Category: holidays

The Year of the Snake

                                               

Happy Chinese New Year! According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2025 is the Year of the Wood Snake. Sometimes referred to as the Spring Festival, this 16-day celebration originated 3,500 years ago in ancient China and is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture as it marks the end of winter and the beginning of the new year.

In Chinese mythology, the snake symbolizes wisdom, initiation, charm and slyness. It’s often linked to the element of fire which represents passion and transformation. The Wood Snake specifically is seductive and creative, as well as absolutely ruthless.

When it comes to literature and mythology, the snake is one of the most symbolically significant animals. And while you may associate it with evil, snake symbolism is much more far-reaching.

For centuries, it has been a symbol of rebirth, renewal and eternity, largely because of its ability to shed its own skin.  In many cultures, snakes have been associated with darkness and the underworld, probably because they spend so much time hiding under rocks or in pits below the earth. In the Bible’s Book of Genesis it’s a serpent or snake (symbolizing Satan) that speaks to Eve and tempts her to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.

In other cases, however, snakes have been associated with more positive symbolism, particularly when it comes to healing properties and medicine. The staff of Asclepius with a serpent wrapped around it originally symbolized the Greek god of healing. Today, we associate it with pharmacies and medicine, a throwback to the theme of renewal and rejuvenation.

Snakes appear in many works of fiction too. One of the most famous is Kaa, the Indian python from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. When I watched the movie as a child, I thought Kaa was the villain. Kipling, however, didn’t write the story that way. In the original book, scary Kaa rescues Mowgli, the boy-hero, by defeating the monkeys and freeing the child. The snake in that story represents both savior and danger, underscoring once again the ambiguous symbolism of both savior and danger.

I’m not sure if that holds any significance as we head into the Year of the Wood Snake. But if the events of last week are any indication, perhaps it means that we can expect both good and bad over the coming year . . . and with wisdom and patience we’ll find the courage to move forward and leave the bad behind us. Eventually shedding the old and embracing the new just like the snake sheds its skin and renews itself.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy New Year

                                 

The Christmas lights are put away, the extra treats have all been consumed (in rather alarming quantities this year) and my 2025-day book is open and ready to be marked up. Yes, I still like a physical planner, in spite of the fact that I also keep track of deadlines and appointments on my phone.

A number of my friends choose a word of the year. Doing this encourages them to think carefully about what they want to focus on over the coming months and how to bring their values into alignment with that goal. I’ve never done it but I thought it might be fun. Instead of coming up with my own word, however, I decided to toss it out to the universe.  So, I found this on line:   http://wordoftheyear.me/

 I clicked …and laughed. The word I got? Invest. I don’t have the means or the knowledge to invest. I also have (what some would call) an alarming lack of interest in anything deeply financial. I’m not talking about the daily necessities of paying bills, tracking expenses, balancing accounts. I do that with ease. But the investment side of life, how financial markets work, that kind of thing, leaves me cold. In fact, just this morning, and before I chose my word, I was reading an article on politics and I came across a new-to-me phrase ‘the financialization of housing in Canada.’ I had no idea what it meant and had to look it up.

So, the word invest didn’t resonate. At least not at first. But then I thought about the multiple ways I could invest. Virtually every single one of them involved that most precious of commodities: time. I could invest time in myself (my health, my self-care). In others (family, friends, colleagues). In various art forms (writing being one). In my garden (doing my small bit to care for the Earth). And I could also find the time to invest in joy (laughing and savoring the simple things in life).

Hmm.

Maybe there is something to choosing a word of the year. I’m thinking carefully now about how I will invest my time and energy this year. And I’m reminding myself that there’s more to life, to people, to words, than the first thing that pops to mind.

Happy New Year!

My Reading Wish List, Take Two

                                   

As much as I love to lose myself in a good novel, I also enjoy a great non-fiction read. Dipping into a memoir or a book about cooking or gardening takes me out of the realm of plotting, setting, and character development, and puts me into someone else’s life or gets me thinking about flowers or food!  Here are a few books I’d be happy to find under my tree this holiday season.

