Window Over The Sink

by Debra Jo Myers Winter. Many people love the beauty of snow falling, while others dread it thinking about shoveling or driving in it. We’ve had measurable snow already this winter, I thought it was a good time to talk about the wonder of snowflakes. Snowflakes are intricate and unique displaying stunning geometric patterns creating delicate works of art. You can find them in a variety of shapes, depending on the temperature they encounter falling through the atmosphere. No

by Cathy Shouse Since it’s the day after Christmas, I thought it would be fun to talk about toys, both the ones we were given and those we have given. I got the idea from a blog post I read recently. It made me think about toys in a new way. My family always made Christmas morning fun, and toys were a huge part of the excitement. We got “Santa” toys that were not wrapped every year. I’m thinking now the sacrifices they might have made to do that for three kids. I researched

by Liz Flaherty This is my day for Window Holidays, but I didn't get it done. Just as I missed a few people on the cards list and ran out of cards. Just as I forgot things I meant to get for ones on my presents list. But today, and the season, isn't about perfection, is it? While I believe Jesus was and is perfect, the rest of us aren't quite the same. I don't think we're meant to be, either--not that anyone asked me. So in addition to what is in the graphic below, I wish you

by M. J. Schiller Hi! Reading all the posts from Liz’s Christmas guests has made me nostalgic for my days of Christmas Past. Usually, the day after Thanksgiving I’d begin decorating the house. We had a party every year in the first or second week of December, so everything needed to be in its proper place. Next would come the baking. I could never decide on what cookies to bake, so I’d end up with anywhere from 10-15 different kinds. This year, without the kids at home, I’ve

by Debra Jo Myers Having just wrapped up a fabulous theater run at Ole Olsen Memorial Theatre portraying Sue in Heck the Dolls with Chardonnay , my own holiday memories have been on overload. For those who didn’t see the play, it centered around a character, Grandma Sue, sharing memories of holidays gone by with her granddaughter. Each one is portrayed in a flashback featuring a younger Sue. That’s the part I played. Reliving Sue’s memories sent me into my own holiday reminis

by Corinna Lawson Christmas is bittersweet. It’s a time for reflection of how the year has gone. It’s also a time for traditions that tend to remind us of times past, not always for the good.   That’s why It’s a Wonderful Life  is my favorite Christmas movie.   George Bailey is hanging on by his figurative fingertips. Nothing has gone as planned for his life. Twice he’s pulled back by responsibilities from his plans to escape the confines of Bedford Falls while others move on

by Jennifer Wilck As Hanukkah rolls around this year, I find that I’m focusing on the idea of light. Specifically, lighting up a world that seems increasingly dark. For eight nights, my family and I will light our nine-branched candelabra, the menorah, increasing the candles by one each night until all eight (and the helper candle) are lit on the last night. That last night is my favorite night of all. In a darkened room with only the glow of the menorah, we are bathed in lig

by Jan Scarbrough   Why do we run ourselves ragged before the Christmas holidays? Why do we shop until we drop? Decorate the house inside and out? Fret over new Elf on the Shelf locations? Because we have wonderful Christmas memories of our own childhood—family gatherings at grandmother’s house, toys from Santa under the tree, church pageants and choir concerts, and volunteers at red kettles ringing bells in the cold. My cousin recently posted an old home video on Facebook an

by Liz Flaherty This is from the first year of the Window Holidays Project. In a way, it was the easiest year, because friends were eager to come, more people liked to write and read blogs, and it was all positive. In 2022, we needed positive, didn't we? We still do. But even then, there were times when it didn't work out and a friend or I filled in the blank space. Even though I've changed it a little, I'm covering over the space today. Thank you for stopping in. I so love h

by Carol Light I live in South Florida in a semitropical climate more hospitable to flamingos than reindeer. Even so, the holiday season is alive and well here, although I wouldn’t bet on Santa arriving on a snowy roof with his bundle of presents. And what would he do on that roof other than suffer heat stroke in his red suit? After all, there’s a distinct lack of chimneys in this area. While some of my neighbors have fireplaces, most of us don’t. It’s been several years sinc

by Nan Reinhardt I love to sing. I can’t sing. I mean I have a truly terrible voice, but I love to sing. Especially at Christmas. So Pandora’s Christmas Classics starts playing at our house before Thanksgiving and NPR gets switched to the Christmas station on the car radio as soon as B105.7 becomes all Christmas music all the time. I’ve played James Taylor’s holiday CD so many times I’m surprised it isn’t worn through and at least four times a week, I hunt for the Eagles vers

