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Bring a large pot of fresh water to a rolling boil and cook the linguini till al dente. Warm up a large pasta serving bowl.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion for 5 minutes, until soft. Add in the cauliflower, cabbage, garlic, pine nuts, sea salt, ground pepper, and fennel. Squeeze on the lemon juice. Sauté until the vegetables are tender and the pine nuts are toasted. Stir in the cream.
When the pasta is al dente, drain and pour the linguini into the warmed pasta bowl, and drizzle a little olive oil on the pasta to moisten it. Immediately add your white vegetables/pine nuts mixture and stir well.
Serve at the table with a small bowl of freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish. Serves 4-5.
Midwinter Gingerbread
A Yuletide classic, this spicy-sweet bread is also wonderful sliced, toasted, and buttered for an afternoon tea, accompanied by a warm, cozy throw and a good book.
½ stick butter or solid margarine
½ cup molasses
1 large free-range egg
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup boiling water
½ cup orange marmalade or good apricot jam
½ cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts (optional.. though i will eliminate )
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, gently melt the butter with the molasses and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg and brown sugar and beat well. Pour in the melted butter/molasses mixture and beat with an electric mixer to blend well. Then, by hand, stir in the flour, spices, and salt, just enough to blend.
Add the baking soda to the boiling water and stir well. Pour this soda water into the batter and gently mix. Add the marmalade and pecans, again, stirring just until mixed in.
Pour the gingerbread batter into a lightly greased 8-by-8-inch or 9-by-9-inch pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. The gingerbread is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. Let the pan cool for 10 minutes, then insert a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread. Gently invert, placing it onto a plate.
Serve simply as squares dusted with powdered sugar or topped with a spoonful of fresh whipped cream. Serves 8.
many Blessings to you as you celebrate the Season!!!!Come by for a peek.... and join me in my kitchen for come great cooking.......fun. and friendship......
hugs to all...
Lea
http://leanan2008.livejournal.com/
or use the Nav Bar to the left in my LINKS
I have been hooked on Food Blogs for a while......i am card carrying Foodie.. I cook everynight......and i usually cook different things .My family is never wanting for a new meal... I LOVE to cook...( bake yuck), but cooking ....its like therapy... I have been know to leave food packets on neighbours porches... countertops( if they leave the door open.).. and unsuspecting aquaintances...
I get this high from trying new food. and recipes... so ....................... I thought... and i know that is bad news for you all...... that I wold try my own "Foodie Blog" right here at LJ......
OK , now before you all run to hit the UNFRIEND button.......I shall make a new journal...but will link it here... so you can hop over and see what Im cooking.......pictures and idiocy included......and I warn you... I can TALK food.
So.......what ya think........if you want to ... come on over... I will post the link in the next post.......
hugs,
Leanan
Maybe trivial to some...really of no interest to others.. and some may know exactly where I'm at...
Eighteen year old daughter been going out with a really nice guy for three years..... out of the blue last night he calls her ......and ends it. It took her by utter surprise and has, well.....swept her world out from under her,,
Bad timing... her senior midterms are this week....She was unable to make it even out of bed this morning...She is my employee......( boyfriend works for me as well) I am on vacation... Unless she pulls herself together by some miracle... I will have to go in and work her busy shift tommorrow morning...
I want to ease her pain... I cannot........ I want to reverse the decision... I obviously cannot.... I want to do something,,,,,I cannot......Its not my place... cept to be there to help pick up the pieces.......
And there are so many pieces of her life all over right now//////
Im sad...I've cried for her... shes shattered,
It will take time...lots of time
Thanks for hearing me out..
Sad Mom in New York.
Alot more than we think.....
It's amazing how much significance our names carry for us. Names often say something about our heritage, our ethnicity and our religious background and people (ancestors, relatives or heroes) who were significant to our parents.
New names are often conferred during rites of passage. A name is conferred at baptism. Catholic children choose a new name at puberty; they select a saint's name as a confirmation name.
Brooke Medicine Eagle writes that children in the Native American tradition were given an adult spiritual name at puberty. "Sometimes this name was received in vision by the young person herself, sometimes it was given by the Great Mystery through the elders, and sometimes it was given because it had been earned by the young person's conduct during her first thirteen or so years."
Marriage is another rite of passage when women often change their name, adopting their husband's last name.Of course, many women choose to retain their birth surname, while other couples hyphenate their last names or choose a new last name altogether to share.
