'til next year

How was your Christmas? Ours was good. Games, too much food, good company on Christmas Eve, some lovely gifts from Brian.

Quiet times by the fireplace were certainly appreciated, too.

I'm not in the mood to write much. I have some loved ones in the hospital right now and also - out of the blue - plantar fasciitis attacked my left foot and I'm in a lot of pain.

I've been slowly de-Christmasing my house and trying to put things back in order, but moving slow and taking lots of breaks. I left lights and greenery on my mantle for a warm, winter look. Not done tweaking, but this is good enough for now.

I'll just leave this here...

Thank you for reading my blog this year, sparse though it may be at times. Wishing you all love, peace, and good health for the New Year.
💖

only one week 'til...

CHRISTMAS!!

Are you ready? I am! Shopping and wrapping done, gifts for loved ones out-of-state shipped, house decorated, cards mailed out (I only do about a dozen these days), food for Christmas Eve guests purchased, made some Christmas cookies today.

I am wishing you a Christmas filled with love and peace, good health, and loved ones by your side. 💓

popping in after christmas

A quick hello...

We were supposed to spend Christmas Eve with extended family, but that was cancelled due to a couple of people having Covid. Instead, Brian and I went to my aunt and uncle's house and we had a fun-loving time talking and snacking in the cozy family room next to the fire ~ where Dandy the Pug snuggled up next to Brian. We later moved upstairs to play board games around the dining room table.

On Christmas morning, I made my traditional breakfast casserole and we ate that along with almond kringle from a famous Danish bakery in Racine, WI. (Our local Trader Joe's carries it!) So much sugar and overeating at the holidays; back to our healthy eating as of January 1st.

We opened our gifts to each other and later we video-chatted with Tim and opened gifts that way, too. Would've been a million times better in person, of course, but grateful for this technology.

As always, missing our oldest son, Philip who passed away in 2009. This was our 14th Christmas without him.

How was your Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate in December)?
I know the holidays can be hard and perhaps not happy or joyful ~ for various reasons: Thinking of those loved ones who have passed away, old family hurts, missing out-of-state family or friends...the holidays can dredge up painful hurts. It's OK to acknowledge those feelings, too. Love and blessings to you all.

Hoping to writing an end-of-year post tomorrow.

Popping in to say hello and wish all of you a happy and blessed Christmas. (Or, if you are celebrating Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or any other holidays, may those be light and love-filled, as well.) 

In my last post, I said I'd show you the Christmas decor in my living room and kitchen. Since I'm late in writing my post and it's only five days 'til Christmas now, I'm sharing just a few photos. I think everyone is probably tired of seeing Christmas decor by now anyway. 

The sweetest present under the tabletop tree, our Clemmie. She is still hanging in there with her kidney disease. She had a vet checkup yesterday and he said Clem still looks like she's doing okay. We'll get the results of her blood tests this week.

We are supposed to be going to my cousin's house on Christmas Eve, but that may be cancelled due to someone having Covid and...we're under a winter storm watch.

Depending on how the storm tracks, we may get quite a bit of snow on Thursday and Friday, but the worst part is supposed to be the 55 mph winds, which will cause white-out conditions.

Then temps are supposed to plummet into the single digits during the day and below zero at night. I like a white Christmas, but not a bitter cold one! And not one where the weather cancels family get-together plans.

If plans for our familynChristmas Eve are cancelled, we'll invite some nearby friends over for appetizers and wine at our house instead.

Christmas Day will just be the two of us. We'll enjoy a peaceful morning with a fire going in the fireplace, my traditional breakfast casserole and an almond kringle, and opening our few gifts to each other. We sure do especially miss our sons this time of year. This will be our 14th Christmas without Philip, and Tim has now been in California for three years.

What are your holiday plans? Will you be gathering with family or friends?
Love and blessings to all.

almost thanksgiving already

Hi friends, sorry I've been missing for awhile again. I'm reconsidering the whole blogging thing. Either I just can't get into it and don't feel like writing a post, or life gets too busy. I can understand why a lot of bloggers have given up and just post on Instagram. It's much easier to post snippets of your life there. 

One good thing since I last posted was that our son, Tim was home for a visit at the end of October. We hadn't seen him in a year! One of the things we did was to go to the Art Institute of Chicago. I hadn't been there in many years. What a fabulous museum and exhibits! We spent about four hours there ~ and I'd love to go back and do it all over again.

It is freezing here this weekend. Highs in the 20's during the day and down into the single digits - teens at night. Too early for this nonsense. It'll rebound back into the 30's and 40's next week, so...yay? (I need to be a Snowbird.) 

I'm one of those who don't decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I like to celebrate one holiday at a time. I think it's a little strange to be sitting around the table eating turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie with a Christmas tree glowing in the background and Santa staring you in the face. 🤷 But ~ you do you! Whatever makes you happy. 

