The Fifth Veg/Day of Christmas - Slithery Guests

Today is the fifth day of Christmas. Sunday 29th December. Time I think to start a few of my clean the house resolutions.

Breakfast washed up and cleared away, I emptied the dehumidifier (how eco friendly of me) into a red bucket and set about removing leaves and guck from the overhangs outside my front doors. Rather a mucky affair.

That little task out of the way, it was time for lunch.....

Then I noticed that inside the windows needed a clean. So up the ladder I climbed. The vacuum made wonderful squealing noised as it sucked up the gross creations that had deposited themselves on top of the window ledges. 

Bucket of water and a cloth in hand, I attempted to rescale the ladders. But what was that? something wriggled, or did it slither in amongst the overhang? Eyes wide, I realised what I was staring at. A snake. 

A delightfully pretty paradise tree snake. Pretty, yes, but like all pretty things, they do not have a pleasant temperament - rather aggressive and mildly venomous, I closed the front door and called for help.

And here is:

THE FIFTH VEG OF CHRISTMAS

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me,

Five golden corn.

Corn is also known as maize, and growing up in England, I knew it as both. It was a treat having corn on the cob for a dinner starter. Lightly boiled, drizzled with butter and sprinkled with pepper, then crunch. Yum. Hard to think that it is and was used as animal feed.

Maize was first cultivated by the Mayans and only came to Europe in 15th and 16th centuries.

Nowadays, it has become a popular source of ethanol. Bio Fuel. And now we are running out of food to feed a growing population as we seek an alternative to fossil fuels. Whatever happened to wind power (wind mills), water power (water mills) and the sun? 

The Fourth Veg/Day of Christmas - really?

Today is the Fourth Day of Christmas, 28th December, and we are now back to eating real food, although there are still copious amounts of chocolate in the fridge......

So, it is Saturday, but every day at the moment feels like a Saturday. Probably why I cannot get anything done, well, almost anything.

Then the doorbell went and my Orangutans are cool t-shirts arrived, finally.

I shall have to list them now on Etsy and package them with a copy of Orangutan Swing.

And here is:

THE FOURTH VEG OF CHRISTMAS

The Fourth Veg of Christmas my true love sent to me,

Four Cauliflowers

Cauliflowers have a distinct flavour and are often served steamed with broccoli or baked under a cheese sauce. 

The Third Day/Veg of Christmas - I've Run Out of Humbugs

Today is the third day of Christmas, there are no more humbugs left. We still have a lot of chocolate and most of the turkey has gone, thank goodness.

Yesterday was Boxing Day, a public holiday in many European countries, and a tradition in England. Not so where I live, Singapore, everyone goes back to work. So yesterday I made a stack of pancakes, did a load of washing and worked on my book. I think that counts as going back to work.

Today, I think we should bake some bread.



And here is:

THE THIRD VEG OF CHRISTMAS

The third veg of Christmas my true love sent to me,

Three French Beans.

They are best flash cooked for about one to two minutes, absolute max, in slightly salted boiling water. Drain, then add a knob of butter and toss the beans. Serve immediately. Somehow they taste so much better than they did when I was a child - they were extremely green then.

The Second Day/Veg of Christmas - No More Humbugs

No more humbugs! well that's what it looks like, no one liked them anyway.

Today is the second day of Christmas, Boxing Day. 

No, not a day for getting the boxing gloves out and holding a round of fisty-cuffs. Although, the other year, I did get my son a punch bag so that he could use it instead of his brother.....

Boxing Day was the day when servants received gifts from their masters or employers (wish my employer had given me a nice Christmas box - with stuff in it). It was a Christmas Box. This box has many origins, and was mentioned in Samuel Pepys diary in 1663. 

In England, it is linked to a tradition that the day after Christmas was given as a holiday for servants to visit their families (they had to work on Christmas Day, just like me, but I didn't get Boxing Day off). They would be given a box of gifts, a bonus and even left over food to take with them. 

Boxing Day was also a time for giving alms to the poor and churches would leave a collection box for parishioners to donate money.

Boxing Day is also the religious festival of St Stephen - remember old Good King Wenceslas? Yes, a reference to Boxing Day, the Feast of St Stephen and giving alms to the poor and needy. However, Wenceslas was not a King, he was a Duke who spread Christianity, not alms and was murdered by his brother. 

That aside, Boxing Day is definitely a day for saying thanks for what we have received and have and giving to those who are less fortunate. 

I would like to remember and am looking for a way to donate to the refugees from Syria who are cold and homeless in Lebanon (yes they are in Jordan too, but we must remember the rest of them).

