Collage of Christmas Memories...

                                             Collage of Christmas Memories...

  Now that the ambiance of Christmas day still lingers in the air, and the wrapping paper and some gifts are still strewn about the house, along with remnants of cookies and other goodies...now is the time for a bit of reflection.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without love, reflected in the presence and faces of those nearest and dearest whether near or far away.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without family, and the joyful generosity of spirit.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without prayerful reflection on the gift of life, and the meaning behind the season.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without snow, but pictures of snow will have to do.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without the sending and receiving of cards and letters from friends, relatives and old college roommates.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without cutout, mincemeat and cream cheese cookies.

  It wouldn't be Christmas without creating memories through conversation, playing card games and going to visit certain Christmas light extravaganzas.

  Yesterday Christmas arrived in full force, bringing with it much joy and gratitude. The afterglow of Christmas fills our home with love, and hopefully radiates from it to others.

  As the deeper realities of Christmas begin to permeate my thoughts anew, I am thankful that each year with the gift that Christmas is, I am forced to slow down and contemplate deeper realities that will resonate within, and hopefully manifest themselves without for the twelve months to come.

 ~Kathy~

                                

Check out my other blogs:
www.kathy-dessertmania@blogspot.com
and
www.mertonthinker@blogspot.com

Real meaning of Christmas...

                                    
                           Real meaning of Christmas...


    I was just in a human maze of unbelievable proportions! It consisted of cars and people and merchandise, and an indoor shopping mall, and there were times when I wondered if I would get out in one piece physically and mentally. I have no one to blame but myself, as I decided to shop on a day equal to or worse than black Friday...which I avoid like the plague. There were moments of frustration, exhaustion, and jubilation, all within seconds or minutes of each other, but after two hours I had to call it quits for the day. I think I may still have a few brain cells left, and perhaps an ounce of patience. How do the store clerks pull it off day after day? Bless them!

  So, here I am in my cozy home at my computer, asking myself what did I just experience, and out of all that traffic, honking, glitter, tinsel and fakery, where is an inkling of the real meaning behind the season? I have been to most of the stores these past few weeks, picking away at my shopping list, and trying to remain calm and bright. It hasn't been easy when it takes forever to find a parking space, or what you are looking for is in every size but the one you need. One clue that people are frazzled and anxious these last days before Christmas is that very few shoppers are aware of the others around them in the store, or in the parking lot. 

  In all of this, I have caught glimpses here and there of a light in all of this mess out there, and it was in the form of one person helping another. Today at the mall, among a crowd of hundreds of bustling shoppers, a man slowly pushing the wheelchair of another person, so that person could shop was a highlight for me. 
That gave me a clue to the remedy for all the merchandise madness, which is to slow down. Is all this rushing around really necessary? Is going to five more stores really going to bring the real meaning of Christmas any closer to any of us, or will it just push it farther away?

  A simple act of caring, whether it be a word, smile, letter, card or visit, will do much more to bring to life what Christmas is all about.

  Wishing each one of you reading this a very special and meaningful Christmas.

~Kathy~

Reflections on baby Mary

                                                 Reflections on baby Mary

 Forget Christmas gifts for me this year, as right now I am holding the most precious gift of all...baby Mary. No material gifts can compare to the wonders of new life. Trying to see the world through the eyes of a baby brings us back to innocence, which brings us back to the divine. Holding a baby can remedy all ills, as one is taken into a simpler, more contemplative realm. How can this mental state not be beneficial for mankind? Don't we as humans have a deep seated need for a connection to eternal realities? Holding a baby makes this connection a reality, and forces one to slow down and become a little more contemplative in the process. Truly, holding a baby is the best Christmas gift, forcing me to slow down amidst the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

~Kathy~

Grace, all grace....

                                                                Grace, all grace....



   Recently I was given a great gift. Not a material gift, but an interior gift. It came about in response to a phone call that I made to inquire about a nursing teaching position. The woman at the other end of the phone happened to be my former boss from eleven years ago. The phone call started the wheels rolling for me occupationally, but touched me at a deeper level. 

  There is some truth in the old saying that it's not what you know, but who you know. I have often discovered this saying to be true in my life. Sometimes its putting yourself in touch with the right person at the right time. More than that, it is grace, all grace.


~Kathy~

Can Baking Change the World?

                                Can Baking Change the World?



     I am asking this question because over the past few days I have come across two articles that propose the idea that baking can indeed change the world. The first article I read, from Food and Wine Magazine, Nov. 2011, states that "cookies can change the world." The article goes into how Cookies for Kid's Cancer was launched, which helps people organize bake sales to raise money for pediatric cancer research. Gretchen Holt-Witt went on to publish a cookbook titled Best Bake Sale Cookbook. All author proceeds go to Cookies for Kid's Cancer. This is one example of how baking cookies can raise needed funds for a worthy cause, and by doing so change the world for the better. 

