Merry Christmas!
A Visit from St. NicholasBy Clement Clarke Moore’T WAS the night before Christmas, when all through the houseNot a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that ST. NICHOLAS soon would be there;The children were nestled all snug in their beds,While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snowGave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,With a little old driver, so lively and quick,I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roofThe prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head, and was turning around,Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back, And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bowAnd the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;He had a broad face and a little round belly,That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose,And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,And away they all flew like the down of a thistle,But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”Labels: Holidays
'Tis the Season
In spite of the weather many of us are experiencing, I hope this holiday season is proving to be a joyous one for all. My many friends in Oklahoma experienced an ice storm this week. I know what that's like. In January of '05, we experienced the same thing here. We spent a full week without power and with streets and highways that were beyond challenging. My daughter and her family insisted we come stay with her. Seven days of ten of us sharing their two-bedroom apartment was...interesting. But she had power and HEAT, and we didn't. I'm not sure who was more relieved when our power returned, my daughter and her family or us. But power does get restored and ice does melt. Life does return to whatever normal is, so hang in there, friends!
My upcoming January Harlequin American includes a snowstorm that brings the hero (Nick) and heroine (Becca) closer together. It was also a turning point for the heroine and brought a major change to the way she looked at their relationship.
I loved writing about Nick's family and Becca's three children in Family by Design, and I'm so very pleased that Whitney Kate Sullivan at Romantic Times enjoyed them and the book. Her review is here, so if you're curious, take look.
And I've added an excerpt of the book, so if the season is getting frantic and you need to stop and take a deep breath for a few minutes peace, relax with a glimpse of the story. I hope you enjoy it AND this holiday season!Labels: Holidays
Happy New Year!!
I'm only a couple of days late, but it's been a busy start to 2007 here.Nevertheless, may each and every one have a joyful and prosperous new year. May 2007 be a year of happiness and peace.Labels: Holidays
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wishing you joy, abundance, and love on this Thanksgiving Day.Labels: Holidays
Happy Halloween! aka The Moral of the Story
This post should really be titled, "The Disadvantages of Aging." I'm not yet ready to officially announce being old, but I will bite the bullet and admit that my memory is failing me...often to my disadvantage. I'll simply skip the story and announce the moral: Always keep sign-in information, including passwords, in a safe place. It's easy to forget them and can lead to no posting to blogs.I doubt I can even begin to catch up, so I won't try. That said, we've moved out of summer here and into fall. Yesterday was beautiful, with the high temp of 76, but a bit windy. Those of us in Kansas understand windy. Then last night, the wind picked up, just about the time I ventured out for provisions, i.e. food, and the temps dropped dramatically. It was even worse an hour or so later when one of my daughters asked me to accompany her on a search for a new Halloween costume. Temp was in the upper 30's and wind gusts were close to 40 mph. The moral of that story: Don't go looking for a Halloween costume the night before Halloween--unless you're a child who isn't picky. And she's 24. Today we're eating Halloween cookies. My plans for the evening, while my own grown-up kids take their kids trick or treating, is to turn the lights out and veg out on old scary movies, accompanied by buttery popcorn.So Happy Halloween, All Hallows Eve, and Samhein to all!! I hope it's an evening of delightful shudders. And Happy Birthday to Lisa Childs, the Ditzy Chix own Halloween girl!Labels: Holidays
It's Always Something...
Is it ever! A few weeks ago, the server where many of the websites I've designed and maintain suddenly crashed. Or something. It took most of 3 days for the server guru to get everything running again, but he did. (Bless you, Charlie!) At first glance everything was fine, but I soon received emails with comments of, "My new page is missing!" and "What happened to the photos?" Several days and emails later, not to mention a few hours along the way, everything was back to normal. But it did throw off the schedule I was trying to make a habit of. That's life, though, and peace (or something that slightly resembles it) has returned. I am sooooo grateful. *grin*I hope everyone had a terrific 4th of July! Me? Well, I stayed home, sans fireworks, and to be honest, I didn't miss them all that much. There were plenty of pops and cracks going on in my neighborhood, so it wasn't like I completely missed the sounds of celebration. Although there was once in my life that I almost did miss it.The summer before my senior year in high school, I joined a cousin who was in my class and 19 other Kansas high-schoolers for a church group trip to Mexico. We stayed on a garlic farm, about 200 miles from Mexico City, so it was no border trip for us! We worked for most of the two weeks, painting the inside and outside of the dormitories. During the winter, the farm hosted a school there, and many of the students lived on the farm while they studied.As the 4th of July drew nearer, we realized that we would have no way to celebrate it in traditional American style. We were disappointed, to say the least. We'd been gone just long enough to have become the tiniest bit homesick, especially because the holiday was approaching quickly. We talked about it, and finally decided to do what we could with the little American-style resources we had and have a barbecue, of sorts. There was no refrigeration on the farm, so we had to go to the nearby village