And while we are at it. Here is:

THE SECOND VEG OF CHRISTMAS

The second veg of Christmas my true love sent to me,

Two turnip soups.

No More Days to Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 25th December - that means it really is Christmas Day. It also means it is the FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS.

Yes, Christmas Day is the first day of the 12 days of Christmas that lead up to Epiphany. Everything leading up to Christmas was ADVENT - hello! That's why we have advent calendars, although, most parents and children seem to have forgotten what they are really for and just want the chocolate and unrelated picture inside.

If you go back to my earlier post on buying reduce-priced advent calendars you'll know what I mean! The twenty-first day before Christmas

"So this is Christmas," to coin a phrase from John Lennon. And while war is not over, sadly, there was also another war going on in my poor head - sleep and risk forgetting or just get up and do it now?

The good job was that Santa-Mum had an inbuilt - gosh I nearly forgot - alarm clock. It woke me up at 2am so that I did not leave the big gift in the store-room! 

Now I positively, absolutely, ridiculously need to get some more sleep. I look more like Halloween than Christmas ;)

It's only 7 o'clock, 

please, please go back to sleep. 

I just want one more hour, 

They're gifts, go have a peep,

I get up very early

On any other day,

I know I have to cook 

The lunch and stuff today,

But one more little hour,

And then I'll have my shower.

Whoops, it's the turkey, not the day you stuff 

Bah Humbug - I've been tricked of my sleep - which reminds me, mint humbugs (which incidentally, have nothing to do with the real meaning of humbug), are the most disgusting sweet ever and although it pains me that their sales are in decline, I am not pining. - Ha, ha, pining, pine tree - ah never mind, Bah Humbug.

And for those of you fed up with turkey, sausages, hams and whatever else you stuffed your faces with, now for:

THE 12 VEG OF CHRISTMAS

The first veg of Christmas, my true love sent to me,

A parsnip in a pear tree.

One More Day To Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 24th December, Christmas Eve, well it's not the evening but rather the morning, but who cares?

All the advent calendar chocolates are gone, so anther reason for a huge Bah Humbug.

We have no chimney, so how on earth is Father Christmas going to get in? Mind you, chimneys are notoriously bad news at times!

Down the chimney   

It’s Christmas Day, without the gifts,

Did Santa get our lists?

Dad said, ‘It’s cold, I’ll get a log,

While mother feeds the dog.’

I looked around the Christmas tree,

In search of gifts for me,

My brother searched with all his might,

There was nothing there in sight.

We eyed the mince pies on the plate,

To check if he had ate

A bite, or drunk a glass of milk,

Or if it was all a bilk.

The white moustache upon Dad’s lip,

Betrayed more than a sip,

And hard to hide the mince pie crumbs,

That sat all over mum’s.

Dad lit the logs sat in the grate,

And told us all to wait.

The chimney smoked and then it coughed

An ‘ouch’ came from aloft.

Dad stuck his head up in the chute,

And uttered a loud hoot,

‘I do believe old Santa’s stuck,’

My brother said, ‘What luck.’

‘Oh Dad,’ said Mum, ‘don’t take the mick,

That can’t be old St Nick,

That chimney’s such a boring chore,

He’ll come in by the door.’

I didn’t care where Santa was,

The why’s or where’s, because

All I wanted were my toys,

Instead of chimney noise.

The chimney spat out clouds of smoke,

It made me want to choke,

So off Mum shuffled to the door,

Then cried out, ‘Saints galore!’

The door was bolted shut, quite tight,

It had been like that all night.

Dad said, ‘I hate to disappoint,

But I think I have a point.’

We all looked up the chimney stack,

And spied a large brown sack,

A pair of boots and a red coat,

All covered in black smoke.

I knew my presents were up there,

With Santa in mid-air.

I wondered how we’d get them down,

And Dad began to frown.

My brother found a cricket bat,

Mum said, ‘You can’t use that.

Let’s face it Santa’s squeezed in tight,

He’s been there half the night.’

'But I want to open all my toys,'

I said with grace and poise,

'There must be something we can do,

To release him from the flue.'

My mum just shook her head and sighed,

'He's really lodged right up inside,

I think his rather largish tum,

Has far surpassed his bum'

My Dad then had a strange idea,

To bring some Christmas cheer,

We'd pull the sack with a large hook,

And dislodge it from the nook.

My brother went to fetch a stool,

To reach the poor old fool,

While mother clapped her hands with glee

And went to make some tea.

Dad tugged and tugged at Santa’s cape,

To help old Nick escape,

But the cloth just ripped off in his hand,

Not really quite as planned.

