How Did That Happen?

I checked my fridge today and discovered that I have an almost unused jar of Dijon mustard. When did I buy that? For what? I really can't remember. I had some hotdogs for lunch and applied a very thin coating of the Dijon mustard, because this stuff is hot or is spicy the right word? Anyway, it tasted good. I must have bought it for a very specific recipe as I'm not a mustard person, more a fan of mayonnaise which goes with everything, right?

Anyway, it reminded me of the need to de-clutter cupboards and the fridge and check the "best by" dates on everything. It's amazing what you turn up. In my spices and herbs section, I found a little jar of mixed herbs which was nearly 2 years out of date. Yike! But then, I thought dried herbs lasted forever.

De-cluttering is important to our personal lives, too, though. Like the Dijon mustard, there are things I think I like, or that I liked in the past, and now I'm not so sure. 

I'll be doing a big clean before I put up my Advent decorations at the end of the month. Now that's a tradition for me and one I am not going to change. 

Speaking of Christmas, I have a lot of fun writing my Christmas romance novels. Here is the latest one, available as Kindle ebook and paperback. Here's the link if you want to have a look: Christmas Romance at Windfall lodge

 

What I remember about Christmas

You can't get away from it. Once Halloween is over, the Christmas decorations come out and there are bright lights, red Santas, and pretty little reindeer all over the place.
Looking back over the years, I can see that Christmas and the way I experienced it, have changed. It is part of growing up and getting older, part of the kids leaving the nest and having Christmas celebrations of their own. Nothing stays still in life.
I have very fond memories of walking to Midnight Mass underneath a sky full of stars; of our cats following us half way down the road;  of hearing the choir and especially one local tenor singing "Silent Night". That song is synonymous with Christmas for me ever since. When I was in Austria several years ago, staying near Salzburg, I visited the Silent Night chapel in Oberndorf where the hymn was originally performed.
I can still taste the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding (especially the Yorkshire pudding) which was our Christmas dinner - my mother did not eat any kind of fowl, so turkey was out. We never minded. In fact to this day, I will opt for Yorkshire pudding if it is on the menu. And we had good old-fashioned trifle for dessert, eating our Christmas pudding on the day after.
Later, living in Germany, traditions were slightly different. For one thing, the Germans start celebrations on the first Sunday in Advent. The first of four candles on the Adventskranz or Advent wreath are lighted and the first plate of homemade cookies is put on the table. The children's excitement grows with each Sunday as the second and third candles are lit and then it is only a few days until the fourth and final candle completes the symbol for the four weeks of Advent and Christmas has arrived.
Nowadays, I watch my grandchildren getting all excited. Every town and village has a Christmas market. I love the aroma of mulled wine and spicy hot orange juice mixed with cinnamon and ginger from the stalls selling cookies and the smell of grilled hot dogs and schnitzel.
In Germany, the Christmas tree is not put up until Christmas Eve and then the presents are piled underneath and handed out after supper that evening. Midnight services are very popular and all the churches are usually packed. 
I'll be in Germany next week and will visit at least one Christmas market and eat Bratwurst, that tasty hot German sausage, oh and I will definitely have a Gluehwein or two! Happy Advent everyone!

Christmas Markets

I'm just back from a short trip to Frankfurt to see my daughter and grandchildren. I only decided on the spur of the moment and now I'm glad I did. One thing I really miss, living in Ireland, is the atmosphere around Advent, that feeling of anticipation of Christmas being on its way.

The Christmas market in Frankfurt is not perhaps the most famous one in Germany but it has it own atmosphere. I love the smell of aniseed, gingerbread, the spicy tang of mulled wine and the fragrance of pine from the Advent wreaths.
 

The main part of the market is held in the old part of the city, the Roemer as it is called, with its cobblestone square and town hall and the Nikolai Kirche. Nothing compares to sipping eggnog in the chill of early evening surrounded by lights and general good cheer. Of course I sampled my favourite  goodies:  Kartoffelpuffer (potato cakes) with apple sauce, warm waffles with Nutella. Yummy.
Yes, celebrating Advent is a wonderful idea, it makes the Christmas holiday much longer. I recall the excitement in our house when the children saw the first candle being lit on the Advent wreath. We usually baked biscuits in the shape of Christmas trees and half-moons, generously sprinkled them with icing sugar and piled them on a colourful plate with red apples and nectarines.


 So this was a trip down memory lane. Last year I spent Christmas in Frankfurt but arrived too late for the market. This year I can say I truly savoured it all. 
 Happy Advent to all my readers.

Christmas is coming

 I hope all my US readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Next Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent.  This was always a special time when I lived in Germany.  The first candle on the Advent wreath was lit, a colourful plate of cookies: spekulatius, gingerbread and cinammon stars together with a few red apples and clementines, was placed on the coffee table which itself was decked out in an Advent tablecloth.   In church we sang "Wir sagen Euch an, den ersten Advent" which, roughly translated, means "we announce the first of Advent to you."  The weather was sometimes mild and wet and other times cold and frosty but the light from the first candle always made you look forward to the blaze of light from the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.
I just loved it all.  Every town had a Weihnachtsmarkt, ours held their market on the first Sunday of Advent.  Local clubs, the Scouts and the churches all had stalls selling mulled wine, gluehwein, and you met up with people you hadn't seen for a while as you walked around admiring the various handicrafts on display.  You could get all your Christmas decorations here if you so wished.  My feet always felt like blocks of ice and my face would be frozen but it was all part of that magical feeling.  The mulled wine tasted twice as good in the cold evening air!   
Frankfurt, of course, has several markets, starting from 25th November right up until 22nd December.  The old part of the city, the Roemberberg looks like something out of a fairytale, my children just loved coming here.  I will arrive just too late to visit this year, unfortunately.



http://www.weihnachtsmarkt-frankfurt.com/

Despite the best attempts of the commercial world to sell Christmas on the back of food and alcohol, I think that for many people it still has not lost all its magic.  What we need to do in this troubled old world of ours is to stand still and take in the candlelight and be a child again on Christmas Eve.
I wish all my readers a peaceful, joyful Adventszeit