Happy Valentine's Day

Whether you celebrate Valentine's Day or not, 

I hope you have a purrfectly wonderful day.

We Made It!

Happy New Year and welcome to 2025. 

Finally, it's here. It's a fresh start. A new beginning.

These past four years have been nothing to write about, and yet everything to write about. However, we have all seen that if you say the wrong thing you could be cancelled. While nothing I have ever said here was particularly controversial, I opted not to have my full "say" on the political and cultural goings on around the country.

I don't listen to main stream Legacy media, and haven't for a long time. I prefer to ferret out the truth over listening to lies, propaganda and manipulative dialog that they try to off pass as news. X now has more real news than your favorite cable TV station or newspaper, and much of it you can get from the horse's mouth...er the original source.

The reason for this is that over time one narrative was created and that must be followed. You don't need to hear or see anything else. Do not trust your lying eyes, ya hear! Otherwise, you may end up as a victim of cancel culture. Yes, we have really come to that. It has been established that the Biden administration pressured the media (social and otherwise) to adhere to their narrative and censor real information. Think Facebook and CNN for example on issues such as Covid, and of course, politics. 

So just consider that everything you have seen or heard the past 4-5 years have been lies. You have been lied to six ways from Sunday. We all have. They have tried very hard to break us. Some have cracks, a few have shattered, but guess what? We will get up and put the pieces back together. It won't be easy and may be painful, but we can do it...Together.

Countdown to Jan. 20

Merry Christmas

 Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Independence Day 2020

Again, a bit sporadic with the posting. Such is life, and life has been busy and we are adjusting to a new normal. I don't know if the new normal will be with us forever or this is just another season. What I do know is that teddy bears are like a big hug, and couldn't we all use a hug now?

I don't know if you are busy or bored, happy or sad or just putting one foot in front of the other, so here is my big teddy bear hug to you. 

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, but as I pause to reflect on past years and the new year ahead, here are a few things that come to mind.

• Smile more.
• Laugh first at ourselves instead of laughing at others (unless they are comedians).
• Say please, thank you and excuse me - manners y'all.
• Hold doors for others, especially folks with mobility issues.
• Don't be so easily offended, not everyone is out to get you.
• Do things without being asked or told, it will be appreciated.

In other words, just be nice. It doesn't cost anything, and everyone reaps the benefits.

Now back to the real purpose of the internet...puppies and kittens!

Welcome to 2020! Many blessings to you and yours this coming year.

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The Well of Spring

Hey friends,

Spring has sprung and Easter is just around the corner again. With each passing year, so does the time pass faster and faster. There is no slowing it down, so hang on for the ride and live each moment to the utmost.

Spring is a season of renewal, where not only do the flowers bloom and the trees leave out, but our souls are renewed as well. We cannot slow time down, but we can slow ourselves down...for a moment to drink deeply from well of spring.

On another note, Easter falls on April 1st this year. I can only imagine the April Fools jokes regarding bunnies and eggs. I heard where someone was going to put grapes inside the Cadbury eggs. Ewww! Maybe we should all check our Easter goodies this year. 😉

Have a joyful and blessed Easter.

To read previous Easter posts, click the links below:

Easter Delights (2011)

Easter Wishes (2015)

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Christmas Wishes 2017

Wishing all my friends around the world a very Merry Christmas. 

Peace be with you!

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Christmas Memories

After more than a half century of Christmases, many of the individual memories have blurred. Time has a way of marching on leaving us to ponder where it has gone. I don't remember my first several Christmases, but mom wrote in my baby book that at "10 months, she didn't pay much attention to gifts, played with wrapping." I guess that is typical of toddlers.

Similar to ours

Christmas was always a beautiful time, a time of anticipation and wonder. It was Daddy's job to put up our, now vintage, silver Christmas tree and decorate it, and there was one special white ornament with colored flecks that I always wanted on the front where I could see it. 

Instead of lights on the tree, we had a light with a rotating plastic wheel with red, green, blue and gold sections that would shine on the tree, changing it colors. We had this for my first 12 years, and for a long time I didn't know anyone had anything different. We purchased our first fresh-cut tree  in 1972 for a cost of about $6, and I think it was a pine. Now most of the trees around here are Frasier Firs for about $30 and up (mostly up).

To this day my childhood stocking hangs on my mantle every year. As a kid, I could open the stocking gifts first thing Christmas morning, but everything else had to wait until after breakfast. Now the stockings are the last thing to open.