The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise by Olivia Laing. As Laing restores an 18th century garden at her home in the English countryside, she also explores issues of gratitude, stewardship and the contradictions of gardens themselves.  Another garden book on my short list is One Garden Against the World: In Search of Hope in a Changing Climate by Kate Bradbury who writes about how her climate-change anxiety pushed her to look for positive ways to do more for wildlife and biodiversity.

The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoe Schlanger. While acknowledging that the subject of plant intelligence divides scientists, Schlanger travels the globe interviewing biologists and researching how plants have adapted and developed the intelligence needed to survive and thrive. Can plants interact and help each other? Recognize caretakers? Feel pain? Do they retain memories? Schlanger addresses these questions and more in a book that became a New York Times bestseller and also hit Time’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2024 list.

The Traitor’s Daughter: Captured by Nazis, Pursued by the KGB, My Mother’s Odyssey to Freedom from Her Secret Past by Roxana Spicer. The story of a daughter’s decades-long quest to understand her mother, who was born in Lenin’s Soviet Union, served as a combat solider in the Red Army, and endured three years of Nazi captivity—but never revealed her darkest secrets. Spicer, a Canadian journalist and documentarian, became obsessed with discovering the truth and traveled back to many of the places that played a role in her mother’s story. Exhaustively researched and powerfully told, Spicer’s book became an instant Canadian bestseller.

One Way Back, a Memoir by Christine Blasey Ford. Psychology Professor Blasey Ford stepped forward during the confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh to testify about being abused by Kavanaugh when she was a teenager. This memoir goes behind the headlines to focus on the impact on Dr. Ford and her family who became a lightning rod for extremists after her testimony. Ford believed that politicians would care about truth rather than being controlled by their quest for power, and she was entirely unprepared for the mistreatment she received from the Senate Judiciary Committee and the FBI.

Golden Years – How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age by James Chappel. Historian Chappel details out how old age first emerged as a distinct stage of life and how it evolved over the last century, shaped by politicians’ choices, activists’ demands, medical advancements, and the depiction of aging people in novels, films, television programs and even greeting cards. The move from seeing seniors as fragile and needy to individuals with the power and political clout to age well raises issues that we continue to grapple with today. Insightful and easy-to-read, Chappel’s book urges readers to consider how current policies and cultural attitudes might evolve to better support an aging population.

Zaytinya: Delicious Mediterranean Dishes from Greece, Turkey and Lebanon by Jose Andres. I’m a lover of Mediterranean food and a big fan of Spanish-American chef Jose Andres, so this book is on my definite short list. Based on recipes from his restaurant of the same name, Andres presents creative adaptations of the classic dishes of Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. Drool-worthy reading at its finest.

My Reading Wish List

                                           

Usually at this time of year I recommend book picks for the readers on your holiday gift giving list. This year, instead of trying to guess the tastes of your lucky recipients, I thought I’d tell you what I’d love to find wrapped and under my tree. Below are some fiction picks I’d be thrilled to receive.

A Way to Be Happy by Caroline Adderson.  A Globe 100 Best Book of 2024 and longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize, Adderson’s short story collection features disparate but vividly drawn characters who, in the face of inevitable challenges, must come to some sort of acceptance as they consider what it means to be happy. Short story collections are easy to dip into when time or attention spans are short, but the short story, as a literary form, is complex and surprisingly hard to write, and this latest offering from BC author Adderson is billed as touching, funny and thought-provoking.

The Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley by Shelley Wood, another BC author. This novel, which is getting lots of buzz, traces the life of Kit McKinley who is born on leap year during WW1 and grows one year older every four years. Unnaturally slow to age, Kit and her family must keep moving to protect her secret from insatiable newshounds, Nazi scientists, doctors, and pharmaceutical companies. Billed as a race through the past century’s burgeoning understanding of genetics, eugenics, and what constitutes ‘normal,’ the novel also explores the tensions, love and sense of duty that can bind families together or split them apart.

