Stop, look, listen...

Dear Diary: I have had enough! Enough holiday chatter to last me a lifetime. Enough already! (That's what my dog told me today while I was trying to get a good shot of her by the Christmas tree, in her new holiday sweater).

I am revisiting some photos of mine of a recent camping trip the the Washington coast, near the town of Ocean Shores. I can hear the surf, the birds, smell the brine, the damp, the muck...it's glorious!

Remember to stop, look and listen...

I wish everyone a very warm and peaceful and quiet holiday, whatever that holiday may be. Be grateful, be in the moment. Sit by a lake, or on a beach, or by a river....as a gift to yourself.

I am so blessed...

Right now (this is the closest time I will ever get to "tweeting")...right at this very moment, I am in my home by myself, on Christmas Eve, doing just what I love to do. Wrapping gifts (O.K., don't really love that too much), enjoying serenity and silence, and watching one of my fave Holiday movies, "It's a Wonderful Life". I feel just like George Bailey at the end of the film... so very thankful for everything and everyone in my life. My will to create is supported in so many ways.

"I have enough, I do enough, I am enough."

I am so thankful for friends, family, my health and even the wonderful people I have met in this crazy blogging world. A huge thank you to all the students and 'seekers' I have had to privilege to teach and share myself with this year. I do hope you all get to have even one moment of serenity and silence so that you may contemplate your many blessings and thank the people who support you and your creative endeavors...please keep peace and gratitude in your heart this year!

My Holiday Gift to you: Mom's Rum Ball Recipe

Every year, during the Holidays, I reconnect with my mom (who passed away in 1980) by cooking some of her recipes. I drag out her recipe cards and the old, tattered Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, whose time-worn pages are full of family memories and 'history'. Her notations (and mine) are written in some of the margins. There are crusted remains of  past cooking adventures on some of the pages. That cookbook is probably older than I am. Here is one of my mom's own recipes, I hope you try it out! (Caution: limit intake of these cookies, you may need a "designated driver" after consuming too many of these).

6 cups vanilla wafers, crushed

3/4 cups  rum (more or less)–I like the strong taste of rum, you may want to use less!

6 TBSP white Karo syrup (sweetened corn syrup)

6 TBSP cocoa (unsweetened)

2–3 cups chopped walnuts

3 cups powdered sugar (more or less)

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl (hands work best!), except for the powdered sugar. Roll mixture into small balls, then roll in powdered sugar. Put into tightly sealed containers. Flavor increases with age! This recipe makes enough to share with  family and friends...Thanks mom! Love you...

For more information and history of the wonderful rum ball, visit Wickipedia.

Dia de los Muertos, oh my!

"Manos y Ojos", COPYRIGHT 2009 JonesMoore

I am just bursting with excitement! Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is happening in less than one month! This is a major holiday in Mexico, during which families celebrate their ancestors and departed loved ones. The collage shown above was based on images and my feelings about Dia de los Muertos. "Manos y Ojos" (the handwritten text in the background) means hands and eyes...with the Virgin of Guadalupe floating above.

Dia le los Muertos is one of the most profound and beautiful cultural holidays I have ever experienced. So much love and sharing happens during the festivities. The streets, homes businesses and cemeteries of Mexico are just alive with music and pageantry. Check out my photos taken during this amazing holiday in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2007!

www.flickr.com/photos/jonesmoore

and more photos here

AND here!!