MONDAY POTPOURRI

Christmas will be here before we know it, so I went ahead and put up my decorations the day BEFORE Thanksgiving.

Partly so that I could do my post on Dames of Dialogue about Home for the Holidays.

In that post, I talk about Christmases past and present, with my current holiday spirit something that had to be revived a few years ago.  I was Queen of the Scrooges for awhile there!

Not so much anymore.  Although my Christmases these days are quite scaled down from some, I have to consider the size of my down-sized space.  That’s why I have three small trees instead of one gigantic one.

And my stockings are hung on my folding screen!

I do have a hearth, though, and a mantle, but I can’t drive nails into it.

Here are some more of my decorations.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!  I am getting ready to join my daughter and her family for the day.  There will be the usual festivities, with lots of warm, companionable moments.  Nothing dysfunctional, ha ha!

Yesterday, besides the usual errands, etc., I was hanging out with my youngest grandson Noah, who is out of school for the week.  He persuaded me to visit the local Borders store just around the corner, and since he’d been such a trooper already—he helped me pull the Christmas decorations out of the boxes and arrange them around the rooms—I capitulated.

Reminding him that Christmas is just around the corner, and he shouldn’t expect me to buy something expensive (LOL), I turned him loose.  And then had to redirect him a couple of times, because his eyes are bigger than the allowable price tag.

But we found something and came home.  While I put away my day’s purchases, he happily “read the directions” and put together his action figure.

Even though he now is reading for real, he actually “read” the directions of his various toys that needed assembling for quite awhile, by studying the pictures and working it all out perfectly.  I’ve always warned him that anything that needs assembling has to be done by him alone, or has to wait until he gets home to his parents.  That always motivated him!

So here is the finished product from yesterday, while on my tomorrow’s post over at Dames of Dialogue, you’ll see the results of some of my efforts!

 

 

 

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

SUNDAY POTPOURRI

When I opened my newspaper this morning, there were Christmas ads colorfully displayed.

In the stores, everything seems to be “business as usual.”

But we know that it is not.  Even without the reminders when another business closes down—and yesterday, I got a postcard from one of my favorites sending me the “going out of business” message—we can feel it in our own pocketbooks.

So how will we get through this cheerful season? 

Somehow I know that we will.  Maybe we’ll have to turn toward homemade gifts, or perhaps we’ll simply surround ourselves with family and friends, knowing that “togetherness” is the best gift of all.  I know that I have found many pleasures in simple activities lately, like the family game night with my daughter and a couple of grandkids.

Filling my various blogs with seasonal images cheers me up, as does the blog-hopping that follows.

So here’s to a Happy Yuletide to all.  May you find those homey blessings that bring memorable joy.

 

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI

In these troubled economic times, stories about families working to put their lives back together are even more poignant than usual.

While I was a social worker, I often encountered and, in fact, worked to assist families struggling with addiction issues.  Finding treatment and then maintaining that hard-won sobriety in a supportive environment was often a key to success.

Spirit of Woman  is an organization/treatment center in Fresno, CA, that has been addressing these issues for many years.  In today’s Fresno Bee, there is an article on the front page of the Life section that spotlights this particular program.

Apparently, an old hotel has been renovated and serves as a home for rehabilitating women who have recently been reunited with their children.  The women learn to live “sober,” while caring for their children and completing necessary tasks to help maintain the home.  They attend classes and therapy throughout the day.

In the article, the founder/chief-executive-officer is seeking donations to help improve the rooms.  A pleasant environment, which is a key factor in promoting a chaos-free life, is necessary.  While the rooms now are clean and neat, they are showing the wear of age.

Now some may say that these women should be happy just to have a place to stay—and that’s certainly true—but we all know that our environments are crucial to our inner well-being.  Our surroundings do not have to be expensive in order to achieve this feeling.

Personally, whenever I am depressed or feeling frustrated with things going on in my life, I look around my home and take comfort in the few beautiful objects that seemingly encircle me with warmth and comfort.

Studies have shown that people even respond positively to certain colors.  Some colors evoke peace, while others stir up more negative emotions.

All of this is directed toward eliciting compassion from each of us for those less fortunate…those who are struggling—with the consequences of their own poor choices, certainly—but who still deserve our empathy and any strength we can offer.

If you wish to reach out during this season, I am sure that there is a place in your community, just like this one in mine, that could beneft from your used and no longer needed items.

