HEADING INTO THE NEW YEAR

Come, follow me into a fantasy land where time stands still.
This is a world where the earth rises up to greet us,
where little pools hold mysteries of the deep,
where relics of the past give rise to new notions of beauty,
where age equates with grace,
where treasures of nature are honored alongside vestiges from another age,
where little outposts of loveliness are just around the bend,
where dappled shade encourages reverie,
where playful sprites come to rest.

 This poem has settled right in and made itself at home with me.  It could be because I have so been looking forward to our family vacation and when I read it I have felt as if  I am already there, waiting for everyone else to arrive on this island and hoping with all my heart that time will stand still.

My thanks to Anne Hammott for her generosity in sharing it.  Check out her blog, www.decorenaturel.blogspot.com   I have enjoyed following her and I know others will too.


P.S.  I will post tomorrow before we depart so I can continue my tropical fantasy....
        there is just a minor technical problem I haven't figured out, so......
        please mute the playlist on the sidebar for the duration of the video.
      
                                          

 

FROM THE BRAVE GIRLS CLUB

Dear Extraordinary Girl,
You can do amazing things with the simplest things.  You can have so little and be so happy.  You can take small amounts of time and perform life-changing acts.
Is it time to simplify?  Is it time to pare your life down to the handful of things that mean the most to you, and let the rest go so that you can give the very best of yourself to the very best things...instead of being spread in a too-thin layer all over the place?
Your heart knows when it's time...and you will have the strength to do it.  And best of all...you will see enormous changes happen in your life when you let the unimportant things go and embrace the things that quietly sustain you and bring you joy.
It may not look like the most glamorous life...but it is one filled with joy, peace and harmony...one where laughter is a welcome and frequent companion...one where worries are few..where long meaningful conversations are many...one that is waiting for you when you are ready to take the steps to get there.
Simplify today...one little thing at a time.  You can do it.
     xoxo

LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL!

 Today the supplies for a six week on-line course arrived.  Starting in January I will participate in a class offered by the Brave Girls Club.  These kind of craft activities are not something I usually do, but it sounded like fun.  All the supplies are provided except for embellishments I would like to add.  Hmmm, glitter.  Maybe sequins.  And feathers.  Feathers for sure.
Every day I receive an e-mail from them entitled...a little bird told me...
The words are encouraging even though I am not particularly in need of a pep talk these days.  I do enjoy reading them, especially since they are written in such a fun, personal style.
Tomorrow I will share one with you.

IF WE THOUGHT OF LIFE AS A GIFT...

        
    
  

     "If we thought of life as a gift, we might not demand nearly as much from it.  And if we lived

     more graciously, giving of ourselves more freely to the well-being of others, many of our

     personal concerns would disappear, and life would become easier for all."    

    -Lowell C. Bennion           

CHRISTMAS GIFTS

Savoring time spent with family and friends is all part of the Holiday fun.  We covered all the bases and had a blast doing it.  Presents provide wonderful memories for the years to come.  Pictured are a few gifts:  new ornaments, a photo taken and framed by a dear friend to remind us of our visit to a botanical garden, and a bracelet by a Navajo artist.
Next week we depart for a family vacation.  Time together with family is the best gift of all.

SNEAKING OUT OF BED FOR A PEEK

                                            This little one just couldn't wait for Santa!!!

CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER

Wild Rice Soup is a tradition at our house on Christmas Eve.
This recipe is so good we could almost go without the rest of the menu!

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced or chopped
3 T. butter
1/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup half & half cream
1/4 cup dry sherry
chopped parsley

Cut sliced onion into quarters.
Cook onion and mushrooms in butter until onion is transparent.
Add flour and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add chicken stock and cook approx. 10 minutes, stirring until smooth.
Add wild rice, cream and sherry, stirring until heated throughout.
Garnish with parsley.

6-8 servings

ENJOY!

Understand Your Mind And Get Better Results

COMMON SENSE

I do not fix problems.
I fix my thinking.
Then problems fix themselves.


...more on this subject tomorrow.

