I am running late already this year!  Twelfth night was Friday night, the “twelfth day of Christmas”, when the greens are taken down (traditionally burned in a bonfire).

I have not started taking down Christmas and am not in a particular hurry to do so.  This Christmas was very special to my family and myself because exactly 1 year ago I was diagnosed with Leukemia and spent a month in the hospital- Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, etc.   Having my house full of the regalia of Christmas will forever remind me of that time and how my family went above and beyond to bring happiness  to me in the scariest ward of a hospital.

So don’t mind me if I enjoy my Fifteenth Night or even longer!  I will, of course, make a cake and bake a bean in it- whoever gets the piece with the bean will be the “King or Queen of the Bean,” and will be boss for the day!

 

I stopped into a shop in the next town over, and discovered that they sell crumpets!

I’ve never eaten a crumpet, but I did know they are cousins to the English Muffin.  I grew up eating english muffins – my favorite was cinnamon and raisin.  I loved way the butter melted into the little holes that appeared after it was split.

Crumpets are a lighter texture due to being made with yeast, and have one side toasted and the nooks and crannies are on the top.  Of course, they can be  topped with all manner of goodies like butter and jam, devonshire cream, honey, and more.

I must get a set of muffin rings and try my hand at this English treat.

 

 

I am a big fan of soup.  It is wonderful on a cold day, and simmering it for hours on the stove heats the kitchen, too.

Making vegetable soup is easy if you have leftover or surplus vegetables.  I make mine tomato juice based due to a vegetarian in the family, but beef or chicken broth is also good.    I don’t follow a recipe and it’s always good.

Hot toasted cheese sandwiches or even cheese and crackers are great served with this soup.   I have plenty of pecans left over from Christmas baking, so I might make a pecan pie.

 

Today I visited my father and we took time to look at old family pictures.

We saw a Christmas picture taken at his grandparents and noted a large wood console radio in the background.  Dad stated that he actually had that very radio in storage!

It will be fun to talk to him some more about it- and maybe this spring dig through his stored memories and see it for myself..

Yes, that is my dad with his cute smile in the picture!

 

In my mind, Miss Marple is sitting in a wing chair by the fire, no doubt wrapped in a wooly cardy and shawl, covered with a lap robe and drinking hot tea.

Perhaps her bed is already warming with a hot water bottle and a feather bed in place.

Like Miss Marple, I am readying myself for a cold winter’s night- the windchill where I live is -17 Fahrenheit.  A cup or two of hot tea is in order and then to bed between flannel sheets and to read a good book.  Currently hubby and I are reading They Came to Baghdad (of course, written by Agatha Christie).

In the book What Mrs. McGillicuddy saw, Miss Marple calms down her friend Elsbeth after she witnesses a murder.  The logical thing for Miss Marple to do is to ply her friend with homemade cowslip wine in old Waterford glasses.

I like Waterford crystal (and own a few bits), so I investigated and discovered that the “old Waterford glasses” of Miss Marple’s era were Extremely Old.  Waterford had a 100 year hiatus in manufacturing starting in 1851, so her glasses, noted as being old, were dated prior to this time!

I think this was an exciting little adventure, and I almost forgot that Miss Marple wasn’t real.

 

 

 

 

 

It is traditional in England to drink wassail- a hot punch at Christmastime and New Years.  An authentic recipe involves apples, oranges, spices and eggs- as in egg nog!  I do like hot apple punch, and I do like eggnog, but I’m not so sure I would like the two together!

Did you remember to leave out a glass of Sherry for Father Christmas?  In America, we leave out milk and cookies!

In English speaking countries around the world, it is popular to celebrate the New Year with singing Scotland’s Bobby Burns’ Auld Lang Syne.

The first verse and chorus of Auld Lang Syne is the common one sung at the stroke of midnight-

Should Auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne.

chorus:

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We’ll tak a cup o’kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

 

A Belleek Quaich (Scottish toasting cup)

About a month ago, while finishing the final chores of the last garden season, I wondered if I could grow a little windowsill garden over the winter.

I saved the root end of a stalk of celery and sat it in a jar with just a little water in the base and within weeks, I had little white roots at the bottom and baby sized celery leaves sprouting from the top!  It has now graduated to its third jar!  (I’m so proud).

Around that same time, I collected the seeds of a bell pepper and tried to sprout them on top of the refrigerator, but it was too hot and they dried and shriveled.

I have an avacado pit suspended over a clear jar of water with little toothpicks, hoping that some roots will appear- so far it is  just a cracked seed.

My latest adventure started today!  I received an Amaryllis bulb and forcing vase for Christmas.   Since an Amaryllis is native to South Africa, and my window sills seem native to Siberia, I have ordered a window sill heating mat.

 

Boxing Day is a holiday not celebrated in the US, but in Commonwealth countries such as the UK, Ireland, and Australia. In these places, it is a holiday with its own traditions.

One tradition is for families to gather and eat up the Christmas leftovers, mince pies and Christmas cakes (fruitcake).

It is the second of the twelve days of Christmas- most people can remember the traditional song- but do not realize that there really are twelve days of Christmas, ending on Twelfth Night with its own cake!

Today is also the Feast of Saint Stephen- of the Good King Wenceslas song!