Carolyn F’s Neighborhood

I've never been before.  Neither had our friend S.  So, we decided we'd try it and it would be our gift to each other- if funds weren't crazy.  Can you believe it was only $12 for the day?!  HOLY COW!!  Funds were available, and we did it.

So, we made a big thermos with hot chocolate.  I layered and layered.  I couldn't get my arms straight down, and my legs look ginormous in my 3x men's snowpants.  But I was warm & dry. 

I saw everyone else and I knew I was overly layered.

What do I know, I grew up in central Texas.

Anyhow, I had a rough go.  My feet didn't cooperate, but I am proud to say I spent 2 hours on that trail.  I don't think we got very far in, but we did it.  I'm the only one who fell.  Joe nearly fell from laughing at me.  I had to take off my gloves, soaked, and my fingers froze to the poles.

We went uphil, and it was the coming downhill that did me in.

Next time we do it, everyone can have skiis and I'll get snowshoes instead.

My daughter sent to me .... flowers in a ceramic pot!

First Day of Christmas one floral arangment in a ceramic pot!

The flowers arrived just at the right time to save Mr FD. I was instructing him to go out in the rain and finish mowing the front lawn. He was able to make a lucky escape as I told the Flower Delivery Guy that I loved him!

I share my flowers with all those people who can't make it to their Chrstmas destinations due to weather, illness, poverty, or wisdom! Enjoy.

Thank you, Daughter 2. It doesn't get you out of helping with the domestic duties when you arrive though!

This year we've been a little naughty, it's true.  Life has thrown us some bumps and we did the best we could.

CrazyFamily

I am happy to say we're back on the road of goodness & those bumps are slowly being broken down.  We even managed to squash some right away!

We don't ask for much, but perhaps you could find a couple things in your bag for us anyhow.

1.  Joe-- he wants a super phone.  He doesn't need one, or I might get him one, but he wants one badly. 

2.  Nathan-- he wants this crazy $100+ lego set.  Insanity doesn't run in my family, so I can't spend it to get it for him.  His love of lego's still runs very, very strong.

3.  Me-- I'm pretty simple.  I just want what Nathan asked for on his 4th Christmas. 

TIA.

And yes, I still really do believe in you.

Love- Me

I am simply floating right now.

I got the call from my surgeon JUST NOW that the pathology reports on my lump and skin biopsy came back totally clear. I did not have any cancer cells anywhere in the samples they took. The lump was composed of fibrous tissue and totally benign and consistent with fibrocystic breast disease(not cancerous), and they found NOTHING in the skin biopsy to suggest I had IBC.

It's still a mystery what is causing the rash and swelling of the breast but I am scheduled for a consult with a dermatologist to have the rash looked at again.

This is seriously the BEST news I have gotten in like FOREVER and I am simply just ON TOP OF THE FUCKING WORLD!! I feel like this is the BEST Christmas ever, even though we are broke we have each other and our HEALTH.

I'm going to hug my kids, and bake cookies, and dance with my husband...

I love you ALL.
Seriously.

<3
Cat

For all those early travellers (is such a thing possible this year?) - In those famous words ...

My husband and I wish you a Merry Chrstmas!

Best Wishes from Mr FD, and more importantly, Best Wishes from Flamingo Dancer! 

I was following a mother with a small child sitting in the shopping trolley around the supermarket aisle. The little girl, about 3 or 4 years of age, was singing "Jingle Bells" as her mother shopped. Mum stopped and said "That is some very nice singing that you are doing"

The little girl replied very seriously, "Yes, it's a gift!"

I looked closely at the little girl, wondering if she was a Flamingo Dancer relative, but couldn't see any family resembelance. Love that attitude!

leaping lords, drummers drumming - I think I feel a headache coming on

Twelfth Day and Night – Twelve Drummers Drumming / Lords a leaping.

January 5^th. – Feast of Fools

Twelve - The 12 points of doctrine in The Apostle’s Creed

Leaping dancers were only performed by males and in pagan times were performed for the purposes of fertility, and for war. A good leaping dance was thought to psychologically prepare the men to go into battle. I don't know what it did for their fertility!

The Roman god of vegetation and war was Mars. Roman priests, with swords, performed a Satii ritual in which they leaped high to ensure that the corn crop grew.

In English tradition the leaping lords were probably morris dancers who performed between banquet courses. Twelve morris dancers, also armed with swords, would form dance patterns that ended with the swords coming together to form a Lock or Nut over the head of the Lord Of Misrule.

Other lords a leaping performed a dance, the gavotte, accompanied by a bagpipe and a drum

The day begins, like Christmas, with a dramatic religious service featuring the coming of the Three Kings. It had become traditional for the English king to make offerings at Mass of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to symbolize his connection with those kings and with Christ. This custom survived the Reformation.

The festivities were the most sumptuous of the year, filled with royal balls and parties. For Twelfth Day and Night among the common fold, a bean was baked into a cake and pieces distributed among the children and servants. Whoever found the bean was pronounced King of the Bean, and reigned for the rest of the day and night. If a pea was used as well, whoever found it became (or chose) the Queen of the Pea.

The Epiphany, the oldest of the Christmas feasts, is also known as Three Kings Day for the three magi who found the Christ Child after following a star to Bethlehem. It is celebrated on Jan. 6 and is the major holiday of the Christmas period in the Eastern Church.