We heard a rumble from up above,

And Santa gave a shove,

But all that fell was one black boot

And a shopping bag of fruit.

There will be more, if I can unstick the stupid humbug from my teeth....

Bah Humbug.

The Fifth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 20th December. Now we are in the 20's and so that means count down. Count down in terms of 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - and lift off! No, that's not quite right, it's the other way around - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 and time to open presents. Bah Humbug, presents, who needs gifts?

Oh gosh, I've just realised it's Friday. Mad rush - I have to tutor this morning and it is the end of school term - at 12 noon. Can I fit all of that in and book tickets for the Hobbit tomorrow morning?

Better get a move on. Will have to finish this later.

The Sixth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 19th December, it's Thursday and that means we've crossed the week to go mark and now there are only 6 days and one weekend. I wish I could go back to sleep this morning and pull the duvet over my head.

I realised I cannot do any of that and have to face the day, sigh. Breakfast, lunches to pack and then the leaves. Oh I hate that tree outside. I never thought I would dislike a tree white so much. Today it left me what looked like the used sludge from a gargantuan teapot if osmanthus tea all over the front patio and clogged up in the drain. Nasty stuff that clings together and creates a heap of mush.

Ah, yes, the school concert.

Bah Humbug, why do we sing silly songs at Christmas anyway?

The Seventh Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 18th December - that means I only have 7 days left of anticipation, or in my case, 7 days to wrap gifts and see if i can possibly find those last minute stocking fillers.

But before I do any of that, I have an unexpected English tuition lesson to give. So I have to stop being bah humbug for 90 minutes and focus on some grammar, conversation and story writing. It was a challenge as in spite of asking for the lesson, my cheey pupil decided to be tricksy and have several moments of "never regaining consciousness" when faced with vocabulary and comprehension work. 

Some coaxing and laughter later and the lesson was concluded. As I was out already I decided that I needed wrapping paper, mince pies and chocolates. So I also picked up a few other things that I did not really need and saw my purse loose weight. 

Note to self, there is a school concert tomorrow evening, better not forget.

I like mince pies, but not with meat. I remember my Mum had a jar of mincemeat and I would sneak a spoon of the uncooked stuff while we were making mince pies. I even managed to find a jar of it here in Singapore - with good intentions to bake my own. Whoops, haven't done that yet!

Bah Humbug, why are there always school concerts at the end of the year? And why are mince pies not filled with minced meat?

The Eighth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 17th December - that means we are a mere 8 days away. Have I done everything I intended to do before it's all too late? Christmas gifts are wrapped and under the tree. Christmas cards, well a few, have been written and posted. Christmas pudding, well I cheated and bought one. Mince pies baked? - whoops, no, not yet. I want to make my own this year. Christmas cake? I think I shall make a chocolate one as my children have not developed my love of fruit cake.

Wow that looks like rather a lot of cakes and pastries. What about the veggies?

That reminds, I really should make a New Year resolution to update my EattheVeggies website.

BAH HUMBUG

When did we start eating vegetables?

The Ninth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 16th December, the countdown continues. I have a Christmas pudding now. I suppose I should make a list of what food I need to purchase for making lunch. What a tedious task. Maybe I should just order pizza instead?

Growing up, I remember a tradition, supposedly, it dates back to Medieval times. Households made their Christmas pudding on the 25th Sunday after Trinity. It was made with 13 different ingredients, to represent the 12 Apostles and every member of the family would stir the bowl - it had to be in right to left (East to West) direction to signify the 3 Kings and their journey.

In junior school the cook brought out a huge bowl for all the children to stir in turn.

I never took much notice of all that, it was just nice to stir a Christmas pudding and get a handful of dried fruit to much on.

BAH HUMBUG, for all those Year 7 Science Students at Nexus International School Singapore, who have been looking at the science of food this term, here is Heston Blumenthal's Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding.

Now to make some of my mother's custard-like brandy sauce (forget the butter), while I sing a song about Christmas pudding:

We wish you a Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year.

Glad tidings we bring for you and your kin,

Glad tidings we bring for you and your kin,

Glad tidings we bring for you and your kin,

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

So, bring us some figgy pudding, 

So, bring us some figgy pudding

So, bring us some figgy pudding

and bring it right here.

Glad tidings we bring for you and your kin,

Glad tidings we bring for you and your kin,

Glad tidings we bring for you and your kin,

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

And we won't go until we've got some, 

And we won't go until we've got some, 

And we won't go until we've got some,

so bring some out here.

Glad tidings we bring for you and your kin,

Glad tidings we bring for you and your kin,

Glad tidings we bring for you and your kin,

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Always struck me as a bit of a bossy Christmas song / carol. Bah Humbug!

