In spite of the overcast chilly weather yesterday … it was a joyful day! Anne, Donna, and I drove to Ridgeville to get barbecue at Duke’s …. part of Anne’s belated barbecue birthday present.
The little town was hopping… Christmas booths and tents were spread out over the empty lot across from Duke’s and the Christmas parade was on…. There is nothing more festive than a tiny town celebrating Christmas with gingerbread houses’ contests, holiday attired goats and all forms of holiday paraphernalia for sale.
For five dollars we could get our picture taken holding a Christmas goat… we passed! 😂
Then we were off to see Lisa at Hollow tree Nursery …. Donna wanted some camellia bushes -for her and a friend. We had come to the right place. (Anne and I had started a Christmas tradition of picking up an extra plate of barbecue for Lisa and this year I added a Christmas tree ornament.)
Pretty New Sign
The camellia is considered the ” aristocrat” of a southern winter garden…. nicknamed ” The Winter Rose of the South.” The two most popular types are the Christmas Carol and Yuletide Camellias.
Lisa had every type available… beautiful!
At every turn a photo moment popped out!
While I was taking pictures, Lisa took Anne and Donna to pick out their favorite camellias and when they returned… she had wrapped up three homemade wreaths as gifts for us… so sweet! A mixture of frazier fir and eucalyptus … you can imagine the wondrous aroma permeating the car.
Here it is … on my kitchen table -I added two tea candles, a bow, and a red bottle… wow… the scent of Christmas! Thank you Lisa!
So until tomorrow… There is not a season that God does not decorate for us… the beauty of His world never ceases.
Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh
Today is also Eloise’s performance in the Nutcracker… she is doing a marshmallow dance… can hardly wait! Sneak peek of her tu-tu!
Yesterday was the 20th Summerville MS Christmas Luncheon-Elizabeth Peterson, has been the on-going President of the chapter for all that time, but she stepped down officially at the end of the luncheon and was recognized in a special ceremony.
I have been the contributing storyteller for the last twelve of these years so it saddened me to see her give up this role but it was time for her to do so she told me. My friend, Andrea, was also unable to attend which saddened me. It was Mike and Honey Burrell who first got me involved in this amazing organization and it makes my Christmas.
Before leaving office Elizabeth recognized me with a beautiful poinsettia. So sweet!
The theme this year was Love Came Down and I won a raffle ticket for a ” love” tree ornament.
Love and Christmas go hand in hand.
I combined two stories this year ( Falling Leaves and Shining Stars) and told how it is the love that nature provides every day of the year that exemplifies God’s love for us. Case in point… just about all my leaves have fallen off the pear tree now but I am in no hurry for Jeff to rake them up… in my eyes God’s Christmas decorations just makes my yard more beautiful.
Beautiful ” Christmas ” leaves.
Out of nowhere I pictured ” bottles or jars” of love. Everyone around the world got one each Christmas Day. When one opened the cap… a wisp of love, enveloped him or her so completely it transformed love into pure delight.
But there was one important warning on the bottle or jar… if only used on the recipient… by the recipient… love would quickly dissipate long before the next Christmas. The only way to keep enough love in the bottle until the next Christmas was to give it away… every time the love was shared with another… the level rose accordingly.
So until tomorrow… love conquers all… so be not afraid. And perhaps before we call out Merry Christmas this year… we pause to add ” I see your heart…. Merry Christmas!”
It has occurred to me this year that Christmas would not be the same if we removed, not only family, from the core of the Christmas season, but also ” framily”… chosen friends who complete our lives each day of the year… friends we can talk to that we can’t, necessarily, with just family.
Family and ” framily” are our Christmas decorations…. they provide what Archibald Rutledge called ” life’s extras.” They might not fall under food, clothing, and shelter basic necessities… but have you ever lost a ” framily” member to a move or other departure? Suddenly your whole world seems like the glitter and lights suddenly got taken or turned off?
When each of my adult children showed up sending, putting up, and helping trim my Christmas tree last Saturday, along with my grandchildren … I knew that, in reality, this was all I needed for Christmas… their presence.
