Some sunset photos taken at 4:18pm after our walk...

 I like to torment my cousin, John, with sunset photos :)

Taken with my iPhone 8

A wonderful Sunday dinner with Donna

 Since Donna is a single person, she is allowed to see one or two people so it's really been wonderful to be able to actually see someone during these very restricted times. I made my caulifower cheese, brussel sprouts (Donna and Jim love them...me, not so much) and we had a small ham. 

And of course I had to take a photo of the empty table...a family tradition. We changed the place settings later to abide by social distancing. Thinking about it now, I should have taken a photo of that positioning since it's certainly different. My parents' china, my grandmother's sterling and napkin rings,  the Santa candlesticks the Curlings gave us, the Riedel wine glasses Richard and Grace gave us last Christmas, and Jim's mom's Christmas tablecloth.

 

Donna brought dessert. She had been baking up a storm...fruit cake and  two types of shortbread. And two types of oranges. We ate loads and still had this left.

I forgot to take a photo of the cauliflower cheese when it came out of the oven...looked and tasted fabulous. Leftovers tonight. Just two brussel sprouts.  Jim can have them:)

Donna has invited us for New Year's Eve for dinner so that is something to really look forward to. We won't be staying up until midnight:)

Microwave peanut brittle

Who knew? You can make peanut brittle at home and in the microwave if you don't have a candy thermometer.  It's actually very easy and tastes great. It's not like See's but I may put a little more baking soda in it next time. That just might be what makes See's so soft and with that special taste. Well, this might be just a little dangerous...being able to make my own peanut brittle. '

* Put boiling water in bowl to get the hardened candy off.

Recipe:

 https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/19888/microwave-peanut-brittle/
 

Jupiter and Saturn align

 

I got this notice from the Rancho Mirage Public Library. Ah well, one way of sort of experiencing Palm Springs :)

'Tis the season to exchange gifts....

 Carol made the "mistake" of making a blog post about how she made mincemeat from scratch to make mince tarts but was disappointed in the pastry even though she did everything she was supposed to. She was planning on giving little packages of these as gifts to friends and family but didn't feel they were up to her standard for baking. Our mothers always just bought mincemeat out of a jar so I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to get homemade mincemeat. 

So, I suggested a trade. I would trade two Christmas Crackers for some tarts. When we talk to people around Xmas, we will be having our Christmas Crackers and wearing the silly hats, telling the lame jokes, etc. It's a long tradition in our family but I know it isn't really for them. Jim even made them last year which was really funny (he forgot to get them and then they weren't available).

We made the exchange today (very distanced). And Carol included some Scottish oat cakes she made. I had just bought some Stilton so they went perfectly with it.

And even in a Purdy's bag. I used an old Save-On plastic bag.

First bites...fabulous!

And served on plates from Limoges, France, that I got in a Thrift store in Palm Springs. So, even though no one is travelling, we can enjoy a bit of France, England, Scotland, and Palm Springs.

Finding light in shadows

I always enjoy Douglas Todd's column in The Vancouver Sun. Saturday's column was excellent. This is how it ends and it is so true. Our best travel stories are usually when things go wrong. We have long been telling each other in the midst of some travel disaster that we will be laughing about this in the future. It helps.

 "Finally, even though it’s not an explicitly spiritual message, the author of Happier at Home, Gretchen Rubin, has a suitably out-of-the ordinary insight for getting through the next week or more with equanimity: Remember this season for its irritating oddness.

“Things that go wrong often make the best memories,” Rubin says. “This exceptional holiday season will probably be more memorable because it’s so different. We just have to find a way to make the most of it.”

For the whole column:

https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-finding-the-light-in-the-shadows-of-our-covid-19-christmas

New Agua Caliente Casino in Cathedral City

Benjamin took these photos. He is going to have lunch there soon. It's a 2.5 mile walk. That's nothing for him. He does long walks in the mountains most days except when he is playing tennis. Cathedral City is one of the desert cities situated between Palm Springs and Palm Desert. I think the architect did an excellent job of fitting it into the landscape. Ah...my wonderful Jan Jacinto mountains...when will I ever see you again?

 

The iKEA Chrstmas tree has arrived...

 

'Tis the season for treats...especially this season

 See's Candies in Palm Springs has amazing products and I especially love the peanut brittle. Now, if Richard hadn't been spending Christmas with us in PS, I probably would have never eaten much of it. You do get to taste things there but I commented to Richard that I wasn't going to pay that ridiculous price for peanut brittle. He rolled his eyes as only your own kids can do and bought some for me. Well, I've been hooked ever since and I know they are a national company so went on Amazon and sure enough I could order a pound and a half box for $85 CDN. Done in a minute. Richard will be proud of me.

