Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

It became a recent goal of mine to live out a popular Christmas carol. No, not the 12 days of Christmas. All those birds flying about surrounded by maids a milking, pipers piping, and lords a leaping would be more than I could take! It was the opening phrase to "The Christmas Song" that caught my attention one day when I heard it on the radio. It got me thinking, "What's so important about roasting chestnuts on an open fire?" It had to be a big deal to someone because it made it in this popular Christmas carol that we sing time and time again. Come to think of it, I've never seen or tasted a chestnut, not without my knowing at least. Thus began my mind twirling, concocting, and planning as I mulled over the possibility of recreating this lyric.

Apparently, roasting chestnuts is a Christmas tradition in other parts of the world, but it hadn't found it's way into my life, until now. Perhaps it's because chestnuts are hard to find in my neck of the woods. I happened upon them while grocery shopping in Trader Joe's, imported all the way from Italy. I was so excited when I spotted them, I could scarcely believe what I was seeing, especially since I had never seen one before.

Through my research, I found several ways to roast chestnuts and on New Year's Eve, set out to conduct this experiment using the outdoor grill. Unfortunately, the grill ran out of propane. I was faced with a dilemma. I wanted to be authentic to the song and roast chestnuts over an "open" fire but I had to result to plan B - the oven. After cutting an "X" into the chestnuts so they wouldn't explode when baking or eating, I placed them in a baking tin for 20 minutes at 400 degrees so they were almost cooked. To pay homage to the song lyric, I quickly placed them in my fireplace on top of a roaring fire. It was a beautiful site to see and quite a moment to witness as Nat King Cole sang the song in the background. I must say, chestnuts are quite tasty, the meat of the nut looking much like little golden brains. I now have a fonder appreciation for this song and look forward to making this one of my Christmas traditions, provided I can find chestnuts.

To see photos of this event, click on the below image. It's an experiment worth trying!

Roasting Chestnuts

Perfect Hair Day

Today was “Perfect Hair Day.” You may not have seen it listed on your calendar because it chooses when it’s to be celebrated, which varies for each person.

I had a sneaking suspicion it may be today. It was one of the rare days when my hair, dare I say, looked perfect! It was as if all the planets aligned themselves in such a way as to proportionally balance the weight of gravity on each strand of hair, getting them to fall into their pre-designated places. Even the frizzies and rebel strands were getting along where normally; they need a bit of encouragement to calm down.

Don't get me wrong. My hair and I have a great working relationship. There are days though when there’s a full out rebellion on my head. I look in the mirror and sigh, “This is as good as it’s going to get.” I had one such day not so long ago.

This morning, I woke up and groggily looked into the bathroom mirror expecting to see my once put together ponytail all in a messy, chaotic jumble, but no! My slightly tousled bangs were swept back towards my ponytail, which was in tact, reminiscent of a hairstyle I saw Reese Witherspoon wearing to a gala. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I had tried to get my hair to do this same thing before but had no success.

I admit I was a bit skeptical. So, ok… the bangs look good, but when I take my ponytail out, I’m definitely going to have lumpy ‘ponytail hair’. The think is, I didn’t. It had that ‘I just came from the salon look’. Usually, when I try to replicate such styles, it never comes out quite looking like that salon ‘do’. But today, I only had to do a couple of touch ups. I brushed my golden locks and sprayed them in tact so this ‘do’ would have a sporting chance throughout my work day.

As I was driving to work, I looked in my visor mirror and thought, “Maybe it’s just me getting carried away. Could this hair-do success last an entire day?” I set my purse down at my work ‘cubby’ and walked to my co-worker’s desk to talk about a task, when she stopped me mid-sentence and said, “Your hair looks amazing today!” Wow! That confirmed it. Today was Perfect Hair Day and I am celebrating it. Perhaps I’ll wait to wash my hair tomorrow.

Although, I did notice a few blemishes forming on my face, which has not happened in quite some time. That’s odd. Could Perfect Hair Day have thrown off the hormonal balance of my body? Is my face jealous because it’s not getting the attention it normally gets?

Maybe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Now that I think of it, I’m glad Perfect Hair Day comes on rare occasions. I don’t think my body can handle it.