#Christmas Candy – Wordless Wednesday

December 29, 2021December 29, 202127 Comments

Let your photo(s) tell your story.

Pot of Gold chocolates have been a family tradition for over sixty years.

So I was really annoyed when they changed them this year. Where are all my old favorites – the rum butter caramel, butter creme and mocha caramel? They’ve gone back to those horrible strawberry and orange ones we used to feed to the dog when we were kids. And don’t tell me it’s supply issues……

My mother still enjoys a candy cane as she grew up in the Depression when Christmas morning meant peppermint candy and an orange.

I must have bought twenty of these, but most of them were given away – either to friends or the pharmacy, doctor’s office, snow-shoveler, grasscutter – anyone who helped me over the past year. It’s amazing how happy a box of fudge can make people, and I still have a few left to hoard until Valentine’s day.

These hot chocolate bombs filled with mini-marshmallows were great, and justified as I’m supposed to be increasing my calcium intake, and the dark chocolate is full of antioxidants.

These thin individually wrapped chocolate covered mints are nice served with coffee after a big meal, when you want something sweet but don’t have room for dessert.

Saving these for New Years – note the wrapping is still intact!

Also for New Years – I like the idea of creme brulee, pecan pie and raspberry cheesecake in a mini chocolate dessert cup. Some years just require more treats.

A reward for gingerly walking in snowy weather.

If we can’t have Paris, we can have Christmas in Paris tea! Gimmicky I know, but good, probably because of the chocolate.

Not candy but a New Year’s resolution – an alternative for people like me who can’t swallow big pills.

Do you have a favorite or traditional Christmas candy?

Mr. Dickens and His Carol – The Literary Salon

December 22, 2021December 24, 202115 Comments

It’s that time of year again – time for me to blog about one of my favorite books, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Recently, my library book-club chose Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva – a fictionalized account of how this famous book came to be written.

Publishers Blurb: Charles Dickens is not feeling the Christmas spirit. His newest book is an utter flop, the critics have turned against him, relatives near and far hound him for money. While his wife plans a lavish holiday party for their ever-expanding family and circle of friends, Dickens has visions of the poor house. But when his publishers try to blackmail him into writing a Christmas book to save them all from financial ruin, he refuses. And a serious bout of writer’s block sets in.

Frazzled and filled with self-doubt, Dickens seeks solace in his great palace of thinking, the city of London itself. On one of his long night walks, in a once-beloved square, he meets the mysterious Eleanor Lovejoy, who might be just the muse he needs. As Dickens’ deadlines close in, Eleanor propels him on a Scrooge-like journey that tests everything he believes about generosity, friendship, ambition, and love. The story he writes will change Christmas forever.

Discussion: I’ve blogged before (see link) about The Man Who Invented Christmas, by Les Standiford, a non-fiction book which delved into the history of Dickens classic tale, and the inspiration for the plot and characters. Ms. Silva’s book is historical fiction, and common to the genre, she has taken great liberties, first in imagining his muse – a lady he met on the streets of London during his customary night-time wanderings while plotting out his books. Having read several biographies of Dickens life I’m fairly certain no such woman existed, but as he is reputed to have left his wife and ten children for a much younger actress towards the end of his life, perhaps that is where she got the idea? In this book his wife and children depart for Scotland, angry over Dickens decision to pay an impromptu visit to his first love, and he is left alone to ponder his problems. (Serves him right – maybe he was a bit of a player?) Second, we’re a hundred pages in before the woman-of-mystery-muse is introduced, and not one word has yet been written, but as I recall Dickens wrote his novella over the course of six weeks, not two as she says. I guess I like my historical fiction to be somewhat factual. Third, was the inspiration for Scrooge, Dickens himself? The idea is intriguing, and she has a plausible explanation for the age difference, but somehow it just doesn’t translate.