The Women by Kristin Hannah. While this novel deals with war, a subject I go out of my way to avoid, I loved Hannah’s novel The Nightingale (set during World War 11) so much, that I’m willing to try another war novel of hers. This time, Hannah takes us back to the mid-sixties, shortly after JFK was shot in Texas, when men are being sent to Vietnam. The story focuses on nurse Frances “Frankie” McGrath, who longs for a place on her father’s “Hero’s Wall” and volunteers for service in Vietnam.  Hannah says she was inspired to write the novel because of the number of female veterans who told her that their service and sacrifice had been ignored because ‘there were no women in ‘Nam.’  Her research proved the latter was absolutely not true.

Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson. I love a good mystery (it takes me back to those days reading Nancy Drew) and the latest Kate Atkinson (book six in the Jackson Brodie series) has all the elements: a diverse group of people come together for a lavish murder mystery weekend at Rook Hall, one of England’s finest stately homes. Throw in a snowstorm, a corpse and an art theft to solve, and you have the makings of another great Atkinson tale.

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult is a dual timeline novel. In one timeline, set in 1581, Picoult tells the story of Emilia Bassano who is the true author of Willliam’s Shakespeare’s plays, while the modern day second timeline features playwright Melina Green, who is an ancestor of Emilia and is having trouble getting her plays produced . . . until she submits one under a different name. Meticulously researched with detailed endnotes to support her theme, Picoult apparently provides compelling evidence and thought-provoking ideas on Shakespeare’s true authorship, while also exploring how two women who lived five centuries apart are forced to write under male pseudonyms in order to be taken seriously and make their voices heard. It may not be a light read but it sounds like a worthwhile one.

The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman.  About to turn eighty, newly retired (and not by choice!) pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to an active senior community in Florida, she unexpectedly bumps into Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s pharmacy, and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier.  Also a dual timeline novel, this story switches between 1920s Brooklyn – the Prohibition era, the gangs, the importance of pharmacists and the role of a traditional pharmacy, and the challenges young Augusta faces in choosing her career – and 1987 Florida where Augusta faces a challenge of a different kind: avoiding Irving Rivkin at all costs. This ode to second chances has been touted by multiple readers as being sweet, funny and uplifting . . . and I think we can all use a bit of uplift these days.

I’ll be back next week with some non-fiction picks I’d love to receive this holiday season. Stop by and tell me what’s on your reading wish list.

Giving Thanks

                                                 

Thanksgiving, which we’ll be celebrating in just a few days, is one of my favorite holidays. I love the focus on food, friends and family, and the generosity of nature. There’s a joyful simplicity around Thanksgiving. And this year, as I gratefully pick the last of our tomatoes and dahlias, I’m giving thanks for everyone who has been a teacher in my life.

It is back-to-school time after all, and every morning now I hear the laughter of children heading down the trail to the nearby elementary school. Teachers are gearing up with lesson plans and activities; some are reaching out to authors to see if they’re available for talks and workshops (I am!).

I’m taking a few workshops myself this fall – some single ‘just-for-fun’ one-off classes and another in a more professional vein that will run once a week until December. My first session of the latter was yesterday. It was quite a change to sit back and let someone else lead. As I looked through the binder of information the instructor had assembled for each of the participants, I was struck all over again about how much goes into the process of teaching, whether that’s in a structured academic environment or in a more creative studio space. It takes time, energy, and effort to instruct others well.

Last spring, I took a one-day security course at VIU ElderCollege in Parksville. It was fantastic and incredibly worthwhile. Sadly, Vancouver Island University announced this week that it will end its affiliation with ElderCollege on December 31st after 30 years. The university cited financial difficulties as the reason. The decision is a real blow to the many islanders who have benefited from ElderCollege over the last three decades.  But the 3,000-member organization isn’t closing the doors just yet. Board members are determined to continue providing ElderCollege courses. They aren’t sure how, but they’re determined not to let the organization fade away.

