Welcome to the open forum! Two wonderful people have volunteered to contribute diaries for 20 December and 27 December, and one good friend and regular visitor has even volunteered for one of the Fridays in January. We still need four more volunteer diarists for January because it has five Fridays! It would. Where I live it’s an interminable month of ice and snow.
Let’s get down to business. As it’s so close to the Yule season we have mulled cider to slurp down this morning. It’s been simmering away for hours in a huge crockpot with whole nutmegs, whole cloves, and whole cinnamon sticks. There are slices of fresh orange in it too, by now almost caramelized from the sugar content of the fresh cider. ‘Mmm-mmm.
If you’re hungry, we have a selection of fruit breads—apple date, lemon, banana, blueberry, and carrot. There is a selection of “crèmes” to spread on them: vanilla, cinnamon, honey, and filbert. No, I didn’t bake the breads: like everyone else here I’ve been insanely busy, so I bought them. They’re good anyway, so do try a slice. Then follow me below the orange pretzel to discuss this week’s open forum topic.
When you think of reading a tale by the fireside as you sprawl inelegantly in the recliner, a glass of eggnog to hand and the family cat around your neck, which Christmas book or story appeals to you the most? At this time of year I tend to reach for the classics. Everyone knows A Christmas Carol, but what of the others? I can mention a few to help stimulate your memory: Cleveland Amory’s The Cat Who Came for Christmas, Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Fannie Flagg’s A Redbird Christmas.
My own favorite is Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory. You can read it here. There is something about the tale of this unlikely pair of friends that touches my heart. I never tire of reading it every December, just as I never tire of watching “A Christmas Story” on TV every Christmas Eve. Certain books simply go with the Yuletide season. Now--what’s YOUR favorite?
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