each day to purchase the food for our meals. If I remember, we had hamburgers and what would pass for buns on the 4th. We also had fireworks! Well, not the type we were accustomed to, but it happened to be a Feast Day in the village, so we were able to get Mexican fireworks. I still have the one "sparkler" that I brought home with me. It looks like a kitchen safety match, but when scratch on a rough surface, it sends out sparks, much like our own sparklers here. Just those small touches made everything right for us.The 4th was also the birthday of one of two young Mennonite men who were doing their CO service in Mexico, driving around that country and helping teach farming methods. We all became friends with Wayne and Steve. They were great guys, and we were so pleased that we could share our little celebration with them and honor Wayne's birthday at the same time.I'd do it all again, if I had the chance, but I do like being here in the States for this particular holiday.Labels: Holidays
Happy Flag Day
 I'm sure the majority of people don't know what day Flag Day falls on, and some may not even realize there is such a thing, but because I share my birthday with the flag, I remember it every year. I'll admit that, as I get older, I'd often like to forget about it. Once past that 40 mark (and that has been a while ago for me), birthdays are just another reminder that life isn't the carefree days of fun it was when we were kids, and responsibility is the key word.Kristi Gold shared her memories of summer on her website, so I'll take a page from her book, so to speak, and share a memory of birthday and flags.When I was about 7 or 8, I was hoping for a wading pool for my birthday. It was a quiet day, that particular June 14, and as our the custom, a flag was hanging near our porch, celebrating the holiday and our great country. I was standing just inside the doorway, watching the red, white, and blue wave in the summer breeze and wondering what glories the day would bring me. Hey, at that age, it's definitely all about ME, right? A big truck pulled up, with SEARS on the side. Oh, that had to be something for me! Sure enough, it was my wading pool, and it was a doozy! Rectangular in shape, it had triangle shaped metal seats in the four corners. It lasted through neighbor kids and me for several years, but what has lasted more is watching that flag, even though I wasn't aware of the true meaning of it and what it stood for. So enjoy this little holiday! I sure intend to. *grin*Labels: Holidays
Happy First Day of Spring!
Happy First Day of Spring!Now, if only it felt like spring out there... We're welcoming in the new season under a winter storm watch. But I expect that by the end of the week, it will be much more spring-like. We just have to get through this nasty part first. After all, March did come in like a lamb here, so Old Man Winter is giving his last shout.It's been some time since I've posted, but I've been busy. Besides writing, I also design websites, and I've been wrapped up in a few of those. Pennwriters, Inc., a Pennsylvania group of writers, now has a newly designed home on the web. Elizabeth Sinclair's website also had a brand new look. Look for more in the future for Kristi Gold and Heather Waters.Back in January, Carol Stephenson tagged me for a 7 item meme that I haven't had time to complete. I've put it on my list of things to do this week, so with a little luck, it'll be posted here soon.Until later, Happy Spring!Labels: Holidays
Catching Up, Part 1 - Post Halloween
 Time sure can get away when a person is busy! Halloween has been over for more than 2 weeks, and we've made it through the first of our family's weddings. (Catching Up, Part 2 to come.) My 3 grandkids (kidlets, as I call them) enjoyed their candy-filled holiday, although little Gavin was pretty tuckered out long before the trick-or-treating was over for the other two. I've included a photo of them, all dressed up in their costumes. Scarlett, who is almost 4, was a cat. For the second year in a row. Is it obvious that she likes cats? Alex, who was less than a week from her third birthday, was a princess. Cinderella, to be exact, but she didn't get the movie on DVD until her birthday, so "Princess" was good enough for her. Gavin was a pint-sized vampire--sans the fangs--and looked quite stunning in his little "Count" suit. I'm sure there's still candy left. Both moms and dads were smart and tucked it away and are still handing it out to the little ones, a little at a time. They're all already planning costumes for next year!Labels: Family Ties, Holidays
Happy Halloween!
With a wedding coming up in my family in less than 2 weeks, time has been short to do everything I've wanted to do. But with today being a holiday, I wanted to stop in and spread the spirit.  Halloween's origins date back to the 5th century and the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow -in). It marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of winter. It was believed that the souls of the dead walked among the living on this night. By the 7th century, the Christians attempted to replace the Celtic holiday by proclaiming November 1 as All Saints Day, to honor saints and martyrs. Yet Halloween lives on in most communities. If you'd like to read more about the history of Halloween and how our modern customs of this holiday came to be, I've included some links. http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/ Read about the origins of Halloween, check out some spooky recipies, and watch some creepy video clips. Halloween will be celebrated on the History Channel October 31 with the following programs: 2/3c History's Mysteries: Amityville: Horror or Hoax?
3/4c History's Mysteries: The Real Dracula
4/3c Time Machine: Bloodlines - Dracula Family Tree
5/4c History's Mysteries: Ancient Monster Hunters
6/5c Haunted History Of Halloween
7/6c Haunted History Of Halloween
8/7c Houdini: Unlocking The Mystery
10/9c UFO Files: Russian Roswell
11/10c Weird U.S. Creepy Curses More Halloween history:
http://wilstar.com/holidays/hallown.htm
http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/history.htm
http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/13587.xml
http://www.halloweenishere.com/history.html Hope your Halloween is fun and safe! Labels: Holidays
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