Merry Christmas to You All, Where-Ever You Are!

Good morning!
I am wishing you a very joyful, merry and peaceful Christmas.
Even if you do not believe in Christianity as such (like myself), the thought 'do not do unto others what you would not want to be done to yourself' is a good and sound one. Hold on to it!

Lots of love,
Renée

Holidays Are Coming! So remember the lonely folk?!

Hiya!
No snow over here; typical Dutch Christmas period weather, meaning temperatures around 8 degrees C, rain forecast and a lot of wind. Mind, the sun's actually out right this minute! Quick, catch it before it goes!

When I was a kid, long long ago, my parents firmly believed in giving us a moralizing talk beneath the Christmas tree (with real candles! Those were the days), loosely based on what they had both been taught in church when they were kids themselves. I don't remember the actual words, but the meaning was clear: noblesse oblige.

The funny thing was that I also clearly remember there NOT being any smelly homeless around our dinner table, nor did we invite our lonely Grannie in, and my adolescent candour was certainly frowned upon. 

So, what do you do, the only thing to do possibly, and that is you are determined to do this Christmas thing different yourself, especially when you have kids of your own!

Thankfully they make it easy on us to spread some Christmas joy these days. 

A couple of large supermarket chains (Jumbo, Dirk) give one the opportunity to buy a festive dish for someone, and the supermarket then will add a second dish themselves. The meals go to the needy through various organizations like the Salvation Army. 

The Food Bank is working flat out to get as much food in as they possibly can, again to distribute it around the needy.

This is in rich, glamorous triple A Holland, folks.

And radio station 3FM has put up the 'Glass House' for Serious Request ( a fully working radio studio made entirely out of glass) again, this time in the fair city of Haarlem. Three djs are in there without food for 6 days. Seriously! The idea is you ask them to play your song (the request) and you pay as much money for this as you can spare or beg for through doing something of your own. This year's theme is stopping sexual harassment of young women (I seriously believe this should be 'of all women'!).

As you can see, the glass house draws some serious crowds.

So it is easy to get into the festive generous spirit, easy as pie.

At the same time, I read in my newspaper that there is an estimation that more people are alone and feeling down around Christmas than ever before. 

So...at a conservatively easy guess...could it be more easy to get involved in raising money for Serious Request than asking smelly old auntie To around for drinks? Hmmmmmm?

Yes. Absolutely. I put my money where my mouth is, and I do ask people around who I suspect are alone. They can always decline the invitation. And I put off going off on a much coveted and deserved holiday because I happen to have this almost 87 year old Mum. 

It is a matter of principle.

So. With your equivalent of the moralizing talk beneath my Christmas tree, I'm asking you now. Remember the lonely folk?

Thanks.

Have a smashing holiday, enjoy your company, don't over-eat and will talk to you soon. XXX

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Christmas? Humbug! (Unless You Happen to Like It...)

Hiya!
Admit it...you cannot wait for December 24th to arrive...even if it's just because you are exhausted and desperately need some time off.

So...how do you keep on keeping on?

Stay positive.

Oh..SUCH an open door!

I know. But it actually works.

Did you know that when you smile, even if and when you have nothing to smile about really, but simply use your muscles to twist your mouth into a smile, your brain synapses fire off 'happy dust'? 

(If Viggo could hear me now...I can hear him scoff. "There is no such thing as happy dust, woman!")

It's amazing what you can learn (for free!) by watching TED talks.

So....I am actually looking forward to the holidays, and the whole Christmas experience. I am already planning the menus, and making plans, and thinking about what presents to buy for my loved ones, and having fun anticipating.

Only 2 weeks to go..Yay.

I'll link you to a Christmassy song by the lovely Lisa Hannigan, just to get you in the mood.

Lisa Hannigan

(By the way, it is in aid of the Irish homeless)

Ho-ho-ho!

Counting Down Towards Christmas Are You? 4 Musical Suggestions.

Hiya! Nice of you to drop in again.
It is December 1st, and in my neck of the woods that means the final countdown towards the Christmas holidays for people like me who work in education, and also for most people who are looking forward to a couple of days off.

Now, I've never made it a secret that I am a humanist with Pagan and Buddhist tendencies. But that doesn't mean that we ignore Christmas in our house. On the contrary! We like the tree, and the trimmings, and some of the music, and the good company, and especially the spirit.

What could be better than joy to the world and peace to all mankind? Or the other way around?

To help you get into the mood as well (early), I'll link you to some of my favorite Christmas-time music.

