Happy holidays from the land of Betty, with photos

Well, we made it through another rollicking year! Thanks for being here as I dealt with my work, family, relationships and creativity. With your support, I’ve gotten to a very good place. The best, as they say, is yet to come.

Meanwhile, it’s a relief right now to take stock and…just relax.

The fall semester is over, yay! No more homework assignments. No more final exams; all my students’ grades have been submitted. The next draft of my book manuscript is in the hands of my editor. I’ve taken care of all the year-end bills, which is a huge relief. Everything, at the moment, is percolating nicely.

On the home front, my daughter, the college freshman, is back. The house is vacuumed. Our fridge is well stocked and most of the week’s laundry is done. The tree is finally up. Some of the gifts are wrapped too.  

There’s even been time to do a little cooking — to the point where I pulled out an old favorite, a stir-fried shrimp recipe that I haven’t made in ages. What a pleasure to putter without feeling rushed by a million deadlines.

If you follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, you’re probably sick of looking at this photos, which I posted everywhere. I couldn’t help it, I was so happy about being back in my kitchen:

As for what’s ahead, I’m hoping to spend the next few days sleeping a lot. Reading would also be nice, along with getting to the gym. Or maybe I’ll get wild and crazy enough to go out and see a movie.

But definitely, I will be counting my blessings.

On that note, here is “Christmas,” a poem by Tobias Grace. He is a reader of this blog who found me through his son, one of my former New School students. For all of you who comment or who energize me in the generous act of reading my blog, this poem’s for you:

Christmas

 Though the year’s road is weary,

And the journey may be steep,

There may be pain and sorrow,

And that which makes us weep,

At the road’s end is Christmas,

And Christmas has promises to keep.

It speaks to us of magic,

It reminds us of our dreams,

It tells us that our tired world,

May not be what it seems,

That peace will triumph in the end,

O’er soulless men and evil schemes.

With silver bells and carols,

Or with a quiet fall of snow,

It tells us that our lives can change

From the rutted paths we know,

And in the ashes of our visions,

There yet remains an ember glow.

And if the life we’ve come to,

Is neither wise nor kind,

We still can make another,

We can change our hearts and mind,

For the dreams we decide to seek,

Are the only one’s we’ll find.

********

In closing out this last post for the year, here’s a little holiday card from me to you. And if you’d also like to make cute photo collages and edits like this, check out picmonkey.com, a free photo-editing website that keeps getting better and easier to use. I really enjoyed putting little Santa caps on my cats:

And what will you be looking forward to doing between now and Dec. 31? It would be nice to hear from you, to share in both your hopes and day dreams.

A big hug from me to all of you. You’ve been a great gift in my life. Happy holidays! xo