Foggy Boxing Day

Boxing Day in Canada doesn't have anything to do with sports. I was confused when people mentioned this to me few years ago when we first came. The Canadians dedicate one day of the year, which is the day after Christmas for "shop till you drop" day. Electronic stores are the major targets on that day. Prices on some items are reduced significantly to attract customers. It seems like the the saying "Early birds get the worms" becomes reality on that day. In US, they have something similar, but it's the day after Thanksgiving. It works every year to force people to wake up earlier that day to go shopping. If you miss it, then you have to wait another year. In order for people to go their stores first, most major electronic stores have to slash their prices on some items to the point that will motivate people to hit their doors first. Another motivation is offering some sort of drawing or special door price if you line up there before the door opens.

I usually don't go shopping on Boxing day. It's very hard to find a parking space, then you have to wait in a long line to pay, and after all your efforts including waking up early, the item you are looking for might be gone already when you get there. After 5 years in Canada, I decided to go buy a laptop on Boxing day...more than $100 savings on that particular item. That morning I was backing up my car slowly from my garage. One of my sons decided to go with me just in case he found his favorite Lego "Star Wars" on sale. The fog was pretty thick, which reduces your visibility to less than 1km. It always makes me nervous driving in a rainy or foggy condition especially at night. It was still dark when we left the house that day...almost no cars on the street...I thought :"Good for everyone who is still lying down in their cozy beds with thick nice warm blankets." In winter here, the sun comes out pretty late, probably not till 9 or 10 am, in Vancouver Island some areas are still covered with fog till 10 or 11 in the morning. When you are driving with reduced visibility on a narrow road it's even worse, especially when you know that your right hand side is a ditch, you are like a blind man trying to enter a room without bumping into any furniture. When a car is coming towards you, the passing cars' headlights also kinda blind your eyes. Anyway, when I was forced to give 100% of my driving skills in this situation, I remember how important my headlight is...it helps improve my vision...

The same is true for your spiritual light, Matthew 5:14-16 says "You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

Our world can be a foggy place to live, it's hard to see clearly what's right and wrong...something that seems right is not always the right choice. So many options, so many distractions. Many good things have been tinted too. Hollywood for example, doesn't make clean movies for teenagers anymore, and when they label a movie as "13 and up", it used to be for adult viewing only in the old days. Kids and adults swear a lot these days, you hear profanity everywhere you go. Some people even think it's cool when you use certain swear words. We don't allow our kids to use those words. People concentrate on how to make their lives easier, more and more products are made for this purpose these days versus making better quality products. Computers, laptops, TVs, etc. used to last a lot longer than they do today. Is living our lives easier more important than improving the quality of our lives?

Cheesecake

I like to make my own cheesecake because I can customize the ingredients. Cheesecake makes nice gift too during holiday seasons. This recipe is good for 2 cheesecakes, I usually make two at a time, one for my family, one to bless someone.

Ingredients:

• 3 packages of cream cheese (250g each),take it out from the fridge and set it aside until soft at room temperature.
• 1 cup sugar
• 4-5 eggs (depends on the size..medium or large)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup lime, another option is 1/4 cup coffee
• 1 cup milk
• 1 can of cherry/cranberry sauce for topping (you can make your own too by cooking your own fresh fruit with sugar and water until the liquid thicken
• For the crust, if you prepare this yourself, you need 12-14 Oreos or graham crackers for each bottom of cheese cakes. Chop or crush the cookies until very fine, mix with some butter. Then press to the bottom of your pan.

You will also need:

- Two 8" round cheesecake pans (can be aluminium foil pan with prepared crust you can buy from the grocery store or your own spring foam pans)

- big rectangular broiler pans are also helpful if you have one, this can prevent the cheesecake from breaking.
- Mixer

1. Mix the cream cheese until soft with sugar in a bowl with medium speed.
2. Beat in the egg one at a time.
3. Mix in your vanilla, milk, lime juice or coffee.
4. Bake in the oven between 325º F - 350º F (162º C - 175º C). If you have broiler pan, pour one inch of hot water to the bottom of broiler pan. Then set the cheesecakes on top of the cover/top part of the broiler pan. If you don't have broiler pan, then you can just put your cheesecakes on top of regular rectangular pan and set a lower heat.
5. Take out from the oven, let them cool , then refrigerate for few hours.
6. Then spread your cherry/cranberry sauce on top. I figured 1 can can be used for two cheesecakes.
7. Put it in the freezer for easy cutting, or use a paring knife dipped in hot water to cut it before serving.