Once In A Lifetime Celebration - Thanksgivukkah!

Fa La La La La - The Sounds of the Season

Ho Ho Ho! It's that special time of year again.

♪♫  It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas  ♪♫
Everywhere you go;
Take a look in the five and ten, glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in every store
But the prettiest sight to see, is the holly that will be

♪♫  On your own front door. ♪♫

I can hear the distant sound of tinkling jingle bells - smell the mouthwatering aroma of gingerbread - anticipate the twinkling colorful lights adorning every other home on my block.

Of course, it wouldn't be the holiday season without the start of those incessant advertisements everywhere you look - beckoning, pleading, guilt inducing the unprepared gift giver into parting with their hard earned dollars.

And how about those holiday carols(of which we know every word) blaring over the airwaves on local radio and drifting into our subconscious at our local Walmart?

But you know what? Though I hear the grumbles from my family, friends, coworkers and the media that it's all too soon, it doesn't bother me one bit. I've never let commercialism dictate how my family and I celebrate the holidays and special occasions.

See, I don't like pressure. Or stress. And I won't be sucked in by the Madison Avenue advertisers who strive to use their Jedi mind tricks on the weak minded and influence their buying decisions. 

I will shop where and when I want. Purchase the items I want, and not the items they deem that I can't live without. I'll put up decorations when I feel the time is right (and keep them up year round if I so please, thank you very much). I'll watch the holiday shows and movies when I'm in the mood (thanks to DVD's I'm not dependent on the scheduling decisions of some yahoos in Hollywood). I'll listen to the holiday music when I'm in the mood via either my CD's at home or bopping along in my car with the radio turned up to 10.

Because of my resolve, I bet you think I'm not a Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopper. And you'd be right! I look for bargains and shop year round. But mostly I'd rather bestow memories or provide help year-round than another meaningless chotzke, like - movie, show or sports tickets - trips such as ski weekends with our children - dates with friends - pay someone's bills (like the year I had my parent's oil tank filled) - adopting a needy family - donating to a worthy cause - newspaper and/or magazine subscriptions - giving a photo album full of cherished photos.

How about you? What's your take on this time of year and all the hoopla associated with it?

Wordless Wednesday - Born on the Fourth of July

My father's birthday is on July 4th.

When I was younger I thought everyone was celebrating his special day.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy Birthday, America!

 

 

My Backyard - Marble House, Newport, RI

Ah, another day in Newport....another Mansion tour. And what a glorious one it was, too!

In a previous post, I told you about my adventures at the Breakers. I promised myself (and you, my dear reader) that I would return to Newport to visit another grand old manse. That opportunity presented itself last December. (Ok, so I'm a little slow in writing this post about it....been a bit busy....but i'm trying to catch up...honest!)

continuing on....Hubby actually brought it up. "Let's go see one of the Mansions this week," he said. "They should all be decorated for the holidays. It'll be a good time to go."

Ok....hmmm....let me think bout this...twist my arm...ummm...weeelll...Of course I'd go, and with hubby along, too? Heck yeah!

So on a cloudy, cold day we headed to Newport and chose to visit Marble House on Bellevue Avenue. We parked across the street and, after buying a ticket for hubby, we strode up to the massive entrance to the mansion. While grand, we immediately recognized that this place is nowhere near as large as the Breakers. But maybe that's okay. It actually felt a bit homier to me, more comfortable. (If you can call a large, stone mansion built in 1882 homey and comfortable.)

My Backyard - Yankee Candle Village Shop

Are you a candle person? Do you search for just the right scent to please your senses or set a mood in your home? Do you mix and match or change them up depending on the season or holiday?

Ok, I admit. That's not me. Don't get me wrong. I DO like to use scented oils and warmers to enfuse a calming, feel-good warmth throughout my home. But when I think Yankee Candle, I think wax and wicks and flames and decorative holders to retain it all. It wasn't a store I normally would find myself in, unless I was looking to buy a gift for someone else,

All that changed recently, last Halloween, when my sisters invited me to accompany them to a local Yankee Candle store. While they oohed and ahhed over the latest in the "Boney Bunch" line of items, I perused the shelves and aisles and found much more than candles. I left the store with a bag full of goodies for myself and gifts for my daughter-in-law.