By Cheryl St. John I love this time of year, especially because I love Christmas trees and all the decorations. I’ve been working on thinning out my storage room, since I had enough ornaments to decorate trees with six different themes. I used to put up four trees, but we’ve downsized and I have to get my mind around the fact that I need less. The Santa's sleigh in this photo was my grandmother's, and it's one of my most precious possessions. Plastic Christmas ornaments origi

My guest today was unable to blog, so I'm sneaking in a surprise guest--me. It's an old one (another surprise, right?) but I hope you'll like it. The picture is of my girls and me on Black Friday a few years ago. I have one by birth and two by marriage, and they are all the daughters of my heart. Spending the day with them is one of the greatest gifts of my year. There are people out there who have their Christmas shopping done. They are the same ones who bought all their wra

By Kristina Knight It’s been an odd couple of years. Maybe four. Mostly likely right at three-and-a-half. Years where I couldn’t find the words. Literally. Story ideas? Plenty of ‘em. Characters? All over the place. Twists and turns? Everywhere. But when I would sit down at my desk to write, nothing.  I thought I was done. That the stories in my head were just destined to just live in my head.  It was frustrating. Demoralizing. I felt like a failure. To some extent, I’d alway

by Roseann McGrath Brooks One of my husband’s favorite Christmas carols is the somewhat obscure “ ’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime .” Those readers unfamiliar with the hymn, also called the “Huron Carol,” may be surprised to see verses about mighty Gitchi Manitou and hunter braves. Such words remind me in these disheartening times of division and animosity that the Christmas story is meant for everyone.  The hymn was written in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary amon

by Maggie Blackbird I asked my father what it was like to spend Christmas at St. Charles Garnier Indian Residential High School for Boys, which he attended in Spanish, Northeastern Ontario in the mid-fifties as a young teenager.  Being so far from home, he had to stay during the holidays since my grandparents couldn’t afford to bring him back to the reserve located a good 1,200 kilometres away in Northwestern Ontario. He mentioned the priests and staff did their best to make

by Meryl Brown Tobin Holidays are important for anyone. They get you away from everyday concerns and allow you to disconnect, unwind, relax and refresh. Unplugging and focusing on what you want to do––travelling, beachcombing, bushwalking or whatever––is good for your mental health, stops you feeling overwhelmed, improves sleep, as does increased physical activity. According to research, spending time in natural environments, as I do, is especially good for your brain.  As a

by Lori Matsourani December is here, ringing in the holiday season and, for me, the busiest time of year! Putting up decorations, scouting out gift ideas, planning holiday get-togethers, pulling out everyone’s favorite recipes, scouring Kroger and H-E-B for the ingredients I need for all the requested holiday dishes, and then baking a cornucopia of holiday treats. As I rifled through my holiday files (that makes me sound extremely organized; but don’t be fooled, I’m really no

by M.J. Schiller Thanksgiving is barely in our rearview mirror. In fact, some of us may still be full from our turkey dinner. But, let’s face it, the stores have been pushing Christmas since shortly after the 4 th  of July. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but...  What makes your house Christmassy? Is it the smell of cookies baking wafting from the kitchen and swirling about the fragrance of pine needles in the living room? Is it the sight of that snowman that your

by Joe DeRozier Joe DeRozier It is Thanksgiving week! Life can be hard at times, and it can be difficult to not focus solely on our troubles. This week is a good time to see the good that is shining through... Steve was the Chef du jour at his restaurant when he saw Kathy and me at a table under the painting of Frank Sinatra. "Joe! I'm glad you're here. I have something for you." ... My "bad day" had started a full four hours before the clock struck midnight the previous nigh