Today’s post is dedicated to Christmas Tree Lights.
It was a small feat to get this tree to stand up straight on its own. It was almost a defeat (maybe there was one tear of frustration) but it finally came together.
We still have to put the ornaments on the tree but for now, the lights and the angel on top will do — because it’s standing up straight!
It makes me #Connect back to every Christmas that came before and all the Christmas holidays before that too. Maybe it’s a silly tradition to put a tree up inside a house in the middle of the winter? Or maybe it’s a beautiful way to connect with a time-honored tradition and the memories of the holidays of yore?
Maybe it doesn’t matter the reason why, because the fact is, a tree all lit up with lights in the middle of the dark brings me joy.
I ripped a contact this weekend and while half of it fell out of my eye, the other half tucked itself up inside and refused to come out. It was a painful 48 hours and I was worried that I scratched my cornea.
The good news is that I #Connected with my eye doctor today and the jagged little thing is out — and my eye is not scratched. I suppose the other good news is that I walked away with two new pairs of eyeglasses.
I have worn glasses since I was a little girl in elementary school. I can still remember my first pair. They were branded “Dorothy Hammil” and the temples were adhered to the bottom of the frame and then swooped up. I thought they were the coolest most stylish thing on earth for my four little eyes and tiny little body.
Apparently, they were, because that style is “coming back” according to the optician. I’m not sure I am ready to go back to my super stylish Dorothy Days, but I was inspired to try a new “look” — instead of regular-sized frames, we outfitted my prescription with larger sunglass frames. I am either going to LOVE this or LOATHE it but I can’t wait to find out.
In the meantime, I have new contacts on order and new glasses on the way, and most important, a healthy cornea.
And …a sweet #Connection to the little girl with the four eyes inside of me who wasn’t afraid to try on something new.
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the little ones squeal today as they walked in the door and saw Santa sitting there. I have to admit, I squealed too. Or, chuckled out loud a bit.
Santa saw me smiling and he smiled back at me with a big belly laugh. It was the best #Connection of the day. Let the holiday wishing begin!
As in the Nutcracker and the Boston Ballet at the Citizens Bank Opera House. Tonight I #Connected with this century-old ballet and a New England Christmas Classic for over 50 years.
I haven’t seen this Boston Ballet in probably 20 years (wow, I can’t believe that is possible) but it felt so new and fresh and fun to me tonight I couldn’t help but wonder what has changed.
Is it me (am I older and just appreciate the arts more?) or were the dancers more athletic and the scenery more spectacular? Or could it be that since Covid locked down all arts and performances for over a year that I can appreciate the stage in a whole new way?
Whatever it is, it was mesmerizing. Some facts from the performance:
Approximately 150 dancers are involved in each performance. More than 240 children, all Boston Ballet School students, make up three casts of the production.
The tree grows to 42 feet 6 inches tall, with 766 fiber optic points and 600 ornaments.
All of the sets were painted by hand and domestically made.
182 costumes appear on stage in a single performance
The best part of the night was overhearing the family behind me whisper every time their daughter was on stage. “There she is!” they said over and over in an excited and loud whisper. “Look at her dance!” they exclaimed with pride.
What a beautiful connection.
The real patron saint of the ballet is my friend Lisa for sharing her tickets with us when she couldn’t attend. Thank you, Lisa! May sugar plums dance in your dreams (and maybe next year we can see it together!).
As in the day where all the Christmas boxes that have been collecting dust for a year come out of closets and all the EVERYTHING ELSE of regular everyday decor gets placed in a box for a Christmas Holiday.
It is officially holiday decorating time.
All the little wooden elves come out to play, and the stockings too. The mantle is set with holiday care with hopes and dreams of another bright year. There are old ones and new ones and space to collect more, and every ornament finds its place on the tree…that is, if our tree could stand up straight.
It has a leaning problem. One we will have to fix this weekend when we have more time to deconstruct in the daylight what is going on in that trunk of hers.
Until then, I will keep enjoying all unpacking and placing (and replacing all over again) of holiday decor. It’s a #Connection that truly only happens once a year.
There may not be a better candle or fragrance for Thanksgiving (yes, this one is PartyLite!).
Our original plans for Thanksgiving were cancelled due to Covid and other last-minute changes so today’s celebration was just the two of us (and Brady, of course, enjoyed his part too).
Even though it was small and quiet, Connecting with the scents of the holiday made for a nostalgic sort of day. I even baked an apple pie… like, from scratch. For. Real. Including the crust.
It might be a Thanksgiving Miracle. My mother might be rolling over in her grave.
So many memories, each one connecting us to each other, and the past. May your day be filled with good scents and love.
Today’s post is dedicated to a donut named The Homer.
I’m not sure I have ever seen a donut this big before. If you look closely at the photo below Justin’s hand is next to the extra-large donut — and the donut wins.
