Preparations and Shopping for Xmas

It is funny how until yesterday I thought we were 2 weeks away from Christmas and today by looking at the date I realize we were 7 days away. Time to get busy with getting menus and food.
I always like going to the Liquor store to see what they might have. There is not the variety we found in Europe, say London or Rome but there was quite a few wines I thought interesting. The sales lady was most helpful and in a very good mood, she was even wishing people a Merry Christmas, how very nice and old fashion at the same time.

So I got a good variety of Prosecco, white and red wines and a bottle of Zinfandel to make pears in wine which is always a nice Festive dessert and is served chilled.

As for food, I also want to make small Tarts with blue cheese and pears which are served warm, they are easy to assemble and you simply put in the oven at 325F for 10 minutes.

Then some puff pastry and fresh sausage meat, usually a mild Italian sausage will be used to make piggy in a blanket, always nice to have with a drink. On Christmas eve we will have Canadian Lamb
roasted, easy to make and quick. I found some nice Wild Pacific Coho Smoked Salmon to start. Then for the dessert I called Michael Holland of Cake and Shake at 229 Armstrong st. in the Parkdale Market area, who makes wonderful pastries the old fashion style. I ordered 2 Bûches de Noël, one vanilla with vanilla icing and the other carrot with orange icing.  www.cakeandshake.ca

All our Christmas wishes have been sent electronically or by mail. The house is decorated, so we can just sit back and relax. On the statistical side of things I note that I spent about 260 hours volunteering at the National Gallery of Canada and spent 40 hours at the Canadian War Museum on the Summer exhibit this past year. Something I really enjoy a lot.

'' God is not dead nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail. With Peace on Earth, good will to men.'' from the poem Christmas Bells by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Noël in Canada, les anciens Canadiens.

In closing this picture of two little dachshunds in the snow, so very nice and makes me think of my two Nicky and Nora

Wintery

Today was the first important snowfall after the dusting we received a few days ago. About 30 cm of heavy wet snow.

I am thinking I should try to by some hot chocolate mix it always comes handy on a cold day.
I also got a nice Xmas Cactus today, I will try to find the correct instructions to take care of it.
It was said on the radio morning news that this weekend people would be able to ski at Mont Cascade in the Gatineau Park. I know they got more snow than we did in the City.

So here in a few pictures today.

 The Canal side, the water is not yet frozen

Christmas Cactus 

and now January

Yes the Holidays Season is over and we now enter into January of the blahs. It was for us a quiet Season, very few parties only 2 in fact, one I gave and one we went to. It seems that as time goes by fewer people are willing to give parties on the scale known in the past. Who can blame them, frankly unless you have a very good reason for a party and really want to have a good time, I find and I do not know if a lot of people feel the same way, that I do not have the energy. I much prefer to have a few people over for dinner or a cocktail or just for an afternoon drink, a good scotch, tea, some little thing to eat. Keep it simple, the new motto. It is far nicer, I find to have maybe 2 to 4 people over and just talk and laugh, gossip over drinks. Winter weather eats up a lot of your energy  and this is probably the extreme cold and the difficulty of walking in snow and ice covered sidewalks.

Also the cost is something to keep in mind, it is often better to simply go to a nice restaurant than to entertain at home. If we go out in the evening now, I prefer to take a taxi instead of driving, you can have a drink or two or three and not worry about the issue of who is the designated driver, parking and then driving home often in winter on bad roads. As anyone seen the roads in Ottawa lately, my God! what a mess, snow banks 9 feet high, yes that is 2.7 meter high folks. The City is not cleaning as much as it could and everything is carefully budgeted, called 311 City Services, they don't know, something about a snow removal schedule and something about in 3 weeks time. Called the By-Law Officers, no one is there, I strongly suspect they are all in Florida, in fact I have not seen any of them around, they are usually very good at patrolling for illegally parked cars. Ottawa in winter is a very different city, you try to avoid it at all cost. Nothing has been done about the Canal are they opening this year for skating? I strongly suspect that with the announced 10% budget cuts the National Capital Commission simply has no funds to open the Canal this year. Too bad so few tourists come as it is. Lots of people skating at City Hall today on the rink provided by the striking millionaire hockey players. It's a very nice rink with good quality smooth ice for skating.

So we are in the winter blahs, now and then we have February another dismal month. Lucky for me I have things to do to keep me busy, other wise I would think of escaping to somewhere. All the Christmas decorations have been put away. Though the 6 January for people on the Julian Calendar like the Orthodox Christians it is Christmas. I suppose you could celebrate both Christmases on the 25 Dec and 6 January, thus extending the Season.

                                     January

In January in Rome on a sunny day at the top of the staircase of Santa Maria Coeli next to the Campidoglio.

In January by the Tiber river in Rome

In January on the Old Via Appia, Rome

I much prefer this type of weather in January as exemplified here than the snow bank, which after Christmas and New Year has lost its appeal entirely. Otherwise why do Canadians by the millions flock to Southern climes.