The book jacket describes the author as a writer and screenwriter from Idaho, and she mentions several near misses in selling the script to Hollywood. As this and the Standiford book (a much better book, if a mediocre movie) came out the same year (2017), she decided to adapt it into a novel instead. That must be frustrating for an author – to find out someone else has a similar idea, especially after you’ve poured your heart into it. For a debut novel, it is well-written, in a style somewhat reminiscent of Dickens.

As I’m only half way through, it wouldn’t be fair to critique it too harshly, but it’s light fluffy fare – but then sometimes that’s exactly what you need, especially at Christmas. Save the heavy stuff for the fruitcake. I’m not sure why the book-club chose this, but it’s no fault of the librarians, as they’re limited to the book club kits purchased by someone else. Perhaps it was just a seasonal selection which sounded promising. The chapters are short, the plot thin, and I’m not sure what there would have been to discuss but as the book-club is now virtual, perhaps they just toasted with some hot rum punch and wished everyone a Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas and God Bless Us Everyone!

(Edited to add – I stayed up late last night and finished it, and the last fifty pages and ending were surprisingly good! – so I would give it a 3 out of 5)

Grannychic

December 16, 2021December 16, 202140 Comments

Although I’m not a granny, I was happy to read that the latest home decorating trend is Grannychic – also known as Cottagecore, or Grandmillenial style.

I first read about this new style, a direct reaction to the popular beige minimalist décor, in the October issue of Susan Branch’s blog. (Here’s a link to her blog.)

Susan Branch she is a cookbook author and watercolor artist, who lives on Martha’s Vineyard. She published a bestselling hand-written cookbook thirty years ago called Heart of The Home (recently re-issued), and has a long list of other cookbooks to her credit. I discovered her a few years ago, after reading a review of her self-published journal, Martha’s Vineyard – Isle of Dreams – which piqued my interest enough to order it. This illustrated journal centers around her adventures buying an old cottage on Martha’s Vineyard while in her 30’s and fixing it up. She also has two other handwritten journals, The Fairy Tale Girl about growing up in California in the 1960’s-70’s, (worth it for the chapter on meeting the Beatles), and A Fine Romance about her three month trip to the English countryside with her husband, (for those who always wanted to rent an English cottage). These gorgeous books are all for sale on her website. You can also sign up for her blog/monthly newsletters, which are always cheery and uplifting.

To me, Susan Branch is a perfect example of Grannychic. She lives in a big old (1849) white house on Martha’s Vineyard, which she bought with the proceeds of her first cookbook, (a far cry from the initial shack). The house itself is my idea of house heaven, complete with a white picket fence and flower gardens. Her husband Joe (he owned a restaurant, they bonded over cooking) is a sweetie, and even her tuxedo-cat, Jack, is a lovable character. In fact, her life is so perfect, that sometimes I’m too envious to read her blogs. She’s not Martha Steward though, she’s more casual and laid back.

So, what is grannychic – antique furniture, shelves full of books, candles, wallpaper, fabrics (chintz and toile and florals), plaid pillows, and lots of color (especially blues, pinks, greens and white). Check, check, check – I have all of those. Although I’ve renovated the outside of my older style home and parts of the inside, I never got around to getting rid of the wallpaper and wainscoting in the dining room and now I don’t have to!

Which just goes to show, if you wait long enough everything comes back in style.

It’s also a way of living – flower gardens, feeding the birds, listening to old music, baking and cups of tea.

It’s cluttered versus bare surfaces, lace doilies, pretty tablecloths, and china. I’m envisioning those who de-cluttered now frequenting thrift shops trying to buy their stuff back.

It’s even Laura Ashley (must check closet). I’m hoping that it invades the fashion world too, so we can all dress up again. I’ve been watching old re-runs of Murder She Wrote lately with my mother, and wow, the clothes, everything so colorful and coordinated. It seems like a different world.

Grannychic is the kind of comfy, classic look which never goes out of style. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the aesthetic of those beige minimalist rooms, it’s just that I don’t think I could relax in them. We’re now into the time of year when the winter winds are howling, so it’s time to draw the curtains (I don’t have to replace those either!) light the candles and get cozy.