December 2019 – Margaret's Corner

Well, this year I have to admit that I don’t have much in the way of a festive spirit, which is very unusual for me. I have always loved the Xmas holidays, decorating the house, making cookies, etc.

Not this year.

There are several reasons why I’ve been down and out about the holidays. One is that Stefano and I were supposed to be in Prague right now, lovely Prague with its glittering streets and Xmas markets…but instead we’re still here, in Florence. We had to cancel our trip to Prague because I came down with a rather nasty case of the flu (high fever, etc.) on the eve of our departure.

Of course, now I’m fine… 😉

Typical.

That’s not the main reason I’m all down and out, just one of the many. But I can’t talk here about the other ones (which have nothing to do with me or my health, or with Stefano, mind you!). Suffice it to say that this hasn’t been a brilliant period…not at all. I keep getting bad news about people who are close to me…And I’m sure all that accumulated stress contributed to my finally giving in to a stupid case of the flu. Ahhhh, stress…How sneaky it can be…

Anyway, we’re trying our best to put together a nice little Xmas just for the two of us. Stefano is in the kitchen right now, cooking up a storm. Yesterday he made a huge pot of broth (his broth is legendary…) and other yummies. Today he’s making a huge meat sauce. I made a fantastic cake. So one thing is for sure: we won’t die of hunger! 😉

The day after Xmas we may drive to northern Italy. Or we’ll stay here at home, watch Xmas movies and get some rest. We’ll see what we feel like doing. The important thing is to be together…

Anyway, sorry for not being my usual optimistic cheery self, but I’ll get over it. 2020 is around the corner, and this dastardly period of bad (and very bad) news just has to end. Enough is enough!

So, with that in mind, I hope you are all having a wonderful restful and fun holiday period…

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, everyone! 🙂

A FEW HOURS LATER: Okay, okay, OKAY! I am MUCH more in the holiday spirit now. We decided to go on a short trip with my brother-in-law and his family day after tomorrow. Yes, some fun is back in the holidays again. I’m almost back to my old festive self now, hehe.

Love and happiness to everyone! 😎

I just read a nice bit of news this morning. A new Italian study shows that eating peperoncini, the Italian word for chilli peppers (also spelled chili, with one “l,” mainly in the U.S.), can cut our risk of having a heart attack or stroke by 40%. Yes, by a whopping 40%!!!

Here’s the link to the CNN article about this study: https://cnn.it/36Fatro

It should be noted that other researchers cast a few doubts on the study’s findings, pointing out that perhaps people who eat chillies are also eating more vegetables, as well as other herbs and spices, so it would be difficult to figure out if the purported health benefits are determined by one single food item.

Okay, that may well be true, but we have another BIG reason to eat chillies…

Capsaicin, which is an active component of chillies, kills myeloma cells. So even if chillies don’t end up protecting us from heart attacks and strokes (they may or may not), we should definitely be using them in the kitchen…!!!