Here we are, yet again, at the dawn of another year ...

There are parties to attend, grooves to get on, sparkly to sip, and loved ones to kiss... 

I'm still not exactly sure what my day/night will look like - but I do know it will entail an old friend (we've been friends for close to thirty years, how's that for old?), copious amounts of food (do you sense a theme?), and thousands of lights ... I'll fill in as I go.  Seeing how I've been invited to several parties, I don't imagine I'll be bored ...

So to you, dear reader, a grand celebration!  May you be surrounded by those you most love ... dance even if there's no music ... giggle like a little girl ... drink responsibly (I'm quite aware that I sound like your mother -thankyouverymuch -but it can't be helped) ... and have a bright and happy New Year!

We aren't the only ones feeling the affects of a bad economy - our furry friends are feeling the strain as well.  More animals are finding themselves abandoned, neglected - even abused, as they pose an easy target for taking out stress.

That's where The Humane Society of United States steps in.  They run campaigns and programs to stop animal cruelty.  They also encourage each of us to do our part.  

Partner with The Humane Society of the United States - partner with your local Humane Society.  Give a little of your time, give a little of your finances.  Maybe even provide a home for a shelter animal.  After all, animals give us so much, isn't it about time we return the love?             

Interested in this charity? 

The Humane Society of the United States received four stars from Charity Navigator.  Click here to read the full report. 

Or, visit their website at http://www.hsus.org - learn more about their work and how you can help them celebrate animals and confront cruelty. 

Note:  Magpie and Muttonfly is in no way affiliated with The Humane Society of the United States. 

I don't know about you, but I had a lovely Christmas.  It was laid back and peaceful - as if I hadn't a care in the world.  Sigh. 

Now, however, another round of Christmas lights have gone out ... it looks as if we used one string of lights for our 7 foot tree (I guess I should at least be thankful it's uniform in the outages).  It would appear the party is over ...

So I've been concerning myself with getting my freelance business back up and running.  I've been cleaning out my office closet and taking inventory as I go.  I've also decided to purchase a new desk.  I ran all over town yesterday afternoon trying to find something that: a) fit my needs; b) looked classy; c) I could afford.  Yeah, C's a clincher.  Wretched luck really. 

Still, I remain hopeful.

I've also been mulling over the idea of new blogs.  I have a couple ideas; I've also been asked to help out with another.  I think it will be quite fun.  Do stay tuned ...  

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today, in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” –Luke 2:10-11

There they were, in the darkest of nights, keeping watch over their flocks. They had no idea that the God of the Universe had His eye on them. Who would? They were shepherds. Most the younger son of peasant farmers, they had no land to call their own. No family. They lived a life separate from society; a life focused on the flock in their care. But God knew everything about those shepherds – from each hair atop their heads, to the grime on the bottom of their feet. He knew each name, each face, each scent. He knew from whence they came and the direction they were heading; He knew their hopes, disappointments, worries, and regrets. He knew they needed saving. He knows the same of us. He could have rescued us from afar. Instead he sent His most precious possession to the muck and mire of our lives – tangible proof that He’s in our corner. We turn our backs on Him; he continues to pursue us. We work ourselves into a wretched state; He sends salvation. And He’s never closer than in the darkness of night; when all seems lost, that’s when His light shines brightest. If we but take our eyes off our circumstances and look up, we’ll find the message is the same: Do not fear; I bring you good news of great joy...

Happy Christmas Eve dear readers!  So, are you ready for the big day?  Presents purchased, wrapped, and ready to go?  Meals planned, groceries bought, goodies baked? 

I'm down to the stragglers.  Mum and I will be taking Christmas Eve to my grama's this evening.  We do mostly finger foods for Christmas Eve.  My grama wanted to contribute this year so she purchased pork, hot mustards and seeds.  I've been looking forward to it for a week.  WELL, my mom spoke with her last night, and apparently she went ahead and ate it all herself.  Sigh.  Thankfully, my mom has yet to eat the ham and cherry glaze that will be served tomorrow ... I know.  I asked. 

