Magi and Christmas Eve

Western Christians celebrate today as "Three Kings" day, Epiphany, or Feast of the Magi.

For our family, it is also the same, as well as the eve before our family's Christmas celebration.

We celebrate both ends of the Christmas season - as well as the seasons before and after it.

Our advent begins on November 15. It is a six-week preparation to welcome our Savior into our mdist.

We celebrate the Christ Child's birth on December 25.

We honor the Magi on January 6/January 7.

And we continue the Christmas season until Febuary 2, the feast day of the Presentation in the Temple, when we finally take down the Christmas tree, for the second time this year.

Side story: our orginal tree, which Rebekah bought on sale with lights attached in 2019, was the first tree we had set up.

One night, while unplugging the tree lights before bed, I couldn't tell in the dim light which cord went to the tree and which one went to the floor lamp in the corner as they had become tangled. 

So, I gently separate the cords - and sparks flew up and out like a Fourth of July sparkler.

Yes, one of my cats had chewed through the lights' thin wires. Here, the kids had thought a couple bulbs simply needed replacing. No, the lights were out because they were shorted out.

So down came the tree.

And up went a more beautiful, more lavish tree, an expense of money and time we hadn't expected.

Of course, as I'm telling this tale, much of the world has, by now, forgotten about Christmas.

So perhaps that makes us a bit out of step.

But, heck, I'm a bit out of step anyway.

And maybe it's my own weakness that needs reminders of God's great gift hanging around a bit longer. Maybe if I had the wisdom of the Magi, I would need less reminders. Maybe, someday, I'll have grown in grace and won't need reminders at all.

Yet, whatever the reason, tonight I will be prepping tomorrow's food with my family and cleaning house, so we can enjoy the day together tomorrow (which is also Rebekah's birthday) without having to cook and clean, too.

We will be a smaller group that in years past, due to COVID and other family members' obligations.

So we must take the celebration to them and deliver their packages and bags.

The main point is not how or when we and you and they celebrate. The point is that we do (and should) celebrate.

Whatever Christmas (or a similar holiday) means to you, if it has meaning, then do celebrate it with as much heart as you can muster.

For many of us are going through challenges, especially these last two years, and celebrations often feel thin and forced. We must revel in celebrations wherever we can find and experience them. For celebrations bring much-needed hope and joy into ouir lives.

But for you who have read to this line, I hope this post makes you smile, if even for a moment, at a remembrance of any Christmas you've enjoyed and bring to mind the loved ones with whom you've shared it.

Whatever values Christmas holds for you, I hope this post encourages you to tuck them into your heart, to live and bear fruit, the whole year long.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

An Eclectic Collection of Christmas Gifts from Some Really Awesome People

My family will conclude the main part of the Christmas season on January 7, the day when some of us will gather and open our gifts.

It is also a day when we will distribute gifts to other members of the family and celebrate Rebekah's birthday.

However, some really dear loved ones surprised me with spectacular gifts in December. 

Do you know what's most wonderful about receiving gifts? Every time you see a gift, or use it, your mind and heart immediately go straight to the person who gave it, and you feel the warmth of your time together.

Whether a person is physically near or physically too far away, gifts given and received in love create more love.

So here is the eclectic collection.

And yes, this gift box was one of the gifts, from Timothy. He came home from a dinner in Naperville one night and suprised me with these chcoolate truffles (below).

If you can believe it, most of them are still not eaten, since we've had other Christmas treats in the house, most of them made/baked by Rebekah.

But I have been eating them and sharing them two at a time with the other three people in my home. 

I take two matching ones, split them in half, and distribute.

This book is a gift from Kathleen Ellinger, whom I interviewed for The Herald-News in 2018, and I subsequently reviewed one of her books for the now cancelled LocalLit newsletter.

Her sister Terri has since created some pen and ink illustrations for certain Bertrand the Mouse books.

Kathleen is now a dear friend on social media. And on St. Nicholas Day (December 6), she dropped off the above book of her original poetry and artwork for me at The Herald-News...

