Tag Archives: New Zealand

Blessings, Christmas, Family, New Year, Reflection

A little reflection on the season just been

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The baubles and tinsel have been carefully packed away for another year.  The pantry is clear of all those little indulgences.  Boxing Day sales have been and gone.  Even the fireworks and the countdowns and the resolutions have been ticked off.

Now the balmy days of summer stretch ahead.  This time of year toys with me.  Do I give into moments soaking up the sun, afternoon naps, sipping cool drinks while curled up with a good book and totally relish no responsibilities, deadlines, timetables, etc.?  Or do I allow the New Year’s rejuvenation to reinvigorate and work, plan, list, do for the coming months?  This year I opted for ticking off a to do list and relishing in a sense of productiveness.

But right this moment I pause to reflect on yet another festive season gone by.  What does is all mean really?  What is the point?

I pause in gratitude for the safe, beautiful place I live.  A place where a festive season held no loss, no tragedy, no hate, no violence.  For me it held family, belonging, blessings, love and the gift of hope for our futures.

I so appreciate being able to get wrapped up in the Christmas “hype” but still not allowing it to be in a superficial way.  But rather in a way that celebrates the blessings me and my family have been gracefully given.

Here are a couple of blessings – one for Christmas and one for the New Year – that speak to me about the truth of this season:

I thank my sister for sharing the Christmas blessing with me from Lion Book of 1000 Prayers for Children by Lois Rock (I could not find an author for the New Year blessing)
I thank my sister for sharing the Christmas blessing with me from Lion Book of 1000 Prayers for Children by Lois Rock (I could not find an author for the New Year blessing).  The photos in the background are mine – one sunset and one sunrise in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Even though we are 16 days into 2015, I wish all humanity a blessed year ahead.

Christmas, Family, Food, Music

Menus and Playlists

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Only a few more sleeps until the Big Day.  Time to set the mood. Truth be told I have been setting the mood with my Christmas playlist for the last month or so.

My playlist varies a little year to year but my absolute favourite that always takes centre stage is any Christmas song by Bing Crosby (he reminds me of my Grandad a lot).  Then there is Harry Connick Jr’s What a Night! A Christmas Album and, of course, Michael Bublé’s Christmas – you cannot go wrong!

HCJ

This year’s find is definitely Christmas at Downton Abbey – old school and fabulous!  A highlight being Carson reciting ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Christmas-at-Downton-Abbey

 

Now the music is sorted, you can’t go past a good advent calendar. Jacqui Lawson creates the most spectacular electronic advent calendar each year…. a must have for me.  I love how interactive it is – making snowflakes, decorating the tree, arranging flowers, wrapping gifts for under the tree – all to wonderful Christmas music.  A fabulous replacement gift instead of sending Christmas cards.

And then, of course, there is the menu.  Us girls tend to start talking menus around the time we decorate at the beginning of December. These days our plan is our side of the family at Mom and Dad’s on Christmas Eve and then my sister and her hubbie and the nephews join my brother in law’s family Christmas Day.  So we aim to keep things simple and only do one cook up so the leftovers take us through the next few days.

Kitchen day is therefore Christmas Eve.  Our menu is all about the meat, we are South African after all.  That definitely means one cut of meat needs to be barbecued – that will be the lamb this year.  Mom will have a secret recipe herb rub I could never divulge.  I will have a go at brining turkey breast before adding a herb butter wrapping it in bacon and maple syrup and cooking.  This is our take on a Donna Hay recipe.  And finally we will glaze a gammon with plum and chilli.  The accompaniments will be salads and baby potatoes using all the beautiful fresh produce we are so blessed to have access to here in NZ.  Dessert is my take on an I Quit Sugar For Life recipe – sugar free individual lemon meringue pies in jars.

The lemon meringue pie recipe is in this book
The lemon meringue pie recipe is in this book

We will try and fit in our homemade Christmas Pud and Vanilla Custard for a quiet Christmas Day dinner or perhaps wait till Boxing Day.

I haven’t covered the Christmas mince pies, gingerbread men or the summer fruits sangria we will also indulge in – three days of complete excess really.  Having experienced Christmas times the complete opposite of this – alone and with no means for a feast – I am so incredibly grateful for all we have been given to enjoy.

I wish you happy planning and anticipation – it is half the fun!

Health and Wellness, Travel

Week 6: Add some sweetness back in

Cathedral Cove, Hahei, Coromandel, NZ
Cathedral Cove, Hahei, Coromandel, NZ

This week we went on holiday.  Beautiful New Zealand in the spring time.  I know people complain about spring weather in this part of the world – the wind, the rain, its changeable nature.  But at this same time we see the gorgeous shades of green of paddock and forest, washed bright and fresh by the spring showers.  The aquamarine blue of the water washing up along the white sands on the Pacific coast.  The blues and greens of spring are rejuvenating, whispering hope and growth.

We put aside IQS restrictions and took advantage of being on holiday in every sense we could.

I didn’t feel guilty but rather relished indulging in a few of the delectable delights on offer – a 2 hour wine tasting plus accompaniments at a local vineyard with my mom; a delicious tapas meal with smoked beer in a converted church and tiny tastes of yummy baked goods at the local cafe chased with a fabulous macchiato (difficult to find a good one of those in this country in my experience).  The perfect break from our normal.

And so we head into Week 7: Recovering from Lapses.  This seems pretty appropriate considering the the week 6 we just had.  Reading what Sarah says about IQS week 7, it seems we are ahead of the game.  This week’s conscience lapse has reminded us of why we quit the white stuff in the first place.  So we focus back on being mindful in a gentle and kind way of how our bodies responded to a little sweetness.  In my case, I can definitely say that I have broken a bad habit and feel better for it.  I can hear my body’s voice asking for whole, fresh, vital and nutritious food.  I feel more in balance and not fighting against the cravings.  That makes staying without sugar a much easier choice.  I am motivated to continue…. maybe IQS for life?