O Christmas Tree

Our tree this year is the four-foot pre-lit artificial snow-with-berries-and-pine-cones Martha Stewart variety (we had to toss the older, taller tree because it had become too musty and moldy from living in the basement). When I say "pre-lit" I'm talking one string of about 50 white lights, to which I added two strings of multi-colored lights, one of which gently blinks on and off, and a few small ornaments (including a silver glitter star at the top and a glass pickle - more about the Christmas pickle in the next post). 

Bottle-brush tree display

We're all about the trees - I have several tree ornaments hanging from our new tree, as well as a few bottle-brush trees and a metal tree with jingle bells on it, which is festooned with another very short string of multi-colored lights. Beside the new tree is a jar of white branches that I've designated as my husband's Red Sox tree for his special baseball ornaments (a short string of white lights is inside the jar and covered with white tissue paper to soften the glare); on the other side sits a lovely green-red-and-gold cardboard tree that consists of nesting sections in which there is a variety of chocolates and other holiday treats. Trees RULE (especially the real ones)!

A variety pack of aluminum Christmas trees!

I know I've already mentioned it, but... My favorite tree, kept in its original box at my mother's house, has to be my grandparents' aluminum tree that I remember from my childhood. The color wheel no longer functions, but the tree is in remarkably good shape. Here is some trivia about the space-age Christmas tree:

During the 1960s, the aluminum Christmas tree enjoyed its most popular period of usage. As the mid-1960s passed, the aluminum Christmas tree began to fall out of favor, with many thrown away or relegated to basements and attics. The airing of A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965 has been credited with ending the era of the aluminum tree, and by 1967 their time had almost completely passed.

At the height of the aluminum tree's popularity, the trees were sold in the Sears catalog. Sears' sales pitch remarked:

"Whether you decorate with blue or red balls . . . or use the tree without ornaments - this exquisite tree is sure to be the talk of your neighborhood. High luster aluminum gives a dazzling brilliance. Shimmering silvery branches are swirled and tapered to a handsome realistic fullness. It's really durable . . needles are glued and mechanically locked on. Fireproof . . you can use it year after year." - Sears, 1963 Christmas Book

Aluminum Christmas trees have been variously described as futuristic or as cast in a style which evoked the glitter of the space age. A Money magazine article published on the CNN website in 2004 called the design of aluminum Christmas trees "clever". The same article asserted that once the trees overcame their cultural baggage, as icons of bad-taste, that aluminum Christmas trees were actually beautiful decor. The Space Age-feel of the trees made them especially suited to the streamlined home decor of the time period. 

By 1989, it was not uncommon to find aluminum Christmas trees for sale in yard sales or at estate sales being sold for as little as 25 cents In recent years, however, the aluminum Christmas tree has seen a re-emergence in popularity. Collectors began buying and selling the trees, especially on online auction web sites. A rare 7-foot-tall pink aluminum Christmas tree sold on Internet for $3,600 in 2005.

(Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Here's one more Christmas tree...

Dale Wayne: Florida artist uses plastic soda bottles in her art & jewelry

Festival of Trees, Orlando Museum of Art

Same tree, other side - Dale Wayne, artist

Visit Dale Wayne's web site and you will see a link to her blog:

 http://dalewayne.com

You can also find links to Dale Wayne and others who use recycled materials in their art here:

http://inspirationgreen.com

If Wishes Were Fishes...

Taken at Universal Orlando - wish I'd framed it a little better!

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like
everybody else means to fight the hardest battle
which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.” 

~ e. e. cummings

Oh, the places I'll go!

Holiday Musings

Everywhere you look you see holiday decorations and advertising, so I'm trying to remember how it used to be at this time of year, when I was much, much younger...

Up on the rooftop, click-click-click...

My brother and I were usually pretty excited about Christmas when we were kids. Back then, in the '50s, '60s and '70s, Christmas Eve was just another night of watching television, having dinner and trying to stay up all night to catch Santa Claus coming in through the back door - none of our houses in Florida had a fireplace - I always wondered if he was able to shimmy down through the little twirling roof vents, since we had no chimney. When we'd go to visit Meme and Poppie (my mother's parents) they had a small gas fireplace with fake logs. There was always a small plate of cookies and a little glass of milk that they left out on the mantel for Santa. I'm sure I wanted to put out a treat for the reindeer to nibble on.

Not our tree, but could be its twin!

I think we always got a real tree for our living room, but at my grandparents' house there was a lovely, shimmery aluminum tree that was about four feet tall with a floodlight that had a spinning color wheel attached to it with four colors: red, blue, green and yellow (um, I mean gold).  My mother still has the tree - the light stopped working years ago - very retro and collectible these days: I read that one recently sold for $3,600! Here's some info:

http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/museum/artifacts/archives/001924.asp

My grandmother was a wonderful cook so there are food smells I associate with being at their place at holiday time. She would cook and bake and we all sat down at the table at the same time. My brother and I were "latchkey kids" and we rarely all sat down to dinner together at home. My mom was usually in charge of dinner but sometimes my dad would make something exotic, like chili or beef stroganoff or crabs. This is before I became mostly vegetarian.

Fond Christmas Greetings

 Sometimes we got the presents we wanted, like a certain toy, but usually we got what our parents and grandparents thought we needed, such as clothes or a purse or a belt. One year I got a small portable reel-to-reel tape recorder (this was just before cassette tapes came out and way before CDs and all things digital). I wore that thing out!

Over the years, I've become more and more disenchanted with holidays like Thanksgiving, Easter and Christmas (birthdays also fall into this category). But I remember how the spirit of those festive times used to make me feel and, for that, I'll be forever grateful. 

I'll have more to say about Santa and trees and other holiday trivia in another posting... there's so much lore to explore!

More to come...

What's Wrong With Me?

Old advertisement for a miracle weight-loss plan!

Sad and alone...

Grrrr - it's the Gorgon within!

Could it be the "change of life" known as MENOPAUSE? Hmmm, let's see what Wikipedia has to say...

Skeletal

• Back pain
• Joint pain, Muscle pain
• Osteopenia and the risk of osteoporosis gradually developing over time

Skin/Soft Tissue

• Breast atrophy
• Breast tenderness +/- swelling
• Decreased elasticity of the skin
• Formication (not to be confused with "forn-ication") itching, tingling, burning (a lot!), pins and needles, or sensation of ants crawling on/under the skin
• Skin thinning and becoming drier

Psychological

• Depression and/or anxiety
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Memory loss, and problems with concentration
• Mood disturbance
• Sleep disturbances, poor quality sleep, light sleep, insomnia and sleepiness

Wow. I never bothered to look it up before. Do any of these symptoms apply to me? Yep, every single one. Perhaps there is a disparity of hormonal levels - say, too much testosterone (more aggressive, hostile, argumentative) and not enough estrogen?
So, it appears that my efforts to maintain my inner calm and develop my mantra of cognitive happiness are both fleeting and precious. How would I describe myself these days: as a nihilistic optimist or a toxic psychic vampire? Maybe that's a bit extreme...
Seriously, though, I'm just sorry that those around me end up catching the shrapnel. I will try harder to make some improvements in my behavior in the very near future. Like, right away. As in, tomorrow morning. Maybe more meditation (not to be confused with "medi-cation")? Color therapy? In the meantime, please bear with me.
And here, Your Honors, I rest my case.

A Little Holiday Pep Talk

Feeling sort of "Bah! Humbug" today, although it warmed up a bit and the sun is shining... I'll turn on the pretty lights & music, have a glass of wine & blackberry soda... there, that's better.

Merry... Happy... and to all a good night

Holiday cards? I sent one and that might be it...

Gifts? I'm trying to finish making them...

OK, here's a list of things I'm grateful for... yes, that will probably cheer me up.

Grateful for my very sweet husband... for having a place to live... for having a wonderful life, whether I've lived it well or not... for a loving family and true friends who are far, far away... for finding a reason to laugh...

Some days just don't live up to their potential - I'm sure there will be other days that will... right? Hell, yeah!

Hey, 2012: 

Bring it.

An Autumn Afterthought

A Hasty Haiku by T J B Googins (2011)

Listen to the wind

Leaves applauding as they fall

Autumn's destiny

I'm a little behind in celebrating the recent spate of autumnal "high holy days" such as All Hallow's Eve (Hallowe'en) and All Saint's Day, as well as a couple of obscure yet notable dates, which I will now reveal for your edification (Information courtesy of Patricia Telesco's book "365 Goddess") :

My friend, Mr. Jack O. Lantern

October 31 - Hallowe'en (Goddess: Nicneven; Themes: Protection, Ghosts, Divination, Peace, Winter; Symbols: Pumpkins, Gourds, traditional Hallowe'en fare) "In Scotland, Nicneven is the crone goddess of Samhain, which is the predecessor of modern Hallowe'en festivals. Nicneven governs the realms of magic and witchcraft and represents the imminent onset of winter. In magic and Celtic traditions, this is the new year, a time when the veil between worlds grows thin and spirits can communicate with the living. Follow the usual customs of carving a pumpkin or turnip for protection and to illuminate the way for family spirits to join you in today's celebrations." Well, naturally!

My fire pit busily chasing away negative forces.

According to this book, Samhain was a time when the Druids would rectify matters of dissent, so I wrote down some recent difficulties on a piece of white paper and tossed it into my fire pit as I asked Nicneven to help dissipate these problems. Of course, it will take more than that to fix some things...

Fire pit detail

Moving on to November! The book says wintery months seem to be a time for introspection and that one might use divination tools for foresight and preparation, to seek guidance within and to ask the Goddess for a special spiritual vision to carry us through the last months of the year. I have decided I need to learn to meditate - really meditate - and I want to be more focused and diligent in taking care of my mind, body and spirit. Well, as they say, it is a process...

