12 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”

13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

http://youtu.be/2Rbhjm1-14c

by May Sarton

When everyone had gone
I sat in the library
With the small silent tree,
She and I alone.
How softly she shone!

And for the first time then
For the first time this year,
I felt reborn again,
I knew love's presence near.

Love distant, love detached
And strangely without weight,
Was with me in the night
When everyone had gone
And the garland of pure light
Stayed on, stayed on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_23xi9ck10&feature=share&list=UU9PEibgWOqZ-1I1JdxRmr6g

The wife and I have had a tradition of giving each other a Christmas ornament every year. Now, 20 years on, our tree is covered with ornaments that remind us of specific years and places. Naturally, we are have extended the tradition to the wee one.

From me to the wife: A tin poinsettia from Old Town:


From the wife to me: a glass seahorse from Solana Beach:


From Daddy to Annie: a decorated gourd from Old Town:


From Mommy to Annie: a glass butterfly from Solana Beach:

http://youtu.be/XR5vupwpRJc

Perfect Turkey
Servings: 8
Prep Time: 12 Hours
Cook Time: 3 hours

1 whole turkey neck and gibblets removed
2 cups kosher salt
3 tablespoons garlic minced
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 large onions yellow, chopped
4 carrots peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery chopped
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 bottle white wine
2 cups butter melted
4 tablespoons onion powder (optional)


Yield: 8

- rinse turkey, rub inside and out with kosher salt (use whatever amount is needed) place turkey in a large stock pot and add enough water to cover turkey 3/4 of the way
- place garlic, pepper and brown sugar in a sauce pan with 4 cups water and boil until sugar is dissolved. Add ice to cool mixture.
- Add worcestershire to mixture and pour over turkey. Add enough water to submerge the turkey and refrigerate overnight (12 hours)
- preheat oven to 350
- rinse turkey and discard the brine mixture
- stuff turkey with 1/2 the onions, 1/2 the carrots, 1/2 the celery, 1/2 the thyme and the bay leaf
- scatter remaining vegetables in the bottom of the roasting pan and pour in 1/3 of the white wine (add wine throughout cooking if you do not have enough liquid for basting)
- place turkey breast-side down on roasting rack and coat with 1/2 the melted butter (dust with onion powder and/or salt and pepper if desired)
- roast uncovered 3-3 1/2 hours (for an 8-10 pound turkey) until internal temperature of thigh is 180
- baste every 45 minutes or so

*2/3 of the way through the cooking process, turn turkey breast-side up (use two clean oven mitts to handle the turkey) and coat with the remaining butter, onion powder and/or salt and pepper - continue cooking
- once done, remove from oven, turn turkey breast-side down on roasting rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes
- turn turkey breast-side up for serving

French Toast Bake
Servings: 6
Prep Time: 8 1/2 Hours
Cook Time: 35 Min

1 day-old French bread loaf, cubed
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries


Yield: 6 servings

- Arrange bread in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
- In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, 3/4 cup brown sugar, vanilla and nutmeg; pour over bread.
- Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.
- Sprinkle pecans over egg mixture.
- Combine butter and remaining sugar; drizzle over the top.
- Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes.
- Sprinkle with blueberries.
- Bake 10 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

- Author Unknown

“That night when in the Judean skies the mystic star dispensed its light,

A blind man moved in his sleep and dreamed that he had sight.

That night when shepherds heard the song of hosts angelic choiring near,

A deaf man stirred in slumber’s spell and dreamed that he could hear.

That night when o’er the new-born babe the tender Mary rose to lean,

A loathsome leper smiled in sleep, and dreamed that he was clean.

That night when in the manger lay the Sanctified who came to save,

A man moved in the sleep of death, and dreamed there was no grave.”

Adherents of Xmas are exhausted & overextended but Christmas worshipers are joyful. Are you rushing or feasting? 

-C.S. Lewis

I don't understand, you want me to sit where?


Oh, okay, lay down?


Wait, lay down and look where?

I am still trying to figure out what to get the wife for Christmas. This is our 20th Christmas together so I googled "20th anniversary gifts" and here is what came up:

The twentieth year of marriage is one of the big milestone anniversaries. As you celebrate this special 20th wedding anniversary, reflect on the commitment to a lifetime marriage the two of you have made.

Here are some twentieth wedding anniversary ideas and symbols to help you choose china or platinum gifts associated with your 20th marriage anniversary.

20th Anniversary Traditional Gift:

China. It symbolizes the beautiful, elegant, and delicate of your love for one another over the past 20 years.

20th Anniversary Contemporary/Modern Gift:

Platinum. Platinum is strong and enduring, just like your 20-year old marriage.

20th Anniversary Gemstone:

Emerald or a yellow or golden diamond.

20th Anniversary Color:

Emerald green or white.

20th Anniversary Flower:

Day Lily: The meaning of a day lily is that of coquetry such as flirting, playful behavior towards one another.

I was thinking more along the lines of a flak jacket, helmet and a bottle of vodka . . . . .

A Yep

“There is nothing I can give you this season which you have not. But there is much, very much, that, while I cannot give it, you can take.  No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in it today.  Take heaven!  No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this present little instant.  Take peace! The gloom of the world is but a shadow.  Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy.  Take joy!  And so, at this time, I greet you.  Not quite as the world sends greetings, but with a prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee.”

- Fra Giovanni Giocondo,  Franciscan friar, Christmas Eve, 1513

http://youtu.be/d9H9Fi4Qcus

"When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things -- not the great occasions -- give off the greatest glow of happiness."

- Bob Hope

"Aren't we forgetting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa." 

- Bart Simpson