Different strokes for different folks. And the same with Christmas.

I am loath to do a tra la tra la about Christmas. 

 Not that I don´t love tra la tra la for Christmas, I do.  But I know lots of people don´t.   
 Or  for what ever reason, they don´t want to tra la tra la this year. 

Or what about people who don´t tra la tra la Christmas at all?

 - India has that one sorted, and very politcally correct too.  They celebrate the important feast days from all religions; so as not to leave out any religion´s important feast days, there are almost more free days than working days in India- just check a calander for India to check.  

- But I digress....

So, instead of Christmas tra la I will do a bit of this and a bit of that.
 Starting with

1) Christmas Carols 
      - for Dysfunctional People

PARANOID:
Do you Hear What I Hear?

MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER:
We Three Queens Disoriented Are

DEMENTIA:
I Think I'll Be Home for Christmas

NARCISSISTIC:
Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me

MANIC:
Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and
Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Busses and Trucks and
Trees and Fire Hydrants and.....

PARANOID 2:
Santa Claus is Coming to Get Me.

PERSONALITY DISORDER:
You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout,
Maybe I'll tell you Why.

DEPRESSION:
Silent Anhedonia, Holy Anhedonia, All is Flat,
All is Lonely.

OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER:
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock,
....(better start again)

PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE PERSONALITY:
On the First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me
(and then took it all away).

BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER:
Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire.



 2) Followed by Christmas Cartoons

 And winding down with:

3) The company that tried to do the whole Christmas tra la tra la thing right........


Patty Lewis' Company Christmas Party

December 1st

TO: ALL EMPLOYEES
RE: CHRISTMAS PARTY

I'm happy to inform you that the company Christmas Party will take place on December 23rd at Luigi's Open Pit Barbecue. There will be lots of spiked eggnog and a small band playing traditional carols...feel free to sing along. And don't be surprised if our CEO shows up dressed as Santa Claus to light the Christmas tree! Exchange of gifts among employees can be done at that time; however, no gift should be over $10.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Patty Lewis
Human Resources Director

...............

December 2nd

TO: ALL EMPLOYEES

In no way was yesterday's memo intended to exclude our Jewish employees. We recognize that Hanukkah is an important holiday that often coincides with Christmas (though unfortunately not this year). However, from now on we're calling it our "Holiday Party." The same policy applies to employees who are celebrating Kwanzaa at this time. There will be no Christmas tree and no Christmas carols sung.
Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Patty Lewis
Human Resources Director

...............

December 3rd

TO: ALL EMPLOYEES

Regarding the anonymous note I received from a member of Alcoholics Anonymous requesting a non-drinking table, I'm happy to accommodate this request, but, don't forget, if I put a sign on the table that reads, "AA Only," you won't be anonymous anymore. In addition, forget about the gifts exchange -- no gifts will be allowed since the union members feel that $10 is too much money.

Patty Lewis
Human Researchers Director

...............

December 7th

TO: ALL EMPLOYEES

I've arranged for members of Overeaters Anonymous to sit farthest from the dessert buffet and pregnant women closest to the restrooms. Gays are allowed to sit with each other. Lesbians do not have to sit with the gay men; each will have their table. Yes, there will be a flower arrangement for the gay men's table. Happy now?

Patty Lewis
Human Racehorses Director

...............

December 8th

TO: ALL EMPLOYEES

People, people -- nothing sinister was intended by wanting our CEO to play Santa Claus! Even if the anagram of "Santa" does happen to be "Satan," there is no evil connotation to our own "little man in a red suit."

Patty Lewis
Human Ratraces

...............

December 10th

TO: ALL EMPLOYEES

Vegetarians -- I've had it with you people!! We're going to hold this party at Luigi's Open Pit whether you like it or not, you can just sit at the table farthest from the "grill of death," as you put it, and you'll get salad bar only, including hydroponic tomatoes. But, you know, tomatoes have feelings, too. They scream when you slice them. I've heard them scream. I'm hearing them right now... Ha! I hope you all have a rotten holiday! Drive drunk and die, you hear me?

