Dear Reader:

Honey’s home from the mountains! It was hard to get down this Christmas season with the recent snow but she and Mike slipped out between two snowy cold fronts this past Tuesday. Yeah!!!

I ran over yesterday and we had time to talk a little and catch up a little bit more. I discovered that Cocoa, Mike’s little dog, and I love each other. Brooke, Riley was jealous…you must come with me next time…so neither dog feels left out.

Everything  looked so pretty and Honey was busy preparing collards to cook…now that is one southern woman.

Honey says she just picks up things that remind her of friends or family throughout the year but it all adds up to grocery size bags filled to the brim by Christmas time. Honey is the giver of all givers…hands down.

This is a taste of some of the fun, sweet, useful, and whimsical gifts in the bag.

Honey is now making bowls and other feeding decor with bumblebees…a reminder of my mother. Honey’s hummingbird and its subsequent legend was an addition to the tree this year.

Honey supports so many fellow artisans… like the wine glass hand-painted by a friend.

Legend says that the Hummingbird floats free of time, carrying hope for love, joy, and celebration. The Hummingbird is delicate grace reminding us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation. 

After returning from Honey’s I was determined to finish my raking job. Vickie had suggested that I just rake the two piles over to the side of the street instead of stopping to pick them up and put in a wheel barrow. It was still hard work but so much easier on the back than stopping and bending every few minutes. I really did feel like Wonder Woman by the time I had finished…I had done it. (Some ‘Rocky” music please!)

Darkness was beginning to descend when I looked up from raking and saw the last streaks of a winter eve. (winter solstice is next week.) Winter is beautiful in its own right too.

CHRISTMAS AWAKENS WONDER

Christmas awakens wonder in the heart. All belief depends on wonder. Where there is no wonder, there can be no faith. Wonder is a beautiful way of seeing. Wonder never rests on the surface of a fact or situation. It voyages inwards to discover why something is the way it is. Wonder celebrates the mystery and depth of presence that is within us and around us. It has no greed to grasp or own the heart of a thing. As Patrick Kavanagh said: “Through a chink too wide comes in no wonder.” Wonder keeps experience fresh and original. At the Winter Solstice the divine presence stirs in the crib of the heart infusing our eyes with the glow of wonder.

John O’Donohue
Excerpt from BBC Radio 4, Christmas Reflection, 1998.

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So until tomorrow….Take a minute to pause and wonder at the miracle of life in all its beauty! Even a pile of leaves!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh