Holiday brunch

Yesterday, I hosted my annual holiday brunch. I am kicking myself because I didn't take pictures. I could have taken pictures of the mess I had to clean up afterwards but it was not pretty.

I love cooking for people but seem to never get around to it so my Christmas get-together makes up for a year of slacking. There were about 15 people (& children - oh how the demographics change as we age). It was a good mix of people and they were all life-friends of mine....except for my boss who I have just met this year. [It is interesting to have your manager in your personal life but I invited her because we are kindreds. I am blessed to have her as someone I can learn from. There is not a day that goes by without her teaching me something about philanthropy or discussing deep life issues. ]

Despite having great people around me at the brunch, I felt some disappointment with other friends of mine. There is a trend towards no-shows or not responding at all to an invitation or even cancelling at the very last minute. It is disappointing because as a host you choose your guests because you want to share time and food with them. I am odds with myself on what to do with such friends. One-on-one, I have good times with them but should I still invite them to group things if I know I will again be disappointed with their non-chalance? I did learn from my last couple of brunches. Previous years I hosted the brunch on two different Saturdays leading up to Christmas with plans for between 10-15 guests at each brunch. But due to no-show rates and cancellation, there were a couple of brunches of only 5 or 6 people and lots of left-overs. This year, my intelligence kicked it up a notch and I invited everyone on the same day and it worked out great.

I truly appreciate my life-friends. They are very dear to my heart and life. I would do anything to help them out in need. When we spend together, we always wonder why we don't see each other more often. One of my New Year's suggestions for 2008 is to have intentional time together with my life-friends and their families.

Oh, I almost forgot about the most important part of the brunch...no, not the Baileys for the coffee and the rum for the eggnog. The food: We had eggs benedict with wilted spinach/portabello mushrooms or smoked salmon with home-made hollandaise sauce, Land of Nod cinnamon buns, Schwartzies potatoes, mezza platter (olives, goat cheese, fig sauce, crackers, red peppers, carrots, grape tomatoes, gouda, etc) and shortbread cookies and fudge to top it off. All crowd favourites - although I had to explain the art of the eggs bennie to a couple of people! Seriously, eggs bennie is the food of the gods!

it's the most wonderful time

OK, so I will admit it, there is definitely a feeling of excitement about Christmas stirring within me. In 2 weeks, I will be at mom and dad's for the holiday. Since Christmas is probably my favorite holiday (Easter is a close second), here is a list of the ten things I love about Christmas (in no particular order):

1) The mandarin orange in the toe of my stocking
2) The fact everyone must be up before anyone can open their stocking
3) Singing carols, reading from Luke or Matthew, sometimes sharing and meditating on Christmas before opening presents (the calm before the storm)
4) Turkey and stuffing
5) Boney M - "Feliz Navidad"
6) Christmas Eve services and the food afterwards
7) Trimming the tree
8) O Holy Night - only the best Christmas Carol ever
9) After Eight chocolates
10) Everyone helping with breakfast clean-up

That is my list for today! Merry Christmas to all. Peace to you this holiday season. To my family, I will see you all very soon. I can barely wait. Only 14 more sleeps until I see you and only 19 until Christmas day.

Mother Pray

Tonight, sitting at my computer listening to the CD "There will be a Light" by Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama (v. good, by the way), I was overwhelmed by the simplicity of song #9 called Mother Pray - a traditional spiritual song:

If I could only hear my mother pray again
If I could hear her tender voice as then
How happy I would be
It would mean so much to me
If I could hear my mother pray again

Listen to it. I am thankful today for a mother who prays. I come from a strong heritage of women who pray. Thank you, my dear mom.

the results of nothing

The doing nothing is not as easy as it sounds. Perhaps it has more to do with finding un-scheduled time and choosing what you want to do...if so, then I am a pro at doing nothing this week. Today, I got out of bed at 9am, read the newspaper over breakfast, talked to my sister who is bored because she actually has to do nothing due to recent surgery, went shopping at H&M, Staples, Michaels and Indigo. Stopped by at the library, borrowed some books and came home for a bite to eat. Tonight is going to be "chock-a-block" full of reading new magazines(a small addiction of mine) and perhaps delving into one of the books from the library... Time really flies when you are not on a schedule and just take life as it come.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I had 3 days out of 9 days where I was doing nothing. Today was official day one where I just went where the "wind" blew me. It was lovely not to be rushed but to meander.

