Countdown to Santa - Are You Ready?

Are you ready to entertain the visit of a jolly spirit who eats your cookies and drinks your milk, but leaves packages under your tree, or bush, or on the table? Are you ready for an invasion of visitors, guests, cards, pets and people? In other words, are you ready for the "Holidays"? I'm quite sure many of my readers are not "quite" ready for this yet. As is often the case, I'm relying heavily on gift cards. DH is almost impossible to buy for, and with his birthday so very close to Christmas, it's a double-whammy for me. I actually bought him more than I normally would have, but that doesn't necessarily mean much. At least we'll eat well - LOL. 

I do love prime rib, even if I'm always a little worried 
about cooking one. It's a VERY expensive cut of meat. 
But I've done it before and it turned out beautifully. I'm 
sure I'll be successful again this time. 

I took a closer look at the "Beast" that's in my freezer. It's HUGE. It's a 5+ pound chuck of meat, which I'm expected to roast to perfection. I'm pretty good at roasting prime rib, but it's always a bit frightening to face a piece of meat that costs that much and that we'll be eating for days. If I mess it up, he'll have wasted a lot of money on something that could have been awesome, and didn't quite turn out that way. I'll be checking my recipes out quite carefully. I've cooked beasts before, and they've been awesome, but I always double and triple check to make sure I know what I'm doing and that I have everything I want on-hand before the stores close for the holidays. I'm cooking this on Christmas Day. 

There is so much that is wrong about the Christmas that 
is presented as "true" in modern days, but people seem 
to find it just perfect, and it's not my religion, so more 
power to them. 

For those of you who are Christian, or nominally Christian, this is an important time of the year for you. I know many of you are planning to be in Church for Christmas Eve and possibly Christmas Day. It's rather nice that midnight services (which I've attended every now and again) allow you to pack both days into a single event - LOL. I'll celebrate the Solstice as I always do - quietly, but respectfully, as we pass into the next phase of the cycle. 

I celebrate the turn of the season, the rhythm of life 
on this planet, and the annual rotation around the 
sun, whose light allows us to survive on this, the 
Third Rock from the Sun. 

The three Sundays I've worked have actually been busy days. Yesterday was quite a respectable total at the end of our four hours, and the last two weeks also had people and good sales. I'm very grateful. It was business we desperately needed. We also need items that we ordered last week, but unfortunately I suspect they'll arrive too late to be of much help this season. Now to start working on our four-day END OF THE YEAR sale. This is our big one - huge discounts on almost everything in the store. 

I'm pretty sure I'll have to work all of the days of our 
End of the Year Sale. I'd better double-check my days 
and dates, and I'll probably take Tuesday as my "day 
off" next week, else I won't get one at all. 

So, time to wrap things up for today and get moving. I need to get a couple of bills paid before I go upstairs for breakfast, so I'd better move along. Have an excellent day, Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

Good Solstice To All

Today, in my hemisphere, it is what used to be referred to as "Mid-Summer". We celebrate the Summer Solstice today, and I'll be celebrating by starting the day out with a swim, and then shopping for groceries, doing some cooking and housecleaning (and my usual three loads of laundry for the day), and catching up on some computer work. Generally speaking, I'll be busy inside, and won't have much opportunity to enjoy the outside. I'll get to see the sun rise over the pool, though, and that's always a wonderful thing. 

Not my pool, but sunrise above a pool quite similar to mine. 
It's always so wonderful. We're actually going outside in 
some light right now. That, of course, won't last long. Within 
a month we'll be running outside in semi-dark once again. 

For my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, it is your Mid-Winter celebration today. You're now turning the corner, heading towards the spring and summer months of promise still to come. It is your darkest day, the day when the sun is celebrating with the North and barely acknowledging the South. That will change, my friends. Beginning with this day's rise, your days will be getting longer while our days will shorten. 

Today is the Solstice. Celebrate with 
Great Joy. 

Life has a rhythm to it - nature knows it well. The young have already been born and are growing up quickly. They must learn everything possible and grow up quickly. Winter is just around the corner and they have to be ready. The birds will be getting ready to push their young from the nest soon. The four-footed will teach their young how to harvest and save for the upcoming cold months, and those who have been in the cold and dark will be feeling the promise in the air of warmer times and abundant food. 

The world offers hope and promise to all, it is up to us 
to help it along, though. I might be introspective on 
Solstice days, but that's not our of character for me. 