That got me thinking. I had heard about a very large Yankee Candle store. A Village Shop actually. In Deerfield, MA. Not too far from me. Maybe it was time for a visit. To find out what all the talk I'd heard for years about the place was all about.

Two months later, right before Christmas, I called my sisters with my idea. Let's plan a sister outing with our mother to the Village Shop. All agreed, a short time later, we set off on the two hour ride on a cold December weekday. We chatted and laughed like families do which made the hours seem like mere minutes.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

All Good Things Must Come to an End - And That Includes Vacation

I'm home. Back in my own old lumpy but comfy familiar bed. Surrounded by my forgiving dogs and kitty. They've gotten over their irritation with us for being gone so long. We're all back to normal, whatever that may be.

In a previous post I mentioned how our vaca was in 2 parts: first we visited oldest son in the Orlando area and then we visited youngest son and his family in the FL panhandle. We were relieved to see that the grandchildren were very happy to see us! Of course, not unexpectedly, the first words out of their mouths was something along the lines of "What you got for us in your luggage?" After all, our 4 year old grandson thinks hubby is "Papa Claus".

Thanksgiving 2012

Photo Credit - Martha_Chapa 95 (Flicker)

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Didn't go anywhere. Stayed home and spent the day with hubby and middle son.  Had the traditional tasty veggies - squash, corn and carrots. Sweet cranberry sauce. Bowls of chunky smashed potatoes and creamy sweet potatoes with a side of gravy and buttery biscuits. And of course there was the star of the show, a 16lb moist and delicious turkey.

Two dear friends also stopped by when they were in the area. So nice to have them join us. Out came the traditional pumpkin pie, tangy cherry pie and hubby's fav chocolate pie. All topped with the requisite cool whip topping.

Times are tough. And our hearts were a bit heavy that our other 2 sons, daughter-in-law, and our 3 grandchildren couldn't be here with us. But we're thankful for what we have and know we've been blessed.

Sending blessings and good tidings to all of you!

Happy Halloween! (or was it?)

How was your Halloween?

Wasn't sure what to expect for us in our area because of the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy. At the beginning of the week, I thought it might be raining cats and dogs tonight and the little kids would all have to stay home, heartbroken they couldn't put on their new costumes, make up their faces and go out trick or treating. Or I thought that Sandy would wreak havoc and it could be too dangerous for anyone to be out.

Fortunately, my town weathered the storm just fine. The rain ended earlier in the day. And it showed in the number of children that showed up at my door. Ordinarily my neighborhood is teeming w/hundreds of ghouls, witches and fairy princesses on Halloween. I'd say we've seen up to 300 kids before. But this year? Easily over 500! I ran out of treats and shut the lights when there was still super heroes roaming my street.

For about another hour after that I could still hear the howling and screeching of the roaming zombies outside my door as they searched for candy. I hid in my dark home, afraid to turn on a light or make a sound lest they find me and begin to haunt and torment me until I gave in to their evil demands for sweets.

I have 2 theories on why the numbers swelled this year.

1.  Some of the towns in my state are still cleaning up after Sandy and their power is still out. So those townies came to my neck of the woods in order to participate in the annual begging of treats (c'mon they never want tricks, now do they?)
OR
2.  Due to Sandy, other towns have postponed Halloween until Saturday. So those smart enterprising young people decided to hit up my neighborhood tonight and then trick or treat in their own town this weekend. Lucky little monsters: Halloween comes twice this year for them.

This year sure showed me that I'm not up to this carnage anymore. Why do I keep doing it? It's not fun anymore; it's work! And who the heck likes work?

So, how was your neighborhood? Did they celebrate in your town? Did they postpone? Did you survive?

Inquiring minds need to know.................