The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 55,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 13 Film Festivals
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY | Leave a Comment »
Today the New York Times published several photos published during 2012. The spread included several photos depicting events and newsworthy subjects specific to each month of the year. Many of them were distressing; There were photos of riots, death, war, and the aftermath of storms. By the time I finished looking at all of them and reading the captions, I felt that 2012 was largely filled with strife, grief, mayhem and despair. It made me think about how I felt about 2012. It wasn’t a great year for me and oh how I would love to greet the New Year with a thanks for a wonderful year instead of thank God, that’s over as has been a montra these past few years!
However, if you follow this blog you know I don’t bring too much of my real personal life to it. If I have an argument with my husband,who amongst you really cares! If I gain 5 or lose 10 lb. how interesting could that be for you? I do like to rant in the blog, I do like to vent about politics, events, movies etc in the blog but I’m not going to list all the issues that may have made this year not quite as good as some others. Because, as my dear friend, Susan, and I like to say; “It is what it is”. And that’s a fact Jack!! And to further commit myself to that idea, I gave Susan and myself bracelets that proclaim in shiny silver, ” It Is What It Is” – Amen!
But back to the photos…I thought I could capture a few online but I was wrong. The NY Times has done whatever websites do to prevent you from downloading their photos. BUT, I did find several sites with lots of photos of the highlights of this year. Here are few that tell the tales of 2012.
Children being led out of Newtown school
The Great Debate
Nik Wallenda walks across Niagra Falls
An Occupy Wall Street protester is arrested in Zuccotti Park
Hurricane Sandy slammed Mantoloking NJ
Explosion from an Israeli strike in Gaza City
Felix Baumgartner breaks the sound barrier jumping from more than 24 miles up
Burned out and flooded, Breezy Point in Queens, NY
US gymnast Gabrielle Douglas Gold Medal winner
Solar storm increased aural activity in Iceland
It was the best1 of times, it was the worst of times…..in other words it was life, plain and simple.
Happy New Year
Posted in BY THE WAY | Tagged Classroom, Flickr, Jack, Kansai region, Mount Everest, New Year, New Year's Day, New York Times, Photograph, United States | Leave a Comment »
50% Off – Magic Words
My first introduction to Boxing Day came way back in the ’80’s when our next-door neighbor at the time, invited us to their house the day after Christmas and told us to bring a gift we had previously received-more than likely one that was not well-received by us. In other words that tasteless ashtray your Aunt gave you or the unwelcome set of beer mugs each with one of the Seven Dwarfs depicted. We had such a great time, so many laughs….but then they told us the real idea behind Boxing Day and it went something like this.
The exact etymology of the term “boxing” is unclear. There are several competing theories, none of which is definitive.[1] The European tradition, which has long included giving money and other gifts to those who were needy and in service positions, has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown. It may come from a custom in the late Roman/early Christian era, wherein metal boxes placed outside churches were used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen,[2] which in the Western Church falls on the same day as Boxing Day.
In Britain, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect “Christmas boxes” of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year.[3] This is mentioned in Samuel Pepys’ diary entry for 19 December 1663.[4] This custom is linked to an older English tradition: Since they would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts and bonuses, and sometimes leftover food. Source: Wikipedia
In the United States, somehow along the way, Boxing Day has taken on a double meaning. It seems to be THE day to return BOXES – those presents which neither fit our taste or our bodies. LONG lines of over-dressed and over-heated customers stand in line to endure the ordeal of returning unwanted or unwelcome items.
Secondly, Boxing Day is a day to rush to the stores and buy MORE items, those many things that are now deeply-discounted. We are truly a nation of consumers! As for me, as soon as I finish this blog I’m off to find next year’s Christmas cards, wrapping paper and anything else I somehow found out I can’t live without especially now that is marked 50% off!
What are you doing this Boxing Day?
Posted in BY THE WAY | Tagged Box, Boxing Day, Christmas, Christmas Day, Middle Ages, Samuel Pepys, United States, Wikipedia | Leave a Comment »
Christmas postcard, 1911
T’was the day before Christmas and all through the morning
No one was talking but I could hear all the groaning.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, not a good day to be mad,
‘Cause Santa knows who’s good and who’s bad!
No breakfast to eat, no paper to read,
Please go get me the Starbucks, I so desperately need.
Oh my how the years have come and gone by
No turkey to roast, no baking of pies.
The tree is much smaller and actually pink
Because we’re in the cottage, what did you think?
One or two gifts litter the floor
Hardly like Christmases years before.
It’s quiet around here, no sirens or noise
And of course no grandkids and noisy toys.