...............-

December 12th

TO: ALL EMPLOYEES

I'm sure I speak for all of us in wishing Patty Lewis a speedy recovery from her stress-related illness. I'll continue to forward your cards to her at the sanitarium. In the meantime, management has decided to cancel our Holiday Party and give everyone the afternoon of the 23rd off with full pay. Happy Holidays!

Terri Bishop
Acting Human Resources Director (shared by Robert Plachinski)
                                        ---------------------------------------------

To close I wish you a ......

What a difference a week makes!

Same month, same lake,  a week later.  Amazing the difference.  See for yourself.

As the winter draws in the birds gather nearer the lake side where it is warmer.

       And you thought ´bottoms up´was a turn of phrase....

.....Nope, here it is very much the real deal.

Happy Thanks Giving!

A gentle stroll in the November sun....

So last Saturday the sun shone.   I put all house work on hold - like I need too much of a reason to put housework on hold, and I went for a walk.  

And this is how it looked on the Bodensee in the sun last Saturday afternoon.  

Clearly I don´t have to add much to these pictures,  

Enjoy!

Yes, the pictures below do need some explanation:  The man is balances stones.  No glue.  

What he is doing here is balancing very different size stones on top of one another.  See results on right.

This is all balance, no stickie stuff used.  It is very interesting to watch him in action.

He has worked on this little stone village for over two years....

And something else you often see in parks in Germany, indeed anywhere there are two trees near one another

I just love this schulpture below... it conjures all sorts of `happy´for me....

And this is the Autum Leaves Princess herself.  No lie!

The picture below is a close up of the Santis Mountain which you can see above. The mountains are over 70 miles away.

The sun going down on a lovely gentle day...

The talent of humanity can flabbergast me by times!

Sometimes I can sit with my cup of tea, and be in awe for a moment of what we humans can be capable of.  Our talent, what we can achieve I mean.   

The bad stuff we do to ourselves and our world, we all know already.  But it´s the other stuff, the good amazing stuff, that I sit there and ponder.  And I will ponder it now.  Because, it is my opinion that we get so bogged down with bad stuff, or just with the living of life, that the really good stuff about us humans can go un-pondered.

I am talking now about Hurling. 

Not the first time I have pondered the wonder of hurling on this blog and elsewhere.  

Hurling is one of the national sports in Ireland.  - And a good reason that we do not do ´so well´with the´ol soccer - because a lot of the kids are out playing hurling, or camogie.  (Same game, played by girls; don´t know why it has a different name.)

People mix up hurling with:  kurling, bowels, la crosse, hockey, even ice hockey.  It is not any of these.  To try and explain is pointless, people just don´t get it.  But, a video is worth 1000 of words....
Here is a quickie video with a few minutes of action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgEMvRrOCRI

So if you are in awe, and think what you saw was ´one off action´.  No it is not.  Here is a link to a seven minute video with more of the same awe inducing moments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i3-Qk7FNeQ

And if you want to get more of the same - even better maybe.

Below is a link to the great first final played September last between Kilkenny and Tipperary last September.  Both are great hurling counties.

This game was SUPERB.  Really it was.   Probably the best game of hurling played in living memory.  It was perfection with few glitches through out.  Excellent play, and absolutely no injuries through play. Unbelievable when you consider the speed of the game. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RpPtgzPY_o

A point to consider.

These hurlers are as good at their game as top league world soccer players.  

The difference is:  Messi, Rolando, Schweinsteiger et al,  can sleep in the day after they play a hard game. 

Hurling however is not a professional sport.  For hurlers this is their hobby.  These men get up and go to work the next Monday. 

And their managers too.   For Brian Cody the manager of the Kilkenny Team, the day job is as headmaster of a boys school.  And he is excellent at that job too.  

And how cool is that for the boys in St. Patrick´s De La Salle National School in Kilkenny.  They get to see a super hero every day in his day job.... That would be like Super Man being the headmaster in Jerry Seinfeld´s school in Manhattan, New York.  ... (See here if you don´t know what I am talking about...) 

http://parade.condenast.com/20772/petermehlman/a-writer-for-the-sitcom-explains-why-seinfeld-loved-superman/)

FYI: The sport of hurling was played back in pre-historical times; it has been played in Ireland for well over 2000 years.  Now they play with  balls about the size of a tennis ball and harder than a golf ball. - Back then it was a tad less civilized -  they played with skulls!

.... Wow, with all this ´awe´and what not, I think I have to go and make another cup of tea!
                                           ---------------------------------------------------------

While hurling amazes, it does not have a monopoly on ´awe´for me.  If you want you can check this link to other bewonderings on the Olympics.
http://irishstewforthesoul.blogspot.de/2012/08/the-olympics-wow-oh-wow.html

Hausfrau Róisin Tipps of the moment: It´s all about the chicken.

If you are a regular reader of Irish Stew for the Soul, you will know about the Hausfrau Róisín Housekeeping Tips so you should skip to No. 1 right now.

But if you have not been a regular ISFTS reader - and if not, WHY not?  You may need an introduction to the Hausfrau Róisín Housekeeping Tip. 

A Hausfrau Róisín Housekeeping Tip is anything pertaining to managing a home, be it cooking or cleaning etc. Indeed, on days I may be feeling a little bolder, I may even stretch to tips on managing one´s life, or one´s computer files etc.  But, all would be about running said home/life/computer a lá Hausfrau Róisín. 

The main characteristic of a Hausfrau Róisín Housekeeping Tip is that it would offer the best possible outcome with the least amount of effort/time/cost.  If Hausfrau Róisín gets a few brownie points after expending so little effort/time/cost for achieving said fabulous results - then so much the better!  

Disclaimer:  Absolutely no cook, domestic science professional or medical professional anywhere has ever endorsed any Hausfrau Róisín Housekeeping Tip. Ever.

1) Making gravy for the chicken dinner.  The EASY way,

(And I don´t think Jamie Oliver would object to this one!)

So there you are having spent ages preparing the dinner.  The chicken is cooked and everyone is famished, especially MOI!    So it is a stress to try and separate out the fat from the good stuff in the chicken juices to make the gravy.  In the meantime, the chicken is getting cold, and you are getting all flustered with your gravy making ´cos there is no time or space or cooking rings free.   So here is what to do....

AFTER dinner is over, collect all juice and bones etc. And boil up and make your stock as ususal.   Only this time when the stock it ready, divide the stock into two smaller portions.  One of which you can  thaw and use as gravy the next time you are cooking chicken.

And more.  This time when you are cooking the chicken and using the thawed out stock/gravy from the last chicken you cook, just add a small handfull of porridge oats to the chicken gravy and boil it up for a few minutes.  It thickens the sauce, and good for you too.   And all that result with just about no work at all.

2) Serve it on a Platter!

Hear me out on this.  Lots of people bring the roasting pan to the table.   I grant you lots of brownie points right there. But if you put the chicken on a pretty already heated  platter.  You get loads of additional brownie point - I estimate a good 20% plus extra brownie points with very little work -   just by serving the chicken on a platter surrounded by the veggies etc.

It is not only pretty, but you can hide the squashed veggies or what ever with the prettier ones on top.

And YOU get to look like an amazing cook, who is totally in control in the kitchen!

3)  Use a blue permanent ink pen to write info. on the lid of the food container you are freezing.

So your stock is made, divide up and COOLED.  - Never put something into the freezer that is not previously cooled down to room temperature.  Because of the risk of creating life forms you really do not want to have in your freezer, or anywhere near your food, that is a no no even for Hausfrau Róisín.  

Anyway, back to writing on your container lid; make sure the lid is dry and clean before you write. Avoid smudging the writing. When you take the container out of the freezer, the writing will wipe off and the lid will be ready to re-use.  This is far less hassle than making little stickies every time you freeze.

4))  Hide away a stash of:

a) Clean old newspapers.

b) Clean old paper tissue/towels

c) Clean old rags.

Most of the time you will never think `I absolutely need a newspaper/ tissue/rag` this very moment.

That is until the day you want to clean your bike/ use a stain to polish a wooden table/ wash the b.b.q. grill - or to clean off the gooey grease on the roasting pan you just used to cook your chicken.

