Happy New Year!

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. ~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Health, Wealth and Prosperity in 2011!

Convidando está la noche

Convidando está la noche
aquí de músicas varias
Al recién nacido infante
canten tiernas alabanzas
Alegres cuando festivas
unas hermosas zagales
Con novedad entonaron
juguetes por la guaracha.

Coplas
¡Ay, que me abraso, ay! divino dueño, ay!
en la hermosura, ay! de tus ojuelos, ¡ay!
¡Ay, cómo llueven, ay! ciento luceros, ay!
rayos de gloria, ay! rayos de fuego, ¡ay!
¡Ay, que la gloria, ay! del portaliño, ay!
ya viste rayos, ay! si arroja hielos, ¡ay!
¡Ay, que su madre, ay! como en su espero, ay!
mira en su lucencia, ay! sus crecimientos, ¡ay!
¡En la guaracha, ay! le festinemos, ay!
mientras el niño, ay! se rinde al sueño, ¡ay!

¡Toquen y bailen, ay! porque tenemos, ay!
fuego en la nieve, ay! nieve en el fuego, ¡ay!
¡Pero el chicote, ay! a un mismo tiempo, ay!
llora y se ríe, ay! qué dos extremos, ¡ay!
¡Paz a los hombres, ay! dan de los cielos, ay!
a Dios las gracias, ay! porque callemos, ¡ay!

Composer: Juan García de Zéspedes (1619 - 1678)

聖夜靜歌 (聖夜清，聖夜靜) [Sheng Ye Qing, Sheng Ye Jing] (Holy Night, Blessed Night)

聖夜靜歌 (聖夜清，聖夜靜)

(1) 聖夜清 聖夜靜
明星燦爛 天地寧
水寂山眠 萬籟無聲
卿雲繚繞擁着伯利恆
客店馬槽誕生天嬰

(2) 聖夜清 聖夜靜
天使顯現 牧人驚
金琴玉箏 漫天歌韻
哈利路亞 山海欲齊鳴
傳報佳音 救主降生

(3) 聖夜清 聖夜靜
救主耶穌今降生
仁愛 捨身 公義 和平
聖容赫華 猶如日初升
恩光輝耀 照徹乾坤

English Paraphrase: "Holy Night, Blessed Night"

(1) Holy night, blessed night
Stars shine brightly, earth is still.
Hills and valleys, field and woodlands,
All surround the small town Bethlehem.
In a manger, Christ the Lord sleeps.

(2) Holy night, blessed night,
Angels sing praise, shepherds fear,
Earth and heaven ring with praises,
Alleluia all creation sings.
Tell the good news: Christ is born now.

(3) Holy night, blessed night
Christ has come down, dwells with us.
Sacrifice, love, peace and justice.
Shine upon us like the morning sun.
Grace and glory bless the whole world.

Text: Weiyu Zhu and Jingren Wu (1921)
English paraphrase: Kathleen Moody
Music: Qigui Shy (1982)

A Stable Lamp Is Lighted

VERSION 1: DAVID HURD



VERSION 2: BOB CHILCOTT





A stable lamp is lighted
Whose glow shall wake the sky;
The stars shall bend their voices,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry,
And straw like gold shall shine;
A barn shall harbor heaven,
A stall become a shrine.

This child through David's city
Shall ride in triumph by;
The palm shall strew its branches,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry,
Though heavy, dull, and dumb,
And lie within the roadway
To pave his kingdom come.

Yet he shall be forsaken,
And yielded up to die;
The sky shall groan and darken,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry
For stony hearts of men:
God's blood upon the spearhead,
God's love refused again.

But now, as at the ending,
The low is lifted high;
The stars shall bend their voices,
And every stone shall cry.
And every stone shall cry,
In praises of the child
By whose descent among us
The worlds are reconciled.

Words: Richard Wilbur (1921-)

Good King Wenceslas

Good King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen,
when the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel,
when a poor man came in sight, gathering winter fuel.

"Hither, page, and stand by me, if you know it, telling,
yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain,
right against the forest fence, by Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me food and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither,
thou and I will see him dine, when we bear them thither."
Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together,
through the cold wind's wild lament and the bitter weather.

