Last week was uneventful here at Sonnystone Acres, spent watching the snow melt… Casey tried to outsmart Twitch, the flying squirrel, and the jury is still out on who won the skirmish.
Upcoming this week: Eliza Belle Mayne Jose’ will turn 14 on the 21st and Emma Magnolia Mayne Jose’ will be 19 on the 24th. Eliza is in the 8th grade at Avenues and continues her Irish Dance instruction at Doherty-Petri. Emma is starting her second semester at Colgate University and she, too, has continued her Irish dancing. Both girls are consistently at the top of their competitions and are World qualifiers. More than just dancers, they are good students and decent people, and I’m so proud of them.
In their honor, here’s a recycle of last year’s tribute.
The wheel is turning and we can’t slow down… My New York Irish Dancer grand-daughters both had birthdays last week. Eliza, my #3 grandie, turned 13 on the 21st; Emma, my #1 grandie, turned 18 on the 24th. I am a little dizzy thinking about how the time has flown. They are gems in my crown and their futures look so bright that I gotta wear shades…
My #1 and #3 grandies,
Eliza and Emma, 2024
Emma Magnolia Mayne Jose:
Eliza Belle Mayne Jose:
Three more days of cold and we’ll moderate into “normal” winter temperatures around 40–it will feel tropical! Hope it’s thawing in your neck of the woods.
Well, hasn’t this been a real wing-dinger of a week? We ended up with an inch or so of ice followed by five inches of snow from Sunday to Monday, then picked up another four inches of snow on Friday to Saturday.
I got caught low on groceries and had to venture out to the store between storms, where I was accosted by a lady for stepping in front of her at the milk shelves… She berated me so hard that I put back half my groceries just to get through the express lane and away from her, so my cooking has not been the gourmet extravaganza I had planned. Chili is just fine and cozy for snow days anyway.
That ice storm was brutal to our trees, and a medium-size limb became a spear as it fell on our garage roof, leaving a small hole that Casey temporarily patched up between storms.
Since the whole town is littered with downed limbs and trees, and so many folks have been without power that there were emergency shelters set up by the Red Cross, I’m grateful we’ve been warm all week. The schools were all closed, so many a Mom is on edge and my heart goes out to them. Today we’re supposed to get above freezing, so I expect the stores will be full and I’m sending strength to the hospitality and retail workers.
Casey’s in his element in this weather and has manned the snowblower like a champ, keeping our driveway passable and the birdfeeders full and out of the ice. He added a third sunflower seed feeder and got out walnuts for the squirrels to fight over. There are at least three dozen birds at the buffet constantly, sunrise to sunset, on the ground, in the magnolia tree, at the water bowl, just trying to stay alive.
While the days have been bright and beautiful and the birds and squirrels have kept us busy and entertained, today is the first day we’ve actually seen Ol’ Sol breaking through the clouds and it’s a great way to start the day!
I am planning a whole week of Getting Out of the House! Hope I see you there!
Gazing out of my windows, I watch the birds fighting for a spot at the feeders and queuing up for a drink at the water bowl. The black birds want to hog the food, so we occasionally bang on the windows and clear them out, giving the smaller birds an brief opening to get into the troughs. Tough to get pictures from inside…
Intermittently, the snow will change over to ice or sleet, then revert back to innocent, puffy flakes. It’s all very pretty, a blank slate, ready for a new Dopamine Menu.
After a week of inner whining, this fresh view is just what I needed to regain my peace. We’ve put away the Christmas decorations, and I’ve taken this opportunity to move furniture, rearrange shelves, and re-think where it all goes- or should it be displayed at all? This has extended to our upstairs, where I’ve stashed the heirlooms that my brother recently brought over, and there’s a good deal of work that needs to be done. It probably seems odd to put this task on my Menu for January, but once I get started, I really enjoy organizing and the added nostalgia will trigger heap big emotion.
January Dopamine Menu
Try two new recipes
Learn Handel’s Water Suite
Organize heirlooms and photos
Read four books, one from each of these genres: biography, mystery, science fiction, and historical fiction.
Lunch with friends x2
Willard Library, Zoo, Museum
Creative Writing Class (starts January 7) (more on that next week)
While we were in NYC, we watched all the current episodes of “Shrinking” and I loved it. I’m looking for something that will grab me like that series did. We don’t have any paid channels, but free stuff like Pluto gives us access to a lot of old shows that we can watch in order — Casey’s working his way through Gunsmoke– but I can’t decide what I’ll stick with. Any suggestions?
Jojo’s Academy of Music will resume classes next week! Samantha and I were at the Mall yesterday, where she got me all caught up with her Christmas fun and we tried on hats…
Since Casey retired, I don’t mind our winters so much, but ask me again in about 6 weeks. I doubt I’ll be calling this snow “pretty” next week, but today it’s gorgeous and the fire is warm.
It feels to me like we missed New Year’s Eve. We got back from NYC on the 29th, and my cousin arrived on the 30th and spent the night here so we could take her to the airport (about 5 minutes away) on the 31st. I thought she was leaving yesterday morning, but her flight was actually in the evening, and was then delayed, finally leaving around 9pm. By that time, I was so physically and mentally exhausted that I just crashed as soon as we saw her off. I didn’t get my mind on preparing for this New Year, so today I’m going to make some lists as I put away Christmas decorations.
