Do you do New Year’s resolutions? Mom says these reso thingies are how some hoomans ring in the New Year. Like: This year I’m gonna:
“… all snug in her bed…”
Kimber: Mom just called me in from the yard. ‘Bout time. That big yellow ball in the sky is starting to spread across the horizon like a giant egg yolk. Temperatures are dropping. The Powder Puff just sauntered past. Why that canine lets her owner deck her out in that green and red jacket + reindeer antlers, I’ll never know.
Anyway, when Mom opened the porch door, I caught a whiff of Something Warm and Wonderful inside. She says, “Kimber, dinner! Come!”
Mom and I have cooked up something short and sweet for you today. Well, actually we cooked this up last year. But who’s counting? Besides. Ya see, one of us is being a lazy slug today (Hi, Mom). Come to think of it, I, Kimber, am a bit tuckered, too.
Mom says solitude can be hard to come by in our rush-rush, hurry up, instant everything society. Grabbing a few quiet moments to refresh and recharge can be a challenge any time. But it’s particularly tough during the holidays, huh?
So if holiday merry-making has you ready to tear your hair out or your festive feathers are a bit ruffled, this is for you.
Slow down. Grab a hot cuppa. Plop in a peppermint stick. Sit down. Put your feet up. Give Manheim Steamroller’s Stille Nacht (Silent Night) a listen. Five quiet minutes. You’ll be glad you did.
Know someone who could use a yuletide boost? Don’t forget to share!
Snowy field image credit: Public domain
Every year on this day we pause to remember and pay tribute to one of the best friends we ever had.
She was the most beautiful Yellow Lab ya ever saw.
We post the following reflection every year in Eve’s honor.
Kimber: You know I’m a happy camper, right? I mean, hey. My middle name is “merry and bright”! So I don’t quite get all this barking about “holiday stress.” Mom says it’s a thing. So it must be a thing.
Well. You also know I’m a helper. I help going out on walks and hikes. Cleaning up kitchen spills. Guarding the house. Especially from menacing deer. Lurking Fed Ex drivers. Sketchy-looking plastic bags.
Being a world class helper and all, I figure I better help with this holiday stress thing. So here are my top ten tips for reducing holiday stress. Ready? Okay. Here goes:
Yo! Wazzup?
Kimber: The ‘Ole Curmudgeon (TOC) can’t come to the blog right now. She’s hunting up the nearest plate and fork. So I’m gonna take over for a min, okay?
Now. You know that the OC is like, super-duper opinionated. On Pretty. Much. Everything. Especially books. We don’t apologize for that one bit. In fact, it’s one of Mom’s best features. (I can’t remember the other two at the moment. Can I get back to you on that that?)
Anyway, Mom’s been whaling away on the last few Kristin Hannah novels she read. Cuz they were like, lousy. Lookin’ at you, The Women. Distant Shores. Summer Island. The Four Winds. Barf-o-rama x4.
So Mom and I are diving into that “Christmas reading” thing. With both feet. And four paws. I’m not quite sure what ‘Christmas reading’ means. But if Mom likes it, then so do I!
We have some perennial favorites. Like Richard Paul Evans’ The Christmas Box. Earl Hamner Jr.’s The Homecoming. The Polar Express. That green dude, Whoville, and his dog Max. Luke 2.
We also grab some new titles every year. That’s how we found Dear Santa. By Nancy Naigle. I’ll let The ‘Ole Curmudgeon fill ya in:
Silly Mom. If she ever buys stock in Kleenex, we can retire and move to Tibet or somewhere. Cuz she says every once in a while a book, painting, message or song is so powerful that it’s a wee bit overwhelming.
I’m not sure what that means. But if it has Mom doing the sparkly, sniffly smiley thing it must be good.
Like getting hit with a thanksgiving tsunami. Like MercyMe’s Flawless.
This vid isn’t new. But one of us thought it’s just right for this here Thanksy Day thing. The other is still grabbing the Kleenex. Can you guess why?
Ever notice how short the time gets between November and January? It’s like it’s the first day of fall and then, whoosh! you’re ringing in the New Year. All in the blink of an eye.
I call it “holiday daze.” It seems to occur every year. Like you’ve barely recovered from that humdinger of a July 4th picnic and now you’re cruising grocery aisles looking for turkey and cranberry sauce. This phenom seems more pronounced with the older than dirt crowd. (Don’t tell Mom I said that, okay? I’m still angling for dinner samples!)
Well. Dazed or not, one thing’s for sure: If it’s November, then The Holidays are just around the corner. And with them the memories of Thanksgiving Pasts. And stories. Lots and lots of stories.
So we thought now would be a good time for a blast from the past. We’re revisiting a Thanksgiving story Mom wrote about a hundred years ago. It’s called John Boy & Gentle Voices: A Thanksgiving Reflection.
Because most everyone has a holiday-ish story. Here’s one of ours.
Bon Appétit!
What’s your Thanksgiving story?
Yeah. You. Can ya spare a cake the size of New York? Cuz today’s Mom’s birthday. And that’s how big the cake’s gotta be in order to accommodate all them thar candle thingies.
I was gonna tell ya how old Her Momness is today. But let’s just say she was an eye witness to the parting of the Red Sea and leave it at that, okay?
Anywho. In honor of this auspicious occasion, Mom came up with a list of 40 Things I’ve Learned Since the Earth’s Crust Cooled. We’re calling it The Birthday List. The short version. In no particular order. It goes like this:
Pages & Paws 