Happy Thanksgiving!

Gaia, Pachamama, Mother Earth and for all her children... we give thanks!

Quiet & Peace

I'm dreamin' of a q-u-i-e-t Christmas...

Thanks to Joshua Held

Winter Solstice

Celebration of Re-Awakening!

Via

Reveillon ~ NewYear's Passage

More cooking!

Last minute get-together and overnight stay at a friend's beautiful new house in the countryside to celebrate the passage into the New Year of 2014, the Reveillon or as we also say here the "Entering", Entrada.

We were four couples altogether.

Hubby and I did the cooking for the ceia at our home in the afternoon. Translation of ceia: supper, but with a suggestion of a feast to it, as it indeed was!

We started a bit late as had lunch with Son³, BelleFille³ and Herr Baby — Playing with The Baby is Very Important Work and needs time and attention!

We only got started with the cooking on about four o'clock and went right up the time we left at eight thirty (with a little time out for quick bath, packing and party clothes).

Menu Reveillon 2013
Hors d'Ouvres

Hubby made several*, as he greatly enjoys inventing new combinations.
Kürbiskernöl is a special pumpkin seed oil traditional to the Steiermark region of Austria. It has a dry, nutty flavor and is a surprising dark green color; it’s also great fun to pronounce!

* Tomato, fresh mushroom, hearts of palm drizzled with Kürbiskernöl  

* Dried apricots, softened in port wine and filled with cream & bleu cheese, garnished with nasturtium flowers

* Carpaccio with capers, grana cheese, and seasoned olive oil

* Parma ham, mini Italian tomatoes

* Cheese plate: bleu, camembert, brie... and cherries

Assorted breads – black olive and plain ciabatta, French baguette

 Dried fruit
Nuts

Fruit

Entrée

For the entrée Hubby made again his delicious

Smoked Surubim* Crêpes with Wasabi and Dill Cream Au Gratin

Plat Principal

I made my
Filet Mignon à la Moutarde aux Herbes de Provence 
and Deglacê Cream Sauce
served with the Hostess’s Fluffy Rice

Dessert

Apfelstrudel with Vanilla Ice Cream

Repeat performance — onto a delicious yummy good thing here!

The next day, after a leisurely breakfast that I just love, we were to be treated to Bacaulhau a Portuguesa to be made by the husband of one the couples, but there was so much left over from The Feast, that we just served it again for a very late lunch.
As we get older, although we do appreciate food more, we do eat less of it, and a good thing too!

The bacalhau has been set up for another dinner party, a legitimate excuse for more conviviality!

Good friends, beautiful surroundings, good food — an excellent "entrada" to the New Year.

Christmas 2013

Christmas blessings.

Our grandson spent Christmas day with us. At 1 yr 3 months, he now was able to interact more with the moment. He had quite a bit of hard work getting some balls off the tree and checking out the lighting — cool bulbs, verified by Grammie first...
Discovering that the plastic, baby-proof balls do boUnCe!

Family over for Christmas dinner.

Got up at seven, after going to sleep only at two-thirty am, to put the turkey in oven... with the finalizing etc, actually got it in a little later.
The "stuffing", my father's recipe of Outside the Turkey Onion and Sage Stuffing, I had already made in the day-before's cooking session: a whole other turkey, stuffing and sauce (gravy) for my co-suegros (my Belle Fille-to-be's parents).
When turkey done, made the gravy, again.

For someone "who doesn't cook", I sure was cooking a lot.
I guess the secret is out.

All this irregular cooking on my part in a busy kitchen (I'm a "lone"cook!), with my co-chefs, Gourmet Hubbie and BelleFilleToBe, who was in charge of the crêpe-making, and with "management" and support from said Son², till I got him cracking on the decorating.

During this time, also running about organizing the house, getting Son² to finish the Christmas tree decorations and other last minute things, setting the table — which envolves digging out the special plates and glasses from their hidey-holes as still don't have my kitchen cupboards! — hiding organizing the magazines and books that abound 'round the living room into the various bedrooms...

The last swipe of cloth, the last detail of the table setting finished, the last red bauble hung ... just three minutes before the doorbell rang!
Felt like one of those tv remodling shows!