I find the changing times of the year to be times of hope and promise. But then I look around at our world and shake my head. The promise still is given. It exists. But as we imprint upon this world, changing it in so many ways, I'm not sure the world will continue to hold hope and promise for humanity. Because humanity is inhumane, self-centered, and short-sighted. That might be me being introspective, but there's a kernel of truth in all of this too. Think what this world might have become if humanity had not developed to spread across the face of the world like a plague. Would we have the pollution? The world-wide wars? The bruising chemicals, terraforming and short-sightedness that is characteristic of humanity? 

I despise cockroaches, but it's been said that they 
will inherit the earth. I doubt that, but they probably 
have a better chance than many other living things. 

All I know is that we've left our imprint upon this earth, but cockroaches will inherit it. Little can effectively kill a cockroach except a hard boot- LOL. Have a good solstice celebration and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Blessed Solstice to All and a Blizzard Awaits

Good Solstice to all of my readers this day. If you're one of my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, you're celebrating your Summer Solstice. If you're like I am, stuck tightly in the grip of Winter, it's the Winter Solstice. Either way, the sun will begin it's return journey today and the seasons will progress in their dance of days. The nights will begin to shorten/lengthen, and we will move onward in our cosmic dance. 

Good Solstice to all on this winter's day in the 
Northern Hemisphere. Enjoy your summer, those 
of you in the Southern climes. 

Additional cards have arrived to brighten my day. A lovely hand-painted card from SeaIvy, a beautifully handcrafted card from my long-time friend "Poo" (aka Pam), and yes, cmcmck, I also got your absolutely stunning owl card yesterday. My mantle is looking quite festive and lovely and I'm looking forward to my three days off at the end of the week. 

I did a lovely meditation this morning for the solstice, 
with one of my favorite teachers - Keziah Gibbons. She 
lives in the southern hemisphere, so it was a summer 
solstice meditation, but more than that, it was a Solstice 
meditation, and equally balanced between Summer 
and Winter. 

Of course, that means I have to work today because Chickie and Chickie Mama have to return to the Mayo Clinic for another test today. Yesterday's drive was fraught with danger and lots of glare ice making for a gnarly drive there and back. Today's - with the snows and possible blizzard conditions that will be hitting us beginning at 9:00 am and continuing throughout the day (with sub-zero F temperatures and higher winds creating blizzard conditions) might be even worse. I asked why they just didn't stay in a hotel overnight and the response was that Claire was afraid her cat might get into mischief. ARGH!!! Sometimes this highly intelligent woman just doesn't use her brain. Today's drive will be horrific for them. 

Mayo Clinic in Rochester is a HUGE complex of 
15 hospitals and countless other health-related 
clinics and outbuildings. It's a great thing to have 
something like that so close, but I'm really hoping 
I'll never need to take advantage of that proximity. 

So, send positive thoughts out to Chickie who will be driving her Mama to her MRI today through the blizzard and back. It shouldn't have been necessary to take that trip twice in two days over the solstice and through the snows of winter. 

We're full on in Capricorn right now - DH's 
astrological sign. If you ever need to wonder why 
we butt heads all the time, he's a goat, I'm a bull. 
Horns do get into play. 

Blessed Solstice to all, I'll be back tomorrow. I have to get going - I'll need to do my grocery shop first thing in the morning today, and take everything to the shop with me for the day. I can leave the frozen goods in the car - it will barely get above zero for our temps today. I can take the few refrigerator items into the shop and keep them in that refrigerator for the day (there's no room in that old refrigerator's freezer - it needs defrosting and I hate doing that). I'm thinking positive thoughts for all of you who might be affected to day's huge storm system. Slava Ukraini and again, Good Solstice. 

Blessed Yule and A New Oven Today

A Blessed Yule to all of my readers and friends. Today is the Winter Solstice, and as usual, I made my absolute deadline and got all of my holiday cards mailed out on time. I still have cards coming into my mailbox, and it's delightful to see the various lovely images and have a little bit of love from my friends and family. 

I saw this holiday card on Zazzle and thought it was 
really cute and clever. Thought I'd share it with 
all of you to brighten up your holidays. 