Also on the agenda for today - bake and decorate sugar cookies.  Just wouldn't be Christmas without them. 

Other than that, spending time with those I love most of all - and looking forward to a WHITE Christmas!  What will that be like?  I don't even remember! 

I can actually hear a collective GASP as some of you read "Xmas."  After all, it takes away from the true meaning of the season ... it's disrespectful, vulgar even, right?! 

That's what I use to believe; but oh how wrong I was:  In Greek, the first letter for Christ is "chi" - and it's represented by a symbol similar to the letter "X" in the modern Roman alphabet.  So the "X" was never intended to replace Christ.  It's simply an abbreviation. 

Still, I'm not so keen on abbreviations.  Only six letters, but oh-so-beautiful ... CHRISTmas!  And I hope yours is blessed ...      

Christmas lights are against me this year.  It started with the tree.  Plugged all the lights in, they all worked, wound them meticulously around the tree, plugged them back in ... the strand in the middle was out.  We fiddled for a bit before I set out to purchase new ones.  For some reason, I had a sneaking suspicion that one box would not suffice so I purchased two.  Got home, unwound the first set, plugged them in ... only half worked.  No worries, right?  Because I'm so very ingenious and purchased another box!  So, I unwound that set, plugged them in, same thing.  In the meantime, the lights on the tree popped back on.  Fine.  Whatever works. 

Next to go were the outside lights.  Now we don't get all wild and crazy with our outside lights - white twinkling lights and garland around the door, down the sidewalk, and wrapped about the overhang posts.  Well, half the lights on one post decided to go out.  Since we were planning to have company shortly, we took lights from dining area outside.  Now we have 2 posts wrapped in green wired lights and one in white.  Oh, and  half the lights lining the walkway have since decided to call it quits.

So I wake up this morning, plug in the tree and one strand from the top has gone on strike.  It's December 22nd - the tree is decorated, presents are carefully placed beneath its branches.  I really don't want to have to re-do everything.  We have lights on either side of the tree ... lights on the top and bottom of the tree ... I keep squinting to see if maybe it will all blur together.  No such luck.  I've also tried telling myself that it's funky and artsy.  Yeah, that doesn't seem to be working for me either.  Sigh.        

A good way to test your Christmas spirit is to have a "helper" while wrapping presents.  Small children and kits are often good in this role ...

Is it just me, or has this Christmas season sped by at neck-breaking-speed?  One minute it's Halloween - the next, the week before Christmas!  What in the world?  I haven't even sent out all my Christmas cards yet.  Apparently, I'm not alone.  I usually wait to hang cards up until I have a good stack; as of Monday, my "stack" consisted of four cards.  They went up anyway. 

It's not that I haven't had the best of intentions.  Yesterday for instance, I had planned to be completely efficient.  While I can't tell you what exactly I did - I can tell you I marked nothing off my list. 

My mom and I did go to lunch with my grama, then took her to run a couple errands.  One such errand included the grocer...

So my mom and I are standing there, waiting for grama to pick out the perfect box of hot cereal when this man strolls down the isle, singing at the top of his lungs  ... Passin' trains that have no names, Freight yards full of old black men And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles ... he walks past us and before I know it, my grama is whispering a tune, and my mom is harmonizing with the man ... good morning A-mer-ic-a how are you? Don't you know me I'm your native son, I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans, I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done...

I could only stand there and stare - mouth wide open. 

Once the man rounded the corner my mom looked at me and shook her head.  I'm terribly disappointed you didn't join in.  But seriously.  I was taken back.  I wasn't expecting to be thrust into a musical - at Albertsons of all places! 

And it didn't end there ... oh no.  I was on a mission to find the pork that will accompany gram's hot mustard and seeds when I nearly ran into the back of a woman.  She was hoofing right along when she suddenly stopped.  She paused a moment.  Then she started rocking back and forth to the beat of Jingle Bell Rock.   

At that point I was fully anticipating a grand finale from the cashiers, but alas ...

