Your comments are insightful, passionate, honest, funny, and long and I love every single one of them. Every week I’ll be recapping the most common themes and also highlighting a Comment of the Week. The latter is not easy to do because so many of your comments are worthy of the honor.
This week, though, I’ve chose the following by Mike Sowden, creator of the Substack Everything is Amazing:
“. . . what I've been doing to cope . . . is to take increasingly deep dives into what I don't yet know I don't know. The science of it, in particular. The human skills of attention, curiosity, wonder and awe that can make us feel more alive when they're working at full capacity. And I've been looking for ways to entice and prod my readers into testing their own limits in all of these things - mainly because it creates hope.”
This quote resonates with me because it is sometimes difficult, especially when living through sedentary and enervating times, to get motivated. One of the best ways to keep our brains sharp and our bodies healthy is to engage in activities at which we can constantly get better—like playing tennis or chess or challenging ourselves to do “deep dives into what I don’t yet know what I don’t know.” The world is an endlessly complex and fascinating place. Learning more about it, attempting to unravel its mysteries is a wonderful way to stay engaged and use our woefully underutilized intellects. [I promise, Michael, I will never speak of this again 🙂]
We all, to varying degrees, seem to be dealing with a lot of anger, depression, and exhaustion. Among the most mentioned issues this week were:
The January 6th Committee—the fact that, although it’s making progress, it is all taking too long.
My hope is that they are taking so much time because they want to craft an air-tight case. As I’ve said before, I really believe televising the hearings is a potential game- changer in terms of helping the American people understand just how coordinated and comprehensive the plan to overthrow our government was—and still is.
The mid-terms and the putative Republican take-over of (at least) the House. My thoughts about this are similar to my thoughts about the Virginia gubernatorial race—it’s all about the framing. Yes, it’s true in a normal year that in Virginia the party not in the White House almost always wins the Virginia governor’s race, just as it’s true the party out of power almost always gains seats in off-year elections. Here’s the thing, though—this is not a normal year! The media really need to start framing things in a way that helps people understand how unique (at least in the context of American history) our current political situation is. This is not about which candidate wins, it’s about which ideology wins—democracy or fascism.
The stress and loneliness of being a Blue dot in a Red Sea. I lived on Long Island until May and that was rough but I always had New York City to escape to. I can’t imagine what it must be like not to have that luxury.
The extent to which fear plays a debilitating and destructive role in our society.
Anger at the unvaccinated suggestions by some of your that they should be denied medical care—or at least put at the end of the line.
The extent to which fear plays a debilitating and destructive role in our society.
Frustration with Democratic leaders who don’t seem to grasp 1) the dangers we’re facing, 2) the truth about their Republican colleagues, and 3) the need to play hardball.
I think the coping mechanism mentioned most often was unplugging from the news, which I completely understand and empathize with. This sense of needing to protect ourselves from that over which we have no control, is one of the reasons I try to write about and share things non-news related when I can. Just a thought, though: Stepping away from the madness doesn’t have to mean disconnecting. There are ways to stay engaged that don’t require subjecting ourselves to the ongoing (and seemingly unceasing) horrors confronting us on a daily basis. I think one of the most proactive, community-building things we can do is get involved in organizations dedicated to getting people registered to vote and protecting voting rights.
Reading in general seems to be at the top of a lot of people’s lists. (Mine, too, but between Twitter and COVID I still find concentrating for long periods of time hard.)
First, Are you thinking about changing your holiday plans because of the latest surge in COVID cases and/or the increasing threat o the Omicron variant?
Second, What is the best holiday movie or television show? (Yes, the right answer is Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.)
Holiday plans were changed for the better yesterday when the company I worked for canceled the Christmas party. I wasn't planning to go anyway. I was exposed to Covid through work ten days ago for the 4th time this year and even though we're all testing in the clear now, the last thing I want to do is gather in close quarters.
This recent experience also pointed out that someone I work closely with is unvaccinated and never wears a mask. This came as a shock to me. It is against our company policy, so I am a bit disgruntled that the honor system depends on people actually being honorable.
Four times is unacceptable and as I think has become increasingly clear over the last five years, the honor system doesn't work. I don't blame you for being angry but am glad the party was canceled. Stay safe.
Me too! We took our 4 kids to see Scrooged when it first came out and bought it first as a VHS and now have it on DVD. We continue to watch it every year even though our kids are grown and sprinkled around the country. When we do watch it I am reminded of the fun we had taking all the kids to the theatre then returning home to decorate the tree. A Wonderful Life is also another yearly watch! 😊
www.instagram.com/Julieolsonart for my alcohol ink. Although I haven’t done much lately because of my fibromyalgia, I have a commission to do a 40” x 60” painting for a woman’s business here in North Dakota. It will be my biggest painting yet!
Laughter is desperately needed, so I'll be watching Christmas Vacation for the 200th time. Not only hilarious, but a wonderful study of families, the tie that binds. And gags.
My husband and I are staying home. There are many cases of Covid here in Greene County, NY. I spend most of my time reading and working on my business marketing plan for Creative Meditations. The last two years have been quite trying and scary. Trying to stay sane is not easy under the circumstances. I also spend lots of time creating art and doing meditation.
As far as alcohol inks go, just play with them. They are fun and there are lots of youtube videos to watch that will help you.
My holiday plans are completely at the mercy of Covid. I’ve been putting off knee replacement surgery ever since Covid first appeared because all elective surgeries were halted. I have bone on bone pain in my right knee so severe that I can only walk with the aid of a walker now. I finally got surgery scheduled for December 21 and I’m being told that it can be canceled up to that day depending on whether Covid cases are surging. I chose this time primarily because it’s when my son has the biggest stretch of time all year when he can be off work to help me. Secondarily this is one of only two windows a year in my MS infusion treatments when it’s best to do this. If my surgery gets canceled, the next time this perfect won’t happen for another year and I don’t think I can bear the pain for that long. I’d say my answer to your question won’t be answered for a couple of days but I’m really hoping it’s NO! Merry Christmas, Mary!
1. Plans for Christmas changed yesterday when my daughter found out she had COVID. She is fully vaccinated and is scheduled for her booster next week, however she is now in quarantine. So, we are all staying home! Wow, this stinks 😷
I'm so sorry your daughter tested positive but I'm very glad she's vaccinated. Here's hoping she doesn't have symptoms--that would be the best Christmas present.
That Mike Sowden guy sounds like an IDIOT. I wouldn't believe *anything* he says.
(Thank you again, Mary. 😊 I'm so glad what I said resonated.)
1) This will be the second Christmas I won't be spending with family back in Yorkshire. I was hopeful until Omicron started marching across the UK, even up here in Scotland, and even if everyone was boosted, there's still a decent risk of a breakthrough infection and there's no way I'm going to risk giving Covid to family members older than me - and since I'd be using the trains and buses to get to Yorkshire, I'd probably be the one picking it up and bringing it in. So, nope, not in my case. I'll catch up with everyone later when it's more clear what's going on and how much of a threat Omicron is...
