I just wanted to take a quick moment and wish all of you a very merry Christmas. Everyone here, both the folks who post often (Haven, Keira, you delightful wits!) and all of you who lurk and read–yes, I know about all of you, I do see the stats.

Speaking of stats, did you realize that people from all over the world have visited this blog–from far off places (at least far off to me!) such as Brazil, Iran, Serbia and Montenegro, Finland, Russia and even the Sudan. When I look at the world map and see that my quips … Read more »

Here is a fun one that Christina over at The (Mis)Adventures of a Single City Chick tagged me with. Being a hit or miss sort of person when it comes to memes (believe me, I love them, I just don’t always get them) here is a meme I am happily to play along with.

Instructions: Please share 12 of your favorite Christmas things (or Hanukah is applicable): they can be memories, traditions, songs, presents, beliefs, whatever it is about this season that you love.

1) The first and foremost thing I love about Christmas are the lights. It is so … Read more »

I really am a creature of habits and rituals. Take my morning writing routine. I wouldn’t even think of sitting down without my double shot latte, nonfat milk and two teaspoons of raw sugar. Not only a routine sort of person, but a high maintenance one at that. No other time in the year do I feel the pull of rituals and routine than I do in December. The holidays bring out the worst in me.

The “to-do” list becomes the “must-do” list. Must get the house decorated. Must bake enough cookies to give everyone a plateful. Must make the … Read more »

Okay, I lied. I wasn’t planning a traditional, family laden Thanksgiving. All the while I was feeding you all recipes and encouraging a Martha Stewart marathon, I was packing my bags and cookware and getting the heck out of Dodge. And quite frankly, I don’t feel guilty. Not in the least. Because the four of us, instead of spending the Thanksgiving weekend working on cleaning and cooking and then cleaning again and resorting to Black Friday spent four days:

In Seaside, Oregon. Yes, this the northern Oregon coast in the late November. And it was a balmy 56 degrees. At … Read more »

So the real countdown happens now as I start making the dishes for Thanksgiving ahead of time. It really helps to get as many things “fixed” before hand so that the BIG day is relatively pain free. Here are two dishes I always make ahead of time, usually on Tuesday:

Fresh Cranberry Relish

2 bags of fresh cranberries
1 clean and blemish free seedless orange
1/2 – 1 cup of sugar
Food grinder

Rinse the cranberries and sort out the mushy ones and the ones that are really white. Grind the berries through the food grinder (I have a attachment … Read more »

Yes, the countdown to Thanksgiving has begun. If you read The Goddess Blogs, you might have seen my comments about disastrous Thanksgivings which the ever wonderful Kathryn Caskie wrote about, but usually around here, Thanksgiving in like my own personal Super Bowl. Tons of planning, working out hauling groceries into the house, and of course all the cooking that I get done ahead of time. Yes, ahead of time. So if you are cooking Thanksgiving this year, don’t make the rookie mistake of thinking that you have to cook the entire meal that day. Are you kidding? You’d … Read more »