Heading back to the church

They are predicting some days of snow, so I'm thinking about returning to the church early instead of waiting for January. I'm trying to think whether it's better to be snowed in there or at home. At home I have people to chum with and more activities to do (really exciting stuff, like cleaning out the crawlspace or organizing the filing cabinet). But at the church I can exercise Brio without having to go outside for great lengths of time, and he can play ball (which is difficult to do in deep drifts of snow). So while I'm trying to decide what to do, I'm putting together supplies, ready to dash when there's a break in the weather.

Merry Christmas!

 It's a weird celebration this year, for sure, without grandkids piling into presents around the tree, or a big family dinner, or Son #2 and his partner driving to the house in their pajamas Christmas morning. It will be quiet and low-key, just us and Son #3, and there's meatloaf for dinner instead of the whole turkey shebang. I'll likely spend the day shoveling snow and doing puzzles. But the holiday itself is still as vibrant and relevant as ever, and if ever the world needed a saviour, it's now. I am grateful for parents who taught me to focus on Christ at Christmas instead of the Santa/presents trappings. The rush and glitz of consumerism has never appealed to me, and at Christmas it's especially appalling. I much prefer listening for the still, small voice in the hush of a peaceful morning, watching the snow fall and reading the old familiar story from the Bible while the house sleeps gently around me.

Butter Tarts!

 It's that time of year again -- the making of the butter tarts. We're going to drop some off to various people we know who are alone this Christmas, and some will go to a young piper we know who fell in love with them last year (he'd never had a homemade one before, and after he tasted them he told us he was ruined for life from ever eating store-bought ones again). They're a simple thing but have become part of our Christmas tradition. Our record is 300 at once.

Following along with Gurdeep Pandher

Every day I go on Facebook and look for Gurdeep Pandher's posts. He is a Sikh fellow who lives in a small cabin in the Yukon, and he spreads joy and celebrates life (and keeps warm) dancing out in the snow in subzero temperatures. Sometimes I try a few steps myself, though I can't get too vigorous with my trick knee. But the joy he spreads is contagious, and somehow he distills life down to its essentials. I come away from watching with a feeling of peace and well-being. Really, life is that simple -- finding happiness in small things.

It also brings home to me how important it is that we be joyful and lift each other up during this pandemic. Happiness is contagious, but depression is too, and we pick up others' moods without realizing it. Our impact on others is more pronounced now than ever, and our mode of being can heal or hurt. I am vowing to be more conscious of that going forward. Every January I choose a "theme" for the year and try to focus on it in my life. I think 2021's theme will be "Spread light."

Some good news

 I've had another manuscript accepted -- hoping to be published in July 2021. Yay! It's been a bit of a dry spell for a while, when other things seemed to take precedence over writing, but I have gotten back into the swim of things lately. Covenant is currently considering three other manuscripts as well -- one non-fiction, a novella, and a children's book. I may not be terrific, but I'm prolific!

The novella is a bit of a departure for me, but could be the beginning of a new series that combines an Armenian detective and a Vietnamese Buddhist monk as a crime-fighting duo. Hey, it's Canada; why not?

A soft descent into decadence

Maybe it's the time of year. Maybe it's the stress at work. Maybe it's the effects of lockdown. But I can't seem to get enough comfort food lately. Cheese and pudding and pasta and chocolate. This morning for breakfast I had two slices of pumpernickel with Nutella and a glass of eggnog.

Well, at least I spread the Nutella on bread instead of just gobbling it straight from the jar with a spoon.

That was yesterday.

Mmm...Eggnog Cookies

 Well, I managed to get two bags of cookies into the freezer before I could stuff ALL of them into my mouth...

Holiday Baking

I took half a day off work today to make eggnog cookies, and maybe butter tarts (still deciding). I love that feeling of working in a warm kitchen while snow falls outside.