Today is Oven Day - by the time I get home from work today, I should have a new oven in place and ready to start baking and roasting. I'll run it empty for an hour at 400 F to get the new oven smell out of it (after looking through the Owners Manual) and I'll have a good look through the directions. I can hardly wait to use it. I've missed having an oven. We lost it during our weeks of hell in August (refrigerator died on the 14th, oven died on the 17th and toilet cracked on the 30th). We made do with the microwave, but an oven is an important part of any kitchen. 

Apparently my friend Helen has this exact oven and loves 
it. Hers is also convection, and I can't recall if ours will 
have that option or not. If so, I'll be delighted. I've always 
thought a convection oven would be lovely. I'll also 
be very happy with a good self-cleaning option since 
our last oven wasn't able to self-clean any more. 

DH wants to ask Jim K about range hoods and over-the-stove microwaves too, while he's here. We would  love to move our microwave above the cooktop so that we could use that counter space for one of the newer all-in-one ovens that do everything but jump over the moon. Our counter space is extremely limited, and we also have to be very aware of heat overflow. Whatever we get needs to be have a fan and be able to handle being mounted directly under cabinets that are heavily used. There are no counters in my kitchen that do not have overhead cabinets, and no cabinets that aren't fully utilized. 

We would dearly love to have our microwave mounted 
above our cooktop. Most of the range hoods with 
microwave we've looked at are much too large for our 
space. We have exactly 36" within which 
to work and want a microwave with a fan in 
that space. DH is going to ask Jim K for his 
thoughts after the oven is installed. There's got 
to be something out there that would fit and
he's likely to know what is available. 

So, as you can tell, one bridge crossed, the next bridge ahead - LOL. Still, I'm going to be grateful and dance the happy dance when I have an oven again. I have a turkey thawing in the refrigerator, just waiting for the opportunity to be roasted on Friday. 

Winter Solstice at Stonehenge will be live-streamed again 
this year. It's probably going on right now, in fact, given 
the time difference of five hours between us. Have a 
Blessed Yule. 

So have a wonderful Yule, celebrate the return of the sun to the skies in the North, and the retreat of the sun in the South. I'm going to plug in pictures and jump off to make my pool reservation for Friday morning. The gym closes at Noon on Friday, but the pool will be open for swimming at 5:00 am as usual, and I plan to be there to start my three-day vacation off on a good footing. Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Solstice Bookends - WINTER Solstice Cards, Batch 2

So here I go again, bracketing the Summer Solstice with cards I received from friends throughout the world for last year's Winter Solstice. I'm always amazed, gratified, and delighted with the cards I receive from family and friends. It's such a variety of cards, and each one brings to mind the person who made or sent it, their families and the ties I have to them. Some, I know very well, others, I have never met, but each person is important to me. As we move into the second half of our year and head towards winter once again, I wish peace for all of you, and a beautiful day ahead. Now for the cards. ... 

I'm starting out with this duo (obviously the card on 
the left is on it's side). The left card is from Rev. Susan 
Aguirre, a former customer, a good friend for decades, 
and a Reiki Master. Although we rarely see each other, 
we're in fairly constant contact on FaceBook. The 
delightful card on the right is from Samtyr, an 
online Tolkien fan-fiction friend for many years.
Both cards symbolize Hope for me - hope in
winter, and hope with joy. 

This duo features two sisters of the heart. My sister-from-
a-different-mother, Sharon, and my dear, always 
creative, shining soul from India, Shruti. The animals 
in Sharon's card are actually 3-D textured, so it's 
a very unique card. I also loved the birds 
in the foreground and the antlers on the deer. 
Shruti always hand-makes her cards. Unlike 
me, she sends out 500 (I limit myself to 50). 
This year she made small medallions for each 
person, and then hand-fabricated the envelope 
for each. It leads to longer mail times, but 
her cards are always a treat and I always save them. 

Two LJ friends are in this duo. At the top, a bright 
spot of color from Shirebound, and at bottom, a 
handpainted watercolor from SeaIvy. I love the 
bird from Shirebound - she feeds the birds at her 
house every day and she and the glorious Pippin, 
make sure their feathered friends are cared for. 
SeaIvy lives near the water. She's an artistic 
soul, a fascinating person, and brilliant. Getting 
this small hand-painted beauty from her 
brightened my winter days. 

The lefthand card is from my "sister" out on Pine Ridge. Starlet 
always sends cards from this particular company, and 
they are always Native American in scope. I loved this 
warrior on his horse in the winter's gloaming. On the right 
is a card from a friend in Germany who adores deer. Her 
cards, spanning more than a decade, always have a deer
on them somewhere, and her house is filled with deer 
ornaments and statuary for the holidays. 