Time for the Christmas tree and greenery to come down too. St. Boniface chopped down an oak tree, regarded as sacred by the Germanic pagans in an attempt to convert pagans to Christianity , and a fir tree sprang up from the stump, with its branches pointing heavenward. The apparent miracle and its interpretation gave the evergreen family of trees an unquestioned and permanent place in the constellation of natural Christian symbols.

The Twelve Days of Christmas song is a Twelfth night song  and sung by children as a "memory and forfeits" game. Whoever first forgets a line is out.

In many homes, they also played flapdragon or snapdragon. Players took turns picking raisins out of a dish of flaming brandy and popping them into their mouth. There were wagers on each person's chances of success – on surviving, I suspect!

Ordinary rural people enjoyed feasting, dancing, card playing, carol singing, storytelling, party games like hot cockles and shoeing the mare and attempting to bite an apple with a candle stuck in it hung on a string from the end of a stick. Oh how they loved dicing with immolation those hearty folk!

The twelve days of Christmas was a most welcome break for rural workers , which in Tudor times would have been the majority of the people. All work, except for looking after the animals, would stop, restarting again on Plough Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth Night.  Maybe that is also why we all hate Monday so much  - I mean Plough Monday, yippee!

The 'Twelfths' had strict rules, one of which banned spinning, the prime occupation for women. Flowers were ceremonially placed upon and around the wheels to prevent their use.

During the Twelve Days, people would have visited their neighbours, sharing and enjoying the traditional 'minced pye'. The pyes would have included thirteen ingredients, representing Christ and his apostles, typically dried fruits, spices and of course a little chopped mutton - in remembrance of the shepherds.

That’s it folks – over for another year! Diets start January 6th and the credit card balance will be due in February.

The Eleventh Day of Christmas : Eleven Pipers Piping  / or ladies dancing / bulls a-bleating / bears a-baiting

January 4th

The Eleven Pipers represent the Eleven Faithful Apostles

In centuries past guests were often entertained by musicians, dancers, jugglers, etc. as well as singing and dancing themselves. Bagpipes and their younger cousins the musette (an instrument similar to a bagpipe but the air for the sound came from bellows rather than blowing into the instrument) were popular instruments for dance music. While we usually associate the bagpipe with Scotland, they were also a common instrument in France as well. Since Queen Elizabeth I was succeeded by the Stuart kings of Scotland, bagpipes and other aspects of Scots culture were common among the upper classes in England as were elements of French culture due to intermarriage of the English and French nobility.

It has been reported that the members of the present British Royal Family are woken up at their Christmas retreat of Balmoral by pipers playing bagpipes outside their bedroom windows. What a jolly lot they must be!

During the reign of Elizabeth I archery was the only sport allowed on Christmas day. All others were banned. Archery was promoted as the lower classes were often archers in the army of the period and so to practise at the expense of all else was seen as a good way of building the nations defences

Throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas the Lord of Misrule reigns.  The Lord of Misrule is thought to have originated from benevolent Roman masters who allowed their servants to be the boss for a while. The Church entered the act by allowing a choirboy, elected by his peers, to be a Bishop during the period starting with St. Nicholas Day (6th December) until Holy Innocents Day (28th December). Within the period the chosen boy, symbolising the lowliest authority, would dress in full Bishop's regalia and conduct the Church services. Many of the great cathedrals adopted this custom including York, Winchester, Salisbury Canterbury and Westminster. Henry VIII  abolished Boy Bishops

The Lord of Misrule was appointed by all "persons of worship" including Lieutenants and Sheriffs of counties, and even bishops, to manage the merriment of the Twelve Days.

At the court and at the universities, Misrule was usually elected on St Thomas's Day, so there is plenty of time to plan. He then chooses officers for his Court of Misrule such as Marshal, Master of the Game, Constable, and Chief Butler. For Christmas 1561, the Lord of Misrule at the Inner Temple was Lord Robert Dudley.

On each of the twelve days of Christmas, his rule runs from evening until breakfast the next day. His duties consist consisting mainly of presiding over the feasting, games, and dancing.

At supper, the courtiers of Misrule are cried in to the hall with silly names like Sir Francis Flatterer, Sir Randall Rakabite of Rascall Hall in the County of Rakehell, Sir Morgan Mumchance, or Sir Bartholomew Balbreech of Buttocksbury. How amusing!

Remember The Pied Piper of Hamelin  by Robert Browning (1812-1889)? He has nothing to do with the Twelve Days of Christmas but he was a piper piping!

http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/rbrowning/bl-rbrown-pied.htm

Want a Christmas Pudding with a difference? Try it as a cocktail!

Christmas Pudding

• 1 ounce Drambuie
• 5 ounces Guiness beer
• 1 ounce Southern Comfort

Combine ingredients and serve in a red wine glass.

Read more at : Christmas Cocktail Recipes: These festive Christmas cocktail recipes will help you deck the hall http://partyfood.suite101.com/article.cfm/christmas_cocktail_recipes#ixzz0aKIaawKM

Twas the month of Christmas.  Holiday cheer was in the air.
At our house anxiety was in the air
The routine was off, instead of work Christmas crafts were being made.
Rehearsals for the Christmas program were more and more.
Who is this guy in the red suite?  How does he come in?  We don't have a chimney.
A tree, lights and shiny decorations that weren't there before have appeared.