‘There is so much to do, so many engrossing challenges, so many heartbreaking and pressing needs, so much in every day that is profoundly interesting’ -Eleanor Roosevelt.
We are almost there – Christmas is 2 weeks away! ….lucy
Me at Christmas when I was almost three and still the only child. Looks like nothing was spared as I got everything including a horse rocker, play oven, tea set and more dolls.
There are 4 Saturdays, 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays and Tuesdays of the month of December.
There is a myth that states this happens every 823 years. Not true
Before you get too excited about this once-in-a -lifetime event and start telling your family and friends, know this: any such claims are false. Combinations of days like 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays occur much more often than every 823 years!
In a typical year, you will have 5 Mondays, Tuesdays, and Sundays in a month about once every 6 years because the calendar pattern repeats roughly every 6 years, depending on the starting day of the year.
Key points to remember:
A normal year has 52 weeks, which means there are 52 Mondays, Tuesdays, and Sundays.
If a month starts on a Monday, then you will have 5 Mondays, Tuesdays, and Sundays in that month.
The only factor that changes the frequency is the starting day of the year, which can vary.
So, people this month we have enough time to get it all done.
Science
I saw this and had to share: A cyanometer is an instrument for measuring the intensity of blue in the sky. Its invention in 1789 is attributed to the mountain climber and physicist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure and Alexander von Humboldt. De Saussure's cyanometer consists of 53 sections, numbered cards, ranging from white to different shades of blue (tinted with Prussian blue) and then to black, arranged in a circle. The idea of recording the hues of the sky occurred to him on one of his trips climbing Mont Blanc. He, as well as other mountain climbers, had noticed that as they climbed higher, the sky became a darker blue. Saussure demonstrated that the sky darkened as one ascended. He was also convinced that the color of the sky was an optical effect and argued that, since the blue faded subtly into the white of the clouds, the color must be an indicator of the moisture content of the air.
De Saussure concluded that the color of the sky depended on the amount of particles, water droplets and ice crystals, suspended in the atmosphere.
Art
Jan Wier’s Christmas Extravaganza Cake 4”x4” Oil on cradled panel.
Working for over 25 years with interior design clients to bring beauty and grace to their homes which includes placing art, Jan has learned to meld what the client desires in their home; visual impact while reflecting their personal tastes.
Always hungry for color, beauty and harmony in her painting, Jan seeks to reflect the grace notes of welcome that people desire in their homes and lives - that well placed cherished vase, fresh flowers, or perhaps even a happy cupcake!
Jan's paintings are done in oil on canvas or board with a luscious use of creamy oil paint. Jan's painting style is loose and impressionistic with nothing too perfect; life is more interesting that way.
Jan's goal is to have her artwork bring a heartbeat of joy, color, and light to life.
One of my favorite artists and who one of my teachers said my art style was like was Alice Neel:
Alice Neel (American, 1900-1984) Thanksgiving,
1965 Oil on canv30 × 34 in. (76.2 × 86.4 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Via A CELEBRATION OF FEMALE ARTISTS
Wendy MacNaughton and gratitude
Products
From WSJ Holiday Gift Guides
Traveler’s Clog
And should your giftees get the urge to make an actual trip, these finds—breathable, easy to pop on and off, and equipped with a durable rubber sole—will get them through the TSA line with no awkward untying. Kyrgies Outdoor Wool Slides, $79
Best of the Crunch
Glad Rags
A Dish Towel for Textile Aficionados
Southern Highland Guild with numerous great gift
ideas on their website
Yummy Bag
Trying to decide what handbag to take in the
evenings these block prints are the best and affordable.
Checkout other items on their website.
Dumpling Bag in Big Phool Print by SZ Block prints.
Cute shop
A Literally Tasteful Hair Clip
It has become a Winona Irene tradition to release a series of fun and often sparkly Appetizer themed accessories each November. This tradition started during Covid lockdown, when we were missing our families- thinking about milling around with small plates of treats as we prepare for the main course. These pieces are more than just cute crudité’s, they represent friends, family, and the special things that bring us all together.
They have a variety of other adorable items.
Precious Pump
Offered by the Cummer Museum Shop a beautiful soap dispenser. Add a touch of artistry to your home with this handmade glass soap dispenser, crafted with care in Jacksonville, Florida by Andy Peters. Standing approximately 6.75" tall, including the sleek pump, this unique piece adds a vibrant pop of color to your kitchen or bathroom counter.
10 Surprising Christmas Tree Facts to Bring to Your Next Holiday Party
The National Christmas Tree premiered on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., in 1923, courtesy of a consortium of electrical-industry trade groups. Festooned with 2,500 colored lights, the tree was meant to promote the use of electricity. At the time, only 35% of Americans had electric power in their homes.
The first National Christmas Tree, lit on Dec. 24, 1923.
PHOTO: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION
Closing….
A person I am fond of and at times and I think I channel is Eleanor Roosevelt. I was fortunate to have known her granddaughter, Chandler Roosevelt Lindsley, who selected and edited a book of quotes from her grandmother. The message below was a letter Eleanor sent out on Christmas and was a reminder of what the season is about.
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt – December 25, 1940
‘THE WHITE HOUSE, Tuesday—Christmas Eve is for me one of the busiest days of the year, and for many other people it must be the same, whether they are housewives preparing for their family Christmas celebration or busy executives preparing for celebrations on a wider scale.
One thing I think we should all remember no matter how busy we are, Christmas was meant to bring us a spirit of calm. The shepherds would never have heard the angels if they had not been sitting in calm and quiet watching their flocks. So, sometime on Christmas Eve, let us try to clear our spirit to be in a receptive mood for the Christmas message.
It is a joyous message, one that should bring consolation and good cheer to the suffering people of the world. It is hard to say the usual "Merry Christmas" to people whose liberty is gone; whose lives are temporarily directed by alien people; for under the circumstances merriment does not seem possible. The old time greeting however, "Christ is born, rejoice for He shall save the world." Can still bring comfort to sorely tried souls.
When one suffers, whether personally or through others, the tendency is to be bitter against those who cause the suffering. No one could have agonized more than Christ Himself as He realized what human beings must bring upon themselves through the years, by their stupidity and greed, and yet nowhere in His preaching is there any tinge of bitterness. I have come to fell that, on this Christmas Day, perhaps that lesson of charity toward others is the most important lesson we can take unto ourselves, for it keeps us from indulging in bitterness of spirit.
I was re-reading Robert Louis Stevenson's Christmas Sermon last night, and I think the reiteration ourselves in order that we may not be too hard on others would be good for some of us to remember. One particular quotation in that simple, charming essay has always been a favorite of mine and I pass it along to you on this Christmas Day as worthy of our consideration.
“To be honest, to be kind—to earn a little and to spend a little less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence, to renounce when that shall be necessary and not the embittered, to keep a few but these without capitulation-above all, on the same grim condition, to keep friends with himself—here is a task for all that a man has of fortitude and delicacy. He has an ambitious soul who would ask more; he has a hopeful spirit who should look in such an enterprise to be successful."
May your Christmas season be one of calm joy. Let us pray together that we remember our obligations to others during the coming year, that we keep from all bitterness and have equal charity for those whom we consider in the wrong as for those we fell as fighting the battle of righteousness. May we be given the grace to walk humbly and to spread kindness along our way.’ Eleanor Roosevelt
Hope the religious part doesn’t offend anyone.
Let us remember the message and be kind.