Francis Poulenc and Christmas

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) is one of my favourite composer of the XXth century. I find that his music has a certain signature, meaning that when you hear it you know it is Poulenc. His opera Le dialogue des Carmélites is also amongst my favourites. In the Christmas Motet, Poulenc gives us music that leads to quiet reflection on the meaning of Christmas, it is not about shopping or other commercial aspects or even about people or that false family sentimental approach or focusing about the children or what ever other modern meaning we like to invent for this holiday. It is about leading the individual to listen to the words as they are sung in Latin and reflect on their meaning and that of the events inspired by Faith at this time of the year.

Rome under snow with the top of the dome of the Church of Santa Maria di Loretto (1507)
by the Forum of Trajan.

Here is the Hodie Christus Natus Est. The voices of the Choir are very clear and love the pronunciation, I am also happy that I have some knowledge or understanding of Latin. Sung this way it adds mystery and dignity to the text.

Big snow flakes falling and our neighbour walking his pug. The Canal is frozen now and I saw someone walking on the ice yesterday.

Here is the Videntes Stellam also from the Poulenc Christmas Motet.



The voices are beautiful.

Snow can be romantic

It's funny how a snow storm can be romantic in one city and cause people to curse in another city. How can this be I wonder, could it be the beautiful century old buildings, the parks and landscape or simply the image we have of Rome. The snow is falling all over Italy and it is simply romantic and beautiful.

The great gates of Villa Borghese in Rome in front of Piazza Flaminia

Oh my! they have not taken the tacky Xmas decorations down at Piazza San Pietro.

Taken from inside a passing car, the staircase leading to the Campidoglio with Castor and Pollux looking down from the Capitoline Hill.

Looking down Via della Conciliazione towards St-Peter which has disappeared under the snow storm.

The doorman of the Embassy of Canada to the Holy See in Rome cleaning the snow off.

As I was saying to the Holy Father this morning as he was gazing out from his apartment window down unto St-Peter's Square, we should go skiing.

on the street, where is everyone?

The beautiful cathedral of Siena under the snow.

No one at the Caffé today

un bello ragazzo

How I miss it all, as Puccini said, you will never see anywhere in the world a city has great as Rome.
I have to agree.

On a Sunny Sunday in cold Ottawa.

As this is a quiet Sunday morning at -30 C in Ottawa under a bright blue Sun filled winter sky, I sit here with puppies quietly listening to Angela Hewitt playing the English Suite by J.S. Bach.  In fact winter officially arrived in Ottawa on Thursday 12 January 2012 in a snowstorm which created meter high snow banks on the streets everywhere, making street parking impossible for a few months to come and walking difficult and hazardous.  I wonder what was my ancestor thinking when in June of 1662 he boarded a war ship in Brittany for Quebec City in far away Canada. Knowing that life expectancy upon arrival in this French territoire outre-mer was at best one year. If disease or the elements did not get you the Aboriginals living in the dark primevil forest would. I would rather live in a more southern temperate clime.

Near our home while walking the puppies this morning at 8 am.

The Rideau Canal finally ready for skaters, the longest skating way in the world, I forget how many kilometers it is but it is very long indeed.

cleaning the snow off the canal for skaters to enjoy a good exercise.

 quiet streets and a brave few walkers along the canal.

This morning in the New York Times, Lee Siegel has a very good opinion piece on Mitt Romney and race.
Describing Mitt Romney as the whitest white presidential candidate anyone can hope for to replace that black fellow in the White House. It seems that Americans are incapable of accepting a black president, the old race card comes again to haunt the political agenda. Sad for a country which loves to present itself as forward thinking, modern and a defender of freedom and human rights. What is it they say about Freedom, '' the price of freedom is eternal vigilance''. The Americans or at least the Republicans are unable to free themselves of their old prejudices, they inherited the narrow minded and mean views of people like George Wallace of Alabama, nothing has really changed since the 1960.


Lee Siegel says and I quote; Of course, I’m not talking about a strict count of melanin density. I’m referring to the countless subtle and not-so-subtle ways he telegraphs to a certain type of voter that he is the cultural alternative to America’s first black president. It is a whiteness grounded in a retro vision of the country, one of white picket fences and stay-at-home moms and fathers unashamed of working hard for corporate America.

In this way, Mr. Romney’s Mormonism may end up being a critical advantage. Evangelicals might wring their hands over the prospect of a Mormon president, but there is no stronger bastion of pre-civil-rights-America whiteness than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Yes, since 1978 the church has allowed blacks to become priests. But Mormonism is still imagined by its adherents as a religion founded by whites, for whites, rooted in a millenarian vision of an America destined to fulfill a white God’s plans for earth. 


He goes on with: ''as became immediately apparent in 2009, millions of Americans were unwilling to accept the basic democratic premise that Mr. Obama legally and morally deserved to sit in the White House — and that was before they confronted his “socialist” and “un-American” policy agenda.