2) Love Actually followed by Die Hard, so you get to see Alan Rickman getting his comeuppance after cheating on Emma Thompson. ;)
But actually, my pick is really this children's TV show from 1984:
It's rarely shown on TV anymore, even on the BBC, but it's one of the best children's shows ever made in the UK (and one of the most expensive), and it's so Christmassy it even has part of a carol worked into its theme music:
ps. For non-holidays: Battlestar Galactica, the 2004 reboot. I just watched the full run for the second time, and the acting? Ye gawds. So incredible, an absolute masterclass. Mary McDonnell in particular.
Are we thinking about changing our holiday plans? No. We planned for a surge to happen. We rented a house in a quiet neighborhood in Vero Beach for the winter where we can get outside everyday, but not have to mix with a lot of people. Family "sees us" for the holidays via text, phone and Facetime. Our riskiest activity is going to Publix on our weekly grocery run, double-masked.
"A Boy Called Christmas" on Netflix is our favorite holiday movie (this season)! :-)
Movie: I love "The Ref" the disgraced Kevin Spacey notwithstanding. As a couples therapist, I cannot help it, and watch it yearly, along with "Life of Brian" for an entirely different experience of joy
We’re not changing our holiday plans, because we always planned a couple of small gatherings with fully vaccinated/boosted family and friends. The only difference is that we will use rapid tests a few hours before each. What will change is that Omicron will keep us out of restaurants and such, and we will limit long drives because hospitals may not be available in the event of injury. The best holiday movie of course is Die Hard - but I’m looking forward to binging a new series: With Love on Prime Video.
Our plans rarely change. We go off the grid every year, and this year, with two of the most delightful dogs, Cedric the Scottish Terrier (10 years old, likes to be called Sir Cedric) and Walther (note German spelling, after my partner David's dearest friend) a 3 year old Aussie-doodle, who just likes to be called (and cuddled endlessly). It's a high-calorie hug fest, and it's already started.
Our favorite holiday "film" is a short special with Bill Murray called "A Very Murray Christmas" ... a little Christmas blues works like a dash of lemon on an otherwise very rich meal, if you haven't seen it, definitely worth an hour, and be sure to have a martini in hand. All the very best in 2022, may it NOT be a re-run.
I have no holiday plans. I have nowhere to go since I am now alone and everyone nearby that I might have a chat with crosses the street afraid to be too close. My other half is gone. Died before the pandemic hit. Their final words to me were, "Nobody likes you." I was told by the doctor that people often say things like that when dying. Really? I use reading to distract myself from these painful memories. I've stopped trying to figure out why I must now be alone here my little village outside Tucson, Arizona. Discovering Mary's books was the best help because they took all my attention. Now I'm discovering things here. If I could I would post a photo to show you the beauty. While there are no safe options to go anywhere from here. It is possible to visit with a book. I've long taken photos of the land around us/no me. That's what my plans are still. I'm grateful to be able to do that. I'm not not sure however that I'll ever get over this high order of rejection.
I'm very sorry, Maureen. But I hope once the worst of COVID is over you'll be able to connect with other people. Arizona is a tough place but Tucson is a great city and the desert is beautiful. I'm glad my books offered you some solace. Stay safe.
I'll see if I can figure out how to post photos in the comments.
Thank you Mary. You’re right about Tucson. We moved here because we liked the desert and mountains. We’d drive out from Cambridge where I was in grad school and decided to move here when I was free. It was great with the two of us. Your books have helped very much in digging out of that huge hole.
Re posting photos, I puzzled over that and finally figured out that I can create an Instgram account, upload the pictures to that and post them, click on the 3-dot icon in the corner of the picture's post, save the link, and paste it into a message here. It isn't as cumbersome as it sounds Here's an example (a pio of my grandson Andrew: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXp6c_Ksb0M/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Here's hoping you find a movie or five to lighten your days on the holidays. These aren't Christmas films in particular, but Billy Elliott, Free Guy, The Dig, Enola Holmes, Safety Not Guaranteed, Palm Springs, and To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything – Julie Newmar, are all good, most of them funny and all of them overall upbeat.
My cursor happened to roll over your name and I saw your micro-bio. My wife Jan and I are both retired clinicians as well - she worked as a clinical social worker in a hospice program and ran a mental health treatment housing unit for women at the local jail, and after I retired from the military I spent about ten years as a psychotherapist before becoming too physically banged up to keep working - I worked with severely traumatized adolescents in a couple of local agencies and with adult men in the psychiatric hospital serving our state prison system.
Re-reading over your initial post, it reminded me of how helpful a bereavement support group was for us after my stepfather died in 2003. Jan and I were both very close with him; he was a wonderful man and had been my role model since I was ten and one of my best friends all my adult life. We also found a support group invaluable ten years later when our nine-year-old grandson, whom we had helped raise, was murdered.
I'm sure you know this already, but one of the few good things I've learned through a lot of deaths, divorces, and other wrenching losses is that it's like having a painful injury like a broken bone. It hurts a lot, and there's no way to fast-forward through that, but the day does come when I can remember the pain but it's not hurting any more, or not nearly as much. I've gotten good at reminding myself of that and being gentle with myself while that time passes. It has also helped to occasionally step out of frame mentally, look at myself as a client, and ask myself, 'what would I say to this guy? What kind of homework might I ask him to do?'
Take care - we rent-a-friend types, as my brother used to call me, do well to stick together.
How was the understanding of cause and effect shifting on you? Was it a matter of starting school with one conception and learning a new one, or of their explanations changing as you went through training?
The time-crunch thing was an issue I didn't run into until my first jobs after school. I've never seen a mental health workplace where it was really managed in a healthy way, and most jobs had a culture of being expected to just work the extra time off the books to get all the charting done.
My brother Bill is a good guy, but we are very, very different personalities, and I never worried about the fact that he couldn't relate to the idea of therapy as a provider or a client. I can't relate to his way of being in the world either. I think of him as "ticking" - he's generous, resourceful, brave, tough, honest, responsible, considerate, hardworking to a degree that's workaholic, smart, often funny, and deeply protective of the vulnerable. He's also frozen, suspicious, and tense, and I don't know he's made it to his late fifties without having a heart attack or a stroke. So from him, "rent-a-friend" just makes me shake my head and laugh.
When we were kids, my default survival tactic was 'flight' and Bill's was 'fight.' Our other brother Dave's was 'freeze.' I think I came out of it with a bit less trauma than they did.
I had gotten into therapy and recovery (initially in the Adult Children of Alcoholics program), and was finding the process life-changing - a room full of other people I could relate to when I'd thought I was terminally and uniquely weird, and all kinds of light bulbs flashing on in terms of seeing patterns and learning alternatives.
One of my first thoughts was that I wanted to share this with my two brothers to help them with the ongoing fallout of our nightmarish childhood as it was helping me.
I got Bill in a conversation, and started telling him about what I was doing and what it was doing for me. He shot me a truly scary look, shook his head, and said, "That shit's in the deep freeze, and that's where it stays." I wish he felt differently, but I have to respect his choice.
