A Christmas quicky

Dearest readers, There has been so much that I've wanted to share with you all! Some of it made it to page but not publish so I'm airing my dirty laundry now, if you will - so wrinkle your noses and keep reading!

Last Friday for instance, I really meant to tell you all what an awfully good cook I am. How I made a chicken pot pie from scratch (nearly), mindful of the need for a hearty winter supper. How splendid it looked, straight from the oven, and how tasty too - I might add (though perhaps I'd gotten a bit carried away grinding the pepper mill). Imagine me and Monty sitting down, nearly done our delicious meal. Both smitten with a forkful of pastry at the tail end of the meal we finally realized it I'd left out the key ingredient!

Certainly I accounted for it the night before, when I stayed up late preparing so I could simply throw it all together before dinner. But, after all the slicing and dicing, preheating and seasoning I really did forget. I forgot to take the chicken out of the fridge and add a dose of what the pie had been so aptly named after! What a laugh at my expense!

Then there was today... With best intentions and one foot forward I'd spent nearly the whole day popping, I dare think I could stand seeing another kernel of corn as long as I live! 5 different kinds of madness later, minus a few old maids for measure - I can honestly say homemade Christmas treats are certainly insane in the chaos of the holiday, I'm now superbly sure.

Oh, and you'd hardly believe me if I told you about the post office conundrum! Simply read my entry about the same time last year. It's simply now a tradition no doubt.


So, until next time... Holly Jolly to you all!

Jostle

Every year I plan on making Christmas presents by hand or ordering them online. Also, every year that opportunity slips away as time does on my procrastination calendar.

I think my resolve for the upcoming year will be about following through on those best intentions of mine. But that's next year.

If I'm lucky I make good with a few planned gift baskets. A couple of Internet purchases are made but having them arrive on time has been both hit and miss, I'm afraid.

Those crowded malls just need to be avoided. As much as I love some stores and their decorations, and mingling with kinder folk filled with holiday sparkle, the grand scheme is a bit much for me. Heck, I bet anything on that large a scale is for most people actually.

I'm up for suggestions on gift matters and help with my shopping woes. That is to say, if you aren't too busy with your own. I bet you are, I suppose.

Out About

Today we lagged the beginning of the day in front of the TV. Watching 'The Dog Whisperer" has become a weekend ritual for us (including the pooches). Later we ran a few errands for our pets (we have ginormous fish too), and purchased building supplies for the currently dilapidated bedroom.

Of course, after a grocery run we stopped for the habitual Saturday treat of fresh baked goods and coffee (The new bakery is so conveniently situated next door to our neighbourhood Starbucks). Who could only choose one and not have the other?

I better wrap it up, and start a pizza for supper (it won't make itself). Maybe I'll catch up on the pile of DVDs, settling in for a movie tonight.

Santa baby

Last night kicked off the chilly weekend with a cheery and spirited start.
Our night was spent sharing a delightful dinner with dearly missed friends. It had been ages since we had seen them last. The evening was made catching up - full of conversation, nibbling an Italian meal and delectable dessert.

It was so wonderful seeing them again.
I vow this time not to let such a lengthily duration separate us ever again. Perhaps babysitting will be the next agenda. That would at least give them both a chance to have some time to themselves. Up into the new year will be busy preparation for them. They are expecting a baby! How exciting!

Out with the old, in with the new

I've noticed a lot of my blog readers haven't come back from my my 'lapse' in writing. The last few days I've been redecorating/overhauling the design... it bored me too.

It's been a challenge. Without vector type software I'm finding myself in a bit of a pickle. Yes, I had all the graphic programs once (considering my background) but had to scale down when money was tight. Actually, It was more like it had me in strangle hold! Back then I had a Mac so the old stuff would have just been out of date and unsupported by now anyway. Out with the old and in with the new, I guess.

Then. Ah, then. It would have been a cake walk coming up with something visually appealing. Yet, it's much like riding a bike - as you never truly forget the how of doing it. But being out of practice hasn't helped much either. I digress, as I'm coming back to things I've found that I'm a bit out of touch.

