After dealing with the “polar vortex”, the unending snow and a delightful case of Pneumonia, I needed something to cheer me up so I went through the archives and found this pictures to help warm me up!
This was a sunset in the Caribbean. I can almost feel the warmth.
The sun began to settle into the blanket of the clouds.
The sky just looks so animated and inviting.
It seemed like the sun’s journey had ended.
But it poked through the clouds before disappearing into the horizon.
Nature is beautiful.
No matter how cold and snowy winter can be, how long it takes for the green to grow through the remnants of winter, how hot summer can feel or how quickly the leaves change and fall, there is beauty in each day. Embrace it and enjoy every moment.
Another Christmas has come and gone leaving us with more great memories for the scrapbooks in our minds.
My sister-in-law kidnapped my mom from her new home and Christmas Eve was spent standing in a sub-zero temperature to watch Santa Claus go by on the fire truck. This has been a tradition in our family since we moved to our small town in 1976. This year, however, was the first year that a Command Post vehicle followed behind the fire truck in case Santa became thermally challenged. I’m sure somewhere in his mind the Ho-Ho-Ho evolved into Ho-Ho-Holy S*&t it’s cold up here.
Once again we went, as a family, to church but this year there was no fear of having to don a Shepherd costume and stand in front of a crowd. Roles had been pre-assigned and we were able to sit in our pews and enjoy the performance. The three Wise Men this year were comprised of an older gentleman, a seven-ish year old and a stand up comedian, turning their show into a couple of wise guys and a very confused child! Hilarity ensued and our hearts were definitely light allowing us to forget the frigid temperature outside and the fact that the heating system inside the church couldn’t fight off the cold.
Christmas morning welcomed us with a beautiful sunrise and a temperature of -30C but nothing could slow the pace of gifts being exchanged and paper flying. Although we had decided a few years ago not to exchange Christmas gifts, my brother surprised me with a CD of my grandfathers dialect stories that had been converted from a vinyl album. It was an amazing gift and one that I will treasure. My nephews ventured off in their own directions, one wearing his new blue tooth headphones and the other jumping into a new book and devouring the words. My brother headed for the kitchen and, even after five cups of coffee, I still managed to squeeze in an hour and a half nap before enjoying the turkey dinner my brother and family created.
After pushing our chairs back to let the turkey settle, we listened to some of my grandfather’s stories as a family. My youngest nephew had listened to the recording so many times he could recite bits of the stories and my oldest nephew punctuated the end of a conversation with one of the best endings to one of the stories – “so long, fat ass”. His timing was impeccable and there may or may not have been some cheesecake remnants sprayed onto the tablecloth.
It was agreed that my mom would have another sleepover and, one by one, we began to assume something reminiscent of a reclining pose. My 13-year old nephew was a sitting duck on the couch when the tickling began. The musical sound of his laughter filled the living room and, after exhausting all my efforts, I finally heard the three words that every Aunt longs to hear – “Stop, I’m peeing.”
I hope you all had a Christmas celebration that will leave you with stories of your own to pass down over the years. May our hearts continue to be light and may we feel this same Christmas spirit throughout 2014.
With the barrage of holiday movies on television and the impending calendar date of the actual Christmas celebration just around the corner, the many images of Santa Claus, old and new, are generously scattered throughout our channel selections. Animated versions of the benevolent being as well as the portrayal of Kris Kringle by well-known actors give us abundant opportunity to delve back into that childhood fantasy that all of us once had.
Each portrayal of Pere Noel allows me to travel back in time and dip into the well of innocence I had as a child. It lets me live in a simpler time when life was less complicated and everything seemed magical.
Santa Claus embodies the spirit of happiness and giving. His cherubic face symbolizes unending love and perhaps it is that feeling of love that keeps the spirit of his message alive in my heart. Santa Claus may not have a genuine physical presence, or more feasibly the cynicism of my adult life disallows me from seeing that presence, but the true message of his existence still flows through my veins.
Perhaps the North Pole is that idyllic peace of mind I am wrapped in when I allow myself the child-like happiness that I inexplicably only allow myself to feel this time of year. Sure, I’m generally a happy person throughout the rest of the year but there is a more youthful quality to my happiness during the Christmas holidays that I wish I could capture and recreate on a more frequent basis.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He lives in our hearts and will continue to exist there as long as we believe in the magic of happiness.
Another poetic duet with my dear friend Sage Doyle. Please click the link to his page and treat yourself to some of his other writing.