In many cultures, the person's true name is hidden because to know a name is to have power over the individual, as in the fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin. In Egypt, the child's soul name was breathed by the mother on her child as she put the child to her breast. Without a name, the child wouldn't eat.
In many cultures, individuals take spiritual names as the result of an initiation or powerful experience. Important social or emotional events or a vision quest may bring forth another name. Witches often take a magical name which they use only in circle.
Candlemas (February 2) is a good time for taking a new name, as it's a time of initiations, of pledges. Circles of women or covens often choose this date for an auspicious beginning. Choosing and using a new name can call forth new aspects of your personality.
If you haven't already done so, research the meaning of your names: first, middle and last. Surnames are often interesting since they may give you indications of ancient family occupations or totem animals or family qualities. Go back farther and research saints and goddesses associated with your names.
If you are named for a Catholic saint, you have a name day as well as a birthday. This day is often celebrated like a birthday. In addition, your saint is seen as a personal patron, someone to whom you could turn for advice, like a heavenly godfather or godmother. So this is also an appropriate time to make an offering to your saint.
In short, it's an age-old European custom in which those with the same or similar first name have one day a year assigned as their nameday, and it is observed and celebrated by all the namesakes in the same manner as birthdays. As a matter of fact, in some countries namedays are considered even more important than birthdays. And, if a person was given a first name that doesn't appear in the nameday calendar, he or she may very well be feeling left out for not being able to celebrate his or her nameday at all.
To find out your name day, go to:
www.americannamedaycalendar.com/
Perhaps you feel like taking a new name. Some of you will already know what that is. It may be a name from your past. If not, ask to have it shown to you. Look through name books. Ask your friends. Check out the numerological possibilities of your new names. When you've decided upon a name, confer it upon yourself with a ceremony.
Namaste.
Leanan
The lovely and uber-talented Jasmine Becket Griffith ( aka Strangeling)
http://www.strangeling.com/
offered up some awesome Cameo-Paintings recently... and i managed to get one before they all sold out ( heheh in less than 1/2 hour!!!!,, what a gal!!!!) I just had to show you my new ' Green Dragonling" pendant..
Jasmine!!!! I just LOVE it!!! I am not going to want to take it off!!!!!!
I Love it love it loveit.......... leanan dances off stroking her new lovlie!
My husband and Snape share a Birthday!!!! According to my F-LIST.....this is an auspicious day for the dark and lovely....and Snape too lol////
I wonder what kind of fantasies that little tidbit shall drum up in my addled brainpan??????????????
Mwhahahahahahahahahahahhahah.........
Leanan
The questions on this are well worth the time lolol... I am really not wanting to KNOW what this position means lolol..............................COLON
Find your own pose!
Ancient and Wise
Lady and Lord
Father and Mother
To all the world
Bless us all
This coming Yule
In addition, i really want to help my family members who are vegetarians....... and a few very picky eaters. After much discernation I have decided on the following... * while my carniverous and very ethnic husband will still have provided the Polish " Wigilia " of Fish, Pierogies and Mushroom Soup)
Linguini with White Vegetables and Pine Nuts
In honor of Brigid, a delectable recipe created in white on white. Snowy cauliflower and sweet cabbage are accented with the crunch of pine nuts on creamy white pasta. Wonderfully delicious.
1 pound Italian linguini
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
½ head cauliflower, cored, chopped into small pieces
½ head white cabbage, cored, thinly shredded
5-6 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup pine nuts
Sea salt
White pepper, freshly ground
¼ teaspoon fennel seed
Juice of ½ lemon
3-4 tablespoons cream or soy cream
Parmesan cheese, grated
Leanan
These next few days are the days of the Winter Solstice, a time when those who are very attentive to the skies note that the sun, which has relentlessly moved southward on the horizon since last June, seems to pause on its journey before beginning to climb northwards to center again. Solstice is a time of pause. So…pause. Breathe. Relax. Rest. Be at peace.
Spirit of winter rest, help us to enjoy your peace in this quiet place.
Remind us to pause during this season.
Grant us awareness, keep our gratitude fresh each day.
May the songs in our heart be blessings and insights to us and to others
and may compassion always shine forth from the depths of our hearts.
Lots and lots and lots of snow here!!!!!!! yay......so that means BAKING time!
