Spring is definitely in the air and on the ground with green grasses coming back to life and vibrant flowers bursting through. The orchards around my place are gorgeous with miles of trees in full bloom with pink and white blossoms.  The colors of spring brings Easter eggs to mind, which are a symbol of new life, fertility and rebirth. The tradition of painting hard boiled eggs in the spring dates back to the Saxons, who regarded the egg as proof of the renewal of life, used eggs in festivals dedicated to Eastre, the goddess of fertility. Easter wasn't widley practiced in the US until after the Civil War. Churches and commmunities were moving on with a rebirth of their nation and Easter parades were held, and I've read that egg decorating was a tradition introduced by German immigrants. There are many other decorating techniques and numerous traditions of giving them as a token of friendship, love or good wishes. In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, shed on the Cross, and the hard shell of the egg symbolized the sealed Tomb of Christ — the cracking of which symbolized His resurrection from the dead. Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine. A batik (wax resist) process is used to create intricate, brilliantly colored eggs, the best-known of which is the Ukrainian pysanka and the Polish pisanka. I loved dying eggs as a kid. Though, compared to the coloring kits available today, ours was pretty basic. Six cups of vinegar, six colored tablets, one clear wax crayon we'd all fight over, along with the one egg dipper ;-)   My boys got far more creative with tie-die kits, markers, shaker bags and glitter. An option I didn't care for then and now are those plastic covers that slip on the egg and shrink in hot water--they're impossible to peel for those who like to eat the eggs. This is the first year my kids, well, young men as they are, won't be coloring eggs. The only eggs I'll be making are deviled egss. I'll be looking forward to seeing what the younger neices and nephews have created this year. Here's some cool eggs and a great way to use old wire hangers to display them ;-) Will you be coloring eggs this year? Have any decorating tips or stories to share?  

Harkening back to 18^th century Pennsylvania, and rooted in ancient lore, Groundhog Day is traditionally celebrated on February  2^nd. Perhaps the most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil of Gobbler’s Knob, was immortalized in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day featuring Bill Murray.

Legend says if the groundhog sees his shadow, we’ll have six more weeks of winter. If it’s cloudy, and the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow, we’ll have an early spring. Records have been kept since 1887, and Phil has been correct 39% of the time.  Hmmm, I wonder how that compares to our local weather man….

The groundhog is actually a marmot, also known as a woodchuck or a whistle pig. (I’ve never actually heard of a whistle pig, but if you read it on the internet it must be correct. Right?) Personally, I think a holiday based on a rodent is awesome!

I’m the morale officer at work, and this year we’re showing the Bill Murray movie, and serving pulled pork sandwiches. (Ground hog, get it?) I tried to get the chef to wear a top hat and jacket like the gentlemen in Gobbler’s Knob, but that idea kind of got shot down.  I’m planning on showing The Three Amigos for Cinco de Mayo…I wonder if she’d wear a sombrero….

If you’re not familiar with the plot of Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character is forced to relive Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney until he learns a few life lessons. Time only moves forward when he figures out that you can’t cheat death, and you can’t fake love.

So here’s my question of the day: If you could live one day over again, what day would it be? (And you can’t pick wedding days or the births of your children – too easy.) Stretch your memory a little.

Here’s one of mine….Years ago I went to Puerto Rico with a friend. We took a catamaran off the coast, and snorkeled in the shade of the boat. I was young and poor, but I figured a little splurge was in order. One of the ship’s crew had spent time in northern Nebraska, and we shared our thoughts on the difference between our cultures. When we returned, the ship’s crew refused to accept payment from us. They wouldn’t even take a tip! I can still picture the sun sparking off the water, and hear the waves lapping against the boat. I’d relive that day, and take my family with me this time.

What about you?

A wife and mother of three, Sherri's hobbies include collecting mismatched socks, discovering new ways to avoid cleaning, and standing in the middle of the room while thinking, "Why did I just come in here?" A reformed pessimist and recent hopeful romantic, Sherri has a passion for writing. Her books are fun and fast-paced, with plenty of heart and soul.

Her debut novel, Winning the Widow’s Heart, releases from Harlequin Historical Love Inspired in June. Visit her website at sherrishackelford.com, or email her at sherrishackelford@gmail.com.