The Tenth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 15th December, 10 days to go. Rather like a rocket countdown.

Which brings me to the subject of China putting a rabbit or rather a rover called rabbit on the moon. I thought Rover was a dog, a Tolkien Dog that ended up living for a while on the moon with another dog called Rover and so he had to change his name to Roverandum.

A wonderful short video of Roverandum meeting the man in the moon.




BAH HUMBUG: Three hours wandering around a shopping mall, jammed with shoaling shoppers while we waited our turn to collect a couple of new phones and a few other nicknacks. And then it rained.

You see, this is why this time of year is such a nightmare - I should say Bah Humbug, again. Shoaling shoppers, rain, traffic, over-priced items, pressure to purchase what you don't really need and a cacophony of Christmas songs.

The Eleventh Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 14th December, only 11 days to go. I hadn't posted the Christmas cards, nor the packages out, they were just sitting there. Honestly, what is the point of me being organised if I don't manage to get out to the Post Office?

Maybe it is a case of: "I hate the Post Office, even when it is not Christmas" syndrome?

Desk covered in cards and address stuff - where did I put all the stamps?

Weighing scales out - gosh, that one is rather heavy, sigh, ah well.

The positive side of living in Singapore is that there are many services and shops that are open or on-line late into the night. So, if you don't like swimming through shoals of shoppers (did you see yesterday's blog?), then there is after dark and SAMs  - I always thought it was Postman Pat, not Postman Sam. Sam is the creature that pesters the flappy haired, floppy hatted creature who does not like eating green eggs and ham.

Would you eat them with a snowman?

Would you eat them with in a pan?

Not with a snowman,

Not even in a pan,

I would not like green eggs and ham,

I do not like them Sam-I-am.

Yippee only 11 days to go!

I wonder if it will snow?

BAH HUMBUG

The Tweflth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

A trip to Vivo City, strange cavernous shopping mall that booms and echoes and causes total sensory overload. A place to get lost in - yes I got sort of lost, but found a shop selling chocolates, which was not what I was looking for. In fact, the shop I went to find had - closed down. 

Bah Humbug or what?

So, I battled my way around Ikea instead. It was swimming with people not really shopping, just milling around, more shoaling than schooling in fish-like circles.

There's a thought: a tongue twister: 

A Singapore Shopping Centre, Swimming with Shoaling Shoppers

Shoaling fish move around independently but together in a connected manner, where as schooling fish, move in a co-ordinated manner.

Shoaling fish forage for food. Schooling fish move in a tighter formation and use this as a means of protecting themselves against giant or other predators, unless of course it's a trawler net.


Rather informative little video I found about this:

BAH HUMBUG

Well, I ran out of 12 days of Christmas because the 12 days start from Christmas Day, not from 1st December. I knew that anyway, so I suppose veggies might be a good idea instead? I'll wait until Christmas to post those.....


Note to self, count 12 days after Christmas Day and mark it down to dismantle the Christmas tree. Goodness, dismantling a tree? In the efforts to be eco-friendly, we now dismantle trees rather than chop them up and put them on the fire.

The Thirteenth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 12th December. Only 13 more days to go and I am not feeling very Christmasy at all. I want to postpone it. Why can't we put it off for a couple of weeks? I have the flu and a rather runny nose. I've already quoted Spike Milligan on noses, and written about tissues and posies.

Grumpy day today. I work up too early this morning with a runny nose (thank you Spike) and a fever. So, I padded downstairs. There was a strange eerie silence as the lights twinkled on the Christmas tree. I was half expecting to find a cat at the bottom of the stairs moaning for food, but they were both fast asleep, curled up like misshapen balls of fluff. I had to turn the light on though as I don't like going downstairs at night incase one of them has decided to bring in a Fukushima'd cockroach. I found one under the kitchen mat the other evening - screech ensued. Reminds me of long legged spiders that used to come in from the trees where I lived in England.

Fever is the body's response to an infection, it can be bacterial or viral. It is thought that an elevated temperature has something to do with boosting the body's immune response. Although this is debatable depending upon the type and degree of fever.

There is a maxim:

Feed a cold, Starve a fever.

According to an article in the New Scientist, and a recent BBC World feature, this might have some substance.

Dutch scientists have found that eating a meal boosts the type of immune response that destroys the viruses responsible for colds, while fasting stimulates the response that tackles the bacterial infections responsible for most fevers.

Kissing passes on disease, no wonder Peggy has a fever!

BAH HUMBUG

I wonder if Peggy had 12 drummers drumming for her on that song?