"Sire, the night is darker now, and the wind blows stronger,
fails my heart, I know not how; I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, my good page, tread now in them boldly,
thou shall find the winter's rage freeze your blood less coldly."

In his master's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
ye who now will bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing.

Historical Information

Text: John Mason Neale (1853)
Tune: TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM 765.76D (13th century, Piae Cantiones)

Joseph est bien Marié

1. |: Joseph est bien Marié à la fille de Jessé. :|
C'était chose bien nouvelle D'être mère et pucelle.
Dieu y avait opéré: Joseph est bien marié.

2. |: Et quand ce fut au premier Que Dieu voulut nous sauver :|
Il fit en terre descendre Son seul fils Jésus pour prendre
En Marie humanité: Joseph est bien marié.

3. |: Quand Joseph eut aperçu Que la femme avait conçu :|
Il ne s'en contenta mie, Fâché fut contre Marie,
Et se voulut en aller: Joseph est bien marié.

4. |: Mais l'ange si lui a dit: Joseph n'en aie point dépit, :|
Ta sainte femme Marie Est grosse du fruit de vie.
Elle a conçu sans péché: Joseph est bien marié.

5. |: Les anges y sont venus Voir le Rédempteur Jésus. :|
De très belle compagnie, Püis à haute voix jolie
Gloria ils ont chanté: Joseph est bien marié.

6. |: Or prions dévôtement De bon coeur et humblement. :|
Que paix, joie et bonne vie Impêtre Dame Marie
A notre nécessité: Joseph est bien marié.

Traditional French carol

Corde Natus Ex Parentis

See also the English Translation: Of The Father's Love Begotten

Corde natus ex parentis
Ante mundi exordium
A et O cognominatus,
ipse fons et clausula
Omnium quae sunt, fuerunt,
quaeque post futura sunt.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Ipse iussit et creata,
dixit ipse et facta sunt,
Terra, caelum, fossa ponti,
trina rerum machina,
Quaeque in his vigent sub alto
solis et lunae globo.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Corporis formam caduci,
membra morti obnoxia
Induit, ne gens periret
primoplasti ex germine,
Merserat quem lex profundo
noxialis tartaro.
Saeculorum saeculis.

O beatus ortus ille,
virgo cum puerpera
Edidit nostram salutem,
feta Sancto Spiritu,
Et puer redemptor orbis
os sacratum protulit.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Psallat altitudo caeli,
psallite omnes angeli,
Quidquid est virtutis usquam
psallat in laudem Dei,
Nulla linguarum silescat,
vox et omnis consonet.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Ecce, quem vates vetustis
concinebant saeculis,
Quem prophetarum fideles
paginae spoponderant,
Emicat promissus olim;
cuncta conlaudent eum.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Macte iudex mortuorum,
macte rex viventium,
Dexter in Parentis arce
qui cluis virtutibus,
Omnium venturus inde
iustus ultor criminum.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Te senes et te iuventus,
parvulorum te chorus,
Turba matrum, virginumque,
simplices puellulae,
Voce concordes pudicis
perstrepant concentibus.
Saeculorum saeculis.

Tibi, Christe, sit cum Patre
hagioque Pneumate
Hymnus, decus, laus perennis,
gratiarum actio,
Honor, virtus, victoria,
regnum aeternaliter.
Saeculorum saeculis.

See also the English Translation: Of The Father's Love Begotten

Historical Information

Text: Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348-413)
Tune: Plainchant, Mode V, 87.87.87.7

Of The Father's Love Begotten

See also the Latin Plainchant Original: Corde natus ex Parentis

Of the Father's love begotten,
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega,
he the source, the ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see,
evermore and evermore!

At his word the words were framèd;
he commanded; it was done:
heaven and earth and depths of ocean
in their threefold order one;
all that grows beneath the shining
of the moon and burning sun,
evermore and evermore!

O that birth for ever blessèd,
when the Virgin, full of grace,
by the Holy Ghost conceiving,
bare the Saviour of our race;
and the Babe, the world's Redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face,
evermore and evermore!

