My helpful hints on-line newsletter from Mary Hunt (Everyday Cheapskate) suggested creative ways to give at Christmas without going broke … She says “give from the kitchen” …

She says “don’t panic” – she says, you do not have to be crafty or a great cook to assemble fabulous gifts – Think assembly line! You can turn out dozens of gifts in a single day. Gather your supplies, set up your production line and (I love this) let the fun begin.

Well, I can see that Mary Hunt needs a lot of therapy concerning how to have fun. Being in the kitchen is not high on my list.

I’m starting to think of her as the poor man’s Martha Stewart. Also she puts out a newsletter (not free) called Debt-Proof Living and if you follow all her advice and tips you will be doing nothing else in your life but saving money, so forget the movies, forget watching TV – you’ll be clipping coupons and sorting stuff for the rest of your life. I’d rather be almost broke and doing other stuff, almost any other stuff. I’d have to be living in a box under a bridge before I will use a coupon.

On other matters, I was biking yesterday and almost had an accident taking off my sweater without stopping. Further on, I decided to go down a narrow street with no outlet, and used part of someone’s driveway to give me space to turn. As I came out of the curve, my wheels went on to grass that was rutted and I crashed into the pavement, preventing terrible damage to my face and head by taking the force onto the heels of my palms. They stung a while and I was lucky not to have any permanent damage. A woman I am acquainted with who was walking nearby, came to help. She said no one was living in that corner and I could have been seriously laying there for hours if I had been very hurt. Don’t ask why I just don’t stop and turn my bike around manually. I get impatient. Lesson learned (I think).

Later Ed and I went to dinner at Nadine and Mickey’s down the street. We didn’t give a boat parade party as we usually do (Ed wasn’t “in it” this year). These are our good friends. The husband just came through a triple by-pass and is recovering nicely. He is in his 80s. It was heartening to be with them again. We agree politically, Nadine is a great cook, they have cats – what’s not to like? The light-decorated boats came near enough for us to get a good look, and exchange waves and greetings, but for some reason turned around just as they got to us. Maybe the water gets shallower farther on.

Extra wine, sausage, meatballs, pasta, dessert, all contributed to this morning’s weigh-in at three pounds more than the day before. Sigh.

Back to my monastic existence.

Meanwhile, here is a great sunset photo taken after one of our hurricanes (aftermath of storms always produces great sunsets).



Also, a photo of a local heron who is friendly and took a walk into our garage. Ed calls him Henry.



xx, Teal