SEE'S CANDIES CHOCOLATE SHOP IN PALM SPRINGS, CA

The See's Candies chocolate shop in Palm Springs, CA sells our American-made delicious candies and chocolates. The best chocolate and candy in Palm Springs can be found at See's Candies where you always get a free sample and friendly customer service.

This See's Candies in Palm Springs, CA at 144 S Palm Canyon Dr is our retail chocolate shop which features a candy counter, where you can create your very own custom mixed box of chocolates and candies! We also have the delicious candies that we are famous for, like our boxed chocolates, truffles, nuts and chews, lollipops, and sugar free candy.

Come on into your Palm Springs See's Candies chocolate shop today! See's Candies has been around for 90+ years- and once you taste our candies and chocolates, you'll know why.

And missing the Ultimate Seafood Feast at the Red Lobster in Palm Desert. Wish I could get this on Door Dash.

Letters for Better Days

I see there is a deadline of Dec. 18 to send a letter.

 

I got this response today  Good on them for doing a personal response.

I decided to send a letter from Santa. This idea was inspired by Linda doing all her great work answering letters to Santa.

Dear Santa and Rudolph, 

Our team knows how busy you must be at this time of year, and we are so grateful you took a moment to write a letter! On behalf of all of us at Team Impact and the Youth Leadership Millennium Program run by SUCCESS, we would like to personally thank you for taking the time to write a compassionate letter to be shared with seniors in our community this holiday season.

 

Thanks to you, seniors all over Vancouver will experience some hope and a shining light this winter! As you may know, COVID-19 has stopped frequent visitors from seeing their loved ones, essentially making it hard to maintain healthy relationships and staying connected through the holidays. Unfortunately, the effects of social isolation are compounded during this time of year and this can have a serious effect on older people’s risk of anxiety and depression. Your thoughtful action will touch many lives during this challenging time.

 

We are so grateful you took the time to help us spread some joy and cheer this winter. We would like to wish you a Happy Holidays and we hope you and your loved ones stay safe through this season.

 

Thank you again for your support!

 

Sincerely,

Team Impact

 Alejandra, Alissa, Megan, Nekisa, & Tracy

This was the letter I sent. The letter to Santa was one the CBC published years ago but it doesn't seem to show up on my blog post. 

To my dear old friend,

I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately as I heard you’ve not been able to have visitors since the pandemic began. I know how hard that must be for you. I remember all the wonderful letters you sent to me and they were all so thoughtful and kind and I knew I would always have very special cookies and milk waiting for me at your house.

We are very busy at the North Pole this year and the elves have been keeping everyone’s spirits up. Rudolph is up to his usual tricks but it’s hard not to laugh.

I’ve been busy answering letters and I’m so glad to have many helpers. I thought I would share one with you. 

Keep your spirits up and remember Santa is thinking of you.

From your old friend Santa,

Sent from The North Pole

Linda''s post on Santa Letters:

https://lindaandcec.blogspot.com/2020/12/santa-letters.html

Things French...

 We always try to buy a good Calvados at Christmas and Jim found our favourite brand!

We had a wee taste last night in our wonderful special Calvados glasses Don and Elaine gave us. They have little glass apples in the bottom. Calvados is an apple brandy made in Normandy. We raised a toast to them and all our wonderful travel adventures together.

And we rewatched Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" the other night. Well, anything that takes place in Paris is very special to us and this film is brilliant. Paris, famous authors and artists...wow. I gotta say Woody Allen is a genius.

 

Christmas is cancelled but...

 

Although the pandemic is bringing pretty miserable times to so many people you do have to admire the creativity that people are bringing to Zoom meetings and online parties. A google search brings up amazing stuff. 

Jim is now talking with folks in Spain twice a week about English Literature and improving his Spanish.  I dropped in to say hi to our friend Jesuius in Grenada.

At my Jane Austen meeting Saturday there were people joining us from all over the world. Linda's daughter has invited relatives from the UK to join them on Christmas. And she won't have to make dinner for a whole lot of people. Where was the pandemic when I needed it:)

Locally, our seniors in care facilities have suffered the most in terms of risks and loneliness. I'd like to give a plug for Letters for Better Days started by some young women in Canada. The idea is to have people write letters to these isolated seniors and the group prints off the letter and it gets delivered  by people who provide meal services.