And since then… I have looked at all the decorations on the tree given me by framily over the years … each special with a story behind it. Danish plaid hearts from my Danish friends, a pickle from a German ancestral friend, homemade drawn snowflakes from crafty friends, cardinals from post readers symbolizing Sammy, Tigers from my Clemson buddies…the list could go on and on….
So until tomorrow… Pause and look around you… aren’t the best decorations dressed in family and friendship? And no matter the circumstances over time… it is their love, wrapped securely in memory bubbles that truly provide ” Christmas ” to us everyday?
Tuesday found me in Mt Pleasant… preparing to listen to Moultrie Middle’s Christmas Choral performance in which Eva Cate is a member! The music brought the Christmas season in officially for me! Wonderful!
Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh
After the performance we rode around looking at Christmas decorations in the neighborhood… and at one house… there was Winnie the Pooh … and speaking of Winnie’s… Winnie has her own Christmas stocking Winnie!
December 7 is my neighbor Vickie’s birthday -she was actually born on the day Pearl Harbor was attacked! I told her she sure knew how to pick a day and time that everyone can remember her birthday! 😂
I took her a white poinsettia and a red Christmasy staked butterfly design for her planter! Vickie loves butterflies!
My “Pray for Ukraine” flag is a little more battered than when I first put it out but it is still standing proudly in front of the pear tree by the street.
This Christmas,for many Ukrainians, will be spent in the darkness and cold since electricity is a luxury not experienced by many in a long time.
I have been praying for at least a temporary Christmas truce but praying even harder for a permanent one. I imagine peace is the number one Christmas wish by Ukrainians this year.
I was interested in also finding out more about the normal Christmas traditions Ukrainians have usually entertained and they were fascinating… since most natives are Ukrainian Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox … they use the Julian calendar when Christmas Eve celebrations begin with the first visible star in the sky on January 6.
Floors are covered with straw and hay to celebrate the Christ Child in the stable. The Holy Supper commences with the sighting of the first star. There are twelve different dishes prepared symbolizing the Twelve Apostles. An extra place is set at the table inviting the souls of loved ones who have passed to join them. Any stranger is also invited to break bread with the family since they might be a beloved family soul returning.
After supper carolers arrive to sing songs and lead the families to Midnight Mass.
This year… will no doubt be different …but there is also no doubt that voices will rise up to sing traditional Christmas carols. Let us all remember the brave Ukrainians fighting for democracy for all of us wherever tyranny raises its ugly head.
So until tomorrow… ” For somehow, not only for Christmas, but all the long year through. The joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you.” ( Margaret Sangster)
Quinn Caldwell, author of All I Really Want… proclaims ” I mean , this is Christmas we’re talking about , people! Christmas! The day that unto us a child was born!!! The day that made all of heaven sing in wonderment and joy! The day the Creator of the cosmos entered history and changed it forever!”
” This season calls for tinsel and bright red bubble lights!!!!
It calls for singing ( and drumming) toys! ”
It calls for snowball fights-real or fake!
” Christmas is not a day for restraint; it’s party time! When God decided to decorate for Christmas, God hung an enormous star in the heavens, not a string of demure white lights. No doubt the neighbors were appalled, but it sure did draw a crowd!
So this season celebrate the God who didn’t hold back anything. Be unrestrained, put on some festive music and let the tinsel fly… throw your very best party and praise God’s name!”
A few weeks ago Brooke and I went ” antiquing” in Walterboro… and had such a good time! In one store a little book (literally 6 ” by 6″ ) was seating on a table. I took one look and knew I wanted to read it. The writer was Jan Karon… author of the At Home in Mitford series with Father Tim . ( The series I read decades after it first appeared …bringing so much joy to so many readers… including myself.)
Jan Karon
If you have twenty minutes…. you can read this delightful little story that leaves a smile tugging at your face with a life lesson worth remembering.
I will give you a short synopsis of the story… but nothing takes the place of reading it yourself …presented as only Jan Karon can write it.
The story begins in the home of Gene and Esther Bolick in the fictitious North Carolina mountain town called Mitford. It is the day before Christmas Eve… the day Esther goes to the store to get the ingredients she needs to make her famous two/layered orange marmalade cakes for seven lucky residents.
By the next afternoon, Christmas Eve, the seven cakes will all be sitting on the counter ready to put in the car for delivery following the 5 0’clock Christmas Eve service.