On the weekend, I wasn't so much into the doing nothing but I did hermit myself away to paint my bedroom. The color was "Pineapple Sundae" and on the paint chip, it was a lovely pale yellow. On my walls however, it is a "bit" brighter. Using color is a big step for me because I prefer the neutral browns, whites, blues but here's the new look:

Now my room is fresh, bright, organized and clean. Sometimes that is all a girl needs...a sanctuary of her own.

The Beauty of Doing Nothing

The day has arrived - I am on vacation and have 9 glorious days off.

In anticipation of this time-off, I sat down 2 weeks ago and made a list of things I wanted to accomplish during these 9 days. As some of you know, I love making lists. So I scheduled my tasks...they included everything from cleaning my carpets to taking my recycling to the depot to booking a massage to lunch with friends to painting my bedroom and much more.

However, I was absolutely dismayed when I saw how fast my precious 9 days filled up with errands, to-do's and obligations. As much as I love lists, this list left me unsettled.

That same day, I started reading Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love". The author spends 4 months in Italy where she discovers the Italian phrase "il bel far niente" which translates to "the beauty of doing nothing." This phrase hit me like a...I want to say "a bolt of lightning or ton of bricks" but it seems rather cliche. Regardless, the idea of doing nothing shook me to my very being.

Now, I can procrastinate with the best of them and accomplish nothing but that is not the same thing as "doing nothing". If I am procrastinating or not doing anything, I can become overwhelmed with guilt. We live in a world where what you do defines you. So, if I do nothing, am I nothing? Doing nothing would be challenging for me because I like to accomplish things. I like to check things off my list. The busyness energizes me.

After contemplating this idea for awhile, I realized to truly enjoy "the beauty of doing nothing", it boils down to your intent and pleasure derived from it. In light of this revelation, I re-visited my list of things to do. I decided that I would only do things that will bring me pleasure for my time-off. I do want to return to work somewhat rested. So, I took some things off the list and re-organized some other things. I now have 3 days where I have no plans...oh, I can't wait to do nothing intentionally. Perhaps I will go to Banff and do nothing up there...or walk to a coffee shop and doing nothing there for a couple of hours...or sit and listen to the silence for a while.

I have a sneaky suspicion this may be easier said than done but perhaps this is a lesson I need to learn.

Doubled by Wonder

Many magazines in the stores feature American Thanksgiving stories, ideas and it is a good reminder to be thankful as Canadian Thanksgiving seems like a distant memory now.

Today, I read about how the Real Simple editor says five things she is thankful before she gets out of bed each morning. I thought about that...perhaps it would inspire me to want to get up each day.

I have a friend where we used to email each other regularily about 3-5 things that made us happy or thankful. We have fallen out of the habit. I should email her. Well, here is what I am thankful for today:
1) Zach Light's giggles
2) The freedom to leave work early on a Friday afternoon
3) Little boxes of Smarties available only around Halloween
4) Cooking for people
5) Going home for Christmas - my ticket has been purchased.


I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. ~G.K. Chesterton

My new crush

I was born fifty years too late.

I am in love with an older man. Actually, I have a crush on who the man was fifty years ago.

Perhaps it is unladylike to think such lustful thoughts but seriously...I watched him in the film "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" last night. Sensuality oozes from his every pore.

He has aged gracefully and beautifully, makes a great salad dressing, is a philanthropist and has stayed married to his wife for almost 50 years.

How can you not have a crush on him?

Need I say more?