Christmas Day 2014 - Never Eat the Last Cookie

I wrote this quite awhile ago, but it never seemed appropriate as a blog post. It's a bit mushy for distribution, we thought. But it's Christmas and we're apart and we thought … maybe, just maybe ... you'd indulge us and overlook the mush and share just a wee bit of our Christmas and year long spirit.

Do you ever ponder why your relationship is what it is? Good, bad, great or wretched, life is what we make it and so are our relationships. We've been blessed with a good, strong relationship. It's survived children, grandchildren, work, wallpapering, owning a business together, the death of a child and living on a sailboat for nearly 15 years. We don't question that it's good, but sometimes we wonder how it worked out as well it did. We've come to the conclusion that, for us, it all comes down to this philosophy … “Never Eat the Last Cookie”.

It could just as well have been “Don't eat the last serving of ice cream” or more to the point … think of your partner before thinking about yourself. Don't just go the extra step; go the extra mile. Don't take the relationship or each other for granted. And just as importantly, don't suffer in silence if there's something's wrong. Get it out on the table; confront it and make it right again. Take good care of each other.

We've both survived previous marriages that failed and we've thought long and hard about what worked and didn't work in the past. Since we failed previously, perhaps we're not the best advisers on the subject, but then again … maybe we can offer something. We've certainly tried hard to determine what we, as individuals, did or didn't do that caused previous relationships to fail. “It takes two”, they say.  When the lust and the luster of a new relationship wear off, you're left with just yourselves (and sometimes a few extra little people) to cope with and it's just not easy. We've certainly had to work harder at some times than others. We're glad we did.

So when you see that last, scrumptious, homemade chocolate chip cookie just sitting there and calling your name ... think twice. Don't eat it. If you subscribe to our philosophy, you'll be sharing it later anyway.

Merry Christmas!

Color Me Christmas

As we're bustling around decorating and shopping for Christmas, the colors of red, green and white seem to predominate and I had to stop and think why ... although it might seem quite obvious to some of you. Considering that most of the Christmas traditions we know are derived from western and northern Europe where the winters were dark and cold, it makes sense that people would look for anything living to help remind them that Spring would eventually come. Holly, ivy and mistletoe were readily available and, of course, evergreen trees. I read that Romans traditionally exchanged evergreen branches during the winter months as a sign of good luck and the Egyptians brought green palm leaves into their homes during mid-winter holidays.

As I look out in Lin's backyard woods, there's not much color there. It's bare and bland except for the evergreens. Inside, we've got the Christmas tree and the smell of evergreen permeates the air. Tuesday, the cat, seems fascinated that we've brought some of the outside to the inside … a tree in the sun room. She sits and contemplates the tree from time to time. She's managed to remove a few ribbons from the presents, but hasn't tried climbing the tree yet, thank goodness.

We've got sprigs of holly in vases throughout the house. Those tiny red holly berries provide color and contrast to the shiny green pointed leaves. Holly has been used as a winter decoration for centuries. The Druids donned holly wreaths for traditional celebrations and holly was used as an heraldic design symbolizing truth. Holly was also the sacred plant of  the Roman god, Saturn and the Romans gave each other holly wreaths at the Saturnalia festival to honor him. Holly was also used as a folk remedy for toothaches, measles and dog bites.

Then there's Santa's costume … all red and white. Evidently, St. Nicholas was a bishop and bishop's robes were and still are, traditionally red. The white is probably representative of snow at this time of year in the northern climes. Candy canes with red and white stripes adorn our tree and are placed strategically throughout the house keeping with that red/white theme.

We've got a big red poinsettia sitting in the middle of the dining room table upon a bright red tablecloth. Here's some trivia for you. According to Wiki, poinsettias are native to Mexico and the English name for the plant, poinsettia, is derived from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US Minister to Mexico who introduced the poinsettia plant to the USA in 1825.

It actually seems that the use of red and green was most likely taken from the 14th century Adam and Eve Day plays presented by the Christian churches on December 24th. The iconic apple tree and apples associated with the legendary first couple was obviously not available in the cold December north lands. Instead, they took stored winter apples and tied them to evergreen trees. The tradition was popularized, especially in Germany, where reputedly the first use of decorated Christmas trees in people's homes was begun.

So there you have it … perhaps way too much trivia about Christmas colors, but now you know!

Happy Holidays!

Following is an excerpt from our 2014 Holiday Newsletter...

Marcie rejoined David in Port Adelaide, South Australia in early January 2014. We wasted no time getting Nine of Cups ready, but had a chance to get a taste of Adelaide before we left. We were off the dock  in mid-February, heading west. We sailed rather determinedly from port to port, waiting for a good jump-off point and weather window to cross the infamous Great Australian Bight which we did in March.

April found us coast-hopping through the Recherche Archipelago and along the southern coast of Western Australia. We rounded Cape Leeuwin, our fourth of the five Great Southern Capes. By early May, we were exploring Geographe Bay and headed into Mandurah for a planned haul-out. Mandurah turned out to be a safe and friendly haven for Nine of Cups when we returned to the States once again … both mums were ill.

We finally returned to Cups in early August and made a hasty departure for points north and finally west across the Indian Ocean.

As we end an old year and begin a new one, we have some decisions to make. We'll complete our circumnavigation and round the last of the Great Southern Capes in Cape Town in early 2015. Where to next?  Stay tuned. We'll see which way the wind blows us.

For the rest of the story click here

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