The cats hung their stockings in hopes that St. Nick
Will show up tonight and bring them cat nip.
A different Christmas eve’s about to begin
Left-over pastas and martinis with gin.
Not trusting the programmers of commercial TV
We stocked the house with Christmas DVDs.
First on the list is The Bishop’s Wife and
Soon to follow, It’s A Wonderful Life.
Only the classics for us old folks you know
We like what like from years ago.
Last year was a gala ugly-sweater event
Tonight a few friends but there’s no lament.
Although there’s no sitting by the fiery log
Or getting tipsy on killer egg nog,
None-the-less, we’ll enjoy the leftover food
And glasses of wine put all in a good mood.
As we clink our glasses filled with good cheer,
We wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I’ll put out the cookies and milk with a wish
That tomorrow morning I’ll find an empty dish.
Then I’ll know that dear Santa Clause stopped by to see
How clean the house was and how pink the tree!
I sent him my letter early on in the season
I wanted him to know I had a good reason.
It would take him some time and certainly some doing
Some planning, some cutting and lots of gluing.
I hope, I hope, he thinks I’m not too absurd
For wanting a “55 pink Thunderbird!
Oh YES!!!
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY, Ha-P 2 B in OG, Smooth or Crunchy | Tagged A Wonderful Life, Christmas, Christmas movies, egg nog, Eggnog, Ho Ho Ho, holiday, Holidays, It's A Wonderful Life, Opinions, Religious, Santa, Santa Claus, Santa Clause, Starbucks, The Bishop's Wife | 3 Comments »
Cropped screenshot of Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye from the trailer for the film White Christmas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Everyone has a favorite Christmas movie and I think last year I asked my readers to send in their fans-so why not again this year and let’s see which one emerges as most popular choice. I love the holiday movies and look forward to seeing the old classic Christmas movies. Here are 8 of my favorite holiday films:
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY | Tagged Bing Crosby, Cary Grant, Christmas, Christmas Story, Clarence the angel, David Niven, holiday, Lionel Barrymore, Miracle on 34th Street, Scrooge | 3 Comments »
Happy Birthday to You!
Could it really be forty-one years ago that I drove myself from my home in Avon CT to Hartford for a doctor’s appointment and then to St. Francis Hospital? Apparently yes, because today is my son Joel’s birthday! When my parents and grandparents would tell me how quickly the years go by and at this point they’re flying, I, like every other young person ,didn’t really get it. Well I get it now. Joel is 41 and Chiara is 35 and now I’m a grandmother myself.
Last year I wrote what I thought was akin to a mother-son love letter so I’m not going to repeat it again. All of it is true and I hope he reads it again because it is full of love and appreciation for who he is. Posted last December 17th, Happy Birthday Dear Son!
3000 miles and 3 hours earlier often gets in the way of communication although as any mother knows, if there’s a will, there’s a way. This Christmas, like last year, my daughter and her family are headed west to spend the holidays with Joel and we will be here on the East Coast. I think it would be wonderful if we could all be together, however, my feeling is that the kids like it the way it is. I have a Norman Rockwell Christmas in mind and they are thinking along the lines of what I heard referred to as Westivus. Apparently, some friends from Boston are also flying out to celebrate with them.
I hope today has been joyful for Joel. I wrote a Happy Birthday greeting on his Facebook wall – aren’t I just the 21st Century Mom and called him this evening. I hope to see him in the near future to give him the real hug I sent virtually.
So Happy happy birthday Joel, I love you very much and wish I could spend more time with you.
Love,
Mom
Posted in Friends | Tagged birthday, Boston, Christmas, Christmas and holiday season, December 17th, Facebook, Facebook features, Florida, Holidays, Home, Joel Berti, San Diego, Tom, United States | 3 Comments »
Don’t get so busy shopping for food, baking, decorating and gift shopping that you don’t leave time to do something for yourself. Christmas is RED, no doubt about that – from Santa’s suit to the Cartier red-bow-wrapped store. Everyone can wear red, it just depends on the shade. Why people don’t believe that is a mystery to me! Red lipstick and red nails are HOT! RED is the color you want to wearing this season on your nails.
Essie makes several shades of red and I’m sure one of them would look great on you. Take the time to get a mani-pedi before you give over all your time and energy to making Christmas fabulous for others. You deserve it.