***
Amidst the calling wind I turn
to find you there, bating
the imprints you left behind
as you found your voice
~
I watched you follow that cry
churning in desperate circles
chasing the sound you had forgotten
remembering when your voice was strong
~
It was then that I began to fall
if only for the reaching, the sound
of my own echoes were of remorse
the recall of these discrepancies
~
I search for your hand
to steady me and hold me as I fall
stronger than any voice in the dark
the errant sounds land heavily on my heart
~
It is this restitution which I embrace
in order to continue on, calling along the way
while you become the stronghold,
the stage of my convictions
~
I seek and hold the dulcet tones
those symbols of your existence in my reality
those things that hold me true to who I am
and that voice that draws me to you
If you’re in it just to succeed, you’re screwed. If you’re in it because you have a burning need to express yourself, that does not allow you to compromise, you have a chance at making something truly exceptional.” ~ Bob Ezrin
Because I have been excitedly blogging about my Christmas gift to myself, you undoubtedly know that I went to see The Tenors in Toronto Monday night. Let me preface this post by telling you I got much more than I bargained for. One of my very best friends, Kenny Munshaw (who happens to be in the music industry as well and just co-wrote a song with The Tenors) graciously accepted my pleas to meet this group of talented guys and made my wish come true.
I have been a fan of this group for quite a while. Not only do I appreciate their musical range and the impeccable harmony of their voices but I truly admire the depth of their characters as human beings and their passion for sharing their gifts and their warmth and honesty with the world.
Music affects us all. It is a universal form of communication that can span any language barrier because it is spoken with emotion and not just strings of words woven together.
The Tenors sing because they love to sing. You can feel it in every performance. You can see it in the way they watch each other on stage and embrace after each has performed a heartfelt solo. They are not entertaining to make money, they are doing it to share their love of music – and THAT makes all the difference in the world.
If you have not listened to them, I urge you to follow the link above to their website and prepare yourself to go on a musical journey. It is a passionate soul and a true entertainer that can make us forget the time and place in which we exist and become transported to a place of magic.
Thank you Remi, Victor, Fraser, Clifton, Kenny, Jeffrey, Max and Darryn “Neville” for an evening I will cherish.
Within my fleeting moments of angst and strain,
when I have to look deep within myself,
I draw from a pool of joy that can only originate from one place.
I open the photo album in my memory
and search for the one face that can pull me from under those dark covers.
I seek out the look that shows me love in its purest form.
I find my happiness in that unwavering sense of devotion,
that loyalty that can bond friends forever.
The angst and strain melt away knowing this face will greet me.
She is my happy place.
Written for the 100 Word Song Challenge over at My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog.
I initiated a Toy Drive at the Lodge where I work and this is the first year I have taken on such an enterprise. Shamrock Lodge agreed to donate an off-season weekend for two as our way of saying thank you for donating to our toy drive. Family names who have donated to our cause will be entered for a chance to win and a name will be drawn on December 21st.
The first picture is round one of the toy drive which was overwhelming in itself. We delivered the first round of toys to the OPP Toy Drive last Saturday and made Natalie, the OPP officer, a bit weepy.
Today I went shopping once again with the generous donations that continue to come in from all areas of our lives. Friends, family, hotel guests and local residents have gone above and beyond to help us with our toy drive and make sure every child has something under the tree this year.
The next picture is only the beginning of round two. We are still collecting for another week and I am already excited about donning the Elf hat again and delivering the toys to their rightful destination so they can find their way into the hands and heart of a child.
I will definitely be making this an annual event!! Have a great weekend everyone and when you are out shopping, be sure to pick up that one extra toy and donate it to a cause that wants every kid to have a Christmas!!
If there is one thing the holidays should teach us, it’s to let our worries go. It may only be for a few precious days while we focus on the things that are truly important but if we can embrace that serene feeling while it is in our presence perhaps we can carry that feeling within us for an extended period of time and not have it fizzle out with the digestion of all that turkey!
Every year it seems stress increases exponentially around the Christmas holidays. The days that we get a reprieve from work are meant to be our “down time” but the pressure and time constraints of creating our own Hallmark holiday are overwhelming. The influx of family from all parts of the globe, the search and rescue mission for the perfect Christmas gifts and the attempts to give Martha Stewart a run for her money at the dinner table all compound to make the stress level reach its maximum capacity.
I had the Christmas Carols gently soothing my mood the other day and I took a moment to really listen and absorb the words. “Have yourself a Merry little Christmas, let your heart be light”. That was an “a-ha” moment as Oprah would say. That simple string of words had such a profound affect on me and I realized that it doesn’t matter if the presents I wrap look like my dog wrapped them. Nobody is going to care if I spend Christmas day in my pajamas and my hair looks like I stuck my finger in an electric outlet. The holidays are for just being, not for being perfect.
Take a moment to ask yourself what the holidays really mean to you. Is your definition of Christmas a perfectly wrapped gift? Or is it the precious moments when you share a laugh or a hug? Let your heart be light and enjoy what the holiday is really meant to represent. If you worry too much about the perfection of the celebration you’ll miss the beauty of the holiday.
So, the beginning of the subject line is a slight deviation from a Christmas song…but it is appropriate on more than one level. For those of you who love Romantic Mondays as much as I do, I am channeling my inner high school geek and perpetuating a rumor that has piqued my curiosity.
Romantic Monday will breathe life once again this coming Monday, December 16th, or so I have heard and am hoping. For those of you acquainted with this special day, I hope the holiday romantic in you will join me in making sure this rumor comes to life! Be sure to stalk Edward Hotspur and let’s make this rumor a reality.
Merry Romancemas!!
polysyllabic profundities 