Yesterday, November 1, was Author's Day - which I did not know even existed - and it is dedicated to the Sumerian goddess Nisaba (Themes: Creativity, Communication, Excellence, Inspiration, Universal Law, Divination, Dreams; Symbols: Pens, Computers, Books, Snakes) "Since 1928, this day has been observed as a time to honor authors who have contributed to American literature and to encourage new writers." Snakes are the goddess' sacred animal and, as it happens, my Chinese horoscope is the Snake, so I suppose this is a giant hint to do more writing! As for honoring important authors, I would have to honor J.R.R. Tolkein, Jane Eyre, Mark Twain, Tom Robbins, and... oh, my - so many, too many... that list is going to be very, very long!

Laughter keeps the ghosts at bay.

Today, November 2, is All Soul's Day, following All Hallows Eve and All Saint's Day. (Goddess: Nephthys;Themes: Death, Ghosts, Rebirth, Devotion; Symbols: Sunset, Hawk, her sacred animal) "Just as Isis embodies life's energies in Egypt, her sister Nephthys is the force of death and reincarnation. Traditionally, Nephthys dwells in tombs, guiding and welcoming spirits into the afterlife. Her name means 'death, which is not eternal,' referencing the Egyptian belief in the soul's rebirth." The book continues: "In early times, children would go 'souling,' collecting small cakes believed to rescue souls from purgatory." (Sure sounds like Hallowe'en to me!) "Oddly enough, Romans announced engagements today (likely as a way of stressing life's continuance). So if you've been thinking of deepening a relationship, or making a commitment to a beloved project, this is one date that might suit the occasion." Now that's a good plan!

 

So - let's gather the firewood, pull down the winter blankets and clothes, stock the pantry, give thanks for what we do have and fix our sights on the things we want in the coming year. Stay warm!

 

Culinary Oddities

Hen of the Woods - Photo: wildmanstevebrill.com

This morning I made myself breakfast (it's a day off - sunny, cool and breezy) and what a lovely breakfast it was! My co-worker (I'll call her "Miss J") has been adventuring into the woods lately, looking for edible mushrooms and, a couple of days ago, she found and took home a bountiful amount of a 'shroom called "hen of the woods" (Grifola frondosa, also known as Maitake or Sheepshead). Not to be confused with the edible "chicken mushroom," these lovely shelf fungi (a pinkish beige tinged with grayish brown) are thick and soft, sort of rubbery to the touch, but let me tell you this about that: Sliced and sauteed in butter along with onions and scrambled into an egg, they are absolutely delicious! I plan to add them to a yummy vegetable soup I am going to make, perhaps tonight...  

Hen of the Woods - Photo: Tom Volk's Fungi

Here's more info about Hen of the Woods:

The clustered, overlapping grayish-brown, lateral spoon- or fan-shaped caps grow 3/4 to 2-3/4 inches wide, arising from short white stalks that branch from the base. The surface of the tiny pores under the caps is whitish. The spores are also white.

The mushroom grows throughout most of the US at the bases of deciduous trees, living or dead, often over and over at the same time every year, in the fall. It’s very common, although easy to overlook due to its camouflage colors.

Hen-of-the-woods (sold in health food stores under its Japanese name, Maitake, to fight cancer and strengthen the immune system) has a deep, rich flavor and chewy texture. The only downside is that it can be a pain to clean unless it’s very fresh. Grit gets ingrained in the dozens of little caps, and you have to cut it away with a paring knife.

Prepare this flavorful fungus any way you like—sautéed, simmered in soups, marinated, baked, or even pickled. It cooks in 15 to 20 minutes. (from Wild Man Steve Brill's web site - see below)

Miss J has been attending mushroom workshops (with, I believe, Wild Man Steve Brill himself), so she knows a thing or two about local mycology (the study of mushrooms). I once gifted her with a very informative coloring book all about mushrooms. So she collected these tasty polypores and carefully sliced and washed each piece, then lovingly dried them all and put equal amounts into three paper bags for me and our two employers. Miss J tells me (and now I have read up on them a little bit) that the mushrooms will grow back even after they have been lifted up out of the ground because there are still many spores that remain in the soil. As always, when dealing with wild edibles, especially mushrooms, double-check the plant's identity to be 100% positive it is not poisonous! Some tasty-looking plants, when touched or ingested, can make a person very unwell...

 

Also, I visited this web page:

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/nov2006.html

Grifola frondosa is an apt example of a well-documented traditional Chinese medicine. The first record of its use comes from Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shen Nong's Scripture of Herbal Medicine [cited in Mizuno and Zhuang 1995]), which was compiled between 200 BC and 200 AD. This scripture states that Keisho (one type of medicine made with Grifola frondosa) "has been used frequently for improving spleen and stomach ailments, calming nerves and mind, and treating hemorrhoids" (Mizuno and Zhuang 1995). There are a variety of other Chinese medicines containing Grifola frondosa, ranging from cancer treatment to remedies for palsy, nerve pain, and arthritis. Other described uses of this mushroom include general treatments for immune stimulation and regulation of homeostasis. (Thomas J. Volk, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse)

For information about mushrooms and other wild edible plants (including recipes), visit:

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/

(Spoiler Alert: It even includes a recipe for the very invasive, tastes-like-rhubarb Japanese knotweed!) 

Bon apetit!