There is increased tranquility when I settle within myself that the object of my art display is simply for me to be available for whatever conversations may be valuable.

I hope you are able, and willing, to join me in creeping out of social hibernation to thaw and be re-energized with some wonderful human interaction this Spring. If I can do it, you can too!

When Pat opened the brown-paper package, delivered later that week, she gasped. It was that delightful. McClintock Bay and her sister’s front-lot trees were captured perfectly in the reflecting windows. Her sister would have her lakeview memorialized, along with her wilderness cabin—if Pat could now part with it.

My mother…excels at all things food-related. From the sourcing and procuring of delicious food…to the storage of said food, to the preparation and serving of it, she sails though the tasks with a calm, controlled, enviable knowing….The kitchen is her domain, to be sure. And she is not stingy with it, or its bounties.

I was invigorated when I pulled through a gruelling training session. I liked to think I was developing “grit”. Angela L. Duckworth says “Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years, despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress.”

I was always a “dog person” and therefore never considered having a cat. And then I met the man of my dreams, and low, he came with a cat. One doesn’t simply discard such a rare opportunity because of a feline. So, by marriage, I became a cat owner.

I simply love to admire, assess, and purchase picture frames.

It occurred to me recently while I was out in the woods on a snowy walk, how uncommon it is to experience profound silence.

I was the kid making silly faces, perched in an unorthodox position like a gargoyle while everyone else looked “nice”. I certainly marched unashamedly to the beat of my own drummer.

My own Christmas journey covers the whole spectrum, from Christmas Enthusiast to Christmas Scrooge.

Dr. Howard Thurman’s quote resonates with me: “Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”