Our stepfather never really understood therapy either. Once he commented out of the blue that he couldn't do my job because he couldn't sit and give people advice all day every day. I laughed and told him, "But I don't give people advice!" He looked perplexed and asked, "Then what the hell do you do?" I told him that I mainly listened and asked them questions, and he said he didn't understand how that would work. The funny thing was that he was a pretty good lay therapist himself and just didn't realize it.
My grad school program required that we be actively engaged in therapy as clients before we were allowed to enter the program, and at about a third of the way through the curriculum, we had to have completed a fairly substantial number of hours of personal therapy before we were allowed to take any additional coursework. The classes were fairly small and most of them were fairly Socratic in the way they were taught. Most of the instructors were encouraging and relaxed, and I think it was a helpful thing that we students were almost all in our late thirties or older, and a good third of us had been in recovery programs for years as well as being in therapy (in a course on addictions, the instructor announced that the only effective treatment for addictions is CBT and 12-step programs are garbage. We wrote a paper for that class, as for most; I wrote mine analyzing the 12-step model as a highly effective cognitive-behavioral model when rigorously practiced. She gave me a lot of stink-eye and an A.) So between the way things were taught, the therapy requirement, and where we were at in our own lives, I think we tended to be more at ease and confident than we would have been earlier in our lives. We didn't get to the practicum/internship phase until near the end, after we'd practiced on each other and learned from our own therapists for the time we'd been in the program up to then, so we went into our first client contacts fairly confidently.
I always liked working in inpatient settings where the clock was less emphasized. Working in the prison psych hospital, I also liked the fact that managed care was irrelevant - no insurance companies, no gatekeepers, no six- or eight-session drive-by therapy. Since we only had clinical documentation to do, it cut the paperwork in half compared to other jobs. I worked with some of the same clients intensively for years; I had more freedom to design groups, assign reading homework, and tailor interventions to individuals. There wasn't enough time allowed for charting there either, but they came closer than anywhere else I worked.
We are going camping--taking our travel trailer and meeting up with my wife's sister and her husband at Jekyll Island, GA. Hopefully will stay to ourselves enough in the great outdoors. I'm not crazy about eating out anywhere in SC or GA, so I'm trying to stress that we stay as self-contained as possible. We're all vaxed and boosted to the max (and I've also had my flu shot and a pneumonia vaccination). We can't cancel (and If I stay home, my wife will surely go and just bring it back to me, so I might as well go). She's been looking forward to this for a year. I'm very, very nervous, however. I hate ALL OF THIS. Can I just crawl in a hole somewhere?
Taking the "deep dive" into learning anything new/unknown is nothing new for me although it's tough to stay focused these days. Old movies, especially the Westerns, are my fun hobby and I've been following a Women of the Western's List I found. I'll continue enjoying those since Christmas is just, well... Christian. Fake. The kids are grown and far away and that Santa fella'... to me... was the1st Big Lie as, from an advertising and marketing standpoint, he's the one that started grooming the ordinary folks into believing the current Big Lie.
So... A tiny Blue speck, me, floating in the Southern Baptist sea of military infused RED, I'll keep to myself and cook and eat and watch a Western or 3!
1) My only plans for the holidays are to relax and spend time with family. Since we are all vaccinated that will not change .
2) There are too many to choose from , but I have to go with A Charlie Brown Christmas . It's a classic and even at 56 years of age I still watch it . Happy Holidays Mary !
Great plans. I haven't seen "A Charlie Brown Christmas since I was a kid (for some reason I didn't watch it with my daughter) but I remember it fondly and the Vince Guaraldi score is always on our holiday music playlist.
Changing holiday plans? not really. Still going to gather, but since we live in Houston, we are taking the party out to the back patio and will gather in that open, outdoor area. Supposed to be 75 on Christmas Day, so perfect weather.
Best Christmas movie? no doubt, Elf. Everything else is a distant second.
I've been thinking about watching Big Fish over the holidays. It's such a great tale and Albert Finney reminds the whole family of my late husband in a very good way.
Well luckily my boyfriend is here in Quebec from the US after not being together for 2 years and he got here before the HUGE Covid wave we have right now. We weren't going to do much but we are not even going to stores right now, like at all.
My Quebecker relations say much the same. My dear friend since childhood spent Christmas visiting by phone talking with all their family instead of home visiting with one another.
Our family long ago decided to stay home in our various locations and just Google Meet to have holiday visits. We will stick to our normal COVID pod, with our daughter and 2 grandchildren...my husband and I go out to work, but that's it. Everyone is fully vaxed and boosted. Even our 7 year old granddaughter has had her 2 Pfizer's. None of us had any side effects from the vaccines. Hoping not to get Omicron!
My holidays plans did not change. I’m on month 21 of staying home except for supplies as needed. I’m immune compromised (no spleen) so I’m waiting until the pandemic is handled better before taking any trips. I really want to get out & about (REALLY!) but for me it’s safer not to yet. I am vaccinated but have already faced death & disability a few times & don’t wish to again.
For me, the best Christmas movies are a tie between A Christmas Story and the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Wishing everyone lovely holidays however they celebrate. May they unfold as you wish them to.
My holiday plans did change. I usually go to my dad's place at least a couple of times a month. And this holiday, I won't be going because the infection had reached his household. And as much as it disappoints me about not being able to go, I felt that protecting myself was key. I, just like most of my Dad's household, are immunocompromised. And I just don't want to risk it.
And before this whole mess started, the pandemic, I usually avoided people before. Now it's a must to avoid people. It still blows my mind that there are people who still claim covid isn't real, that it's not that bad. Or those that refused to get vaccinated to protect not just themselves but their neighbors, their community. And these same people, refuse to learn from history, i.e. the 1918 pandemic. About wearing a mask, always claiming it doesn't do any good.
It is all those people that aggravate me. And it's a shame that I have to include my older brother in that bunch. Early on in the pandemic, he used to spam me with all the misinformation that he kept finding on FB or Instagram. Trying to say those were facts. It just made me want to smack him, to which he is lucky that he lives in another state. :P
And I have to say that my favorite Christmas movie(s) is Santa Claus (With Tim Allen). It never fails to make me laugh.
I would also like to wish you and everyone else a happy and safe holiday. :D
Our holiday plans were simple to begin with and that won't change because we are all vaxxed and boosted. I'm only celebrating with my mom (my dad died in April 2019 of congestive heart failure), brother, sister and her husband at our mom's house. It's helpful that we all live in Chicago and our mom lives in a Chicago suburb which means we can drive to her house.
We are also lessening our exposure to other people as much as possible this week due to the Omicron variant. This means since I work from home I'm not going anywhere at all until Christmas Eve. I got all the groceries I will need last week so I'm all set.
My favorite holiday movies are Meet Me In St. Louis, The Bishops Wife and Elf.
My favorite holiday movie is Love Actually. It makes me laugh and cry and smile and sing. Great soundtrack and the closing scene is awesome. The movie shows us that love comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and places.
