LOOKING BACK-LOOKING FORWARD

I don't have a tree this year. I could blame family tragedies or the recent three minor surgeries that have got me nearly flat on my back. I could blame politics or climate change. I could blame my husband, after all, don't they often get left with the blame, whether guilty or not?

Or I could accept that this year, I will have no tree.

Actually, aside from the fact that the price of a Christmas tree has crept far beyond my budget, I'm also having trouble with the "disposable" mentality that goes with it. I mean, once a year, millions of people suddenly require the killing of trees that may not be ready to die. Then a month later, they are tossed away, forgotten. Some people recycle, and those lucky trees get to become toilet paper or paper towels. Maybe they are made into book pages. That would be nice. But fact is, there are lots of other recyclables that can be used for the purpose. The life of books does not depend on the death of Christmas trees.

I have a collection of vintage and antique ornaments, many in the shape of cats. I miss putting these on the tree, slipping them over the cool, spiky branches, then watching them shine in the colored lights for a week or two. But I put a photo on my wallpaper from back when I had a tree and am enjoying it just fine.

One thing I did participate in this year is the sending of Christmas cards. This small, non-electronic connection with friends and family gives me a great amount of pleasure. I love to see what people send back. (Those who still keep up the tradition.) As you can imagine, I receive a lot of cat-themed cards.

I like to look for interesting vintage cards on Pinterest. This year, I was especially enthralled by the 1950's black cat. Here are a few I found.

I also discovered a new artist who creates paintings in the style of that period, but with some added quirks of her own. Her name is El Gato Gomez, and she led me on a tortuous trail through social media as I tried to find out more about her. I failed. I don't even know where she's from. A Google search led me to old sites and error sites and multiple presence on Facebook. Still, I have to show you a few of her pieces.

So for all you with trees, please enjoy their loving ambiance for me. Possibly 2020 will be the year for me to put up a tree.

Happy Holidays!

December again. By Michael E. Gonzales

It’s December yet again. In my family the Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving, and this year is no exception.

The leftover turkey in the fridge wasn’t even chilled when the next morn my bride started boxing up the Thanksgiving decorations that had festooned the house for the past month and started the process of transforming our home into North Pole City. The tree went up on the 1st and was fully decorated an hour later.

This may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but in our garage it’s an archeological excavation to unearth my wife’s well-organized storage tubs.

Now, don’t misunderstand, I absolutely LOVE what my wife does to our house during Christmas! She gives our home the Holiday ambiance that makes this season truly festive for the entire family. (Yes, this is our hearth)

During Thanksgiving we sort of lose the meaning of the day in the pressure and angst that we bring down upon ourselves. But, in our family, the month of December provides us with that perspective, and we better appreciate the Lord’s many blessings poured down upon us.

Even thirty years later I am still so very thankful that I’m not spending Christmas in the turret of a tank with three other men who, like me, haven’t seen a real bath in weeks!  I’m warm, dry, there's really good food in the house, I’m surrounded by people who love me, and at night I slide in between clean, warm sheets on a comfortable mattress.

Most people can’t appreciate that sensation, particularly if you've not slept inside a tank turret or in a cold muddy hole in the ground as it rains or snows.  Think about that tonight as you lay your head on that nice soft pillow.

But I digress…

Christmas is, for my family, the best time of the year. We gather with friends and colleagues for parties, we exchange small gifts, thank one another for the gifts lavished on us all year, and culminate by remembering that Christ is the reason for the season.

So, from my family to yours a very MERRY CHRISTMAS.

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MERRY CAT-MAS, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer

In our house,

the cats own Christmas.

They own the tree,

which is decorated to their delight,

with the big unbreakable bulbs

down low

for their enjoyment.

They own the hearth

and the soft rug in front,

warm and cozy.

They own the kitchen,

which though busy with baking,

also gives treats and tastes,

just for them.

They own the presents,

wrapped in tissue,

which they pull and tear,

to open by themselves.

They own the gift boxes

to sit in;

the wrapping paper

to kneed into a crinkly bed;

the ribbons to chase and toss,

better than all the expensive toys

from the pet shop.

In our home,

the cats own Christmas,

and we wouldn’t have it

any other way.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

Check out more blogs by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer at:

Mollie Hunt: Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and more

Happy reading!

The Sounds of the Season

This month I'm taking a break from writing about, well, writing, to talk about one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. 

As a very aural person, I love music, especially Christmas music. Now, I do have my limits. There are a couple of local radio stations that I no longer listen to because they begin playing Christmas music 24/7 on November 1^st. I’m sorry, but there are only so many times one can hear Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas and remain sane; these stations hit that limit within a week.

I usually haul my Christmas CDs out the day after Thanksgiving. (Yes, I'm old school. I still have - and play - CDs.) The music of the season is what really puts me in the Christmas mood and helps me relax when the stress would otherwise get the best of me. Even though I have a sixty CD case that is pretty much full, there are three CDs that I play over and over.

Phillips, Craig and Dean: Repeat the Sounding Joy

I’ll be the first to admit that for the most part, I prefer male singers over female; I tend to like deeper voices. I also love harmony, which is one of the things that drew me to this trio from the beginning. This album has non-traditional arrangements of traditional music and their rendition of O Come, O Come Emmanuel is breath-taking; this song is what I imagine the choirs of heaven sound like.

NewSong: The Christmas Shoes

Yes, those Christmas Shoes; the song that had us all weeping into our eggnog the year it released. (I’m including you here guys. Don’t try to deny it. I’m sure plenty of you snuck off for a good sniffle when it played.) This album has my favorite renditions of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree and You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch. Like Phillips, Craig and Dean, NewSong harmonizes beautifully. Also, different group members perform the lead vocals on different tracks. However, there is one vocalist whose voice makes me weak in the knees; his rendition of O Holy Night has the ability to reduce me to tears – in a good way.

 John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together

Yes, you read that right. One of my all-time favorite Christmas albums includes the Muppets. I’ve always like John Denver; he always made singing seem so effortless. This album is filled with a mixture of traditional and non-traditional songs; there isn’t a bad one in the bunch. This CD is such a tradition in our home that when my sons moved out, they received their own copies to continue the tradition in their homes.

 

To each and every one of you, I wish you the merriest of holiday seasons. And to those of you who, like me, will have an empty chair at the table and an empty place in your heart... hugs. 

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