While Christmas may be painted as a time of good will to all men and peace on earth for a lot of people it is very much the opposite. The irony is families who have not spoken a kind word to each other all year will come together under one roof with a misguided notion this new found togetherness will heal rifts and mend fences.
Chances are though if Uncle Joe has been an obnoxious drunk for 11 months of the year I am pretty sure he won’t take time off for Xmas. And if Aunty Read More...
Early images of Father Christmas show him in a variety of colored outfits. One early incarnation, dating from 1809, sees him in green. Many others see him in a variety of different colored outfits and few depicted him as the big beely version we are familiar with. If you love vintage Santa images then don’t hesitate to check out this remarkable Vintage Santa Collection.
Contrary Read More...
I am so excited that Kat has asked me to be a part of this wonderful magazine.I am looking forward to getting to know everyone who is a part of this magazine and the readers.
I will primarily be writing inspirational articles, but from time to time my articles will Read More...
“Hey Marvin! Wake up, did you hear that?!” Aunt Mable didn’t wake her husband, but, she did manage to wake the rest of the house. She may have even awakened the whole block.
Mable donned her thick terrycloth robe, realizing Marvin wasn’t budging, and peeked out of bedroom door tiptoeing as quietly as an elephant in a china store. Slowly poking her head out the bedroom door she found the upstairs hallway was littered with those that Read More...
Community service is good for you. This isn’t speculation this is fact. Here are a few reasons why you should be serving your community.
* Health Reasons- Community service lowers your blood pressure.
*Networking- If you don’t get out much or even if Read More...
Has there ever been someone in your life, where no matter what you do they don’t seem to like you, nothing you do is good enough, they frown on anything you say? They may not even know you but seemed to have immediately taken a dislike to you, and you really don’t know why. I have… for years I would just chalk it up to… to each his/her own. But recently I decided to try and change this…
I decided that the next person that seems to dislike me… Read More...
There’s no Christmas cheer in this play that tells a tale of lifelong regrets seen from the bottom of a whiskey bottle. Scrooge has nothing on John Plunkett, a man who walked away from his family for self loathing and solace found in his life of hiding in an alcoholic stupor.
Given the opportunity to salvage what life he may have left, a job as a mortician’s assistant was offered him. So we greet this character entering a shabby funeral parlor with his young co worker. The Read More...
Close your eyes. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What I see is a wooded moutain without closing my eyes, birds singing, and the smell of winter. I don’t see many cars or hear them for that matter and I don’t smell pollution. I see tons of wildlife deer, Read More...
Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains.
-Emilie Cady
My take: This may be true… unless her name is ‘Pebbles’. Her mountains will stop him in his tracks so of course he would never stumble over them.
Gasp! How sexist of me! I told the men in my life that I would not use this women’s Read More...
I woke up the morning after the election, knowing that it really is the dawn of a new day, fellow-travelers. The world had a big, blow-out party last night, and we all went to bed knowing that the power structure of the U.S. has changed dramatically with the election of our 44th President, Barack Read More...
I have put off doing this post because I keep forgetting what I want to say. My problem is forgetfulness. I turned 50 this year and as much as I would like to blame it on that, I have been this way for quite awhile now. I forget simple things such as names of people and things. Everything has the same name because I forget what it’s called. So they are all thingies, deeliebobs, whatchamacallits, and whatsits.
This is a typical conversation that goes on in our house when I am Read More...
This world can not have any more of my tears.
I’ve given up plenty through out my years.
No matter how close I come to the memory of the pain
- you won’t see my eyes cry salty rain.
You won’t know I’ve got a knot in my throat
- no need to run for an umbrella or boat.
No tears of mine, none shall I shed.
No proof that I ache will escape my head.
No sniffles for the ear to hear
-not a drip not a drop -with out a Read More...
The most common question any psychic is asked is when is he/she coming Mr. / Mrs. Right that is, I even had one woman want to know what he did for a living and what car he drove. My answer although not popular is always the same if I tell you he is a plumber named Joe who drives a blue pick up you will start stalking all plumbers fitting this description and probably end up spending 5 years in jail. Chances are if you are looking for someone to come in and rescue you then there are bigger Read More...
When your beautiful baby girl is 10 years old one day and wants to update her bedroom, you just might find yourself pouring over a box of lullaby cassettes & Cd’s and waxing nostalgic.
I remember the days of tolerating Barney. I remember how happy I was when Blue’s Clues came along and took over Barney’s place in her heart. I remember the toys and dolls she coveted, and how she loved with all of her being each thing she held dear.
I took some time out from work last week and went for a leisurely walk. Along the way I took some photographs of the autumn. So many people commented on how lovely they are. I do love the colors and the vibrancy of it all but the beauty of it all is almost tarnished for me because I confess that I Read More...
