going to St. Matthew's United Church and began going to Scarboro United where Marilyn was the choir leader. I began attending the late service on Christmas Eve at Scarboro.  It was a communion service and I have a strong image of my parents walking up the aisle to take communion standing side by side while I watched from the choir. By that time things were pretty chilly between them but for that moment the chill was gone.

When I worked in Banff I missed a year of singing in the church choir but I drove home Christmas Eve before nightfall and was in the pew for the late service.  I was in the pews rather than the choir loft on one other Christmas Eve when I had such a bad cold I could hardly talk.

Since Richard and I have been married, we have always been in the choir loft on Christmas Eve. When we have traveled at Christmas, which hasn't been often, we have chosen to fly on Christmas Day rather than miss the late service. In a few hours we will, once again, sit in the loft and sing and, as I look out at the families who have come together tonight, I will think of  my friends and family: those I see often, those I see seldom, those whom I have rediscovered after many years, those who have known me for decades, those who have become friends more recently and those who are here in body no longer. I will think of Marilyn who gave the gift of music to so many, and of my mother who played the piano all those years ago.  I will think of the Jorgensens' where, for many Christmases, we sang carols around the piano.  And I will think of each of you who give me the gifts of music, laughter and friendship throughout the year.

So on this night,  please know that my life is rich with the gifts you give and for that I am grateful.  May peace be with you. Shalom.  Namaste. As-salamu alaykum.