The start of a new year - "there are deeds of compassion and courage that will never be done unless you do them"

Happy New Year to all!  For the past two months, I've been trying to post everyday, but for the New Year, I am going to scale back and not post every day.  I am just as impacted by the news as everyone else and quite frankly, I was exhausted by the end of December.  And it wasn't just from having to shovel snow everyday for the past week.  This week we seem to be shoveling a lot of misinformation and a fabricated video to project a one-sided message favorable to those who want to continue to promote hatred and division in our great state.  On the positive side, at least our home state newspaper is calling it out for what it is, fabricated misinformation.  

For January, I'm going to focus on recommended book titles.  I shared a form in a previous post for readers to submit suggestions and I have had a few responses, so I will be using those in future posts.  I won't share my resolutions, wishes, or goals for 2026, other than my hope that somehow we can find ways to be kinder to each other.

What I will share is two of my morning inspirational readings and close with a statement that was always made at the end of our weekly service at church by a former deacon:

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.”                      e.e.cummings

"O great spirit help me always to speak the truth quietly, listen with an open mind when others speak, and to remember the peace that may be found in silence."  Cherokee prayer

"Go forth in the world and know there are deeds of compassion and courage that will never be done unless you do them, and words of hope and healing that will never be spoken unless you speak them."  Deacon Barbara Mraz

Here's to hoping we have a kinder year in 2026.

 

Taking the last day of 2025 off.

 

Opening this morning's paper was enough to just admit I can't do positive today.  Not giving in to despair, just taking a day to step back, make a cup of tea and sit down with a favorite children's book for the day.  Might do two children's books today.  One before I shovel out for the umpteenth time this month and one after I shovel.  

Will regroup for 2026 tomorrow.

December 30 - National Falling Needles Family Fest Day

There is a day for just about everything.  Happy National Falling Needles Family Fest Day!  A public service reminder to take down your tree, unless you are like me and wait until January 1.  So, if not taking down your tree, maybe you are working on your resolutions for the new year.  Last year Good Housekeeping thought readers might find some good ones in their list of  65 resolutions which they claim are "achievable." However, picking 1-3 resolutions seems to be the recommendation on other web pages.  Or, you can just plan to not have any resolutions and be content just as you are.  That's resolution #16 in the Good Housekeeping list, "Be Kinder to Yourself."  That seems like a good one to keep for 2026.

Hunkering Down - Preparing for 2026 with Book Recommendations

This is today's morning scene.  The dry powdery snow was much easier to snowblow today compared to yesterday.  Yesterday, after walking Ella and then shoveling the first round of wet, messy snow, I sat down to read as is my habit on Sunday afternoons.  And then I started to think about what I could possibly write about for today's post.  Although I briefly toyed with the idea of writing about the social media phenomena this weekend of people posting photos of themselves with the statement, proud member of Radical Left Scum, it just didn't seem to be the right tone for ending 2025 and I don't think anyone should be "proud" to be called "scum."  So with three days left before the New Year begins, I thought about all the books I have read in the past year. I started to peruse my book journal, where I keep a list of books that I have finished.  In looking at the books I read, I realized I have a very eclectic reading pattern as I read self-help books,  romance novels,  mystery fiction,  and frivolous books I don't even remember reading (which is why I keep a book journal.)  I also  participated in two book groups plus there were a few recommended readings for other book discussions.  I have a friend who also provides book recommendations and almost always her recommendations provide valuable insights.  I also thought about the books I have given as gifts this year.  One of my favorite books to give as a gift was a recommendation that came during one of the lunches I hosted this past year for a group of women warriors who came together to share lunch, stories, and laughter.  Laughter is the best medicine for helping us get through this year.  But at one of the lunches, a participant recommended, The Serviceberry; Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer. This gem of a book is worth picking up and reading as one of the messages is a reflection on living not in a world of scarcity, but abundance.  The book is also about community and how to practice gratitude.  It is a short read, but it is one that stays with you.

Another book that I read as a result of a book group recommendation was Active Hope; How to Face the Mess We're in with Unexpected Resilience & Creative Power by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone.  Since hope is something we are all clinging to right now, the authors provide guidance on how to develop an active practice to build a coping mechanism.  This was one of my book discussion groups and the group still meets regularly once a month to discuss one topic to focus on and use the practices recommended by the authors to  work through that one particular issue.

Those were just two of the books this year,  I have a lot more I could share.  Right now I am reading Jane Goodall's book, Hope, but I'm not done with it, so too soon to comment.  However,  I decided this would be a good question to ask those of you who visit this blog and a way to prepare for January 2026 blog posts.  

What book did you read in 2025 that you would recommend for others?  