Kate Bush - December will be magic again

I've loved Kate Bush from the first notes of Wuthering Heights, and like this wintry song a lot. The artwork is from the film 'The Snowman' - also one of my favourites.

Loreena McKennitt - God rest You Merry Gentlemen

Trust Loreena to make good use of this traditional Christmas carol. Even when as a child I didn't quite understand all the lyrics, I did understand the line 'let nothing you dismay' (because I looked it up), and it spoke to me.

Paul McCartney - We All Stand Together

Okay, okay, okay, so call me corny. I love this song!

Siouxie and the Banshees - Il est ne

This is a curious rendition alright! But give it a try, do. I've picked it because as a child I used to sing this with my step-father, and he would have had a fit if he could hear this Siouxie version. Which is precisely why I've chosen it for you today.

So, what is YOUR december music?

Merry Christmas from me to you! / Fijne kerstdagen allemaal!

Here's my Christmas wish for all of you in:

The Netherlands - England - Germany - Ireland - Serbia - Morocco - Greece - Australia - The USA - Canada - Russia - Croatia - South-Korea .
Have a lovely time (if you do not celebrate this seasonal thing, have a good day anyway), and remember: Mess doesn't matter - love does!

Lots of love, Renée <3

On your own for Christmas? Then this is for you!

Hi there,
I have been there, believe me, I have.

Years ago, when I was living in London, I had a couple of lonely Christmases. 
I had been left in the lurch by my lover and could not get over him, so all festivities (and there were parties I was invited to and places I could go)tasted stale. 
I used to wander down Oxford Street, looking in shop windows at things I could not afford, and at people rushing home to imagined loved ones (my imagination), and dragged my feet just to feel connected to people. Gulp.

But hey, it's just a couple of days. And they will pass. Quickly, if you make certain you keep busy.
So, here is my advice to you:
Be nice to yourself. You deserve it. Do something you enjoy doing. Phone a friend. Give yourself a cuddle.

I wish you a good Christmas and a very happy, healthy and inspired 2014. Lots of love, Renée. And the link says it all. XXX 

PS, If you really feel down in the dumps, you may choose NOT to open the link! I don't want to make you sadder...

Rays of Light Christmas greetings.

For Those of You Dreaming of a White Christmas (and getting a soggy green one...)

Walking in the Air - by Reincarnatus

I have provided a link to the music I want you to listen to whilst reading this blog. It's a song from the wonderful film 'The Snowman', composed by Howard Blake and sung by Dutch female band Reïncarnatus.

Reïncarnatus

The video starts with a view of one of Maastricht's most beautiful churches, the Sint Servatius (or St. Servaas), in the snow.

St. Servaas in Summer

There are many great things about Maastricht, not in the least the concerts André Rieu gives in his home town every year. But it also has the most gorgeous bookshop of the entire Wetlands!

Bookshop-in-the-church

But back to the snow here!

Aren't you longing for a white Christmas? Well, I am! Instead, I am getting a soggy green one (very typical for my part of the world).

A woman's got to do, what a woman's got to do... 

I'll be creating my own, home-made, white Christmas. The tree in the living room has snow on it (which my cat loves to lick - cannot be good for him!), I will be making my spiced hot wine, we'll be lighting the wood burner and will pretend it's cold, crispy, snowy white outside.

I bet all of you with snow up to your eaves now frown and think I'm a silly fool. Hah! Silly fool I may be, but when you come from a land which lies 4.50 metres below sea level, and where dampness is your constant companion, the thought that all that water may turn to snow is an attractive one. 
Snow is romantic, you can make snowmen with it, sleigh bells ringing in the still air, it makes your hands and face tingle and your dog do a doggy dance from joy. (It also pisses off your cat, royally). And when you've had your fill, you go inside and make yourself a hot drink.
I love snow.

What makes YOU happy?

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

Maria van Trapp knew what made her happy.
One of the most played songs on the radio at the moment is one that has 'spread the happiness' as a chorus.

It's the end of the year, the festive season is upon us, and many people are evaluating their lives. So am I. It is a default mechanism when the last days of 2013 are speeding by.

What makes me happy?
Writing.
Eating.
Listening to music.
Singing, always.
Watching my children.
Cuddling my pets.
Laughing with people (not at them.)
Watching the birds in our garden.
Exchanging smiles with the teenagers at school.
Marrying folks.

Seeing the faces of dolphins. Dolphins always seem to smile, don't they?

hard times

I'll let you in on a little secret. After all, we've been on intimate terms for weeks now.
2013 Has been one of the shittiest years of my life.