Maybe today. 

With that I'm off to shop, bake, visit a couple friends, wrap a few presents, send out a few cards ...

I swear ... I've not had a moment of rest since being laid off.  Where's the sweats - the day time television - the bag of Oreo cookies?  Take today, for instance: today I've been frantically working away on the-manual-that-will-not-die ... ran to the grocery store, did a bit of Christmas shopping, ran home, whipped up some haystacks, wrote a thank you ...

Speaking of writing a thank you - The Complete Woman blog tells you how it's done.  Whoever could have written such a lovely piece?  I don't even know - but you've got to check it out ... 

December 15, 1939 Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta premiered a little film called Gone with the Wind ... maybe you've heard of it?  The movie, of course, was based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell. 

In honor of this epic occasion, a few movie tid-bits:

• Hattie McDaniel's role as Mammy earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress; this made her the first black person to be nominated, awarded; the first to even attend the ceremony. 
• Love scenes scared Clark Gable to death.  The director told him to conjure up a look of longing.  To do so he simply thought of a big tender rare steak. 
• Atlanta burning was really sets from previously produced films - King Kong, The Last of the Mohicans, David Copperfield, and The Garden of Allah. 
• True to movie-making-form, the film differs from the book.  For instance, the beautiful facade of Tara was not as Margaret Mitchell had envisioned.  She saw it as "an ugly, sprawling habitation built with no architectural plan and growing as the need for growth rose." 
• Before the release of Gone with the Wind, Selznick was fined $5,000 for violating a part of Hollywood's Production Code - for using the word damn in Rhett's exit line. 

I had one of those marathon dreams last night.  Maybe you're familiar with the type - a dream that goes on and on, with a variety of pieces, parts all flowing together.  In the dream, of course, it all makes perfect sense. 

This one revolved around a big Christmas production.  Though I'm not exactly sure what part I played, I knew I had one.  I'll spare you the details (as I would be typing for the rest of the day), but the dream included:  friends and family from various places in my life, two women dressed as immense poinsettias (one of whom lost her balance, fell backwards, and couldn't get back up. True to form, I laughed hysterically.), a headband that loudly exclaimed "A very sexy Christmas," Chuck E. Cheese, and the Vice President. 

That's right, I met the Vice President.  Twice, actually.  The first time he was going throughout the audience, shaking people's hands.  The second time I was holding the door open for him. It wasn't Biden; as a matter of fact, the person was different both times.  But I knew he was a part of the Obama administration.  In the dream, this was all perfectly normal mind you. 

So I'm holding the door open for him, he thanks me, and then asks if there's anything he can do for me.  I shrug.  Maybe a job would be nice ... he smiles and nods. I see, he says.  Then he slings his arm around my shoulders.  He's talking as we walk along, but all I can think is Oh good Lord, he will be in so much trouble if the parparazzi catch a pic of us! 

Then I hear the following question: Do you believe that God will take care of you? 

I'm aghast!  Of course, I believe ... it's just that ... well ... you know ... sometimes my head focuses on my bills ... the state of the economy ... just how many are without work ... and how it's only going to get worse ...

Then he leans close and whispers, Well I'm gonna tell you now, God WILL take care of you...

From the point on, my sleep was perfectly peaceful ...

Do you remember me?; I sat upon your knee; I wrote to you with childhood fantasies; well I'm all grown-up now, but I still need help somehow; I'm not a child, but my heart still can dream ...

Lyrics; This is My Grown up Christmas List; ©Warner-Tamerlane Publishing

Picture courtesy of the Valley View Retirement Christmas party, 2007. 

Well, today would have been my third day tear-free.  I say WOULD because I fell off the wagon.  Big time. 

Today was my last day at work - I went in early to type up lingering assignments, sign paperwork, collect my final check, load up, say my goodbyes...

Not to toot my own horn, but I handled it all with aplomb.  A friend said a prayer which made me falter a bit, but otherwise I was a model of calm.  And when it was all said and done, the girls took me to the mall. 

