The Mountain Thymes

"Dear Lord, I've been asked, nay commanded, to thank Thee for the Christmas turkey before us......a turkey which was no doubt a lively, intelligent bird.....a social being.....capable of actual affection...... nuzzling its young with almost human-like compassion.  Anyway, it's dead and we're going to eat it.  Please give our respects to its family." ~ Berke Breathed When I was a little girl, waiting for Christmas morning drove me crazy.  I used to sneak around the house when I thought my parents weren't looking to see if I could discover the hiding place that held the secrets of Christmas morn. Here there are fewer decorations out than when we lived in Florida and Matthew spent hours climbing all over the roof with his Papa.  Our light pollution on the mountain is simpler but just as meaningful.  The little girl excitement still exists in me.   I do love this time of year.  I'm better about sneaking around to find my presents.  I now wait u...

OK, Louise, don't fall over in shock.  I'm blogging again! "Life is short.  Wear your party pants!." ~ Emmy-Winning Humorist, Stress Management Expert, Loretta LaRoche Four pumpkin nut breads are baking, gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are cooling on a rack, the laundry is going, and I just boiled water for a cup of Good Earth Wild Chaild tea. I can be swayed by catchy names and artsy wine bottle labels.  Wild chaild is a chai tea with exotic spices (cardamom, ginger root, Chinese star anise, etc.) and natural flavors that hooked me on the first sip.  I never drink tea on the fly.  Tea time is my down time, a relaxing ritual in the afternoon.  It's raw and cloudy today so at the warm kitchen island is where I sit.  The oven aromas and the tea bag quote above bring my mother's spirit to the kitchen.  Our visit to the nursing home was a somber one this morning and this was weighing on our minds.  The tea bag quote was what I needed this ...

One night Cliff read the blog and told me I hadn't posted anything recently.  I knew that.  The next night Louise called me from MA and told me I hadn't posted anything recently.................so here goes.  The weather the past couple of days has been mild, 60's to 70 degrees,  probably the last time until March.  Today is only 48.  I don't know how people get anything done when they work full-time.  Most mornings are full with going to the gym and driving to visit Cliff's mother in the nursing facility.  I've been shopping online, which I find extremely convenient since all of our families live in different states.  The VA grandchildren sent a wish list of interesting items which I was able to purchase mostly from Walmart online.  What I didn't realize is, even though I was on a Walmart site, that the items would be shipped from various Walmarts so the parents will probably be receiving about a dozen deliveries that they'll have to ...