A VIEW FROM THE WINDOW

It snowed yesterday for most of the day.  So pretty.  Having missed the past two winters here in the frozen North Country, I am enjoying the weather.  Well... for the most part. The low temperatures are perfect for making ice forms for candles to put outside on Christmas Eve. There is nothing like candles in the evening, indoors or out, to provide a warm and cozy glow.

A RARITY: TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE COINCIDES WITH WINTER SOLSTICE

by MARK MEMMOTT

EnlargeKarim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images

The moon appears red during a lunar eclipse in the Qatari capital of Doha, 28 August 2007. It's going to happen again tonight, and be visible across North America.

We hesitate to ever recommend getting out of bed in the wee hours of a cold winter night to go outside and look up at the sky.

But everything we hear and read about the total eclipse of the moon that's going to be visible across all of North America starting around 1:30 a.m. ET (and lasting until about 5 a.m. ET) suggests it's going to be one of those celestial events that are worth checking out.

And you folks on the west coast and in Hawaii — hey, you've got no excuse. Just stay up a little late.

 

On Talk of the Nation's Science Friday, meteorologist and sky watcher Joe Rao said that if the sky is clear, the show should be quite grand:

"The moon will continue to progress into the shadow, and then at approximately 2:41, it will be completely in the shadow, 2:41 Eastern Time, 11:41 p.m. Pacific Time. And for 72 minutes, while the moon is completely immersed in the shadow of the Earth, one would think that since the shadow is going to cut off all sunlight from the moon, that it would black out completely. It will not.

"Instead, around the time of total eclipse, it's going to appear to light up like a coppery orange or reddish ball, and the reason for that is that the sunlight is going to be strained through the Earth's atmosphere, and our atmosphere is going to act like a lens and bend that ruddy hue — the same ruddy color that you see in sunrise and sunset — onto the surface of the moon while it's immersed in the shadow."

GERMAN CHRISTMAS MARKET

Visiting Christmas Markets during Advent is one of my favorite memories from our years spent living in Germany.
What a feast for the senses it was, with aromas of gluhwein (hot, spiced red wine) and roasted almonds filling the town center.
The scent of evergreen garland, which decorated the booths, added to the atmosphere and fairy lights lit up our children's eyes.

From the distance of many years, I can still see us heading home with rosy cheeks, bags heavy with Christmas purchases, under lightly falling snow.

THIS IS MY WISH FOR YOU...

"That the spirit of beauty may continually hover about you and fold you close within the tendernesses of her wings.

That each beautiful and gracious thing in life may be unto you as a symbol of good for your soul's delight.

That sun-glories and star-glories, leaf-glories and bark-glories, flower-glories and glories that lurk in the grasses of the field, glories of the mountain and ocean, of little streams of running waters, glories of song, of poesy, of all the arts may be to you as sweet, abiding influences that will illumine your life and make you glad.

That your soul may be as an alabaster cup, filled to overflowing with the mystical wine of beauty and love.

That happiness may put her arms around you, and wisdom make your soul serene.

...this is my wish for you."


Charles Snell
1914

DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS

Decorating for the Holidays brings back many memories as Christmas items bring to mind past celebrations.  Pictured are Reed and Barton ornaments of The Twelve Days of Christmas, a linen table runner from my dear friend Kati and a tree ornament with photo, which I made in 3rd grade.

Tomorrow I will tell you what I wish for you...

WE'RE GETTING CLOSER TO CHRISTMAS!!!

I think you will enjoy this...

For a holiday smile, visit: White Christmas

This rendition of White Christmas was recorded by Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters in 1953.  It was #2 on the charts in 1954.  Animation is by Joshua Held in 2002.

White Christmas was written by Irving Berlin for the Movie "Holiday Inn" and recorded by Bing Crosby in 1942, and received the Academy Award in that year.  Crosby recorded it again in 1947, and that recording has become the standard.  It was also featured in the 1954 movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen.

White Christmas is the biggest selling Christmas song of all time. 

I'M BLOGGING!

Starting out on a new adventure is always exciting.  Indeed, I am excited about starting a blog.
Thinking about the subject of creativity today, I went browsing on the internet.  And I found a quiz.  On creativity.  Follow the link, take the quiz and find out just how creative you are.

www.thecreativityquiz.com