End-of-year

If you haven't done so already run out and get a copy of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. Or download it on your Kindle or iPad. It is a great book. I won't give anything away, only one review started with "just a few times in a decade does a book as good as The Gold Finch come along." There is an exhibit at The Frick Museum where the actual painting is being shown that I hope to see.

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The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius

Today is the day to start with the new year's resolutions. Mine are (so far): eat more fruit and read more books. Actually, I eat a lot of fruit already but I have a new book: The Tao of Nutrition that is fascinating. It explains how different foods work with your body (in a nutshell).

As far as books are concerned I am off to a roaring start with The Goldfinch. I also recently finished The Ghosts of Guilt by Michael Connolly. I love his detective stories and he is quite funny.

Seeing that I spent the entire fall with a glue gun in hand decorating Christmas trees, large and small, for various charities now is the time for me.

Trees for tables at soup kitchen Part of the Solution

I do have a mound of tax work to do which will take quite some time. Turbo Tax is so helpful. A new thing I found this year is there is a table that shows what the value of your household donations should be. They have compiled this list based on prices at Goodwill and other thrift stores as well as eBay. For a blazer it is such and such, for a dining room table $148. It goes on down the line, sheets, stockpot, etc. The prices are low and realistic. Don't want those IRS guys coming to the door.

Ignore the weather outside and settle in with a good book.

JIT

Just in time. Here is someone who waited a little too long to tackle her Christmas shopping although it looks as though she got it all done at one fabulous store.

Christmas

The weather outside is indeed frightful and inside it is truly delightful. I hope you've finished your shopping so that you can now savor the holiday.

This is a nice look if you're in a warm climate.

Santa will be heading out shortly ...

Okay, if your house doesn't look somewhat like this then you are in trouble. You knew Christmas was coming, it's on the 25th of December every year and, no, it is not a week earlier this year, there was just a shorter time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We even have the Internet now, making shopping virtually effortless. Now is the time to vow that you will never let Christmas catch you by surprise again, haha. And, no, January is Not Too Early to make needlepoint Christmas ornaments for next year. Make a list of things you wish you had thought of or want to do next year.

Enjoy your time at Christmas and be grateful for everyone you have in your life.

Favorite Christmas carol, or rather the one I have the lyrics for.

It came upon the midnight clear,

That glorious song of old,

From angels bending near the earth,

To touch their harps of gold:

"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men,

From heaven's all-gracious King."

The world in solemn stillness lay,

To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,

With peaceful wings unfurled,

And still their heavenly music floats

O'er all the weary world;

Above its sad and lowly plains,

They bend on hovering wing,

And ever o'er its Babel sounds

The blessèd angels sing.

Yet with the woes of sin and strife

The world has suffered long;

Beneath the angel-strain have rolled

Two thousand years of wrong;

And man, at war with man, hears not

The love-song which they bring;

O hush the noise, ye men of strife,

And hear the angels sing.

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,

Whose forms are bending low,

Who toil along the climbing way

With painful steps and slow,

Look now! for glad and golden hours

come swiftly on the wing.

O rest beside the weary road,

And hear the angels sing!

For lo!, the days are hastening on,

By prophet bards foretold,

When with the ever-circling years

Comes round the age of gold

When peace shall over all the earth

Its ancient splendors fling,

And the whole world give back the song

Which now the angels sing.

Not everything has to be red and green. There is always a spot for some pink!

Helping out

'Tis the season and some of you are probably fed up with the whole thing. I, for one, love Christmas and love the decorations that go along with it. However, I may have hit my limit this year, making 40 miniature trees for Ronald McDonald House Charities and some for my favorite soup kitchen, POTS. 

I've been doing some volunteer work at POTS (Part of the Solution) in the Bronx this year (check it out on Google) and all I can say is you get out of it what you put into it. It has been a very rewarding experience and I feel I am helping people who are in need, from me to them, with no middle man. If I bring in a coat I know one of these folks will be wearing it within the week. I wash the dishes from which they eat their meals. (Trying not to end these sentences with a preposition …)

I have to be careful because I have become so passionate about this cause and I don't want to come across as a born-again Christian. But, more on that. It amazes me that, in general, these folks have faith in God. I do not know how, given their circumstances, but often the blackboard posted on the wall often has something biblical on it and always something inspirational. My thought is to put up "Peace on Earth, good will toward men". In my mind that summarizes it all.

www.potsbronx.org

So pretty.

I want to make an ornament like this for next year. I love the snowman!