A very busy day yesterday with our annual holiday yoga brunch at my house in the morning and then to a wake for a man that I grew up with who died at age 66 of cancer.
The brunch was fun with lots and lots of delicious food. It gave us all a chance to chat more than the usual few minutes before and after class. I made the dish that Christina mentioned in my blog entry asking for brunch recipes. It was very good but I couldn’t get the olive loaf, which I am sure would have added a bit of zing to it.
The wake was unbelievable. My brother came over from Massachusetts to go with me. There were 11 children in this family so we all were friends/classmates with one of them and it was nice to see his siblings, even though it was a sad occasion. We waited in line for an hour and a half. There were hundreds and hundreds of people there. He was a very charming and gregarious man which was evidence by the attendance. It really hits you when someone younger than you dies and this has happened far too often in the last months.
On a happier note………..I dabble in watercolors and have made cards and gift tags from my paintings. While the supply last, I will gladly send my Gray Zone readers a set of my gift tags (specify holiday or general-see picture) if they comment on what they are doing charity-wise this holiday season. Just email me your address and I will get them in the mail right away. You can see that I am not expecting an overwhelming response as I think there are about four people at this point who read this blog!
You may be surprised, Ms. S. I think I still have mine, since I keep waiting to give a gift that is worthy of the tag! I was thinking of getting tiny frames and just hanging the collection! Lovely stuff.
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteOK, let's see. The kids and I have shopped for the tags we drew off the giving tree (for families that need help with gifts) and returned those gifts. We are taking our Scouts to sing Christmas carols to soldiers at the mess hall. Our 4H group is filling food baskets for families. With school, 4H, Scouts and church, we're also involved in a canned food drive, toy drive and coat drive.
It's what makes Christmas Christmas for us. :)
I second (or third) the comment that those are beautiful tags! I'm afriad if I got one that I would just frame it instead of putting it on a package!
ReplyDeleteI had a swap party before Thanksgiving and all the "leftover" stuff was taken to the local Goodwill. Whenever we go out (which isn't really that often though) and there's the Salvation Army Bell Ringers, I make sure to give my DD (almost 3) money to put into the pot. She loves doing it and I hope to instill the good feelings that giving can give to her. Christmas cookie baking for the local volunteer fire department, then a trip to church tomorrow for dinner and picking out tags from the Angel Tree. I love Christmas for all the "giving" that goes on....it's such a good feeling!
I, too, would be framing or displaying your watercolors right along with everyone else. I think smallish pieces of art are almost better than bigger ones. (You can display them in so many more places.) You are so generous with this offer.
ReplyDeleteI feel like a real dud of a Scrooge for the little bit of charity-wise work that is on my calendar this year. (You may have to chastise and disqualify me!) I always make extra jars of jam in the summer that we give out to special people who might enjoy that sort of thing. I go a little wild baking Christmas cookies and give large platters to our mail carrier, UPS man, the farm where we get our milk, and the wonderful staff at our library. And, of course, who can pass the pot of the Salvation Army Bell Ringers?
Sylvia...they look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI NEVER pass a Salvation Army pot. One year the priest at church challenged us to not pass one without donating something. I took on the challenge, and still do it today. This includes donating on the way into the store and the way out of the store :-)
I'm the cook at our local elementary school and have noted three or four large families that have some needs this holiday. I have asked my family (adult children with spouses and grandkids)to help me prepare gift baskets of food, clothes and toys. We'll go to our family cabin and get them each a tree and a basket of pine cones and deliver them this coming Monday...
ReplyDeleteWhat a giving group! And to get the kids involved at a young age is wonderful. Doesn't anyone want my tags? Send me an email if you do....they aren't all Christmas ones. sylvie.thompson778@gmail.com
ReplyDelete