Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Reassurance

Take a moment. Take a deep breath. We will be here for all of you.  Right now I'm making Cream Scones with dried Cherries and getting ready to make a Pescatarian Christmas Eve Dinner.  In between I have to go out and hold the hands of some suffering new mothers in case they have had the freedom to sneak themelves and their squalling infants out of the house, past the grabby grandmothers and grandmother-in-laws, to get some emotional support.

5 comments:

Victor said...

Scones - YUM!!!

Ten Bears said...

Pity the grandparent, I have five of seven in the house now. Incessant cooking and bottle-washing will be the order of things ore the rest of the week. Right now it's Oregon Berry waffles with fresh Cloverdale (Oregon) butter and honey and free range chicken sausages.

What do you mean I can't have a touch of Sherry at nine o'clock?

Yule!

Unknown said...

This just makes me want a union suit and a cup of cocoa even more

Examinator said...

Mean while, for the first time ever, the garden(?) and I have called a truce in the battle for supremacy as to who dislikes who the most, we're both wishing for a cool change! We've had about 3weeks of no rain and 8weeks of scorching heat (upper 30's degrees Celsius).

The eternally exaggerated tourist ads are touting that the state's weather “is beautiful one day and perfect the next”! Mind you not whisper of Bush fire rating that is beyond 'severe' or 'extreme' to “brimstone warning " i.e. the pits of Hell have opened up!". There's stories of fishermen going out into the bay and by the time they get back their unprotected fresh catches are blacked fish crisps! Even the bull ants are wearing thick soled shoes, sun hats and UV 50+ sun screen! I swear I saw a possum (without his fur) in his tree last night sipping a mint julep.... sweating.

Even the last resort for the poor and elderly trying escape the heat or the thuggery of their power bills, the shopping mall's air conditioning is overwhelmed. In stead of the clicking of arthritic joints, walking frames and the whirr of mobility buggies there is a deafening cacophony. All the teenage arguments for birth control seemingly hyped up on caffeine drinks and ADHD medication teens there proving their lack of worth.
Screaming noise averse infants in their impossibly large mobile play pens; petulant wails from over tired toddlers all while their crash dummy parents elbowing each other to get to the Goodwill to all Post Xmas bargains (sic). All to the orchestrated urging of over modulated Pubic address systems under enthusiastic barker's claims of “never again” or “below wholesale price”... yer right!

Where one can see find the coffee machine you reluctantly bought for one the sets of grown up children 2 weeks ago “on special” is now 1/3 of what you paid!

Am I the only person that sees no sense in buying presents for the sake of some, marketing misappropriated culturally important day (?) to assuage ones' guilt for being selfish and or bad parent or child by buying some gift lacking in need or real functional purpose. The reality is that marketing is inculcating the concept of equating indulgence, excess with goodness/ fun/togetherness. More laughingly teaching the children the concept of charity and good will to all (which all hmm?) Such is the power of the marketing in generating a time dependent mass hysteria period designed to squeeze the most from those who can afford it least.
Why do we permit what was and still is, for some a survival technique, (sharing what we have at a time of least),to be become a cultural straight jacket?

Even from the perspective of business it makes more sense both in production, (materials jobs labor costs) and cash flow (overdrafts) to spread business across the year rather than have it, subject to hit or miss risky hiatus(es). Xmas being the most expensive and riskiest. I can tell you without a fear of contradiction even production/cash flow is the goal of most businesses and is certainly the most cost effective (efficient). The unspoken reality is that we of the west force the world to Pay high premiums for our excesses in every thing. Worst of all, encourage binging on every thing from consumerism of junk, fire arms to profligate consumption of food and alcohol.

NB I have no issue with those who want to celebrate 'Christ's birthday' (albeit Saternia renamed as opposed to the real day) religion generally but oppose strenuously it's imposition on others not so inclined. Nor do I have problems with the idea, if not the reality, of the ('christmas'?), family get together day'.

I'm fortunate that our family can and does congregate at least 10-12 per year anyway. It also reduces the inter in-law issues as to whose turn it is. i.e. four children 3 set of in laws, spread mercifully across two countries and two states.


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