Sunday, December 26, 2021

The time for traditions--Tricia McGill

 

Find all my books here on my BWL author page.

Well, most of the celebrations are probably over with by today so all that is left is the tidying up. I sincerely hope everyone had the best time possible. In these strange times, it is difficult to know what is normal any more. No matter where you are in the world all we could hope for right now is that you were able to connect with your loved ones.

Most restrictions have been dropped in my part of the world—at least for the foreseeable future. However, who knows what is around the next corner. Personally, I am not one for making New Year resolutions as many people do. I tend to face life one day at a time nowadays, which seems to be the best solution in a world that is changing day by day.

The thing I like best about this time of the year is traditions that have stood the test of time. I am not sure if mistletoe is necessary amid the decorations any more—such as a tree with either a star or a fairy on its top, Santa visiting on Christmas Eve to bring goodies to those children who have been good, but it was a well-worn tradition in my household when I was young.

Depending on where you start to look for information on the tradition of kissing beneath this parasitic plant that grows on trees and is poisonous, it seems to have been started by the Druids. Long considered to be a symbol of vitality with uncertain special curing properties, the earliest mention of its romantic powers was from Pliny the Elder, a Roman natural historian. He scoffed at the Druids notion that mistletoe when taken in a drink would aid in fertility.

Later the romantic association was expanded upon by the Norse in the story about Baldur’s mother Frigga, goddess of love. Legend had it that she ordered the plants and animals to promise not to harm her son—all plants except mistletoe. So, good old Loki, god of mischief, then killed Baldur with a mistletoe spear. Frigga’s tears turned into mistletoe berries that brought Baldur back to life, thus making Frigga declare mistletoe as a symbol of love.

Phew and here was I thinking it was a British Christmas tradition whereby if lovers kissed beneath the hanging sprig it ensured everlasting love. But it seems they didn’t start hanging mistletoe until the 18th/19th century. Mistletoe was also mentioned in Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers where he had young women screaming and struggling until they finally found it useless to resist the lure of being kissed beneath the mistletoe. Woe and betide any girl who resisted being kissed beneath it, for they would meet nothing but bad luck.

Mistletoe is still believed to contain healing properties by some, but there is little evidence to prove its worth as a herbal remedy. Sadly, the American Cancer institute has proven that there is nothing to suggest it contains an extract that will help the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

So there you have it—if you paused to kiss a lover or even a friend beneath the sprig of mistletoe this holiday season, you are almost certainly about to have the best of luck this coming year—or perhaps not. In any case, I wish you all that you wish yourselves in 2022.

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Saturday, December 25, 2021

A Traditional Scandinavian Christmas Recipe by A.M.Westerling

 

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2022! May you have time today to sit down and relax with loved ones. 


Every family has their favourite traditions and I'd like to share one of ours. My husband is Danish and this is one of the fun little customs we keep going. We eat our turkey dinner on Christmas Eve and serve rice pudding for dessert. 

 ****

Danish Rice Pudding

1 cup pearl rice

5 cups milk

¼ cup sugar

½ cup slivered almonds

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups whipping cream

Cherry Sauce

 Boil rice in milk over low heat 45 minutes. Cool, then add sugar, almonds and almond extract. Whip cream until stiff and fold into rice mixture. Chill. Turn into bowl and top with Cherry Sauce or spoon into individual dessert dishes and top with sauce. Makes about 12 servings.

 Cherry Sauce

1 16 ounce can dark sweet cherries.

1 teaspoon cornstarch

 Reserve about 1 teaspoon cherry liquid. Turn remaining liquid and cherries into saucepan and heat to boiling. Blend cornstarch with reserved liquid and stir into boiling mixture. Cook and stir until well blended, then cool sauce and chill.

**** 

Now here comes the fun part. Place a whole almond in the pudding and whoever gets the whole almond wins a little prize, usually a marzipan pig. As our family has grown, I now use 2 almonds. But everyone wants to win a coveted pig! Good luck!