Apparently responses have flooded in from all over the globe despite being mainly a word-of-mouth campaign through personal social media accounts. Now they are getting wider media publicity. I'll be writing a letter.

You can email your letters to:

lettersforbetterdays@gmail.com

From the blog of Seth Godin

 I get his blog in my email everyday and it's always interesting. I tend to mainly read novels and if I didn't belong to two bookclubs I probably wouldn't get out of a very easy comfort zone. I think I'll have to try at least one of these books. I put a hold on the first one.

Here are some books for the end of the year… fifty years of ideas that have helped me understand the world differently:

Gödel, Escher, Bach — Before meta was cool, Douglas Hofstadter won a Pulitzer Prize for this intricately created examination of math, art and music.

Caste — My book of the year. Wilkerson helps us see how persistent and hidden the indoctrination of race and status lie in our culture.

Understanding Comics — Another meta book, and a masterpiece of explanation and insight.

The Red Queen — There are a ton of very cool books on evolutionary theory and this one is particularly good.

Knocking on Heaven’s Door — Lisa Randall’s explanation of physics will change the way you look at the world.

Guns, Germs and Steel — Another classic, it has earned its spot in the canon. An explanation (not without controversy) of how the world ended up as it did. This is what the study of geography is actually about.

The Beginning of Infinity — After you read Randall, this book will take those ideas and expand them. A lot.

Impro — This book transformed the way I saw human interaction, and had a significant impact in the creation of This is Marketing.

What Technology Wants — Kevin Kelly has changed my mind over and over again, and this one is the one I think about the most often.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas — A short story from Ursula LeGuin that you will never forget.

Debt — An astonishing look at 5,000 years of human history by the late David Graeber.

The Jazz of Physics — A great book, even (especially) for people who think they don’t like either.

When Things Fall Apart — Each of Pema’s books is special, and the audio books in particular. This is a fine place to start.

Books are an extraordinary device, transitioning through time and space, moving from person to person and leaving behind insight and connection. I’m grateful every single day for the privilege of being able to read (and to write).

And writing doesn’t always have to take the form of books. Check out this prize-winning video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg2rnjZ19PY&feature=emb_title

Latkes

I made latkes last year at this time (Donna's recipe) and we loved them. Just might do that again. 

A friend of Louise Penny sent her this. I thought it was quite clever...looks like it's on a T shirt.

 

Greetings from Germany

It's always great to hear from Maureen, Jim's Scottish cousin, who now lives in Germany. She insisted I must serve neeps (turnips) for our Robbie Burns dinner last year. Jim loves them but usually only gets them for Christmas dinner.  I will be making a big portion for this year's Christmas dinner for his pleasure. I was so glad I had the Robbie Burns evening last year...no chance for it this year! 

Hello Jim and Janice,  really nice to hear from you .  Yes it has been a hard year for us all ( everwhere).  In Germany although we have followed the restrictions,,,,,,,   wear mask, keep distance some shops only allowing two customers to enter i.e. sometimes long queues outside waiting,   especially at the Lotto Shop,  in spite of these restrictions the daily infections are high and  it looks like  we here in Germany have to expect even more tougher restrictions..............     My Xmas celebrations will be at home,  I cancelled my trip to  Eric,  hopefully that in the New Year 2021 we can return back to life before  Corona................  To-day  on the daily news.  I read some of the Royals are expecting babies next Spring,   So I presume they didn`t bake bread????

e.g  Princess Eugeone, G.B......  Princess Sofia (Sweden) ..... Zara Tindell (grand-daughter from Queen Elizabeth.

We are all keeping well, and I really do miss my travelling (Daily Coach >Trips e.g. to Holland) and of course the German Xmas markets,    However we are all on the same boat and what most important is.   we keep safe and well.

My liviing room is brightly decorated with lights and Xmas figures and I have ordered tasty meals for Xmas delivery date  24th December.   and not forgetting wine and a white port wine  from Amazon.

Jim and Janice keep safe and well and all the best wishes for theNew Year 2021,  and  wishing you both that you can travel to paradise PaLm Springs in the New Year 2021,   although you both are  spending paradise in VANCOUVER now.

Love to you both and keep safe and well,.........from  Maureen   xxx

Hello Janice,  I hope you can scroll down,   I ordered from the Deutsche See >Fischmakatur,      Mussels in Herb >Sauce and Mussels in Wine Sauce, delivery date 24.12.2020

It was so much fun last year.!