Christmas Menu

Hubbie's
   • Smoked Surubim* Crêpes with Wasabi and Dill Cream Au Gratin
   • Roasted Pork Loin with Mustard&Dill Yoghurt Cream Sauce
   • Caraway seed and Olive oil Oven Potatoes
• Ginger and Honey Turkey
• Dad's Outside the Turkey Onion and Sage Stuffing

Dessert
A beautiful and delicious Apfelstrudel, that a friend makes, with Vanilla Ice Cream
She makes it just like the good ones in Austria and Germany.

*Surubim - Brazilian catfish

No pictures of the "before"!

After all the rush, a tranquil delicious dinner and time with family — best way to spend Christmas!

Post Christmas and Hope

Christmas tree and decorations down till next Christmas, and on the Epiphany, or Dia de Reis, as is the tradition here that I've adopted ... when I can manage it!

This past year of 2013 was a very strange year: most excellent times and some very bad times. Certainly not boring!
And my folorn blog very lonely as no energy left for posting. We'll see this year how it goes.

With a chronic mental health problem in the family, which wore me down, and which I let get to my "energy marrow", for the first time I was feeling afraid of a new year starting. At least the "old" wasn't too good, but the known devil. A great part of this fear was just pure exhaustion, and now that I'm a bit recuperated, I'm feeling glimmerings of hope, and my regular good humor somewhat returning.

 Fingers crossed.

Thanksgiving

Although no official holiday here where I live, we have always tried to do a family dinner to celebrate, usually on the following Saturday. This year on the Monday I decided to make a dinner for the regular lunch hour on the day, Thursday, and those of the family who could make it would come. (nearly all those who live here in town made it!).

We also had the presence of my Norinha³ and our/The Grandson. As she is working in another state and comes back and forth, not always do we have the happiness of having them for a celebration.

I am working on giving daily, several-times-a-daily, thanks for all the blessings we have.
Also for my "homework", working on my surrendering to God...
I do so want to micro-manage the Universe! 
And know the outcomes!
Getting through this difficult time is really testing my faith.

So, although really frazzled, I did want to celebrate a happy family moment and give thanks — and which all came together to happen.

Nana (Great Gran), Grammie (Gran), Herr Baby (New!)
Four generations were at the table — Blessing!

Seaside - Pisces

"Though they may not know it (or think of it that way), everyone likes the feeling of Pisces — whether it comes in the form of an erotic pleasure, visiting the seaside, film, music, photography, artwork, cannabis or a few drinks. Pisces in its most life-affirming expression is the sign of the finer things, most of which cannot be paid for — they are the result of human love. It takes more than paint to make a painting, and an open heart to appreciate the pleasure of the ocean."
from Planet Waves, today

Turned on the comp, got on the web... and came across the above. It is so apt, as just came back from a marvelous week at the seaside!

Christmas Eve

Prepared the turkey for its roasting early tomorrow morning
(Note to self: Put in oven at 07:00!), and other ingredients for tomorrow's Christmas dinner all organized.
Ufa! What a week, but everything's now pretty much done/planned...
I see that I still haven't recovered my stamina after the surgery.

Tonight, we go to my friend and youngest son's godmother's home, for their Christmas Eve family dinner.
It will be lovely, I'm sure — dear friends, laughter, and caring.

Merry Christmas!

Gerard van Honthorst, 1622
(click to enlarge)

Christmas: Butzelmann&Roses

Remember my Butzelmann bottles?

Here they are, all dressed for Christmas!

I sent the photo, along with my Christmas card, to the friend who sent them from Germany.
To you, dear:

Christmas

Got the tree up!
Happy dance, happy dance!
(This year, I actually got it up on Dec. 12th — Yea! Triple happy dance!)

 Tannenbaum 2011

click to enlarge

Got some candles lit...

And a few friends 'round the house...

 

(it's blurred cause the critters won't stay still!...)

(... not my hand shaking!)

Happy Holidays to all!

Christmas heart

  "Christmas is not just a holiday for sparkles, roast and trees.
   It's something you do by sharing your hands and your heart
   with people everyday."  ~  overthinking

A Touching Christmas Day by ~overthinking

Photography / Conceptual©2010-2012 ~ overthinking

Thanksgiving

via

Today I spoke with/saw with Skype my family in the States, while they gathered and cooked for Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's house.