During this upcoming holiday season, my vow is to turn away from my own feelings of self-pity (for the tough economic times, etc.) and look around at those less fortunate.  I am sure to find many!

FRIDAY MORNING POTPOURRI

Yesterday, I was doing a little blog tweaking.  I grabbed my camera, whisked this doll away from where she was minding her own business— sitting there next to a basket of magazines in my bathroom!—and plopped her down next to a copy of my book “An Accidental Life,” for her photo op.

Half an hour later, I had a new header for my Accidental Life blog.

That was yesterday, though, and today I have new potpourri to mention.  Over on Dames of Dialogue, you can read a fascinating article by Betty Dravis, describing the history and many uses of peanut butter, complete with amusing photos.

So hop on over and enjoy this taste treat in literary form.

For the weekend ahead, I am planning on finishing and reviewing my current reads; diving into my Alice in Wonderland books, for that Challenge; and sauntering through each of my blogs to post updates.  Oh, and I’m going to watch the animated version of Alice in Wonderland.

Perhaps I’ll even sleep in one of those days, but I wouldn’t count on it.  My sleep patterns are weird, finding me in bed early, but wide awake in the middle of the night, reading or watching a movie.  Then I’m awake again by 5:30 a.m.

Have a great weekend!

WEDNESDAY MORNING POTPOURRI

Good morning!  I can’t believe it’s been three days since my last Potpourri blog!

It’s been one of those weeks, with appointments, etc.

Normally, today being Wednesday, I would be planning ahead for my regular pick-up-Noah-at-school appointment at 1:30.

But he has no school today, so we’ll just be hanging out.  Which means that I’m being kind of lazy, still in my p.j.s, with my hair askew.  Ooh, don’t try too hard to picture that!  LOL.

Yesterday I had prints made of several photos I had taken in the last few weeks; they had really added up!  As I was putting them in my album, I reflected on the moments leading up to each one.  I love that about photos!

This one below, for example.  This is a post-Halloween shot of my office chair, since I’ve brought The Wild One into the menagerie with some of the others.  And the Halloween ghost has gone up on the shelf.

Then I have another photo to share.  It’s a stack of books that I had snapped awhile back, as “to-be-read” selections.  Well, guess what?

I’ve finished most of them!

There are only two on the stack that I haven’t yet read, and they’re listed to come up soon!

So that’s a kind of progress, isn’t it?

Yesterday I finished Girls in Trucks, which I’ve reviewed over at CURL UP AND READ. 

I am now reading Marshmallows for Breakfast, which I am enjoying so far.

So now that I’m on my second cup of coffee, and I’ve finished my Waiting on Wednesday post over at Web of Tyranny Chronicles, I think it’s time I go work out on my treadmill so that I can finally take my shower!

 

SUNDAY MORNING POTPOURRI

Since it’s Sunday, I had plans to loll about in bed, watching movies, reading the newspaper, and sipping Mimosas.

Well, it started out that way anyhow!  I brought a breakfast tray to bed, prepared all pretty and delectable—French toast by Jenny Craig, topped by strawberries and fat-free whipped cream—with my cup of coffee in a pretty mug.   I did watch a movie for awhile, which I had recorded on my DVR.  It’s one from the nineties, called Rich in Love, starring Albert Finney, Jill Clayburgh, Alfre Woodard and an assortment of other actors we all know.  I couldn’t find it anywhere on Amazon, though, so no links today!

Anyway, it’s about a rather dysfunctional family (no surprise there!) living in the South and experiencing its newest disruption.  Albert Finney is always fun to watch, especially when he’s playing someone who is totally down-to-earth.  There he was, after his wife left him, trying to make the best of it.  He’s chomping down on sandwiches of mayonnaise and potato chips!  Can you picture it?

So I was enthralled, and the movie is still there…I stopped it, just so I could come and peek at my blogs.  An hour-and-a-half later, I’m still here.  I’m sipping the Mimosa, though, but I haven’t read the Sunday paper yet!

But I did visit my newest blog, among others—MOONBEAMS AND RAINBOWS—where I posted a meme about bookcases.  And I did my Sunday Salon at my ACCIDENTAL LIFE blog.  Another post on my SEASONS blog…I think that’s it.  Hmm…

So now I’d better go back to the movie and the newspaper, for awhile at least!