My most memorable Christmas was when I was 5 years old. That was the year that I had three Christmases, two of which were white. First, we packed up and drove to Maine where my mom was from and where her mother and two of her brothers still lived. The house was near the river and Daddy and I went sledding down the River Road, as we called it, coming to rest near the partially frozen river. Instead of over the river and through the woods, it was through the woods and down to the river. At least that is the way I remember it. 

Next we went to my other uncle's house in New Hampshire. There was more snow and sledding there too, and another Christmas celebration with more presents. When we returned home, I found still more presents that Santa had left while we were gone. I was a lucky girl that year.

One of my favorite adult memories was back in the mid 90s when I took hubby's pickup and my mom and I went Christmas tree shopping. We came back with two trees, and about $80 worth of new ornaments and decorations, and I have used those ever since (the ornaments, not the trees) 😉.

If you celebrate Christmas, what are some of your favorite memories or traditions? 





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Christmas Bells

I share with you some Christmas cheer today from the snowy South!

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet, born in Maine on February 27, 1807 (he and I share a birthday). This is a quote from Longfellow's poem, Christmas Bells, which was the inspiration for the Christmas carol, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day. You may click the link to read the entire poem.

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A Thankful Heart

Some thoughts for the season when emotions may be a little more intense. Take time to slow down and let go of the negative and embrace the positive. 

I wrote this as a Facebook post, and decided to expand it into a blog post. 

It seems that our holiday season is hurried and harried and oftentimes we find ourselves frustrated, short-tempered and on edge when we should be happy, relaxed and thankful. It is our culture of having and getting, giving and receiving the biggest and best of gifts, when it really should be about giving from the heart and being thankful for what we have. This goes back to what we learned earlier in the week from The Wisdom of the Doughnut.

Let us reflect on this a moment and then go forward with a different mindset and an open heart.

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What was I Thinking?

We are what we think...
All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world.  -Buddha

Often we find pearls of wisdom from many different people and cultures. When I first read this I wasn't sure that I agreed with Buddha's statement. We don't always act on what we are thinking, and thankfully so or many of us would be in a world of trouble.

However, I believe there is some truth here, and most certainly something to be taken away from this quote. 

On the negative side, too often we are hit with "What was I thinking" so we should guard our thoughts and be aware when what we are thinking is something with which we would not want make our world.

The converse is also true, and if our consciousness is filled with good, kind and loving thoughts, we can indeed make a better world for ourselves.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, everyone!



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Welcoming the New Year

It is New Year's Day, 2016, and the world is still turning. The sun came up this morning long before I crawled out of bed. Last night we rang in the New Year with friends, bubbly and New Year's Crackers (also known as Christmas Crackers). We toasted, we hugged and we closed the chapter on 2015.

Now we look forward to a new year. The world is not a perfect place, nor are there perfect people, but I still believe it is a good place, filled with good people. I shall be counting my blessings for all the goodness in my life.

This is also a leap year, so we have one more day of winter...or another day to be grateful for - however you choose to look at it.

May each of you be richly blessed this year with health, happiness and peace.





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Peace, Hope, Love!

Wishing all my friends and family a joyous Christmas 

and a blessed New Year!

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Peace on Earth

He who has not Christmas in his heart 

will never find it under a tree. - Roy L. Smith

Here it is the first day of December and the Holidays are finding me busy with much left on a never-ending to-do list. Christmas cards to write and gifts to agonize over and hope Amazon delivers in time.

Still, I'd like to take a moment to reflect and ponder that there is more to Christmas than the perfect gift or the right party outfit. It is being peaceful and enjoying being with friends and family. Everything else will sort itself out, and if it doesn't, it probably wasn't all that important anyway. 




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Shine On!

I wish I was a glow worm,

A glow worm's never glum.

'Cos how can you be grumpy

When the sun shines out your bum!

- Unknown

Have a safe and happy Labor Day!

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Memorial Day

I don't have to tell you how fragile this precious gift of freedom is. Every time we hear, watch, or read the news, we are reminded that liberty is a rare commodity in this world. - Ronald Reagan

Image Source: Chris Waits

Wishing everyone a safe and happy Memorial Day.  Let us all remember those who gave their lives that we might have the freedom to have a happy ending.




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Happy May Day!

What is May Day?

A celebration of Spring

A day of political protest

A neopagan festival

A Saint's feast day

A day for organized labor

In medieval England, people would go a-maying, or gathering fresh greenery and flowers from the woods and fields. This was also known as 'bringing in the May'.  This was described in "The Court of Love" written in 1561.

And furth goth all the Court, both most and lest,
To feche the floures fressh, and braunche and blome;
And namly, hawthorn brought both page and grome.
With fressh garlandes, partie blewe and whyte,
And thaim rejoysen in their greet delyt.


Edited to add that you may place your mouse pointer over the strange words to see the translation.


Are there any May Day celebrations in your area?

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Easter Wishes

Image Source: quaddles.deviantart.com

What do the bunnies and eggs have to do with the Christian holiday of Easter?

Many Christian traditions are rooted in pagan rituals. The egg, the pagan symbol of rebirth, was adopted by Christians as the symbol of Jesus' resurrection. Decorating Easter eggs dates back to the 1200s at that time when eggs were a forbidden food during Lent. People would paint and decorate eggs to mark the end of the Lenten season and eat them on Easter Sunday in celebration.

Some sources say that the word Easter is derived from Eostre, a goddess of Spring. Rabbits, known for their prolific procreation symbolize fertility and new life. 

The Easter Bunny arrived in the U.S. in the 1700's, courtesy of some German immigrants. This mythical, egg-laying rabbit was originally called Osterhause, Oster being the German word for Easter. 

Wishing you a joyous Easter!

Click here for an interesting article and video on Easter facts and traditions.



Also see:
Easter Delights
Hot Cross Buns - an Easter Tradition



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Not Just Another Day!

February 18th is:

National Drink Wine Day

Cheers!

National Crab-stuffed Flounder Day

National Battery Day

Ash Wednesday

But most importantly

It is Hubby's birthday!

A great big Happy Birthday to my hubby!

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14 Budget-Friendly Valentine's Ideas

Rooted in days of St. Valentine, the practice of writing romantic notes on Valentine's day began in the 1700s, and by the mid 1800s, real Valentine's cards were being manufactured in the U.S. By 1856, Valentine cards had become a topic of controversy. An editorial in the New York Times stated that many were cheap and indecent and only pleased the silly.  Some relegate Valentine's to a holiday created by Hallmark, which wasn't even founded until 1910.

History or Hallmark, it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to tell that special person just how happy you are to have them in your life.  Here are a few tips for a great Valentine's Day that won't break the bank.

1. Free Time.  In our hectic lives we never have enough time for ourselves.  Give your special Valentine, a free day to pamper themselves.
   
   
2. Make it Personal. Tap into your creativity with colored card stock, scissors, glue, glitter and some colored markers to create a personalized Valentine card.
   
   
3. Dine Out.  Save a few dining dollars by eating in and then going out for drinks or dessert, or choose several items from the appetizer menu and share.
   
   
4. Movie Night.  Instead of dropping big bucks for a movie and the popcorn, candy and sodas which will likely run you more than the tickets, stay in and treat yourselves to delivery and rent a favorite movie.
   
   
5. Flowers.  Nix the expensive roses in favor of a beautiful mixed bouquet from the farmers market, or visit the grocery store's floral department.
   
   
6. Goody Baskets. Pick up an inexpensive basket and fill it with such things as her favorite candy, lip balm, hand lotion, or scented candles. For him, a bottle of his favorite beer (not Bud), a decorative bottle opener, a pocket flash light, key chain, and yes, lip balm.  This is Valentine's, you know.
   
   
7. Cook.  Even if you're not great in the kitchen, you can still serve a romantic meal. Get some Artisan bread, good olive oil, a nice cheese, olives and/or deli meat such as salami or prosciutto.
   
   
8. Quality time.  Spend time together strolling through a museum, take in an art show or a local concert. Check your newspaper for a listing of free events in your area.
   
   
9. IOU.  Present him or her with an IOU for two hours of your time and undivided attention.
   
   
10. Do Chores.  Wash and vacuum her car, do the vacuuming, take and pick up the dry cleaning, do the grocery shopping or the laundry.
    
    
11. Togetherness.  Take a walk or go for a drive and stop for ice cream or coffee/hot chocolate.
    
    
12. Raise a Glass. Not all sparkling wines are expensive. Try a Spanish Cava or a Prosecco from Italy.  There are ones are available for $10-15. Goes well with #7.
    
    
13. Sweets. Yes, you can give candy. Pick up his favorite dark chocolate bar or choose some hand-selected truffles from a boutique or wine shop for her.
    
    
14. Those three little words. I Love You! That is something that can't be said too often and is always appreciated no matter what day it is.

However you celebrate, remember it's all about the person, not the gifts, dinner, candy, etc.

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