We loved "Henri"

 Well, in these times, we would love to have our beloved Oscar around but Henri was a lot of fun virtually as well.  Gone now, but we enjoyed him a lot.

With a heavy heart, I have to announce that Henry (you may know him as Henri, le Chat Noir) has passed on at the age of 17. He had developed a problem that was causing a deterioration in his spine and though he was able to be in relative comfort until the end, there was just no path forward since he was only comfortable while immobile. We are grateful that even during this pandemic, we were able to have a doctor safely come to Henry’s home to help him pass peacefully, surrounded by those that loved him.

Henry packed a lot into his years with us. We adopted him from the Seattle Animal Shelter as a kitten, and from day one his regal presence and distinguished personality filled the home. A short film project I made in film school became the first Henri film, and the rest is history. Henry became a best-selling author, a Golden Kitty award winner, and appeared in every year of the Internet Cat Video Festival (now CatVideoFest). It will be tough to make, but I will create a video tribute to Henri (and Henry) for next year’s reel and I will make it available online as well. He also helped to raise tens of thousands of dollars for cats in need around the world. And he did it all from his couch.

I always noted how little Henry had in common with the angst-filled character he portrayed. He was a good natured and happy cat, and as far as I could tell, never suffered a single existential crisis during his life. But as the years went on, I started to realize that it was his imperious stare and the nobility behind his eyes that made Henri work, more than my terrible French and pedestrian piano playing. No one had a problem immediately accepting that this cat was a deep-thinking philosopher. Maybe he actually was. He also liked chin scratches.

Before Henry’s health problems, my mother (and Henry’s actual caretaker) had begun work on a small book of poetry about life with Henry and her other multitude of kitties, including the still living l’Imbecile Blanc. I (ahem, excuse me…Henri) had actually already written the introduction. It will be published soon and we’ve made arrangements for all of the proceeds to benefit animal shelters in our area in his memory. Henry wouldn’t have it any other way.

I know that hearing this sad news will be difficult. But remember that Henri lives on in your memories as well as ours, and in the amusement he brought to all of you. The foremost goal was always to make people laugh! I would encourage all of you to share your favorite Henri video or quote today, because everyone needs a good laugh now more than ever.

Henry, thank you for everything you brought to my life and to the lives of so many people and cats out there. I hope they have Party Mix wherever you are now. So long, brother.

Your Thieving Filmmaker,

Will

More brightness in our living room

 Well, you can't get too many lights these days. I bought this string of lights last year on sale for very cheap but they were all tangled up and I couldn't really figure out a place to put them so was going to throw them out. Then I started shaking them out and put them on the loveseat.  No one is going to be sitting here so no problem.

Heather James Fine Art

This is one of the art galleries in Palm Desert on El Paseo. I enjoy being on their mailing list as they have lots of interesting paintings for sale. They never post the prices. I imagine this one would cost a bomb!  I don't imagine I will be getting it for Christmas:)

CLAUDE MONET

Le Château d'Antibes 1888 oil on canvas 31 7/8 x 45 in.

"What I will bring back from here will be pure, gentle sweetness: some white, some pink, and some blue, and all this surrounded by the fairylike air."  - Claude Monet   Le Château d'Antibes is a defining work of Impressionism that conveys the movement's fascination with natural light. Monet painted several views of these fortress ramparts on the Mediterranean coast during his stay in Antibes in 1888. These works are among the earliest instances of a serial focus on the transient, momentary effects of light that would become the artist’s hallmark. This large-scale canvas is the masterful culmination of the series.

Test pattern

 

Aren't we lucky to have all this stuff to amuse ourselves during this pandemic.  I remember getting our first TV in 1954. We were all pretty excited by it. Jim's family didn't get a TV right away and so he used to go over to a neighbour's house and watch it. One day he went over before programming began and was told there was just "test pattern". He replied that he loved test pattern so they let him sit and watch it.  

Our before dinner routine...

We sit in our recliners in our nook in the dining room and watch the sun go down over the mountains and ocean usually enjoying some wine and we sometimes ask Alexa to play some music or listen to an old Rich Conaty program. We're now seeing quite a few planes come in as well. We only have candlelight on along with the tree.

It's even cosy watching the rain snd really fun watching the snow come down. The odd seagull comes round....almost no crows and never see any Canada Geese around here. 

I get the chair where I can also view our Christmas tree and was especially enjoying that the other night when Jim made dinner...spaghetti bolangnaise, of course.

Jim's view isn't too shabby...he gets to see the ferries all lit up coming and going. And sometimes we switch. 