Staying home - we'd be doing that anyway. When we travel to visit our kids and grandkids, we avoid holidays and go in other months. We can do more with them in summer anyway.
I just got a subscription to Audible - it's good to be able to listen to an interesting book while I do woodworking projects (as long as I don't have a power tool turned on.)
Next, using that Rigid Wrap plaster cloth cut into strips to make masks using my face or those of others. The plaster is hard enough to lift the mask off your face within 15 minutes or so. Then paint or otherwise decorate the mask in any way that crosses your mind. When I worked in my second career as a psychotherapist in a residential treatment center for adolescent boys, I brought in the materials for them to make masks and offered as many ways as I could for them to make them their own (paints, glitter, feathers, sequins, etc.) - it was amazing how much each boy's personality was expressed in his mask. I made a series of my own to express different moods, and hang them on the wall.
Thank you for a lot of things – for your books, for starting this blog/newsletter and your podcast, for your perspective in your interviews with journalists, for your voice on Mueller She Wrote/Daily Beans (a whole other thing for which I'm grateful.) Thank you for your work as a psychologist, and for being resilient and choosing to create a different kind of life from that chosen by your aunts, uncles, and cousins. I grew up with a narcissistic, sociopathic sadist for a biological father and both my parents were alcoholics and addicts, so some of the family dynamics sound all too familiar, but my mom got into recovery and married a good man, giving my brothers and me a great stepfather.
Take care, and keep up the funny, enlightened, articulate work.
This Holiday season I’m the one that will stay home and fill in for my coworkers I’m a building superintendent. My family will travel this year they’re twice vaccinated and boosted . Even if I had the choice to travel I wouldn’t. With this time I will complete a project at my friends home while their away , exercise, read , zoom with family and friends. My fondest memories growing up here in NYC were the window displays at Macy’s, Lord & Taylor Sachs Fifth Ave , chocolate eclairs and the smell of chestnuts . My mom would cut a pattern and sew for me a cute red velvet dress a matching coat with patent leather shoes , gloves , hat and a purse . My mom in her fur coat and hat the two of us on our way to Radio City Music Hall to see the Nutcracker. After the show we would walk to the Horn and Hardart /Automat . Christmas as child was special all our family would come from Washington DC with my nieces and nephews in tow back then a big family rode in a station wagon . The grownups would stay downstairs while we played upstairs board games music sing alongs and dancing. I’ll never forget my brother snuck a stray cat in the house and we played with it all night I don’t remember what happened to the cat . Those were special times and so are the moments we live in now. Happy holidays to all especially those who choose to travel .
Our son, his wife, and seven year old son will be coming for a visit of several days and staying here with us. I am in the finishing touches stage of restoring/refurbishing our apartment on the third floor of our house and they will be staying there. Their dog, Risa, a rescue from Puerto Rico, is also coming with them, a real sweetheart of a dog. Our two cats, Tom Jones and Hannibal, cope pretty well with Risa also in the house and may even get used to her. Covid is starting to rage once again here, so we will all likely stay pretty close to home and forego our annual day after Christmas meal at a favorite German restaurant here. We are all triple vaxed, N95 masked, and will also test just to make sure as my husband and I are both in the high risk category. Because of Covid, we haven't seen them regularly as before, so we will all be happy to see each other. Our best gift is that they will be here! We are well-stocked with food and multiple outlets for entertainment right here. My favorite Christmas Music is the album from the 60s or so, Leonard Bernstein's "Joy of Christmas". Favorite movie, A Christmas Story, which we have watched very year since it came out. Another favorite, the Three Tenors Christmas in Vienna, our favorite city in the world!
Spending the holiday at my sister’s. Christmas Eve they host my brother-in-law’s family’s traditional Italian seven fish dinner. Usually it’s a big, boisterous event, but won’t be as big this year due to Covid precautions. Christmas Day will be smaller and quieter with just my sisters and their families. Favorite Christmas movie - such a tough one! But I have to be honest and confess that’s it’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Something about that 1960’s stop motion animation makes me so nostalgic and when they come back for and deliver those toys from the Island of Misfit Toys it just gets me every.damn.time! 😳🤣
Thanks, Paula! This time of year can be difficult, especially with the extra stresses of Covid, so time with family will be even more meaningful. I hope you’re looking forward to the holiday!
Thank you for like on the Good guy of the week . I wanted to comment on your conversation with another follow you had but somehow I wasn’t able to go back and find it .
I'd just never heard of it. I looked at some videos and it looks really interesting. My daughter is a painter so I'll ask her if she's ever worked with it.
It started as a craft supply for making cards and scrapbooks. It’s only been in the last 5 years that it has become a product for making art. I was at the very beginning 5 years ago when there were no videos or books on it, so I learned it myself. It’s pigment in a base of isopropyl alcohol. It has to be used on non-porous substrates, although many off us work on canvas.
There are now many different brands, and not just in the US—Russia, India and Australia are making inks—I have some unique and expensive ones coming from Russia this week and am very excited!
I’ve worked with several brands, from testing to writing instructions on how to do paintings using specific brand’s supplies, to being a brand ambassador with two ink brands. Not to write my CV, but I have a good following on Instagram of newbies looking to me for new products and answers to questions. A good friend, Ashley Mahlberg, wrote the definitive book on how to start using alcohol inks.
My partner and I were planning to go to Morgantown W.Va. in January. I guess I thought after the holidays was a good idea. So, now, because of the rapid transmissibility of the Omicron variant , we will have to hassle with our carrier to not take all our money for a cancelled trip, but negotiate the possibility of a credit for a future date. My favorite holiday movie is the original Christmas Carol with Allistair Sim. Merry Christmas Mary
White Christmas is the best movie, imo. Friends, Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Lucy Show. All good Christmas shows every year. Will probably remember others later.
To add, the worst thing that Covid has done is to prevent us from observing our usual Christmas occasions with our church. We are Episcopalians and have an annual "Lessons and Carols," Advent wreath making workshop, other special musical occasions during Advent, culminating in a Festival Christmas Eve Eucharist. Our church will be holding these festivities with masking, distancing, and the like. But as my husband and I are both high risk, we are exercising an abundance of caution. We can watch online, however. But we will miss seeing all our friends.
For my wife and me in Madrid, Spain, nothing has changed since March 2020. Takeout meals, open air cafés, mandated masking (rightfully) in enclosed public areas and long outdoor walks. Omicron is merely a reminder to take care. Our favorite Xmas program this year will be “Dear Dad” from season 1 of M.A.S.H. We appreciate your straightforward commentary and dispatches, Mary. Happy Holidays!
Scrooged is my favorite holiday film. I also watch It's A Wonderful Life every year.
Holiday plans were changed for the better yesterday when the company I worked for canceled the Christmas party. I wasn't planning to go anyway. I was exposed to Covid through work ten days ago for the 4th time this year and even though we're all testing in the clear now, the last thing I want to do is gather in close quarters.
This recent experience also pointed out that someone I work closely with is unvaccinated and never wears a mask. This came as a shock to me. It is against our company policy, so I am a bit disgruntled that the honor system depends on people actually being honorable.
