Skip to main content

Festivus for the rest of us and all those other holidays

I doesn't seem much like Christmas. Winter Solstice has come and gone and still we've had no frost. Our high temperature today is predicted to be 80 degrees F. but will probably go higher. The high for Christmas Day is projected to be 82. Santa is going to be very uncomfortable in that red wool suit with the fur trim. He might want to wear a Speedo instead.

Whether or not the weather seems appropriate, however, the winter holidays relentlessly continue their march through our calendar. Today, Festivus; tomorrrow, Christmas Eve; then Christmas, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, New Year's Eve and Day...

Blogging will be sporadic for the next several days as I celebrate with my family. Whatever holidays you celebrate at this time of year, my wish for you is that they be filled with peace and joy. As for my house, just now it looks a little like this:



Comments

  1. Adorable! Can't go wrong with kittens!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Holidays, Dorothy, for you and your family. Many blessings in the year to come.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And the same to you, Carmen. I hope the new year holds nothing but good things for you and your family.

      Delete
  3. Well, we are having the cold weather in So Cal. Even rain, which we sorely need. I was just looking at the winter night sky and the waxing moon. Happy Holidays and I am glad to have made your acquaintance this year in the blogoverse!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Judy. And I've very much enjoyed meeting you. Your wonderful reviews have introduced me to several books that I might otherwise have missed. I hope your holidays are filled with joy and that 2016 is a terrific year for you and your family.

      Delete
  4. Happy Christmas Dorothy. Not too much kitty related destruction I hope!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, they've been very good so far. Santa may visit them after all. And a happy Christmas and New Year to you.

      Delete
  5. Merry Christmas Dorothy. I hope you're having a lovely day. It doesn't seem much like Christmas here does it? Warm, humid... green.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jayne. We did have a great day in spite of the unseasonable weather. I hear it's supposed to be cold next week but I'll believe when I feel it!

      Delete
  6. Awww... I love the kitty video! There is some flooding in Alabama today and was 77 degrees yesterday. Merry Christmas! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Y'all have had a spell of bad weather these last couple of days. Maybe relief is on the way with some cooler temperatures.

      Delete
  7. How sweet! Made me think of my best friend, a cat rescuer. Happy New Year; may the weather be kind to us all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Blessings on your friend. Cats need all the help they can get. And a very happy New Year to you, Alana.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters!  Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...