Fall in Review +Christmas

I've been rubbish about pictures this fall- so here is our fall and Christmas in review - Enjoy!

If it has it's own commercial . . . . .

So the Euro 2012 match has been in a state of Limbo the last 2 years - will Ukraine and Poland pull it off or not? Well now it has its own commercial -so it must be happening, right?. Taking bids now for couch and sleeping bag space. 6 min walk from metro - 40 min ride to the arena ; )

Snow

We got our first snow fall the other day and after 3 more days of trying we finally got a small skiff that has stuck around. Not a layer - very definitely a skiff.

Sorry I don't have anything more interesting to say that that - we just haven't had time - our house isn't even decorated for Christmas yet - but having anticipated this to a degree I arranged a cookie decorating party for January 9th with the girls from Church - I thankful for the long holiday at least.

Alister, however will be gone for most of it - dashing off to the UK for a month of studies. He's actually relieved to be missing the traditional 8 weeks of carols that our church sings - but I don't mind - I was ready to sing Carols in November - but Alister said after Thanksgiving and then after 2 nights of carols he said we couldn't do anymore till the house was decorated. Well - the house is still undecorated so family worship singing hasn't wandered to the Christmas section yet. But I've been listening to my own Holiday stash as i've been tackling editing jobs and house work :- )

For new comers who want to know more about a Ukrainian Christmas - check out last year's post on Christmas music and this general letter.

Fruits of the season

Okay you supermarket junkies . . . .did you know that now is the season for
Brussle Sprouts
Pomegranates,
Sharon Fruit (persimmons)
Citrus of all sorts
?

While I still haven't really taken a shine to sharon fruit (male or female)- I do love pomegranates. Last year - when i discovered the easy way of cutting them so you and your kitchen don't end up looking like a crime scene - my appetite for them really took off.

I first became interested in them years ago when I first read The Mouse that Roared. My mom was good enough to buy one - but I was unimpressed - it tasted like corn.

Since then, I have gone on to bigger and better pomegranates - and while there is the occasional one that make you wonder how Persephone could have been tempted - on the whole I like them.

To make your experience with pomegranate better
1) cut off the tip top below the crown - while you might hit a few berries it won't be too many.
2) Take you knife and score the sides, like you would an orange peel in 4 or 5 places - you should be able to see white "guides" from when you sliced off the top.
3) Gently pull the pomegranate apart along the scores
- You can now either pick at seeds, or put the fruit upside down in a bowl of water for about ten minutes. This will further loosen the seeds and make them even easier to extract.