“I wish you a vital, happy, healthy New Year.  Fill the moment and tomorrow with many grace notes and love.  When you do, joy will follow.“- Alexandra Stoddard

As hard as it is to believe, January 1, 2018, will arrive in just a very few days.  In our quest to live a good life, I believe it is only our human nature to look back at the year, congratulate ourselves on what we did well, and give thought to things we want to do differently or better.  So, today I would like to share a few thoughts from others regarding such matters of importance, wishes, and the month of January.  Thoughts I hope you will enjoy and find meaningful as you contemplate the year ahead.  And at the end – a recipe for good luck!

 

 

“Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind. . . . Hear the music of voices, the song of the bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra, as if you would be stricken deaf tomorrow.  Touch each object as if tomorrow your tactile sense would fail.  Smell the perfume of the flowers, taste with relish each morsel, as if tomorrow you could never smell and taste again.  Make the most of every sense; glory in all the facets of pleasure and beauty which the world reveals to you.” – Helen Keller

“Health enough to make work a pleasure, Wealth enough to support your needs, Strength enough to battle with difficulties and overcome them, Grace enough to toil until good is accomplished, Charity enough to see good in your neighbor, Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others, Faith enough to make real the things of God, Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness.  I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art – write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can.  And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” – Neil Gaiman

 

 

Mississippi Caviar  

1 can black-eyed peas, drained

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup salad oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

A good dash of Tabasco sauce

Mix all ingredients and marinate at least 8 hours in the refrigerator.  I always double this recipe.  Serve as an accompaniment to meat or as a snack with crackers.  Good luck is promised to all who enjoy it on January 1.  Note: This recipe is from my grandmothers Mississippi cookbook.  I have made it every year since 1972. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting. Please know how much I enjoy and appreciate your comments.

  Wishing you and yours a Happy and Healthy New Year – “Filled With Grace Notes !”

 

Au Revoir,

Sandra

 

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