Made these for my co-workers,,... they snapped them up... yummo!
Cranberry Scones
makes about 2 dozen
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries( Craisins)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
Zest of 1 small orange
2 1/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
Extra flour
White sugar, for topping
Heat the oven to 350ºF and prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment or lightly spraying with spray oil.
In the bowl of a food processor, whiz the cranberries until lightly chopped. Dump out into a bowl toss with the brown sugar and orange zest. In the food processor, whiz the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and whiz with the flour in the processor until fine and crumbly. Mix with the sugar and cranberries and stir in the beaten egg and milk.
Sprinkle the counter or a board with flour, and dump the dough out on it. It will be very wet and sticky. Cut out rounds using a biscuit cutter or glass, and put on baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with sugar.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until just getting golden. Serve warm with plenty of butter.
But this song made me pull off the road and listen........sometimes I think we hear things right when we should........
Don't Blink-- Kenney Chesney
I turned on the evening news
Saw an old man being interviewed
Turning a hundred and two today
Asked him what's the secret to life
He looked up from his old pipe
Laughed and said "All I can say is ."
Don't Blink
Cause just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink
I was glued to my tv when it looked like he looked at me and said
"Best start putting first things first."
Cause when your hour glass runs out of sand
You can't flip it over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it's worth
Don't Blink
Cause just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink
So I've been tryin' ta slow it down
I've been tryin' to take it in
In this here today, gone tomorrow world we're livin' in
Don't blink
Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years go faster then you think
So don't blink
No, don't blink don't blink
life goes faster than you think!
Don't Blink
Life Goes faster than you think
don't blink
So true.......so true,,, and definitely worth reflecting on this Solstice.
I just fetched me some lovely material to make this for myself and my girls.........
Solstice Dream Pillow
Materials needed: 1-4 oz (30-120 gms) each of the following five herbs: dried chamomile, mugwort, catnip, hops, lavender, whole oranges & lemons, cinnamon sticks, allspice berries, (optional) myrrh or frankincense resin lumps.( I have inquired at my local herbal about this and we have settled om scented insence as the resin lumplets are $$$$$$~~~) Scraps of lightweight cloth (4-7 inches/100-175 mm, two for each bag) optional bits of ribbon, embroidery floss, scraps of lace or a few small beads.
For those who are sitting up all night on the Solstice, this is a special dream pillow you can make for prophetic dreams when you go to sleep the next night or throughout the year.
Take the first five dried herbs and mix them in whatever proportions you desire/have on hand. More Mugwort will lead some folks to more psychic dreaming, more hops will lead to a sounder sleep for some others, more catnip may encourage feline pillow sharing.
As the night passes, eat the oranges, and use the lemons (minus their peels) in teas/punches/hot drinks. As you use them try to remove the peels in large chunks or in easy to work with sections. Using a spoon, carefully scrape out as much of the white inner rind as you
can without damaging the zesty outer peel. Scatter the remaining outer peels on a cookie sheet and dry them on low heat in the oven (200F or less). Watch them to make sure they are drying but not scorching. Remove them from the oven, and let them cool.
If you have a fire or incense burner, burn some of the incense resins, saving most to use in the pillows.
Crumble the dried peels up into smaller bits, break up the cinnamon sticks up into smaller pieces, and add the spices, resins and peels to the herb mixture. Mix well. Gather up the scraps of material, and sew up small bags: 3-6 inches/75-150mm should be fine. Leave one side open: small openings will make it more difficult to fill the bags later. If you want to use the ribbons and floss to embroider protective or other magical symbols or representative designs, it will be easier to do before you stitch the sides together. Work on this to keep you awake, thinking of the season and what it means to you as you do it. If these are intended as gifts, think kindly and
lovingly of the folks you will be giving these to.
Fill each of the bags with the herb/spice mixture, but not so full that it is hard: people will want to smell them, but they need to be soft enough to sleep on. Fold the last side inward, and stitch
closed. If you want, a small loop of ribbon may be added at this point at the top.
After the sun rises, and you have finished your celebrations, set these aside, and finish them when you have/make time during the day if they aren't done. When you go to bed, slip one or more of these into you pillow case, and inhale deeply as you relax before sleeping. Watch for special dreams as you sleep.
