Thanksgiving Blessings

Blessings to all of you on this Thanksgiving Day and throughout the year.

Just...Relax

While the weather isn't favorable for sitting outside in shorts and a tank top, with bare feet propped up on a porch railing, that doesn't mean we can't relax.

Yesterday at Diary of a Mad Romance Writer, I blogged about writing through the holidays.  Not only are there thousands of writers participating in National Novel Writers Month (NaNoWriMo) and trying to conquer the 50,000 word goal, but there are many writers who are on deadlines and don't have the luxury of putting either their writing or the holidays aside.

Those who aren't writers need to also remember to take a few moments to find a small sea of calm, whether it's holiday time or just day to day.  We live in such a fast-paced world that we forget that we deserve a little downtime or even pampering, now and then.  So this is a reminder to readers and myself to take a little time, as much as we need and can find, to relax.

There are as many ways to relax as there are people relaxing.

• Some spend time watching television
• Some listen to music
• Some, as in the photo above, sit and enjoy the quiet and beauty of nature
• Some take a walk
• Some read a book
• Some work on a hobby
• Some take a drive in the country
• Some go fishing
• Some do yoga
• Some meditate
• Some spend time with children
• Some swim
• Some play golf or other sports
• Some play with pets
• Some even sleep

Even if you don't have time for any of the above or your own favorite relaxing, you can always stop, close your eyes, take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds, then slowly let it out.  Don't stop with just once.  Do it several times, until the tension is gone from your body and your mind has stopped swirling with thoughts.

Oh, and by the way, if your weather is as great as it is in the photo above, congratulations!  I'm a bit envious.  We're still dealing with a cold spell that blew in--and I do mean blew in--late Saturday afternoon.  That beautiful sky I blogged about Saturday morning?  It didn't last all day.  C'est la vie. ;)

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.
Erma Bombeck  

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

It's pretty obvious by the picture on the left that one of my favorite things is Autumn aka Fall.  What's not to like about the freshest and most invigorating season of each year?

While driving to pay my car insurance this morning, I decided to start making myself more aware of the things around me.  Much better than focusing on the driving habits of others. ;)  The weatherman said to expect a beautiful day in the 70s, and at 61 degrees right now, it's hard to imagine better.  The only small drawback is the wind.  There's a stiff breeze (23 mpg) coming out of the northeast.  Still, there's a positive to even that.  The breeze is stirring the leaves that have fallen, sending them skittering and swirling across yards and streets.

There are no clouds in the sky, just a bright, azure blue that is breathtaking.  The air has a whisper of crispness, making it completely comfortable outside.  As I drove, I noticed two men making small repairs on a church building, while at another location, others were raking the multi-colored leaves into piles.

But the one thing that really made me smile was the two small children, a boy and a girl about the ages of 3 and 4, who were playing in the leaves in their yard.  The boy was standing and throwing leaves over his head, while the girl sat in pile of leaves and swirled them around her.  I couldn't hear them laughing, but it was clear from the joy on their faces that they were having the time of their lives at that moment.

I'm beginning to realize how important it is to look for these moments of enjoyment, whether mine or someone else's, and make memories that will always bring a smile.

This evening I'll go to a Porch Party given my a dear fellow author, who is eager to share her new enclosed porch with friends.  If, as the weatherman says, our high tomorrow is barely 40 degrees, I wouldn't be surprised if the party moves from the porch to the inside fireplace.  Wherever it is that we all eventually gather, it will be another memory to hold close.  I can't wait!

Friendship is love with understanding.

Another Halloween and Candy, Candy, Candy!

Halloween was quiet here, with very little candy around.  But when four of the grandkids arrived to show off their costumes as they ended their evening, it was evident that they'd made quite a haul.  It was tempting to ask if they'd share, but there were two reasons I didn't.  First, I don't need the candy.  Second, they earned it and deserve to enjoy every last piece...in moderation. :)
And don't they look cute and/or scary in their costumes!