Oh how she would love to buy a package of the beautiful intricately cut paper doilies to put under each cake but the package is four dollars… and she can cut out her own cardboard doilies for free… frugal she is… still a deep sigh escapes her imagining them under her beautiful orange marmalade cakes.
A thought then comes to her… she has been making these cakes for years… has the cost for all the ingredients gone up over time and if so… how much? Surely not much over four or five dollars a cake.
Esther wakes her husband, Gene, up from napping on the recliner and asks him to help her figure out the total costs. He knows better than to argue so he grabs his calculator and lists the costs of the ingredients for seven cakes.
All goes well until Gene asks his wife what she wants to figure her time at? At her puzzled look Gene ( who had managed a warehouse for 37 years) repeats that she can’t get a ” realistic bottom line” without throwing in her time.
She settles on $15 an hour plus electric costs for heating the oven for several hours. When Gene calls out…$ 43 dollars a Pop” … they both scream in unison !
Immediately Esther starts shortening the list until she is down to one cake… even Father Tim and Cynthia don’t make the cut!
To settle their nerves… Gene turns on the television and a children’s choir is singing old favorite carols. Esther closes her eyes and suddenly each of the seven recipients emerge from the past… Esther remembers their heart-felt tears and smiles of sheer delight, their stories and how that cake has become their Christmas… the one thing they look forward to all year.
Esther listens to the children sing 🎶 ” How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given, so God imparts to human hearts… the blessings of his heaven.”
The next afternoon Gene ( with a hidden grin) loads all seven cakes in the car and grins even bigger when he sees his wife admiring the new paper doilies under each cake before she closes each lid. She only says” What difference does a piddling four dollars make in the grand scheme of things?”
After all, it was Christmas.
So until tomorrow…
Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh
My two little neighbors ( Andrew and Avery) showed up yesterday bringing me a bag of goodies but before I looked inside when I asked what was in the bag… in unison, they replied ” LOVE.” ( they were right)
I invited them in and they gasped… ” Wow … this sure is a big room… then Avery asked ” Is it Santa’s workshop?” Made my day in so many ways!
A message from Bonnie James, a post reader, I have never met… was at Erskine College, for a musical concert her granddaughter was participating in ( her boyfriend played the trumpet.) Even though it was rainy and chilly she strolled the campus and commented on its beauty too… her sweet note made me nostalgic all day… remembering some of the happiest moments of my life spent there! Thanks Bonnie for sharing your first Erskine experience with me! Merry Christmas!
The Orange Bowl will really be going ORANGE 🍊! Clemson and Tennessee ( orange on orange! )
What Charles Dickens did to revive celebrating Christmas in England ( holiday was sparsely celebrated in his day) by his memorable tale in A Christmas Carol, German immigrant and political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, did to create the image of the modern Santa Claus through his Harper’s Magazine’s illustrations over decades.
The familiar Santa Claus today… round-bellied, ruddy-nosed, pipe smoker, white hair/beard and ” Ho Ho ho’er” came from many different influences including Clement Moore ‘s famous prose… Twas the Night Before Christmas.
But actually, as early as 1863, Nast drew a Santa Claus visiting the Union troops … encouraging soldiers to keep the union together for the children and their families back home.
Nast, as a political cartoonist, created the two symbols for our political parties-donkey -Democratic and elephant -Republican. He also took on corrupt politicians…like William ” Boss Tweed” …exposing him through cartoons to the many illiterate immigrants pouring into the country falling prey to his corruptive policies… they might not be able to speak or read English yet… but everyone could understand a cartoon… no words needed.
It was also Nast who added a toy workshop, residence at the North Pole, naughty or nice children-coals or presents, writing letters to Santa, flying reindeer, scooting down chimneys to deliver gifts, tracking Santa’s route and upon the invention of the telephone… children calling Santa.
So until tomorrow… Creating Santa Claus… the universal symbol of imagination, creativity, and eternal child-like wonder embodied many different talented writers, illustrators, and believers in the sacred reverence and awe of childhood…. in goodness and belief in a world where” Santa exists as certainly as love, generosity, and devotion exist.”
Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh
A cliffhanger … when I signed off Saturday night and posted Sunday’s Chapel of Hope story. The Clemson-UNC game was just getting ready to start … I was really nervous but now we know the ending and I was so pumped I didn’t fall asleep until early in the morning Sunday! What a game… it felt like the ghosts of Clemson past had returned… fast-paced playing and the whole defensive team ” stone-walled” repeatedly keeping UNC out of the end zone.
But it was the interviews following the game that made me so proud to be a Clemson fan. So many players putting their trust in Someone bigger than themselves to lead them. Amazing grace!
I told Lachlan he forgot his Clemson cap but I put it to good use and it brought us great luck! Love my Tigers!
The light was definitely shining down on the the Clemson Tigers Saturday night and everyone was ” All In!”
❤️❤️❤️
PS…. Apparently I have been hacked… so don’t befriend ” Single Dingle” ????? ( Eva Cate found it and let me know! )
Quinn Caldwell, in his usual witty and ” right on target” outlooks on life started his December meditation commenting ” Sometimes I think we ask too much of home.” At Christmas it is supposed to smell constantly of fresh-baked cookies, be filled with laughter and merriment, warmth and endearment, acceptance and openness to one and all. He concludes ” It’s the locus of so much nostalgia that it’s no wonder it tends to collapse under the weight of Great Expectations.”
Guilty as charged… I blame it on my addiction to Hallmark Christmas movies. And even though, to date, I have never pulled off anything close to a ” Hallmark Holiday” … hope stubbornly drives me forward seasonally…to try again.
Surely if I just start earlier, stick to the list, and stay focused… I can pull off the perfect Christmas… as smooth as those ” Three Ships that Came Sailing in on Christmas Day”
Instead reality check… not only does my ship not come sailing in … but usually neither does the Fed Ex or Amazon truck/van before Christmas …with the very gift for the one person’s name you drew.
And even if I have my plans cemented in stone… they usually dissipate under others last minute changes that throw the whole happy home gathering scattered and disassembled. And yet even knowing this… I think every year ” … it will be different.”
Yesterday … God chuckled and threw a Christmas wink my way. Original Plan: Operation Boo Christmas Tree. For several years now Tommy has helped pick out, put up, and ” light” my tree … even untangling cords.
This year Walsh was playing in a golf tournament in memory of a friend in his high school class who passed, so several high school buddies had come to town to participate too. They were playing at Miler-just down the block from me… Mollie and Rutledge were out of town for one of his Lacrosse tournaments… so I was keeping Lachlan and Eloise while Walsh participated in the golf tournament.
Tommy picked out my tree but he had some other plans he needed to take care of…so he took the tree to Walsh to bring early yesterday morning when he dropped off the kids, and get it in the house and set up. They were running late ( plumbing problems) but somehow the tree was standing up and alone when he left…so far so good.
I was planning on having Lachlan and Eloise help me trim the tree but what about the lights now? I hadn’t put cords of lights on a tree in a decade at least. Start at top? Bottom? Now figure out each end of the cord and have end… fit in the socket.
Then Tommy called… Mandy, Eva Cate and Jake were on their way and Mandy could help me get the lights on so the kids could trim the tree!
This crazy ( throw out the old plans) day… ended up being fun… unorganized, chaotic, and perfect… the closest to a Hallmark moment as I will probably ever get!
We all went out to lunch, then went strolling downtown, literally out of the blue…the children were selected to see Santa in an old Victorian home by the railroad ( right place at the right time) -bring the only children there/had Santa all to themselves. Euphoria!
So until tomorrow… remember… our homes can’t deliver Christmas, no matter the lights, trees, or baking goodies. Your home can’t deliver it, but God can, and His porch light stays on all year!
I texted Tommy, Walsh, and Mandy to thank my three grown children for all being part of a plan to bring a Christmas tree to mom. I am so blessed! Love you!
Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh
Caldwell concludes… ” This Christmas make just one small change and dedicate it to God!!”
Yesterday Kaitlyn sent me today’s story and as fate would have it… I was talking myself into making more spaghetti sauce to have this weekend to give away… but all the decorating had zapped my energy and I really was struggling with it.
But as soon as I read the story I jumped up and started cooking again… adding back on to ” Giving Tuesday ” depletions … the sauce. Read the story… and you will see why…
” Make The Chili”-( author-?)
