Lisa Colón DeLay

sad snowman

So, we’re all taking the day off. The kids don’t have school, ETS is officially closed due to weather (which means I’m not teaching until next week).

I’m getting sick of winter already. They say a certain PA groundhog can determine wether spring will arrive soon, or if winter has six more weeks to do its worst. This all happens on February 2. Tomorrow. Um… I don’t think we need Punxsutawney Phil to tell us the inevitable. Do you?

UPDATE: Feb 3, 2011. In a meteorological SHOCKER, Punxsy Phil did NOT see his shadow, so he predicts an early spring. In this 125 year tradition, the groundhog sees his shadow 9 times out of 10, and then goes back into his den. (Or he could be scared by all the flashing cameras.)

AND! Can someone tell me why February can’t borrow a day from January and a day from March to get up to a more normal 30 day month? Those few days seem, well, important.

FEBRUARY FREEBIES:
For 3 years now, I’ve used February to give away gifts. I have the first one here: 10 oz of Premium Chocolate (premium for central Pennsylvania, that is.)

To try for this goodie, leave a comment, before Feb 14, telling us about the last fantastic chocolate experience you’ve had. What did you eat, etc? One fortunate or creative reader will get the Gold. Good luck.

February prize.

Sorry, Tom.

So, Feasting Day is over. We’ve been thinking about thankfulness. We’ve been enjoying goodies, and visiting, and football (if the cable isn’t out, that is. grr).

But here, like the turkey, are some leftover thanksgiving jokes and ideas to brighten your Black Friday post Thanksgiving Holiday. (I call it BED Friday, because I’ll skip shopping for a nap ANY DAY, and especially today!)

DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING BRIGHT IDEAS!

1. If the stuffing didn’t go over well, lace it with Prozac, reheat, sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve warm.

2. Dry turkey this year? No problem. Toast it in the oven, and use it for packing material when you send out your Christmas packages.

3. I’ve heard that leftover turkey sandwiches go down much better with 2 glasses of hard apple cider. Who knew?

4. If you don’t think YAMS are yummy, add more brown sugar. Still no good? Add mini marshmallows. It’s perfectly legit. What’s not to like?

5. Roll unwanted mashed potatoes into baseball shapes, freeze, and throw them at people in those long Black Friday holiday shopping lines. It spices things up. (Personally, I wouldn’t know. I’m in bed on Black Friday more than I shop, but good luck!)

6. If the cable goes out for 3 days, try not to panic. [I've said this to myself about 83 times in the last two days.] Just think of it as a way to use up the extra Benadryl in your mom’s house. Broken cable brings on childhood congestion, right?

7. In a pinch, cranberry sauce makes great fake blood. Put 1-2 cups in the bathtub, add warm water, get in, and just start screaming your head off until someone finds you. (It’s sort of an April Fools meets Halloween meets Turkey Feast Day type of gag, to kick off the winter holiday prank season.) Let me know how it works out for you, k?

Can you think of any holiday ideas?

January Epiphanies cont.

Many of us don’t brave the cold in January and February to see the constellations.

In January, many people throughout the world celebrate the Visitation of the Magi, who followed a bright star to find the Christ Child. This extends the Christmas Season celebration.

Perhaps we could be more mindful of our surroundings, our place in the universe, and other January Epiphanies if we bundled up at least once during January or February, grabbed a blanket and some hot chocolate, coffee, or Irish coffee, and went out for 10-15 minutes of thoughtful star gazing on a clear night.

That is my challenge to you. But, why not make it a group venture, family activity, or a party? Maybe exchange home made presents or goodies, inexpensive but thoughtful gifts, or white elephant surprises, to Magi it up a bit. If you’d like to include related Scripture readings for your time, try Isaiah 60:3 and Matthew 2:1-12.

Below is a fantastic recipe for slow cooker hot chocolate, plus an image of a star map for January and February–for the Northern Hemisphere, (it’s most accurate during 9-10p.m. Eastern Standard Time.) For Southern Hemisphere, click here. Face in the proper direction, and find the star patterns from the map. Show or teach them to your friends, family, children, or youth group.

And please remember: If it’s cold, dress in layers, a hat, gloves, and warm coat.

Please ~ Let me know how it goes, okay?

Hot Chocolate Ingredients

• 2 cups whipping cream
• 6 cups milk, (or 4 cups milk and 2 cups half and half)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips
• Garnish:
• Whipped cream 
• (other options) Cinnamon, Coconut flakes, Sprinkles, marshmallows, marshmallow fluff, Candy canes

Directions

1. Stir together the whipping cream, milk, vanilla, and chocolate chips in a slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until mixture is hot and chocolate chips are melted. Stir again before serving. Garnish with whipped cream or other  garnish, as desired.

If you try this recipe, use this map, or have a good time star gazing soon, I’d LOVE to hear about it. Who says the holidays are over?

Nah!

(Click here for another January Northern Hemisphere sky map resource)

Star Map for Northern Hemisphere (Jan & Feb)

Does Frosty look nervous to you?

He seemed reluctant to pose for a picture…Something about needing a break from frightened children, and a union contract infringement… I don’t know exactly.

Although you can’t see it in this shot, I had to hold a curling iron to his back as a convincer.

Hello Schuylkill News readers. Thank you for coming!

Now we can continue a conversation I broached at the beginning of January. (see more below)

If you haven’t read the latest (free) issue of Schuylkill-News, click here to find distribution locations, or do a search for “Schuylkill-News,” on this facebook link, to see the full layout.
 

On this “January Epiphanies” theme, let’s first reflect for a moment on the quote seen in the article:

It’s July 25th. Christmas day is exactly 6 months behind us. It seems far away from my mind now. Time has shot by, but the happenings of the day are sort of fuzzy. Every year I hear people say, “I wish the season of Christmas spirit lasted all year.” Or, maybe they even claim it does in their hearts. It does in some ways for me, but the greater reality is that I go from season to season, and at different times certain things stand out as more special. In the summer, I enjoy the outdoors more probably for the simple reason that I spend more time outdoors because of good weather. In the winter, I appreciate my close ties with immediate family and working on my interior life in substantial ways that play out in the months that follow the hard work of that time.

Defining what is the Christmas spirit can be slippery, because each person may hold a bit of a different emphasis. The gift of the Incarnation is celebrated that day, and the love, goodwill, grace, and peace of that event can inspire us to live that out toward, God, others, and hopefully ourselves.

What is the “Christmas Spirit” to you? What of it can play out in July?

What one (or more) thing/s will you do to fill your life with this spirit this weekend?

Let’s try a concerted effort at a Christmas in July experiment for the next day or so, and see what happens.

Thanks for coming by.