First Sunday of Advent

Koppangen
(Holy Night)

There is silence around me
In the peaceful winter night.
From the church down in the valley
I can see the candlelight.
And I stopped for a moment
In this winter paradise,
when I heard a choir singing
through the darkness and the ice.

And the rays from the lights behind
the window's vaulted frames
have united the souls in hope
that something great is waiting.
And I know that those who have left us here
had the same thoughts as I
we're like flames in the darkness
and stars up in the sky.

And I can see how they sparkle,
and they fade before my eyes,
and the truth is coming closer
like a wonder in disguise.
We are caught here for a moment
like an imprint of a hand
on an old and frosted window
or a footprint in the sand.

For a while I'm eternal-
that's the only thing I know,
I am here and we share our dreams
about our destination.
It is cold out here, and the snow is white
but I am warm deep inside,
I am warm 'cause I know that
my faith will be my guide.

Now there is silence around me,
I have heard those words again
in a hymn of grace and glory,
saying: nothing is in vain!
I can sing - and I believe it,
let the message reach the sky.
Oh silent night,
let your promise never die!

And I long for the others,
It is peaceful in the church.
He was born for a purpose,
and that's why we're here together.
Holy night, I feel like a child inside,
and believe he was sent.
So I'm lighting a candle
each Sunday in Advent.

~Py Backman

It's A Romp!

I have a very vivid memory from when I was around six years old of watching tv at my grandparents house. The show we were watching (probably Hee-Haw) ended, and a movie started playing.

The actors were all in period costumes and the opening scene was of a public square with a guillotine and people were getting their heads chopped off. My mom quickly realized what we were seeing and sent my sister and me off to bed, but not before the images of headless bodies and bodiless heads were seared onto my sheltered, six-year old brain.

Luckily, I recovered from seeing the shocking images, and somewhere along the way I learned that the movie was an adaptation of the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel.

I’ve always wondered more about the story, so for my November classic, I read The Scarlet Pimpernel, written in 1903 by Baroness Emmuska Orczy.

The story moves quickly and is filled with intrigue, betrayal, romance…just about anything a reader could wish for. The setting is France and England during the French Revolution, hence the beheadings in the opening scene.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is an unknown hero, who works between England and France to bring the condemned French aristocracy to safety, using his wits and disguises to outsmart the French authorities. As the plot thickens, he is betrayed by someone close to him, and a cat an mouse chase ensues between The Scarlet Pimpernel, the lovely Lady Blakeney, and French agent Chauvelin.

The only problem I have with the story is near the end of the book when a Jewish man comes on the scene. He is sorely mistreated by the French officials, just because he is a Jew. In this age of political correctness, I find the author’s characterization and treatment of him to be rather uncomfortable to read.

Otherwise, this book is a really fun. As one of my college literature professors used to say “It’s a romp!”

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite novels. Apparently there is a new movie version coming out next year. From this trailer, it looks really well done. I'll definitely be first in line to see it.

Pumpkin: It's not just for pie anymore.

Around this time of year I love cooking with pumpkin. It's so good in recipes both savory and sweet.

I saw this recipe for Salted Pumpkin Caramels on a food website a couple of weeks ago, and I've been obsessing over it ever since. Yesterday, I finally got around to making it.

I'm always a little leery of candy making. It can go wrong so quickly, but I count yesterday's attempt as a huge success.

Click here to go to the recipe.

I really stuck with the recipe on this one, with the exception of doubling the amount of pumpkin pie spice. I also found already toasted pepitas which saved me from having to toast them myself.

Crunchy from the pepitas on one side and salty on the other, with spicy, pumpkiny goodness in between. These are delicious. I'll definitely be adding this to my permanent recipe collection.