Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

This is not one of my photographs.

It is the cover of Dharma Crafts Holiday 2013 catalog.

I thought it was lovely.

More importantly it says what I want to say to you.

Wishing you joy and peace during this Christmas season and the happiest New Year.

I'll see you next year. 

Be well.

All Through The House

"Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse."
~Clement Clarke Moore

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.
To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy,
is to have the real spirit of Christmas."
~ Calvin Coolidge

"Christmas is the day that holds all time together."
~Alexander Smith

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold,
everything is softer and more beautiful."
~Norman Vincent Peale

Wishing YOU a Cozy Christmas
and a New Year
that's warm and bright.

I'm joining the lovely Judith for Mosaic Monday.

Christmas Magic

From the kitchen table

Christmas Magic

Are we too grownup to feel a thrill
As we light the Christmas tree?
Are we immune to cookies,
Christmas cards and Christmas glee?

Are we too adult to "Ooh" and "Aah"
At the Christmas candle's glow?
Are we blasé about our gifts;
Do we shun the mistletoe?

Are we too mature for carols,
For merry or for jolly?
Do the decorations leave us cold,
The ornaments and holly?

Fat chance! We'll never grow too old
To love the Christmas magic.
A year without a Christmas
Would be boring, even tragic.

So bring it on! The candy canes,
The feasting and good cheer;
O Christmas, lovely Christmas,
You're the highlight of the year!

By Joanna Fuchs

Beary Christmas!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Christmas Present

This is my fourth Christmas without Mr. Dragon.

The first two, I put up three trees, decorated inside and out.

I made pots of chile and had folks over.

In other words, I kept myself very busy.

Last year I put up two trees, decorated inside and out and made chile.

This year I put up one tree -- the smallest.

(My back and joints prefer one tree -- the smallest!)

I decorated outside and am still playing inside.

I always have a amaryllis.
This one is from Trader Joe's -- a good deal and pretty, too.

Santa is at the front door with his own tree waving at the neighbors as they go by.

This year I pulled some boxes filled with old decorations out of the back of the closet .
Fun and full of surprises and memories.

The little snowman has been on a Christmas tree since I was a very tiny child.
Scrooge reminds of the years we lived on Galveston Island.
Dickens on The Strand is held every year on the Island .. fun!

The Santa is from a set that was made by Sears many, many, many years ago celebrating different cultures and celebrations of Christmas.
"In Holland children believe that St. Nicholas rides on a beautiful white horse to deliver present on his feast day."
Gelukkig Kerstfeest

The church is a model of the Old San Ysidro Church in New Mexico.
A reminder of my 23 years in New Mexico.
New Mexico is also where I met and married Mr. Dragon.


That's a brief look at Christmas Present.

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

A big thank you to the lovely Judith for hosting Mosaic Monday.

Merry Merry and Ho Ho Ho!

Bodhi Day

Where ever Buddhism has traveled, 

it has picked up customs and bits of culture from each country.

Bodhi Day - the day Gautama achieved enlightenment is celebrated on December 8.

I've done a little incorporating of holidays -- compassion bringing them together.

The Christmas tree is all set up to celebrate Yule, Christmas and other Holy Days.

On December 8 the lights will represent enlightenment.

Multicolored lights representing the many paths that may be taken to enlightenment.
Under the tree, a Buddha as he sat under the Bodhi tree.

I plan on spending the day quietly.
Some meditation.
Curling up with the kitties to stay warm.
A cup of tea -- or two.
A candle glowing.
A wish for peace for all.

Christmas Past

Not long ago, my blogging friend, Vee, had a post about the perfect Christmas.

That got me to thinking.

Is there such a thing?

Like Vee, when I think of Christmas I think of snow, a farm house, 

twinkling lights, carols being sung. 

All of those "old-fashioned" things that I used to see on Christmas cards when I was a kid.

While putting up my little tree and looking at "old" ornaments,

I got to remembering Christmas Past.... Christmas at Granny's house.

