Two men I love

Two of the men I love the most gave me the same gift for Christmas. A book about love, written by an author (a man) I love. 

Today is also the birthday of two other men (one an author) that I love. 

A day for reading about love, thinking about love -- not a bad way to spend a day. 

One of a kind

At least we're certainly hoping that this Christmas holiday will not need to be repeated. No family gatherings, no Solstice party, and certainly no big gala for New Year's Eve. 

Still, it's giving us memories we won't forget. 

Think of the stories from the pandemic of 1918 -- the year my father was born. I can only imagine how worried my gramma must have been, hoping she wouldn't get sick while she was pregnant. 

We'll all have our own stories, though I'm sure we'll be happier when they're well in the rear-view mirror. 

Onward, towards the new year, but for now, let's celebrate Christmas. 

Comin' back

This week brought the news that we may well be starting the long road back to some kind of normalcy, with the first people receiving injections of vaccine against the virus that's ravaged the human race. It feels like the first sign that the world we used to know might be comin' back. 

Tomorrow (or, here on the West Coast of Canada, 2am tonight) brings another kind of coming back --- the one we are blessed with every year, the Solstice, when the days again start to grow longer and hope grows along with the daylight. 

This year also brings a conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn that hasn't occurred for hundreds of years, maybe another sign that life on Earth is soon to improve. Because those 'conjoined' stars will be so bright, they've been dubbed this year's 'Christmas Star'. 

Those iris sprouting in between the leaves outside my local library looked like a harbinger of spring not impossibly far off. 

Good things on the horizon, getting nearer all the time. 

The blessings of friendship

This is the time of year when many of us think about friends, especially those from long ago, ones we hope to stay in contact with. 

I'm one of those oddballs who still likes to send (and receive!) Christmas cards. 

Quite a few of the ones I send are homemade, often using bits of old cards, recycling them into new creations. 

This one was quite fun, already such a beautiful Christmas tree. All I had to do was tear the paper around it and attach it to a green piece of cardstock (that I'd added gold and red bands to). But then, the most fun part of all: in my collection of paper clips, I found a star-shaped one. So I cut a hole near the top of the tree and clipped it in. To cover the torn spot, I stuck on a glittery red circle. Voila! 

And yes, this one's going to a friend from long-ago, one I've been lucky enough to find and reconnect with. Something I treasure. 

But I've also been rediscovering other kinds of friends -- the kind in the image at the top of this post -- like that darling girl, Anne with an E. 

I think I might have started this kick earlier this fall when I went back to Philip Pullman's wonderful series, 'His Dark Materials' and reread the first in that trilogy, The Golden Compass. There's nothing quite like riding along with Lyra, hanging on to the fur of a very big polar bear. 

Ah, so blessed am I -- even when I can't hang out with my usual, nearby friends, I can still pal about with those friends in the pages of well-loved books. 

Neighbourly

The other day, the doorbell rang -- an odd occurrence these days. One of my neighbours was standing on the deck with a mask on her face (but of course) and a gift in her hand. She'd noticed that we still had (have) a pumpkin out front and figured it was time for us to shift seasons. 

She brought us this lovely little wreath she had made. To match the "Peace to all who enter" flag by our door, she made it in the shape of a peace sign (hard to see, as it's now interwoven with the black metal knocker). 

Besides getting me into a little bit of the spirit, the wreath has made me think about just what this year's Christmas will be like. 

It doesn't look as though we'll be able to have friends or family over for any kind of celebrating (not even the traditional Solstice celebration), as with rising numbers, we all need to be vigilant towards keeping safe. 

So instead, I plan to make up tiny gift packets for my neighbours. I'll leave them on doorsteps and pretend that Santa's responsible. 

We can all only hope that this year's Christmas with its restrictions and worries is one we'll never have to observe the same way again.