“She” Ain’t Heavy
Have you heard of the song, He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by the Hollies? The story behind this song stems from the early 1900’s when Father Flanagan, the founder of Boy’s Town, was glancing through a magazine showing a picture of an older boy carrying a younger boy on his back. The caption read, “He ain’t heavy mister. . . he’s my brother.”
Winter Cleaning, not Spring Cleaning!
After taking down Christmas and before pulling back your “normal” items from where you hid them in your excitement to decorate for the holidays the day after Thanksgiving, give all your surfaces a good cleaning. There’s no need to go out and buy fancy cleaners to do the job, just follow my easy directions and concoct your own product!
New Year’s Watch-night
These are my mother’s words.
“I think I mentioned before the importance of New Year’s Eve as one of the major holidays. The first year in Beirut, some people were casually gathered in our home and they stayed and stayed.”
Wise Men
We Three Kings of Orient are, Bearing gifts we travel so far, Field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star. O, star of wonder, star of night, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.
I’ve never taken time to understand the depth of meaning behind this story and carol.
“Hygge,” What is That?!?!
The Danish term, hygge, is a lifestyle word referring to finding comfort, pleasure, and warmth in simple, soothing things such as a cozy feeling of contentment through cherishing the little things. Why not apply this to your Christmas decorating?
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
My senses not only navigate the world for me, teaching me the qualities and measures of my surroundings, but they also trigger memories, the hauntingly pleasant ones and the the anxious not so good ones.
Let’s make Sambousic
Culinary cultures worldwide offer signature doughy pockets encasing seasoned meat concoctions whose spices instantly indicate to which geographical region your tantalized tastebuds have been introduced. A few such wonders include Mexican empanadas, Indian samosas, Asian dumplings, and the crown jewel in my biased opinion, Middle Eastern sambousics!
Silent Night
Over 200 years ago in 1816, the beloved Christmas hymn, Silent Night was heard for the first time in Austria at a Christmas Eve Mass in Oberndorf.
Winter Back Porch Living
Don’t denigrate, deny the importance of, your back porch to winter-time-blues, especially in our mild southern winters! Enrich your hospitality vibes by expanding your welcoming “come on over” options.
Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem
As each Christmas season rolls around, I have flashbacks of Christmases as a child. But, don’t we all? This particular memory of mine is of Bethlehem.