I got a memory on FB and it was snowing Dec. 6, 2016. Now, to go on my blog to see where we were.

Well,  we were in  Palm Springs but came home Dec. 28 and there was some snow New Year's Eve. We were in the Laguna Vista apartment then. My blog says we had to locate scarves, gloves, etc. since we hadn't come home for any part of winter for three years.

Looking out over our balcony at the Laguna Vista.

https://janicesextonart.blogspot.com/2016/12/a-swim-bit-of-sauna-then-watching-snow.html

Lots of correspondence from Italy these past weeks

Jim is researching something which relates to something to do with someone in Italy so he's been having fun writing emails to people in Italian with the help of Google Translate. He did take first year Italian over 50 years ago at UBC and Italian is probably the language he likes the best but he doesn't really have that much knowledge of it. He got some practice in when we spent three weeks in 2002 driving around Italy for three weeks. I do have quite a few photos of that trip. It was fun to look at the album the other day. 

He's getting lots of responses and people are willing to contact libraries and people to get more information.

These people speak English so they replied in English and Jim wrote to them in English.

 Dear James,

What a pleasure your e-mail as well as speak with you about AH! You and your books have been very important for me and my studies!

So, I'm happy you and your wife are fine, my wife and I have avoided Covid too, at least up now...

This message is just to say I've received your e-mail, very interesting. Let me hear any colleague who works on the intellectual Italian history between the wars and who can help us, directly or indirectly with any bibliographical indication. I know some people to call for that.

Let me time, and I'll give you an answer, and one consideration about it too, if you agree.  

Alessandro 

Dear Dr.Sexton,

I'm deeply impressed by your extraordinary knowledge of Huxlian things.

My contribution to your researches can only be minimal and insignificant.

I don't know who "Miss Chistin" might be.

I find it possible that the "Monsieur Corradini" of the Gonnelli letter was

Enrico Corradini...

I started my blog in 2002 after we came home from our time in France and Italy. It was Jim's first time teaching at the University of Toulon and then we did the driving trip around Italy. I did post photos from France but these are the only two I posted from Italy. I was quite fascinated by the old bicycles we saw. 

In France we mainly saw the fancy bikes like you would see in the Tour de France. One year we were in Paris when the cyclists came in on their last leg of the Tour de France. It was quite exciting! No photos of that, of course. I'm not sure what year that was but it was when I took very few photos (and usually didn't even have my camera with me) as I didn't want to be like the Japanese tourists who seemed to mainly take photos and not really look at anything except through the camera lens. Well, they got the last laugh. I bet they have been enjoying all their wonderful photos all these years and even more so in these times.

One photo I did take and it is in the album was of Michelangelo's "David" when we were in Florence. The statue is in a room of its own and there are "No Photography" warnings in many languages. All of a sudden a lot of people started taking photos. So I thought I guess it's ok so I dug my camera out and took one. A guard admonished me. About 10 minutes later, there was a flurry of photos being taken. The  deal was the guard left the room for a minute or two probably on purpose so people could take photos. Well, I'll never know for sure or if it was just this one guard and just this one time. Maybe he was retiring the next day.

My illegal photo of "David". (it's a photo of a photo)

There are lots of images on the Internet as you would expect.

That year we lucked in to someone who was retiring who worked at our bank in France. For Jim to get paid for his teaching in France he had to have a French bank account. The University of Toulon hadn't done the proper paperwork for Jim to do that. I think part of that was the folks in the south of France get fed up with Paris and all its paperwork. We weren't too concerned as we were having a great experience and so "volunteering" wasn't a big deal. But then, "Suzy" said she was retiring and so just stamped the papers for the account. She heard us talking about a long distance call we needed to make. She insisted we used the phone in her office. Long distance was expensive in those days. It was all quite funny!

LEGO

 I often buy Richard a small bit of LEGO for Christmas just for fun and this year I saw this Advent Calendar LEGO so thought that would be perfect since our advent calendar has these little pockets for goodies. My idea was to give it to Richard last month when they were coming over for dinner. Well, that didn't happen and won't be happening anytime soon I guess. So, I opened it up and thought I would try to do this. The package does say 6 + for age.

Well, it doesn't look very obvious to me how you put these pieces together but I'll see what I can do. I don't have much else to do :)

And now I think that the finished pieces will go back into the foam tray and the lid (purplish photo) sit above it and you open the little doors. I don't think I've completely ruined it.

I did manage to get one piece sort of together but there is still a little black piece leftover.