Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year!

Today's Wonder of the World is...A Happy New Year!

Flickr photo by gargasmurf70
Best wishes to you, friends, for a happy 2009!
I hope you had a fun New Year's Eve. I'm enjoying mine as I write, and so far it's going well.
I count myself lucky every year that we get through the night with all our fingers and toes intact. (Darn my dear South Carolina and its love affair with explosives.)

Despite my annual anti-fireworks rant, (as a former chemistry teacher, I have this crazy idea that teenagers and children should not be allowed to hop around the yard like donkeys, setting off smoke grenades and M-100's,) we did our part.

As you can see, I refused to get out of the car. Call me a party pooper, but hey, at least I allowed my kids the enjoyment of watching some of their hard earned money go up in smoke, within reason. (I draw the line at rockets. I prefer the roof of my house to have no flames shooting through it.) And I didn't insist they wear lab goggles or fire retardant aprons, even though I wanted to. I stayed inside, praying for their toes and fingers, and let their daddy have all the fun.

Speaking of Daddy having all the fun, he's thinking about making the traditional lunch of ham, black eyed peas, collards, and cornbread.

Flickr photo by leafy tenement
Do you share this tradition? I looked it up and apparently we Southerners are all about the money. Pigs symbolize prosperity, collards represent folding money (it's green and the leaves look like paper,) the peas resemble change, and cornbread looks like...cornbread. No symbolism there. Cornbread just tastes good with ham and black eyed peas!

I'm hoping he's going to cook the collards in the garage as I requested last year. Have you ever smelled collards cooking? Lordy, Lordy, it's bad, bad, bad.

Let's change the subject, shall we?
How about back to pigs?
It looks like we're not the only ones thinking about the porkers on New Year's Day!

Flickr photo by Puppilottchen
I don't think pigs have ever looked cuter. And how about those mushrooms?


Flickr photo bys11ver
The Dutch like them too!
You know what else Dutch folks like? According to Mr. Wikipedia, the Dutch like to eat donuts on New Years!

Yum. I could so be Dutch.
The donut ring is perfect for the end of the cycle of the year. Rings and circles show up in lots of cultures around New Year's Day.
Including the Chinese New Year.

Flickr photo by gun shock
And the Greek one too.

Flickr photo by Handles
Have you ever eaten a piece of vasilopita? No, it's not a surgical procedure. It's a brioche type bread and it's DELICIOUS! I had some back in the Dark Ages, when I spent New Year's Eve with Artemis, my best friend back at Broughton High. Her mom made one and put the traditional coin inside. Nobody choked! Yey! We were all lucky!

Speaking of brioche...Bonne Annee!

Aw...isn't love grand? That reminds me, in France kissing under the mistletoe is a New Year's tradition rather than a Christmas one.
Hey look! More mistletoe!

Hugs and kisses to you, my friend! With every good wish for a Happy New Year!

Have a wonder-full Thursday, everyone! And enjoy this very romantic scene from Waterloo Bridge to the tune of Auld Lang Syne.
Love, Becky

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Dear Becky! Happy New Year to you, Safety Girl! Glad your family members are all still in one piece! :)

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year to you as well! All my best to you.

Susan said...

Hope you new year is wonderful. I thought I was the only Southern Girl that hated setting off fireworks. I used to watch from my window with clinched teeth when the guys in my family did them. Blessedly no one was ever injured. Take care. Susan

a Tonggu Momma said...

Happy New Year, my imaginary friend! And (just my personal opinion) anyone who eats collard greens DESERVES to be wealthy. That stuff is nasty.

Felicity said...

Happy New Year to you, friend Becky!

And thanks for the donut craving. So much for New Year's resolutions! : )

Alexandra MacVean said...

"party pooper"...hahahahah JUST kidding. :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Becky! I'm happy to have met you and become good blogging friends.

*hugs*

David Ebright said...

Happy New Year Becky.

I had a blog post all figured out for today - a twist on what you've posted today (I haven't written anything for a month for lots of reasons) but Deb insisted that I blog about something else that I won't mention here. I dutifully complied.

Here's the thing - Collards? No way no how. Sorry. I live in the south but can't do collards.

Peas - fuggettaboudit. I don't care what color eyes they have.

Pork - Not a big fan.

I know tradition calls for pork on New Years for "Good Luck". That is why the rednecks in this area have wiped out the entire stock of pork rinds in all of Northeast Florida. I don't even know if I spelled that right & don't care - nasty stuff.

The bottom line - SHRIMP. I'll just hafta test the good luck theory. Have a GREAT DAY & fabulous '09.

Dave

May Vanderbilt said...

Hmmm...I love Southern food but collards and black-eyed peas aren't too high on my list.

Wow it's so weird that it's 2009!

lotusgirl said...

Wow! I was celebrating like the dutch and didn't even know it. Donuts for breakfast. Yum!

I've never had that greek brioche, but I sure had plenty of the french kind in france! I love brioche!

As for the traditional southern new year's I haven't really eaten since I left home. I never did care for the collards, but I would always eat some to get the green. I could choke off that gag reflex for the possibility of lots of money. haha! I do sometimes eat the black eyed peas still. I love them, but nobody in my family will eat them so if I fix them I'm the only one to indulge.

We're just going to grill out this year.

Hope you have a great day and that the collards keep themselves in garage.

Unknown said...

Happy New Years to you. My little guy would be in heaven there with the rocket thing.

I dislike fireworks also. They aren't legal here. When I was younger I burnt my hand on one of those sparklers. Maybe that's why lol.

Jennifer R. Hubbard said...

Happy New Year!

Jenn Hubbard

Adrienne said...

Happy New Year, Becky!
We pretty much abandoned traditions this year, but I would definitly go along with donuts!
And BTW, I feel compelled to admit... I LOVE collard greens.

Pocket Full of Prettys said...

Happy New Year! We followed the tradition today, we ate ribs, black eyed peas, cold slaw & cornbread. Yum! We didn't have collards. But hopefully we will all prosper in the new year. Hugs***Renea

Siddhartha said...

wish you and your family a very Happy and JOYOUS new year 2009!

Anonymous said...

I don't know that we Portlanders (the one in Oregon, not Maine) really have a traditional New Year's Eve meal. The most traditional it gets around here is fireworks and (occasionally) watching the ball drop. Oh! But also a tradition I don't believe you mentioned having on New Year's: the list of resolutions. Admittedly, I haven't really followed that tradition in a long time, but it's definitely permeates the culture around here. Hope you have a happy New Year.

Renee said...

Honest to God, I got butterflies during the video when he looked at her and she looked at him. xooo

I love how they put out the lights.

Thanks for the romance, even if it was me and a video.

Love Renee xoxoxo

Sandy Mastroni said...

Hi Rebecca
My husband wants to move to S.C.
write to me ... tell me what town you are in !
It is cold here and while we were shoveling snow he kept saying South Carolina South Carolina
Happy New Year to you ..and your family !

Linda Summerfield said...

Happy New Year to you and your lovely family! What a wonderful Southern tradition. My husband is a descendant of Dutch Hugenots, perhaps we can fully embrace the donut tradition without guilt.
Your Pal,
Linda