Happy Sunday to all!

 

SATURDAY MORNING POTPOURRI

Yesterday brought a wonderful award from Natalie, at The Book Inn.  Thank you, Natalie, for this great honor.  It carries a challenge, too, as now I must produce!  LOL.

It is posted on my sidebar so that I can always remember it.

Also, as part of the award, I’m supposed to list my 7 favorite things.  Hmm…

1) My family and friends

2) Books

3) My collections

4) Movies

5) My favorite TV shows (right now, it’s  a toss-up between Private Practice and Brothers and Sisters)

6) My computer

7) Coconut ice cream!

Perhaps the receipt of that award spurred me on, too, because later in the evening, I decided to start another blog.  Moonbeams and Rainbows will be dedicated to all fairytales, romance, wishes, dreams, and that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

At the center of this site will be the Alice in Wonderland Challenge, hosted by Jenny.  I’m starting it a little late—official beginning was 9-1-09 and it continues until 8-31-10.

But I am excited about the tasks.  It’s been years since I’ve read the Alice books, and there is a new one coming in January—a book based on the little girl who was the inspiration for the books and the woman she became.

Alice I Have Been will be released in January.  Reading this book will be one of the tasks.

But before I get to this one, I must reread the stories that set the whole thing in motion.

Creative challenges keep me going these days, and I look forward to my newest reading adventure.

FRIDAY MORNING POTPOURRI

Making progress with this stack, slowly but surely.

On my newest blog, CURL UP AND READ, I’m documenting my progress.

I’m posting the reviews of books when I finish, but I also have another page that helps me focus on daily reading progress.

When I get sidetracked by other things (blogging, for instance!), my progress is slower.  But it’s there.

Yesterday, I also clicked over to a new site that Natalie pointed out to me…It’s kind of a mouthful!  NaBloPoMo, which is designed for people who might be addicted to blogging!  LOL.  I guess, by definition, that includes people with more than one blog, but admittedly, I am way over the top with my fifteen blogs.

There’s even a group for Blogging Addicts, and then other groups as well, like a group for Word Press bloggers.

I have both Word Press and Blogger sites, but I joined this group anyway.  Why not?

Then, of course, I had to add this site to the page I have on my COLLECTIONS  blog, where I list my “ning” sites and other social networking places.

I got that idea from J. Kaye’s Book Blog, since she has a tab for her “ning” sites.  I like this, because now I don’t have to search for them on my bookmarks.

And other people can enjoy them as well!

With the weekend approaching, I am reminded once again of how quickly time is passing.  I know…that’s something everyone says, especially when it’s almost Christmas.  But I’m starting to have that panicky feeling, like…Christmas shopping?  Oh, no!

In recent years, decorating for Christmas has been easy.  I have a set of three or four small artificial trees that I pull out every year, and they are already fully decorated.  I just have to plump them up and add a few things to personalize them.  Then I have a host of Jim Shore things in the closet, which come out every year.  My see-through boxes in the garage (thank goodness for see-through boxes!) hold other items, including the aforementioned trees.

So I usually enjoy doing this with Noah or any of the other grandkids that happen to be around.  He’s so enthusiastic, it makes it all go very quickly.

Last year I bought some framed photo ornaments from Amazon that hold grandkids’ photos.  I don’t think I’ll change the pictures, because it’s fun to see them as they were during the year I bought the ornaments.

This photo of my four kids taken in 1988 reminds me of past holidays.  In this one, we were living in a two-storey townhouse with a loft.

Wow!  That was twenty-one years ago!  No wonder they look so young!

I pulled this photo out from an album recently and scanned it—no digital photos back then!—because my niece Amy, who is a “Facebook friend” asked for photos of my kids.

So that quest really took me back.  There I was, with the albums spread all around me, as I sorted through them all.

Here’s another more recent one of the four, taken in 1999:

I think this was the last time that I have a photo of all four of them together! 

Three of them have been together on several occasions, but the fourth—my eldest son Craig—has been in Europe for more than a decade, and when he has visited, we haven’t been able to get them all together. 

But with him in Europe, we do get to enjoy his wonderful photos, like the recent ones he sent for my Oktoberfest article on Dames of Dialogue.

Now that I have waltzed down memory lane for awhile, I’d better be off to explore other blogs and post on other sites!