Let’s hope they’re successful, because learning is something we can all be thankful for.  

My August Reads

It’s the height of summer. That’s what I tell myself, though I know, technically, this is the last full month of summer and we are heading inexorably toward fall (I refuse to go there). The harvest has started – we’re picking masses of blueberries and plums and figs, tomatoes and peppers and eggplants. And beans. Lots and lots of beans. We’ve had friends come to stay and soon we’ll be having a family reunion of sorts with a beloved aunt and cousins. It’s a happy and productive time, but a busy one, and that means less time for reading. That said, I’m stealing a few minutes here and there, and I always fit in a few chapters before bed. Here’s what I’m reading this month.

The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis

The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work At 72 by Molly Peacock

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

Books read to date in 2023: 42

Happy Holidays

From my house to yours, have a very merry holiday season. Whether you celebrate Hannukah, Kwanzaa or Christmas (or all three!), I hope you’re surrounded by the people you love and the traditions that bring you joy. Our actual holiday will be quiet this year, but the family is descending between Christmas and New Year’s, and we’re thrilled about that. Snow is falling outside the window as I write this, shortbread is baking in the oven, and I’ll be making lemon curd to give to the neighbours this afternoon. I always make an extra jar or two for us, as my son and I love it. If you’re scrambling for a last-minute food or hostess gift, you can’t go wrong with lemon curd!

Easy Lemon Curd

½ cup butter

1 ½ cups white sugar

Grated rind of three lemons

½ cup of fresh lemon juice

6 eggs, beaten slightly

Put all ingredients in the top of a double boiler over simmering water (start with cold water). Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until thickened, 20 – 30 minutes. Pour into half pint jars and refrigerate when cool. Consume within a month.

And Here We Go . . .

Author Dean Wesley Smith calls it The Time of Great Forgetting – that stretch between now and the end of August when writing routines get torpedoed because of outside influences. That could be anything from the lure of family reunions or friends visiting from out of town, the pull of the garden and all things outdoors, or even travel, depending on your Covid comfort level. Writing conferences and workshops, in spite of being a part of our professional life, can be a distraction too, especially if travel is involved. And if you have kids at home, it goes without saying that a regular writing routine is much harder to maintain during summer holidays.

Distractions aren’t limited to the spring and summer; they can happen anytime. On the upside, the writing life is flexible, making it easy to respond. But there can be a downside to that flexibility too. Lines can get blurred. For instance, someone who started working at home during the pandemic commented that his work and his other life bled together ‘like a tie-dye sweatshirt.’ Depending on the type of distraction you’re facing, and how you respond, creative routines can slide or even become completely eroded.

You might be fine with letting them go for a few months. But if not, here are a few things that help me maintain focus when life dishes the distractions.

Creating a schedule and (mostly) sticking to it. That used to be Monday to Friday, nine to three (a hold-over from when my kids were in school). I still aim for that, with a couple of exceptions: an early morning walk with a group of neighbourhood women once a week; and the occasional (once or twice a month) Friday afternoon lunch or coffee date with a friend.

Writing in the morning and leaving the business side of writing (research, social media, blogging) for the afternoon. It takes discipline and a little planning, but it’s doable.

Scheduling ahead when and where possible. I try to write, upload and schedule my blog a week ahead (or longer if I’m going away). Tweets can be scheduled in advance too, a bonus for getting a jump on promotion or simply trying to maintain a social media presence. But the latter can also be something of a gamble. If the tone of your scheduled tweets is upbeat and light, and they appear around the time something horrible hits the news (and you forget or can’t take them down), it could reflect poorly on you.

Grouping tasks and appointments. Some things like vet or doctor appointments inevitably crop up during working hours. When I can’t schedule them for the end of the day, I try for afternoon appointments, and I try to fit in another task (picking up a hold at the library or visiting the post office) at the same time.

