So the Chex Mix is made (and happily being eaten), the prime rib is in the refrigerator awaiting cooking for Christmas Day, I'm picking up our ham this morning and DH bought his spritz cookies last night. Solstice has now arrived, the fires have been rekindled and the sun is beginning the return voyage to the heat of the summer. The lean ( Read more... )

Let me start out with this. If I have sent you a Solstice Card in the past and you want one this year - Email or PM me your address. No address - no card. Simple. I'll be working on these like a crazy person for the next three weeks and should be able to stuff them into the mail just before the Solstice. At least, that's the ideal. I love ( Read more... )

I'm working hard on staying positive even though at this time of the year I'm operating on a tank that is rapidly approaching empty. I am 75% finished with my LOTR Community Gen Yule Fic, so I'm comfortable where I am with that. Maybe I'll continue working on that this morning instead of working on my novel, just for a change of pace. I have ( Read more... )

A friend posted these shoes yesterday and they totally took over my thoughts. I fell in love. I fell in love enough that I bought a pair of high-top Converse shoes from Zappo and they are on their way to me. Yesterday afternoon was spent with small, stolen moments at my computer researching a variety of paints and techniques for painting on ( Read more... )

I'm sure every one of my readers knows the feeling. You comment in a conversation and suddenly stop - you've just said something horribly inappropriate and stop in horror as your realization of the disconnect between mouth and brain becomes apparent. Well, I didn't do anything quite that bad. In fact, not at all that bad. But, I do keep ( Read more... )

This evening we celebrate Litha, the mid-summer Solstice, and it feels like summer with a heat wave throughout the US today. People are flocking to the beach and lakes, air conditioners are running causing selective power brown outs, and movie theatres and shopping centers are crowded with people escaping the heat. It's not too bad here, but it ( Read more... )

Last night was the longest night of the year, and today's sunrise begins a new year. Winter is just beginning and its days are already numbered, it has been born and is already dying. Today I am contemplative, so I will share three pictures of Solstice sunrise from three different places in the world. I also want to thank each of the following ( Read more... )

So, I have to wish a Happy Hanukkah to those of my friends who walk that Path. When I was young, we would all go over to Tante Gerty's home and light the menorah. I gather, from other blogs, that it is not called a menorah any more, but old habits of more than 40 years die hard. I don't think I'll be changing this. I have two menorahs that I ( Read more... )

Do you have special foods for the holidays or other special occasions that bring memories to the forefront for you? Each family sets their own traditions over time, but food traditions seem to carry through the generations.

( strange food ahead... )

Well, today is the 19th. Solstice is creeping up quickly, Hannukah begins mid-week, and Christmas Day is seven days away. Are you ready for your holiday of choice?

( my letter to Santa pic below )