In the Comfort of Family, Friends & Home
Follow me and my musings...
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Photo Blog
  • Residual Thoughts
  • Contact Me

"I am the owner of my choices."

12/28/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Christmas Eve Morning in California" (Photo Courtesy of Wylddane Productions, LLC)
I am the owner of my choices.
I am the source for the perspectives I choose to hold...
regardless of how aware I am of why or how I come to possess
that particular perspective.
It takes courage to look into the mirror of our souls, absent excuses.
I will look into that mirror little bits at a time.
SEE and ACT. SEE what I can bear to see and ACT upon what I am able.
This is the heart of a gentle invitation to personal responsibility.

~Mary Anne Radmacher
0 Comments

"Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

12/26/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Christmas in California - 2019" (Photo Courtesy of Unity's Daily Word)
0 Comments

"Christmas Bells"

12/24/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"The Old Christmas Bell Ornament" (Photo Courtesy of Wylddane Productions, LLC)
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
0 Comments

"The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you."  ~John Greenleaf Whittier

12/23/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Christmas in the City - San Francisco, 2004" (Photo Courtesy of Wylddane Productions, LLC)
0 Comments

"Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow, they represent a gift of love given a long time ago."  ~Tom Baker

12/22/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Christmas in the Country - Frederic, WI - 2018" (Photo Courtesy of Wylddane Productions, LLC)
0 Comments

"The Christmas Gift Poem"

12/21/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Christmas in the City - San Francisco, 2004" (Photo Courtesy of Wylddane Productions, LLC)
The Christmas Gift Poem
​
It isn't the flowing ribbons,
draped and curled with extra care,
or the fine and fancy bows
tied with ornamental flair.
It isn't the label on the box,
the sum of money spent,
or anything that shows the length
to which you obviously went.
The beauty of a Christmas gift
cannot be seen at all.
For the loveliness of giving
is a feeling, grand and tall.
It's the genuine offer of love,
the yearning to make a connection,
a show of honest gratitude,
a display of sincere affection.
~Anon
0 Comments

"The whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to them we call them ordinary things."  ~Hans Christian Andersen

12/20/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Christmas in the Country - December, 2015" (Photo Courtesy of Wylddane Productions, LLC)
0 Comments

Christmas in the City

12/19/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Christmas in the City - San Francisco (Castro) 2015" (Photo Courtesy of Wylddane Productions, LLC)
City sidewalks, busy sidewalks,
Dressed in holiday style,
In the air there is a feeling,
of Christmas
Children laughing,
People passing
Meeting smile after smile,
And on every street corner you'll hear :
Silver bells, silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
ring- a- ling, hear them ring,
soon it will be Christmas day.
​
Strings of street lights,
Even stop lights,
Blink a bright red and green
As the shoppers rush,
home with their treasures.
Hear the snow crunch,
See the kids bunch,
This is Santa's big scene,
And above all this bustle
You'll hear :
Silver bells, silver bells, silver bells ,silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city,
Ring-a-ling, hear them ring,
Soon it will be Christmas day.

~Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
0 Comments

"No, the light is too intense..."

12/18/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Christmas in the Country - Frederic, WI, 2016" (Photo Courtesy of Wylddane Productions, LLC)
No, the light is too intense; we do not yet have eyes that can see all the glory God has created. But maybe someday we will have such eyes. That will be the most wonderful fairy tale of all, for we ourselves will be part of it.
​

~Hans Christian Andersen
0 Comments

"For the Man Who Hated Christmas"

12/17/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
"Christmas in the City - Pacifica, CA, 2015" (Photo Courtesy of Wylddane Productions, LLC)
For the Man Who Hated Christmas
By Nancy W. Gavin

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past ten years.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it – overspending and the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma – the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.

Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was on the wrestling team at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.
Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them." Mike loved kids – all kids. He so enjoyed coaching little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That's when the idea for his present came.
That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes, and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed a small, white envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done, and that this was his gift from me.
Mike's smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year. And that same bright smile lit up succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition – one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on.

The white envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and our children – ignoring their new toys – would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the small, white envelope never lost its allure.
The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree. And the next morning, I found it was magically joined by three more. Unbeknownst to the others, each of our three children had for the first time placed a white envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing to take down that special envelope.

Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit will always be with us.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Categories

    All
    All
    Chosen Family
    Chosen Family
    Christmas
    CJ
    Easter
    Family
    Friends
    Gay
    Life Of The Retired
    Living Positively
    Progressive Notes
    Thanksgiving Is A Daily Thing
    Transitions
    Winter

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    August 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    December 2012

    Categories

    All
    All
    Chosen Family
    Chosen Family
    Christmas
    CJ
    Easter
    Family
    Friends
    Gay
    Life Of The Retired
    Living Positively
    Progressive Notes
    Thanksgiving Is A Daily Thing
    Transitions
    Winter

    RSS Feed

Website by Saris Web Design, LLC