This is he whom seers in old time
chanted of with one accord;
whom the voices of the prophets
promised in their faithful word;
now he shines, the long expected,
let creation praise its Lord,
evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven, adore him;
angel-hosts, his praises sing;
powers, dominions, bow before him,
and extol our God and King;
let no tongue on earth be silent,
every voice in concert ring,
evermore and evermore!

Thee let old men, thee let young men,
thee let boys in chorus sing;
matrons, virgins, little maidens,
with glad voices answering:
let their guileless songs re-echo,
and the heart its music bring,
evermore and evermore!

Christ, to thee with God the Father,
and, O Holy Ghost, to thee,
hymn and chant and high thanksgiving,
and unwearied praises be;
honor, glory and dominion,
and eternal victory,
evermore and evermore!

See also the Latin Plainchant Original: Corde natus ex Parentis

Historical Information

Text: Corde natus ex Parentis, by Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (348-413), English trans. by John Mason Neale (1854) and Henry Williams Baker (1861)

Tune: Plainchant, Mode V, 87.87.87.7

Good Christian Men, Rejoice

See also - In Dulci Jubilo: German / English

Good Christian men, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice;
give ye heed to what we say:
Jesus Christ is born today;
ox and ass before him bow,
and he is in the manger now.
Christ is born today!
Christ is born today!

Good Christian men, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice;
now ye hear of endless bliss;
Jesus Christ is born for this!
He hath opened heaven's door,
and man is blessèd evermore.
Christ was born for this!
Christ was born for this!

Good Christian men, rejoice
with heart and soul and voice;
now ye need not fear the grave:
Jesus Christ was born to save!
Calls you one and calls you all
to gain his everlasting hall.
Christ was born to save!
Christ was born to save!

See also - In Dulci Jubilo: German / English

Text: In Dulci Jubilo, adapted by John Mason Neale (1853)
Tune: IN DULCI JUBILO 66.777.855

Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light

Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,
And usher in the morning;
O shepherds, shrink not with afright,
But hear the angel's warning.
This Child, now weak in infancy,
Our confidence and joy shall be,
The power of Satan breaking,
Our peace eternal making.

This night of wonder, night of joy,
was born the Christ, our brother;
he comes, not mighty to destroy,
to bid us love each other.
How could he quit his kingly state
for such a world of greed and hate?
What deep humiliation
secured the world's salvation!

Come, dearest child, into our hearts,
and leave your crib behind you!
Let this be where the new life starts
for all who seek and find you.
To you the honor, thanks, and praise,
for all your gifts this time of grace;
come, conquer and deliver
this world, and us, forever.

Text:
v. 1: Johann Rist (1641), trans. John Troutbeck (ca. 1885)
vv. 2 & 3 by Fred Pratt Green (1989)
Tune: ERMUNTRE DICH 87.87.88.77

Joy To The World

Joy to the world! the Lord is come:
let earth receive her King;
let every heart prepare him room,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
let us our songs employ,
while fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
he comes to make his blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders, wonders of his love.

Text: Isaac Watts (1719)
Tune: ANTIOCH, CM (attr. to George Frederick Handel, arr. Lowell Mason, 1792-1872)

Dengarlah Di Padang Sunyi / Listen In A Quiet Field

(I) BAHASA INDONESIA/MELAYU TEXT:

Dengarlah di padang sunyi,
lagu pujian merdu.
Bergemalah di angkasa,
Warta dari surga.

Chorus:

Kemuliaan kepada Allah (3x)
Dan damai di bumi kepada orang.

Tampaklah duta surgawi,
pada para gembala.
Yang hidupnya bersahaja,
Namun hatinya murni. (Chorus)

Pergilah ke kota Daud,
dan lihat di kandang.
Seorang bayi yang lemah,
Peyelamat terjanji. (Chorus)

Memuji Sri Yesus Tuhan,
membawa perdamaian.
Siapa yang cinta padaNya,
mendapat bahagia. (Chorus).


(II) ENGLISH TEXT:

Listen in a quiet field,
sweet celestial songs of praise.
And resounding in the skies,
A proclamation of joy.

Chorus:

Glory be to God on high (3x)
And peace to all people here on earth.

