Saturday, December 05, 2009

Visiting foreign countries

Today I have been visiting a foreign country. Let's see, do you recognize it by some of its inhabitants?

(Noreen the keen is mean to demean - rumors go that she's having a bad tongue)

(Raphaella, a fallen angel, that picked up human habits, started smocking, drinking beer, sometimes even she doesn't believe she once was an angel, because nobody believes her)

(a ghotic missie that was happening there with her rainbow friend)

(a thing)


(another Halloween thing)


(Chilperic, another thing :)))


a W.I.P.


(exhibition pannel)


(the mother of them all ;)


Ooooh! I almost forgot! She is Agatha, and she came home with us, very determined about where she is going to live from now on.
All in all, I was visiting Falushtain, the land of dreamed stories, a mysterious, curious and wondrous realm. Go visit too!

p.s. This means I went to the hand made event that is taking place these days in Bucharest :))) and I met Anca, and her puppets.

Friday, December 04, 2009

Soul Cake

Tough it is not crafted by me, this is a carol that has grown very dear to my heart, part because of the singer, part because of the lyrics... Halloween is not (yet) a tradition in my country, also all saints day, but the simplicity of the words, the pureness of the request... has touched a part of my heart.




and there is more: a recipe of the beautiful soul-cake:

Soul Cakes are an echo of the sacrificial foods of the Celtic festival of Samhain held in early autumn. These little cakes were traditionally set out with glasses of wine on All Hallows Eve (31st October) for the souls of the dead. On All Saints Day (1st November) children would go "souling" calling out "Soul, Soul, for a Soul Cake: pray you good mistress, a soul cake".

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup caster/superfine sugar
4 cups plain flour, sifted
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon allspice
3 tablespoons currants
a little milk

Method
- Cream the butter and sugar together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture.
- Beat in the egg yolks.
- Fold in the sifted flour and spices.
- Stir in the currants.
- Add enough milk to make a soft dough.
- Form into flat cakes and mark each top with a cross.
- Bake on a well-greased baking tray in a hot oven until golden.


and the lyrics...


A soul cake, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.
An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry,
any good thing to make us all merry,
A soul cake, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.
One for Peter, two for Paul, three for Him who made us all.
A soul cake, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.
An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry,
any good thing to make us all merry,

God bless the master of this house, and the mistress also.
And all the little children that round your table grow.
The cattle in your stable and the dog by your front door.
And all that dwell within your gates
we wish you ten times more.

A soul cake, a soul cake............

Go down into the cellar and see what you can find.
If the barrels are not empty we hope you will be kind.
We hope you will be kind with your apple and strawber’
For we’ll come no more a ’soalin’ till Xmas time next year.

A soul cake, a soul cake, ......................

The streets are very dirty, me shoes are very thin
I have a little pocket to put a penny in.
If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’ penny will do.
If you haven’t got a ha’ penny then God bless you.

A soul cake, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.
An apple, a pear, a plum, a cherry,
any good thing to make us all merry,
A soul cake, a soul cake, please good missus a soul cake.
One for Peter, two for Paul, three for Him who made us all.

"God bless you!"