The Good Wife and the Silver Pine Cones
A very long time ago in a land far away lived a elderly woodcutter and his wife amidst a grand forest. The woodcutter had a good life chopping firewood from the surrounding forest to sell to the nearby town for food and money for him and his wife. Until one day when the tree he was cutting fell the wrong way and he was very badly injured and unable to continue working. Which soon made life very hard for them as there was no longer any money for food or any other necessity that they needed. What money that the good wife
could find she would use on medicines for her husband to make him more comfortable. The good wife struggled to feed her husband and herself from her garden until winter made it impossible to continue growing food and their stores of food were soon gone. But, still she tried to find ways to make money for food by helping others by doing small chores, and by gathering roots in the forest to stipend her meager food that she could buy. She continued working hard until one day when the good wife discovered an abundance of pinecones scattered around the many pine trees throughout the forest amidst the winter
snow. She realized that even though she could not carry, cut or bring enough large pieces of wood to sell to the town that people would buy pinecones for kindling for their fireplaces. So each day she would load up a bag with an apple and a small sandwich for her lunch so that she could make a trip into the grand forest to search for pinecones.
One day after she had gathered a apron full of pine cones and her back was sore from bending she decided to sit down underneath a huge oak tree to eat her lunch and to gather her strength for the long walk home. She had just pulled out her apple and sandwich when she realized that she was no longer alone. Looking up she found a very small, strangely dressed little man standing before her. Noticing that he seemed to be hungry she asked him if he would like her apple from her lunch. He quickly nodded and took the apple from her open palm and within a wink the apple was eaten. Thinking to herself that someone who would eat something so quickly must be in more strife than her little family she offered him her sandwich as well. She knew that giving him all her food would make her very hungry as this was all the food that she could spare for herself that day, but she could not allow anyone to go hungry. The little man took the sandwich with a grateful smile and quickly ate the sandwich with much relish and enjoyment. The good wife watched his enjoyment of her offering with a kind smile even though her empty stomach grumbled with hunger. As soon as the little man finished his little meal he picked off each crumb and each morsel of food off of his clothing and ate them. He then licked his hands of all the tasty apple nectar and sighed with contentment patting his now full stomach. He then sat down beside the good wife and looked at her apron filled to spilling of gathered pinecones. He smiled at the good wife and touched the apron with one tiny hand and said..
"Good wife I thank thee for the wonderful food you gave with such a giving heart and without asking for anything in return. I have a gift for thee in your apron, however, do not look within your apron until you are home again with your husband."
Then with a wink and a lilting giggle the little man bounded away deeper into the forest. The good wife smiled and shook her head thinking that the little man must be "touched in the head" and got up and started her long journey home. She was curious at what gift he had put into her apron as she knew that he hadn't placed anything in with the pinecones, but decided to do as he said and not look until she was home with her husband. Once she arrived home she went to her husband's bedside and quickly told him about her adventure in the forest with the strange little man. He was very upset with his wife as he had warned her of the dangers of the forest and to speak to a strange man was worth his worry. But, his good wife just smiled and touched his hand and told him that she knew of his worries and that she had been careful. Shaking her head she smiled and told him of his promise of
a gift as she reached into her apron and pulled out a pinecone. The woodcutter gasped in amazement at the pinecone that his wife held in her shocked grasp for instead of a pinecone of wood she held a pinecone made out of solid silver. Quickly she stood up and emptied her apron onto her husband's bed and looked in amazement at the large pile of silver pinecones. With one kind gesture of giving food to someone less fortunate than herself the good wife had gained enough treasure to allow her and her husband to
live very comfortably for the rest of their days amidst the forest that they both loved. Thus it is taught in the three fold law that what you do in kindness without expectations of gain you receive bounty back three fold more.
Blessed Yule to you and yours!
AS you may have gathered by now....I do not follow traditional Christian beliefs........ It has cost me much in my life... the respect of some narrow minded firends and relatives.... snarky retorts by uninformed and selfish strangers and aquaintances etc..... I don't go around shouting my beleifs to any who will listen, neither do I flaunt it about ...like look at me Im different. I am a tolerant and accepting human being and I just expect to be treated as such in return...
well that said let me get to the point of todays post.... Especially at this time of year,,, It has not only been those of different faith that have brustled my fur, but those of like mind.....seemingly Pagan is the new fashion statement...... and those that are adopting Sabbats and traditions as thier own , instead of living the life are just chanting the words.... and are doing so so loudly that they are very adament about pointing out... in particular to those of other Faiths , the PAGAN roots of everthing Christian......well I am sorry... but ones beleifs do not have to vocalized to the hurt and degredation of another........no matter what beleif they may harbour..