How about Evelyn's Beau, a Christmas novella to read and enjoy when you have a moment to put up your feet? 

As a favour to the local vicar, Lady Evelyn Kendall agrees to organize a Christmas pageant involving disadvantaged children, never realizing it would lead to disaster for both her and Lord Oliver Harrington, the man she loves.



Available at your favourite online store HERE. Prefer print? Find that on Amazon.



Find all my books on my page at the BWL Publishing website.

Friday, December 24, 2021

December by Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

 

https://www.bookswelove.com/donaldson-yarmey-joan/

December

The word December comes from the Latin word decem which means ‘ten’. In the Roman calendar, which began with the month of March, December was the tenth month. The cold, wintery days between the end of December and the beginning of March did not have a name. Eventually, those days were called January and February and were considered the beginning of the calendar year. Therefore, December became the twelfth month but kept its name.

      The birthstone of December is turquoise with blue topaz a close second. Turquoise color can range from sky-blue to blue green to a vivid green. The flower of December is the narcissus. The Zodiac sign Sagittarius ends on December 21 and Capricorn begins on December 22.
 

     December is noted for the Nobel Prizes being awarded in that month. Other events that took place in December are: the first Sunday newspaper began publication in Britain on December 4, 1791; the Bill of Rights was passed in the USA on December 14, 1791; the Wright brothers made their first flight on the December 17th, 1903; and the first heart transplant took place in December 03, 1967.
 

     Celebrations in December include World Aids Day on the first, the International Day of the Disabled Person on the third, and International Hug day on the fourth. Human rights day is on the tenth but there is also the month long observance of Universal Human Rights. Poinsettia Day is on the twelfth.

     Christmas Day is celebrated by Christians around the world on December 25 to mark the birth of Jesus Christ. Some non-Christian celebrations in December include: Hanukkah from December 7-14 on the Jewish calendar; Bodhi Day (Buddhism) on the 8th; and Datta Jayanti (Hinduism) and Yomari punhi (Nepal Era) on the 25th.
 

     Some facts and beliefs about December:


    December 1st always falls on the same day of the week as September 1st and December 31st is always on the same day of the week as April 30th, even in a Leap Year.

    December 21 is the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and has the shortest number of daylight hours of the year. It is the first day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere and has the longest daylight hours there.

     The ancient Mayans were very advanced in their culture and in their understanding of the universe. Because the Mayan calendar ended on the 21st of December 2012, many people world-wide thought it predicted the world as we knew it would end on that day.

     If snow falls on Christmas day, Easter will be warm and sunny.

     Some believe that December 28 is the unluckiest day of the year, while spiders and their webs are considered lucky on Christmas.

     More dentists have birthdays in December than in any other month according to a survey done in 2011. The results of another survey showed that couples argue the most during the last month of the year.

     More money is drawn from ATMs during December than in any other month.

     St. Nicholas, was originally the patron saint of children, thieves, and pawnbrokers. He is now known as Santa Claus.

     A Norse tradition of cutting and burning a tree on December 21 to bring in the Winter Solstice was supposed to last for twelve days. This is now known as the 12 days of Christmas.

    Germany had the first artificial Christmas trees. Some were wooden and shaped like a pyramid while others, developed in the 1880s, were made of goose feathers that were dyed green. Candy canes are supposed to represent the Shepherds cane, the star at the top of the tree is for the first Christmas night and candles, which were used before there was power for lights, represented the light of the world.


Thursday, December 23, 2021

A Christmas Story by Victoria Chatham

 

AVAILABLE HERE

After discussing Christmas-themed stories with friends, I came up with this short story. Indulge in your favourite beverage, sit by a warm fire, and take a few minutes to read through it. I hope you enjoy it. Greetings of the season and Merry Christmas to everyone.


BEN’S CHRISTMAS WISH 

Two days before Christmas and Mom and Dad were arguing again. Ben sighed. At six years old, he knew Christmas was supposed to be a happy time but, listening to the rise and fall of his parents’ voices as they tramped from the kitchen into the hallway and then back again, he didn’t think they’d ever be happy again.

