New Year - you are welcome!

I haven't made a New Year resolution in I don't know how long. Long ago I recognised that I am not a very disciplined person so not a lot of use in making myself even one single simple promise to either not do this or that or to do it - eat less, give up smoking/cake/chocolate, get more exercise, get up earlier, go to bed earlier, keep in touch with friends more.  No, I knew I wouldn't do it and I would get a twinge of guilt every so often.
I gave up cigarettes but not on New Year's Eve.  I have cut down on chocolate and try to eat smaller portions - note the word "try".  I do walk to the beach for an hour nearly every day but this is no hardship as I love the sea. These "improvements" in my lifestyle have come about gradually and not by hanging up a new calendar on the kitchen wall. In summer I get up earlier. I try to go to bed at a reasonable hour but admittedly I am a night owl by nature. Note the word "try" again.
 I don't beat up on myself any more - life is just too short. People who make New Year resolutions and keep them have my full respect and admiration. But I am not one of them and can never pretend to be.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS!

How was your Christmas?

When I was a child in Ireland, neighbours would sometimes ask my parents "how did you get over the Christmas?"  I found it strange that anyone would consider that you needed to "get over" Christmas. For me, it went by too fast after all that big build up!  As an adult, I begin to understand what it means. All that hype with tinsel, holly and Christmas recipes, plus the stress of finding the right gift for your loved ones!  And then all the family near and far have to be visited or invited to dinner and you have to remember that Aunt Mary does not approve of cousin Betty's lifestyle/political views so it is essential to the peace that you keep them apart. And the kids are restless and quarrelsome because of all the late nights and excitement over the past few days. No wonder many people heave a sigh of relief when it's all over. I guess every year we vow not to get carried away and then find that we are caught up in the bustle before we know it.
I spent a lazy Christmas with my son and daughter-in-law. Long country walks with the dogs, too much to eat,  pleasant company. It was most enjoyable. At home I attended a few Christmas carol events and of course there were the usual Christmas get-togethers with community groups.  All very enjoyable.  I have one Christmas movie that I always watch, Christmas Angel, the 2009 film for television.  It is absolute kitsch!  But I still cry over it and enjoy every heart-warming, tear-soaked minute.
Now it is nearly New Year, time to open the new calendar. The English writer Charles Lamb once wrote about feeling a bit melancholy at New Year "I am not one to greet the coming, speed the parting guest."  Sometimes I think I know how he feels. Of course, we are not stepping from one dimension to another, we are merely turning to a fresh month and year, but all the same there is a little sadness in leaving what we knew of 2016. But I'm getting sentimental. Time to finish off that glass of mulled wine and the few remaining mince pies.

One more week to Christmas

As a child I used to count off the days still left before school was out and then the days until Christmas Eve.  I loved Christmas Eve. We were on the brink of the festivities. There was the walk to Midnight Mass to look forward to and the Mass itself with all those wonderful Christmas songs. Silent Night is still my favourite. I heard my second favourite yesterday for the first time this year: The Christmas Song.  It gave me a tingly feeling. At the end of the Midnight Mass we went to see and admire the crib. It had a distinctive smell - a mixture of incense, fresh straw and the slightly musty smell of the crib figures taken out of storage for the festivities.  I loved it all and still do!

While writing this, it occurred to me that our sense of smell is very important for recalling memories, as is our hearing - those church bells, that song, the aroma of fresh coffee, gingerbread, all that good stuff.  It brings a smile to our faces.
 I am just back from my walk to the beach and a few joggers passed me by, panting loudly, earplugs in, listening to their music. What a lot they have missed.  I spotted a bullfinch (first one I've seen in ages), I watched three crows quarreling with a cheeky sea-gull (he left in a huff after a lot of protest), a black cormorant flying up-river on some errand of his own, and a black spaniel down by the waves barking at all the sea-gulls who looked down on him in disdain, not to mention the oyster catchers calling to each other. It's a wonderful world and we shouldn't ever forget to savour all it offers.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS to all my readers!  May the joys of this festive season be with you all!

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.