Either because it inspired you, or entertained you or provided hope or somehow made an impact on your life.  Even if it was just a good escape read, let me know.  I have created a form and if you want to submit a title and a few words about why you are recommending it, I promise to share in future posts in January, but I won't share any individual names.  So please give it some thought.  I haven't limited the form to just one response, so you can enter as many times as you like.  Starting in January, I'll share responses and I am fairly certain that you will not disappoint me!  Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Walking on Ice - Facing our Fears

When the temps are above freezing, I take Ella over to Lake Como so we can walk the entire loop, a 1.6 mile walk.  With Ella, that means closer to an hour of outdoor time because she has to do a forensic inspection every two feet.  But it gets her outdoors, I get in a good long walk so it is mutually beneficial, and most importantly, the restrooms are open and available for outdoor walkers.  During our walk on Friday, I noticed four people on the frozen lake.  Since there are multiple signs posted around the lake warning "thin ice" all I could think of was Harry in "It's a Wonderful Life" falling through the ice.  When I arrived the four individuals were on the farthest side of the lake, but as I continued our walk, they crossed the entire lake coming toward my direction and I could see and hear, they were children.  They weren't ice skating, but they were pulling a sled.  Ice fishing perhaps?  What I do know is that they were fearless in terms of walking across the lake.  In my advanced years walking on any kind of ice is a challenge, but watching them enjoying their outdoor adventure, I started to consider when exactly do we start to develop fears related to things children do naturally and as adults we become hesitant and fearful?  In my case, it has more to do with falling and once we start the ice/thaw/ice pattern we are in, I strap on my ice cleats when walking Ella.  I didn't need them to walk about Lake Como because the path was clear.  But walking in my neighborhood, especially in the morning when it is still dark,  I don't leave home without my ice cleats.  Since the children continued walking after they left the lake on into the neighborhood, I have to assume they lived close by, but I wondered do their parents ever caution them?  Children don't weigh as much as an adult, but still the ice was showing evidence of thawing in spots.  Bottom line is that despite my concerns for their safety, they were all completely safe.  It made me wish that they could remain fearless regarding many of the perceived fears too many young adults now experience. I know anxiety is a real issue among younger people as well as adults.  In this year where we have observed so many unsettling events,   I will hope you are able to find ways to embrace a fearlessness in the new year that many children have naturally.  And I will close with a quote from one of my favorite books:

"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
— A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)

 

December is a time to take in the beauty of winter

A few days ago, I took Ella for a walk at Minnehaha Park.  I love to see the Minnehaha Falls in their winter glory.  What you can't see in this photo is that in the very center above the frozen falls the creek is still gurgling and not yet frozen in mid air.

I have a long term interest in the freezing of Minnehaha Falls because of my first job in Minnesota. When I came to Minneapolis in the fall of 1976, I secured a student employment position in the Municipal Information Library located in the bell tower of City Hall.  One of my jobs was to help organize the boxes of archives from the city that were being sorted by the two amazing librarians I had the privilege of working with as I started my first year of library school.  I remember very well during my first fall that I was working with a box of photos and there were some fantastic images of Minnehaha Falls in black and white taken in winter and they were just beautiful.  Ansel Adams quality of photography.  If I had had a cell phone in those days, I would have taken a photo.  Being new to Minnesota, I had yet to experience the freezing of the Mississippi River, but my first winter was definitely one of the coldest on record and the images were just a preparation for what I was to eventually experience.  The MIL closed in 2003, but the materials were preserved by the Minneapolis Public Library, now part of Hennepin Country Library.  As many photographic materials have been digitized, I did a search in the Minnesota Digital Library, and while I can't verify this photo is from the collection I was working with, it is ironic that the photographer's last name is also Adams.  The photo that I remember was a closeup photo of the falls and it just captured perfectly the beauty of the frozen falls.  

During this winter, may you be able to slow down, take time to notice the small things around you, and maybe just find that special feeling of wonder in the winter landscape. 

 

December is a time for Gratitude

I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has stopped by to read my words.  I know my musings have been viewed over 1,000 times, at least if the stats are accurate. I know in the social media world, that's not very many, but I don't need a large audience.   And it is most likely the same readers coming back so that is a good sign.  If I have made a difference for just one reader, that makes it worthwhile to me.   I have heard back from a few folks sending words of encouragement, and I thank them very much.  This has been an interesting experiment because unlike Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or BlueSky, there have been very few comments and the comments I get are anonymous.  So unless someone lets me know who they are when they submit a comment, I don't know who the author of the comment is.  Thus, writing such as this, in a vacuum without a significant amount of  feedback, is somewhat different for me because I don't really know what resonates and what does not.   For example, I know on Facebook if I post something not political, I get more views than if I post something that is political.  However, the fact that there have been over 1,000 views for this blog is somewhat encouraging, I guess, because it has to be the same people coming back.  So I must be doing something right!  (I hope.) I regret that I have to keep a bit of control over the comments because there are too many folks in the world who seem to get pleasure from posting messages that aren't particularly kind. So I restrict commentary to those comments I can approve.   And so far, all the comments have been approved.  I also know I am using "old" technology, but I don't need to post on SubStack. This is the same technology I used back in the days when I was working and posting work-related notes and it still seems to be working. So far at least.  And it doesn't use AI.  And that to me, is a good thing.  Some day, in a future post, we can explore the world of AI, or not.

Today's post is the last card for the season, but there is still a partial week of December.  Today is also the start of Kwanza.  You can find family friendly celebrations in the Twin Cities here and the list of seven principles for Kwanza.  And the last holiday of December will be New Year's Eve.

As we close out the year, in the week we have left, I hope you have something to be grateful for in your life right now.  I especially hope the holidays in December provided some much needed joy.  As we leave December and look ahead to January and resolutions for the new year, I'll have to spend a bit of time pondering how best to continue this experiment.  As always, if you have comments or suggestions, I would welcome any and all!  In the meantime, may you continue to enjoy all that December has to offer us and may you find yourself surrounded by the beauty of winter.  And if you are looking for ways to practice gratitude, check out Grateful Living.

"By practicing gratitude, we can actually wire our brains

 to help us build resilience." 

Christina Costa