For now, I leave you with my old stand-by to welcome this turn of the page.
New Years by Dana Gioia
Let other mornings honor the miraculous. Eternity has festivals enough. This is the feast of our mortality, The most mundane and human holiday.
On other days we misinterpret time, Pretending that we live the present moment. But can this blur, this smudgy in-between, This tiny fissure where the future drips
Into the past, this flyspeck we call now Be our true habitat? The present is The leaky palm of water that we skim From the swift, silent river slipping by.
The new year always brings us what we want Simply by bringing us along—to see A calendar with every day uncrossed, A field of snow without a single footprint.
We had a Super Christmas Celebration with Michael, Jess, Nova, and Samantha on Sunday, starting off our morning at Nellie’s North before heading back to Sonnystone to open presents. We then trooped off to see Moana 2 – which I really enjoyed, as it supports all my beliefs regarding Ancestors and their presence in our lives.
Now we’re ready to drive down to Nashville for the night, catching an early-morning flight to NYC. Very Excited, to say the least, and still watching out for Santa and his reindeer to fly by…
Wherever you are, whatever you celebrate, I am beaming Peace and Love to you — Reach out and grab it!
According to National Geographic, The winter solstice marks the exact moment when half of Earth is tilted the farthest away from the sun. It usually happens on December 21 or 22, at the exact same second around the world. This year, that exact moment was 3:21 this morning, so Today is the Winter Solstice, celebrated by Humans since the dawn of time at such Sacred Spots as Newgrange, Stonehenge, and the Nasca Lines, where folks would gather to welcome back the sun.
How did the Ancients know it was the solstice? I don’t know, but I think it had to do with shadows. If you stand outside in the sun (hopefully it’s shining where you are) at noon today and look at your shadow, it will be the Longest Shadow you cast the entire year. I’m going to check that out today.
One of the most enduring Winter Celebrations is Yule, begun in Scandinavian countries but soon co-opted by the Brits and made familiar to us in their madrigal “Christmas” songs. To Welcome the Light, there was feasting and singing, and a Yule Log — the bigger the better – was lit outside, with the festivities lasting for several days.
We still write our wishes on a log and send them up in the smoke of our fireplace, and of course we’re feasting and singing. But for me, this is the New Year, the Beginning of a new chapter, and a time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next.
I’ll also be baking today! Brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and snickerdoodles are the menu!
Ah, the joy of rising before the sun comes up! – Put that in the category of “things I never thought I would say”, but waking up at 5am several days this week to transport the Jr girls to their appointed destinations was kinda fun. Of course, I made up for the loss of my beauty sleep with a beauty nap, so don’t worry about me..
Last Sunday, Samantha and I attended the Eville Philharmonic Peppermint Pops concert and it was a real Winner! It’s been a while since I was able to sing-a-long with the Hallelujah Chorus and I gave it my all, singing all parts but in baritone range…I’m sure the folks in front of me were impressed!
Yesterday evening, we were treated to the Evansville Music Academy Winter recital, where Nova sang, “The Challenge”. She did a wonderful job and looked lovely.
Samantha came over today to lend a hand with cutting out some sugar cookies, and to play some Christmas duets with me. She was uncharacteristically not hungry, so I’ve had to bear the brunt of eating the cookies with little help…alas!
Next week, we’ll be having our Christmas with the Jrs–that’s right just Six More Days.! Time to pick up the pace, but maintain the Calm and Bright.
The decorating is done! Well, we still don’t have the ornaments on our main tree, just waiting for some grandie-type help with that, but the rest is in place.
We have added a tree this year, a $1 rummage-sale find. bought it for the lights, which we removed and put in Goldie, and because I have this box of vintage bulb ornaments that I knew would look great on an aluminum tree.
We had an aluminum tree when I was a youngster, from age 8 to probably 18! It was a full silver with the four-color lamp projecting red, green, gold, and blue on to it like a screen. I would spend hours staring at the tree, listening to the Goodyear Christmas Albums. I still listen to those albums, and still turn out all the lights except the Christmas tree and stare.
Our Mr&Mrs Claus collection is displayed in the diner this year. We’re always on the prowl for more, but it’s been a while since we found any.
After updating the decorations at the Eaton gravesite, we met up with cousins Lana and Charley for lunch yesterday. We’d hoped cousin Jeff would be able to tag along, but he was out of town. I forgot to get a selfie inside, so here we are grabbing a last-minute pic, saying, I can’t see a thing as we peer into the phone.
Today Samantha and I are off to hear the Evansville Philarmonic Orchestra’s Peppermint Pops! This will be her first encounter with Mayne tradition, taught well by my Dad, to arrive way too early, sit in your seat with a clear view of the stage until the last five minutes when Big & Tall guy with a large cranium supported by a thick neck sits directly in front of you and that’s all you see for the rest of the event. It’s a fact…
Next week we are running the Jojo and Grandpa Taxi service for the Jr. girls while their Mama is on a business trip to Maryland. Though we have to get up ungodly early, I’m pretty excited to be needed.
