Tag: Holiday

Sunday Post: Christmas Trees . . . . but I don’t “do” Christmas Trees

Published on by Cecelia Futch11 Comments

I completed graduate school on Friday. So I am jumping back into the blogging world with both feet and shouting and singing Glory Glory Glory! Sooooo…. thinking I would pick up with what was formerly my regular Sunday Post, I checked out this week’s assignment, and lo and behold it is “Christmas Trees.” Well, I would do something Chanukah-ish, but we have already done that this year. Instead here is a photo of a wintery scene that I hope will pass muster for this assignment!  (Yay! I’m back!!! A more thoughtful, reflective post about the past three and a half years of following a dream is soon to come!).  Enjoy your holidays whatever they are, stay safe and stay warm. 🙂

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Five Question Friday: December 30, 2011

Published on by Cecelia Futch15 Comments

Wow! We have reached another Friday! Hope you had a wonderful week. Life was slow and peaceful for us as we celebrated the last few days of Chanukah. Thanks to all of you who followed my Chanukah posts at this site. I had fun refreshing my memory and then writing about the various aspects of this special holiday.

Now, back to a somewhat regular routine, and on with Five Question Friday!

1. What’s the oldest piece of clothing in your closet?

Well, that is a hard one. I am not a clothes horse and I wear clothes forever before discarding them, so all my clothing is old! Oldest? Hmmm . . . I would guess that a Guatemalan skirt I bought at a boutique in State College, PA at least 20 years ago is the oldest, or at least among the oldest garment I own. I still wear it. It still looks good! And I even get compliments on it from time to time.

2. How many random blog readers have you met?

Other than my family and friends, I have not met any “random” blog readers yet. I hope to some day. (Psst . . . Y’all come visit, ya heeah!)

3. Do you let your kids stay up till midnight on New Years Eve? (Or, if you don’t have kiddos yet, did you get to stay up until midnight as a child?)

When the kids were little I would put them to bed at their normal time, but then a few minutes before midnight we would wake them up to wish them a Happy New Year. I do not recall what we did when I was a child, however I do recall New Year’s Eve as being a great baby-sitting night! My favorite family (the Froelichs) would have me babysit, but they and their guests for the evening would return to their house around 11:30pm so that I could join them in ringing in the new year! AND, they were sober so I didn’t mind them giving me a ride home afterwards.

The worst nightmare I had was babysitting for a couple who didn’t return home till four in the morning, stoned, and they told me, a fifteen-year-old girl, to walk home . . . alone . . . which I did. Terrifying experience! My parents were none too happy either, and I was never allowed to babysit there again!

4. What are the gas prices where you live?

Too high! The prices range from $3.50 to $3.85 right now. We’ll see how high the prices are in the morning!

5. What is one resolution that you know you should do but are too afraid to try?

Oy . . . I’m not into resolutions because I always feel like a failure when I fail. On the other hand, I’m a sucker for a challenge. Challenges are easier for me to follow through with, and if I don’t meet the challenge, for whatever reason I don’t feel like a failure, rather I feel successful for having at least tried. And with a challenge, I usually learn something about myself (i.e. NaNoWriMo, I learned that I am not a writer, an avid blogger, yes, writer, no!) In my next post you can read about the 2012 Challenges I chose to take on!

On the other hand, one resolution I always work on is to be a better person, kinder, more accepting of differing opinions, more respectful of the ones I love.

There you have it! Next Friday we will be in a new year, a year I pray will be mentally, intellectually, spiritually, and physically prosperous for each of us. Blessings to you all.

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Five Question Friday: November 18, 2011

Published on by Cecelia Futch23 Comments

Good Friday everyone! I do hope you all are waking up to wonderful possibilities today. And for those who are struggling for whatever reason, may you find the strength to get through your day, and comfort for having weathered the storm, whatever it is.

Nothing much has happened this week other than studies! By mid-December the quarter will come to an end and I will have completed one of the toughest required courses in this program. (The other mind-melter comes in the spring quarter!) Since not much else is going on, let’s get on with 5QF!