From the heavens the angels came,
to the shepherds in the fields.
Though they lived very humble lives,
their hearts were noble and pure. (Chorus)

Come to Bethlehem and see,
come and see in a manger.
Come behold a helpless babe,
the promised saviour from God. (Chorus)

Let us praise Jesus our Lord,
Bearer of goodwill and peace.
All who love and rejoice in him,
receive his blessings and joy. (Chorus)


Tune: LAHIR YESUS 8.8.8.7 with glorias
Composer: Jonathan Y. Tan (b. 1969)
Text & Music copyright © 1997, Jonathan Y. Tan. All rights reserved.

2010 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge

The complete video recording of the carols sung at the recorded-for-TV version of the 2010 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge.

This version is broadcast on BBC TV on Christmas Day. There are a few variations in the list of carols sung on this TV version and the live performance at 3:00 pm on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2010.

See also: King's College, Cambridge's Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (Carols from King's) from previous years.

The Choir of King's College, Cambridge's recent CD release: Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols

Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

See also the French Original: Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle

1. Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Bring a torch, to the cradle run!
It is Jesus, good folk of the village;
Christ is born and Mary's calling;
Ah! ah! beautiful is the Mother
Ah! ah! beautiful is her Son!

2. It is wrong when the Child is sleeping
It is wrong to talk so loud;
Silence, all, as you gather around.
Lest your noise should waken Jesus.
Hush! hush! see how fast He slumbers!
Hush! hush! see how fast He sleeps!

3. Hasten now, good folk of the village;
Hasten now the Christ Child to see.
You will find Him asleep in the manger;
Quietly come and whisper softly,
Hush! hush! Peacefully now He slumbers.
Hush! hush! Peacefully now He sleeps.

4. Softly to the little stable.
Softly for a moment come;
Look and see how charming is Jesus
How He is white, His cheeks are rosy!
Hush! hush! see how the Child is sleeping;
Hush! hush! see how He smiles in his dreams.

See also the French Original: Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle

Historical information

Traditional French Provençal carol

Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle

See also the English Translation: Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

1. Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle
Un flambeau, courons au berceau.
C’est Jésus, bonnes gens du hameau,
Le Christ est né, Marie appelle
Ah! Ah! Ah! que la mère est belle
Ah! Ah! Ah! que l’Enfant est beau.

2. Qui vient là frappant de la sorte
Qui vient là frappant comme ça.
Ouvrez donc j’ai posé sur un plat
De bons gâteaux qu’ici j’apporte.
Toc! Toc! Ouvrez-nous la porte
Toc! Toc! Faisons grand gala

3. C’est un tort quand l’Enfant sommeille
C’est un tort de crier si fort.
Taisez-vous l’un et l’autre d’abord,
Au moindre bruit Jésus s’éveille
Chut! Chut! Chut! Il dort à merveille
Chut! Chut! Chut! voyez comme Il dort.

4. Doucement, dans l’étable close
Doucement, venez un moment
Approchez! Que Jésus est charmant,
Comme Il est blanc, comme Il est rose
Do! Do! Do! Que l’Enfant repose
Do! Do! Do! Qu’il rie en dormant.

See also the English Translation: Bring A Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

Historical information

Traditional French Provençal carol

Sussex Carol (On Christmas Night All Christians Sing)

VERSION I: PHILIP LEDGER










VERSION II: DAVID WILLCOCKS









1. On Christmas night all Christians sing,
To hear the news the angels bring;
On Christmas night all Christians sing,
To hear the news the angels bring:
News of great joy, news of great mirth,
News of our merciful King’s birth.

2. Then why should men on earth be sad,
Since our Redeemer made us glad:
Then why should we on earth be sad,
Since our Redeemer made us glad:
When from our sin He set us free,
All for to gain our liberty.

3. When sin departs before Your grace,
Then life and health come in its place;
When sin departs before Your grace,
Then life and health come in its place;
Angels and men with joy may sing,
All for to see the newborn King.

4. All out of darkness we have light
Which made the angels sing this night;
All out of darkness we have light
Which made the angels sing this night:
"Glory to God and peace to men,
Now and forevermore. Amen."

