Happy Holidays

'Truley, Autumn is my season," the scarlet beast chorted. "Spring and Summer and Winter all begin with such late letters! But Autumn and Fall, I have loved best, because they are best to love."

~Catherynne M. Valente

The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland

 In A Ship Of Her Own Making 

Thanksgiving is over, and it's time for all the worlds of autumn to come together! Christmas really should be the last party of autumn, as it belongs to winter for only a few days! It's always seemed to be that autumn got cheated by that, but to me, it is an autumn holiday, no matter what the calendar says! I tend to have all my holiday shopping done by December 20th, so I can spend the last few days before the big day to relax, and enjoy the decorations, and all that goes with the holiday, like baking yummy things.

We tend to celebrate Christmas Eve, with more enthusiasm, than Christmas Day. We make special snacks, play board games, or card games, listen to music, and sometimes get silly singing! Not necessarily Christmas songs, as actually there are very few of those I can actually stand, but any song that makes us laugh and enjoy! Then on the day, we do what most families do, we open our gift bags, and have a good time watching the furry people play with their new catnip toys. We are an unconventional family to be sure, but I bet a lot of families have more going on than we do!

I was born Jewish, but raised Methodist. So, Alan and I honor both holidays. I imagine there are a lot of families like ours that celebrate both holidays, which is why I find it amusing that anyone would claim that there is a "War On Christmas!" All these people who claim Christmas has become, too commercialized, and that saying "Happy Holidays" somehow takes the focus off Jesus, are just more people trying to, literally, sell you a bill of goods." They want you to buy their books about the commercialism of Christmas, which is amusing, but also infuriating at the same time, because year after year, we have to hear about the same old, non-existent war, for the sole purpose of demanding religious conformity, and yes, getting rich off fear and hate! 

Sarah Palin, Bill O'Reilly and Donald Trump, among others, have now all sold products aimed at putting the Christmas back in Christmas! With the first two, it was all about selling books that declared that there was a war on Christmas, being waged by anyone wishing you, or anyone you know, a "Happy Holiday." Also, the whole holiday is one big shopping scheme, created by companies, to take the Jesus out of the season! So be good, for goodness sake, and yell at the next person wishing you a Happy Holiday, and be sure to by another book that explains how you can help, by not over shopping! Because nothing says noncommercial, like a $40 "MAGA" hat that says "Merry Christmas" on the back! Because, now, finally, with Trump in office, we can now say Merry Christmas again! Whew! What a relief!

I'll just be frank here... these people are full of shit!

Especially President "Anything For A Buck."

There. I said it.

Christmas is about as commercial, as you personally choose to let it be! If you want to go out and lavish your family with gifts, go for it! If you want to stay home, and make handmade pillows or blankets, great, have at it, but don't hide behind your "Christianity" as a way to rob anyone else of their religion, their manners, or their joy, or simply, their traditions, during what should be, the one time of year that we can really reach out to one another, in kindness, friendship, and best of all love. We have it in us, but sometimes we have so much noise going on around us, and so many people trying to tell us what to think, that we can't hear ourselves love. Let yourself feel the love in the words, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, because it's up to you to decide if you want to hear with ears of love, or ears of hate.

That. Is. On. You.

Here's a bit of advice... Don't Let Hate Win!

#24 Leaf Of The Day

November 24th, 2017

Knight's Ferry, California

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

It's Christmas Time In The City

"I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas, with a note on it saying, toys not included."

~Bernard Manning

 

If the world ends on Friday, I hope the last thing I see is San Francisco as I rise up into the clouds. I love it here. It's beautiful. And fun. And inspiring. And a little odd. And friendly. And anytime I am down in the dumps, a simple trip across any of the bridges that lead to the city, usually awakens the happiness in me. It heals me. It dries my tears. Unless it is making me laugh till I cry. God I love that feeling. Laughing till I cry, with my sides in spasms... oh how I love that feeling.

 

Tuesday, Alan and I decided to fill up our life with fun. It doesn't take a lot to improve our moods, for us it mostly consists of going out and letting life show us the big picture. Our first destination was a visit to the Tilden Park Christmas Carousel. There is a lot of joy to be had there. The whole place is decorated with different themed Christmas trees, with beautiful ornaments which can be purchased off any of the trees. It's a long standing tradition to purchase each other a new ornament each year, and we always grab ones for the cats as well. I love hanging those ornaments on the trees year after year, and remembering all the joy we got from finding just the right one.

After the park, we left for Union Square, in San Francisco. Where it was COLD! :) I smile because I bought myself an early Christmas present a couple weeks ago. I new, incredibly warm, gorgeous leopard print coat from Old Navy. GOD I LOVE OLD NAVY! :) I call my new coat my "Jersey Housewife" coat in honor of the Real Housewives of New Jersey, and their love of... ahem... all things leopard. LOL. It's a fun coat, and it makes me happy. And warm. Although for some odd reason whenever I wear it I seem to pronounce stuff weird. Like if I want Alan to buy me a hot dog from the hot dog vendor on the corner, rather than say... Alan, please get me a hot dog... I tend to say something like... Hey Guido, I could really use a Dwag. LOL. Just kidding, but you knew that... right?

Anyway, we had an amazing time, sitting in Starbucks, upstairs at Macy's in Union Square. It's a lot of fun watching the shoppers, and the ice skaters, and the happiness everyone gets from a little shopping therapy, and holiday fun. Sometimes I wish I could go ice skating, but alas I never learned how. Sigh. That's one of my minor regrets, because it looks like amazing fun. About the only way I could even consider it at this point in life is if there is such a thing as training blades, which I am pretty sure doesn't exist. Nope, I might just have to face the fact that I am now too old to learn to ice skate. Woe is me. Although my knees applaud my maturity. LOL. It's not easy to know that I was able to conquer my fear of flying, but learning to ice skate is simply off the table.

Weird That.

Except for our holiday ornaments, we haven't bought a single thing for each other yet. Yikes! I think I will be doing some shopping later today, and he is planning on shopping this weekend. So, we will be back in the city over the weekend for some fun, so I will have plenty of time to enjoy the holiday sights, sounds, and shopping. Ahhh... bliss. :) Sometimes, when the world really gets to me I think the world can't end soon enough, but then I see a cute little snowman ice skating, or the most adorable elderly couple ice skating, holding hands, and looking at each other like they fell in love just a few moments ago, or I catch a glimpse of San Francisco at holiday time, and I want to grab onto life, even with it's sorrows, and embrace every bit of it.

It's Christmas Time In The City...







"It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags! Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a lot more."

~Dr. Suess, How The Grinch Stole Christmas

~Happiness

~Me :)

Last Night's Christmas Joke...

Q. Why is Christmas just like a day at the office?

A. You do all the work, and the fat guy with the suit gets all the credit.

Tonight's Joke...

Q. How does Al Gore's household keep Christmas politically correct?

*Comeback tomorrow for the punchline. But feel free to take a guess, or leave a FAMILY FRIENDLY holiday joke in the comment thread.