You will be glad to have that stash to hand then.

Well I think  I deserve a cup of tea after all that!

More next time.  H.R.

Really I would not bother read this posting if I was not me. My Fast. Part 3. The day(s) after. Yawn...

Dear Reader,

No, no trick heading.  It is true this is not the wittiest or most exciting posting you will ever read on Irish Stew for the Soul.  So if you are not interesting in fasting if I was you, I would go back and look at Dale Chihuly´s beautiful glass sculptures one more time.

So why post the posting you might ask?  Well the fast was an interesting experience for moi, and this is my blog after all, so I can do what I like - in the parameters of P.G. 13 1/2.   I can write, but you don´t have to read!...

The After Fast Thoughts. 

My fast is well done by now, more than a month.  So looking back here is how it went.

Monday - three days after breaking fast.

Getting back to ´normal´still in progress: eating ´good for me stuff´ in small portions and slowly, Getting more back into action too with contacting people and more physical activity.  Mental alertness still there, but almost as soon as I broke fast, the red eyes came back!  The real work of fasting goes on inside physically, emotionally, and even spiritually.  So I understand.  So how was the fasting experience for moi physically, emotionally, and spiritually?

Physical Changes:

Fasting for me was not fun,  I  did it because for MOST people fasting is good for one´s body; fasting rests the digestive system and gives the body a chance to discard toxins etc. including cholesterol.  The latter being the most important issue for me.

Experts in the field advise that for people in good health in the average weight range, the body starts drawing on its own stored nutrients after 3 days.   Somehow I don´t think that happened for me.  I was weak through out the fast.  On the 6th day of the fast I cut myself, nothing serious, the usual cooking kind of cut.  Usually I hardly notice such cuts and the heal within 3 or 4 days or so.  ( A marvel of good health right there!)  But, when I cut myself during the fast I know it was a bit of an issue for my body.  I felt my body was trying to rally, without success.  It did not appear to have resources to call on.  When this happened I would have stopped fasting immediately even if I had not planned to.

Another thing during fasting is that after the first 3 days or so, one´s skin should begin to glow etc because of toxins being expelled.  I did not glow at all.  Not one little bit did I glow!

Immediately after breaking the fast I was not hungry at all, then after the first few days post fast my appetite became very strong; I was eating four meals a day at least.  All good fruity and salads etc that I felt my body wanted, and craved.  Fasting would certainly not be a good was to lose weight, it is lost and comes back within weeks, or even days.  I returned to my normal weight in about 3 weeks.

My strength  came back slowly, slower than I expected.  I was not back to ´normal´ strength for  a full two weeks - it being 2  weeks after I stopped fasting that I enjoyed my first long bike ride.

Emotional Changes.  Spiritual Awareness.

It was easy to made the decision to fast.  My circumstances were good; I cannot imagine doing a fast under stress of any kind be it health, problems with family members or in other relationships, or with work or money issues etc.  Fortunately I am in a place in time where there were no pressing stressful matters.

Logistical issues too would be a problem; I could not imagine fasting and working, or if I was rushing to a deadline or something.  Being around family or other people who were not in fasting mode etc. would not be easy either. As I said in an earlier posting, Romeo H. fasted with me for the first three days, that was a big psychological help.  Fasting when one´s nearest and dearest are scoffing down burgers and b.b.q ribs, followed by yummy fresh baked apple tart would not be easy.

With all those ducks being in a row, the main emotional issue for me was: the experience of hunger.  I never saw myself as a person who would, or could, or wanted to, fast.  I can get stressed if I feel even a slight hunger pang.  So frankly I surprised myself by going for more than a few hours with out food, never mind 7 WHOLE DAYS!

Many peoples´s experience with fasting is that it can bring up all sorts of emotional and or spiritual issues.  Not so for me, I don´t know if it was because there are no issues, or, that the issues are so deep down, it would take more than 7 days of hunger to bring them to the fore!  Either way no new wisdoms whatsoever.   Bambug.