Traditional English Carol

Nativity Carol (Rutter)

1. Born in a stable so bare,
Born so long ago;
Born neath light of star
He who loved us so.
Far away, silent He lay,
Born today, your homage pay,
Christ is born for aye,
Born on Christmas Day.

2. Cradled by mother so fair,
Tender her lullaby;
Over her son so dear
Angel hosts fill the sky.
Far away, silent He lay,
Born today, your homage pay,
Christ is born for aye,
Born on Christmas Day.

3. Wise men from distant far land,
Shepherds from starry hills
Worship this babe so rare,
Hearts with His warmth He fills.
Far away, silent He lay,
Born today, your homage pay,
Christ is born for aye,
Born on Christmas Day.

4. Love in that stable was born
Into our hearts to flow;
Innocent dreaming babe,
Make me Thy love to know.
Far away, silent he lay,
Born today, your homage pay,
Christ is born for aye,
Born on Christmas Day.

Composer: John Rutter (b. 1945)

Recipe for Biscochos

If you don't know what a Biscocho is, please check out my previous post by clicking HERE. For those of you that know what a Biscocho is then you know that they look like these. . .

I've shared these with different people in the past and they've mentioned that they taste like a Snickerdoodle Cookie. Well they are crispy and crunchy like a Snickerdoodle Cookie...but they have one thing that Snickerdoodle Cookies don't have and that's what makes them unique.

Snickerdoodle Cookies don't have ANISE in them. Anise Seed is a graybrown oval seed from Pimpinella anisum, a plant in the parsley family. It is related to caraway, dill, cumin, and fennel. Anise Seeds smell and taste like licorice and they are native to the Middle East and have been used as a medicine and as a flavor for medicine since prehistoric times.

Ancient Romans hung Anise plants near their pillows to prevent bad dreams. They also used Anise to aid digestion and ward off epileptic attacks. I kid you not when I tell you that I put a little bowl of ground up Anise in my bathroom so that when you first walk in you get this sweet, licoricey scent. It's like an inexpensive potpourri! 

 We bought Anise in seeds this year at Cost Plus World Market. We then ground them up using my mom's magic bullet! We tried using the blender but they just sank to the bottom under the blades.  The bullet worked great, it ground them into a fairly fine powder.

Anise makes all the difference...trust me. Here's the recipe. We doubled it but I think the single is more than enough. You can also roll and cut them as you would a sugar cookie with fancy Christmas Cookie cutters but we just use a pizza cutter and cut them into squares and rectangles to honor my Tia Nico who use to make them the same way. Only she had a fancy little cutter that had a curlicue end so hers were very pretty.

Recipe......

INGREDIENTS:
1 T. Anise
3 Cups Lard (we actually use Crisco shortening)
2 Cups Sugar
10 Cups Flour
1 1/2 t. Salt
2 T. Cinnamon
1 t. Cloves
3 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk
1 T. Baking Soda***see comment below

METHOD:
Cream the lard or shortening with the sugar until you can barely feel the sugar. I recommend a Kitchen Aid Mixer to do all the work for you, but you can do it by hand. Add eggs and continue to cream and blend.

In separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed lard/shortening, sugar and eggs. Knead Well.

Roll out about a softball size ball of the dough until it's about 1/2 inch thick although you can make them as thick or thin as you like. No rules...they're your biscochos! Own them!

Cut using the pizza cutter into small squares or rectangles or you can use pretty cookie cutters...again your choice.

Place on cookie sheets, you don't need to flour or grease or spray with cooking spray, just the plain old cookie sheet. Bake at 450degrees til browned, watch them carefully. My mom says to put them in the broiler after for just a second to brown the tops and there you are.

These Biscochos actually get better with age. When you first taste them while they're fresh and warm they're going to be good. But when they cool off and the taste of the Anise develops...OMGosh! Plus your house is going to smell beautiful. Good luck and let me know if you make them. I would love to hear about it.

***The last ingredient says baking soda...it should be baking powder. My mom says either one is good but we didn't have baking soda so we used powder and then today my cousin Stella emailed me telling me it's baking powder...so lets all just use baking powder shall we?***

Linking up to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum.