I am squarely in the angry camp at this point.
Four times is unacceptable and as I think has become increasingly clear over the last five years, the honor system doesn't work. I don't blame you for being angry but am glad the party was canceled. Stay safe.
Me too! We took our 4 kids to see Scrooged when it first came out and bought it first as a VHS and now have it on DVD. We continue to watch it every year even though our kids are grown and sprinkled around the country. When we do watch it I am reminded of the fun we had taking all the kids to the theatre then returning home to decorate the tree. A Wonderful Life is also another yearly watch! 😊
I loved Scrooged! We watched it every year for many years!
www.instagram.com/Julieolsonart for my alcohol ink. Although I haven’t done much lately because of my fibromyalgia, I have a commission to do a 40” x 60” painting for a woman’s business here in North Dakota. It will be my biggest painting yet!
That would be amazing!
I have no plans except to watch "A Christmas Story" my nomination for best Christmas movie of all time.
Laughter is desperately needed, so I'll be watching Christmas Vacation for the 200th time. Not only hilarious, but a wonderful study of families, the tie that binds. And gags.
I haven't seen that movie since it came out in 1989. Maybe I'll watch it again. I love Beverly D'Angelo.
My husband and I are staying home. There are many cases of Covid here in Greene County, NY. I spend most of my time reading and working on my business marketing plan for Creative Meditations. The last two years have been quite trying and scary. Trying to stay sane is not easy under the circumstances. I also spend lots of time creating art and doing meditation.
As far as alcohol inks go, just play with them. They are fun and there are lots of youtube videos to watch that will help you.
I hope you have a great holiday.
Staying home sounds like a great idea. We're not going anywhere, either.
Creating art and meditating sound like great ways to stay sane.
My daughter is the artist in the family--I think I'm going to get her some alcohol inks for Christmas.
My holiday plans are completely at the mercy of Covid. I’ve been putting off knee replacement surgery ever since Covid first appeared because all elective surgeries were halted. I have bone on bone pain in my right knee so severe that I can only walk with the aid of a walker now. I finally got surgery scheduled for December 21 and I’m being told that it can be canceled up to that day depending on whether Covid cases are surging. I chose this time primarily because it’s when my son has the biggest stretch of time all year when he can be off work to help me. Secondarily this is one of only two windows a year in my MS infusion treatments when it’s best to do this. If my surgery gets canceled, the next time this perfect won’t happen for another year and I don’t think I can bear the pain for that long. I’d say my answer to your question won’t be answered for a couple of days but I’m really hoping it’s NO! Merry Christmas, Mary!
Merry Christmas, Jeanne. I so hope your surgery doesn't get canceled and the next three days go as quickly as possible. Keep us posted!
Thanks Mary! Very sweet of you to care. I’m out of surgery and heading home in a bit. Merry Christmas!!
Glad to hear that, Jeanne. Heal well.
Best holiday movie ever: It’s a Wonderful Life. And I’m spending Christmas doing art.
1. Plans for Christmas changed yesterday when my daughter found out she had COVID. She is fully vaccinated and is scheduled for her booster next week, however she is now in quarantine. So, we are all staying home! Wow, this stinks 😷
2. The Christmas Story
I'm so sorry your daughter tested positive but I'm very glad she's vaccinated. Here's hoping she doesn't have symptoms--that would be the best Christmas present.
I hope she recovers fast Carolynn! I'm really sorry!
Thank you
You're very welcome.
Wishing your daughter a speedy recovery. Maybe you can have a post COVID get together to celebrate Christmas.
That Mike Sowden guy sounds like an IDIOT. I wouldn't believe *anything* he says.
(Thank you again, Mary. 😊 I'm so glad what I said resonated.)
1) This will be the second Christmas I won't be spending with family back in Yorkshire. I was hopeful until Omicron started marching across the UK, even up here in Scotland, and even if everyone was boosted, there's still a decent risk of a breakthrough infection and there's no way I'm going to risk giving Covid to family members older than me - and since I'd be using the trains and buses to get to Yorkshire, I'd probably be the one picking it up and bringing it in. So, nope, not in my case. I'll catch up with everyone later when it's more clear what's going on and how much of a threat Omicron is...
2) Love Actually followed by Die Hard, so you get to see Alan Rickman getting his comeuppance after cheating on Emma Thompson. ;)
But actually, my pick is really this children's TV show from 1984:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Box_of_Delights_(TV_series)
It's rarely shown on TV anymore, even on the BBC, but it's one of the best children's shows ever made in the UK (and one of the most expensive), and it's so Christmassy it even has part of a carol worked into its theme music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BxxdE9GvZc
Ah. That takes me back.
ps. For non-holidays: Battlestar Galactica, the 2004 reboot. I just watched the full run for the second time, and the acting? Ye gawds. So incredible, an absolute masterclass. Mary McDonnell in particular.
I totally agree about Battlestar and the acting--especially Mary McDonnell's. But I'm not going to say anything nice to you. 🙂
Haha. 😂 THANK YOU. My fragile British psyche will survive for another day.
Are we thinking about changing our holiday plans? No. We planned for a surge to happen. We rented a house in a quiet neighborhood in Vero Beach for the winter where we can get outside everyday, but not have to mix with a lot of people. Family "sees us" for the holidays via text, phone and Facetime. Our riskiest activity is going to Publix on our weekly grocery run, double-masked.
"A Boy Called Christmas" on Netflix is our favorite holiday movie (this season)! :-)
Perfect plans.
A Christmas Story is number one in our family. I think we have watched it every year (sometimes more than once) since it first came on TV.
Movie: I love "The Ref" the disgraced Kevin Spacey notwithstanding. As a couples therapist, I cannot help it, and watch it yearly, along with "Life of Brian" for an entirely different experience of joy
We’re not changing our holiday plans, because we always planned a couple of small gatherings with fully vaccinated/boosted family and friends. The only difference is that we will use rapid tests a few hours before each. What will change is that Omicron will keep us out of restaurants and such, and we will limit long drives because hospitals may not be available in the event of injury. The best holiday movie of course is Die Hard - but I’m looking forward to binging a new series: With Love on Prime Video.
Nice!
Best Christmas Movie, Mary? REMEMBER THE NIGHT with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray. She's a crook. He's a prosecutor. Divine Events Happen.
I searched for it but it doesn't seem to be available to stream so I'm going to see if I can track down the DVD.
An old film buff, I would love that one!
Searching for that flick on YT and another great one popped up.
Remember the Day - Claudette Colbert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPK89AWrnX8&list=TLPQMTkxMjIwMjG4D60gfx-TQA&index=1
Our plans rarely change. We go off the grid every year, and this year, with two of the most delightful dogs, Cedric the Scottish Terrier (10 years old, likes to be called Sir Cedric) and Walther (note German spelling, after my partner David's dearest friend) a 3 year old Aussie-doodle, who just likes to be called (and cuddled endlessly). It's a high-calorie hug fest, and it's already started.