When you've hit rock bottom, the only way is up, someone said (I forget who. Story of my life. My head is full of quotes which are doomed to be nameless). There wasn't just one cause, there were many. An endless chain of things going wrong, frictions, friends dying, friends leaving, people getting awful illnesses, losing the job I adored doing, and fuck me the economy crashing around our ears didn't help either. And to top it all an ancient trauma, long buried, suddenly surfaced and demanded attention. 

Now, we in the Wetlands are living a charmed life. We have plenty. Stuff. Things. Even if you lose your job over here, you get help finding another one and you get money (the fact that I've been paying into this benefit bank since I was 17, which means I have been paying for 38 years, is neither here nor there). At least for a while. Compared to, for instance, Rumania, we are filthy, decadently rich over here.

And yet almost everyone I speak to these days is complaining. Everyone is tired. A lot of people are worried. They tell me they are looking forward to the holidays but with the same breath fret about having to do all that shopping/cooking/partying and who will take the old folks this year?

(Photo by Wibe Koopman)

Plan B

'I have a plan, I'll never plan again', is the opening line of a popular Dutch song from 2013. 

As an obsessive planner, I will take this to heart. For 2014, I have a plan: I will heed the old lesson my long-departed beloved Grandma taught me when I was a little girl. She told me two things:

1. a human suffers most from the suffering he fears

and

2. always count your blessings.

In 2014 I am going to face my fears. And count my blessings.

And do the things that really make me happy.

Let me know what makes YOU happy??

Counting down to Christmas? So are we in The Wetlands! Here's your *free* recipe for Bischopswijn!

I don't know if you realise this, but there's a financial crisis on in The Wetlands. Christmas will be a frugal affair for many of my countrymen.
There are noticeably less light-decorations around the streets, and folks are being careful what they are spending their money on. To save money, I will have a do-it-yourself Christmas this year.

The bar at TweeHondjes, Hellevoetsluis

I took my old Mum to my favourite haunt in my home town, for a concert by Dutch female group Reïncarnatus.

 The management had splashed out on Glühwein (not Dutch at all, but German, although we have a spiced wine variety as well, called Bischopswijn) and raisin bread.

Recipe for easy-peasy Bischopswijn:

*1 bottle of red plonk (no need to pay a lot for it, as you will be chucking things in)
*1 lemon
*2 cinnamon sticks or a good dash of ground up cinnamon
*brown sugar (optional)

Heat the wine (do NOT let it boil!), add the juice of the lemon and the cinnamon sticks and perhaps the sugar if you have a sweet tooth. Drink hot, but not too hot, as it will impair the taste.
Enjoy yourself! We did :-)

Beware the Christmas spirit!!

It's here! The countdown to those days of exhausted family spirit. I write 'exhausted', for as a teacher I WILL BE absolutely, totally, utterly washed-out by the time I have got the groceries in by December 24th.

My home-made wreath.

Preparation is everything.

Every year I start out by enthusiastically going into the garden with my secateurs. We have plenty of evergreen trees, and in our climate there usually is no severe frost until January, so they are at their best.

I use a straw base for the wreath, and pins. Easy-peasy.
Besides, I don't like tidy wreaths. So there are always bits sticking out. (A bit like myself; always bits sticking out)

I used to bang a nail into our front door, but ever since we have forked out a huge amount of money for a new one I'm not allowed to do that any longer, so I hang it from the flag holder.

One year I was sad to find that someone had stolen my wreath. My inherent positive side urged me to consider that someone liked this untidy wreath so much that they wanted it for themselves.


The proof
Here you are. The Rays of Light Creative Process in progress.

Handy, those pins!

Having a stylist in the family helps ;-)

My Mum is immensely creative, and even though I haven't inherited her ability to draw, paint or sculpt (and thank Heavens I haven't inherited her inability to carry a tune either!) I have got her sense of style. And so has my daughter. Which takes us to the local garden centre every year in the weeks before Christmas, to immerse ourselves in whatever is trendy that year.
This year, the trend is wood, nature and frosty.
Hence, we have bought some stuff (we always go there saying we will NOT buy anything), as usual. And had great fun decorating. This is only the beginning. We will 'do more'. Much more!
Which brings me to exhaustion. By the time it is december 24th, I will be dead on my feet. So:

Plan!
Plan. Do not leave it until the last moment. Yes, the food plan is already in my head. So is the guest list.  And a merry time will be had by all (and if you doubt this, I will not invite you, so there)!

Table piece.

Candelabra.