Payton, age 2, as a devil.  This was her first "real" year of trick-or-treating, and she really enjoyed it, in spite of getting tired before everyone else was ready to quit.

Jaxon, age 4, as a giraffe.  He wasn't crazy about the hood, but at least it kept him warm on a chilly Halloween night.

Alexandria aka Allie, almost 9, as a Barbie rocker who looks like she's more than ready to get going.

Scarlett, almost 10, as a zombie fairy and trying her best to stay in character with that bored, dead look.

Gavin, age 7, is taller than the other two and was excited to be a ninja again.  This time he left the sword at home, so I guess he wasn't expecting trouble.


It's hard to believe that we're already talking Thanksgiving.  I'm just glad I didn't snitch any of that candy.  Although Mallory, my youngest, and I have been walking with Sabrina, my oldest, and Scarlett four or five times a week, we have enough to work off without the added calories of Halloween goodies!  Looking forward to Turkey Day, though, and all the good food it involves.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ask my daughters and they'll tell tales of Halloween when they were young.  One year there was a tornado warning issued as we were trick-or-treating.  Another was a total washout, thanks to rain and flooding, but we tried anyway--I'm still amazed that we weren't washed away.  Their costumes were never store-bought.  I made them all, sometimes from whatever was available.  That's the fun way.

Although there are a lot of years between my daughters' Halloweens and mine, many of my memories are just as clear and strong as theirs are.  My next door neighbors included 3 children, all older than me and all accustomed to keeping an eye on me.  They were more siblings to me than neighbors, and every Halloween for years and years, they took me trick-or-treating.


One of the most memorable times was when I was quite small.  It was late.  We finished most of our block and beyond and were headed home.  While we waited on the corner to cross the street to my house, two cars collided in front of us.  It was loud, it was scary, and I remember screaming, bringing most of the neighborhood outside.  A bit traumatic for a three-year-old.  (I'm 2nd from the left in the clown costume.  Oldest of the neighbors is the tall, pioneer in the back.)

Then there was the Halloween of the Witch.   My mother made my costume that year, as she nearly always did, and for some strange reason I chose to be a pilgrim.  With the dark grey dress and white apron, collar and hat, I also wore a wig--yellow hair, two braids, much like a Dutch girl.  By that time we'd moved on to tricking and treating in the surrounding blocks. We neighborhood kids spent a lot of time riding our bikes on the block north of us, around the "circle drive" where the street dead-ended after they built the big highway.  Except on Halloween this particular year, there was a witch sneaking around the side of one of the houses near there, cackling at us and scaring me to the point of screaming and running for home, as fast as I could.  By the time I arrived, I was crying and could barely explain to my dad about the scary witch.  The first thing he did was to ask where my hat and wig were.  In my haste to get away from the witch, I'd lost them.  Too scared to face the witch again, I begged my dad to go with me to find my missing costume pieces.  He did, but by the time we arrived near the witch's house, she was gone.  We retrieved my hat and wig and returned home.  But I'll never forget how scared I was that night.  The poor neighbor who'd dressed as the witch never did it again.

By the time I hit junior high and high school, my family had moved to a small town, where Halloween had become famous for trouble.  It didn't take long for the new grocery store owners to realize they needed to hide the cartons of eggs early in the day.  My senior year, I rode with my best friends as we drove around town, and for the rest of the winter, that car smelled of rotten eggs whenever the heater was turned on.  We never threw a single egg.  Bales of hay were "borrowed" from neighboring farms and dumped in the middle of the main street, making driving...interesting.  Smashed pumpkins (not the band) were often stolen and joined the hay bales in the street.  There were a few times when those bales were set on fire.  In years past, outhouses were tipped over.  By the time I was in high school, it became so bad that the sheriff deputies--some on horseback--came to town to try to keep the craziness within bounds. There were a couple of years that I participated as a crazy by riding in the back of a pickup truck and holding on for dear life.  Then there was the five feet deep hole ("Devil's Hole") I fell into while running in the dark...

