Cattitude and Gratitude

I am participating in the Write Tribe Blogging Challenge from December 8-14. http://writetribe.com/people/ Today's topic is People so I decided to write a poem for a change of pace. People Not Presents The Christmas rush is here again Take a breath and count to ten, This time of year we lose our way It makes me sadder than I can say, Spending too much on so much stuff Don’t you think we have enough? Eating until we’re ready to burst Drinking to quench our endless thirst Forever searching and feeling a void No wonder we often get annoyed Please listen to this Christmas verse Open your heart and close your purse, Reach out to others and the world will sing Don’t you think that’s a wonderful thing? Love and kindness are better than toys People, not presents bring Christmas joys.

I am participating in the Write Tribe Blogging Challenge from December 8-14. http://writetribe.com/music/ Today's topic is Music. I just love the Christmas season. The sparkling colourful lights and decorations are so lovely and the food scrumptious. (BURP! *Loosens belt a few notches*) I love all the rituals and traditions about this time of year. It’s wonderful to have family and friends spending time together. The world just seems a kinder and happier place at Christmas. But what really makes Christmas for me is the music. I sing in a women’s choir, play flute in a concert band, and with my harpist friend. This time of year we are busy doing Christmas concerts at seniors’ residences as well as our main choir concert coming up this week. There is something so wonderful about performing music with others for an audience. They enjoy it and so do we. Here is a recording of Noel Nouvelet with me playing flute and Sharon and Lyn on harp. Create your ow...

I am participating in the Write Tribe blogging challenge from December 8-14. http://writetribe.com/books-day-3-festival-words-2/ Today’s topic is Books and I am relating each topic to Christmas. I love the Christmas season so much and this is the time of year when we’re all caught up in Christmas preparations and events. I'm in a Christmas frame of mind! When I was a kid, my favourite book at Christmas time was “The Night Before Christmas.” I remember I’d read it over and over gazing at the beautiful illustrations of Santa Claus and the reindeer. I’d picture myself as one of those kids snuggled in bed with visions of sugar plums in my head.  I don’t know where that book is now as I read it so much, it fell apart. I can still remember it vividly in my mind. Looking at some of the vintage book illustrations on Google from the 1950s and 60s reminds me of that book. The Night Before Christmas is still popular which is pretty impressive considering it was writte...

http://writetribe.com/food-food/ I am participating in Write Tribe's blogging challenge from December 8-14. Today's topic is Food. What would Christmas be without Christmas sweets? My waist expands an inch or two when I bake the decorated cookies, scrumptious fudge, chocolate brownies and other delicious treats at this time of year. I make them for gifts and for the boys, you understand.  *Wipes chocolate from mouth.* Give me the chocolate! And what about the Christmas treats that we don’t like? They still become part of our Christmas memories. Candy canes are pretty and so decorative to look at. They're also good for breaking a tooth. I’ve never liked them much even if they do freshen my breath for those moments under the Mistletoe. Give me the chocolate! I remember my mom buying old-fashioned brightly-coloured candies when I was a kid. You know the kind?  She would pour them into decorative dishes where they wou...

I am taking part in the Write Tribe's Festival of Words for the week of December 8-14. http://writetribe.com/recalling-memories/ Today's topic is Memory/Memories. I am planning to relate each topic to Christmas since it is the Christmas season. I have many memories of Christmas but one that stands out in my mind is Christmas 1997 which we spent in Canada’s Arctic region. That Christmas we were thousands of miles North in the tiny community of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, located on King William Island in the Arctic Ocean.  We arrived there in August and were there for the eight long months while Brian worked as an adult education teacher. As a rugged Canadian, I like it to be snowy and wintery for Christmas, but must admit Gjoa Haven was a bit too wintery for my liking. The brutal Arctic wind and the constant darkness were unlike anything I’d ever experienced. I was home with my two boys who were two and four at the time. We hardly ever went outside...