New Year

When I think of a new year, I think of goals, resolutions. I reflect on the last year and think of how I can make the new year more meaningful. Not that I write a long list of goals to accomplish. I don't do that. I did when I was younger, but found that it was unrealistic. I often set myself up for coming up short and felt bad that I didn't accomplish all that I wanted to. Sometimes it's just better to start each day with a fresh new attitude and do what you can do... nothing else. 

I like the idea of a book to start the new year. Each day presents a fresh start. At the end of the day.... that's when to write and reflect on the day. Each day leads to the next day. A week. A month. A year. Every day does present a new set of opportunities. 

Op.por.tu.ni.ty - a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.

It can come in every form. Personal improvement, financial improvement, health improvement, mental improvement, spiritual improvement, relations improvement. 

So, I'll start my new year with a blank page. Today, I'll live life. I'll write. I'll reflect. And tomorrow, I will start again. I like that. We'll see you at the end of the year!

Happy New Year!

Mother's Caramel Turtles

My mother made the best caramel turtles I have ever tasted! When December rolled around, I made a trip to mother's house for the annual making of the caramel turtles. It was an all day event. Don't let the simple sounding recipe fool you! 

The best part of making turtles is when the caramel finally reaches the soft ball stage. It is perfectly cooked to a gooey soft and slightly chewy stage. I drop some caramel in a cold cup of water, swirl it around in my fingers and form it into a ball. I set it on my tongue... it sits only for a moment and then melts away, giving my taste buds the sensation of pure, caramely deliciousness! It can take a couple of hours to get it to the stage of perfection. I never use a candy thermometer. It gets in my way. One bite, that's all it takes, and you are hooked for life. You can't live without them ever again. Mom's caramel turtles are to die for!
  
I started making turtles with mom when I was a young mother. In the mid 80's. My husband and I and our small family moved from Utah to Colorado and was too far away to enjoy the luxury of having turtles just down the street. I decided then and there I was going to learn how to make turtles. And I have every year, ever since. Most of the time I made the trek to mom's house. It was a treat to spend the day chatting and making merry in the kitchen with mother. It's now only a sweet and treasured memory. Mother passed away in October of 2011. My siblings were spoiled. Mother made them turtles every year, so they never learned for themselves. Last Christmas, I had a lot of requests from family members for the turtles recipe. I gladly shared with them. I made the above recipe card with some pictures of mom and home and sent it out in a Christmas card to about 40 caramel turtle craving families.

I think I have perfected the art of caramel turtle making. My daughters and granddaughters have become interested in making them with me. It's become a tradition... passed from my mother, to my daughters, and granddaughters. It makes my heart happy!

Enjoy!

writing prompt #5: Share a favorite holiday inspired recipe!

Silent Night

Silent Night

Silent night, Holy night!

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin mother and Child,

Holy Infant, so tender and mild,

Sleep in heavenly peace;

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night! Holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight!

Glories stream from heaven afar;

Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ, the Savior, is born!

Christ, the Savior, is born!

Silent night! Holy night!

Son of God, love's pure light

Radiant beams from thy holy face,

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord, at thy birth;

Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

The most famous Christmas carol of all time had humble beginnings: Austrian priest Father Joseph Mohr penned the lyrics in 1816, and two years later - on Christmas Eve of 1818 - he gave the poem ("Stille Nacht," written in German) to his friend, Franz Xavier Gruber, headmaster and organist of the Church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, Austria, high in the Austrian Alps. The organ in the church was broken, so Gruber composed the music for guitar; a simple score was finished in time for Midnight Mass, where "Silent Night" was performed for the first time. The song soon spread beyond the small village, but until the 1850's, neither Mohr nor Gruber knew of its rising popularity. The English version with which we are most familiar was translated by John Freeman Young in 1819. The song--which has been recorded by more than three hundred artists--was sung simultaneously in English and German by troops during the Christmas truce of 1914, as it was one of the few carols familiar to soldiers on both sides of the front line.

When I think of Christmas carols, Silent Night is the first one that comes to mind. It conjures up reverence and peace to me. I love this song. It is easy to see why the English and German troops sang "Silent Night" as a truce Christmas Eve. It was a night of much longed for peace.