The Shepherds' Farewell (Berlioz)

Thou must leave thy lowly dwelling,
The humble crib, the stable bare.
Babe, all mortal babes excelling,
Content our earthly lot to share.
Loving father, loving mother,
Shelter thee with tender care. (repeat)

Blessed Jesus, we implore thee
With humble hearts and holy fear,
In that land that lies before thee,
Forget not us who linger here.
May the shepherd's lowly calling
Ever to thy heart be dear. (repeat)

Blessed are ye beyond all measure,
Thou loving father, mother mild;
Guard thee well thy heavenly treasure,
The Prince of peace, the holy child.
God go with you, God protect you,
Guide you safely through the wild. (repeat)

From L'enfance du Christ

Composer: Hector Berlioz (1853)

The Three Kings (Three Kings From Persian Lands Afar)

1. Three Kings from Persian lands afar
To Jordan follow the pointing star:
And this the quest of the travellers three,
Where the new-born King of the Jews may be.
Full royal gifts they bear for the King;
Gold, incense, myrrh are their offering.

How brightly shines the morning star!
With grace and truth from heaven afar
Our Jesse tree now bloweth.

2. The star shines out with a steadfast ray;
The kings to Bethlehem make their way,
And there in worship they bend the knee,
As Mary’s child in her lap they see;
Their royal gifts they show to the King;
Gold, incense, myrrh are their offering.

Of Jacob’s stem and David’s line,
For thee, my Bridegroom, King divine,
My soul with love o’erfloweth.

3. Thou child of man, lo, to Bethlehem
The Kings are travelling, travel with them!
The star of mercy, the star of grace,
Shall lead thy heart to its resting place.
Gold, incense, myrrh thou canst not bring;
Offer thy heart to the infant King.

Thy word, Jesu, Inly feeds us,
Rightly leads us, Life bestowing.
Praise, O praise such love o’erflowing.

Words: Die Könige, Peter Cornelius (1859), in Weihnachtslieder (1871); trans. H. N. Bate
Music: Peter Cornelius

Sans Day Carol (Now The Holly Bears A Berry)

1 Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk,
And Mary bore Jesus, all wrapped up in silk:

And Mary bore Jesus our Saviour for to be,
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly.
Holly! Holly!
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly!

2. Now the holly bears a berry as green as the grass,
And Mary bore Jesus, who died on the cross:

3. Now the holly bears a berry as black as the coal,
And Mary bore Jesus, who died for us all:

4. Now the holly bears a berry, as blood is it red,
Then trust we our Saviour, who rose from the dead:

Traditional English Carol

Up! Good Christen Folk and Listen

Ding-dong, ding:
Ding-a-dong-a-ding:
Ding-dong, ding-dong:
Ding-a-dong-ding.

1. Up! good Christen folk, and listen
How the merry church bells ring,
And from steeple
Bid good people
Come adore the new-born King:

2. Tell the story how from glory
God came down at Christmastide,
Bringing gladness,
Chasing sadness,
Show'ring blessings far and wide.

3. Born of mother, blest o'er other,
Ex Maria Virgine,
In a stable
('Tis no fable),
Christus natus hodie.

Ding-dong, ding:
Ding-a-dong-a-ding:
Ding-dong, ding-dong:
Ding-a-dong-ding.

Words: George Ratcliffe Woodward (1901)
Tune from Piae Cantiones (1582)

A Birthday, A Recipe and Family for Biscocho Day!

This was a super busy weekend for being the last shopping weekend before Christmas. We also saw record rainfall here in Kern County. We broke the record last set in 1931!! Unbelievable! Unfortunately we aren't prepared for that much rain and right now we have a lot of flooding and fear of the Lake Isabella Dam bursting...so everyone is really very concerned. We hope the rain ceases soon even though the weather reporters predict it will last through Wednesday.

On Saturday my cousin David's family threw him a surprise birthday party. He was really surprised and we all had a really great time. We cousins all grew up together and it's not often we all get together, so it was so special to be able to see each other again.

Here's a picture of Cousin David and his family. David is the one with the ball cap on. His brother Steve is to the left of David, his sister Elpedia is beside him in yellow. His mom, Casi (my mom's sister) is in the long blue trench coat, then his other sister Mary Helen. Behind Mary Helen his brother Art (the oldest) and then the baby of the family, Hector. Isn't it wonderful that all his brothers and sisters were there to help him celebrate? I love you all so much!