            It seemed to Ben they’d been arguing ever since he had asked, again, if he could have a kitten. He’d wished for one at Easter but only received a chocolate Easter egg. He’d asked for a kitten for his birthday, but Dad said no. And now he’d written a letter as best he could, asking Father Christmas for a kitten and that had made Dad cross.

            Ben pushed back his comforter and slipped out of bed. He quietly opened his bedroom door a crack and still heard the murmur of voices below. In a sudden blast of motion, Dad came into the hall. Ben sneaked onto the landing and peered between the railings. He watched Dad pull on his jacket, zip it up and reach for a warm toque. A gust of cold air swept in as the front door opened and closed with a bang. Dad was gone.

            Ben could hear his mom crying in the silence, making soft snuffly noises. He didn’t like hearing her cry and went back into his bedroom, thinking hard. Dad said it was best to ask right away when he had any questions, so that was what he would do. He’d find Dad and ask him why he was cross and why Mom was so upset.

            He pulled his Blue Jay Minors sweatshirt over his pyjamas, searched for his Fireman Joe socks under the bed and wiggled his toes into them. He sneaked out onto the landing, heard his mom talking and guessed she had phoned her best friend Jill, who lived next door. He made his way downstairs and reached into the closet for his coat and boots. He hadn’t heard the car start and thought Dad couldn’t have gone far. If he ran, Ben knew he could catch up with him. He pulled his boots on and let himself out of the house.

            The cold nearly took his breath away. He zipped his coat and pulled the collar up around his ears. He should have put on a hat, too, but he was not going back until he found Dad. Snow had already fallen, and Dad had shovelled into great heaps on either side of the driveway. Ben could barely see over them to the sidewalk beyond.

            He knew if he turned left, that would take him past Jill’s house and on around the block. If he turned right and walked for a couple of blocks, he would reach the plaza where Mom shopped and sometimes took him for a burger and fries. He liked looking in the store windows and especially liked the gazebo in the centre. Bands played there in the summer, and sometimes there were clowns and face-painting. Now there was a little crib with Baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph. Mom had told him the story about there being no room at the inn, and he felt real sorry for any baby born in a stable.

            Ben had his head down against the cold. As he crunched through the snow, he realized his boots were on the wrong feet and were pinching but did not stop to change them. He had to find Dad. Looking around the plaza, Ben saw that all the stores were closed, and their lights were out. What time must it be for all the lights to be out?

            The only bright spot was a soft glow from the gazebo. He stood for a moment listening to the bitter wind moaning in the bare trees and the Christmas decorations rattling against the ornamental streetlamps on which they hung. He was suddenly scared, knowing this wasn’t right and that he wouldn’t find Dad here.

            Ben ran towards the warm glow of the little lantern hanging above the crib in the gazebo. Mom said Baby Jesus knew just about everything, so he ducked under the guard rail and moved closer to ask where his dad had gone. Bending towards the crib, Ben heard a soft, mewing cry. He reached over and parted the straw in the crib. Something moved, and Ben quickly stepped back. Whatever it was, it was still crying and would not come out. He reached out again, this time moving the straw to one side.

            There in the crib, curled up and crying beside Baby Jesus, lay a kitten. It was gray and white with black stripes on its head and sides. It opened its mouth, showing tiny teeth and a pink tongue, as it tried to stand up on wobbly legs.

            “You’re cold,” Ben said. “Come on, little kitty, I can warm you up.”

            He unzipped his jacket, picked up the kitten and tucked it inside. He liked the way its fur tickled his chin, and the crying changed to a happy purr. Ben could feel the vibrations through its tiny body. It was like holding his Robby Robot with the battery running. He sat with his back against the crib, talking to the kitten, forgetting for the moment that he was looking for Dad.