...along with this bookmark she created...

...and this really sweet note. And, yes, I am enjoying her book immensely. You can buy it here.

My very first BryonySeries fan in the whole world surprised me with this mug, which also arrived on St.Nicholas Day.

Bobbi discovered my first book Bryony shortly after its release in 2011 through the piano music of James Onohan, who composed and performed ten original songs for the BryonySeries CD, including the "Bryony" theme song.

She loved my books so much, she even approached the now defunct Hastings Entertainment and begged it to carry them, which it did. Isn't she amazing?

We have spoken just twice, the last time being 2020. We have made it our goal to finally meet once this pandemic has become endemic (she has health issues, too).

Here is the back of the mug! I love it!

The little coffee guy in the background on the left is from Duanne, one of the orignal members of WriteOn Joliet, who gifted it to me several years ago.

I met Duanne at a book signing shortly after the release of Bryony. The Three Rivers Arts Council in Minooka hosted the event back when it rented the old Minooka firehouse. 

A blurb ran in The Herald-News, Duanne saw it, and out he came, heading straight for the book. He also brought a journal of his own writings, which he shared with me that day.

And this is the lovely card (in my favorite shade of blue) that Bobbi sent to accompany the mug.

This coffee sticker is another gift from Duanne (not from this year). I adhered the stick to a cabinet door of my former computer area. The setup wasn't very stable, and it did not survive one of our moves.

However, Duanne is important to me, and the sticker was, too. So Timothy removed the little cabinet door before sending the rest of the setup to the dumpster.

The little door stood on a shelf by my computer in my last bedroom.

And it now sits at the coffee bar in my new townhome.

Duanne gifted me with this candle for Christmas this year.

It reminded him of the BryonySeries standalone werewolf novel I released in 2020.

The novel, about a teen girl trying to write the world's greatest love story, buys little mementoes that she hopes will trigger her use. One of these items is a candle.

I select a thick pine chunk with black flecks. It’s called “The Forest at Midnight” and it smells of jasmine and sage, the way I imagine running through the woods at night on my werewolf’s back.

By the way, Duanne's candle smells terrific! 

These two coffee paintings came from my WriteOn Joliet co-leader Tom Hernandez. 

The artist is Tammy Duckworth, owner of the Book and Bean Cafe inside the Black Road Branch of the Joliet Public Library, one of WriteOn Joliet's partners and where we hope to resume in-person meetings once a month in 2022 (the second meeting will continue on Zoom).

Since I don't have a car (and can't drive at night even if I had one), Tom has provided nearly all of my transportion to and from meetings since 2013.

Along with those riders, he has also treated me to dinner and coffee at the Book and Bean Cafe before the meetigs. Think about that a moment: twice a month meetings since 2013. That's a lot of time, gas, and money - many, many a generous gifts.

Until the pandemic, Tammy has also hosted WriteOn Joliet's open mic nights, which we held one to two times a year. Duanne has recorded them, so you can see them here.

Tammy also opens her wall space to local artists and graciously hosted four of my BryonySeries artists in September and October 2018. Joliet TV came out and covered it. you can learn more about the cafe (and those artists) right here. 

An artist herself, Tammy also hosts painting classes in her cafe. I had long admired these coffee mugs Tammy had painted, but they were not for sale.

So Tom (as he told the story), persuaded her to give up one, which was apparently difficult to do.

Once Tom talked Tammy into selling one painting, he talked her into selling a second. He had a point in presenting the pair.

He wanted to remind me of how he and I led WriteOn Joliet all these years (the two cups) along with all the great coffee, double hot dogs (me), and open mics, and more we have shared and enjoyed in her marvelous community space.

This was a surprise gift from Janet Staley, owner of The Book Market in Crest Hill. This longstanding bookstore for new and used books is super friendly to local and independent authors and is WriteOn Joliet's second community partner.

WriteOn Joliet typically hosts its annual anthology release at The Book Market, but we moved it to the Joliet Public Library this year (after canceling it altogether last year), for reasons of space - and more efficient social distancing.

