‘Tis the Season

When I am taking pretty good care of myself, I can usually survive the cold & flu season using herbal remedies. My favorites are New Chapter’s “Sinus & Respiratory” and “Host Defense” plus Airborne when I’m feeling run down. When a bug got the best of me, I would usually take Nature’s Way’s “Sinustop” but … Read more

Confessions of a Holiday Scrooge

In a recent post, I referred to my husband as a “holiday scrooge” and described myself as having become disillusioned with the holidays at one point in my life never having recovered (very dramatic). However, I did not fully admit that what I had become was a holiday scrooge myself. Very easy to toss that … Read more

Advent Magic

As the first step on my quest to recapture the magic of the holiday season, I decided to buy an advent calendar. One of my most cherished memories is the advent calendar my mother bought that was a wall hanging of a Christmas tree. Each ornament labeled with the days of the calendar were removable … Read more

The Last UnTurkey

unturkey

Neil and I had our last unturkey meal on Thanksgiving. It was as delicious as always and I’m pretty much in denial that we won’t be having it again. Having our unturkey dinner on Thanksgiving and Christmas has really been the only major tradition that we have established together. (Mental note: do not establish traditions … Read more

Un-Turkey Hunt

unturkey

Yesterday, Neil and I went on our seasonal unturkey hunt venturing deep into the wilds of Torrance, California. The coveted unturkey has been increasingly scarce in these parts. It has been our holiday tradition to have one and since I first discovered them at Trader Joe’s. We were immediately hooked and even when we had … Read more

Family Heirlooms

Sweden

For a number of reasons I don’t have much in the way of family heirlooms. My parents’ families never had very many material possessions to pass on. My mother’s family left Sweden with nothing when they booked their passage to the U.S. and then had hard lives in New England. In my mother’s lifetime that … Read more