I took this photo of a poinsettia we brought home from the flower shop. Pretty enough to be a Christmas card, right? Click on the image for a very large view.
Culture
Yellow Ribbon America Rosie Christmas
This year we selected Yellow Ribbon America’s Rosie Christmas campaign for our annual toys donation. We’re donating some new toys that we bought at our local merchandise liquidation discount store. The destination for these toys is to the children of our deployed California National Guard service men and women. There is also the opportunity to gather up your already-watched DVDs and donate them to the deployed troops. You may also donate gift cards to the cause.
This is a great way to get your Christmas giving endorphins! If you live in California, or are going to be here in December, click on Rosie’s picture to find your nearest drop-off location.
Giving Thanks to Our Troops
This was our post last Thanksgiving Day. It is just as appropriate today as it was a year ago.
We often think about and pray for our troops across the globe. And our efforts go beyond just thoughts and prayers since we routinely support charities such as Wounded Warriors, Soldiers Angels and the USO. Please, if you are able, send our troops a little support as a way of saying thanks for what they do. Keep it going all of this holiday season if you are able.
You should also keep the families of these wonderful men and women in your thoughts and prayers, since they will be celebrating without their loved ones.
Neil Cavuto of the Fox News Channel offered this poignant and insightful thought about those serving in our defense:
Giving Thanks to Our Troops
By Neil Cavuto
I cannot imagine eating Thanksgiving dinner in a mess hall. In a foreign country. In a hostile foreign country. Away from family. Away from friends. Away from all I hold dear.
I cannot imagine wondering whether this meal might be my last. Or the buddy sitting next to me won’t always be with me.
I cannot imagine going through what our soldiers go through every day. But especially “this” day. When we should all give thanks. But they barely have the time to eat. Before they’re back on the line. Back protecting us.
We who debate their role. Some of us who even mock their cause. This isn’t about a war. This is about those who fight it. And endure it. And live through it. In a place we forget. On a day we should not.
I am very lucky to have this day with my family. My creature comforts are secure precisely because theirs are not. It’s not fair. It’s not right. It just is.
They are due our thanks every day. Our prayers all days. But they are due both, especially this day. It’s amazing to me that those paid so little, give so much. Never complaining. Always giving. So that we can sit down in peace. While they stand guard, in war.
May God bless and protect all of our men and women in the armed forces.
Halloween Kids
For us, Halloween is for the little kids. These are a few of the many colorful, cute and entertaining costumes we saw last night. We had a caveman, a little blue-eyed red critter(?), Spidey, Tigger and a sleepy teddy bear. Cute!
Peek-a-Boom! Halloween 2007
My new Glock 30 .45ACP Pistol sits on a spooky table tapestry that shows up around this time each year. You can click on the image for a close-up view.
Once again, the leaves are falling and the pumpkins in the patch are ripe. It’s the time that all restless spirits set forth in their annual ritual of calling on the living – and demanding treats. Since the fifth century BC, Halloween has been celebrated as a cross-quarter day, a day halfway between an equinox (equal day / equal night) and a solstice (minimum day / maximum night in the northern hemisphere). With our modern calendar, however, the real cross-quarter day will occur next week. Visit Astronomy Picture of the Day for a spooky Ghost Nebula and more about Halloween.
We’re looking forward to the visitations of all the little goblins and spirits at our door tonight. We plan on posting some spooky pictures here tomorrow.
Art Deco Architecture
One of the first things visitors notice upon arriving in Avalon is the Casino Building, Catalina Island’s most recognizable landmark. The round, white building raises the equivalent of 12 stories, and is surrounded by the sea on three sides. Built in 1929, the Casino – which is actually not a gambling hall but “a place of entertainment” – played host to dozens of big bands through the 1930s and 1940s. Guests danced the night away to the music of Glen Miller, Harry James, and many others over the years.
The Casino Building is a stunning example of original Art Deco architecture. It has been well maintained over the years and has also undergone much restoration, both inside and out.
Read more about it at Catalina Island Journal. Click the image to enlarge.