Here’s the 9 Days Till Christmas 9 nail colors:
RED NOUVEAU
5. DRAMATIC DRACHMA – An orangey red
6. BIG BAG THEORY – Brick red
7. LONG STEM ROSES – The name speaks for itself
8. JAG-U-ARE – A gorgeous gleaming red
9. SIZE MATTERS – A blazing hot ruby red
10. LOLLIPOP – Candy cane red
As usual as I always say….”Red Is Where You Find It”
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY | Tagged Christmas, Essie, holiday, Nail Art, Nail polish, Opinions, Santa, Santa Claus | Leave a Comment »
Ho,ho, ho, Christmas is almost here! And what will be under the tree for me? AND what will be in my Christmas stocking? As a kid growing up in the 50’s my Dad always made sure Santa filled our stockings with goodies. It was most definitely a simpler time then and what went into the stockings usually wasn’t very pricey but oh it was fun to sit in front of the tree and empty out the contents, wasn’t it? Only Santa knows what kids today expect in their stockings. This is the kind of stocking I had growing up and I found two in an antique shop years ago so I still hang a stocking up every year!
“…and their stockings were hung by the fireplace with care…”
There are several legends and versions of the origin of the tradition of hanging stockings the night before Christmas for Santa Claus to fill; I grew up with the one about the young boys and girls in the Netherlands leaving their wooden clogs filled with straw for the reindeer out on Christmas Eve. Then Sinterclass would leave treats for the children. Later the clogs would become stockings and the saint would become known to all as Santa Claus.
Then there’s the legend of the nobleman with three daughters who lost all of his money through bad inventions and was forced to move into a peasant’s cottage. The girls did all of the washing and cooking and had no chance of marriage because they had no dowries. The girls washed out their stockings and hung them by the fireplace to dry and that night, knowing of the father’s despair stopped by the house after all had gone to bed. He saw the stockings and was inspired to toss three pouches of gold coins carefully down the chimney, each one landing in one of the stockings.
Lastly there’s the North American theory dating back to the XIX Century; Some believe that stockings hung by the fireplace was first mentioned by writer, George Webster in a story about a visit from Santa Claus and in an illustration by Thomas Nast.
What did you find in your Christmas stocking? I found all kinds of goodies like:
I wonder what Finley Ray expects to find in her stocking this year?
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY | Tagged Candy, chocolate coins, Christmas, Christmas stocking, holiday, jacks and ball, Santa, Santa Claus, Stocking, Thomas Nast, yo-yo | Leave a Comment »
OK less than 2 weeks and things are moving along at a rapid pace! We’ve covered Hostess Gifts, Cookies, Decorations, Gifts for Everyone, Candy Cane Dust, Holiday Advice, Holiday Humor and we’re not done yet! Today the Christmas thought of the day is:
TREE TOPPERS
Isn’t the best part of decorating a Christmas tree putting the topper on? Growing up I remember how my Dad would cut the tip of the tree to make sure that the Angel would fit. She was beautiful (well have you ever seen an ugly angel?) and had a gold mesh skirt that had 4 or 5 tiny white lites wired into it. And she held a candle in her hand. We had that Angel for a really long time; When I got married my parents gave me the Angel and I put it on top of every Christmas tree we had. After I got divorced and moved to New York City, I gave the Angel to my daughter and hope she will continue the tradition. The angel’s skirt is a little ragged but she’s still beautiful.
Just Like The One I Had
We didn’t always have that angel. My earliest memory of a tree topper is one so typical of the 50’s. It looked like this:
Retro Tree Topper
Then we had an angel with blonde hair and behind her was this reflector which was concave; This one has the reflector back however, I think our angel was not plastic but rather more like a doll.
Almost like half a disco ball
So what was on your childhood tree? What do you put on top of the tree now? There are LOTS of options; Vintage, retro, new-manufactured from all kinds of materials. Here are few available for this year’s Christmas tree.
A Pinwheel of Stars
or A Mosaic Star
Really? Good Lord No!
A Peace Dove
A Glitzy Lite Star
A Heavenly Angel
Very Kid Friendly
An Angel of Color
That’s quite an assortment and surely there’s one for every taste.
Please do write in and tell us all about YOUR Tree Topper!
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY | Tagged angel, Christmas, Christmas tree, New York City, Tree topper | 1 Comment »
Deutsch: Logo von Cartier (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I posted this breathtaking commercial last year and raved about it then. I noticed that a few readers found that post recently and so just for my own amusement, I opened the link. Boy was I ever surprised to find that the link changed! How I don’t know but what was there was a boring interview between two men. Last night I corrected last year’s post and updated it with the new link. However, if posting it again will expose this masterpiece to more viewers, I’m happy to post it again. It IS SO WORTH WATCHING! If you’ve seen it on TV you are only viewing an abbreviated version. Watch this one. I am just so amazed by the creativity and production.
Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour | Tagged Cartier, Cartier S.A., Hong Kong, Paris, Rolex, Russia, Television, Watch | Leave a Comment »
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