At the top is a lovely Polar Bear card from 
DH's college friend, Tom and his wife Mary. Mary 
just retired from working at the CDC, early last
year. I'm pretty sure she was happy to not be
there when Covid hit. The bottom card is by
Cindy Durand's daughter Jenibeth (see Saturday's
post for Cindy's card). Jenibeth always hand-makes
her cards. She has lovely design sense and a good
eye for detail. This year's card was charming and 
quite well done. 

And finally, at the top I have this fabulous and 
funny card from one of my favorite cat people, 
Ellynn_Ithilwen on LJ. We've been exchanging 
cards and commentary back and forth for 
years now. If I'm ever in her area of the world, 
I'm definitely stopping by to say "Hi". The 
bottom card is from long-time friend Raven, 
a strong pagan woman who's a fire-walker and 
has wild birds land on her outstretched arms,  
Raven is a magical person and a wonderful 
friend. 

So there you have it. I got additional cards from other friends and family members, but they were family photos and I won't share that on social media - privacy, etc, you know. I also received fabulous e-cards from several other friends from the USA, England and Peru - all very beautiful and that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

All told, when the season was completed, the cards stretched along the mantle of my living room fireplace from one wall to the other - an impressive length. They brightened my heart, but more than that, they allowed me to think about each one of my friends and how much they mean to me. That's also what I think about when I'm mailing my own cards out every year. Thank you to each of you - those who send cards and those who receive mine. My life is blessed because you're a part of it. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Have a totally fabulous Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Let's start this "new year" out well. Be kind, stay safe, and please, smile. That smile may well help someone else to have a better day. 

Solstice Cards - Summer? No! Winter Solstice - Batch 1

Today and Monday's blogs will be picture heavy and text light. As promised, I'm bookending the Summer Solstice with photos of the wonderful Winter Solstice cards I received from friends throughout the world. I hope you enjoy sharing the diversity of images and the generosity of friends along with me. It was a joy to review these once more, and an equal joy to share them with you now. 

I'm starting off with two views of the first card I received, 
which seems an appropriate way to kick things off here. 
This card, from my friend Tinnean, was a pop-up 
card. Such fun! I had it on top of the mantlepiece for 
the season. It's so detailed, I had to take a second 
shot to show a different angle. 

In this angle, you can see the snowman made 
from beach sand, and the flamingo. Of course, 
Tinnean lives in Florida, so that explains this 
wonderful, tropical Christmas scene. 

cmcmck (l), a friend on Dreamwidth, and Alexcat (r) sent 
these two cards. Since cmcmck is a medievalist scholar, 
who lives in a small village near Wales, the card is a perfect
choice for her. Alexcat, from the Southern USA, always
has a sense of  the mischievous about her, so the
 holiday fairy was apt.  

Some of the best cards were "thrown together" by friends 
who were running out of time. I loved the sparkling 
holiday trees that Curious Wombat put on her card. 
I also loved the animals looking at the holiday star 
from my friend Cindy Durand. She's a long-time 
friend who has MS. It's gotten bad enough that she 
doesn't even sign her name any more, but she never 
fails to send a card to me. *hugs*

My cousin/sister/godmother's daughter Missy sent me the 
wonderful wolf. I adore the card. It's been great to be  
in semi-constant touch with her over the years. She now 
lives in Colorado with her family and two horses. 
On the right is a card I wasn't expecting and loved 
to get - from LindaHoyland in England. Of course it 
has cats on the cover - I would expect nothing less 
from my favorite cat lady. 

I'll end today's scans with two Pam cards. 
The top card is from a long-time high school 
friend, Pam L. We only communicate via 
holiday cards, but she still lives in the same 
house after all these years. The bottom 
card is from my friend and former Bead 
& Button Show roomie - Pam P. She's 
currently selling her California house and 
moving to a new home in Tucson. I wish 
her a smooth move and a very happy life in 
her new location. (Too hot for me! - LOL) 
Pam P always hand-makes her cards 
and this one was spectacular. 

