Category: holiays
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December Holidays on the Minds of the Boomers This Week
I experienced the first snow of the season this weekend when visiting my Mom in Harrisburg, PA. It wasn’t a big storm, but enough to coat the world in white. A wonderful way to usher in the December holidays! This season often initiates memories of past holiday festivities… They still haunt Laurie. She catches glimpses of…
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The Humble Potato Shines on My Plate
The feasting season officially arrived. I finished leftover Thanksgiving fare on Saturday evening. My sister provided the banquet, and I returned home with a plate of delicious food: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping – excellent examples of comfort food, typical American fare, but not the healthiest choices. Broccoli represented greens…
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Family and Community Thanksgiving Traditions
Families have their holiday customs. For years our family observed a tradition my sons are thrilled not to continue. The Gathering of the Leaves A lot of trees covered our property. Mature trees with leaves, the kind that sail to earth in the autumn. We never invested in a leaf blower. Why waste the money…
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Fact, Fiction, and Myths of Thanksgiving
In elementary school we colored pictures of Pilgrims and Indians dressed in clothes they wore in the 17th century – or so we assumed. Pilgrims and Indians were friends – we presumed. We gathered around our family table and devoured delicious dishes the Pilgrims and Indians ate 400 years ago – or so we thought. …
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We All Scream for ICE CREAM!
Maybe not scream, but verbally make our desire known. Forcefully. And we desire ice cream often. ‘We,’ meaning a lot of us, although not all of us. I realize there are a few souls out there who are not ice cream fans. All I can say is…I’m sorry. Ice cream enthusiasts have their favorites –…
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My Word and My Resolution for the New Year
My life seems to revolve around my propensity toward procrastination. I am great at making plans, writing to-do lists, then concocting excuses for why I did not do all the things I aspired to do. I have given up on New Year’s resolutions in any serious way. I will not achieve whatever I decide should…
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Memories of a Manhattan Christmas
My childhood Christmas memories center on my aunt and uncle’s Manhattan apartment, overflowing with relatives, holiday trappings, and delicious food. But before the festivities began, my family had to travel to Manhattan. We lived on Long Island, normally an hour’s drive from Manhattan. Nothing was normal about driving on Christmas Day. New York City roads…