    The other article related to the topic of baking potentially changing the world comes from Cooking Light Magazine, Nov. 2012. The title of the article hit me right between the eyes, and compelled me to bake a pie! Really. The article, "Pie as Holiday Therapy: Don't fret, the road to calm is through flour and fruit" was almost as satisfying as eating a piece of pie. The author of the article makes a strong connection between baking pies and the therapeutic elements involved in this timeless endeavor. 

    The author makes the point that baking pie evokes childhood memories of comfort and happiness. In addition, there is a sense of making something for others to enjoy, along with the therapeutic effect of doing something you really love to do. The author, Jennifer Drawbridge, states "one of the nicest things anyone can do for me when I'm feeling stressed is to ask me to bake a pie, or five pies, or twenty." I have baked 12 pies in one day to donate to a local Thanksgiving dinner, and it did feel good to give them away. I also fully agree that baking of any kind is a stress reliever, unless you are under pressure, with the clock is ticking, and the guests due to arrive any minute. I remember well how under these conditions, while baking an apple pie for my Dad and a cake from scratch for my Mom...I left the sugar out of the cake! Luckily the boiled frosting helped mask the forgotten sugar.

    I fully subscribe to this new mantra, and in our family, baking changes the mood, environment, and appetite of everyone in the home.

~Kathy~

Vintage Cookbook Discovery!

                               Vintage Cookbook Discovery !


  Recently I found myself browsing the shelves of a used bookstore, looking for
some items for baskets for a local charity fundraiser. For me this is potentially dangerous territory, being in a bookstore with time to browse the shelves. Suffice it to say that when in a bookstore, I can always find a book to buy, either for me or another person. On this particular day however, I confined myself to the cookbook section.

  Since I own a fairly large collection of cookbooks, it was nice to see many of them as I browsed each section...similar to meeting an old friend among a crowd of strangers. The classic standbys were present, such as Alice Waters and Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, but there were vintage regional cookbooks as well. My eye was drawn to a small thin blue volume, and as soon as I opened it up I knew I would be purchasing it for myself because of the literary connection to John Steinbeck. The title of the cookbook is The John Steinbeck House Cookbook, copyright 1984, which is filled with glorious photos of the Salinas Valley, along with recipes served at Steinbeck House. In addition, there are six pages of black and white Steinbeck family photographs. There is even a handwritten recipe attributed to John's mother from a cookbook she received as a bride. 

 After bringing the cookbook home and spending more time looking through it, I can't say there is anything particularly outstanding about the selection of recipes, except that they were served at the Steinbeck House. I do plan to try a few of them very soon, such as: chicken cheese enchiladas, praline cheesecake  apple kuchen and pumpkin mallow pie with gingersnap crust.

 A bit of research on the Steinbeck House, located at 132 Central Avenue, Salinas, CA 93901, reveals that this Queen Anne style Victorian was the birthplace and boyhood home of John Steinbeck, who wrote Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, Cannery Row, The Red Pony, and Tortilla Flat among others. To get a sense of how Steinbeck was so masterful in creating mood and evoking sensory response to food, read Chapter 22 in The Grapes of Wrath.

 The Steinbeck House was built in Salinas in 1897, and the Steinbeck family moved into the house in 1900. The house was opened to the public as a restaurant on February 27, 1974, which was the 72nd anniversary of John Steinbeck's birth. In 1995 the house was designated as a literary landmark, and in 2000 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

~Kathy~

Shopping Mania has begun...

                                            Shopping Mania has begun...


  
   With the Grand Opening of Paragon Outlets in Livermore today, I found myself
driving to the new shopping center...just like thousands of other people. As I walked through the outdoor mall, and checked out a store here or there, I was
asking myself why I felt the desire to be here among all of these people. There was a sense of the upcoming holiday season in every store window, and a spirit of joy among the crowd, which was helped by the free peppermint chocolate from the Ghiradelli Factory Outlet.

  What is the driving force behind this mania to go to such a place on opening day? Is it fueled by relief that the election is finally over, and we no longer have to see negative campaign ads? Or is it the reality that there are only 47 shopping days left until Christmas. Maybe its the contagion of people spending money to buy gifts for others (or themselves) that is enticing. But maybe, just maybe it is just wanting to be in the know as to what shops there are, and what the hot trends seem to be. 

  All I know is it was enjoyable being part of a group of devoted shoppers of all ages and locations. I did manage to find a few gift items, but if the line was long I had no trouble setting things back on their racks and walking out the door. Given that the parking was out in a field, and there were many CHP traffic officers to direct the continuous stream of cars off of 580, no one really seemed to mind the wait. That patience will most likely wear thin in the coming weeks, but for today everyone was all smiles. 

~Kathy~