So, there you have the first batch. I'll share another six images with you on Monday. In more general news, my tattoo artist finally got a drawing to me late last night and it's stunning. I'll be looking it over closely today and showing it to DH tomorrow to see what he thinks, but I think it could be truly magnificent. I'll share with all of you next week. Good Solstice to all. I'll be thinking about the fall of Gondolin as the sun rises on Midsummer's Day, and will continue trying to relax through our ongoing heat wave. But, all is good. For those of you celebrating Father's Day, enjoy the day. Have a great weekend, I'll be back on Monday. 

Shining and Polishing - New from Old and Spiffing Things Up Again

Can you believe it's almost mid-summer? Solstice is on Sunday, and I haven't even shared my Winter Solstice cards with all of you yet. Life got in the way. So, my intention is to share those wonderful cards from friends and relatives throughout the world with you to celebrate Summer Solstice Eve - Saturday. If I end up with too many images to share, I'll push on into Monday and bookend the Solstice. 

My "Moons of Hecate" pendant is pewter, so it
 won't catch shine as much as my silver pieces, 
but it is scuzzy and needs a good cleaning. 
It's been a favorite of mine for many years 
now. I originally wanted this design for the 
tattoo I have at the back of my neck, but 
the particular artist I chose was unable to 
handle the detail, so I chose a different 
triple-goddess symbol instead. It was quite 
a few years ago. I don't think I'd compromise 
now. 

I'm bringing a couple of items to the shop today to drop them into the tumbler I keep there. I've been wanting to make simple necklaces from stones lately - maybe one more aspect of grounding for myself. On Tuesday I purchased some amethyst I've loved for a while, as well as some glass to go along with it. I'm thinking about pairing them with an old pewter Hecate pendant I've owned for more than a decade - a long-time favorite of mine. 

You're probably familiar with the basic Celtic 
triskellion - the triangular shape, often with 
spirals in each of the three lobes. My triskellion 
pendent is sterling, features a Pentacle in the 
center surrounded by a full circle, and has 
the waxing and waning moons in the bottom 
two lobes with a small cabachon of amber 
at the top. It's the sun and the moon all tied 
up in a neat, small package. Perfect for me. 

I'd like to polish my triskellion pendant too. This is a standard Celtic triskellion with a pentacle in the center that DH purchased for me years ago. I wear it and love it. I'm also taking a close look at a fabulous enamel piece DH bought for me for another anniversary - this is from Magick - enamels I had lusted after for many years. I adore the piece, I'm always seeing something new in it, and their skill with colors and the depth of their enameling work is stunning. 

The enamel pendant I have is in this 
style, but with much better coloring, 
some blues and greens on the right, 
purple on the left, with a swath of 
yellow instead of the purple above. 
It's small, but so beautiful. I've known 
Fusagar on and off for many years, 
and this was the final year we were 
able to meet. I'm so glad I had the 
chance to get one of his pieces. 

So I'm doing some cleanup today, and maybe some creative work, and I'm sure DH left me with a whole bunch of computer work still to do. My general suspicion ... I won't be bored today - LOL. I hope all of you have a wonderful and productive day. I'm going to do my best, and I'll be back tomorrow. Also, of course, please be kind and stay safe. 

2:15 am Is Too Early To Be Awake, But Good Solstice to All!

I am exhausted. Usually I have no problem sleeping, but I can't get my brain to stop running in a thousand directions at once. I feel like a hamster running in its wheel - running and running and getting nowhere. I tossed and turned until I finally gave up sleeping and got up at 2:15 am. I hit the treadmill and the shower, got some computer work done, and settled down to write my blog at 5:00 am. In three hours I'll pick up my ham and that will take one more thing off my "To Do" list before Christmas. *sigh* 

These seven lit tipis (or teepees) outside of Billings, 
Montana were erected to honor those who had lost their 
lives over the past year. An article describing the 
installation in more detail is available here. 

I'm picking up DH's gift from the spice shop on Wednesday morning. They open at 10:00 am and I told them I would be there then. It's not much of a gift, all things considered, but I think it will actually be one that he'll like. We're both at a loss this year - he has almost nothing for me and I have almost nothing for him. I'll drop by the general store some time this week to pick up several holiday greeting cards where I can write down some things I'll get for him when life returns to "normal", but who knows when that will actually happen? His birthday is also very close to Christmas, so it's double-trouble. 

One of the other things I'm getting from Penzey's 
Spices is this Baker's Gift Box for DH. It's got 
the vanilla sugar he's been wanting, as well as 
some other excellent spices for his baking. 