So in my house, you will still see fall colors and decor.

I get a teeny bit in the Christmas decorating mood when I go into one of my favorite shops and seeing all the cute decor. 

Almost purchased this cutie (loved the vintage necklace most of all!)...and my friend who was with me was "encouraging" me to buy it. I passed and bought just a couple of smaller, less expensive items. 

My little love, Clementine is still with us. I thought for sure this past Monday that this was going to be her last week with us on earth. She had thrown up several times in the middle of the night, wasn't eating, and had weak back legs. Tuesday she rebounded and she's back to eating, though she's more dehydrated than ever and sleeping more than usual. It's so heartbreaking to see your fur baby decline and know the end is near.

Just a little bit of blog keeping...I've noticed that in the past few months, I've had more "Anonymous" comments than usual. I didn't know why this was happening until I saw a post by my friend, Kris at Junk Chic Cottage about it. It's a little confusing to me; something about third party cookies. (All I understand is cookies.) Kris shared a link to Linda, AKA The Fairy Blogmother's personal blog, where Linda explains how to fix Anonymous comments here. Sooo...if you are an Anonymous commenter, check out the link to see how to fix this.

To those of you in the States, hope your Thanksgiving is filled with love, family and/or friends, and good food ~ all to warm your heart and home.

🧡

new year's eve 2021

How was your Christmas? Ours was good. Had some family over on Christmas Eve for an array of appetizers, Christmas goodies and mulled wine.

Christmas morning was just us and the kitties. We took an afternoon walk (it was an unseasonably warm Christmas for us), then video-chatted with Tim while opening our presents. I loved the days when the boys were little and they were so excited that Santa had left them gifts under the tree...waking us up way too early and running into the living room in their footed pajamas. Now Tim lives 2200 miles away and Phil has been deceased since 2009. Christmas just isn't the same anymore.

As I do every Christmas, I made a breakfast casserole. This year I deviated from my norm and made a new recipe. This one used English muffins on the bottom. The dish tasted good, but the English muffins were too soggy. Lesson learned: next year I go back to my tried-and-true recipe.

One of the lovely gifts I received from Brian were these brass earrings. Since he's sometimes stumped what to get me for Christmas, I help him out a bit. Last month, we visited a local shop and I pointed out a few things that I liked; giving him hints. I left the store and Brian shopped. 😉

On Christmas evening, we went to a friend's house and were treated to a prime rib roast dinner. 

Those who know me won't be surprised to hear I took down all the Christmas decorations the day after Christmas and had it all packed up and put away by the 27th. To me, Christmas is over. Plus, I'm tired of looking at Christmas decor by then. Christmas decor is beautiful, but I love the clean, more uncluttered look.

New Year's Eve is just another day for us. We met up with a friend for lunch, went back to her house to play our new Boomer board game, and got some groceries on the way home.

Tonight? Take-out pizza, a glass of wine for me, a beer for Brian. We'll be in bed before midnight. 

We're hoping to take our annual hike in the State Park tomorrow morning ~ always a good start to the New Year ~ before a big snowstorm hits. Here's wishing us all good health (especially during this pandemic), supportive and loving relationships, and peace for the hard days. Thank you all for your friendship and support.

xoxo

winter solstice 2021

Happy winter solstice! 

I used to reject the dark and cold, the start of winter. I found it depressing. But the past couple of years, especially this year, I'm learning to embrace it and even welcome the darkness as we move towards the light. I'm learning that the dark and cold are important because we need to slow down and rest. We need this time of hibernation in order to bring forth our light and growth as the sun returns. 

Gathering at my friend's beautiful, warm, cozy home with a small group of women to celebrate the winter solstice was a balm for my soul.

"It's no surprise many cultures and religions celebrate a holiday - whether it be Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or pagan festivals - that coincides with the return of longer days.

Ancient peoples whose survival depended on a precise knowledge of seasonal cycles marked this first day of winter with elaborate ceremonies and celebrations. Spiritually, these celebrations symbolize the opportunity for renewal, a shedding of bad habits and negative feelings and an embracing of hope amid darkness as the days once again begin to grow longer.

Many of the ancient symbols and ceremonies of the winter solstice live on today or have been incorporated into newer traditions."
(Winter Solstice - CNN Travel)

We lit candles, said a prayer; an elder did a lovely reading about the solstice. We journaled about what what no longer served us that we needed to release, and the positive things we wanted to bring in. 

We then went outside one by one, to walk around the fire and reflect upon what we wrote...

It was peaceful and magical by the light of the full moon. 

We then gathered in a group around the fire and did a round of laughter yoga, which triggered real laughter to the point where we were positive the neighbors thought we were crazy.

Wishing you a holiday season filled with joyful moments, many blessings, laughter, peace and release...no matter how you choose to celebrate.

(Display inside the store, Vintage Art & Findings)

I'm grateful for all of you.

xoxo