And happy 2021. Although I know it’s merely the tick of an arbitrary number, it’s nice to be at the beginning of the year and know that overall, it will improve month by month.* Today I am PLANNING. I have…
December Extras 2020
Photos and thoughts from December that were a little thin for their own posts. With the absence of almost everything that defines the holidays for me, I tried to bring more ritual into my home. I observed Winter Solstice for…
We Made a Yule Log Cake!
But first, happy 18th birthday to my blog! Eighteen years ago today I moved from a flat HTML site with monthly updates to updating daily/a few times a day on Blogger. Most of the archives are online and navigable by…
Show Us Your Books: My Favorite Reads of 2020
Remember when I used to regularly read? Me too. It was early 2020. The before times when I used to take a train to work every day and NOT spend that time doomscrolling about the weird new virus in Wuhan,…
I loved Die Hard, which is not a Christmas Movie
Last year I bought WM these Die Hard themed Funko Pops as Christmas decor because he, like many on The Internet, believe that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. And I humored him, because I had never seen the movie…
What I’m Listening to: Dominick the Donkey
This was on Twitter the other day: And I was a little bit surprised, but not much, because WM says he never heard of the song (and hated it on first listen). As a highly-diluted Italianish-American, I’m happy to fix…
Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus
DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.Papa says, ‘If you see it in THE SUN it’s so.’Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? VIRGINIA O’HANLON.115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH…
Gift Wrapping Tips
Back in college, I worked at the JCPenney department store at our local mall. I got the job a few days before my 19th birthday and because I “seemed bright” I was assigned to the Catalog/Credit/Customer Service department, which was…
Ollie, December 2020
Last year or the year before we received a Grinch reindeer antler from our BarkBox. Because our dogs are not the well-behaved influencer dogs with 1 million followers, the photo shoot did not go well. But that’s fine because it…
Our Christmas Trees
(written while listening to Classic Christmas Music) When we moved to our very suburban, split-level house on Literary Lane, we knew that our Christmas tree belonged in the large window facing the street. And it looks GORGEOUS there. And we…
Holiday Cards 2020
(blogged while listening to John Denver & The Muppets: A Christmas Together) I enjoy sending and receiving cards for the holiday. It’s an old-timey habit that I really thought was dying out a few years back. Turns out, you just…
Candles
This time of year we light candles to celebrate the retreating darkness, to celebrate miracles and survival, to tell the story of a baby born to poor parents who grew up to be the light of the world, and/or to…