Janet was to handle all checkouts, so she would still benefit from our sales, too. But then she unexpectedly hospitalized, so Tom handled the anthology portion of checkouts and donated a percentage to the store.

Then Tom and I held back-to-back signings at her bookstore the Saturday before Christmas. All of us sold well that day: Janet, Tom, and I. Janet was super happy.

So why this gift? 

You can read those details here. And you can buy WriteOn Joliet's fifth anthology here.

But the short reason for why Janet gifted this particular village piece is that I'm the features editor for The Herald-News in Joliet.

Along with the Christmas village piece, Janet included this lovely three dimensional card with an even lovlier note to accompany the beautiful gift.

I  had written several stories about the author of this book before her death - and then wrote this tribute piece to her after she had died.

When she started her beautiful blog around the time I started mine (2010), I followed it until she stopped writing. You can still read her posts here. 

I wanted to buy a copy of the above book at the 2019 WriteOn Joliet anthology release party - and it was sold before I could get to it.

But a friend loaned me his copy - and I subsequently wrote this review about the book.

Sophia's daughter Maureen Blevins is now a member of WriteOn Joliet and writes this cheerful blog.

Maureen found a few extra copies of this book at her home - and so very thoughtfully gifted me with one of then. Hurray!

Colleen Robbins, a WriteOn Joliet author who has helped with the editing of many of the BryonySeies books, gifted me with these syringe pens, saying they reminded her of Dr. Martin Parks from The Phoenix, which the BryonySeries team released in 2020.

Aren't they awesome?

And, finally, WriteOn Joliet member Diane Short, who gave me a primer of calligraphy a few years ago when I received a set with a quill pen from BryonySeries artist Topher Gleason (So I could have an awesome signature for events), gifted me with this calendar that members of a calligraphy group, to which she belongs, created.

I waited until January 1 to open the first card. And then I will open the second card on February 1. 

So instead of one gift, Diane really gifted me with twelve little gifts of beauty that I may enjoy the entire year.

May 2022 be, for you, full of love, joy, peace, and yes, creativity and lovely things.

Final story:

Rebekah made this Christmas/winter wreath from white tissue paper on a wire coat hanger. She twisted inexpensive glitter ornaments onto the wire and added a red bow from the dollar store.

Sr. Rita Pawlik (deceased) from St. Bernard's Catholic School in Joliet (the building no longer stands) taught me how to make these in her art class when I was in the sixth grade. 

She loved to play classical music in the background during art class, a habit I adopted and adapted when I home-schooled my six children.

Sarah made many of these wreaths one year (she was no more than nine) as her Christmas gifts to relatives. 

And now Rebekah has made one we can enjoy on the front door of our new home all winter long.

Photos: Christmas, Uncle Barty and Bertrand the Mouse-Style

Although the people in my family don't open Christmas gifts until January 7, that custom doesn't apply to the crocheted mice.

Here is a quick photo recap of the fun Uncle Barty and his newly regenerated nephew Bertrand the Mouse had in opening their gifts.

I say "their gifts" because Uncle Barty really wasn't expecting any gifts as bringing Bertrand home was the best gift of them all for him.

But Santa Bob had a surprise for Uncle Barty.

Here we go.

Uncle Barty and Bertrand open their first gifts.

Uncle Barty poses with his gift from Santa Bob, a vintage collectible...

...nearly lifesize (well, Uncle Barty lifesize) windup mouse. Uncle Barty had lots of fun playing with it.

Santa was very good to Bertrand, too. He received a mouse sticker...

...a costume for pretend playtime from Santa Rebekah.

Wait! What's this? A box within a box?

Bertrand can't wait to open it!

But - what is it? Could it be the top item on Bertrand's wish list to Santa?

It is! 

Bertrand really wanted this little mouse doll. But his mistress (me) said $50 was too expensive for a mouse doll. So Santa Rebekah stepped in and made Bertrand's greatest wish come true.

Santa Rebekah also gifted Bertrand with two plastic toy bats. Bertrand loves bats because Bertrand thinks bats look like mice.