The next day was my own dear mom's birthday. We had already planned to make Biscochos that day. Biscochos are a small, crispy cookie that we all grew up with. Our Tia Nico, my mom's sister would spend days and days before all holiday's making these cookies. She would then store them in empty coffee cans and no one left with empty hands, each family took home a coffee can filled with these delicious cookies. These probably aren't as wonderful as hers or maybe the memories of childhood can never match the present, but these are biscochos.

That's 20 cups of flour and 4 cups of sugar and 6 cups of shortening and 6 eggs plus lots of other spices and cooking ingredients. I'll share the recipe with everyone in a separate post tomorrow.

Since it was my mom's birthday we had a full house to help with the making of the Biscochos, so I'd like to share some pictures.

My job was to cream the shortening and the sugar. Last year my poor sister Lisa and I did it by hand. I forgot I had this beautiful pink Kitchen-Aid Mixer in the closet because my generous daughter April had given it to me for Mothers Day and I had never unpacked it! This mixer is the greatest! I just stood there watching everyone else work while the mixer did it all for me.

The harder job went to my sister Lisa and her youngest son Isaac (my Godson). Their job was to sift the dry ingredients and then blend the dry and wet ingredients by hand.

Here they are sifting. Isaac refused to wear an Apron! I think next year I'm going to get him a Bobby Flay manly apron!

Here Lisa and Isaac are blending dry and wet ingredients. My brother Fred is in the background, he was admiring my Kitchen-Aid Mixer.

Here Isaac is doing what we in spanish call "Amasando" (in English kneading). With 20 pounds of flour this is very labor intensive!

Isaac did a really good job, and before you knew it, it was time to start rolling out the dough! Everyone got a chance to come and roll out some dough and cut some cookies with a giant pizza cutter. They then placed them on the cookie sheets and my sister Lisa was in charge of baking them in the oven until they were that perfect golden brown. (A few batches were that perfect golden burnt color, but several members of our family love the burned ones, go figure!)

First up...Isaac under the watchful eyes of his Nana (grandmother).

 Then he and his mom made some together. See the little rolling pin? I scoffed at it when I saw it because it was such a tiny little one while the other one in the picture is mine. It turned out that everyone preferred the little one which belongs to my sister Lisa. Kudo's to you Sis!

 I didn't want to be left out, so of course I had to come and get in on the act. Don't we look like real cooks with Aprons and everything? Mine was a gift from my sister-in-law Connie and I love it! The one my sister is wearing was sewn by my mom, many, many years ago. She gave one to each of us girls for Christmas one year. The boys I believe received hand-made bathrobes that year.

Here I am again...I'm a Biscocho making machine!

 And since it's my blog...I'll post just one more picture of me :-D  As you can tell, I was pretty happy. This was a great day!

And here's my brother Fred again, popping in to check on how things are progressing. Don't worry Fred, the first batch will be ready soon!

Next up to make a batch of biscochos? Looks like it's my other brother Jaime and his daughters. The baby, Clarissa and the oldest Sarena.

Here's Jaime showing Clarissa and Lisa his technique. Jaime and his kids actually cook together quite a bit. Last year he and Clarissa made homemade scented soaps for everyone as Christmas presents. They were heavenly!

My sister Lisa and her nieces Clarissa and Sarena. I think Sarena's already sampling the first batch...she looks happy so they must be good!

Next up...my baby girl April had to make her batch too. Now April, that's a rolling pin...not a baton!

Ok, now she's down to business! Now she's got the hang of that rolling pin. She's a natural!

Biscocho making wasn't the only thing going on. We had lots of other activities happening. People would just float from one to the other.

We had some game playing going on in the living room, on the coffee table, under the Christmas Tree. That precious puppy Chorizo loved all the attention she was getting from everyone! I don't know who was winning this game of Sorry but here's Clarissa, April, my sister-in-law Connie (the gifter of the apron mentioned earlier) and my nephew, Clarissa's brother Gabriel.

The birthday girl, my mom also had some gifts to open! Here she is with my brother Jaime and Clarissa.