            The kitten was more important. Dad wore a big coat to protect him against the cold. The kitten didn’t have a coat. Dad would know how to get home, but Ben thought the kitten must be lost. Dad could take care of himself, but the kitten had no one but Ben to take care of it right now.

            “You know what, little kitty,” Ben whispered. “Mom helped me write a letter to Father Christmas at the North Pole, and I asked for a little kitten. I think you’re it, and I’m going to call you Christmas.”

            Ben was so engrossed in the kitten that he jumped when a voice somewhere way above him suddenly said, “Now, now, young fella, what’s going on here?”

            Ben hadn’t heard anyone approaching. When he looked up, all he could see was a big belly and above that a vast expanse of white beard. Ben had been told not to talk to strangers many times, but there was something comforting in this man’s voice, and he looked a little bit familiar.

            “Come on, son, give me your hand. I’ll help you up.”

            Ben took the offered hand and allowed himself to be helped to his feet. He was stiff with cold.

            “What have you got there?” the man asked.

            “It’s a kitten,” Ben said. “I think he’s lost.”

            “Are you lost?”

            Ben shook his head. “No, I was looking for my dad but found this kitty instead.”

            “Does your mom know you are out looking for your dad?”

            Ben shook his head again.

            “Well now, it seems to me we should take care of a few things here. First, let’s call your mom, so she doesn’t worry. Know your telephone number, son?”

            “Yes.” Ben took the cell phone the big man handed him and punched in his number. It rang once, and then his mom said, “Hello.”

            “Hi, Mom, it’s me. I went to look for Dad and found a kitten…”

            “Ben. Thank goodness. Where are you?” Mom’s voice sounded shaky, and Ben thought she might still be crying.

            He squinted up at the big man beside him. “I’m in the plaza with Baby Jesus and Father Christmas.”

            Then his father came on the line. “Stay there, Ben. We’ll be right over.”

            Ben couldn’t figure out how he’d missed Dad. “My Dad got home,” he said as he handed the phone back to Father Christmas.

            “That’s good. Now you’ll be going home to join them.”

            Ben sniffed and dropped his head to nuzzle the kitten in his jacket.

            “Now what’s that face for?” Father Christmas asked.

            “I don’t know if Mom and Dad have stopped being mad at each other, an’ I don’t like when they shout. I think I made them cross,” Ben whispered.

            “Well now, that’s possible, I’ll grant you, but sometimes other things that have nothing to do with their boys or girls make moms and dads cross.”

            “Really?” Ben wanted to believe him, wanted to forget Mom crying.

            “Yes, really. You’ll see and, if I’m not mistaken, this is your mom and dad now.”

            A car, headlights slicing the night, slipped sideways on the entry into the plaza, fishtailed again and drove across the empty parking lot towards them. The doors opened, and Mom and Dad were there, together, hugging him, scolding him, asking if he was all right.

            “I am, but I think you’re squishing my kitty,” Ben said. He opened his jacket and out popped the little striped head, protesting noisily at the cold night air and the commotion around it.

            “Oh, Ben, where on earth did you find it?” Mom stroked the kitten with a gentle finger.

            “It was with Baby Jesus, Mom. Can I keep him, please?”

            He saw the look pass between his parents, and then Dad said, “We’ll take it home with us for tonight and phone the animal shelter in the morning. It might just belong to another boy, and we will have to give it back.”

            “But if it doesn’t, if no one comes for it, can I please keep it?” Ben persisted. He held the kitten protectively against his chest with one hand and shook Dad’s arm with the other.

            “Ben, we’ve been over this pet thing a hundred times…”

            “I know, I know, but I promise, I really promise I’ll look after it. I will, Dad, you’ll see.”

            Dad looked Mom. “Susan?”

            It surprised Ben to see a smile curve his mom’s mouth. That pleased him. It was much nicer than tears.

            “Your call, Don.” Mom spoke so softly Ben could barely make out the words. He looked at his father and saw that he was smiling now.

            “Christmas, you’ve got a home,” he whispered to the kitten.