We perused clothing, then went to MAC to get our eyes done.  Sitting there I realized just how blessed I am.  Here were my friends, taking personal time-off to make sure my mind was off my sadness. 

And to top it all off:  lunch at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant.  As we sat there sipping tea, chatting, another friend from work dropped by.  He sat down and waved off the waitress.  Just visiting, he said.  Weird.  But whatever. 

Then he looked at me.  He said they all were sorry; but they wanted to make sure I made it to Sweden to visit my new nephew.  He reached in his coat pocket and pulled out a card.  Inside the card were notes from co-workers - and money for a plane ticket.   

Hence, the falling off the wagon bit. 

Yes, I've been bawling pretty much ever since ... but these?  These tears spring from a heart of gratitude ...

Yesterday morning, I stood at the window and watched the snow fall.  As tears streamed down my face, I realized that it was beautiful and peaceful and so very Christmas-ey.  And I was thankful. 

I imagine when you're tinged with blue, and whisper a prayer of thankfulness through the tears, it's all the more precious.  So I vowed to be thankful for at least one thing, every day. 

I'm not sure if that was a turning point or what, but I haven't shed a tear today.  Nary a tear I tell you!  Considering it's been a virtual waterfall the past three days, this is somewhat of a miracle.  Even more impressive, I began to feel a tinge of excitement over what could be.  Of course, this was tempered by the thought that I may possibly be going through the denial period, and simply do not want to contemplate the fact that I may very well be living under the bridge in a few short months. 

Huh.  Well, whatever - I'll take denial over a funk ...  

Boise Towne Square has a good Santa this year.  If I didn't know better, I would think he was the real McCoy.  If I could have found a way to snap a picture without seeming creepy, I would have done it - just so you could see for yourself.  He's white headed, with a real beard, and a twinkle in his eye.  And you can tell, he genuinely cares about the kids in his care.   

I could have stood there and watched him all day, he made me smile so. 

So to each and every "real" Santa Claus out there, thank you.  In times such as these, we are in desperate need of innocence.  Thank you for working to keep it alive.

That's right.  I was laid off.  First thing yesterday morning.  And I've been such a girl about it.  I have whined and sniveled and bawled and carried on.  It's a disappointment - I had expected more; it is also fear.  I hear reference to the great depression, I know the unemployment rate, I've heard how long people have been without work.   

But here's the thing: I knew when I took this job that it would not last forever.  As a matter of fact, I fully intended to work there for a year and then pursue full-time writing.  But one year turned into two, and two managed to slip through too. 

Now, I have no choice but to truly evaluate what I want, and what I'm willing to do to get there.  There's no more time for excuses. 

Still, I think I'll spend the weekend in a good mope.  I already look like a mole rat - what's a few more tears?  But after that, watch out!  2009 is going to be mine!  [SOB!!!]

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.  What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.  ~Dr. Seuss

Bell ringers are a Christmas tradition. They may be found, every year, outside shops and grocers, collecting money for the poor. When my brother and I were little, my mom would always give us money to put in the pot. It usually wasn’t much – whatever stray coins she happen to have in her purse. And it couldn’t be all her coins, for she knew her supply had to last throughout the holiday season. Oh how we loved to run up and hear the coins clank to the bottom of the pot.

Now that we’re grown, we’re often much too busy. We’re juggling too many parcels to dig for money. Or we simply have no cash to give.

I’ve also noticed a concerning trend – people behave as though the bell ringers do not exist. They rush past. They refuse eye contact. They fake deafness if they must. Perhaps they too remember how they use to give, and feel guilty for not doing so now; perhaps their hearts have hardened to what is truly right and good about Christmas.

This year, let us try to find the same joy as we had as children. If we simply do not have the money, let us at least off a smile, a cheerful nod, or an encouraging word. If we do have money, let us whisper a prayer of thanks and drop a coin or two in the pot.

Interested in this charity?

You’ve seen the pots and heard the bells, but want to know more about the work? Check out their website at http://www.salvationarmyusa.org.