Being satisfied with small steps. I may not have a full or half-day, but with thirty minutes, I can read over the last scene I wrote and make a few notes in the margin.  A few minutes a day on peripheral work can keep the story in my mind and make it easier to return to later.

Learning to say no. It’s not always easy, especially when you’ll disappoint someone. But there are times to be available to others and times when we need to be available to ourselves. We sometimes forget that.  

And finally, remember that everything is temporary. This, too, shall pass. Repeat as needed.

Happy New Year!

                                    

Here it is a new year, a clean slate, an opportunity to release the old and embrace the new. Not that we need an invitation for that kind of thing; we can do it anytime we choose. But January, in our culture at least, is traditionally the month for new beginnings. Maybe putting away the holiday decorations for another year leads to letting go of past memories. Certainly, the house feels new and fresh and more open to possibilities when the coziness of the Christmas clutter is gone.

2022 is a six-year. Those who know numerology say this is a year to devote to home and family, creativity, and nurturing yourself and others. Mathematically, six is considered a perfect number because the factors of 6 (1,2 and 3) make 6 whether you add them together or multiply them. Perhaps that’s why many people think of six as a lucky number.  

In nature, the honeycombs made by bees are six-sided or hexagonal in shape. Many flowers have six petals. Bell peppers and tomatoes often have six seed chambers. When water freezes, it often forms six-pointed crystals and snowflakes.

Being at sixes and sevens means being in a state of disorder or confusion. Having a six-pack used to mean having six cans or bottles, but now it’s a reference to a set of well-defined abdominal muscles.  

In literature, book titles featuring the letter six are popular: The Sixth Man by David Baldacci; Six Years by Harlan Coben; Six of One by Rita Mae Brown; and The 6th Target by James Patterson. Speaking of books, here’s a quote from Lewis Carroll’s Alice Through the Looking Glass. “Why sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast,” exclaimed the White Queen.

As we start another year with significant Covid restrictions, it seems an almost impossible dream that we’ll ever be finished with this virus. But, as the Queen encouraged Alice, it’s vital to have grit, courage and believe in a positive future. So, since six is considered a lucky number, I’m counting on the coming year to be a good one. And with that in mind, let’s deep-six 2021 and look forward with optimism to 2022!

Merry Christmas

Yesterday was Winter Solstice, and in a few days, it will be Christmas. However and wherever you celebrate, I hope your holiday is filled with joy and light. Perhaps this year, friends and family will be joining you. For the first time, we’ll be celebrating Christmas with our two-year-old grandson, Henry. We’re excited! We’re also feeling deep gratitude. Henry was in the hospital just a few weeks ago (not Covid-related, and he’s home and better now), and he received exemplary care from medical staff who are overburdened yet continue to work very hard caring for people during these difficult times.  

On a happier note, and with Henry still in mind, this year, we’ll be baking gingerbread cookies. You’ll find the recipe below. As a child, I never liked gingerbread. It was too bold a flavour for me. In fact, I was even lukewarm about gingerbread as an adult until I tasted my friend Vivien’s cookies. They’re more like Dutch speculaas than true gingerbread, and they are delicious. Enjoy!

Vivien’s Gingerbread

1 cup/225 grams butter

1 cup/210 grams brown sugar, lightly packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon/5 ml vanilla

2 ½ cups/375 grams all-purpose white flour

1 teaspoon/5 grams baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons/4 grams cinnamon

½ teaspoon/1.5 g allspice

½ teaspoon/1.5 g nutmeg

½ teaspoon/1.5 g ground cloves

Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Stir dry ingredients together and add to wet. Form into a ball of dough. Refrigerate for an hour or until firm (or until you’re ready to bake; I sometimes mix the dough up the day before). Lightly flour your counter or board. Roll dough to about ¼ inch/3.5 cm thick and cut into shapes using cookie cutters. Bake at 350 7 – 9 minutes. Cool and decorate. They’re also delicious unadorned! Makes about two dozen cookies.