So what did you get mom? Let us see. Ohhhhh, how pretty, an Angel! Good job in picking this one out Jaime, Connie, Sarena, Gabriel and Clarissa!

There was also some visiting with Cousin David who had to come by to wish his Tia Tome (his Aunt Tome, my mom) Happy Birthday! Thanks for coming David! (His mom, pictured in the first picture on this post in the blue trench coat is my mom's sister.)

We also did a lot of picture taking so we could have the memory of this day forever! Here's my mom and her son's; my very handsome brothers, Fred and Jaime. Love you Bros!

My mom and her beautiful daughters :-D   My sister Lisa.and me!

My mom with her daughters and her sons.

My mom with some of her grandchildren. Missing were my brother Fred's children who came over later and my son who was AWOL for the day and my sister's son Sean who came over later and will be in a picture a little later in the post. Pictured from left to right, Gabriel, Isaac, April, Sarena, Clarissa and their Nana!

They insisted on taking a silly picture as well. . .they are kids after all :-D

My sister Lisa had purchased some miniature chocolate bottles filled with various liqueurs. I had one with Orange flavored Russian Vodka. Oh my gosh these are so good, but so rich you can only eat/drink one so no danger of getting drunk on these! If you compare the bottle to the little crystal twinkle light you can see how really miniature they are.

Here's Jaime and April both enjoying a chocolate liqueur. Don't worry, even though he's my baby brother and she's my baby girl, they're both way over 21!

My sister's son Sean was working but came by during his lunch hour to wish his Nana a Happy Birthday.

We ended the day by singing Happy Birthday to my mom and taking a group picture with her. We had to do this one is two shots. I'm in this one sitting in the chair.

And my sister Lisa is in this one sitting in the chair. I really need a tripod! Santa...if you're listening?

I can't imagine Christmas Day topping this day. What? Oh yeah, well yeah...true, there will be presents. But c'mon...this was the bestest day ever! Thank you all for making it so special!

Thank you Ale, Bebe, Little Fred and Adrianna for coming by later and spending time with Nana and for bringing that precious little Melissa to give her Nana a birthday hug before the day was over. I love you all so much!

And the Winner is . . .

Thanks to all of you that entered my Giveaway for a $65.00 gift certificate from CSN Stores! I wish I could have given one to each of you. But alas...there can only be one winner and that winner would be suburban prep!

I'll be getting in touch with you via email suburban prep. Ya'll have a great.weekend and remember it's the last shopping weekend before Christmas. Are you ready?

Giveaway and Lemon Blossoms

This has been a really hectic week! I have been busy since I got home from work today baking Lemon Blossoms for my daughters employees Christmas Party tomorrow.

Lemon Blossoms are so good and lemony. They're time consuming to make only because you bake them in miniature muffin pans so they're practically bite-size. But other than that they are easy-peasy to make.

And they're fun. I've never been much of a baker but this Christmas Season I've been doing a little more than I ever have and I'm finding it really therapuetic. It's just me, my thoughts and a lot of sugar :-D

Before I post the recipe for these delicious little nuggets of lemony goodness I want to remind everyone to go and enter my giveaway for the $65.00 gift certificate to CSN Stores. Just click HERE to get the details on how to enter.

Well, I'm off to brush my little teethies and read a little bit more of my Apolo Ohno book before I head off to dreamland. (I know...teethies is not a real word, humor me please!)

Lemon Blossoms

18 1/2-ounce package yellow cake mix (Because of what I had on hand, I used a lemon cake mix instead of a yellow one. Still very good!)
3 1/2-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Glaze: 4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs and oil and blend well with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour a small amount of batter, filling each muffin tin half way. Bake for 8 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Turn out onto a tea towel.

To make the glaze, sift the sugar into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, zest, oil, and 3 tablespoons water. Mix with a spoon until smooth.

With fingers, dip the cupcakes into the glaze while they're still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible, or spoon the glaze over the warm cupcakes, turning them to completely coat. Place on wire racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly, about 1 hour, before storing in containers with tight-fitting lids.

Linking up to Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum. Go check out lots of other great recipes and holiday ideas!