Her Christmas tree was real. Those were the days long before fake trees.

She had a church under the tree that would illuminate.

It also played silent night.

I would sit on the floor staring at the church and listening to Silent Night.

I wonder what it was that so fascinated me as a very little girl.

Original image from Vermont Country Store.

Then there were the bubble lights on the tree.
I loved the bubble lights. They made me smile.

My aunt always came with something sweet to eat.

Do you remember the gum drop tree?

Original image from Vermont Country Store

I remember the gum drops disappearing quickly!
I think I still have my Mother's tree -- somewhere.


This is the modern version of the green ceramic tree that welcomed us as we walked into Granny's house.

Original image from Vermont Country Store.

I have a green tree that my Mother-In-Law gave me.

It welcomes one and all when they enter my home.

Christmas at Granny's.

That's about all I remember.

The most important part -- it was a happy time, full of magic and wonder for a little girl.

*

Another one of my memories is of one Christmas when my Daddy came home with a big box marked Christmas Tree.

I had horrible allergies as a child and was allergic to the "live" Christmas trees.

He brought home one of the first metal trees, with the revolving light.

We had all blue ornaments on the tree.

This is the modern tinsel version.

Original Image from Vermont Country Store

I may have to get one of the smaller trees.
My days of putting up big trees are over.
A four foot tall tree looks good to me!

That's my short visit to Christmas past with help from the Vermont Country Store.
The images belong to them and I did some tweaking here and there.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Ho Ho HO and a Merry Merry

Thank you to Judith for hosting Mosaic Monday.

**

P.S. Did you watch the Orion launch?
WOWZER!
We are off into space once again.
Explorers we are.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I Missed Hump Day!

Yesterday was Hookin' On Hump Day and I missed it.

I'm taking a class in Community Studies at Rice University on hump day.

The time just seems to fly but I did have a crochet project to share with you.

A good friend of mine put in her wish for a pair of fingerless gloves.

She saw this free Red Heart Pattern for wavy long wristers and said "this is what I want".

I missed her birthday.

I couldn't find the yarn in town and had to order.

Here they are all finished in time for Christmas.

After running out of yarn on projects in the past,
I ordered one extra of each color.
Lo and behold, the pattern seems true!
So I have enough yarn to make another pair.

I'll have yarn leftover
and plan on making a pair for me, but much shorter.

Be sure to check out the other Hump Day projects!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

This Year They Did One Better

Friday night the zoo was open to donors for a sneak peak at Holiday Lights 2014.

There were two million lights last year and this year they did one better--

three million lights!

These are large revolving globes near the African Forest exhibit.

I didn't take as many photos as I have in the past.
It was just so lovely walking through the zoo with good friends.
There were several repeats from years past like Mr. Deer who pops up now then when you least expect him.

A trip to the gift shop is always in order.
They had lovely trees decorated with toy animals.

Last year the temperature was 89 with a high humidity.

This year the temperature was 44 and no humidity.

Over 700 had RSVPd for the event, but I'm guessing not half that number showed up.

Too bad.

There was no wind and it was really quite a lovely evening.

I'm joining the lovely Judith for Mosaic Monday.


Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Hole in the Head

Last week I went to a lecture and then saw the exhibition

"Monet and the Seine: Impressions of a River"

at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

I love postcards.
So much cheaper than buying the exhibition book.
The two postcards above show some of Monet's early work.
He was still painting people.

The one on the right is The Seine at Bougival (1869) and
the one on the left is The Promenade with the railroad bridge, Argenteuil (1874).

Even using these postcards, you can see how his technique changes.

Monet's family knew a lot about boats.
When Monet drew one, he knew where to put all the lines.

The postcard on the right (above) "Ships riding in the Seine" ~1873
The left is "Sunset on the Seine", 1874

What would Monet be without a series?!!
The postcard above on the left is titled The Seine at Giverny 1897
and the one on the right also from 1897 is titled the Islet on Port-Villez.