That said, I did have some moments of awareness, whereby one balances what one likes, or not, in one´s  life.  The marvel of good health was strong too.  That said, such awareness come by me when I am ´in my zone´ cycling, and means to be at one with one´s self is MUCH more fun!

The Big Questions:

Was it worth it?   Will I fast again?
As far as I can surmise, fasting did not bring all the wonderful health benefits mental or physical that many others talked of having experienced during or after fasting.

I was weak throughout, and getting back to normal strength took longer than I had expected.   Mentally the fast was no particular stress, which I thought it would be.  But  physically I am not aware of the great expulsion of toxins after my digestive system had a good rest, one of the aims of fasting I understand.

The Pluses.

That said there were some pluses.  My mental capacity was greatly improved during the fast.  Far greater than it had ever been in my whole life.   As a result I was able to teach myself the Microsoft Excel program.

This was weird, but in a good way; usually I can only sit and do mental work for 1 1/2 hours two at the most, after that my mind and my eyes feels the strain.  During the fast however, into the fifth and sixth days I was able to do brain work for well over eight and up to ten hours with only small pauses.  And, my eyes were never red.  Some people experienced with fasting, do talk of better mental alertness.  But up to 500% better, wow!

Also the awareness of and the gratitude for good health hit me strongly; the whole concept of food being a source of energy that enables body functions and mental and physical activity.  That did amaze me.   I noticed that especially after eating the first morsels of food after seven days.  I could feel my body reeving up and I was very grateful for my body´s capacity to do that.

And the cholesterol count, did my cholesterol numbers improve?  Well m docytor, who made no comment on my fasting one way or another, did test my cholesterol numbers.  My cholesterol count did improve significantly, but the numbers were still higher than the ´desirable´ range for cholesterol.

The good doctor dourly pointed out, if my cholesterol is too high when I was not even eating, then there is not a darn thing I can do about it - it´s in the genes.   So she agreed I should do all the right things re. eating and exercising well, but there would be no point in my taking medicine for the cholesterol when it is always going to be there anyway. Yipee!

Was it worth it?

Frankly for me, no it was not worth it.  I learned Excel, lowered my cholesterol count, and marveled at the wonder and gift of good health, the latter I can be aware of on a lovely bike ride with far less pain. So to go through all that fasting and recovery.  Nope for me it was not worth it.

Will I do it again, unlikely.  That said I won´t close out the option of a fast for a shorter period of time.   However with the first 12 hours to 60 hours are the hardest... so I don´t know.  

Art of Glass: The Spectacular World of Dale Chihuly

This posting is completely different from my last two postings.  Just for the fun and be-wonderment of it all:

It is likely glass artist Dale Chihuly´s spectacular pieces ablaze with color, light - and joy, will  leave you in awe.

And yes I do love my superlatives.  But Mr. Chihuly´ glass installations is one topic on which I can have free rein with the ´ol superlatives and still not be overboard. See if you don´t agree.

Thanks to my friend Anita, I visited Mr. Chihuly´s  exhibition in the Bronx Botanical Garden in N.Y.C. some years ago.  That´s where I took these photos.  The photos alas don´t do justice to the artist or his work, but I hope they will inform and pique your interest to look further.

I will start with my favorite installation...

Is n´t this a weird and wonderful fairy land or what!

To give you a sense of the size of these amazing installations, see moi sitting to the right of these green wiggly lights.

Don´t you just expect a character from the Beetlejuice film to pop out here any second.

Well, was I right or was I right about the ´ol superlatives!

Some more wow!

Consider for a moment the care you have to take washing your Waterford Glass. 

- Now consider the sheer logistics, of creating, transporting and installing these other-world sculptures.

To end, one more time my favorite installation.

Well folks not much I can say after these pictures.  Except - apart from the amazing hurling final between Tipperary and Kilkenny last Sunday, it would be hard to beat Dale Chihuly´s sculptures should one want to ponder the heights of human endeavors we mortals can achieve betimes.

If you want to find out more about this amazing and prolific artist... see links below. 

/http://www.chihuly.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Chihuly

And don´t you just love the name Dale Chihuly  What a great name for an artist.
Indeed with a name like that, one would have no option but to be an artist, or an actor at the very least!