HAPPY NEW YEAR! Did you make resolutions?

Wow! It is 2011 already! HAPPY NEW YEAR to you!

First, thank you for your support in reading my ramblings here. I appreciate you very much. 🙂

I had intended to post here for Christmas and the New Year, but I got overwhelmed with life and ‘stuff’ and couldn’t fit everything in. I was busy with all the usual things, but since this is the season I fight depression I had a bit of a struggle right around Christmas. Same as last year our two youngest daughters did not get home, and our two oldest daughters didn’t come out either but met us at my dad’s in early afternoon for our combined family dinner – only ten of us this year. It was very quiet here all morning with just my husband and our daughter’s little dog. Very unusual … the first time in all our years together that it has been just the two of us for Christmas. I missed our girls.

A sad time for us was that my aunt (Dad’s sister) was dying, and she passed away December 28, her funeral being January 1. That made for a rather rough end of 2010 and beginning of 2011 for my family. Not much unlike thirteen years ago when Mum passed away December 30, her funeral being January 2. Some years I get through the ‘anniversary’ just fine, but this year was not as easy. I think much of it was that I felt sorrow for my cousins, and it brought everything back more intensely for me.

How was the Christmas season for you? How did you celebrate the ‘holidays’?

On a lighter note … much to-do is made over New Year’s resolutions. Several years ago I gave up making them officially, but each new year I plan and hope to “do better”. This time I determined to ‘go through’ my house one room at a time to ‘fine tune’ things, and I have done one room so far. I also have business goals to achieve, writing aspirations to focus on, continued publishing of Christian newsletter Valley Sunshine and members’ correspondence to answer.

Last year I did resolve to read more, which you know by the page I set up here – My “have read” book list (Dec 1’09 – Dec 31’10) – where I kept track of my progress. Since that fun thing went quite well I set up a page for this year, too. I will finish reading the books of the Bible and add to my list as many more books as I possibly can. For some I will write reviews and I plan to interview authors as well.

All these are things that interest me that I want to do. But — I have to remember not to stress myself out when I can’t keep up. Right?

How is your reading coming along? Have you been inspired to read anything you have seen mentioned here? If so, I would love to know about it. 🙂

So, have you made any New Year’s resolutions/set any goals for 2011?

I wish for you a happy, healthy, accomplished 2011.

Thanks for reading, and .. Creative Musings! 🙂

Different Thanksgiving day, same thanks giving

Here it is already a few days past Thanksgiving. Our weather has changed from a week of above normal temperatures for this time of year, to the next week’s cooler than normal temperatures for this time of year. Strange weather persists, but .. I honestly believe it is all part of Earth’s natural cycle. Just look back in history. Still, no matter the varied opinions on that, we have much for which to be thankful.

Thanksgiving here in Nova Scotia, Canada, was a windy but colourful day. The leaves have changed colour and many that have let go of their tree’s branches are now either blowing in the breezes or are already part of the Designer‘s carpet covering the ground. Very pretty.

I have been asked why is our Thanksgiving earlier than USA’s? Well, our harvest comes a little earlier due to the fact that we are further north.

In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October to give thanks for a successful harvest, but was first started in 1578 as a thanks for surviving the long journey from England. In 1621, settlers in what is now the USA celebrated a bountiful harvest with the Wampanoag Indians who helped them survive. It now is celebrated the fourth Thursday of November in remembrance of those Pilgrims who settled the ‘new world.’

My family always has a big dinner on the Sunday, as do many families, even though our actual Thanksgiving Day is on Monday. It is a day we spend together (after church for some of us) enjoying the produce of our gardens and a beautifully cooked turkey. And yes, we eat too much. But who can resist all those wonderful veggies and the selection of pies? Yum!

God has made ample provision for us in our two nations. We have so much for which to be thankful.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His name. – Psalm 100:4

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? Do you observe any traditions at this time of year?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Customer service worth talking about

Just a quick post to tell you about some good customer service I experienced today.

I have an online account with Chapters.Indigo … (Coles bookstore is a few miles from where I live. Same thing.) I recorded birthdays on my account page and they send me reminders with a percentage off coupon against purchase of a book. I try to use them but don’t always. Yesterday I was pleased to receive the reminder as there is a book I want to buy, but even though it said the coupon was attached – it wasn’t!

Now, I appreciate those coupons. I like books. And I like to buy books as gifts. So, I sent Chapters.Indigo an email to inform them of the discrepancy. A few hours later I received an apology, there was a technical glitch, and if I set up another birthday reminder they will resend. I did that.

This morning I received a new email from them saying the coupon was included – again it wasn’t! So, I sent them another email simply saying sorry but the coupon is still not there. A few hours later here is part of the reply that came — “Due to technical difficulties, our coupon generation was turned off during a recent upgrade to our warehouses. We are unable to re-issue a new coupon, and we apologize for the inconvenience.” Then they kindly informed me that they had deposited a credit into my online account to replace the coupon!
Now that is good business practice, and Chapters.Indigo is a company that has my business!

It is wonderful to be treated well, don’t you think? Customer satisfaction can go a long way.
Do you have any such uplifting tales to tell?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Remember the Toni home perm?

Because Laura (http://lauraabest.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/is-every-child-an-artist/ ) requested this in comments, and because one good home perm deserves another … I relented and dug out my school photo from my very first year in school. Yes, Mum used to give me Toni’s … home perms … and sometimes they were okay, other times they seemed too curly for my liking. Now I wouldn’t mind having more curls but natural wave is acceptable.

I was a very shy little girl, so I don’t recall how the photographer ever got me to smile unafraid for that first year’s photo session.

Anyway, do you have any such tales from your ‘long ago’?

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂

Choices and computers

It has been five weeks since my last post! In April, my computer did the closest thing to a crash without it being a complete one; I’m still getting it back in order. It was disappointing to lose some things, mostly writing contacts and information. The upside of this computer crisis is that having to reload programs has given me the newest updated ones, and introduction to some great new-to-me programs.

Free advice regarding anti-virus programs: First, BUY one! Second, ONLY use a free one to test it using their limited time free trial, then buy it if you like it. I learned the hard way that free ones do not have enough of the necessary ingredients to protect your computer, regardless of what you think.

I had been working on a story I’d written for children, and revising it in preparation for submission to a magazine. With the ‘crash’, once I found my story again it would be a rush job to get it sent by the April 30 deadline. After all that effort I made the decision to set it aside. Maybe one day it will go somewhere and even be accepted. Now, in fact, I am not sure what I am supposed to do about my writing. Does it sound as if some discouragement has sneaked into the picture?

Do you ever get into the place of not being sure what you really are supposed to be doing? I remind myself of Jonah in the Bible. Remember him? God told him what He was to do, Jonah didn’t agree and ran the opposite way, only to be hauled up short. You know the story; he came around eventually. Now, I’m not saying I deliberately said no to God, but I may have wandered off on my own brilliant tangents instead of following closely to His plan. Not that my choices are/were bad ones, they just may not be the right ones or God’s best for me.

My business website is under scrutiny now, too; I’m considering revising my business goals.

Maybe it’s because Spring is here in Nova Scotia – or maybe I am getting wiser?? hmmm

What do you think? What is happening in your life? Do you ever go through this kind of thing, and if so .. what have you learned from it? Tell me about it!

Thanks for reading, and … Creative Musings! 🙂