A good friend of mine unexpectedly lost his wife. A couple months later, we were golfing together, chatting about nothing. He asked what my dinner plans were and I told him ‘wifey’ wanted my homemade chili and cornbread, but I didn’t feel like stopping at the store.
We golfed a few more minutes… when he quietly said, ” Make the chili.”
It took me a few minutes to realize we were no longer talking about dinner. It was about going out of your way to do something for someone you love because at any moment, they could unexpectedly be taken from you.
So today… I’m sharing with you that wisdom handed to me by my dear friend, that I’ve thought of many times since that day.
Next time someone you love wants you to go for a walk or watch a football game or just put your phone down and give them your undivided attention, just do it – “MAKE YOUR CHILI!”
So until tomorrow…My spaghetti/ ” chili” is simmering now with all the added ingredients… it is such a good feeling isn’t it… when we know we have something we can offer to others… along with our undivided attention.
Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh
This story, especially touched me because December 3 is my brother David’s birthday . He passed from acute Marfan’s Syndrome disease when he was only twenty-one- it affects the connective tissue resulting, in David’s case, with an aneurysm of the heart.
My brother, in spite of his many physical challenges had the kindest heart of anyone I have ever known. From childhood he seemed to sense that he was not his body ” armor” and daily followed the star in his own heart home.
Happy Birthday David! I miss you and love you so…
Game Day has arrived again… the last one… hoping the Clemson team can ” follow their star” to victory tonight… would be a great early Christmas gift for the team! ❤️ my Tigers!
GO TIGERS! 🙌💗❤️🏈
Vickie sprayed magnolia leaves gold and had some left over that she brought today-really makes the mantle pop!
I have been sitting here shaking my head ( for the last half hour) wondering how ” lucky” yesterday, the first day of December was for me…after starting it off with the first words out of my mouth ” Rabbit Rabbit!”
It began with me admonishing myself unconsciously. It is December now and time to let the pumpkins go… I grabbed a hugh Santa size bag and before I could talk myself out of it…I threw all the pumpkins in it and put it in a closet!
One Christmas wreath fell off the top shelf and landed on my head… as I stared at it I knew it was perfect to use with my white Christmas succulent pumpkin ( the one who is witnessing its second Christmas! )
Moving on… I decided to get creative ( with blankets, quilts, and pillow cases) and re-make the fall sofa into a Christmas sofa… everything just fell into place!
By now I was pooped and starving… I decided to reward myself for all my hard work and order my favorite meal at Oscar’s… they always give you enough for two meals! After ordering I got delayed by a lost Amazon van driver asking for directions … but we finally figured out the street location and off he went with a wave and a honk.
Just as I entered the restaurant forum … and waved at Olive, longtime hostess there… the lights flickered and then went off. Olive was handing me my order and I was giving her my card…. then darkness. An assistant manager walked in checking for the electrical problem-she looked at me with a grin and said ” You walked in with so much energy” I think you threw the electrical circuit.”
” I am the Ghost of Christmas” I called out eerily and made my ghost gestures when suddenly I was being handed my entire order and wished a very Merry Christmas! Free meal for a faithful long-time customer!!!!It was a good thing it was dark … such an appreciative act of kindness.
Chicken Carbonara!
As I left the parking lot, the street lights were out too and drivers had to take turns letting others go though traffic lights. I had planned to swing by the local grocery store and pick up some poinsettias… but suddenly a truck in front of me slammed on brakes entering the store parking lot… not realizing the green light wasn’t working.
I saw a couple of poinsettias topple out the back of the truck so I hurriedly parked and ran over to pick them up and hand the driver. He just looked at them and me… thanked me for returning them but he wanted me to have them …if I liked.. since some dirt and blooms had fallen too.
Again… I knew I could fix them right up and choose the best side for presentation… a free meal and two poinsettias… now what are the odds? ” Rabbit Rabbit!”
The rest of the day continued merrily along… a neighbor stopping by just in time to help me get my wreath placed on the mantle… unexpected fun phone calls from friends… I felt such a sense of euphoria… for simply being alive on a crisp fall day in December with azure blue skies and dancing sunbeams.
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle