The Empty Bench.
Make room…
in your heart,
in your soul,
in your home,
in your life.
Fill it with…
love,
acceptance,
warmth,
peace.
#RealMeaningofChristmas
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
Photography
Merry Christmas
December Snow
Front Yard, Mars, PA December, 2016
December snow
is the brightest snow.
It makes the sky bluer
and tree trunks browner.
December snow cleanses the earth
and also the soul.
It evokes memories
and fills us with anticipation.
December snow…
I love your Christmas spirit.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
A Rule of Life
“Those of us
who are warm and dry
and safe and well-fed
must show up for those
who are cold and wet
and endangered and hungry.
That’s a rule of life.
Every ethical and religious and spiritual
tradition in the world
agrees on that rule.”
-Elizabeth Gilbert
thecompassioncollective.org
The true spirit of the season is not in simply buying gifts,
but in giving and doing what we can for those in need.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
#RealMeaningofChristmas
Just Be
Snowy Pine Tree Way, Mars, PA – December, 2016
Just be…
whatever it is
you were meant to be.
Just be.
During this time of year, so many of us push ourselves beyond what any human is capable of doing.
Others suffer with stinging depression because their life is not like the “Hallmark” Christmas card or movie.
Remember to just be…
It’s okay…
It is actually more than okay!
It is what you are meant to be.
Let it go – let it be – and just be.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Weary World Rejoices
The Weary World Rejoices
There are always bright, beautiful spots
if only you open your eyes
and believe in the magic.
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
PS – See! Told ya! yep – another Christmas song running through my head!
Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread
For those of you that have been following my blog for a while, you may recall this recipe.
It is worth repeating – at least for me.
Let me share what I wrote in my post two years ago when I first shared this recipe that is one of my ALL-TIME favorites.
One of my favorite things to bake (and eat) for the holidays is my Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread.
For me, it is like spending a little time with Grandma – even though she’s been gone for 20 years now. The smells that fill the house… using her recipe card – complete with stains from baking episodes past… using her old tin measuring cup, snipping apricots, chopping nuts… To me, the holidays aren’t truly here until I make Grandma’s Apricot Nut Bread and spend a little time with her through this ritual.
When I was young, I spent Christmas vacations (and every other moment I could) with Grandma. We spent a lot of our time together in the kitchen. While we were cooking or baking, Grandma would tell me stories about her childhood. It was sadly a pretty short one, because she had to become Mama to her baby brothers at only 9 years old when her mom died at a devastatingly early age. We would talk about her early married life with outhouses, coal furnaces, and washboards. And some of my favorite stories, especially when I was young, were the ones she would tell about me when I was a baby and how she danced in the hospital hallway with the doctor after I was born and how she fed me her homemade chicken soup on my first day home.
We laughed while we worked, and I never felt so loved.
One of the things Grandma made every year was Apricot Nut Bread. Growing up, it really wasn’t my favorite. I much preferred the lady locks or nut horns or nut roll – even the chocolate chip cookies. This bread is not overly sweet. It is not overly moist. But as an adult, it has become my absolute favorite. A slice with a swirl of creamy salted butter or a schmear of rich cream cheese and a cup of coffee might just be my favorite way to start the day.
This weekend, I once again made my annual batch of Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread. I can only hope for cherished times like this to share with my granddaughter some day.
Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try. May it bring you as much joy as it does me.
Ingredients: Mix together 1 cup chopped apricots and 1 cup boiling water. Let stand until the rest of the ingredients are ready. In larger mixer bowl, beat two eggs and gradually add 1 cup of sugar. In a third large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder salt and baking soda. Add the first two mixtures to the dry ingredients – alternating as you incorporate. Fold in chopped nuts. Bake one large loaf at 375 degrees F for approximately 40 minutes, then 350 degrees F for 20 additional minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. For smaller loaves, bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes. P.S. I typically quadruple the recipe, and I get 8 mini loaves and 1 large loaf. We eat the large loaf (right away!) and I give away the mini loaves.Grandma’s Old-Fashioned Apricot Nut Bread
Cheers & Holiday Baking Hugs,
Jodi
All is Calm – All is Bright
Christmas Tree Lights – Bokeh
All is Calm…
All is Bright…
For now.
Relaxing by the twinkling lights of the tree
willing myself not to worry about gifts and wrapping and baking
and all of the “material” things that aren’t the things that make
the holiday season special.
All is Calm
All is Bright
I think that will be the theme this year!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
The Season of Magic
Sammy the Elf – the Magic of Christmas
Long before the Official “Elf on the Shelf” was marketed (and got a bit out of control – but dang! Why didn’t I think to market it!?!), our family had an heirloom elf who came to visit during the magical month of December.
Sammy (we knew his name because it was written on his shirt) came to visit and watch over our boys to assure they were being good and deserving of Christmas gifts from Santa. He would move around the house every night, and the boys had so much fun waking up each morning trying to find him and see what he might have been up to the night before.
Sammy always left with Santa on his sleigh after Santa brought the boys’ gifts on Christmas eve, and he didn’t return until the following December 1st.
One important thing about Sammy was that he could not be touched by human hands – never – ever – or he would lose his “magic.” The boys never dared touch him. (He came with a note from Santa the first year telling us so.)
Though our Christmas tree has become a smaller, themed, and artificial version of the live cut trees of years past loaded with sentimental and handmade ornaments, the one thing I still put on our tree is Sammy.
Our boys still often reminisce when they see him, laughing at how they believed so strongly in him and his magic – yet still almost afraid to touch him…
Sammy is an heirloom Christmas “decoration” that was my Grandma’s, so I especially cherish him. She had what seemed like dozens of these tiny toy elves all over her home doing silly things at Christmas. She was such a character and had a great sense of humor, so her elves would be hanging from curtain rods and peeking over picture frames and sitting cross armed and legged in the strangest of places.
And then, it seemed for many years, these elves were impossible to find (especially when friends’ kids wanted an elf like Sammy!) – until “Elf on a Shelf” became the rage.
Our sweet Sammy is worn and thread-bare in many places, but he will always have a place of honor on our tree and in our home in December.
He reminds me of the magic of the season.
The magic of Christmas.
The magic of children and believing.
The magic of family memories –
my children and my own childhood.
It is indeed
the season of Magic!
Happy December!
Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: It’s Not this Time of Year Without
Goodbye November
Mars, PA – November 2016
Goodbye November…
The hush before winter.
Just like that
another Autumn is gone.
You were a good month this year
my Sweet November.
Thanks for giving
such great joy!
Cheers & Hugs
Jodi
the creative life in between 