A Year less Ordinary

This past year has been full of what I’d refer to as a ‘year less ordinary’. I finally met the man I’ve waited my whole life for and in that search—I found myself. I’ve changed being with him, and I look forward to our long future. Although we have many challenges ahead, we are committed to facing those challenges together.

Looking back on childhood and this past year, it has opened my eyes to my relationship with my siblings and my mother—who they are, and who I’ve become. I’ve never had a better relationship with my mother until now—she’s become a dear friend. We basically talk every day, and I have an appreciation for all she has sacrificed and all she still does for me. As for my siblings, at one time we stuck together, but as adults we’re in our own worlds, doing our own things. It saddens me that my siblings and I don’t communicate much, don’t appreciate each other, and that we left our ‘pretend’ days so many years ago. But we all have one life, and we must do what is right for ‘us’. Over the holiday season, we will see each other, and after that will follow almost another year of separation, if not more. Maybe in time we’ll find each other again—until then—I will continue to embrace my wonderful life.

I will be returning to the States this week, and will be without a computer for several weeks. It’s a time for me to spend with family and friends. I’ve been away for 9 weeks, but my year less ordinary started much sooner. The man I’m with was unable to find a job as a teacher in the United States, so after his summer break, he returned to Germany since he still had a job there as a teacher. Instead of us carrying on our relationship another year through computers, I decided to quit my job to be with him. In October, we flew back to Germany together, and since then, I had the pleasure of meeting his family and exploring parts of Europe. When 2009 rolled into 2010, I never imagined living a year less ordinary.

As this year comes to a close, I’m looking forward to another unexpected year. After the New Year, we will return to Germany where I’ll continue with my writing, he'll return to teaching and we'll continue to explore Europe. Since I won’t be around for several weeks, I want to wish you all a safe and wonderful Holiday Season. I hope Santa brings you everything you want, and that the New Year brings you good fortune. 

If you have time, please leave a comment regarding some things that happened to you through the course of the year.

Merry Christmas, my friends, and Happy New Year!

The Fine Art of Christmas

Last month of the year gathers hope and love,

True meaning of Christmas symbolized by a dove

With letters and prayers that St. Nicholas appears

Decorations---shopping to bring on good cheers

Thick snowflakes start floating a few days before

Adding to the spirit when making cookies—galore

Wrapping gifts late at night to hide the surprise

For Christmas day comes—eyes wide in great size

Tree is fashioned in a heartwarming display

Table arranged for the festive holiday buffet

House filled with warmth from God’s little gifts

In pajamas, they giggle and watch snow drifts

Church bells ring the morning our Lord was born

Who would’ve thought he’d die with a halo of thorn.

It arrives—celebrating the fine art of Christmas day,

Lingering memories of a jolly old man and his sleigh

A Walk through a Winter Wonderland

It’s been unseasonably snowy in Germany, and most days the clouds won’t let the sun come out and play. So you can imagine how everyone takes advantage of the outdoors when the sun does come out. Earlier this week, we drove a little bit up into the higher part of town and the snow really came down. I got some awesome pictures of the fog and snow.

We stopped the car, so I could take some pictures before getting to the trail and these are a few.

Then we arrived at this place that has a cabin that serves hot beverages and waffles topped with cherries and whipped cream. Mmmm…I forgot to take a picture of the waffles I ordered. I took these pictures when we first arrived.

When we got to the trail, we were greeted by these snowmen.

We started to walk the trail before the sun went to bed, and here are a few pictures of what I saw on the trail.

 

Happy Holidays!

The Inventor of the Modern Day Santa Claus!

Coca-Cola® Santa Pictures

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! Wait! Santa Claus was invented? Since the beginning of time, I always thought Santa Claus really existed. I mean, how could everyone know and believe in a jolly old man who rides in a sleigh driven by reindeer giving gifts to children?

That is because not everyone saw Santa Claus this way. Our modern day Santa Claus does not resemble his early years. He transformed into what we, Americans, now refer to as Santa Claus; the word derived from a combination of nationality versions, such as Christkindle and Sinterklass. Martin Luther attempted to abolish worshipping of saints, but the want to give presents held strong. Because of Luther's attempt, Germany's Christkindle - Christ Child replaced St. Nicholas, the saint of gifts forming the American word Kris Kringle. When the Dutch settled in the New World, they brought with them, Sinterklass, shortened for Sinter Nikolaas, which we then changed to Santa Claus.

In 1624, the Dutch settled in New Amsterdam in the New World continuing to observe Saint Nicholas Day on December 5. Then in 1644, the British took control of New Amsterdam renaming it New York and joining in with their gift giver, Father Christmas. After the American Revolution in 1783, both of these Christmas figures mixed forming the early American version of Santa Claus.

In the early 1800's, a man by the name of Washington Irving described the image he had of Santa Claus in a satire of New York. Legend has it that the Dutch had a figure of Saint Nicholas on the prow of their ship showing him with a pipe, and a wide brimmed hat. His image along with the Dutch ship description drew out Irving's idea of a chubby, jolly man led by reindeers. Inspired by Washington Irving, Dr. Clement Moore, whose famous poem Twas The Night Before Christmas gave Santa Claus eight named reindeers along with his entrance into homes through the chimney.

During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln asked Thomas Nast to draw pictures of Santa meeting Union soldiers to uplift them and discourage the Confederate soldiers. Some people believe Nast was responsible for creating the modern day Santa bringing the image from elf to a fat, jolly man. Still, Thomas Nast had not created a consistent Santa Claus.

Most claim it was not until the 19oo's when Santa Claus received an identifiable look that lasted until today. The 30's were a trying time for the country and that went for United States companies. Coca Cola experienced a slowdown in sales during the winter months, so they hired a commercial illustrator, Haddon Sundblom for their advertisements. His drawings were captivating. Since this came before color television and other color media, Coca Cola's Santa Claus holding a Coca Cola bottle on billboards and store displays gave Coca Cola the recognition in establishing our modern day Santa Claus.

Although Coca Cola played a huge role in creating the Americanized Santa Claus that we all know and love, actually Haddon Sundblom, they were not the inventors. Credit goes to all those who contributed way before Coca Cola in transforming the elf/bishop/girl into a jolly old man with eight reindeers. Nevertheless, no matter what traditions you follow, or how you picture Santa Claus, the story is mostly the same, a happy, old man delivering toys to children.

Haggis, Snow and Mistletoe

If you read the prior post, then you know that we went to Scotland this past weekend and were stranded for a few days because of the snow. Although our travels to get home overshadowed our trip, we still very much loved Scotland. It has its own flavor, and we are considering going there again…when winter is over. Scotland has many traditions and proud people.

When we arrived on Friday, we setup a Literary Pub Tour for the evening. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera and didn’t get any pictures of Edinburgh or the tour. But if anyone ever goes to Edinburgh, I would highly recommend this literary pub tour. The two actors who did it were great, and I learned about Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.  

To start things off, I thought I’d invite you for a nice Scottish breakfast of baked beans, sausage, bacon, tomato, mushrooms, eggs and Haggis. For those of you unfamiliar with Haggis, I thought I’d describe its ingredients and the nature of cooking it. It contains the heart, liver and lungs of a sheep or pig, minced with onions, oatmeal, suet (beef fat), spices, and stock and traditionally simmered in the animal’s stomach. Mmm...I bet you’re hungry now. No, I did not have this traditional Scottish breakfast…well, some of it, minus the beans, mushrooms and Haggis. My Love ordered it the first morning, and because I forgot to take a picture, he ordered it the second morning.  

The next picture is Edinburgh Castle from the park. In order to get the entire castle, I had to be at a distance. This castle was built on a dead volcano and is guesstimated to have the first human settlement around 900 BC. 

This picture was taken from the castle and it captures the Scott Memorial, museums and the Christmas festivities.  

Once we were inside the castle walls, I took this picture of the front of the castle, another volcano and a church in Edinburgh.

I had to post this because it is fascinating to me. This is a prisoners’ door, and as you can see, they scrawled words on it. Can you imagine knowing an ancestor was held captive in this fortress and then finding their name on a door?  

This is a picture taken from a street above a street. 

We went down where the Christmas festivities were held near Princes Street and they had an area setup for rides, workshops and ice skating. I would have ice skated if I had my long underwear on. BRRR!

And this is a picture of the Sir Walter Scott memorial from the back. It was built in 1844, in honor of Sir Walter Scott, and is the tallest monument in the world that is dedicated to a writer.

At night, we went walking around and came upon a procession of bagpipes. I was soo excited that I was able to videotape them.

I had to take a picture of Deacon Brodie’s Tavern. He lived a double-life; by day—a skilled cabinet-maker and Deacon of the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons, by night—a burglar. It is assumed that his double-life was an inspiration for the book, The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. In Scotland, Jeckyll is pronounced Jee-kle.

This is a picture of the Christmas celebrations at night. It was beautiful. Cold and beautiful, but we cuddled and kissed to keep warm. 

Those are just a few of the pictures I took in Scotland. Hope you enjoyed them.