Sunday Scribblings Prompt this week is " Flock"

It's my birthday weekend.  I can smell a scrumptious meal being prepared for me as I write this. I always reflect around this time of  year.

I’ve had a core group of friends, (we call the goddesses) for a quarter century now. Each of us very creative. When we first met though, none of us knew that! Twenty odd years ago my one friend divulged that she was a writer. As though it was a dirty little secret. With coaxing she timidly shared her unpublished book. Disinterested  hubby mocked her hobby, squashing her confidence. Privileged that she disclosed her  passion  I shared my zest for writing too!

A few years later we both joined a writers group.  I read her book in weekly segments to the kids at my daughters elementary school.  Those children are now adults, the book still isn't published! She's since written many more  unpublished books. Fairy goddesses also has a closet of unpublished fantasy books written. The creative process is always more fun than trying to market it. I wonder how many people die with a plethora of interesting  works unpublished?

The  florist in our group  loves ambiance, is artistic and skilled at making everything in her midst beautiful. A voracious reader with the ability to write she  holds her talent close  too!  All of my friends are very articulate woman, loving culture and  nature in one way or another. We bring a very unique mix to the dinner table, conversation is always interesting, humor is full bore, and we come away enhanced by each other!

The eldest at sixty has the funkiest youthful style of all of  us!  Managing to make items from the seventies  look new and modern in her home while dressing in the latest fashion. She'd do well documenting her hiking adventures as she has many! While the youngest of us, soon to be forty, could be a stand up comedian. An avid reader, she once drove a pink Art car that never went unnoticed.  Now she drives a BMW  and races sailboats with her guy! 

Oddly and totally unplanned we all drive black cars except for fairy goddess who drives a red one!   Who knew all those long years ago working tedious jobs at the same company that we would find such hidden creative treasures amongst such an eclectic flock!

Todays My Birthday!

Sometimes when you have a birthday this is how you feel!

But Not ME!!!

Because I celebrate in Style

  With my Besties!!!

We chat about everything, eat great food, 

Take crazy photos and giggle out loud!

 Eat Cake

And Celebrate our difference!

Sometimes we even have a surprise or two up our sleeve!

Sometimes we just wear really fun Tights!

Anyone else see Gypsy goddesses inner artist begging to get out???

Thanks girls for making my Birthday so Special! I love you All!!

Check out this online scribbler program to make a piece of digital art like the picture I did!

Friends are a huge part of my Christmas

A rare photo of  my very best friends for almost a quarter of a century, taken a few weeks ago. Christmas would not be the same without time with them, whether it's a breakfast out, a coffee,or a giggle on the phone.

I love them all so much, they are a huge part of  my life. I have called on them   in times of trouble. They've  been there for  the best of times and the worst of times! We have shared laughter and tears, camping trips, hopes and dreams.  We have rescued each other  and held each others secrets.  They are wise ethical, generous, loving, tender women and amazing mothers. They are and have always been the heart of Christmas for their family!  They give with all that they have! No one could ask for dearer friends   I am so fortunate that we all enjoy each other. I am not only truly blessed at Christmas but everyday of the year with  these beautiful all natural tender women in my life! Merry Christmas ladies you all give so much to the world and deserve the best life has to offer! Thanks for your incredible undying friendship and love!!

Sunday Scribblings "December in my World"

Sunday Scribblings prompt this week is "December"

December in my world

Consists of getting ready for Christmas, enjoying decorations as I go.

 Finding peace in small moments, watching a holiday feel good movie with my kids.
                                          
          

Enjoying my annual Christmas gathering at a good restaurant with the goddesses

Baking traditional  Cookies that my mother made every year!

After making them for over 45 years, the  batch last Christmas never turned out.

This year I discovered  I'd written the recipe wrong on my blog. I put one cup of butter instead of one pound. Sorry to anyone who tried that recipe! I assure you they are a very nice cookie  that gets better with age!

It's now been revised and this years cookies turned out excellent! 

The secret is to knead the dough for 20 minutes.

I enjoy  inviting  people I rarely see during the year  for drinks and intimate conversation. A chance to catch up and really enjoy each other. 

 I prefer small gatherings of a few people at a time, rather than

a large open house.  That way  I can really connect!

 

We sit in the living room by the fire to enjoy the lit tree.

