Tag Christmas

Merry Christmas! Angel blueberry scones…

brilliantviewpoint 9 Comments

I decided to surprise my daughters with some blueberry scones. I made them into Angels. They were very good; however, I should have taken them out a little sooner. I haven’t baked in a while, so I was a little rusty on the timing. STILL the Angels were a big hit.

My daughter made protein waffles. Interesting ingredients: vital wheat gluten, oat flour, fat free cottage cheese, egg whites, some water. Before you shake your head, they were good. I would not have known they weren’t made from a waffle mix. They were delicious, very filling.

It’s fun to do some baking, home cooking for the holidays.

Wishing you ALL a very Merry Christmas Eve / Day!

Christmas Present: Who still plays Monopoly?

brilliantviewpoint 13 Comments

Look at this, a deluxe wooden version of Monopoly. It was so heavy I could barely pick it up. Right next to it, they had a HUGE wooden Scrabble game. I admit, they look beautiful. These are old games I used to play as a child. I forgot to look at the price.

I enjoyed playing Monopoly until we got to the buying houses. Then all the bartering, etc. got be bored and I would quit. One of my siblings was ALWAYS happy to combine my winnings with theirs and off I would go. As I walked away I could hear them arguing, “That’s NOT FAIR, etc.”

Ah — Good old Monopoly!

Scrabble, we didn’t play this much. Not sure why, but I know some people who were die hard fans of this game. We played a lot of Canasta. Remember that card game and UNO.

So — if you need a LAST MINUTE GIFT… I just gave you a new idea!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A Christmas Tree for TWINS!

brilliantviewpoint 4 Comments

Life is amusing. I was at the Home Depot for a lightbulb. I enjoy seeing their Holiday decorations. I don’t have a Christmas tree this year. FEELING LAZY, but I do miss it. So, I decided to see what “small” trees they had. I like these quirky looking ones.

I looked at their TOP branch, to see which tree had the TALLEST and STRAIGHTEST branch. Some had crooked top branches. That was an immediate – NO GO! On further inspection, I noticed two tall branches next to each other. WHAT?? Were my eyes deceiving me? Was there an actual tree with two tall branches?

By golly there was!! I immediately thought of my TWIN brother. THIS was a PERFECT tree for TWINS. I looked to see if there were any shiny gold or silver stars around. No, but one tree had these red bulbs on it. So, for fun, I put the two red bulbs on MY TWIN TREE. To make my twin brother smile, I put his bulb a little higher than mine. AT FIRST, I admit, I had the bulbs side by side, which is how it SHOULD BE. Somehow though, from a design perspective, it looked goofy. So, I lowered one of the bulbs.

Laughing — NOW, if you look at the bulbs, they look like EYES. This is a TREE MONSTER coming after me. I sent the photo to my twin, he liked it!

As I kept looking around, I saw these fantastic colored cactus. Wow, I’m not a cactus person, but I do love the bright colors. They are amazing. I should have read how long they bloom.

How about a Cactus built into an ornament. Had not seen that before!

Oh, an older lady asked me what I was doing when I was taking photos. I showed her. She said she lives alone, no children, doesn’t care about Christmas anymore.

HOWEVER, a BIG HOWEVER, when I showed her the pictures I had taken, how I was moving trees/plants around to get my photos — THIS made her SMILE.

Suddenly, she was HAPPY! She said I opened her eyes, she had not SEEN the things I had seen as she walked by. She was going to take pictures to send to her nephews/nieces.

So — I feel like I was someone’s ANGEL!

It’s a good feeling! We CAN spread JOY this holiday!

Perfect story for the holidays – THE YANKEE CANDLE

brilliantviewpoint 8 Comments

I’m always on the hunt for a good smelling candle. They are especially helpful if you’ve cooked fish, cabbage or broccoli for dinner. Light up your candle, it’s even better than opening the windows. Somehow the candles work really well.

I recently read an article in ADWEEK, “Yankee Candle Began as a Christmas Gift of Melted Crayons,” by Robert Klara. Right there, the title sold me on Yankee Candles. Melted crayons turned into a candle to make a mother happy?! We all remember having crayons as a kid. What a clever idea!

Long story, so click on the link. I think you’ll enjoy the article. They have 600 fragrances. It’s Christmas, they say their most popular candle is Balsam and Cedar, I’ll have to give it a try.

This is a special story that pulls at the heart strings! GIFT OF THE MAGI – that was quite a story too!

Happy Thanksgiving – OR – Merry Christmas?

brilliantviewpoint 5 Comments

Today is Thanksgiving, but I have to be honest, it doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving to me. COVID has changed things. Did you notice that people started putting up their Christmas trees at the beginning of November this year? They said they wanted to enjoy the spirit of Christmas for as long as possible.

I think we all feel this way in some way or another. This year, we had three family members pass within four months. This brings a cloud over the family. Funerals make us slow down, reflect on life, and think about the past, present and future.

As the year comes to an end, we want — Love, Peace, Joy, Hope — during these challenging times.

Yesterday, I thought. It’s time for me to change my mood, bring out MY CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!

A few years ago, my daughter gave me this cute little mouse. My other daughter named her Elloise. I know today is supposed to be Thanksgiving, but I’m in the mood for Christmas too. So, I went to the closet, threw things here and there and FOUND Elloise. I fluffed her up, straitened her scarf and skirt. Volia! I SMILED AGAIN. Time to bring some joy to my house.

