Now and Here

No longer forward nor behind
I look in hope or fear;
But, grateful, take the good I find,
The best of now and here.
-John Greenleaf Whittier

Going into the Christmas giving season. I like to get a jump start on all the gift buying frenzy. By not waiting until the last minute I avoid the malls and find something a bit more personal and thoughtful. I'm thinking Etsy this year. But, I know this is easier said than done, and truthfully I go to the bookstore to buy gift cards on the 23rd. I don't get too many gifts for the kids because I don't want Christmas to be all about, "What is Santa going to get me!" Think about it, we're creating their future Christmas nostalgia now.

As a child, some of my fondest memories are the smell of the tree and placing the ornaments in just the right spot, baking lots and lots of Christmas cookies, imagining I lived in the story book pages of Tasha Tudor's Vermont country farm.

And yet the Tudor family farm was so far from my reality. We grew up in LA with the Hollywood Christmas parade and many a warm, barefoot Christmas. It was all a bit surreal now that I think of it. Gazing agape at those houses with yes, excessive but amazing decorations, flashing light displays, candycanes, snow people, and Santas galore. I don't know how to reconcile those two different Christmas visions, the white country Christmas I dreamed about or the green tinseltown one I experienced. So, today I'll share a bit of both. You can find signed Tasha Tudor books and prints at tashatudorandfamily.com, they're truly heartwarming. And, you can watch this video that, well... it's dancing Disney snowflakes on parade.