                      Ambiance is very important to me. I try to make things cozy!

There have been many changes in my home, still I've kept most of my traditional  decorations.  I've trickled in a few new ornaments and lamps to get a different look. But my favorite things, gifted to me by others  still grace my home where my essence is preserved.

I  can't just get rid of old things because they don't suit the decor anymore!
There's often great history behind old pieces.  December is a time to reflect on those who've come and gone, sharing Christmases past! I inherited the cabinet you see in this photo. I still love it, even though it's not quite right for the look I want. The woman who owned it babysat me as a child, her birthday was December 9th and she was as quirky as they come. Probably never dusted a day in her life, loved hockey, traveled the world by herself, and had too many cats!

I  also finished up some artwork  that had been playing on my mind!

It's now hung slightly higher and will be replaced with a smaller

piece after Christmas!

This month and last month I played lots of Tetris on my phone, while my daughter    coupon shopped for her shelter baskets. I'm sure she made several women very happy this Christmas! I was very proud to support this important endeavor.

The best part of my December was dropping off  all the things my daughter gathered, knowing people less fortunate can enjoy the basics and a few goodies too!

After all that is the true spirit of Christmas!

Better After

This is my friend Fairy goddess in Oct of 1995 at 37 years of age!
Eyes without sparkle!

(Check out the orb on her shoulder, pretty sure that's
her deceased dad hanging around!)

This is my friend two days ago, one month before she turns 51! With three lovely daughters and two adorable grandchildren, I think she's more beautiful now than she was in her thirties. Doesn't she look amazing?

Her lovely slim figure is not without a cost. She works out diligently several times a week and is training for her second triathlon. She really is a gentle soul and a beauty from the inside out! And yes she loves food just like the rest of us goddesses, but disciplines herself to work it off! I'm so proud of her, and love her dearly!

Pssssst.... she's had a hot boyfriend for two years now too....guess what? It's her trainer! Uh huh!!!!

Sunday Scribblings Phantoms and Shadows

Sunday Scribblings Phantoms and shadows

I wonder what she recalls?

At eight years old I routinely got myself dressed, marched alone to the end of the block where I attended Church. There I met my best childhood pal Toni. Eight months younger, one grade below me we forged a sweet long term relationship. The tallest, most mature girls for our age we managed to giggle our way in and out of lots of trouble.

As little girls we attended Sunday school, pioneer girls and youth groups together. We sang beautiful duets, chased the boys, and developed close relationships with a couple of the church moms who taught Sunday school.

By eleven we’d both developed into buxom, mischievous young women addicted to roller skating and boys. At twelve we attended a horrible island church camp, where three fifteen year old heathen boys from home appeared, sneaking us prohibited junk food as a reprieve from our oatmeal with powdered milk and mushy peas staple. Yuck, I still remember the letters home, begging for mothers worst home cooked meal, once detested, yet a thousand times better than the garbage allotted by the church camp.

Both of Ukrainian descent, we loved to make perohy (perogies) together, from scratch! Still a favorite! We could be seen spending a whole afternoon pinching dough at our kitchen table. We slept at each others homes all summer long. Toni joined our yearly camping trip to the Okanagan; we shared secrets, fantasies, and many late nights laughing.

Her dad took us to a cabin at Pender Harbour where I fell in love with fishing and sunflower seeds. Most of the summer we slept on a queen sized mattress hauled onto our covered veranda. Stealing away in the middle of the night as often as we could to meet boys. Only to talk, dodging behind bushes on sight of any distant headlights! Occasionally snitching a few summer kisses from the favorite boy of the hour.

Looking for a quick buzz, and a pound of courage at thirteen we'd split a Mickey of vodka, chugging it without mix over a toilet at the Coffee house, a Friday night teen haunt where local bands played weekly. We crunched oodles of white, pink or green mints attempting to camouflage the smell of liquor while awaiting the eleven o’clock ride home from my dad. Acting sober became an art.

My only downfall was boys, I'd do anything to be in their company. Hard to beleive it's the last thing on my mind now! Slightly more roguish my friend Toni had no qualms about stealing candy from the local supermarket. I was the big chicken, making sure to be no where in sight of her thieving escapades. She often stole clothes from department stores too, offering to steal some for me too. Horrified, I declined, waiting outside by a bus stop. I never understood why she felt the need to pillage. She was always given more money than me, got better gifts at Christmas, had nicer clothes. Still she felt the need to take what she wanted. In retrospect I think there were big silences in the home, peppered with inaccurate accusations from parents sleeping in separate bedrooms.

