HOWDY  - I’m filling in for Stacey Kayne today. Hope you all don’t mind!

At the end of the year, millions of people across the world make resolutions for the upcoming year so I thought it’d be fun to take a look at New Year’s Resolutions.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about New Year’s Resolutions: 

A New Year’s Resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advant

That being said, I found some sound advice for keeping your resolutions.  See if they work for you.

The Five Stages That Lead to Successful Resolutions

Pre-contemplation: The desire to change is vague. This is a good time to seek information and ask some important questions such as, “What risks am I running by going along just as I have been?”

Contemplation: Weigh the benefits of change. This is a time to get specific, to monitor behavior. For example, keep a record of how much you eat, drink, spend, etc.

Preparation: Begin making small changes. For example, you might give up some TV time and redirect your energy. Now’s the time to tell family and friends that the leopard is about to change his spots. This is the time to make a firm commitment.

The Action: Banish and sacrifice vices while embracing and committing to new virtues. At this point, give yourself all the help and support you can by creating a sense of accountability to others. Encourage family and friends to prod, provoke and push you.

Maintenance: This is the challenging part. You’re finished with your old habit and into your new life. It is a lot easier to maintain your resolution than it is to regain it. Do your self a monumental favor and stay focused on WHY you set this resolution in the first place!

Those who stay the course and fulfill their resolutions share these characteristics:

1. They believe in their ability to change.
2. They did not indulge in self-blame or excuse making.
3. They avoid wishful thinking and concentrate on results.
4. They understand their motivators and reasons why the resolution is important.    

Here’s the Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions? How many are on your list?

   Find a Better Job

 Learn Something New

Volunteer to Help Others

Lose Weight and Get in Shape

Reduce Your Debt

Stick to a Budget

Get Organized

HERE’S MY LIST — IT’S SHORT BUT ALL THINGS I HOPE TO ACHIEVE THIS YEAR

Exercise More  (I do really try)

Read More  (My fondest wish -I miss reading)

Keep One Step Ahead of my Deadlines  (Otherwise life gets crazy))

Spend More Time Away from the Computer  (Which sort of opposes the above resolution)

SO WHAT ARE YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS?  WHICH ONES ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU?  I HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

HAPPY TRAILS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY READING! 

I did my best for you.  Finding pics and info about this flick is nigh on impossible!

Adam Ruebin Beach is a Canadian actor of Saulteaux descent. He grew up with his two brothers on the Dog Creek Indian Reserve until the age of 8. He is best known for his role in the movie Smoke Signals, directed by Chris Eyre, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Following the death of both his mother and father within a short period of time, Adam moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he became involved in theatre and in the Black Sabbath cover band Lethic. After landing a part in the film Lost in the Barrens with Graham Greene, he decided to pursue acting as a career.  You remember him from HBO’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Enjoy!

You already know Lonesome Dove is one of my all-time favorite movies.  Even though Dead Man’s Walk didn’t awe me in the same way, I haven’t been as excited about a mini-series or a movie release in a long time as I am about the upcoming Comanche Moon.  Val Kilmer, Steve Zahn, Rachel Griffiths, Karl Urban, Linda Cardellini, and Wes Studi star in this new six-hour mini-series based on the book by Larry McMurtry.  It’s the final chapter in the “Lonesome Dove” saga to be made into a movie, and will be broadcast Sunday, Jan. 13, Tuesday, Jan. 15 and Wednesday, Jan. 16 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT, each night) on the CBS Television Network.  To help you get the time line straight in your head: Chronologically, this story takes place after Dead Man’s Walk, and before Lonesome Dove, and is of course taken from the book by Larry McMurtry.

Steve Zahn realized he had some big shoes to fill when he was cast as Gus McCrae, who was previously played by Robert Duvall. “Duvall played this incredible character; it was almost as if you were playing Teddy Roosevelt,” Zahn says.

ER fans will recognize Clara, as Linda Cardellini, better known to us as “Sam” on the hospital set.  Talk about some big shoes to fill! Angelica Houston played Gus’s love in Lonesome Dove and a very young Jennifer Garner was cast in Dead Man’s Walk.

Comanche Moon follows Texas Rangers Augustus “Gus” McCrae (Zahn) and Woodrow F. Call (Urban), now in their middle years, as they continue to deal with the ever-increasing tensions of adult life: Gus with his great love, Clara Forsythe (Cardellini), and Call with Maggie Tilton (Banks), the young prostitute who loves him and bears him his son, Newt (Joseph Castanon). Val Kilmer plays Captain Inish Scull, a Yankee aristocrat and hero of the recently concluded Mexican War. Rachel Griffiths plays Inez Scull, the Captain’s sexy wife who doesn’t hesitate to fill her time with other men when he’s away from home. Wes Studi plays Comanche Chief Buffalo Hump.

