Miranda Hart via her email 12/29/20: 

"Have a Gentle New Year."

Wednesday's Wisdom...

Welcoming in a "Happy New Year" doesn't mean an end to all that has happened in 2020. So I'm going to hold on to the following:

Tip for a Tuesday...

 
and

Headlines state that China will be overtaking the US economy by 2028, 

5 years earlier than expected due to Covid.

What's that old saying - 

"Charity begins at home."

I'm going to make a concerted effort to buy "Made in America" products, as well as British products. (Ours is a dual citizenship family.)

I will be checking out the where products come from before purchasing. Yes, they may be more expensive, but I feel it will be worth it to support our workers. Also, my daughters frequently buy products using Etsy. Another plus? These sites are usually run solely by women.

Care to join me?

A Monday Memory....

This is a very old photo of my Dad's Shop Class, probably around 1929, taken at the high school he attended in Brooklyn, NY. My Dad is the young man resting his arm on the cedar chest he had just completed. He gave the chest to my Mother when they married, nearly 20 years later. Storing many precious items, including our Christening outfit, tiny sweater sets and baby blankets, it held pride of place in my parent's bedroom until my Mother passed away. I can still remember the scent of cedar every time the lid was lifted and the feeling of being on a treasure hunt to see what lay beneath the carefully folded layers of tissue paper. Utilizing the skills he learned in Shop, my Dad would later build tables, cabinets, desks, a marionette puppet stage and a huge tree house for his kids to play in.

If I were put in charge of Education, Shop Class would be a required course for all students. Imagine the sense of pride one would feel making something with their own hands and knowing how to do repairs. Oh, and I would also reinstate Home Economics Class for all. Though I may have groaned at times in that class, I still incorporate many of the techniques Mrs.P taught us for cooking and sewing. 

Merry Christmas to all!

 

Thursday's Thought for the Day...

 source: Pinterest

Wednesday's Wisdom...

Tip for a Tuesday....

Daughter #1 told me about a great suggestion she saw and I said I would share it.

Are some of the gifts you ordered still in transit or sitting in a post office for days on end and you're afraid they won't arrive in time?

Take a photo of the gift from the website you ordered it from, print it out, place it in a box and wrap it up. At least the receiver will know what you had hoped to give them. 

If, like most people this year, you won't actually be seeing the receiver in person, then email a photo of the gift. Maybe add Christmas colors and borders to the email to make it a bit more festive. 

What is it they say, "It's the thought that counts." So let your recipient know you were thinking of them even if their gift is still out there, languishing somewhere in the long line of transit.

*Oh, if you didn't buy some gifts yet, 

you can always send an e-gift card!

Arrives in minutes!!

A Monday Memory....

My visit with Santa, probably 1959 

Thirty years later...

My girls with Santa, 1989

Thursday's Thought for the Day...

source: Pinterest

Wednesday's Wisdom....

source: Pinterest

Tip for a Tuesday...

Based on experience,
I highly recommend keeping and shovel and broom
by your door.
Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

It will save you from having to climb through the deep snow to reach them in your garage or shed.

A Monday Memory...

This is a photo of my Dad, many years ago, building a tiny snowman on the round picnic table he had built when we were young. 

(Apologies for the lack of definition of this photo - it is actually a photo of an old photo.) 

Wearing his favorite buffalo plaid hat and jacket he had just finished putting out more food for the birds - a task he he saw to each morning, no matter the weather. 

His outfit, in addition to his height of 6'3", certainly made it easy for me to spot him in the parking lot whenever he was assigned to pick me up from a high school dance. 

I feel blessed to still have that hat. It is sitting on the shelf in my closet at the moment and makes me smile every time I see it.

Friday Fotos...

First attempt at making a reversible table runner...    

Thanks to help from my Englishman with the cutting, it turned out pretty well.

Based on that success, I then made two placemats!

Thursday's Thought for the Day...

source: Pinterest

 Especially mothers of young children,

 who desperately need a break!

Wednesday's Wisdom...

Boy was I wrong!

Tip for a Tuesday...

 MAIL EARLY!!!!!!

In fact, MAIL NOW

if you can.

They are not kidding when they say it may take longer this year.

They are not getting things there on time.

This I know from a current experience.

Friday Fotos...

 The Englishman surprised me with a new tree topper this year.

It is in honor of our beloved basset hounds, Dudley and Bentley, who are no longer with us. We still miss them terribly.

It is replacing the Angel (aka "The Fairy", as he refers to it) which has topped our tree for decades.

It's just perfect.

Thursday's Thought for the Day...

Each one of us 

contributes something unique 

and special to the lives of others!

Wednesday's Wisdom...

Tip for a Tuesday...