I got Chickie's hat sewn up yesterday, but still have to sew her gloves. I was going to bring them home and work on them last night, but knew I'd have no time. I left them at the shop. I might get some of it finished today, but I'll bring them home with me tonight if I don't. I need to get them completed so that her gift is ready to wrap. 

I like having a year-end sale every year as a "Thank You" to 
our customers. Without them coming in to shop and spend 
their money, we wouldn't be in business at all. They have 
made us who we are and helped make our
business successful. 

I also have to spend some serious time on the laptop today to compose the email for our End of the Year 3-Day Sale. I want to have that ready to send out no later than Wednesday night. We only hold two sales events annually - Black Friday/Small Business Saturday, and a 3-Day or 4-Day End of the Year Sale. It can be an excellent way to wrap up our year, but this year, with Covid? I have no idea. Sales numbers were down for our earlier sale dates, and I'm hoping that the year-end sale will be a bit better attended. I've already been asked if we'll be holding it again, so I know I'll have some eager customers. 

Winter Solstice is the return of the light, a move forward 
out of the darkness. Let us all hope that we are truly moving 
ahead out of the darkness of 2020 and into the light of a 
new year of openness, respect, humility and honesty. 

I hope all of you have a wonderful day, on this Solstice Day. Today is the shortest day of the year, so make it count! Be kind, stay safe, wear a mask, and I'll be back tomorrow. Good Solstice! 

Two Days Off and Five Pounds Gained! Oy!!!

Santa was very good to me, except for my weight. I'm sitting in my new office chair and I'm not in pain! That's the first time in months that I've been comfortable sitting at my computer desk, so I'm totally on-board with my new chair. I also got a new under-chair mat to replace the one I had that was falling apart. It'll be a couple of weeks before I can pull things out from the under-desk-world and replace the old with the new, but that's OK. The new mat is here and waiting for me. 

Hubby had purchased a standing rib roast for his Christmas meal,
so I looked up my recipe and braved cooking a very expensive
piece of meat. It turned out delicious, though, and I managed
the cook to a perfect medium rare. 

The food was amazing - hubby wanted a standing rib roast (aka Prime Rib) for his Christmas dinner, so I made that and it turned out perfect! I always get a bit nervous when cooking a piece of meat that costs so much, but when done right, it basically cooks itself. 

I've been wanting a wireless remote digital meat
thermometer for my Thanksgiving turkey for
several years now. I'll research these carefully
before buying. I want something that will work
for my, not be an expensive toy that breaks
after one or two uses. 

In other gifts, I got promised a remote oven thermometer that I've been wanting for our annual turkey cook. I'll do some research and figure out which would work best. He also promised to contribute to my annual Bead & Button costs, several dinners/lunches out, and, after we have closed the shop, a weekend getaway. We haven't been able to take a vacation together since 1994, so that's special! My final gift was a promise for one more wig for me. That'll be fun, but I want my winged scarab tattoo on my skull first. 

One of my addictions, and an annual treat, is
our huge batch of Chex Mix. That becomes my
breakfast and lunch and stolen munchies while
it's still around. We're down from a huge pot
to a much smaller one now, and I'll probably
have it eaten by the end of the week. So Good! 

I'm heading out to the gym in less than an hour because I gained SEVEN pounds! Ouch!! I know it's temporary and that I'll have it off in no time, but we have reservations for a very fancy brunch at a new high-end steakhouse for Sunday at 9:00 am, and I know it's beef that puts weight on me more than any other food. So, I'm going to work hard at the gym today and tomorrow, then brunch on Sunday, then the gym again on Monday and Tuesday, and then I'm off for another two days. If I don't watch myself, I'll gain WAY too much weight and I won't be happy at all. I'd better be sweating today and tomorrow - LOL. 

I hope everyone finds something on this list
to celebrate during this season of celebration. 

My holiday cards are hung across my mantle and I know I need to thank so many of you for your delightful cards. I'm planning a scan-and-reveal for many of them, as well as a listing of who sent a card, early next week to wrap up my year. But, for today, Thank You! I hope all of you had a good Solstice and a Merry Christmas, that your Hanukkah is going well, and that your Kwanzaa began with peace. I thank you for your friendship, each and every one of you. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Good Solstice to All

Good Solstice to all of you. Tonight is the longest night of the year for us here in the Frozen Northlands, and then we're into an upswing once again. I think we all need this. Whether you're in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, Solstice is a time for reflection, resetting goals, and refocusing on friends and family. I'm looking forward to passing through the longest night of the year and starting to slowly grow with the light once more. 