Mitt Romney knows this. He knows that he offers to these people the white solution to the problem of a black president. I am sure that Mr. Romney is not a racist. But I am also sure that, for the many Americans who find the thought of a black president unbearable, he is an ideal candidate. For these sudden outsiders, Mitt Romney is the conventional man with the outsider faith — an apocalyptic pragmatist — who will wrest the country back from the unconventional man with the intolerable outsider color.''

Terribly sad but so true of the USA. It seems that some ghosts of the past are unshakeable.

In Canada this week the law on same-sex marriage was firmly enshrined by the Federal Government by a simple declaration by the Minister of Justice, for anyone who thought that it could be changed by the current administration or some exception was about to be made in Divorce Court. The law was passed in 2005, giving full marital rights, recognition and protection to same-sex couples. Thousands of foreigners have come to Canada to marry because it was not possible in their own country. A great coup for Canada and the Government. 

It is a beautiful day but too cold despite the fact that the Canal is open to skating, I can stand the cold and even the puppies don't want to go outside for too long. So we will enjoy the view from inside.




 
Nora in the Sunshine

Nicky dozing in the morning sun

  

Birthday and trimming the tree

December by Hans Thoma


Well we had a good birthday for W. surprised him with a special cake of orange spice with a white cream icing in a Laura Ashley design. The cake was made by Thimble Cakes of Bank street in Ottawa, they specialize in cakes that are gluten free, lactose or nut free for people who have allergies but still like their cake. The design they have for the cakes are beautiful and make for a unique presentation. It was my contribution to a lovely dinner at old friends on Parkdale, a nice bottle of Moët et Chandon, some nice wines and many other delicacies. Our friend R contributed as always his own artistic place settings for each guests. I have a whole collection of dinner parties place settings R has provided through these many years.

Wonderful gluten free cake

The cake was so good everyone had 3 helpings. See their website, the staff are also most helpful, we had a sit down chat about the sort of cake I wanted. Their website www.thimblecakes.ca

W also received many messages of good wishes from friends. Now he can enjoy fully senior citizen discounts.

Birthday bouquet homage from Scrim's my favourite florist in Ottawa since 1976.

Many years ago when I was in Jordan, I would fly to Canada for Christmas and the flight usually stopped in London. I used the stop over to shop for baby Stilton which W, likes especially. The first time I went to get one I was not prepared for the size of the cheese, it is the size of a baby, I paused for a moment when the shop attendant asked me if I wanted the whole thing, I thought W had played a trick on me, so I did my King Solomon and took only half with me to Canada, a smelly baby indeed.
 I remember one year, a colleague suggested we go see about wines and spirits at one of London's great wine stores, Berry Brothers and Rudd at 3 St-James Street. I love London in December, there is such an atmosphere in the City. We did find some great wines which I brought with me to Canada. That Christmas we were going to Niagara-on-the-Lake for the Holiday period, staying then at the old Oban Inn, prior to the great fire.

Last night we put up the Christmas tree, pre-lit, this way no grand schemings on lights and were they should go etc.. One of the time honoured tradition is to polish the Sterling Silver Xmas tree balls all 30 of them. Starting with the first one marked 1979, our first Xmas together. This was the year Neiman Marcus of Dallas introduced this item to their catalogue, we stopped at the year 2009. Mostly because we thought we had enough for the tree. What is most fun about those silver balls is that each one has a special memory, of a city or a place we were living in the world at the time. I was looking at 1987 Mexico City, 1998 Warsaw, 2007 Rome, so many happy memories.

''It was Katmandu in the Spring, well you see as I said to LaBouBou as he was then.....

The weather is definitely cold now at -6C and the Rideau canal is partially frozen, still no snow but we are told that after the 15 Dec it is likely that we will have some snow at least for Christmas. I only wish for an elegant covering of white, no need for masses of it, a delicate blanket, I hope Mother Nature is listening.

Polishing those famous N&M sterling silver balls

Dachshund God guarding the balls and Christmas tree 2011

Snowstorm in ROME

On friday morning as I was getting ready to go to work, I noticed big snowflakes falling. The last time it snowed in Rome was 40 yrs ago. It is cold in winter but never that cold. Friday was cold, there was a snow warning, no one believe it. Though there is snow in Firenze and Bologna and elsewhere in Northern Italy. The mountains outside Rome are covered in snow, but it was not possible for some reason. So it all started slowly, just a few flakes and then it started to snow hard and in no time at all it was accumulating. It snowed until 11:30. Then as lunch time approached the skies cleared and the snow started to melt. It was beautiful to see, imagine Rome under the snow, I see it almost as a priviledge. Two years ago I saw the Acropolis in Athens under snow and that was magical. Some pictures to show you from our house and from the Villa Torlonia next door and the Colosseum that photo was taken by my friend Lionel.