How wonderful are comp video calls?

One more blessing to give thanks for today.

There I was, albeit stuck in a propped up flat box, in the their midst sharing the holiday in New England!

Simultaneously, I'm sitting in my chair in the spring/near-summer of my hemisphere, roughly 7427.1 km (4615 miles)* away, as some crazy bird would fly.

And that's about a third, very roughly, of the Earth's diameter!

(This little bit of info to add to my collection of interesting but useless information.)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

via

Valentine's Day

A star-studded cosmic-heart valentine for all my dear ones!

The Rosette Nebula
From APOD

The Last of Christmas

Today is Reis Magos/Epiphany, the day to take down the Christmas decorations.
Amazingly, I actually managed to!

The last few days I've been enjoying the lighted tree, the Christmas votive candles... the smell of the evergreen in my living room. As I was so late in setting up, the joy of seeing these was even greater. I was even a little sad, but a happy sad... another Christmas come and gone. Enjoyed, now that the rush&tiredness are over and just memory.
I'm awaiting some more photos that Son¹ took and has to send me. I'll post them here when they do come in...

The New Year we spent with some friends at their farm in the southeast part of the state, about three hours' drive away. We had a lovely time: very food oriented! What to cook, who(s) to cook it, the cooking, then the eating!
All repeated the next day!
This interspersed with good conversation and napping. I actually had to asked forgiveness from my hostess... I was taking very long naps; I think I may even have gotten some of my sleep debt paid!

The new little house, a guest cottage with two suites,
that we inaugurated. It is set up the hill in the orchard.
The materials were reused from another little house
that had been on the property.

Click to enlarge 
The view from the veranda of the guest cottage,
looking towards the valley.

The red flowers' sisters that edge the drive can be seen.

The evening of January 1st we had...

Pizza!

A pizza fest in their home-pizzaria!
What a great way to start the new year! 

Sorry, what between sleepiness and pizza-hunger,

I didn't take pictures of the baked pizzas.

via

Hubby made a coulis of jaboticabas brought from Son² girlfriend's fazenda. This at the end of their season in November, but it has kept well in the fridge. Jaboticabas are a native fruit to our state, and the coulis has beautiful deep, dark reddish-violet color and a tart taste. It is especially beautiful over vanilla ice cream. Yumm!

I washed and boiled some small jars and put some of the coulis in one. 
Then I made a quick label. The writing, made with a thin-tipped marker and color pencils, blurred as I had glued the label onto the jar with the very cold coulis already in it—the condensation attacked!
The effect came out not too bad... I can pretend it's a certain vintageness from ageing in a cellar.

I managed to find a ribbon in my mess atelier, and so, a gift for our hosts, who much admire Hubby's cooking talents.

Thanksgiving

Not for the Thanksgiving table!

Fall

Living where I live, I do miss those defined seasons of my childhood in the Northeast & New England.
Here, we are now in spring, in which begins The Rainy Season and hot weather.
Or used to.
As worldwide, the weather here is now also rather freaky: some years almost no rain, some years much and floods. This year, the rains have actually come "on time" in October as in the olden days, but accompanied by unusual bursts of, for us, a very winterish cold. Brrrrr...

But I do miss the lovely light and colors of the Fall...
The photos below capture these well.
And get me thinking even more of Thanksgiving.
We don't have this holiday here, but everyday can be dedicated to giving thanks for all our blessings, our harvest of joys.

(click to enlarge)

 Photographs by Elizaberh Maxson

To see more beautiful photos,and thoughtful post, go to her
The Adventures of Elizabeth

Halloween

    Today's Halloween. Here Halloween is Witchs' Day, Dia das Bruxas.
    And election day.
    Nuff said of that!

  

    On a lighter note, the following are Halloween images I have gathered
    from the web over the years.
    I don't have the credits for them. If anyone knows, I'll be most happy
    to give the authors their due.

    Warning: CUTE ALERT!!!

It's The Great Pumpkin!

 

A HAPPY and SAFE HALLOWEEN!