1. Do you have a go to song that always puts you in a good mood?

I have so many “go to” songs and music I don’t even know where to begin. MANY songs of many genres fit this bill. There is one however, that comes to mind right away. Not your everyday fare, but oh so uplifting! Maybe not your cup of tea, but I love it! dance to it! hum it! Enjoy. 🙂

2. Are you a real Christmas tree kinda person or do you go with a real fake one?

We are not Christmas tree kinda people here. Nope. Not at all. Instead, around this time of year we celebrate Chanukah. We will light the menorah for eight nights, have a few latkas with applesauce, sing a few songs, visit friends and relax. Chanukah is not one of our major holidays, but it is certainly a beloved holiday by many.

3. What are you thankful for?

Too much to expound upon here. Soooo…. I’ll send you to my gratitude blog. Click here. There you will find many things for which I am thankful! 🙂

4. Which fashion fad from the past do you wish you could wear today?

Nah….  None. Absolutely none. The clothes I wear aren’t so faddish anyway.

5. Do you wait until the “low fuel” light comes on before you fill up the gas tank?

Absolutely. Isn’t that what you are supposed to do? Makes my husband crazy. He thinks that one should never let the gauge go below the half-way point. I say, “why not?” After all, isn’t that what the low fuel light is for, to let us know when it is time to fill up again?

 

 

So, that’s it for this week. Have to get back to the books, but this has been a nice break. Y’all enjoy your weekend, and I’ll see you next Friday from KENTUCKY!

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Five Question Friday: Sept. 2, 2011

Published on by Cecelia Futch27 Comments

Good morning, and time for another Five Question Friday.  I hope your week was excellent! Ours was hectic, as many of you know, but we are both in one place now, and in a sweet little apartment that fits our present needs.  So in spite of boxes and “mess,” we are confident that this is the place for us at this time.  Now, on to the five questions, here they are!

1. Shoes in the house – yay or nay?

Yes, we allow shoes in the house.  I sometimes think about how nice it would be to have everyone leave their shoes at the door, but then I would be the enforcer and become a nag . . . all the time.  That really doesn’t suit my personality, so it is definitely shoes in the house!

2. What do you call them — flip-flops, slippers, thongs, etc?

I’ve always called them flip-flops.  Always.

3. What song are you almost embarrassed to admit you know all the lyrics to?

I don’t know about embarrassment, but I know most of the words to American Pie (but then I think just about everyone from that era knows that one.) My husband and I like to sing “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” when we are traveling.  Don’t know why, but we do. Then there is “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me,” which the last time I checked, my kids hated. Of course that might have something to do with the fact that when one or all of them were whiny and complaining, I would go off into a rousing rendition of the ditty. I may have ruined my kids. I’m not sure. I am sure though, that there are more songs that I embarrassingly know the lyrics to, but these are the first to come to mind.

4. What is the best quality to have in a friend?

Best quality?  That’s a tough one.  Kindness, love, fun, loyalty (but not blind), honesty, support, listener, sharing, playful, laughter. . . The list is endless.  It’s these qualities together that make for friendship.  It’s the stick-to-it-ness of growing and learning together, sharing the ups and downs of life, being there for each other, calling each other out when need be.  So many things.  There is no “best quality,” friendship requires many qualities.

5. Do you know what you want for Christmas?

Since we do Chanukah, I’ll tell you a little about that holiday.  We celebrate for eight days to commemorate the successful Maccabean revolt in which we regained our Holy Temple. Sadly, Antiochus and the Seleucids whom he ruled, desecrated the temple and contaminated the holy oil for the menorah as well (simple explanation), except for one vial that contained enough oil for one day.  The Hebrew people decided to burn the oil, but miraculously the lamp burned for eight days instead of the one, giving the people time to press fresh olive oil to replenish the lamp and maintain the required perpetual flame. Thus, we light candles each night of Chanukah, starting with one and then adding another each night till the last night when we light 8 candles. Historically, parents and teachers gave gelt (coins) as reward to children for studying Torah during Chanukah. The dreidel game began as one way of teaching children the history of Chanukah. Other Chanukah traditions emerged through the years adding to the festivities of the holiday.  Gift giving was not a part of Chanukah until recent years when Christmas became such a big celebration along with gift giving and receiving.  Jewish parents wanting their children to feel more a part of the mainstream culture while at the same time maintaining a Jewish identity, began giving gifts to their children each of the eight nights of Chanukah.  You will most likely not find this widespread practice outside of the Western culture where Christmas and gift giving are synonymous.  We do not take part in this latest custom, but we do sing, eat latkes (potato pancakes} with applesauce), read Chanukah stories, and of course, light candles.

Now it is your turn.  I look forward to seeing your answers!

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