This time of year, there is a little less room in the old mailbox. Greeting cards. I would say “Christmas” cards, but that seems to upset people. Then again, saying “holiday” cards is just as likely to send plenty of people into a tailspin. For the record, I’m not trying to fire up that un-winnable debate.
The first signs of potluck season are the party invitations that begin to fill your social calendar. The next sign is the mild anxiety and slight confusion when deciding on a dish to bring that will demonstrate your kitchen skills, but not take forever to prepare. Potlucks, in their current sense – a meal to which a group of folks each brings something – began in the 1930s. There is a lot of information on the internet about the word “potluck.” Some sources say it’s short for “the luck of the pot,” while others say that it is derived from the indigenous word and practice of potlatch. Whatever the origin, the revolution of the potluck is an ingenious cultural phenomenon that distributes the work of feeding a group equally amongst its participants. If you want to win at your potlucks this year, there are a few things to consider ahead of time to ensure that the gatherings go smoothly, and with the least amount of effort.
Reindeer, ornaments and snowmen knit right in … it’s Ugly Sweater Party Season!
I love this time of year! The smell of cinnamon spice fills our homes, letting us know that the holiday is near. The malls are crowded, the calendar is filled with parties to attend, and we all need something new to wear. This is not the time for a simple, black dress – holiday outfits need to be fun and full of flair and texture!
My Christmas Eves now are filled with visits from my three children and five grandchildren. For them, I like to re-create the simplicity of Christmas Eves I enjoyed when I was growing up. The day was always filled with excitement for me and my three siblings, and we’d spend most of the day wrapping gifts for each other and our parents, and putting them under the tree. We always put up the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and decorated it while drinking hot cocoa, eating sweets and Christmas cookies, and playing Christmas carols on the piano. There was a lot of laughter and a lot of love.
One of our very favorite things to do is spend the holidays in a foreign place. I think it’s because we live in Texas, and so does my husband’s family; but my family is so far away, up in Michigan. Prices to travel up north during the holidays are always crazy – and so, in an effort to make neither set of parents jealous and somehow make both sets dissatisfied, we decided at some point to start holidaying abroad. This way, neither parent could accuse us of spending more time with one side of the family, and all parents would feel as though they’d been slighted somehow at Christmastime. A lose-lose, all around.
An NPR writer broke the rules recently by writing something with a pulse. By that, I mean an opinion. (I saw the print edition, but if he read his piece on air, I’m sure he did so in a hushed voice, like he didn’t want to set off a nearby time bomb.)
Deciding to improve your health by changing the way you eat can mean different things to different people. There are those of us who do better by avoiding temptation altogether. At The Local Grocer, we do our best to find ways to minimize the unhealthy elements of our favorite foods. Sometimes, that means eating fresh to avoid consuming pesticides. Other times, it means reading tons of labels and choosing products with short ingredient lists, featuring whole ingredients. And when it’s time for dessert, we get creative!
When I was in college, my mother took me on a trip from Flint to Chicago on the Amtrak train. I remember little to nothing about it, except the fact that we took the train instead of driving, and it stays in my memory as unremarkable, if nothing else.
Like a Thanksgiving repast filled with gastronomical options spicy, sweet and sour, there’s seemingly something for everybody to consume at the movies as the year-end holidays approach.
My adult kids like to tell me I’m old and not very hip. But as usual, they’re wrong, and I have evidence in the form of the book The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, published earlier this year by David Sax.
As we roll into the one-year mark since the 2016 Presidential Election, we have much to be thankful for. The stock market as measured by the S&P 500* recently closed at its very highest level ever recorded. The unemployment rate is at 4.2% as measured by the Bureau of Labor statistics. Genesee County’s housing market has returned to pre-financial crisis levels. Clients ask me if these stats really have to do with our current President or not, and my response is often, “It doesn’t hurt that the only thing President Trump cares about is business and the economy.” I won’t give him credit for everything; but, I do believe that the American capitalists have had their animal spirits awakened and are making business decisions based on the new reality that businesses and the economy will remain the Trump Administration’s primary focus. Whether this administration lasts six more months, three more years, or seven more years, it’s almost a sure thing that President Trump hopes to be known as the “most pro-business President” in history.
