Instead of giving a beautifully wrapped gift, decorated with a big red satin bow, please let me suggest something else far less expensive but full of warmth, even a kind of love.
I live on the third floor of a condo. Other house-holders are pleasant but remain distant, remote. I am an elderly woman, no! Not just elderly! Old!
The other day I was attempting to carve up a large, firm turnip for dinner using my largest, sharpest carving knife. I did get the knife in but could not get it back out.
Frustrated, I lifted the turnip and bounced it on the floor, not just once or twice but maybe six times, before it finally split. Then there was a knock on my door. It was the young man from the apartment directly beneath.
“Are you O.K.?” he asked, anxiously.
He smiled when I explained and went off, followed by my sincerest thanks. I was deeply grateful.
Someone had heard the noises, cared enough to climb the stairs and make sure the woman in the condo above was O.K., that those strange loud noises were not a cry for help.
What a comfort to know that people still care about one another, even strangers.
It warmed my old heart to realize that we are not alone, that there are still caring people in this old world. It renews my faith in the goodness of my fellow human beings!
Happy Christmas to all of you dear people! Especially that nice young man!
• • • •
I’d like to share a lovely Christmas memory with you.
This is about my parents who, just before Christmas, would make candy: Divinity fudge, a glorious confection which, as the finished product, looked like miniature mountains of creamy goodness.
This happy task required two people, one to pour the boiling syrup onto the platter, while the other madly beat it into the already beaten egg whites.
Mother poured while my Dad whipped until it began to harden at which time it was dropped in small mounds on another platter.
It was well named, because it truly was divine!
You can get the recipe on request via the Peninsula News Review, 250-656-1151, ext. 128.
Helen Lang has been the Peninsula News Review’s garden columnist for more than 30 years.