Wishing you a special day today!

Merry Christmas — It’s all in the photo…

brilliantviewpoint 8 Comments

This has been an interesting Christmas. My family does not exchange gifts, but every once in a while, if we see something that we KNOW the other person would like —> WE SEND IT!

My sister surprised me with some pretty cups/dishes. I was taking a picture to show her they arrived. Look what happened in the photo. Somehow, the lighting turned into a smiley face.

So funny. It was EXACTLY how I was feeling, SUPER HAPPY!

Life is far from perfect for any of us right now. We are all suffering in some way or another. These little surprises, when we least expect them, they LIFT our spirits.

We are inspired to pay it forward. Now, it is our turn to send a card, gift or flowers to someone in our lives to lift their spirits too. This process works! It feels good to receive and to give.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas!

Happy Holidays too!

A Christmas Surprise at the mailbox

brilliantviewpoint 7 Comments

Who said that Santa Claus was on lockdown and would not deliver presents this year?

Look what I received in the mail for my Christmas tree.

COVID has challenged us this year, but it has also made us more “thoughtful.” The old fashioned way through the mail. I mean the Post Office rather than our Inbox.

Imagine my surprise, when I ONLY receive bills in the mail, to find a package on my door step. I felt like I was 8 years old again.

WOW – I double checked to make sure I had gotten the name right. YES, it was for ME.

A clever ornament. A snowman, s’mores and coffee – PERFECT!

There’s still time for ALL of us to send that SPECAL SURPRISE to someone.

I have to work fast…

Pay this JOY forward and make “someone else” HAPPY!

Santa Mail -> There is still time… Have you mailed your letter?

brilliantviewpoint Leave a comment

Santa Mail 1

I was at Macy’s the other day looking for a gift. Look what I came across, a Santa Mailbox. They even had the note paper, quick and easy.

Santa Mail 2In my Junk folder I saw an email about Certified Santa Mail. REALLY, what a way to make money off of children’s wishes. When we were little, I admit, it was fun to write a letter to Santa hoping we would get our red bicycle or new radio, whatever it might be. However, it was simple and innocent, our letters were written on lined paper that we used for school homework.

Now, there are all sorts of websites with specialized Santa care packages, certified letters, etc. I’m smiling at that, because a young child does not even know what a certified letter is or means, so these company’s are selling to the parents WHO play the role of Santa.

Anyhow, just for “giggles,” I was tempted to write a letter to Santa and put it in the mailbox.

DEAR SANTA,

ARE YOU REALLY ALL MIGHTY AND POWERFUL ABLE TO MAKE ANY WISH COME TRUE? HOW OLD IS RUDOLPH NOW? YOUR SANTA SUIT IS LOOKING A LITTLE WORN AND YOUR SLEIGH WAS SQUEAKY LAST YEAR.

I’VE TALKED TO MY FRIENDS, WE ARE WILLING TO MAKE A DONATION, SO YOU CAN HAVE A NEW SUIT. MY FRIEND SALLY SUGGESTED STARTING A “GO FUNDME” CAMPAIGN FOR YOU (SANTA NEEDS A NEW SUIT AND MONEY TO FIX HIS SLEIGH).

WHERE SHOULD WE SEND THE $$$$ THAT IS DONATED?

CONTACT ME AT — SANTANEEDSHELP@GMAIL.COM

__________________________________

All joking aside, I bet people would donate to that fund and the next photo would be of the crook drinking a margarita in the Bahamas wearing a Santa hat.  Ho, ho, ho —

Munich — Department Store Holiday Window Decorations

brilliantviewpoint 2 Comments

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

On Sunday, all of the stores were closed in Munich, except places to eat and the Christmas Market stalls. This was good, because there weren’t as many people out, so I could walk and really look at the store windows.

I thought you’d enjoy these holiday decorations. Really beautiful with the gigantic nutcrackers. Notice that I was able to take pictures with no “shoppers” in the photo. The store had Christmas music playing in English, I was singing along.

The perfect way to end the day!

German Christmas Ornaments

brilliantviewpoint 15 Comments

1F9F01D6-5279-4FA9-9462-F1CDADE719EFThis past weekend was the start of Christmas shopping. I say, “Christmas,” because for many of us it’s when we start putting up the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving, hanging the lights inside and outside and finding those special ornaments to put on the tree.

Every year I look for new ornaments. I like to send them as gifts. I had a lucky find this weekend. I came across a German Christmas Market. I was in America, but I felt like I was in Munich, Germany. Wonderful!

E8312F75-51E9-450C-9E9A-4F8E64EA53A5

They had similar ornaments that I would find in Germany, hand made, so a bit expensive, but as you can see from the photos, really darling. Everyone was enjoying themselves.

One special item that Germans put up is the Christmas Pyramid. I learned this from my mother/n/law, because Italians do not have this. Every year, out came the Christmas Pyramid and we would scramble to find candles to light, so that the propellor would fly around in a circle. Here you see a larger pyramid that they put up in a town in Europe. Ours was much smaller.

692CA427-6377-4458-9512-61D0E4F17FD3

When I was young, we had a German neighbor and they put small candles on the tree and lit them. Can you imagine what a possible fire hazard that was?  BUT they never burned their house down. While we enjoyed the lit candles on the tree, we would play a game of Canasta!

Memories… it’s nice if we still have them!