Two proud but very different men, McCrae and Call enlist with a Ranger troop in pursuit of three outlaws: Buffalo Hump, the great Comanche war chief; Kicking Wolf (Jonathon Joss), the celebrated Comanche horse thief; and Ahumado (Sal Lopez), a deadly Mexican bandit king with a penchant for torture. Assisting the Rangers in their wild chase is the renowned Kickapoo tracker Famous Shoes (David Midthunder). They are joined by their comrades-in-arms, Deets (Keith Robinson), Jake Spoon (Ryan Merriman) and Pea Eye Parker (Troy Baker), in the bitter struggle to protect an advancing western frontier against the defiant Comanches who are determined to defend their territory and their way of life. The Rangers also encounter Buffalo Hump’s violent outcast son, Blue Duck (Adam Beach).  

I read the blog of a hairstylist who worked on the set in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conditions were tough, with wind storms every afternoon and altitude issues. The team had to turn young rodeo riders with crew cuts into 1880s Native Americans.  They did so with wigs, glue, tape and pins.  Black hairspray was needed to cover the highlights of the women. The stylists learned to make scalp locks - braids that hang from the crown of a man’s head. Ten hair stylists and ten to fifteen make up artists worked on hundreds of cast extras in a tent on the side of a mountain. Make up and hairspray billowed out the sides of the tent.  Wish I could see something like that one of these days.  Behind the scenes are my favorite parts of DVDs. 

An article by Wolf Schneider in Cowboys and Indians Magazine says: “By all accounts, the most dramatic sequence in the six-hour miniseries Comanche Moon is going to occur at the end of Night One as more than a hundred Comanche Indians thunder down the plains toward Austin on horseback, hell-bent on revenge. The scene will continue on Night Two with the warriors raiding the Texas town. In real life, many of the Indian riders took buses down from Montana to New Mexico to gallop into the battle bareback with mere rope bridles.”

“It was beautiful and terrifying,” says executive producer and co-screenwriter Diana Ossana. “It’s going to be very powerful—coming over the ridge and into town. And then there’s this great sequence where they’re riding out of town after they’ve captured all the horses. It’s really like nothing you’ve ever seen. The men painted themselves and their horses, and it was part of their getting into the moment and feeling their power.”

With scenes like that, Val Kilmer couldn’t resist signing on. He hadn’t done network television before, although he has appeared on HBO’s Entourage and a Gore Vidal-scripted Western for Turner.  One draw of this particular prequel may have been the fact that it was filmed so close to Kilmer’s property in Pecos, New Mexico, that he could arrange for some of the scenes to be shot on his ranch.

Director Simon Wincer and producer Dyson Lovell, who directed and produced Lonesome Dove respectively, served in those roles on Comanche Moon.

CLICK ON THUMBNAIL PHOTOS TO SEE FULL SIZE 

SET YOUR TiVo!  CBS January 13 - 15 - 16

Hello Darlings! I have a big secret that I’m dying to tell, but you’ll have to hold onto your bloomers until Saturday because I’m busier than Santa packing his sleigh. We’ve got to get this place gussied up and ready for ol’ St. Nick. The Fillies are busy trimmin’ the tree, putting up garland, and stringin’ lights. When I can keep ‘em out of the eggnog, that is! I swear it’s a chore! Come back Saturday and I’ll share the surprise. Don’t forget now, you hear.

While writing my Christmas novella, McCord’s Destiny, in Western Winter Wonderland, I had to research how the military used homing pigeons to communicate on the frontier.  And since this was a Christmas story, I needed to know how the military–and civilians–celebrated the holiday as well.

That digging for information led me to a fascinating little book which I managed to snag off Amazon (a used copy that, lo and behold, was being sold by a library right here in my hometown.  Who knew?  But I digress.)  A Frontier Army Christmas quickly became one of my favorite research books of all time. 

The book gives a very real glimpse into the lives of the men and women who tried hard to celebrate Christmas not only for themselves, but for their children.  Hundreds of miles away from home and families, stationed in forts out in the middle of nowhere, these hardy souls turned touchingly creative and fashioned special memories never to be forgotten.

Perhaps Elizabeth Custer, her husband the ill-fated general, said it best: 

“Sometimes I think our Christmas on the frontier was a greater event to us than to anyone in the states.  We all had to do so much to make it a success.”

One officer’s wife described her Christmas meal, which proved to be a success due to the efforts of her mailman at Fort Abraham Lincoln in Dakota Territory:

“The refreshments would be sandwiches, cake and candy, lemonade made from the usual citric acid crystals, and of course, ice cream evolved from condensed milk, whipped-up gelatine and the whites of eggs.  The eggs, by the way, wrapped in cotton were brought from Bismarck by the mailman, who, to keep such precious articles from freezing, always carried them inside his buckskin shirt, against his bare breast.”