I came across last year a wonderful tale that speaks to those that might want to flaunt the " pagan " with a capital P, rather than the lifestyle and belief... Above all... harm none...
Visions of Sugar Plums
by Margaret Morrison
Five minutes before the Winter Solstice circle was scheduled to begin, my mother called. Since I'm the only one in our coven who doesn't run on Pagan Standard Time, I took the call. Half the people hadn't arrived, and those who had wouldn't settle down to business for at least twenty minutes.
"Merry Christmas, Frannie."
"Hi, Mom. I don't do Christmas."
"Maybe not--but I do, so I'll say it." she told me in her sassy voice, kind of sweet and vinegary at the same time. "If I can respect your freedom of religion, you can respect my freedom of speech."
I grinned and rolled my eyes. "And the score is Mom - one, Fran - nothing. But I love you, anyway."
People were bustling around in the next room, setting up the altar, decking the halls with what I considered excessive amounts of holly and ivy, and singing something like, "O Solstice Tree."
"It sounds like a...holiday party." Mom said.
"We're doing Winter Solstice tonight."
"Oh. That's sort of like your version of Christmas, right?"
I wanted to snap back that Christmas was the Christian version of Solstice, but I held back.
"We celebrate the return of the sun. It's a lot quieter than Christmas. No shopping sprees, no pine needles and tinsel on the floor, and it doesn't wipe me out. I remember how you had always
worked yourself to a frazzle by December 26."
"Oh honey, I loved doing all that stuff. I wouldn't trade those memories for all the spare time in the world. I wish you and Jack would loosen up a little for the baby's sake. When you were little, you enjoyed Easter bunnies and trick-or-treating and Christmas things. Since you've gotten into this Wicca religion, you sound a lot like Aunt Betty the year she was a Jehovah's Witness."
I laughed nervously. "Yeah. How is Aunt Betty?"
"Fine. She's into the Celestine Prophecy now, and she seems quite happy. Y'know," she went on, "Aunt Betty always said the Jehovah's Witnesses said those holiday things were pagan. So I don't see why you've given them up."
"Uh, they've been commercialized and polluted beyond recognition. We're into very simple, quiet celebrations."
"Well," she said dubiously, "as long as you're happy."
Sometimes long distance is better than being there, 'cause your mother can't give you the look that makes you agree with everything she says. Jack rescued me by interrupting.
"Hi, Ma." he called to the phone as he waved a beribboned sprig of mistletoe over my head. Then he kissed me, one of those quick noisy ones. I frowned at him.
"Druidic tradition, Fran. Swear to Goddess."
"Of course it is. Did the Druids use plastic berries?"
"Always. We'll be needing you in about five minutes."
"Okay. Gotta go, Mom. Love you."
We had a nice, serene kind of Solstice Circle. No jingling bells or filked-out Christmas Carols. Soon after the last coven member left, Jack was ready to pack it in.
"The baby's nestled all snug in her bed," he said with a yawn, "I think I'll go settle in for a long winter's nap."
I heaved a martyred sigh. He grinned unrepentantly, kissed me, called me a grinch, and went to bed. I stayed up and puttered around the house, trying to unwind. I sifted through the day's mail, ditched the flyers urging us to purchase all the Seasonal Joy we could afford or charge. I opened the card from his parents. Another sermonette: a manger scene and a bible verse, with a handwritten note expressing his mother's fervent hope that God's love and Christmas spirit would fill our hearts in this blessed season. She means well, really. I amused myself by picking out every pagan element I could find in the card. When the mail had been sorted, I got up and started turning our ritual room back into a living room.
