“I cannot wait to see you again”

Yes, we have FaceTime and such; but in terms of in person contact we may be now in much the same position as they were in "1799."

A Sound And Video Christmas Post

For a Christmas post, how about a series of short - a few seconds each - videos. So you know, they contain SOUND.

Up From The Ruins

The holiday happiness all around me was not making me happier; it was getting on my nerves. I'm unhappy with certain other extended "family" so-called relationships as well. Other life issues are also frustrating me. It all became an angry jumble, bubbling under my surface as the day wore on. I was "overheating."

A Christmas Card

I used to send out dozens of cards, but that was now years ago...

A Few Days Of Holiday Hibernation

Here, near Windham in the Catskills, we awoke to some snow yesterday: Lovely to look at and fortunately not enough to be a major driving problem. English relatives will be arriving here later today, driving up from Manhattan where they've been sightseeing for the last two days. We're prepared: Well, we're prepared for tonight at [...]

The Holiday (Film)

What a ludicrous hour to be awake on a Sunday. We're going to church early. Like many of you, we've been spending the weekend preparing for Christmas: Last night, we took a break and watched The Holiday: And if you want to get a reaction from your friends and others on Instagram, just mention The [...]

Holiday Snaps

Our tree - with a glimpse of the oddly snowless Catskills visible through the window: Maybe a new author photo? 😉 Taken yesterday evening, wearing my new Christmas jumper: The things we're willing to put on the net, eh? 🙂

Treasure Those Around You

I'm sure you don't begrudge me taking a few days off for Christmas... Uh, that's not my house, by the way. 🙂 Before I vanish for a bit (I'll still be - as the mood hits me - on Twitter), I thought I'd share some excerpts from the three novels - including (mostly) from the [...]

Obsessed By You

Yes, I wrote just the other day that I planned some time off. Well, I lasted two days. I have plunged now into fully outlining what had been the sketchy ideas I had had for the third novel. Although they are naturally exasperating at times, I am missing my fictional "friends" from Passports and Frontiers. [...]

Boxing Day

Happy Boxing Day morning. Or, as they say in the U.S., uh, nothing. "You don't have Boxing Day in the U.S.?" my niece asked me a little while ago as we watched TV. "No," I confirmed. "Back to work. The holiday is only Christmas." As we discussed that, an ad for the new season of [...]

Merry Christmas

It's almost upon us. If you celebrate, I hope you have a Merry Christmas. If you don't observe it, I'd like to offer you best wishes for the coming year. I almost forgot. You have to see it. Hey, you like our tree? The tree stand is doing its job well: We spent yesterday in [...]

Santa’s Political Leanings

Always politics. Everything's political. Now, there's evidently a debate in the U.S. over whether Santa Claus is a Republican or a Democrat: Hold on. Actually, that question is immaterial until we ascertain his citizenship. Is he even a U.S. citizen? If he is, he may be registered to vote in his last state of residency, [...]

Our English Pre-Christmas Miracle

One of CNN's "Top 12" places to spend Christmas, is just up the road from us: CNN opens its explanation about Bath this way: There are few cities in the world where you can celebrate the birth of Jesus and the birth of Jane Austen with the same amount of fanfare, but Bath happens to [...]

A Bit Of Christmas Cheer

Landing on Christmas Eve, a bit of Christmas cheer awaits as you walk toward the Underground station lifts: Merry Christmas .... from Terminal 5.