Santa also brought Bertrand a new book. Reading is Bertrand's favorite activity. He loves books.

Now that Bertrand had opened every gift, he was ready to spend the rest of the day playing.

Uncle Barty did the same. 

And when Christmas day was nearly done, and both mice were getting tired...

Uncle Barty and Bertrand snuggled into bed with Bertrand's new book. Bertrand liked it so much, Uncle Barty read it three times.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from everyone at the BryonySeries.

Updating the Ed Calkins Santa Photos

The Christmas season is a busy time for Ed Calkins, the Steward of Tara, since he dons a read suit, lugs a pack of presents, and replaces limericks with a steady stream of "ho, ho, hos!" while making the circuit of children's Christmas parties. 

The beard, however, is real.

And you can read more on Ed's Christmas activities on this post.

And you can learn the entire back story of how a real person became a character in the BryonySeries "drop of blood" trilogy - and then an author in his own "write" for the same series by watching this video.

Now the only Ed Calkins "Santa" photos I had for many years were from a 2012 book signing in the former newspaper distribution center in Rockdale, where we both had worked.

Yes, I am going to share them with you. And then I will share the updated photos (and a little story) from WriteOn Joliet's anthology release party at the Joliet Public Library.

Oh, and you can buy the fifth anthology here. 

And you can buy all the back issues here.

Ed Calkins holds up both Bryony and the holiday version of Visage (which is out of print and only available at certain events. But you can buy the official one here. And you can also buy Staked! - which completes the trilogy that features Ed).

Ed Calkins signs a copy of Bryony for a customer.

Ed Calkins prepares to sign a copy of holiday Visage for a customer.

Ed Calkins, again, prepares to sign a copy of holiday Visage for a customer.

Ed Calkins signs another copy of Bryony for a customer.

Ed Calkins poses with my oldest son Christopher.

Ed Calkins posts with Prime Minister Dan. (Remember, the distribution center was Ed's kingdom).

A bucket of Ed Calkins candy canes, which he always distributed in December to the newspaper carriers.

And here is a closeup, just in case you've never actually seen any Ed Calkins candy canes.

Ed Calkins, check in hand, is ready to distribute candy canes.

Ed Calkins is persuading me (the photo bomb in the corner) to recreate our former "here are your customer changes for the day" pose, back when I was a carrier and worked for him.

So Ed Calkins hands me a candy cane, on his knees, since my nickname was Paper Goddess, later shortened to simply "Goddess." Ed bestowed that name on me because I took out the most newspapers out of that center every single night (with kids to help me).

I've accepted the candy canes, but Ed is still on his knees because I'm too busy laughing and forgot to give him permission to stand. 

And here is the now-famous photo that became the book cover of the first book I published for Ed, in honor of Calkins Day 2018. You can buy it here.

And now for the (drum roll), updated photos...with a quick story to go with them.

Here is Ed Calkins posing with Rebekah who was only fourteen when we first met him. Time flies!

Now, as you can see from that photo, Ed insisted we take pictures with the facemasks off. But it's still a pandemic, so I held my breath the photo.

But then, Ed decides we should get one more. I'm still smiling, and still holding my breath, and thinking, "What? Is he kidding me???"

But the asthmatic lungs held out. So here I am, still not breathing.

Well, I am the Goddess.

Or as Ed writes in Ruthless.

Then, the Goddess walks in with her teen son and daughter. The Goddess, so named when she did me a favor, and so called over the phone where her teens could hear as her phone was on speaker, does lots of favors. Someday, I should compose her myth. Myth-making is a duty of mine as I’m of Irish descent. She would be the goddess of favors, eternal energy, the written word, and newspapers. In this realm, however, she simply has no time as she is both carrier and freelance reporter for the same paper. 

The "goddess of favors, eternal energy, the written word, and newspapers." Wow...

Finally, Ed Calkins autographs a copy of Ruthless in the parking lot of the Joliet Public Library before heading home. Timothy caught this great shot!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from all of us on the BryonySeries team.