As if the greeting card had carried a virus, I found myself humming Christmas carols. I turned on the classic rock station, but they were playing that Lennon-Ono Christmas song. I switched stations. The weatherman assured me that there was only a twenty percent chance of snow. Then, by Loki, the deejay let Bruce Springsteen insult my ears crooning, "yah better watch out, yah better not pout." I tried the Oldies station. Elvis lives, and he does Christmas songs. Okay, fine. We'll do classical--no, we won't. They're playing Handel's Messiah. Maybe the community radio station would have something secular humanist. "Ahora, escucharemos a Jose Feliciano canta `Feliz
Navidad'." I was getting annoyed. The radio doesn't usually get this saturated with holiday mush until the twenty-fourth. "This is too weird." I said to the radio, "Cut that crap out." The country station had some Kenny Rogers Christmas tune, the first rock station had gone from John and Yoko's Christmas song to Simon and Garfunkel's "Silent Night," and the other rock station still had Springsteen reliving his childhood.
"--I'm tellin' you why. SANTA Claus is comin' to town!" he bellowed.
I was about to pick out a nice secular CD when there was a knock at the door.
Now, it could have been a coven member who'd forgotten something. It could have been someone with car trouble. It could have been any number of things, but it certainly couldn't have been a stout guy in a red suit--snowy beard, rosy cheeks, and all--backed by eight reindeer and a sleigh. I blinked, wondered crazily where Rudolph was, and blinked again. There were nine reindeer.
Our twenty-percent chance of snow had frosted the dead grass and was continuing to float down in fat flakes.
"Hi, Frannie." he said warmly, "I've missed you."
"I'm stone cold sober, and you don't exist."
He looked at me with a mixture of sorrow and compassion and sighed heavily. "That's why I miss you, Frannie. Can I come in? We need to talk."
I couldn't quite bring myself to slam the door on this vision, hallucination, or whatever. So I let him in, because that made more sense then letting all the cold air in while I argued with someone
who wasn't there. As he stepped in, a thought crossed my mind about various entities needing an invitation to get in houses.He flashed me a smile that would melt the polar caps.
"Don't you miss Christmas, Frannie?"
"No." I said flatly, "Apparently you don't see me when I'm sleeping and waking these days. I haven't been Christian for years."
"Oh, now don't let that stop you. We both know this holiday's older than that. Yule trees and Saturnalia and here-comes-the-sun, doodoodendoodoo."
I raised an eyebrow at the Beatles reference, then gave him my standard sermonette on the appropriation and adulteration that made Christmas no longer a Pagan holiday. I had done my homework. I listed centuries, I named names--St. Nicholas among them. "In the twentieth century version," I assured him, "Christmas is two parts crass commercialism mixed with one part blind faith in a religion I rejected years ago." I gave him my best lines, the ones that had convinced my coven to abstain from Christmasy cliches. My hallucination sat in Jack's favorite chair, nodding patiently at me.
"And you," I added nastily, "come here talking about ancient customs when you--in your current form--were invented in the nineteenth century by, um...Clement C. Moore."
He laughed, a rolling, belly-deep chuckle unlike any department-store Santa I'd ever heard. "Of course I change my form now and then to suit fashion. Don't you? And does that stop you from being yourself?" He said, and asked me if I remembered Real Magic, by Isaac Bonewits.
I gaped at him for a moment, then caught myself. "This is like `Labyrinth', right? I'm having a dream that pretends to be real, but is only made from pieces of things in my memory. You don't look a thing like David Bowie."
"Bonewits has this Switchboard Theory." Santa went on amiably, "The energy you put into your beliefs influences the real existence of the archetypal--oh, let me put it simpler: `in the beginning, Man created God'. Ian Anderson." He lit a long-stemmed pipe. The tobacco had a mild and somehow Christmasy smell, and every puff sent up a wreath of smoke. "I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated than Bonewits tells it, but that's close enough for mortals. Are you with me so far?"
"Oh, sure." I lied as unconvincingly as possible.
Santa sighed heavily. "When's the last time you left out milk and cookies for me?"
"When I figured out my parents were eating them."
"Frannie, Frannie. Remember pinda balls, from Hinduism?"
"Rice balls left as offerings for ancestors and gods."
"Do Hindus really believe that the ancestors and gods eat pinda balls?"
"All right, y'got me there. They say that spirits consume the spiritual essence, then mortals can have what's left."
"Mm-hm." Santa smiled at me compassionately through his snowy beard.
I rallied quickly. "What about the toys? I know for a fact they aren't made by you and a bunch of non-union elves."
"Oh, that's quite true. Manufacturing physical objects out of magical energy is terribly expensive and breaks several laws of Nature--She only allows us to do that on special occasions. It certainly
couldn't be done globally and annually. Now, the missus and the elves and I really do have a shop at the North Pole. Not the sort of thing the Air Force would ever find. What we make up there is what makes this time a holiday, no matter what religion it's called."
