Good Finnish Christmas food and red wine..... and a dream of a B&B....

Christmas in July ..... As a tradition that I am endeavoring to establish I am once again having Xmas in July. It started as a occasion to eat and enjoy the traditional Finnish Christmas fare as the summers are too hot for all the oven cooking that is required. So for the second time I am doing it all in July. The tree will go up , the carols will play, the candles will burn and the good cooking is to be eaten with family and friends. We will share in Secret Santa gifts and this year the limit is from $10-20 and the two grandchildren will receive something small and fun as their Christmas in July presents. All in fun of giving and receiving, Love and laughter. The gifts will be numbered and popped into a decorated laundry basket and everyone will pull a number from a 'hat' and receive their gifts. If by chance someone pulls out their own they can change and pick another.

It will be an evening of laughter, good conversation, warmth and merriment as people enjoy the warmth and the the good food along with their chosen tipple as the Carols and light classical play as a background music.

I am trying to decide what to pick as my Secret Santa present. My Housemate has decided on a fragrant Rosebush with rose food and an aphids spray. He'll pop it all into a large gift bag from the 2 dollar shop and tape the bag shut. What a nice idea. I have thought of finding a bay tree or a lemon/lime tree from the garden center so people can grow their own gifts. Must go tomorrow and do some shopping, hehe... I am going to have fun. I love getting thoughtful and unusual presents, but also giving them.Cannot forget lotsa candles so need to swing over to the local GoLow/Clints for those.

The food shopping tomorrow will see me organized for the Saturday cooking spree. My goodness IL Divo and the rest will play in earnest as I tend to cook with music and along with cooking dance a jig when the spirit takes me along with the food coming along. My philosophy is that if the cook is happy and loving it so the people ingesting the food will ingest that happy and the loving energy.... so JOY to the WORLD. I will set up the house into a Christmas mode also and set everything ready on Friday after cleaning the house, so Saturday will just be a relaxed and a happy cooking day. I love it....!

People have said to me I should have bed and breakfast as I enjoy making people comfortable and happy in my environment. Hmmmm.... so I would like to, but I would want the Kindred Spirit/Soul mate Partner to share in it. I look at it as load shared is a load halved, but also I would enjoy sharing the joy with someone dear and near... a Soul mate Partner in other words. What fun would it be with two bringing their individual gifts and ideas to the table and sharing the creation of the mood, warmth, joy and the welcoming energy for those arriving. It is, but in destiny to see if that eventuates.

Talking about B&B's I would make mine a smaller affair. Max 6 people at the table and staying. It'd be small and intimate with cosy, spotlessly clean rooms, beautiful, soft music floating around in the common areas, flowers in the vases from the beautiful garden to be enjoyed ( gees, I'd need a Gardener, HEY the Soul mate of course.... heheh) and good food in the mornings. Dinners would be cooked ( good ol' home cooking and BBQ's) at request only and for the 'friends' staying it would be BYOG. That way I would not need a liquor license.

I'd set the whole thing up in Shabby Chic Style with lots of white, clean linen and large, fluffy, white towels fresh every day and natural bathing products. Large cushions on settees, candles and fresh flowers, soft lighting, soft, airy rooms with soft and relaxing colours, spas or deep baths in the bathrooms and open fire in the common area that is made of natural rock to enjoy and good array of books and good magazines to read. Smoking in outdoor areas only which in the winter would be softly lit with heating in the form of outdoor heaters and/or a slow combustion heater area where people could sit and converse, protected from a weather and winds.

Sounds Heavenly for long weekends and an antidote for the bustling of the Cities and busy work week. Making people happy and relaxed after a weekend of joyful relaxation in this crazy world would be my gift to the Humanity...small, but more people happy and relaxed more of that energy to go around. Might be like a little rock hitting the pond, the energy just keep on going till it hits the shores and then it turns back toward the center. In other words what one gives out, one receives back and it goes on and on...so Joy to the World.


Indeed so be it and so it is.....

BF13