We had a nice Thanksgiving with this crew, for whom I am eternally grateful.
We woke up to a couple of inches of fluffy snow this morning — nice touch, Cosmo, and very conducive to our ongoing (and on) hanging of the Greens.
Three more weeks of waning light until Earth’s wobble will turn us back toward the Sun and these incredible shrinking days will slowly begin to expand. Until then, it’s time to make the best of those 5 or so hours of daylight!
I’ve been writing out a monthly dopamine menu, which is a list of activities to do that trigger the release of dopamine, our homemade pleasure chemical, in the brain. December’s menu pretty much writes itself: Do All Things Christmas-y: Play the Music! Bake cookies! Buy Presents! Watch the sappy TV movies! Deck the Fa-la-la out of the Halls! I’ll be working in a trip to Grayville for a cousin luncheon, a visit to the Zoo and the Eville Museum, and Nova has a Vocal recital on the 14th. We’re planning a Winter Solstice Celebration on the 21st, hopefully lighting a Yule Log outside in my circle. Did I mention that my daughter has a birthday on the 20th? It’s going to be a lovely month, full of love and family.
Since Emma is not home from Colgate until 12/18, we have had to change up our 20-year-old Rockettes tradition–We will be going to a 5pm performance on Boxing Day (12/26). Casey and I will fly out of Nashville on Christmas morning and stay with the Joses until the 29th. We should have time this trip to visit the Met and the MOMA, something we’ve missed doing.
Our Christmas with the Jrs. will be December 22 and will include “Moana 2” — I can hardly wait. We have more plans with my Local girls in the next weeks, so I’ll keep you informed. I know you’ll be waiting with bated breath…
It’s a short Holiday Season this year, thanks to a “late” Thanksgiving. The “4th Thursday in November” makes our American Turkey Day a moveable feast that often intrudes on the Christmas season and this year is about as intruding as it gets.
Our current Thanksgiving Tradition is having the Jr. Family over in the morning to watch the Macy’s Parade. They arrive just before the parade starts, Dunkin’ Donuts in hand. In NYC, the Jose’ Fam are also watching, but Santa and the Mrs. appear on their screen an hour before they fly into our broadcast, a feat of time travel that I do not understand, but it’s true. We lay out a spread of sandwich-makings, some salads, veggies, and chips, and throw in pumpkin and dutch apple pies for dessert. We talk. We laugh. We play a game of some sort.
Our tradition is nothing at all like the Norman Rockwell tradition I grew up with, and I don’t deny that I miss the crowded tables and loud rooms of people of those days, but all those fine cooks have passed on and their grandchildren have children (and grandchildren) of their own.
After the games, the Jrs. have an evening Thanksgiving dinner to attend, and the NYers are either already in Philadelphia or on their way, so by 3pm, we’re alone with the leftovers…and the Christmas decorating begins! I really enjoy decking the halls with fa-la-la and a lot of buffalo plaid…
Casey’s #70 birthday month has been a good one, filled with weekly presents and trips. We’ll sing a rousing rendition of HB on Thanksgiving Day, put a candle in his pie, and wish him well. The actual b-day-date is Saturday, the 30th, and we’ll probably go out for dinner or something.
Celebrating at Loco Burro, Gatlinburg
While we were in Gatlinburg, we went to a hard cider tasting at Smokin’ Banjo. These fruit-based samplings were right up my alley; I really wanted to love the Banjo Blue, made from blueberries, but my favorite was Sweet Heat, a raspberry concoction with a hint of jalapeno. We were persuaded to buy two bottles so they would give us a free bottle of Peach, which was pretty good. Since Michael and Jess are teetotalers, I may have to enlist outside help with drinking these fermentations…
With each sunrise I am granted, I give Thanks for Everything and All — for my Loved Ones (that’s You), for the sun and the moon and the stars and the wise trees, for my home and its gardens and all that grows here, for the many critters and winged ones who feast at my buffet, for the gifts of music and books, for the comradery of marriage, for the wisdom of my ancestors, for the Peace and Joy in my heart.
Sunrise at Sonnystone Acres, November 24, 2024
The composer Aaron Copland left us the beautiful song, “The Promise of Living” from the opera “The Tender Land”, reminding us that Thanksgiving Day was originally a harvest celebration.
The promise of living with hope and thanksgiving Is born of our loving our friends and our labor.
The promise of growing with faith and with knowing Is born of our sharing our love with our neighbor.
The promise of loving, the promise of growing Is born of our singing in joy and thanksgiving.
For many a year we’ve know these fields And know all the work that makes them yield. We’re ready to work, we’re ready to lend a hand. By working together we’ll bring in the blessings of harvest.
We plant each row with seeds of grain, And Providence sends us the sun and the rain. By lending a hand, by lending an arm Bring out the blessings of harvest.
Give thanks there was sunshine, give thanks there was rain, Give thanks we have hands to deliver the grain.
O let us be joyful, O let us be grateful to the Lord for his blessing.
Hope you’ll be having a grand Thanksgiving week-end!
The News from Sonnystone Acres 