warm and rainy early evening in town
pleasant ending
to a relaxed day with friends
between the holidays
good balm for the soul
feels almost like spring
later tonight
once we’re all home again
temperature drops
snow squalls and winds arrive
reminding us that winter is here.
—
‘happiness is a collection of joyful experiences shared with soul friends.’
-amy leigh mercree
—
ann arbor, michigan, usa, december 2025
made a cheese hedgehog but someone said he looked sad
i said he might be blind but was happy go lucky
i added pimentos for eyes and a smile
someone said he looked scary with the red eyes
my granddaughter added a ‘happy hedgehog’ sign
so that everyone would know his demeanor
someone said it looked like roadkill
after we began to eat the cheese part
no one wanted to eat its head or face
we all felt bad for it
the chances you take
when creating food art
that looks so realistic. )
—
‘if somebody thinks they’re a hedgehog,
presumably you just give ’em a mirror and a few pictures of hedgehogs
and tell them to sort it out for themselves.’
-douglas adams, english author, screenwriter, and humorist
National Immigration Law Center
—
‘the greatest nations are defined by how they treat their weakest inhabitants.’
-jorge ramos, global refuge
How to Eat Your Christmas Tree: Delicious, Innovative Recipes for Cooking with Trees By Julia Georgallis
This cookbook explores Christmas trees and features recipes for cooking with pine, fir and spruce. It encourages reflection around food waste in an age of deforestation and climate crisis, and asks how we might be able to celebrate nature in an alternative way.
Pine needle tea is made from white pine needles chopped, added to boiling water, steeped, and strained. The drink can be enjoyed hot, iced, or blended with other herbal teas, notes registered dietitian nutritionist Kate Spurgin. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources reports that the tea is rich in antioxidants, vitamin A, and vitamin C, which can boost immunity and soothe colds.
Tea isn’t the only way to utilize your leftover pine needles. They can also be used to flavor other dishes.
“The way that generally I cook with Christmas trees is to use the needles like an herb, in the same way that you might use rosemary,” said UK baker and cook Julia Georgallis you use the rosemary to flavor a dish but you don’t necessarily eat the rosemary itself.”
Her book includes over 30 recipes that use different parts of the Christmas tree, from drinks to ice cream to “Christmas tree ash”—which is exactly what it sounds like.
“That’s basically when you char the tree in your oven, so you blacken it and then blitz it down into a black powder, and that’s actually really flavorful. It’s very delicious — you just need a tiny bit of it — but it’s quite chef-y,” she explained in a recent interview with Christoper Kimball’s Milk Street.
Part of Georgallis’ motivation in writing the book was conservation. More than 25-30 million Christmas trees are disposed of each year. While the author and chef knows 30 recipes aren’t going to save the world, she hopes her book can “start a conversation. It’s absolutely huge what leaving one year’s worth of Christmas trees globally in the ground could do,” she explained.
—
*Disclaimer: I’ve never read the book, so this is not a review, but the title is interesting, an idea I’d never considered. (If you still have room left after all of those Christmas meals, you might want to take a closer look at your tree.)
—
‘you ask me if I keep a notebook to record my great ideas.’
i’ve only ever had one.’
-albert einstein
—
Source credit: Meredith Kile, Vice
Santa math – To reach an estimated 238 million homes worldwide in 34 hours, Santa must visit 7 million per hour—116,667 per minute or 1,944 per second. Explore the Christmas science that might make it possible. Or is it magic?
—
‘it is the month of cakes and candles, snow and songs, carols and joy, laughter and love, it is December. wishing you a Merry Christmas.’
-author unknown
—
source credits:discover, factsite
‘december is a simple wish that brings spectacular moments.’
—
art credit Alissa Adams, Reindeer Games, gicllee print on art paper
quote credit: fillingthejars.com
What do you get when you mix young adult nerd romance, suspense, mystery, humor, sci-fi, and action? You get ‘Wish I Was Here’ the first book in author, Ilsa Rey’s series, The Wish Trilogy.
High school is a time when everyone tries to find themselves, but as you follow Ana and Isaac throughout the novel, they quite literally disappear, each in a different way. In this adventure, Ana, who has never had much confidence at all, has to muster all her courage to find a way to save Isaac before it’s too late.
There are many ups and downs along the way, especially when an old flame enters the picture, along with their dysfunctional families, and things get even more complicated. The stakes get higher, there are secrets, hard decisions have to be made, and things get more dangerous. Who can be trusted? What to do next? Will Ana find her confidence and use her wit to outsmart everyone? Can things be solved in time? You’ll find yourself cheering her along, and even laughing at times, but there are no guarantees and everything is on the table. You won’t be able to put this down until the very end. It’s definitely a page-turner and a great escape!
Books go on sale today at the following locations:
Black Rose (Publisher) https://www.blackrosewriting.com/youngadult/p/wishiwashere
* About the Author: (blogging friend and martial arts master)
At age twenty-one, Ilsa Rey packed everything she owned into her little red Ford Focus and drove from Cleveland to California for good. She is now a recovering chicken owner and a martial artist with a black belt in Taekwondo and a blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu. Her favorite things are writing, training, and teaching self-defense to young women. She lives in southern California with her husband, four children, and the ghosts of chickens past.Find her online: X: @IlsaReyAuthor; Instagram: @Ilsa_Rey; Blog: IlsaRey.com
—
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
-Albert Einstein
—
Wish I Was Here: Even When Invisible, There’s No Place to Hide
(Book 1 of The Wish Trilogy) for Teens and Young Adults
The Gift of Nothing considers two main subjects:
the concept of nothing and the value of friendship.
What do you give a friend who already has everything?
Why, you give them nothing at all.
One of my favorite books, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, ‘The Gift Of Nothing,’ explores the meaning of friendship and the meaning of gifts.
What is a friend and what is a gift? Things might not be what actually make people happy. Perhaps it is the people and our relationships with them that really make us happy.
Why do we give gifts? Is it to show that we care about the person and that we are happy to be with them? If so, is the gift truly important or could the real gift be spending time with them?
Originally written for children, but loved by all ages.
—
Author/Illustrator: Patrick McConnell, New York Times best selling author and Caldecott honor artist, creator of the popular comic strip Mutts.
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
—
“the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.
because when you give your time,
you are giving away a portion of your life that you will never get back.”
-author unknown
made a solstice crown
to teach the tiny ones
in my old school
the ancient stories
still hold true
the light, the dark
seasons, nature, circles
words, dance, music
children twirling with snow
earth tilts
sun goes down early
light is short
on solstice day
earth rests
next day awakens
the light returns
each day longer.
—
‘the shortest day and the longest night
a reminder that dark times give birth to astonishing light”
-tanya markul
heading to our longtime friends’ fairy castle house
for an early christmas celebration
on a cold, snowy night
lots of warmth inside
food, drink, cheer, stories,
meetings, memories
singing with the piano
twelve days of christmas
part of each room
sang a different number
everyone tried
some got lost
some forgot
some sang lots
some sang little
piano played on
all were laughing.
—
“Lady, dear, if Fairies may / For a moment lay aside /
Cunning tricks and elfish play, / ‘Tis at happy Christmas-tide.”
-Lewis Carroll, capturing fairies joining the Christmas spirit.
I didn't have my glasses on.... 