Anyway, please bare with me as I implement some new ideas, and add some personality to this blog.
Thanks so much!

Savor the day

Endearing Sunday

This is my my day to wonder and delight in smaller things, not endure them. I set it aside in hope for fabulous finds of happenstance. Just a day to admire and make memento, deciding upon what simple things really hold true affection. Items not about ownership or possession, that need not be grand in scale or monetary value.

What has worth is often hidden. Here's a map, if your intent on such a day of discovery:

The voyage...
Peruse unusual areas, such as odd stores for nick-knacks. Maybe slip into your storage shed of forgotten. Visit a market, and consider adopting second-hand. Stay inside, or brave the weather but where you go may take a little digging.

It's good to know what it is your searching for...
Ask yourself: Does the item evoke a memory? Take you to a far get-away? Perhaps peek your curiosity or make you smile inside. If it's special to you, then you've found your gem.

Enjoy the looking!...
These are visual and tactile treats of a different kind, This is art for your heart, and such a thing that an entire day could partake a day of. This day is for free-falling. Forgo navigation, and meander a quiet shop aimlessly. Flip through the pages of a stack of books. Peek in the box at the back. Don't be afraid to brush the dust with your sleeve - being adventurous can sometimes get dirty.

Once you've settled on your treasure...
Land on the perfect spot to nestle with your findings. Drink in that space, fill your senses with your surroundings. Appreciate the moment and the minimum. Cherish whatever new odds and ends you've acquired. See that it's not just about the item, but the journey.

Do cave in to tiny luxuries....
Splurge on coffee and a decadent bite of your craving. Feed the soul.

~Indulge in your mini Sunday excursion!~

This bed by the window

Bumpy tufts and layers of cotton batting. Clouds unrolling like a quilt across a sleek blue linen sky. Wind sounds of whirring, like tiny fans in those sew shops. Blades spinning, scanning watchful of it's seamstress, and much like my tossing in bed...
- side to side-.

On any given Friday

Finally Friday,
now that's a blessing!

There's always relief when a week is near it's vanishing point.
FRIDAY, a bulls-eye flagging everyone's calendar. A chance to send those past seven days packing (with whatever emotional upheaval they'd brought to us).

Today, this very Friday is thought to be larger than some (though it's hardly so in my eyes). 'Black Friday', they say. A mad dash of unruly types gather to scour the stores for bargains. Foolish - that. Old stock marked down to make room for Holiday orders. A penny saved on the obsolete merchandise when everyone later begs for the newer versions.

Crowds are best avoided regardless of pinching for those prices - if you'd rather keep any holiday cheer intact.

Best to keep things simple.
Friday is always a big deal in itself, after all...

Not today

Some days are destined to be difficult.
Little things mount into mighty. Yet, as today pains me - there is no retreat. Just heavy sighs of struggle on sloping shoulders where the weight of the world seems carried.

Last night I was eager for today. Now I just want tomorrow... a day unlike this one.

The sopping mess

I've been spinning in a vortex of ordinary, pulling me in and taking me under. Caught in mid-cycle, muddled within the eddy of laundry in the washing machine. Dull as my dishwater. Beyond repair as my hair. But there is always tomorrow - the rinse and repeat.

More moments in another humid little room. Musty fishtanks, foul odour puppy-dog carpet and fur covered blankies, clean mixed with mingy piles of clothes covering forbade flooring. I pass the fridge and it's uneaten leftovers, walk across a stack of empty boxes due for recycling, then push my way through coats blocking the doorway (all the while thinking about how empty the hall closet seemed). Inside this room looms the ever-full hamper, a basket of fresh but wrinkled clothes and nary an extra hanger for them.

I know I must get to those dirty dishes. Sweep up kibble and hairballs. Start a rejectable supper. Maybe I'll wander off to play a mindless game and stop the wondering why. Does it even matter?

I recall a few journal entries that only made it to paper, I'd never posted. They seemed kind, dire, and so very fragile. Smudgy and greyed with pencil. Easy loss in a pocket unturned. Not near permanent as black type on a bright white background, a word file. Saved as, published - blogged into being.