"Don't tell me," I said, rolling my eyes, "you make the sun come back."
"Oh my, no. The solar cycle stuff, the Reason For The Season, isn't my department. My part is making it a holiday. We make a mild, non-addictive psychedelic thing called Christmas spirit. Try some."
He dipped his fingers in a pocket and tossed red-gold-green-silver glitter at me. I could have ducked. I don't know why I didn't.
It smelled like snow, and pine needles, and cedar chips in the fireplace. It smelled like fruitcake, like roastturkey, like that foamy white stuff you spray on the window with stencils. It felt like a crisp wind, Grandma's hugs, fuzzy new mittens, pine needles scrunching under my slippers. I saw twinkly lights, mistletoe in the doorway, smiling faces from years gone by. Several Christmas carols
played almost simultaneously in a kind of medley.
I fought my way back to my living room and glared sternly at the hallucination in Jack's chair.
"Fun stuff. Does the DEA know about this?"
"Oh, Frannie. Why are you such a hard case? I told you it's non-addictive and has no harmful side effects. Would Santa Claus lie to you?"
I opened my mouth and closed it again. We looked at each other a while.
"Can I have some more of that glittery stuff?"
"Mmmm. I think you need something stronger. Try a sugarplum."
I tasted rum ball. Peppermint. Those hard candies with the picture all the way through. Mama's favorite fudge. A chorus line of Christmas candies danced through my mouth. The Swedish Angel Chimes, run on candle power, say tingatingatingating. Mama, with a funny smile, promised to give Santa my letter. Greeting cards taped on the refrigerator door. We rode through the tree farm on a straw-filled trailer pulled by a red and green tractor, looking for a perfect
pine.
It was so big, Daddy had to cut a bit off so the star wouldn't scrape the ceiling. Lights, ornaments, tinsel. Daddy lifted me up to the mantle to hang my stocking. My dolls stayed up to see Santa Claus, and in the morning they all had new clothes. Grandma carried in a platter with the world's biggest turkey, and I got the drumstick. Joey's Christmas puppy chased my Christmas kitten up the
tree and it would have fallen over but Daddy held it while Mama got the kitten out. Daddy said every bad word there was but he kept laughing anyway. I sneaked my favorite plastic horse into the nativity scene, between the camels and the donkey. I came back to reality slowly, with a silly smile on my face and a tickly feeling behind my eyes like they wanted to cry. The phrase "visions of sugarplums" took on a whole new meaning.
"How long has it been," Santa asked, "since you played with a nativity set?-"
"But it symbolizes--"
"The winter-born king. The sacred Mother and her sun-child. Got a problem with that? You could recorate it with pentagrams if you like, they'll look fine. As for the Christianization, I've heard who you invoke at Imbolc."
"But Bridgid was a Goddess for centuries before the Catholic Church-oh." I crossed my arms and tried to glare at him, but failed.
"You're a sneaky old elf, y'know?"
"The term is `jolly old elf.' Care for another sugarplum?"
I did.
I tasted gingerbread. My first nip of eggnog the way the grown-ups drink it. Fresh sugar cookies, shaped like trees and decked with colored frosting. Dad had been laid off, but we managed a lot of cheer. They told us Christmas would be "slim pickings." Joey and I smiled bravely when Mama brought home that spindly spruce. We loaded down our "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" with every light and ornament it could hold. Popcorn and cranberry strings for the outdoor trees. Mistletoe in the hall: plastic mistletoe, real kisses.
Joey and I snipped and glued and stitched and painted treasures to give as presents. We agonized over our "Santa" letters...by now we knew where the goodies came from, and we tried to compromise between what we longed for and what we thought they could afford. Every day
we hoped the factory would reopen. When Joey's dog ate my mitten, I wasn't brave. I knew that meant I'd get mittens for Christmas, and one less toy. I cried. On December twenty-fifth we opened our presents ve-ery slo-wly, drawing out the experience. We made a show of cheer
over our socks and shirts and meager haul of toys. I got red mittens.
We could tell Mama and Daddy were proud of us for being so brave, because they were grinning like crazy.
"Go out to the garage for apples." Mama told us, "We'll have apple pancakes."