My name is Ann, and I’m a librarian. I spend most of my time helping other people navigate the vast amounts of information out there to find the bits that fit their needs the best. This column is your chance to ask for help in finding whatever elusive information you’re looking for, whether that be a fact to settle a bet, or Read More...
My father is a hoot. Born in 1926 in rural Iowa, he grew up on a farm in Oregon before the rural areas were electrified. After a decade or two in the Big City, he’s been back on the farm, now cosily fortified with satellite TV, a deep well with a fast pump, and all the electric lights he could ever want, for better than 20 years now.Read More...
I figure that I could write a whole book about fire prevention, because that is right in line with my business. I make and sell candles, and usually you don’t think of this when you think of fires, you think of forests burning down, or a wall of fire moving down a hillside, or even a house fire, that most believe are caused by electrical malfunctions.
But, candle fires are reported about once every hour in the United States ! That’s right, one an hour! And most fires attributed to Read More...
Suicide was a word from my mom’s mouth. Most suicides are triggered from depression. What changed her mind? My birth. She felt, “finally someone to love and to love me in return.”
Let me wind back the hands of time a little so you understand why my mom would feel this way. My grandmother married a man who grew up in Read More...
A passion of mine is erotic fiction. There’s something decadent about writing it. Or, perhaps, it’s just the intensity of it that does it for me. I’m not sure, but I do know that I love it.
Recently, I was asked how exactly did I become interested in writing erotica. There is a single word that says it all for me:
April.
No, I’m not talking about the month, I’m talking about the woman. She’s the person who started me on the path of Read More...
This is a wonderful and exciting column for me to write, and I look forward to writing many, many more for all of you reading this.
My name is Kat, and I have been creating things ever since I was a little girl.
I have always had a project or two going, and I am completely self-taught.
I won’t say I am Read More...
Breast cancer, the biggest scare of my life was when I found that lump in my breast. The look on the doctors face, alone, was enough to tell me that it was a worst case scenario. Suddenly you think that there is too much of life to live for and it can’t be nearly over. So many thoughts raced through my head, all at once, that it was impossible to sort them into some sensible order. And I ran. I ran away from everything and everyone, for a long agonizing week. I beat myself up, blamed Read More...
Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel! Feliz Navidad! Mele Kalekemaka!
Hope your day is absolutely wonderful!
Read More...I wish you all a Happy Holiday!
I received an email the other day that I thought was beautiful. I had to share it with you.
It speaks to the spirit and strength of women.
I have the “One Flaw” that many of us have.
Often times we lose focus of what makes us beautiful, unique individuals, and focus on the fact that we may need to lose ten pounds, or did we take care of everyone the way we should.
We put a lot of expectations on ourselves to be all things to Read More...
So, it rained the whole time we were in There is something about the pure clean sparkle across a blanket of snow that brightens my heart. And something about the cold icy light that reflects from every inch of a shimmery expanse seems to tell me there is so much more I’ve yet to see and discover.
I’ve seen the spirit of perseverance in snow caped roses. They held out all through the fall, and even in their waning glory, their gardener let them remain. So pink and softly cupped, frozen in mid bloom, now claimed by Read More...
Where the heck are people’s manners this time of year? Has the spirit of giving gotten displaced by harried greed?
I know our economy is in the dumper, but good will towards your fellow man is always a welcome change no matter the economy. Christmas shopping is a wicked evil thing to participate in right now. People all think it’s about them, and the average well mannered individual doesn’t stand a chance.
Navigating an average department store is no longer Read More...
I was in two malls yesterday…no, not Christmas shopping, I was looking for paper clips…and it is likely I won’t go again until after the “festive season.” Based on my brief but brutal experiences yesterday, I have come up with a list of ten “DOs” and “DON’Ts” for holiday Read More...
Part 1 of 5
Well, we are back from Durban, Hubby is out of the hospital, I am mostly over my flu and subsequent head cold, and can again face the blank white screen and blinking cursor without feeling like I have to lay down for a few minutes. And yes, by the customs of my husband’s Hindu faith and culture, we are now officially wed.
We live in Cape Town, South Africa, and Hubby’s family lives in Durban, about two hours away by plane. Our wedding saga begins at the Cape Town Read More...
Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the place,
The evidence of the holiday,
Had left behind it’s trace.
The stockings were hung,
On the chimney with grace,
In hopes that Santa would leave,
A lot of his DNA.
The family was nestled,
All warm in their beds,
With visions of field kits,
Dancing in their heads.
Wearing Victoria’s Secret,
Tiptoeing down the stairs,
In hopes of capturing the Read More...