Our favorite holiday "film" is a short special with Bill Murray called "A Very Murray Christmas" ... a little Christmas blues works like a dash of lemon on an otherwise very rich meal, if you haven't seen it, definitely worth an hour, and be sure to have a martini in hand. All the very best in 2022, may it NOT be a re-run.
For me the best Christmas movies are A Flintstones Christmas Carol and The Muppets Christmas Carol. Yes, I'm a 32 yr old big kid at heart lol
How did I miss A Flintstones Christmas Carol?? I will try to track it down. A Muppet Christmas Carol is awesome.
I have no holiday plans. I have nowhere to go since I am now alone and everyone nearby that I might have a chat with crosses the street afraid to be too close. My other half is gone. Died before the pandemic hit. Their final words to me were, "Nobody likes you." I was told by the doctor that people often say things like that when dying. Really? I use reading to distract myself from these painful memories. I've stopped trying to figure out why I must now be alone here my little village outside Tucson, Arizona. Discovering Mary's books was the best help because they took all my attention. Now I'm discovering things here. If I could I would post a photo to show you the beauty. While there are no safe options to go anywhere from here. It is possible to visit with a book. I've long taken photos of the land around us/no me. That's what my plans are still. I'm grateful to be able to do that. I'm not not sure however that I'll ever get over this high order of rejection.
I'm very sorry, Maureen. But I hope once the worst of COVID is over you'll be able to connect with other people. Arizona is a tough place but Tucson is a great city and the desert is beautiful. I'm glad my books offered you some solace. Stay safe.
I'll see if I can figure out how to post photos in the comments.
Thank you Mary. You’re right about Tucson. We moved here because we liked the desert and mountains. We’d drive out from Cambridge where I was in grad school and decided to move here when I was free. It was great with the two of us. Your books have helped very much in digging out of that huge hole.
So sorry that happened - people do sometimes lash out when they're dying, but knowing it's not personal doesn't do much to make it less painful.
Some more books you may also like, if you haven't come across them yet, are those of Jenny Lawson: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5272674.Jenny_Lawson?from_search=true&from_srp=true Her work is hilarious, often surreal, and still very raw and piercing at times. She is smart, brave, and insightful.
Re posting photos, I puzzled over that and finally figured out that I can create an Instgram account, upload the pictures to that and post them, click on the 3-dot icon in the corner of the picture's post, save the link, and paste it into a message here. It isn't as cumbersome as it sounds Here's an example (a pio of my grandson Andrew: https://www.instagram.com/p/CXp6c_Ksb0M/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Here's hoping you find a movie or five to lighten your days on the holidays. These aren't Christmas films in particular, but Billy Elliott, Free Guy, The Dig, Enola Holmes, Safety Not Guaranteed, Palm Springs, and To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything – Julie Newmar, are all good, most of them funny and all of them overall upbeat.
Thank you for your thoughtful input.
You're very welcome.
My cursor happened to roll over your name and I saw your micro-bio. My wife Jan and I are both retired clinicians as well - she worked as a clinical social worker in a hospice program and ran a mental health treatment housing unit for women at the local jail, and after I retired from the military I spent about ten years as a psychotherapist before becoming too physically banged up to keep working - I worked with severely traumatized adolescents in a couple of local agencies and with adult men in the psychiatric hospital serving our state prison system.
Re-reading over your initial post, it reminded me of how helpful a bereavement support group was for us after my stepfather died in 2003. Jan and I were both very close with him; he was a wonderful man and had been my role model since I was ten and one of my best friends all my adult life. We also found a support group invaluable ten years later when our nine-year-old grandson, whom we had helped raise, was murdered.
I'm sure you know this already, but one of the few good things I've learned through a lot of deaths, divorces, and other wrenching losses is that it's like having a painful injury like a broken bone. It hurts a lot, and there's no way to fast-forward through that, but the day does come when I can remember the pain but it's not hurting any more, or not nearly as much. I've gotten good at reminding myself of that and being gentle with myself while that time passes. It has also helped to occasionally step out of frame mentally, look at myself as a client, and ask myself, 'what would I say to this guy? What kind of homework might I ask him to do?'
Take care - we rent-a-friend types, as my brother used to call me, do well to stick together.
How was the understanding of cause and effect shifting on you? Was it a matter of starting school with one conception and learning a new one, or of their explanations changing as you went through training?
The time-crunch thing was an issue I didn't run into until my first jobs after school. I've never seen a mental health workplace where it was really managed in a healthy way, and most jobs had a culture of being expected to just work the extra time off the books to get all the charting done.
My brother Bill is a good guy, but we are very, very different personalities, and I never worried about the fact that he couldn't relate to the idea of therapy as a provider or a client. I can't relate to his way of being in the world either. I think of him as "ticking" - he's generous, resourceful, brave, tough, honest, responsible, considerate, hardworking to a degree that's workaholic, smart, often funny, and deeply protective of the vulnerable. He's also frozen, suspicious, and tense, and I don't know he's made it to his late fifties without having a heart attack or a stroke. So from him, "rent-a-friend" just makes me shake my head and laugh.
When we were kids, my default survival tactic was 'flight' and Bill's was 'fight.' Our other brother Dave's was 'freeze.' I think I came out of it with a bit less trauma than they did.
I had gotten into therapy and recovery (initially in the Adult Children of Alcoholics program), and was finding the process life-changing - a room full of other people I could relate to when I'd thought I was terminally and uniquely weird, and all kinds of light bulbs flashing on in terms of seeing patterns and learning alternatives.
One of my first thoughts was that I wanted to share this with my two brothers to help them with the ongoing fallout of our nightmarish childhood as it was helping me.
I got Bill in a conversation, and started telling him about what I was doing and what it was doing for me. He shot me a truly scary look, shook his head, and said, "That shit's in the deep freeze, and that's where it stays." I wish he felt differently, but I have to respect his choice.
Our stepfather never really understood therapy either. Once he commented out of the blue that he couldn't do my job because he couldn't sit and give people advice all day every day. I laughed and told him, "But I don't give people advice!" He looked perplexed and asked, "Then what the hell do you do?" I told him that I mainly listened and asked them questions, and he said he didn't understand how that would work. The funny thing was that he was a pretty good lay therapist himself and just didn't realize it.
My grad school program required that we be actively engaged in therapy as clients before we were allowed to enter the program, and at about a third of the way through the curriculum, we had to have completed a fairly substantial number of hours of personal therapy before we were allowed to take any additional coursework. The classes were fairly small and most of them were fairly Socratic in the way they were taught. Most of the instructors were encouraging and relaxed, and I think it was a helpful thing that we students were almost all in our late thirties or older, and a good third of us had been in recovery programs for years as well as being in therapy (in a course on addictions, the instructor announced that the only effective treatment for addictions is CBT and 12-step programs are garbage. We wrote a paper for that class, as for most; I wrote mine analyzing the 12-step model as a highly effective cognitive-behavioral model when rigorously practiced. She gave me a lot of stink-eye and an A.) So between the way things were taught, the therapy requirement, and where we were at in our own lives, I think we tended to be more at ease and confident than we would have been earlier in our lives. We didn't get to the practicum/internship phase until near the end, after we'd practiced on each other and learned from our own therapists for the time we'd been in the program up to then, so we went into our first client contacts fairly confidently.