I don't remember having the pancakes. There was a dollhouse in the garage. No mass-produced aluminum thing but a homemade plywood dollhouse with wall-papered walls and real curtains and thread-spool chairs. My dolls were inside, with newly sewn clothes. Joey was on his knees in front of a plywood barn with hay in the loft. His old farm implements had new paint. Our plastic animals were corralled in popsicle stick fences. The garage smelled like apples and hay, the
cement was bone-chilling under my slippers, and I was crying.
My knees were drawn up to my chest, arms wrapped around them. My chest felt tight, like ice cracking in sunshine. Santa offered me a huge white handkerchief. When all the ice in my chest had melted, he cleared his throat. He was pretty misty-eyed, too.
"Want to come sit on my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas?"
"You've already given it to me." But I sat on his lap anyway, and kissed his rosy cheek until he did his famous laugh.
"I'd better go now, Frannie. I have other stops to make, and you have work to do."
"Right. I'd better pop the corn tonight, it strings best when it's stale." I let him out the door. The reindeer were pawing impatiently at the moon-kissed new-fallen snow. I'd swear Rudolph winked at me.
"Don't forget the milk and cookies."
"Right. Uh, December twenty-fourth, or Solstice, or what?"
He shrugged. "Whatever night you expect me, I'll be there. Eh, don't wait up. Visits like this are tightly rationed. Laws of Nature, y'know, and She's strict with them."
"Gotcha. Thanks, Santa." I kissed his cheek again. "Happy Holidays."
The phrase had a nice, non-denominational ring to it. I thought I'd call my parents and in-laws soon and try it out on them. Santa laid his finger aside of his nose and nodded.
"Blessed be, Frannie."
The sleigh soared up, and Santa really did exclaim something. It sounded like old German. Smart-aleck elf. When I closed the door, the radio was playing Jethro Tull's "Solstice Bells."
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! and Brightest Blessings.....
This meme has been circulating around a few Yahoo Groups that I am a member of.. so i though I would post it here and see what you are all up to...
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I still like to wrap.....not to say I don't use the occasional bag. There are some really beautiful ones...My wrapping stays on the natural side....very simple...natural designs if I can... Holly or Ivy....or stars,,, or maybe a tree,, if its not too gaudy.
2. Real tree or artificial? My druid ancestors are going to haunt me for this one.....but its artificial....wait wait,,, before we get all .......What!! Leanan...Ms. Pagan Earth Mother has a fake tree!..I must explain that my oldest has a horrid allergy to pine and organic tree mold... sigh,,,,fake tree.
3.When do you put up the tree? The first weekend of December...usually.
4. When do you take the tree down?
January 6th (Twelfth Night),though I have to fight my family to leave it up that long.
until then.
5. Do you like eggnog? Not particularly... unless it has rum in it.... heheeh
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Sewing machine........i was so excited.. I didnt want anything else.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? No I dont. I have a Sun mirror and a GreenMan that i have to reflect in its surface.
8. Hardest person to buy for? Brother.
9. Easiest person to buy for? My Girls.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Been really lucky....I love everything...
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Both
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Carol...1951 version with Alastair Simm
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I dont usually til Dec 1st.. but then i have been planning gifts all year,
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No....unless it was to share,
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Chocolate... and Danish Moon Cresent Cookies
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Clear!
17. Favorite Christmas song? Snow or Winters NIght by Loreena McKennitt
18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home? I celebrate Yule on the Solstice..Dec 21st, so I go to my parents in Canada on the Christian holiday.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher and Dancer and prancer and Vixen and Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen and Rudolph.. and we can't forget Bruce and LeRoy....* little known...but part of the TEAM!!! * hehehe
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Sun
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? On the 21st and Christmas Morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? I work in retail....you really don't want me to answer this.
23. What I love most about Christmas? I love Yule... its a season of reflection for me...
Blessings to you all..
Leanan
http://teresafranco.typepad.com/teresafr
She also has a whimsical Calendar to download as well!!! Good Stuff/
This site... SEW Mamma SEW has TONS!!!!!! I mean tons of ideas and suggestions and tutorials for making these gifts...
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/?p=291
Make sure you check out the Bunny Pillow , Doggie/Kittie Pouffy Bed,Lavender Eye Pillow,Booty Bag!!!,and many many more!!!!!!!
I am going to have to dash out to the fabric store I think......making some slippers!!!!!
Leanan