The Fourteenth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 11th December. Wednesday. Woeful Wednesday and I have a cold. My nose is dripping. I don't feel very Christmasy with a leaky nose.

Reminds me of the Spike Milligan Poem:

My Nose:

My nose, my nose lived dangerously,
It's courage was no stunt,
And in the war in Germany,
It was always out in front,

But when the battle was o'er,
And we had defeated the Hun,
Suddenly, for no reason at all
My nose started to run.

Well, I can't run away from Christmas, unless I sit in the bomb shelter or hike up a mountain.

Handkerchiefs were normally made of cotton or a cotton blend. A square piece of tissue that was hemmed around the four edges. Used for wiping the face, the nose and even blowing the nose. They are not always that hygienic!


The paper tissue was used in 1920s and over the years refined. Today it is a common household item and one that has helped stem the spread of disease.


Probably the worst plague of all was the Black Death, 1348–50 CE. The estimates are that between 75 and 200 million people died from the pandemic. A rather large proportion of the population at the time!

Now you don't need to carry a posy of roses around with you, just sneeze into a tissue instead.

BAH HUMBUG

I wonder if the eleven pipers piping are using tissues to blow their nose and wipe their mouths? Piping can be a bit of a spitty past-time.

The Fifteenth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 10th December. Oh goodness, only 14 days to go. I better get out and sort out some gifts - oh no I hate Christmas shopping, too many people, too much shoving and too much music.

What do you get boys and men who simply have everything? How could they get to this age and have everything they really want? Apart from a hanging seat.

Light bulb moment - The Science Centre Curiosity Shop. There must be something there......

A few hours later and my wallet a tad lighter - must be the light bulb.

An incandescent light bulb uses an electric filament to create light. They are not very efficient, only converting about 5% of the electricity into light. Gradually incandescent bulbs are being replaced by other types of bulbs, such as fluorescent bulbs or LEDs.

A light bulb moment is one of those moments of enlightenment, a flash of inspiration. Just like a light switching on in your brain.

BAH HUMBUG

I wonder if the 10 lords leaped over the light bulb, or leaped because they had a sudden "moment".

The Sixteenth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 9th December. Monday, again, really? Ooh, that's the title of one of the chapters in Mitchell Muffin and the Rotten Eggs - reminds me I must buy some more eggs.

One son too tired to go to school today, Monday-itis or just not getting enough sleep?

Today seemed to be spent not really doing anything I should have done. Is this what is called winding down for Christmas? Maybe I need one of those wind up thingies like a wind up toy, so that I start my brain?

Wind up toys were originally only for royalty! Leonardo da Vinci created a wind up lion for King Louis XII. 

By the end of 19th Century, tin wind up toys were being produced, they all but disappeared when the battery powered toy was introduced in 1960s. However, nostalgia reigns and now you can find many tin and plastic wind up toys that are a perennial favourite. Who needs computer games?

BAH HUMBUG

Wonder if I can find 9 wind up ladies dancing, or even wind up 9 ladies who might be dancing?

The Seventeenth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 8th December. The start of the second week of Advent, seven pieces of chocolate have been consumed, with little regard for what was under them. Mind you, I don't think that the original point of Advent Calendars was to include the Transformers.

Bit dazey today. By that I mean I could not wake up. Better put a few more decorations on the tree and contemplate it while I munch on a mince pie.

BAH HUMBUG

I wonder what the eight maids a-milking are up to? After all it is Sunday.

Reminds me, I need to go and buy some milk, I don't want one of those Monday morning adventures like dad in Fortunately The Milk.

The Eighteenth Day Before Christmas - Bah Humbug

Bah Humbug, it's 7th December. A whole week of "days before Christmas" has been and gone and done!

I woke up with a headache and I have to pack the car and take my goodies and books off to the Nexus School Christmas Fete.

Few chores before I leave: sweep the leaves, put the washing on and get some breakfast. Whoops, better make sure the boys have breakfast and brush their teeth.

Oh my goodness, was it noisy or was it noisy? At least the venue was busy, although I am not very good at leaping over my table and grabbing people by the collar and demanding they buy something. I shall never make sales woman of the month.

We sold a few books, a few Christmas cards and some nick-nacks. Sadly, no-one was tempted by the iPhone covers.

The afternoon was more cerebral: a tutorial with my IB pupil who had to write an alternate ending to Ibsen's play: Ghosts. The outcome was amusing as well as rather clever. Well done Alex!

BAH HUMBUG

I wonder where the seven swans have swum off to?

When I was young, I was always scared of swans as I thought if I got too close to the river, they would clamber out onto the bank at top speed and break my leg!