Hello and happy new year.
I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year. The official new year fireworks here were spectacular although some maniac nearby decided to let off some supernova bomb that was so loud that my ears are still ringing! Maybe the army surplus store had a sale on or something.
I made the traditional, symbolic new year supper which here is cotechino, a large and very fatty boiled sausage (to represent life's plenty) and lentils, which are shaped like coins and represent prosperity. I added some sauerkraut with wine and apple that went really well with the pork.
Anyway, as is inevitable, I put on a lot of weight but it's allowed. It was nice to have time to cook and eat well. I'm back on the slimming regime and I lost two pounds overnight so something's working. I plan to do Dry January (as I did Dry November) so I'm sitting here with a glass of what I call Slimmer's Champagne, which is a champagne flute filled with fizzy mineral water with a dash of balsamic vinegar and a squirt of lemon juice to colour it and add tartness and flavour. For a moment you might mistake it for champagne. Anyway, it fools me, and I made it!
Any resolutions? Well, apart from continuing to get trim so I can get back into my favourite dresses, I'd like to meet up with other TGirls in Italy and continental Europe, so my (manicured) feelers are out.
Apart from that, I have found the past decade to be so unpredictable that I'm not inclined to make more resolutions than those as circumstances outside my control seem to be all too prevalent.
I always wish everyone the best for the year to come. To be honest, though, I don't think it much of a shock to say that, at this point at least, future world scenarios that look positive are not so many. But I like to be pleasantly surprised, so who knows? I have had this cover of The Economist from 29 December 1979 in my mind's eye recently. For years it was pasted up in a classroom at school and it struck me then and still does 45 years later.
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| (c) The Economist |
The 1980s turned out not so bad as some feared. So ... into the late 2020s, then. My plan for bad news days, therefore, is to try to enjoy the little things as much as possible. Just for instance, this evening just after sunset I got a clear view of the conjunction of the moon and Venus. It's not a rare phenomenon but it does help you feel there are bigger things out there.
At the same time tomorrow the moon occults (i.e. passes in front of) Saturn from here and that is rarer and more exciting. And it's a free spectacle. (If you want to see the occultation it should be visible from the UK and Western Europe a little after sunset, so about 5pm to 7pm GMT - times vary depending on your location.)
This coming weekend is holiday here in Italy and on Twelfth Night (5th-6th) kids are visited by a kindly witch called Befana who gives them sweets and chocolates. I wrote in more detail about this and other traditions here. After that it's the January sales when I hope to stock up on women's trousers as my fem style in public these days is, let's say, ambiguously feminine.
So, yes, it's kind of a plan for 2025. I hope this year is kind to you.
Sue x
Good luck for both the new year and getting train again. I hope both go well for you.
ReplyDeleteI think the Jones family have done well over Christmas in the good department, so being fearful and more modest on choices will help.
Talking of Dry Jan, two things: have you had a look for any alcohol free tipples and/or any thoughts about trying to go meat free for a month?
While we're not full time veggies, I've noticed our meat free dishes are often Mediterranean themed (if not curry or soups), so I'd be curious if this would be your bag and if it would help shift the Xmas weight.
Top marks to Befana. Don't believe the patriarchy propaganda dissing kind, empowered, femme, magic powered healers 😉
Thanks very much, Lynn.
DeleteAlcohol-free tipples rarely taste as good as the 'real' thing and, frankly, without the funjuice to make them more palatable and to make you feel good, what's the point? The other thing is that it's not the alcohol that makes them fattening but the energy in the fruit/grain juices. You can see this for yourself with something like the Slimming World "syns" chart I use where a typical bottle of 4% ABV beer is 8 syns but its alcohol-free equivalent is 4 syns, so not a dramatic saving. What you want is very low or zero energy drinks, i.e. with lots of water. I'm doing Dry Jan mainly as a sort of detox as I find I sleep much better when I've had no booze.
Where I live now in the Med food culture is very different from the UK and people are keen on local produce and regional cuisine. Italian food traditionally is heavy on fruit, veg and grains with little in the way of meat because animals (apart from pigs) were all working creatures. For instance, it was a criminal offence in ancient Rome to slaughter cattle except in religious sacrifices as they were too valuable as draft animals to be eaten. That cultural notion continues somewhat although US burger culture has been creeping in. Locally, it's the fish that's excellent, and that's not fattening, so I eat a lot of that. I find eating lean meat gets the weight off faster than eating pasta so I'm not convinced by no-meat diets. Maybe it's because ghrelin, the hunger hormone, switches off sooner with meat than with other things so you eat less overall. Anyway, we're getting there.
As for witches, yes, the local crone who healed people with herbs became anathema especially in the 17th-century witch-hunting era because to collect herbs you need to assert your right to use common land that the nobility are now appropriating and that's going to get you into trouble. Well, really! Fancy women asserting ancient rights in the face of male dominance. That's just asking for trouble!
Sue x
I am sorry for your, dear Sue, that you are no child anymore...therfore no visit of Befana. I know the story of this italian christmas custom.
ReplyDeleteWish you a wonderful year with many feminine moments.
All the best
Violetta
Thank you, Violetta. I wish you a wonderful year, too. And those all-important feminine moments which you seem to have plenty of but we can never have too many of. Sue x
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