It’s called The Homer for a reason (The Simpson’s) and if you want to try it you have to travel to an island and visit a shop called Life at Humphreys. The shop reported that at least one person has finished the entire donut before (we did not try) but most people split it between 6 – 8 people.
Now that’s a donut worth Connecting the dots (or donut holes!).
Not the kind you eat for Thanksgiving, but rather the wild variety that runs all over the island.
This morning we woke up to a gaggle of turkeys (is it officially a gaggle when a group of turkeys congregates?). They were all over the yard and the deck and then one flew up on the roof.
If you didn’t know that a turkey can fly… they can. Or rather perform some sort of hop, skip, and a jump in the air. And if you don know how the turkey crossed the road… well let me just say that they walk. Slowly.
What a quintessential Connection on the Vineyard the week of Thanksgiving.
Today’s post is dedicated to a Lighthouse and Livingston.
We ate brunch at Outermost Inn today. It was everything that we remembered, except instead of dinner at sunset we had brunch in the middle of the day. The food was exceptional (as always) and the view was panoramic, to say the least.
As we finished our meal the restaurant broke out in song, belting out “Happy Birthday” to a gentleman sitting in the corner of the restaurant. We joined in singing too. He then stood up to thank everyone and I realized I knew him or at least recognized him. It was Livingston Taylor.
The last time I saw Livingston was on stage with his brother James in a concert at UMASS. I was probably 20-years old and still in college, just learning the significance of the Family Taylor’s music on Massachusetts and the world around me.
Today, it felt more like a family reunion, everyone singing in unison on the tippy-top corner of the island.
We then walked to the Gay Head Lighthouse and saw its new resting place about 129 feet away from its former foundation. You can still see the bricks and the stones where it used to sit overlooking the sea.
Finally, our day rounded out at the new MV Museum where we snapped a photo of the ORGINAL light and lens that sat in the lighthouse.
It was not even electric back then, rather run by a series of cranks and weights and pullies and of course the incredible lens of glass too.
From one end of the island to the other we travelled back in time — Connecting to the history of the island, a lighthouse, and to the college girl inside of me.
Thank you, Livingston and Gay Head Lighthouse, for sharing our day and showing us how to connect with and celebrate a Sunday on the island.
Hi, I’m Jamie. This blog started on January 1, 2011. …because I made a promise to myself.
I did not purchase clothes or shoes or other frivolous things (things I love mind you) for an entire year and wrote about it every single day. For 365 Days. Then I went on to make promises and blog every single day for 9 years (yes, that’s right). Want to read more? The adventure begins below…
Year 2: Lovemore+Fearless
2012 sent me rafting down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon where I slept next to scorpions. I tossed my old engagement ring in a fountain in Paris, and swam with sharks in the Bahamas. In the end, I learned more about LOVE than fear.
Year 3: Abundance
My promise in year 3 was to dive deep into abundance, which included a promise to give away a gift a day. Ironically, there was something else in store for me as I found myself moving across the country, having surgery, and giving away my thyroid. It all started a little Card Crusade and my biggest lesson yet was to come in the form of a doozy: health is our greatest wealth. Abundance indeed.
Year 4: Peak Performance
Surprise! 2014 sent me back to the surgical routine. Getting a surprise diagnosis, mastectomy and reconstructive surgery all in one swoop. Overall, it probably saved my life. Ironically, I ended up with two NIKE swooshes in the form of scars across my chest. The sign of Peak Performance?
Year 5: BLISS!
It’s all about that bliss, ’bout that bliss, no trouble. This year was all about FOLLOWING OUR BLISS. And follow it we did…. all the way to Bellingham, WA! Who would have thought?
Year 6: Yoga for a Year
Yoga every single day. I did it. Really, I did it! Not every single day was amazing but I downward dogged it on planes, trains, across the “plains” crisscrossing this country. What did I learn? To be kinder to myself. And this: just showing up creates miracles (for me that’s Crow!). In the unprecedented events of 2016, I also learned our world needs a whole heaping dose of kindness.
Year 7: Intentional Acts of Kindness
This year’s promise was all about kindness – the intentional kind. We ended up getting married in a surprise pop up ceremony in Estes Park, Colorado. Could there be anything more kind?
Year 8: JOY
When I made a promise for “joy” I found a new job, new city and new adventure on the east coast. We said goodbye to our #1 Pup, who lived for 17 joyful years. I never know what will happen, but I do report back here every day.
Year 9: Trust
The year I learned to trust the adventure was complete, and celebrated the grand finale of thepromise365 as a daily blog. Then COVID-19 hit.
Year 10: Connections
Hear we go again! In this post-Covid world there is something to say about making connections.
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Have you ever felt like you were just supposed to be somewhere at a certain time ~ even though it wasn’t planned, you couldn’t predict it and never expected it? But there you found yourself anyway? That’s how I felt this week having to rush off the island with Pup’s little emergency. It put me […]
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The Promise 365 