At fourteen we became a little more competitive. More buxom than me, with longer legs the boys preferred her figure, still, with short legs, a tiny waist, the nickname buns; I won them over with my jovial personality and humor! A notorious flirt with the ability for intimate conversation I was always surprised at how much the boys liked me. My friend was more sarcastic. The contemptible sarcasm inherited from her judgmental father was the eventual demise of our friendship.

Toni stood up for me at my wedding for sentimental reasons; then I moved away and never saw her again. I read she was managing a hotel restaurant in Vancouver. I often wonder what happened to her, so I recently did a google search to find her dad had died; she was living on the same island her dad took us fishing, married later in life, she has two daughters with very unique names. Which didn’t surprise me, because at ten years old, insistent our kids would have exclusive names; I picked Paisley, and held to it until it was refuted by Peppers dad!

When Toni was young she was an exceptional writer, far superior to anything I could ever hope to pen. It was her birthday on Tuesday, I think of her every year around this time. She'd be fifty one now, I can’t help but wonder how she is, and if she has a blog?

Sunday Scribblings " I believe"

Sunday Scribblings Prompt is "I believe"

"It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you...yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand.."

Mother Teresa

Christmas was busy, with snow abounding. Not only did I have lots of company, I was privy to a few lovely dinners with family and friends. My knee was a bit of a nuisance. Christmas eve day my car stalled in the middle of the road, in loads of unploughed snow while exiting my garage to run around for those last minutes sundries. Paralyzed in thought for quite a few moments, pondering a solution, my neighbors rescued me, and pushed me back into my garage. I searched the net to rearrange a few recipes, making due with what I had. I substituted bacon for ham, and cheezies for dried onion rings! It turned out marvelously! I took a small turkey out of the freezer believing I might be stranded Christmas. However in the afternoon my car started, enabling me to join my friends for dinner! A nice gift for me!

My friends has us wrap a fun gift from the house, preferably something we no longer need or want, we then draw names for the exchange and steal. Much hilarity ensued, as Katie opened two Christmas characters from the eighties, a male opened a red pashmina, a grandma opened a diffuser of oil that she knew she disliked the smell of, and Jeff opened two ceramic tiles with black cats. Last year he ended up with a huge orange box of his mothers 1970's recipes. At least the tile cats were a little less invasive!

The season has been full of love and spirit. Loads of good food, and laughter. I touched base with many people I love, feeling blessed having done so! I am still enjoying a few quiet moments with my immediate family, playing games, watching movies, adding a piece or two to the puzzle they made and playing our traditional games of Dr. Mario!

Below is a culmination of several days of photos from the season. Family,friends, cousins, and siblings sharing a loving moment. Or course my married daughter and her hubby too. It may seem sappy but there is a lot of love in this post. Piles of gratitude for all these amazing people in my life! I believe love

Propelled in the universe

Can literally change lives

Forever

I believe harmony

Is possible

When you have

Respect and adoration

I believe happiness

Can live abundantly

Within

If you choose

I believe you can have

Everything

And have

Nothing

I believe children

Born innocent

Corrupted by pain

Are salvaged by care

I believe family

Can ignite passion

Or diminish you

With a few words

I believe friends

Are the souls

Sustenance

And salvation

I believe spirit

Hovers

In the foreground

Awaiting attention

I believe joy

Is found in simplicity

By honoring gratitude

And making positive choice

I believe the home

Should always be

A soft place

To fall

I believe music is

A reflection

Of humanity, history

Evolution

I believe decency

Can trump some iniquity

Beam intervention

Flourish everlastingly

I believe positive

Energy is more attractive

Than negative

and gains more accolades

I believe you attract

What you are

Any aversion

Is self disdain

I believe the strive for

Perfection

Is born of

Feeling inadequate

I believe disregarded pain

Is the root

Of apathy

And addiction

I believe we all need

Affirmation

Attention

And intimate connections

I believe I need

Solace

For creative

Juice to spawn

I believe

We have an endless

Vessel of self

Not yet discovered

I believe many things

Mostly I believe

Laughter is the best medicine

and love is always the answer!