Today our building had a holiday party for the tenants. It was such a pretty display that I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures.
Jules Catering put together the festive event and arranged everything so beautifully. What a wonderful treat! I enjoyed some eggnog and carrot cake. Delicious!
It’s been a long time since my last blog post. More than two weeks! Which may be the longest time that I have gone without blogging since I started close to ten years ago.
Needless to say, things have been very busy and something had to give. So I’ve been absent from this space. But I’m back!
I have so many posts that I want to write. I could do five today if I had the time. But alas, I do not. So I’ll start with this post and take us back. Way back. To baby Jesus.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. ~ Matthew 2:11
You don’t often ever see me quoting bible verse, but ’tis the season and I was inspired. This past weekend, I was stocking up on moisturizers for the winter at Good Health Natural Foods in Quincy.
Over the past few weeks, I had also been thinking that I’d like a new fragrance. So when I was in the store and saw a collection of Zum products with a frankincense and myrrh scent, I was intrigued. I love the smell and was feeling festive, so I bought the Zum Mist from Indigo Wild, a Kansas City, Missouri based company.
They have a bunch of other products with a similar scent. The mist is a body mist and aromatherapy room spray. It smells, well heavenly and I’m spraying it everywhere. For those who may see me in person, this is what I am smelling like right now. 😊
If you’re looking for gifts for others or yourself, there are many different items to choose from and Indigo Wild supports some great causes, including rescued dogs and fighting breast cancer. So your money can do some good too.
Hope you’re enjoying the holiday season and I plan to duck back in here soon!
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Screenshot: Indigo Wild
Hopefully you’re enjoying your long Memorial Day weekend. It’s nice to have a day off.
It’s also interesting to think about the meaning of Memorial Day and how it has changed over the years.
For many people in my generation and most of those who are younger, we think of it as a time for going to the beach. Picnics and barbecues. The first long weekend kicking of the unofficial start of summer.
For my parents and those older, it’s more solemn. Often considered a time to remember those who have passed and to visit their graves.
Traditionally it’s a time to remember the war dead. This is why we see American flags everywhere. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website gives some Memorial Day history.
Memorial Day, which is observed on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while in the military service. In observance of the holiday, many people visit cemeteries and memorials, and volunteers often place American flags on each grave site at national cemeteries. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 p.m. local time.
The 3:00 moment of remembrance is news to me, but is a nice idea and something that I may take part in today. We Americans like to talk about how much we support our troops, but sometimes that talk seems to ring rather hollow. That sentiment was reiterated in an article that I read on Stars and Stripes.
The military-civilian divide is not marked by particular animosity or resentment on the civilian side. In airports and restaurants, civilians thank men and women in uniform for their service. They cheer veterans at ballgames and car races.
What most don’t realize is how frequently such gestures ring hollow.
“So many people give you lip service and offer fake sympathy. Their sons and daughters aren’t in the military, so it’s not their war. It’s something that happens to other people,” said Phillip Ruiz, 46, a former Army staff sergeant in Tennessee who was wounded twice during three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Douglas Pearce, a former Army lieutenant who fought in Afghanistan and is now a marriage and family counselor in Nashville, said civilians seem to think they “can assuage their guilt with five seconds in the airport.”
Surveys suggest that as many as 80% of those who serve come from a family in which a parent or sibling is also in the military. They often live in relative isolation — behind the gates of military installations such as Ft. Bragg or in the deeply military communities like Fayetteville, N.C., that surround them.
The segregation is so pronounced that it can be traced on a map: Some 49% of the 1.3 million active-duty service members in the U.S. are concentrated in just five states — California, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina and Georgia.
My father has talked about many things in his life with me. One of the things that he is most proud of is his military service in the Air Force. While he never saw combat, he spent eight years working all over this country and the world. Increasingly he talks about his friends from that time in his life and wonders what happened to them. I wonder too.
This past week was one of the first where it was pleasant to be outside. Most of the piles of snow are gone. The sun is shining brightly. The temperatures are warming. We will have Spring after all!
Since today is Easter, I baked a cake to share with my family. One of my favorite go to recipes is Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes. I just half the recipe to make a single layer cake.
This cake is a total experiment. But that’s the only way to come up with something new! For the topping, I didn’t measure anything so all these amounts are estimates.
I took 3/4 of a cup of strawberry preserves and combined in a small bowl with 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp. almond extract. Then I spread the mixture over the top of the cake. I baked the cake last night, then left it in the freezer overnight and let it thaw out for a few hours this morning.
Then, I sprinkled about 2 T of powdered sugar over the the cake. I cut about eight strawberries in half, rolled them in about 1/4 cup of sweetened flaked coconut, then placed each strawberry on top of the cake. Then I put maybe 1/4 of white chocolate chips between the strawberries.
The plan is to serve the cake with some ice cream. Hopefully it will be good. My philosophy is always, “Just how bad could it be?” If you combine a bunch of stuff that you like, it can only taste so terrible. And should taste quite excellent actually.
Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all who celebrate!
All the best to you during this holiday season! And for those who celebrate, have a Merry Christmas!