Is it any wonder that I love Halloween?  And apparently my daughters do, too, because they still enjoy putting together and wearing costumes as they take their own families trick-or-treating.  Me?  I just sit back and enjoy my favorite holiday in peace and quiet, along with an appropriate movie or two.

Hope you and yours have a wonderful and non-scary Happy Halloween!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like....? (rant warning)

Is it October and nearing Halloween?  Or is it after Thanksgiving with Christmas less than a month away?  I ask because, as others have noticed and mentioned on other social media, Christmas items are appearing a little earlier in stores each year.  This year as the Halloween decorations were beginning to adorn stores (a week or two after the huge bags of Halloween candy was appearing on store shelves) and well before the back-to-school items disappeared, Christmas decorations were also sneaking their way into stores.

While I understand that some people enjoy shopping early for Christmas to avoid the hassle of crowds and items being unavailable, I don't understand the  necessity of buying decorations--both outdoor and indoor--too early, such as weeks and weeks prior to Thanksgiving.  Is it because they see things they want and are afraid they'll be gone in a week or two?  Because if it is, they're missing 2 things:  A) If you can't find something closer to Christmas, you weren't supposed to have it in the first place, and B) What about sales?

While I enjoy a pretty tree and tinsel and flickering lights framing roofs and houses, I'd rather save the Christmas decorations for the month of December. Mid-December would suit me fine.  Why?

• Putting up a tree of any size means moving things.  Big things.  Like furniture. 
• Children (the small variety) and pets tend to enjoy UNdecorating more than I ever enjoyed decorating. Not to mention breakage and danger.
• I can only take so much HO HO HO in one year, and its a cinch it'll be over come Dec. 26, so that means shaving off at the beginning.
• No matter what the size of tree, it always blocks my view of the TV...although I don't get a chance to watch a whole lot of shows.
• Taking down the tree is a lot less fun that putting it up was.

My family may tell you that when it comes to Christmas, I lean more toward Scrooge than Tiny Tim.  Maybe it's because I've been around longer and accept reality, which no longer includes racking up a credit card bill that will take most of a year to pay off.  Or maybe it's because, to me, Christmas is a matter of heart, not blinking lights and tinsel.  I'd rather see kindness and love than Santa with reindeer on the rooftop, lit up like the landing strip at the airport.  Merchants, however, don't see it that way, as their eyes light up with dollar signs each time I buy just one more Christmasy thing.  Instead of thinking $$$  (how much we'll need and how much the stores will make), let's fill our hearts with peace and joy by holding off just a little longer and letting anticipation grow, instead of ho hum boredom.

Happy, Merry Hallowmas!

A Woofing Good Time

Woofstock is the largest fundraising event for the Kansas Humane Society. KHS is funded entirely by private donations and fees for service and receives no funding from government entities, the United Way or the Humane Society of the United States. The proceeds from Woofstock help KHS provide care and services for nearly 18,000 pets this year.
We don't own a dog, but we have in the past and there's always a possibility we might in the future. Click on the link below for a slideshow of photos I took at Woofstock.
Woofstock 2011

Just over two weeks ago, KHS waived the adoption fee for cats and kittens.  We have two cats, one which we adopted from KHS several years ago, but it was too tempting not to go up to the KHS shelter for a third.  The crowd of people wanting to adopt a kitten was overwhelming, and my youngest daughter and I stood, sat, and wandered the facility for several hours.  We'd been warned when we came in that because our number was so high, there was a possibility that there wouldn't be any adoptables even before our number was called.
As it turned out, there was one cat left at the end of the numbers called.  The cat wasn't even there, but was in foster care, and there was a poster of him hanging on the wall.  We'd seen the cat on the KHS website and had liked him, so I spoke up and said we'd take him.  We're glad we did.
Meet Toby...

Thank you, KHS, for Toby and for a wonderful time at Woofstock!!!