Saturday, December 26, 2009

More Christmas

I'm still recovering from hosting Christmas dinner last night--17 people, after all was said and done.  The Alien Child's girlfriend also came over, as her trip to Oklahoma was curtailed by the massive snowstorm that closed the airports there.  But, the more the merrier at the Harbaugh house at Christmas!

It may sound odd to some to say so, but this really is the beginning of the Christmas season for us--liturgically.  Remember the 12 days of Christmas song?  Well, the Twelve Days begin on Christmas day for those who are Christians, although of course we prepare for Christmas like everyone else in the secular world (what people call the "Christmas season" is Advent for the regular church-goers). 

Which makes me realize, Christmas is both a secular and religious holiday.  The secular folks celebrate in their own way in the weeks prior to and on December 25th, whereas religious Christians go through the preparatory weeks of Advent, then celebrate on December 25th and for the 12 days afterwards...but not strictly, because we get into the secular before-Christmas fun, too.

All of which makes for an extra-long Christmas season for regular church-goers.  And which can make for extra fatigue, but I think the extra fatigue is laid on pastors more than anyone else. 

But I am feeling particularly relaxed right now and not inclined to do much, especially now that my right eye has ceased twitching.  Hmm.

Still, onwards and upwards. I need to venture out to get some split peas, so as to make split pea soup from the spiral sliced ham remains.  My niece Elizabeth loves split pea soup, so I will make sure to get some for her as well. 

But still, it continues to be Christmas, so here is something to consider.  If you are on Twitter, do a search for #gooddeed, which is a very Pollyanna search.  I think you will like what you find.

Much love to you all!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Pollyanna Christmas

I'm up to my ears in day-job work and preparing for 16 people to be at Christmas dinner at our house, and I doubt I'll get to post anything at length. Yet, Christmas is a time of light and celebration in the midst of the darkest season of the year; indeed, I think I can say all cultures in this world have some kind of mid-winter celebration that is focused on light and bounty. It's such a human thing to do: lighting a candle in the dark, shouting "life!" in the midst of a season that historically has been so starved of life (literally--winter has always been a season when food was short and life, shorter). I believe there is something both human and divine in the urge to give light in the midst of darkness, to search for life when death hovers at the door.

So, since actions speak louder than words, below are some links to news and such that are not only in the spirit of Christmas, but also in the spirit of Pollyanna.

Mystery couple sparks cascade of giving at diner:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34420892/ns/us_news-giving/

Secret Santas:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34420690/ns/us_news-giving/

Crime decreases; murder falls by 10%; lowest since the 1960s:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34510483/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Stephen King donates money to bring Maine soldiers home for Christmas, bless his heart:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34403601/ns/us_news-giving/

If there has to be a fight around Christmas, a snowball fight in Times Square is not a bad way to go about it:
http://blog.ricecracker.net/2009/12/20/snowball-fight-times-square/

Which was apparently started by some kids from Florida:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=211278819460&ref=mf

Anyone else got Pollyanna-ish Christmas news and incidents? Let me know.

Much love and light to all!
--Karen

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Breathlessly catching up...

Kind of. Between doing overtime at work, NaNoWriMo, and the resulting shoulder and back pain, I've kept my writing very limited. Gotta heal up before I jump back into writing again, and that includes my blogs. There is stuff I've written for my blogs prior to this, but I have to find the time to finish writing and upload them. Sigh. I'll back date them to their proper date-of-creation when I do, so they'll appear before this post.


Meanwhile, I have to get back to work.

Oh, one bit of news: the Grail anthology "A Chalice of Roses" (which includes my story, "Miss Templar and the Holy Grail," will be on the bookshelves the first week in January. So, if you want a fun wintertime Regency adventure, give it a try. It's one of my "kitchen sink" stories, where I had an assortment of random elements and gave myself the challenge of seeing whether I could incorporate them all. So: Regency (think Jane Austen/Georgette Heyer), Holy Grail, Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott, and "Where's Waldo."

I do love challenges like this. Tell me "you can't do that" in a story and chances are pretty good I'll think of a way I can.

I remember when someone told me "you can't put a vampire in a Regency romance." Oh, yeah.... Hee, hee, hee.