Liz Flaherty's Blog, page 31

A Log Cabin for Christmas by Kristen Joy Wilks

This will be our first Christmas in our own home.

It will be both beautiful and sorrowful because we didn’t buy this house, I inherited it. There is something we often forget about inheritance, one must lose someone precious in order to gain what they longed to pass down.

This is my dream house.

It was my grandparents' dream before it was mine. They spent years felling trees from their own land, skinning logs, talking visitors into skinning logs, and finally turning their vision into a home. This h...

The Menorah Cleaner by Jennifer Wilck

If you look through my window during December, you will see lots of light. That’s because we celebrate Hanukkah, the 8-day Jewish holiday celebrating the victory of the small Maccabean army over the Greek-Syrian army and the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

To commemorate the holiday, we light candles, one each night, in a menorah. By the end of the eight days, the entire menorah is lit, providing a warm glowing light that is beautiful to see.

As a child, I lit a menorah my grandpa...

Sweet Beginnings by Stacey Weeks

Life holds many sweet beginnings, but none quite as precious as when I first held my children. Our journey toward parenthood was not the typical path. Our stick never turned blue. We never saw two lines appear. We never bought maternity clothes or made a birth plan. Things we assumed would be ours were not. Instead, life redirected us, and we found ourselves at the beginning of an unexpected journey.

Mary and Joseph’s Unexpected Beginning.

Mine is not the only life that has taken a surprising tu...

Scents of the Season by Laura Strickland

Most of us have our favorite Christmas and holiday memories. I don’t know about you, but as soon as I see the first holiday commercial of the season on TV or catch the notes of a familiar Christmas song, the images and recollections begin to roll. The breathless excitement I felt as a small girl, when I believed completely in the magic of the season comes welling up again. I remember the fascination of eyeing a wrapped gift, and wondering what was inside. The thrill of decorating the tree, of be...

Christmas is right around the corner… by Suzanne Winslow

What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Wigilia (vi gil ya, though we pronounced it va lee ya) was one of my favorites when I was growing up. Wigilia is a traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner that my family modified more than a little, but still maintained its roots. I remember being excited the minute my sister and I piled into the backseat of the car to go to my grandparents’ house. They lived in Fulton, New York, where you could almost always guarantee freshly fallen snow and a traditio...

Christmas is right around the corner… by Susanne Winslow

What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Wigilia (vi gil ya, though we pronounced it va lee ya) was one of my favorites when I was growing up. Wigilia is a traditional Polish Christmas Eve dinner that my family modified more than a little, but still maintained its roots. I remember being excited the minute my sister and I piled into the backseat of the car to go to my grandparents’ house. They lived in Fulton, New York, where you could almost always guarantee freshly fallen snow and a traditio...

Treasuring the Good by Lucinda Race

As we approach the end of 2022 seeing it in the rearview mirror will be bittersweet for me. There has been a great deal of change in my life over the last twelve months and I’ve discovered I am stronger than I knew I was. At times my shoulders have sagged with what I perceived to be a burden but I’ve changed my perspective. In many ways 2022 was a blessing for me.
Not to share my sadness sad but my husband passed away in the spring after a brief illness. We had many plans for our future. I was he...

In the Spirit... by Joe DeRozier

There are several people who have heavily influenced my life.

My dad, of course. Mr. Belleau, who was my mentor at Wautlets Bakery in Algoma, Wisconsin. He changed the whole trajectory of my life and taught me about much more than just baking. Mr. Bean, who started working with me after he retired from Chrysler. He stepped in for my dad when I moved here and provided me with a lot of insights from his vast experiences.

Another is Sal Mazzocca. I call him Mr. Sal. One of the first times I was gi...

WHY? by Judith Jerints Palmer

It all started, I suppose, before I was born.

My mother, age 15, married a man, age 31, who adored her. Three years later they had a son; he lived only two days due to problems during birth. In 1936 there was little or perhaps nothing that could have been done.

Two years later, they had another son; he lived four months, due to gangrene setting in after surgery to correct a bowel obstruction. In 1938 that was what was likely to happen.

Would you exp...

The Early Christmas Stranger by Cheryl Reavis

"...She was my family's slightly early Christmas Stranger. She arrived on our doorstep on Christmas Eve eve many years ago, and I can no longer remember her name. It was cold and dark. My mother was sewing my angel robe for the Christmas pageant, and my little sister was a baby. The pounding on our front door was so abrupt and urgent that I was afraid for my father to open it, and even more afraid of the young girl who ducked under his arm and rushed inside when he did. She was barefoot -- and c...