I've shared 6 of the 52 pieces in the exhibition.
Monet is magical.

While I was in the gift shop buying postcards (conveniently located at the end of the exhibition)
I found this.

I need another teacup/tea-for-one like I need a hole in the head,
but I told myself it was a nice reminder of this wonderful exhibition,
 and the lovely luncheon I had with a dear friend.

This tea for one was made by McIntosh Fine China.

I'm joining the lovely Judith for Mosaic Monday

and several tea parties!

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a wonderful cup of tea!

My Friends in Canada

It was 42 degrees when I got up this morning.

Probably no big deal for some of you, but for us on the Gulf Coast it felt really good!

With temperatures like this I can:

-break out the crazy, fun slipper socks

- have oatmeal for breakfast

- hot chocolate in the evening

- wear a light sweater in the morning

I already start my day with a hot cup of tea.

This morning it was Harney and Sons, Cranberry Autumn,

a black tea with cranberry and orange.

I enjoyed a couple of cups of Cranberry Autumn in my new tea cup that I found at

British Isles.

It is a porcelain cup and saucer called Khaki Bird by PIP (Passionate Inspirational Products).

They make bowls and teapots in other colors.
Really cute!

I'm sticking with the teacup.

I'm joining some tea parties today:

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

and the lovely Judith for Mosaic Monday.

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a wonderful cup of tea.

And, before I forget, I'd like to thank my friends in Canada for this nice cool weather. 

Make Everyday Precious

Collected from my garden and on neighborhood walks. 

Little things that make everyday precious.

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Pumpkin Crazy

The world is going pumpkin crazy.

I went to Trader Joe's this morning and the pumpkins have taken over.

There's Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Pumpkin Bread Mix

Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Pumpkin Yogurt

Pumpkin Spice Granola

Pumpkin Cream Cheese to go on the

Pumpkin Bagels

Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin Spice Chai

Kennebunkport Brewing Co. Pumpkin Ale

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli

Pumpkin Butter 

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Pumpkin Macarons

Pumpkin Cheesecake

and that's just a few of the pumpkin "things".

I found a succulent in a pumpkin ceramic pot that came home with me.

Must be why Pumpkin is the "Pumpking" this time of year!

Then there are the pumpkins on my block.

A big pumpkin and a pumpkin Pooh!

I did find a skeleton among the pumpkins.

It's Pumpkin Crazy time!

I'm joining the lovely Judith for Mosaic Monday.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Happy Pumpkin Time!

Just Keep Going

Cassie has been busy supervising the afghan I've been working on.
Here she is, being sure there is no more yarn in my bag.

This is what she was supervising:

The Happy Hearts Afghan, a free pattern from Red Heart.

I started this afghan last February.

Finally, it is finished!

I have plenty of yarn left and have started another one just like it.

Cassie is still taking her supervising seriously and

I figure once I get started, I should just keep going!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

I'm also joining Hooking On Hump Day!

Wednesday Words

"To know the Way is to know where to go and how to get there."

~ Tseng-tzu

It Must Be Autumn

There's a storm coming today.

Lots of wind and rain.

Tomorrow fall makes another appearance with

low temps in the high 50s and highs in the low 70s.

Yippee! 

I just have to get through the storms today.

The light wasn't good for picture taking, but I did it anyway.

Most of my decorating for Halloween is done --
I picked up this little kitty and his mouse friend
at an after Halloween sale last year.
I giggle everytime I see him.

He likes to have tea!

Lenox has made a whole set of dishes called Butterfly Meadow.
This is the fritillary butterfly cup and saucer.
I love the little lady bug on the saucer.
Pretty wavy rims on the teacup and the saucer.

Lovely detail on the cup.

It must be Autumn if the Pumpkin Spice Bagels are on the grocery shelves!
I'm going to make a nice cup of green tea.
I don't want my tea to compete with the taste of the bagel.
And then I'm going to settle down to read Autumn by Susan Branch.

I'm joining some tea parties today:

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a wonderful cup of tea!