Good Solstice to all of my friends and Blessed Be. 

We're in the final countdown for Christmas, and it's been too quiet at the store. I have a feeling my end of the year sales numbers won't be anywhere close to where I want them, but I still have my four-day after-Christmas sale coming up, and I'm hoping for a few holiday miracles. Tomorrow is the last Sunday I'll have to work, and I'm grateful for that. It's always exhausting to be working six-day weeks. 

DH attempted home-made caramels yesterday. which
didn't end up looking like these. I think he'll try
again on Tuesday. 

DH tried cooking home-made caramels yesterday, and discovered that our candy thermometer isn't reading temps correctly. That's a problem when dealing with fussy things like caramel. He ended up tossing the batch, saving a small amount to show me. What was supposed to be a smooth, soft caramel was a perfect stand-in for limestone. Although DaVinci might have loved working with it, it's not really edible. 

I'm working out the details for our 4-Day Sale email. It takes a
lot of tweaking to make sure it's clear and the loopholes are
closed. I'm adding a one-time one-use e-coupon to the sale good
for a phenomenal savings on one non-craft-supply item. 

I spent most of the day working on the email for my end of year 4-Day Sale. I think I've got that pounded into shape now, and will fine-tune it today. I want to send it out on Monday and again on Thursday, and I'm hoping that Friday/Saturday and the following Monday/Tuesday will be busy with lots of sales and interesting customers. It's the fun customers who make working retail worthwhile. 

One of the things he's been wanting to get is a set
of loading ramps for the truck. He needs something
that will fold up small, but be able to handle the
weight of the snow blower if he needs to get it to
the dealer for a tune-up. 

I finally decided on two major gifts for DH, things that I can afford, but that he's been mentioning he wanted or grumbling about. We'll see if he takes advantage or not, but when it comes down to reality, he's a tough guy to buy for. I'm really looking forward to just wrapping the year up and returning to cleaning up my studio, organizing things, and getting rid of more junk. It's hard, but it needs to be done. 

On that note, I'm going to address and send my final two holiday cards on the way to work this morning and call them done for this year. It was fun. Now to design and start work on next year's offering - LOL. Have a wonderful weekend and a blessed Solstice. I'll be back on Monday. 

Breakneck Speed - That's Me Right Now

I'm bouncing a few texts and graphics in the background right now while writing this, crossing my fingers that I don't close the wrong window - LOL. I't my "day off" that isn't today. Chickie was up at 4:00 am and her Dad's open heart surgery begins in an hour or so, so I'll be keeping her family in my thoughts today while I work her shift. It's still cold (curently -3F  -19.4C), and I'm still in the final stages of my holiday cards. I'm running a bit late on these, my firm deadline for getting them into the mail is Winter Solstice, and that's approaching at breakneck speed. 

I'm cruising at a breakneck pace right now - lots of things
and lots of fires. I'll get it all done, but it's crunch time. 

I'm in the final assembly stages, though, and if all goes well and I get a chance to do envelopes on Friday, the lot will hit the mail on Saturday/Sunday. Yeah - cutting it SO close. I managed to contact FedEx regarding the mis-shipped package and arranged to pick it up from a local FedEx hub store on my way home from work tonight. What a mess. At least I managed to get that somewhat OK, though. I don't think I'll be ordering from that company again, though. 

I've got a video to share with all of you. Click on the link here to watch
this short, 2+ minute commercial for a Filipino phone company. You
don't need to understand the language to appreciate the dedication
of these two young men for their friend. A true winner for this holiday season,
and a Star Wars tie-in for those who care. Make sure to watch it through
to the end to get the twist. 

I have a good LJ friend who had a problem adding a comment onto yesterday's post. I went into my profile and all of that stuff, but can't really find any reason why she would suddenly not have permission to post a reply to my blog. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. She's a long-time friend and she's certainly posted comments to my blog in the past - quite often, in fact. I don't understand why she suddenly had a problem with that. 

On that note, I'm going to get this posted, rescue my laundry from the dryer, and try to get a bit more done on my cards before heading to work. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow and I'll miss talking to you today, Aearwen! Next week for SURE!!!