What a guy, eh?

Faced with frigid temperatures that would freeze thermometers, a lack of trees for decorating, an absence of shops to buy holiday goods, and being miles from a railroad or even a semblance of civilization, commanding officers–and their wives–saw to it the holiday was celebrated, even in the simplest of fashion.   Unused toys were recycled and given to other children to enjoy.  In one instance, a tree was built of spliced tree branches and wire, then plunked upright into a soap box.  Songs were song; treats found; music played.

In other forts, however, more amenities could be found.  Each child was treated the same–from the offspring of the laundress to the lowly soldier on up to the top garrison officer.  A collection would be taken up, and the ladies would see to the details.  On Christmas Eve, even Santa came, and every child thrilled to his gifts–a store-bought toy, an apple and orange, a few pieces of candy, popcorn.

We’ve come a long way, baby.

As I make list after list and check them twice–yeesh, the gifts seem never-ending, far too complicated.  And expensive!  The grocery bill is staggering.  Time is all but non-existent.Have we created a holiday that has gone way overboard?  Has the commercialism squelched the true meaning of Christmas?  Have we been so immersed in buy, buy, buy and do, do, do that we’ve forgotten the simplicity of Christmases past?

No doubt about it.

Yet it remains my favorite time of year.  The lights, the garlands, the music are a delight to behold.  I’m looking forward to those special cookies, festive drinks, and yummy hors d’oevres that I eat only at this time of year.  It’ll be great fun to see my family together yet again–all 44 of us–the one time of year when we can manage it.   We’ll have five straight nights of family get-togethers–dinners, holiday walks, games and laughter.  Then everyone heads home and life returns to normal.

Yep, we’ve come a long way from those starkly simple Christmases.  And maybe that’s not such a bad thing, after all.

Do you agree?  Let us know your thoughts and experiences. Merry Christmas, dear friends! 

At my age, it’s fair to say I’ve seen quite a few Christmases. One year stands out in particular. I was about six years old. My daddy was in an explosion and had third degree burns on his face and upper body so that Christmas he was in the hospital. My mother stayed nights at the hospital with him. My older sister who was married kept me and my younger sister. I was terrified that my daddy might die and I missed my mother. When I went to bed on Christmas Eve I was full of worry and dread. Coupled with everything else I was afraid that Santa would forget me or that he couldn’t get into the house because the door would be locked. We had no chimney so the door was the only way in. Sometime during the night, my mama came home and put out the Santa gifts. I felt so warm and loved the next morning when I woke up and saw that not only had Santa come but my mother was there too. It was one of the best feelings. My daddy eventually recovered and lived to age 69.

We had many more Christmas’s but that was one I remembered most vividly.  I don’t remember ever writing a letter to Santa, but I seem to remember calling the North Pole. I was shaking like a leaf to think I was calling him on the phone and that he’d actually talk to me. So funny. 

Children can be so honest and direct. They sometimes infuse simplicity into the complications of an adult world. I always love to read their letters to Santa. Some touch me deeply and make my heart ache and some make me howl with laughter. I hope you get a kick out of a few I picked out. 

Dear Santa, I am so excited about you coming to our house this year. I think I have been a good girl this year. I hope you bring me a Barbie. I also hope you bring my daddy home for Christmas. He is in the Air Force and he is off fighting the bad people that hurt our Country. It would be very nice to have him home for Christmas. I will leave you milk and cookies again this year because you seem to really like my mommies cookies. I hope you stay warm and safe on Christmas Eve.    Your friend, Megan 

Dear Santa, I heard that Rudolf shoots lasers out of his nose to protect the North Pole. Is it true?  – Michael age 9 

Thank you for the remote control car last year even though it broke the day after. I know you tried and that’s what counts.  —Alex age 8  Dear Santa, please send a message to my sister in heaven that I love her very much and wish her a happy Christmas.  —John 

(This little boy reminds me of my worries that Christmas long ago.)Dear Santa, I love you very much. Please use the front door we do not have a chimney. Don’t forget my daddy gave you the key when I was born.  —Thomas  Dear Santa, I’ve been a really good girl. I’m going to have a new baby brother in March so please watch over him until he gets born.  —Andee 

Dear Santa, please put diapers on the reindeer this year so my dad won’t have to sweep poop off the roof. And I’d like if you leave me some toys but make sure no girl stuff.      —Marcus  Dear Santa, PLEASE!! Do not bring me clothes for Christmas. I want fun things. 

Dear Santa, I’m sooooo sorry for being mean to my little brother. I bet you never had to put up with that. I’m not saying I don’t love him. He just really gets on my nerves. Well, I hope you have a great Christmas and I hope I’m still on your good list.  —Emilee 

And finally — Dear Santa, it’s hard in fifth grade. Maybe you could make my teacher give us no homework for a whole long month. Thank you.  —Kellie 

This is my last blog until January and I want to thank all of you who made P&P’s first year a resounding success. I wish everyone a very heartfelt Christmas. Do you have a special memory of Christmas that you’d like to share? Or maybe a letter you or your children might’ve written to Santa?

We had the first frost in Memphis this morning. It’s as close as we usually get to snow. It’s naught but a thin layer of white, but at least we have some sign of winter.

I know that you in the northeast are being blasted with snow, a little too much snow, but down here we yearn for it.

Still my little layer of frost reminds me that Christmas is right around the corner.

Christmas never creeps up. It comes faster and faster every year, crashing down on me at deadline time. Always at deadline time.

I look at the calendar, and it’s a month away. Plenty of time, I think, and then it’s here faster than the time it takes me to blink. And now it’s only a week away. Doesn’t seem possible.

I love Christmas. Always have. Always will. I usually start the preparation in September with the first of the many craft fairs in the south. Probably eighty percent of my gifts come from those fairs. There is always something unique and absolutely perfect for people on my list.

Aha, I traditionally think. Christmas will be easy this year. Gifts are mostly done, and I’ll take my time doing everything else.

And then it’s here! Faster than I thought. Parcels to be sent, but then I forgot something for that particular person. And now as I look at my cache of craft fair booty, it doesn’t look as great as when I purchased most of the items. Maybe something else . . .

Decorations? Where did I put them last year? Why can’t I find my collection of the minature Santas in my shamefully crowded attic. The tree? Going to pick it up in my dad’s big car. According to plan, I go out outside and the car’s battery is dead. Six hours later, the battery is replaced but some kind of cluster exploded inside the dash, and the part is obsolete. Frantically call friend to help out. She arrives, but my favorite tree lot is closed and we have to search for another.

So much for best laid plans.

I finish decorating inside about ten minutes before a party for my romance writers chapter. Then the party is over, and the smell of pine and cinnamon still wafts hover the house. Christmas music, particularly that from Celtic Women, follow me from room to room. Pounds and pounds of pecans are toasting in butter in the oven. They go in tins to be sent to special friends. They have to be in the mail today.

And still so much to do. I’m late with cards but that’s typical. My one brightly lit angel outside needs some companions. She looks lonely, and I have no time to find some. I did the shopping for myself, but now I have to do it for my bed-ridden Mom.

Is Christmas really only days away? How did that happen?

But since I’m fitting Christmas in-between writing fifteen pages (hopefully more) a day, I’m going to ask you to do most of the blog work this time. And a grateful me will send one of my westerns to two of those who reply.

What is your favorite thing about Christmas? Color? Music? Finding the right gift? Or the smiles and good will that seem to greet you everywhere?

What is your favorite Christmas song?

And how do you do your Christmas shopping? Months ahead? Weeks ahead? Days ahead? Christmas Eve?

In the meantime, let me wish you all a very lovely and happy holiday season.

Congratulations to the two winners who will receive signed copies of Joyce’s books!

Winner #1 is bluecat.  Bluecat, you are getting Joyce’s two 2005 releases, WALKS IN SHADOW and WRITTEN ON THE WIND, both now out of stock.

Winner #2 is Eva S.  Eva, you will receive a copy of TO THE EDGE OF THE STARS!

Both of you - please email Joyce at jhenderson2@comcast.net with your address and she will send out your books right away!

Thanks to all who blogged this weekend, and a special thanks to Joyce for a terrific topic and the opportunity to get to know her better.  

I’m thrilled to be here on Petticoat & Pistols. The fillies milling around in this corral are some of my favorite writers. J

For those who don’t know me or my work, I wrote for 20 years prior to first publication in 2005. You can get a little insight into me if you go to my web site, which I constructed myself, ugh, and keep up after a fashion, www.joycehendersonauthor.com That said, what comes to mind out of my long years of experience to talk about here? Family, I guess, and some of the stories behind why I write Historical Native American Westerns. My maternal great-grandparents migrated to Central Texas in 1900, from Tennessee and Georgia.

Thanks for stopping by today. It was fun learning about your favorite charities and I’ll be donating $40.00  to Operation Gratitude. 

From the drawing I held in my husband’s very own cowboy hat, I picked these two winners. Congratulations:

Julie

Jennifer Y

Please contact me at charlenesands@hotmail.com 

Let me know which one of these books you’d like to receive and send along your full name and address. Happy Reading!!