            “In the car, Ben,” Dad said, “and the kitten too. We’ve all had enough adventures for one night. It’s time to go home and get warm.”

            “And Father Christmas,” Ben said. “We have to take him too.”

            The big man laughed. “I’m not Father Christmas, son. My name’s Bill Bryce. I’m the security guard here.”

            He shook hands with mom and dad, wished them all a Merry Christmas and walked away to continue his rounds as Ben got into the car.

            As soon as the doors closed and Dad started the motor, Ben opened his jacket, and the kitten crawled out.

            “You know what, Christmas,” Ben said happily, “we’re going to have the best one ever.”


THE END

           


Victoria Chatham

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Wednesday, December 22, 2021

A new National Park. Another dead body.


 After a book reading, one of the attendees asked me why I kept killing off people in National Parks. "I've visited dozens of National Parks. They're safe, like Disneyland, only in the wild." 

Having spent the winter in Arizona, I was armed with a quick and factual answer, "Six people died in Grand Canyon National Park falls in the first five months of this year." She was aghast and accused me of making up that number. I assured her those people all died when they fell from cliffs, and the number has climbed significantly since the advent of the "selfie." A selfie usually involves someone trying to capture themselves in a picture with some attractive background. That's not a big deal if you're trying to take a picture of yourself with Justin Trudeau in a restaurant, but it's much riskier if you're back is to a cliff and you're not paying attention to the precipice behind you.

Aside from the dangers of vertical drops, national parks have a variety of animal hazards, from Bison and Kodiak bears, to snakes and alligators. A Yellowstone National Park wildlife photographer was using a telephoto lens to capture pictures of a napping wolf pack. To his horror, a pair of hikers, deeply absorbed in a discussion and not paying attention to their surroundings, walked within 20 yards of the Alpha male wolf. Rising from his bed, the wolf watched the hikers walk by the pack without the hikers ever realizing they'd passed within two leaps of a wild predator. A nature magazine published the series of photos. I wonder if the hikers were ever shown the visual evidence of their close call?

Last year, a woman in the Black Hills wandered close to a Bison calf while snapping pictures. She was so absorbed in her quest for the perfect baby buffalo picture that she didn't notice the calf's mother until it snagged her belt with its horn. Other tourists recorded the ensuing encounter on video as the woman was tossed by the Bison like a rag doll until her belt broke. The woman survived the incident, but not without mental and physical scars. A number of parks have used that video to remind visitors that the park animals are wild and they need to maintain a safe distance from them. (i.e. can you run to the safety of your car before the Bison reaches to you?)

Not all of nature's perils are cliffs and wild animals. The remains of a hiker, lost since the 1980s, were recently recovered from Glacier National Park. He'd been hiking alone and apparently got caught in a snow squall. Disoriented, he probably died of hypothermia. Dozens of park visitors disappear every year. Most lose track of the fact that they're in a place that's maintained in its rugged wild state so people can enjoy the beauty of nature. They're shocked when they wander away from the trail, or their group, and their cell phones don't have coverage. Another surprise comes when there's not an ambulance ten minutes away if they're injured. I touched on that in "Down River".

As a mystery writer, I find those true stories intriguing. By adding nasty people to the Fictional stories, there are endless possibilities. Yes, there are jerks even in pristine park settings. More National Park Service employees are injured by visitors than by animals, falls, and weather. That's a scary statistic which led the park service to issue bulletproof vests to their law enforcement rangers, as I did in "Death in Shifting Sands".

That statistic also led me to the "Grave Survey" plot. A pair of surveyors disappear in a remote area of Big Cypress National Preserve, while marking oil drilling lease boundaries. The Park Service is unable to locate them or their vehicle. Are they the victims of aggressive eco-protesters? Is there an oil company unhappy with their lease boundaries? Were they eaten by alligators? Or, is there some other human factor involved, like drugs, love, or money?

Visit my author page on the BWL publishing website and click on the cover picture to buy "Grave Survey" and discover the answer.

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