This & That

Isn't this the prettiest picture you've ever seen? I would love to live in this place. It is quaint and looks warm and cozy.


I have received this award several times in the last few weeks. Thank you Mike, Mama Bear and Deborah. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I would like to pass this on to everyone that I visit on a regular basis and all those who visit me. I have made many blogging friends over the past year and three months and I value each of you. Enjoy!

Yesterday I had to make a trip to the drugstore. Hubby warmed up the van and drove me as I was feeling terrible and was freezing for some reason. The drugstore had a book sale, so while I was there I picked up a package of four Christmas books for over the holidays. Bargain price at $9.99 for all four. These books are usually about that price each so I was ecstatic.

I'm way behind this year. Usually at the end of November, I write hubby's card for him and also do my own. This year, we had just said our goodbyes to Aunt May and I didn't get them done. The cards shown here are only the ones for hubby to give out to his clients. He needs 232 this year. I sat down tonight and wrote 72 of them, but I still have a long way to go. These have to be ready by next Saturday, so you know what I'm going to be doing this week. But really, I enjoy doing them. I also have my own cards to get ready to mail to all my family and blogging friends. I am determined to get it done, but possibly some cards will only arrive at their destination just under the wire.

In other news, please pray for the families of the three Canadian soldiers who were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. What a tragedy. Their families are going to have a difficult Christmas this year.

Please be sure to pick up the button from my sidebar that I made for all of my friends and visitors. If you would like a larger version of the bottom, check out yesterday's post.

Thanks to all of you who took up my Baking Challenge from yesterday. You will each be blessed as you bless those who are less fortunate this year. ~Blessings, Mary~

Christmas Baking Challenge

Sharon at Sit With Me Awhile wrote a beautiful post today. Now Sharon and her family moved this year from Louisiana to North Carolina. They are living in a trailer and have put up a beautiful fir Christmas tree and some outside snowflake lights. She was mentioning that some of the people who are her neighbors are living in the trailer park because they have no where else to go. She mentioned that these people don't have much and she and her daughter are going to do some Christmas baking for them.

Last year Sharon and I joined forces to organize a group of people to do something for those less fortunate. With Aunt May so ill, I didn't really have a chance to talk to Sharon about that this year, but instead, I'm going to turn Sharon's goodwill gesture into a challenge. I am going to do some Christmas baking for someone less fortunate.

I challenge all of you who visit my blog to take up this challenge and do a bit of Christmas baking for someone less fortunate. It could be a family who has no income, a senior citizen, someone who is disabled, someone whose lost their job or a neighbor who lives on a fixed income. If you don't have time to bake, you can purchase something at a bakery and give it. Please though, let it be something that is baked, not something that is purchased from the shelves of your local grocery store.

So, my friends, let your light shine. It doesn't take long to whip up a batch of cookies, a batch of microwave peanut brittle or some fudge. Rocky Roads are quick and easy when done in the microwave. It only takes about 15 minutes.

If you are going to take up the challenge, please leave a comment. I would love to know how many are going to participate.

Have a great week and remember to Let Your Light Shine. ~Blessings Mary~

PS. Here is a little something for all my readers and followers to display on their blogs. Why! Because Santa says, "Your Blog is Cool!"

A Christmas Memory

Each year during December, I often have memories of Christmas in my childhood days. We lived in rural southern Ontario and the winters back then were much like the winter we had here last year. There was always lots of snow on the ground and we always looked forward to having fun in the snow.

Back then, Christmas was a time for family. We didn't get much from Santa. I remember one year when my brother got a metal farm tractor and wagon and a wooden barn that my mother had made. She had cut the entire barn out of plywood, hinged the double door and painted it red. The tractor and wagon fit inside perfectly. This was an amazing gift for my brother, as he was crazy about farm life. He played with these things for hours, pretending to drive into the fields, pick up hay and straw and store it inside of that barn that mother had spent hours making after we kids were tucked in and fast asleep.

I think one of my best Christmases was the year I received a pair of skates from Santa. They fit perfectly. Though they weren't new, they were new to me and they were the first pair of white ice skates I'd ever had. I was ecstatic.

My interests were of an outdoor nature. I loved to visit the old red barn. When I stepped through the door on a cold winter day, it seemed so cozy and warm inside. I would find a spot to sit in the hay and listen to the cows lowing, as they chewed their cuds. I loved trudging through the snow in the barnyard to visit the chickens and geese. A visit to the horse barn was always in order, because that is where my favorite team, Punch and Maude were housed.

Punch and Maude were the team that always pulled the sleigh and they were well matched. Often, on a Sunday afternoon, and always on Christmas day, Grandpa would hook the team to the sleigh and ask who wanted to go for a ride. I never passed up the opportunity to snuggle in the straw with great-grandpa while the horses pulled us over hill and dale, across bridges and over icy streams. We would wave as we passed neighbors who were going about their chores and they would wave back. As twilight descended, we would head back to the horse where there was a hot meal waiting.

My memories of these sleigh rides are happy ones. Those were the days when simple things were what melded families together. Though we didn't have much, we never considered ourselves as being poor. Instead we were rich with the love of family and happy times together.

Enjoy the week and remember to do an random act of kindness for someone less fortunate. Say a kind word or give someone who looks down your best smile. There are times when a smile from a stranger is a great blessing to those who are struggling with the issues of life. ~Blessings, Mary~

Christmas on Chestnut Street

Many of my regular readers will know that I don't watch much TV. The one exception is the Christmas season when I enjoy watching Christmas movies. On Tuesday night, I flipped through the channels looking for something to watch and I came across the movie, Christmas on Chestnut Street, starring Kristen Dalton and Robert Maloney.

When the movie began, I wasn't sure that it was something that I would like. The opening scene was a department store called The Great American Store. Store owner, Mr Crouch, played by Gary Chalk, was furious because one of the employees had mistakenly ordered 60,000 sets of Christmas lights instead of 60. Mr. Crouch's daughter, Dianne, had just began working at the store and had always had everything handed to her on a silver platter. She was gearing up to take over ownership of the store. She and her father insisted that the employee pay for the excess Christmas lights.

Lou Boyd, played by Robert Maloney, had returned to the small town to help his mother take care of his father who had Alzeheimer's. He convinced Crouch and his daughter that they should put on a contest to get rid of the excess Christmas lights instead of making the employee pay for them.

The Light up the Night Christmas contest was announced. The Great American Store put all Christmas lights on sale in order to provide residents of the county with lights to decorate their properties. Light up the Night turned neighbor against neighbor and a contest war took over Chestnut Street.

Unknown to county residents, Crouch planned to announce Lou Boyd as the winner. He would then give the 4 hour shopping spree prize to charity and the store would be allowed to write the shopping spree off as a charity donation. The store made money hand over fist in the first two days of the light sale. Everyone wanted the 4 hour shopping spree.

Lou Boyd and Dianne Crouch decorated his parent's place as Santa's Village. But on the night the judges viewed the entries, Lou's father did something that changed everything. The heart touching ending saw Dianne Crouch and her father learn the real meaning of Christmas.

I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned Christmas without all the commerialism of today's word. I would rate it 4 out of 5. There are times when it is comical, times when it is sad and the ending is out of this world.

I hope everyone has a great day. Remember to give to the less fortunate this Christmas season. ~Blessings, Mary~