Adventures in joyful living
When I was a kid, my Italian-American family gathered every night of the Christmas season, each time around a different relative’s table, to eat (mostly), agree (often), disagree (more often), laugh at the same old stories (always), and sing. My cousin’s husband played the guitar; others, the accordion, the harmonica, the piano. I mimicked the Italian […]
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And just to update… a wish fulfilled. The marathon starts at noon today! And there was the headline I’d been waiting for: Hallmark will air Christmas movie marathon during coronavirus quarantine Our local paper printed this today as a “report” from another publication. I couldn’t verify it on the Hallmark website, but ironically, just yesterday […]
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Many of the botanical gardens in the United States are resplendent at Christmas time. When we were visiting the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in September, Santa’s elves (with decidedly green thumbs) were already at hard work on a holiday display that my Maine family describes as breathtaking. This year, we had a family day-out to […]
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With a little luck, after Christmas, we rest. We sit back to enjoy the grace of a crisp, but not cold, winter morning that began with a brilliant sunrise. We pick up that book we’d set aside for the last two crazed weeks. We fully appreciate the transient charm of the decorations that, in a […]
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December 28… It’s uncharacteristically balmy here in Central Pennsylvania, and the first thing I did this morning was clodhop outside for a breath of just-chilly-enough fresh air. The after-Christmas calm will soon give way to the steady din of football commentary and wild cheering for our last Penn State game of the year, the Cotton […]
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From our family to you and yours!
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Over-idealizing the past definitely guarantees you a berth on what my witty brother-in-law calls the “bullet train to Geezerville.” Still, there’s no denying the natural human tendency for nostalgia, which, since it’s pretty selective, is always fun, especially at Christmas. The Hallmark Channel, as we all know, makes a mint on it. Except for the […]
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If you’re anything like me, you fairly gag at the monotonous “one script is all” banter that occurs on House Hunters and all of its variations: “It’s a good size.” “I love the granite counter tops.” “It’s pretty small for a master.” (What would you expect in a house built in 1920, folks?) “This would […]
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You’ve heard my prattle about Hallmark Christmas movies. Except for mentioning that The Christmas Train is head and shoulders above all the rest and my absolute favorite so far this season, I’ll leave you to chat about Hallmark movies amongst yourselves. This post, instead, is about their worthy ancestor of an entirely different ilk, our […]
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As I write this, I’m preparing psychologically to clean and straighten out my baking pantry before the Christmas endurance contest begins. Baking Christmas cookies with my mother the first two weekends in December remains one of my favorite childhood memories. Mom gave cookies away in droves, never forgot a generous box for the rectory, and […]
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Just in case you didn’t hear the news, Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” is once again upon us. Be still, my heart! Thirty-three new Hallmark Christmas movies plus, no doubt, innumerable repeats, will begin October 28, three days before Halloween. In one of my first blog posts last January, I wrote without shame about my attachment to […]
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Two Christmases ago, one Facebook friend advised another who was feeling glum to “go watch a Hallmark Christmas movie.” But several other FB pals joined the chorus, and I realized she was serious. I was stunned. That slurpy Hallmark Channel stuff? No way. Fast forward to summer 2016. We are deep into the divisiveness of […]
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Hashtag Retired 