I always liked working in inpatient settings where the clock was less emphasized. Working in the prison psych hospital, I also liked the fact that managed care was irrelevant - no insurance companies, no gatekeepers, no six- or eight-session drive-by therapy. Since we only had clinical documentation to do, it cut the paperwork in half compared to other jobs. I worked with some of the same clients intensively for years; I had more freedom to design groups, assign reading homework, and tailor interventions to individuals. There wasn't enough time allowed for charting there either, but they came closer than anywhere else I worked.
We are going camping--taking our travel trailer and meeting up with my wife's sister and her husband at Jekyll Island, GA. Hopefully will stay to ourselves enough in the great outdoors. I'm not crazy about eating out anywhere in SC or GA, so I'm trying to stress that we stay as self-contained as possible. We're all vaxed and boosted to the max (and I've also had my flu shot and a pneumonia vaccination). We can't cancel (and If I stay home, my wife will surely go and just bring it back to me, so I might as well go). She's been looking forward to this for a year. I'm very, very nervous, however. I hate ALL OF THIS. Can I just crawl in a hole somewhere?
Sharing, pleading, hoping: marytrump2024.com
Taking the "deep dive" into learning anything new/unknown is nothing new for me although it's tough to stay focused these days. Old movies, especially the Westerns, are my fun hobby and I've been following a Women of the Western's List I found. I'll continue enjoying those since Christmas is just, well... Christian. Fake. The kids are grown and far away and that Santa fella'... to me... was the1st Big Lie as, from an advertising and marketing standpoint, he's the one that started grooming the ordinary folks into believing the current Big Lie.
So... A tiny Blue speck, me, floating in the Southern Baptist sea of military infused RED, I'll keep to myself and cook and eat and watch a Western or 3!
1) My only plans for the holidays are to relax and spend time with family. Since we are all vaccinated that will not change .
2) There are too many to choose from , but I have to go with A Charlie Brown Christmas . It's a classic and even at 56 years of age I still watch it . Happy Holidays Mary !
Great plans. I haven't seen "A Charlie Brown Christmas since I was a kid (for some reason I didn't watch it with my daughter) but I remember it fondly and the Vince Guaraldi score is always on our holiday music playlist.
Best Christmas movie? The original We’re No Angels (Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Aldo Ray). Hands down.
Fascinating pick!
Changing holiday plans? not really. Still going to gather, but since we live in Houston, we are taking the party out to the back patio and will gather in that open, outdoor area. Supposed to be 75 on Christmas Day, so perfect weather.
Best Christmas movie? no doubt, Elf. Everything else is a distant second.
Have a wonderful holiday!
C
Glad the weather will cooperate for an outdoor gathering.
I love "Elf," too.
I've been thinking about watching Big Fish over the holidays. It's such a great tale and Albert Finney reminds the whole family of my late husband in a very good way.
What a cast!
One of my favorite films.
We love Big Fish! Thanks for the reminder!
Well luckily my boyfriend is here in Quebec from the US after not being together for 2 years and he got here before the HUGE Covid wave we have right now. We weren't going to do much but we are not even going to stores right now, like at all.
My Quebecker relations say much the same. My dear friend since childhood spent Christmas visiting by phone talking with all their family instead of home visiting with one another.
Our family long ago decided to stay home in our various locations and just Google Meet to have holiday visits. We will stick to our normal COVID pod, with our daughter and 2 grandchildren...my husband and I go out to work, but that's it. Everyone is fully vaxed and boosted. Even our 7 year old granddaughter has had her 2 Pfizer's. None of us had any side effects from the vaccines. Hoping not to get Omicron!
My holidays plans did not change. I’m on month 21 of staying home except for supplies as needed. I’m immune compromised (no spleen) so I’m waiting until the pandemic is handled better before taking any trips. I really want to get out & about (REALLY!) but for me it’s safer not to yet. I am vaccinated but have already faced death & disability a few times & don’t wish to again.
For me, the best Christmas movies are a tie between A Christmas Story and the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Wishing everyone lovely holidays however they celebrate. May they unfold as you wish them to.
My holiday plans did change. I usually go to my dad's place at least a couple of times a month. And this holiday, I won't be going because the infection had reached his household. And as much as it disappoints me about not being able to go, I felt that protecting myself was key. I, just like most of my Dad's household, are immunocompromised. And I just don't want to risk it.
And before this whole mess started, the pandemic, I usually avoided people before. Now it's a must to avoid people. It still blows my mind that there are people who still claim covid isn't real, that it's not that bad. Or those that refused to get vaccinated to protect not just themselves but their neighbors, their community. And these same people, refuse to learn from history, i.e. the 1918 pandemic. About wearing a mask, always claiming it doesn't do any good.
It is all those people that aggravate me. And it's a shame that I have to include my older brother in that bunch. Early on in the pandemic, he used to spam me with all the misinformation that he kept finding on FB or Instagram. Trying to say those were facts. It just made me want to smack him, to which he is lucky that he lives in another state. :P
And I have to say that my favorite Christmas movie(s) is Santa Claus (With Tim Allen). It never fails to make me laugh.
I would also like to wish you and everyone else a happy and safe holiday. :D
Our holiday plans were simple to begin with and that won't change because we are all vaxxed and boosted. I'm only celebrating with my mom (my dad died in April 2019 of congestive heart failure), brother, sister and her husband at our mom's house. It's helpful that we all live in Chicago and our mom lives in a Chicago suburb which means we can drive to her house.
We are also lessening our exposure to other people as much as possible this week due to the Omicron variant. This means since I work from home I'm not going anywhere at all until Christmas Eve. I got all the groceries I will need last week so I'm all set.
My favorite holiday movies are Meet Me In St. Louis, The Bishops Wife and Elf.
My favorite holiday movie is Love Actually. It makes me laugh and cry and smile and sing. Great soundtrack and the closing scene is awesome. The movie shows us that love comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and places.
Staying home - we'd be doing that anyway. When we travel to visit our kids and grandkids, we avoid holidays and go in other months. We can do more with them in summer anyway.
I just got a subscription to Audible - it's good to be able to listen to an interesting book while I do woodworking projects (as long as I don't have a power tool turned on.)
Re art, a couple of things I got into decades ago: first, using colored thread and black art board to make designs - they can be eerie and beautiful, kind of spectral. https://www.instagram.com/p/CXp62MRMdho/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Next, using that Rigid Wrap plaster cloth cut into strips to make masks using my face or those of others. The plaster is hard enough to lift the mask off your face within 15 minutes or so. Then paint or otherwise decorate the mask in any way that crosses your mind. When I worked in my second career as a psychotherapist in a residential treatment center for adolescent boys, I brought in the materials for them to make masks and offered as many ways as I could for them to make them their own (paints, glitter, feathers, sequins, etc.) - it was amazing how much each boy's personality was expressed in his mask. I made a series of my own to express different moods, and hang them on the wall.
