Gratitude List for the New Year–Don’t Forget the Small Stuff

Last Friday I blogged about how important gratitude is in the lives of children.  Research shows children who are raised to be grateful for the world around them are, among other things, happier, most socially connected, and better students.  Gratitude isn’t just important for children, of course.  Adults who kept a gratitude journal for just three…

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CHUSday and Leftovers

Okay, in unison now. Gr. . oa. . n. All that food. Turkey, ham, shepherd’s pie, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans in every incarnation. Fruitcake, Christmas cookies, latkes and applesauce. Are you full yet? And now we have leftovers! I love taking whatever’s left of a turkey and making gumbo. Turkey gumbo, well, its…

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Sunday Poetry: That Glorious Song of Old

 It Came Upon A Midnight Clear by Edmund Sears 1849 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, good will to men, from heaven’s all-gracious King.” The world in solemn stillness lay, To hear the angels…

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Four Tips to Make the Holiday Season Count

Greater Good Science Center.  Really?  I didn’t remember “liking” any such institution on my Facebook page, but now these interlopers were sending me updates. Just as I was about to send them to “unlike” purgatory, the link itself caught my eye. Gratitude vs. Materialism.  Okay, now I realized who they were.  GGSC researches emotional and social well-being and…

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CHUsday: Slow Food, Fast Food or Something in Between?

T’is the CHUsday before Christmas, and I don’t have to peek in your windows to see how fast you’re running.  Whether it’s Hanukkah or Christmas, Kwanzaa or Winter Solstice you’ll celebrate this week, you’re rushing and wrapping and decorating to chase away winter’s shadows. This is the time of year for fast food, for drive-in…

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Sunday Poetry: Because I Was Young That Morning

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.  If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here. I’m learning I must read at least ten or even twenty poems before I find one I want to feature here.  Not because the others aren’t wonderful, but because I want to share…

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We Wish You a Merry Christmas: Booklover Carols Part Four

Some of you have been reading this blog long enough to remember that each Christmas I “gift” you with new Booklover Carols. For those who hoped I would forget this tradition, my apologies. For those who crave more, you’ll find links to tongue-in-cheek carols from previous years at the end.  This year we highlight the “publishing world” with a…

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CHUsday and Christmas Fruit Cake

So how do you feel about fruit cake?  I see a collective screwing of faces out there.  But honestly this fruitcake, packed with chocolate chips, cherries, dates and walnuts  is hard to beat.  Did you get that?  CHOCOLATE chips in fruitcake?  Yum! I learned to make this recipe in the 1970s, and I’ve made it every…

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Sunday Poetry: She Half Expects to Find Three Magi

Welcome to Sunday Poetry.  If this is your first visit you can read about the purpose and inspiration of my Sunday poetry blogs here. I love this time of year.  I love the traditions that come with it, religious and otherwise, although I could be easily persuaded not to love shopping or worrying if a gift carefully…

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Life Changing Experiences between the Covers of a Book

This week I had a showdown with a  tooth possessing a crooked root and no remorse.  Tooth and I were slated, with no other possibilities, for a date with my friendly, skillful dentist, whose news was destined to unmake my day.  I put off the trip for two months, conveniently sick the first time, conveniently…

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