Thank you for a lot of things – for your books, for starting this blog/newsletter and your podcast, for your perspective in your interviews with journalists, for your voice on Mueller She Wrote/Daily Beans (a whole other thing for which I'm grateful.) Thank you for your work as a psychologist, and for being resilient and choosing to create a different kind of life from that chosen by your aunts, uncles, and cousins. I grew up with a narcissistic, sociopathic sadist for a biological father and both my parents were alcoholics and addicts, so some of the family dynamics sound all too familiar, but my mom got into recovery and married a good man, giving my brothers and me a great stepfather.
Take care, and keep up the funny, enlightened, articulate work.
Semper Fidelis,
Jim Finley
Captain, USMC, retired
This Holiday season I’m the one that will stay home and fill in for my coworkers I’m a building superintendent. My family will travel this year they’re twice vaccinated and boosted . Even if I had the choice to travel I wouldn’t. With this time I will complete a project at my friends home while their away , exercise, read , zoom with family and friends. My fondest memories growing up here in NYC were the window displays at Macy’s, Lord & Taylor Sachs Fifth Ave , chocolate eclairs and the smell of chestnuts . My mom would cut a pattern and sew for me a cute red velvet dress a matching coat with patent leather shoes , gloves , hat and a purse . My mom in her fur coat and hat the two of us on our way to Radio City Music Hall to see the Nutcracker. After the show we would walk to the Horn and Hardart /Automat . Christmas as child was special all our family would come from Washington DC with my nieces and nephews in tow back then a big family rode in a station wagon . The grownups would stay downstairs while we played upstairs board games music sing alongs and dancing. I’ll never forget my brother snuck a stray cat in the house and we played with it all night I don’t remember what happened to the cat . Those were special times and so are the moments we live in now. Happy holidays to all especially those who choose to travel .
Our son, his wife, and seven year old son will be coming for a visit of several days and staying here with us. I am in the finishing touches stage of restoring/refurbishing our apartment on the third floor of our house and they will be staying there. Their dog, Risa, a rescue from Puerto Rico, is also coming with them, a real sweetheart of a dog. Our two cats, Tom Jones and Hannibal, cope pretty well with Risa also in the house and may even get used to her. Covid is starting to rage once again here, so we will all likely stay pretty close to home and forego our annual day after Christmas meal at a favorite German restaurant here. We are all triple vaxed, N95 masked, and will also test just to make sure as my husband and I are both in the high risk category. Because of Covid, we haven't seen them regularly as before, so we will all be happy to see each other. Our best gift is that they will be here! We are well-stocked with food and multiple outlets for entertainment right here. My favorite Christmas Music is the album from the 60s or so, Leonard Bernstein's "Joy of Christmas". Favorite movie, A Christmas Story, which we have watched very year since it came out. Another favorite, the Three Tenors Christmas in Vienna, our favorite city in the world!
Spending the holiday at my sister’s. Christmas Eve they host my brother-in-law’s family’s traditional Italian seven fish dinner. Usually it’s a big, boisterous event, but won’t be as big this year due to Covid precautions. Christmas Day will be smaller and quieter with just my sisters and their families. Favorite Christmas movie - such a tough one! But I have to be honest and confess that’s it’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Something about that 1960’s stop motion animation makes me so nostalgic and when they come back for and deliver those toys from the Island of Misfit Toys it just gets me every.damn.time! 😳🤣
Hello Rhonda
You Christmas plans sounds nice big or small it’s always great to see family . Happy safe travels !
Thanks, Paula! This time of year can be difficult, especially with the extra stresses of Covid, so time with family will be even more meaningful. I hope you’re looking forward to the holiday!
Thank you for like on the Good guy of the week . I wanted to comment on your conversation with another follow you had but somehow I wasn’t able to go back and find it .
Mary, did you actually ask about Alcohol Ink? I am actually a professional artist working in alcohol inks!! What do you want to know?
I'd just never heard of it. I looked at some videos and it looks really interesting. My daughter is a painter so I'll ask her if she's ever worked with it.
It started as a craft supply for making cards and scrapbooks. It’s only been in the last 5 years that it has become a product for making art. I was at the very beginning 5 years ago when there were no videos or books on it, so I learned it myself. It’s pigment in a base of isopropyl alcohol. It has to be used on non-porous substrates, although many off us work on canvas.
There are now many different brands, and not just in the US—Russia, India and Australia are making inks—I have some unique and expensive ones coming from Russia this week and am very excited!
I’ve worked with several brands, from testing to writing instructions on how to do paintings using specific brand’s supplies, to being a brand ambassador with two ink brands. Not to write my CV, but I have a good following on Instagram of newbies looking to me for new products and answers to questions. A good friend, Ashley Mahlberg, wrote the definitive book on how to start using alcohol inks.
If you need to know more, let me know
Some old Christmas movie suggestions. Enjoy!!
Holiday Affair(1949) with Robert Mitchum & Janet Leigh
It Happened on 5th Avenue(1947) with Victor Moore, Don DeFore & Gale Storm
The Shop Around the Corner(1940) with Jimmy Stewart & Margaret Sullavan
Re: Art. Check out Sketchbookskool.com. Best holiday movie: The Ten Commandments. Congratulations on the new family member!
With appreciation for your earlier post, I return the favor of Mozart:
Yeol Eum Son
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21, K.467
https://youtu.be/fNU-XAZjhzA
My partner and I were planning to go to Morgantown W.Va. in January. I guess I thought after the holidays was a good idea. So, now, because of the rapid transmissibility of the Omicron variant , we will have to hassle with our carrier to not take all our money for a cancelled trip, but negotiate the possibility of a credit for a future date. My favorite holiday movie is the original Christmas Carol with Allistair Sim. Merry Christmas Mary
White Christmas is the best movie, imo. Friends, Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Lucy Show. All good Christmas shows every year. Will probably remember others later.
To add, the worst thing that Covid has done is to prevent us from observing our usual Christmas occasions with our church. We are Episcopalians and have an annual "Lessons and Carols," Advent wreath making workshop, other special musical occasions during Advent, culminating in a Festival Christmas Eve Eucharist. Our church will be holding these festivities with masking, distancing, and the like. But as my husband and I are both high risk, we are exercising an abundance of caution. We can watch online, however. But we will miss seeing all our friends.
For my wife and me in Madrid, Spain, nothing has changed since March 2020. Takeout meals, open air cafés, mandated masking (rightfully) in enclosed public areas and long outdoor walks. Omicron is merely a reminder to take care. Our favorite Xmas program this year will be “Dear Dad” from season 1 of M.A.S.H. We appreciate your straightforward commentary and dispatches, Mary. Happy Holidays!
I'm sorry for all of the erasures. I felt obligated to discuss something I didn't want to. Right now I want to relax, learn, and enjoy.
The plans sound perfect. Not sure about the movie. 😂
I'll check it out.