 

 

I had so much fun with my last blog about Valentine’s customs and traditions that I thought it’d be enjoyable to look at some of the interesting facts surrounding the holiday. The first one I found made me feel so much better about the times I’ve bought the cute little candy “conversation hearts” on sale after the holiday, saved them, and given them to my girls and now my grandchildren the following year. I figured they are already hard, so could they get any harder?  Well, I got my answer ... they have a shelf life of five years.  Don’t know about you guys, but I do feel better about my frugality. Then I found out something that made me feel not so good about my deception. They introduce about ten new candy “conversation heart” sayings each year. Recent additions have included “Yeah Right,” “Puppy Love,” and “Call Home.” I love chocolate, but then who doesn’t?  Richard Cadbury produced the first box of Valentine chocolates in the late 1800’s. Valentine’s Day was first introduced to Japan in 1936 and has become widely popular. However, because of a translation error made by a chocolate company, only women buy Valentine chocolates for their spouses, boyfriends, or friends. In fact, it is the only day of the year many single women will reveal their crush on a man by giving him chocolate. The men don’t return the favor until White Day, a type of “answer day” to Valentine’s Day, which is on March 14th. The symbol of the ribbon, which often adorns modern-day Valentines, is rooted in the Middle Ages. When knights competed in tournaments, their sweethearts often gave them ribbons for good luck. The rose has historically been a symbol of love, and on Valentine’s Day, nearly 189 million stems of roses are sold in the U.S.  The red rose was the flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. The most popular flower is a single red rose surrounded with baby’s breath. Different colored roses have special meanings. Red means love, yellow means friendship, and pink means friendship or sweetheart. Red carnations mean admiration, white carnations mean pure love, red chrysanthemums mean love, forget-me-nots mean true love, primrose means young love, and larkspur means an open heart. In 2010, 25% of adults bought flowers or plants as a Valentine’s gift. Of these, 60% were men and 40% were women. Men mainly bought flowers for romantic reasons, while women bought flowers for their mothers and friends as well as their sweethearts. A True Love Knot, or Endless Knot of Love, was a very popular Valentine in England and the U.S. in the seventeenth century. As their name implies, these Valentines were drawn as a knot and could be read from any line and still make sense. According to Welsh tradition, a child born on Valentine’s Day would have many lovers. A calf born on Valentine’s Day, however, would be of no use for breeding purposes. If hens were to hatch eggs on Valentine’s Day, they would all turn out rotten. Some events that happened on Valentine’s Day, as well as famous people born include John Barrymore (1882), Jimmy Hoffa (1913), Jack Benny (1894), Carl Bernstein (1944), Renée Fleming (1959), and Florence Henderson (1934). Groundhog Day was originally observed on February 14^th.  On Valentine’s Day 2010, 39,897 people in Mexico City broke the record for the world’s largest group kiss. Oregon and Arizona were admitted to the Union (1859 and 1912, respectively), James Polk became the first president photographed while in office (1848),UPS (United Parcel Service) was formed (1919), the League of Women Voters was established (1920), Aretha Franklin recorded “Respect” (1967), Richard Nixon installed a secret taping system in the White House (1971), the U.S. performed a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site (1976), and Voyager I took a picture of the entire solar system (1990). Americans spend around $277 million on Valentine cards every year, second only to Christmas. Approximately one billion Valentine’s are sent each year around the world. Teachers receive the most Valentine’s cards, followed by children, mothers, and wives. Children between the ages of 6-10 exchange more than 650 million Valentine cards a year. The first American Valentine was produced in 1834 by New York engraver Robert Elton, and Esther Howland (1828-1904) was the first person to create Valentines to sell in the United States. She first patented a lacy Valentine in 1844—and by 1860 her factory was selling thousands of valentines, earning over $100,000. Each year 300,000 letters go through Loveland, Colorado, to get a special heart stamp cancellation for Valentine’s Day. By the way, my mother and father were married in Loveland in August of 1945. There is also a Valentine, Texas, but not for any romantic reason. The first train to arrive there happened to do so on February 14^th... it’s just one of our Texas things. A common symbol of Valentine’s Day is Cupid (“desire”), the Roman god of love. The son of Venus and Mars, he was originally depicted as a young man who would sharpen his arrows on a grindstone whetted with blood from an infant, though now he is commonly presented as a pudgy baby. This transformation occurred during the Victorian era when business owners wanted to promote Valentine’s Day as more suitable for women and children. “Valentine Writers” were booklets written in 1823 by Peter Quizumall to help those who couldn’t think up Valentine verses on their own. Picking out my favorite piece of information was easy.  If anyone wants to know if I’ve given them this year’s box of conversation hearts or one I picked up on sale the year before, they’ll have to read each one and compare them to a newly purchased box.  Okay, if they have “Right on Man”, “Flower Power”, “Peace” or “Make Love, Not War” then I’d strongly suggest you not eat them.

May each of you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.  I will give away a copy of fellow filly, Linda Broday’s and my newest anthology Be My Texas Valentine to one lucky commenter today.

  Anyone else still reeling at the realization that another year has gone by? Chinese New Year doesn't begin until January 23rd, and according to the Zodiac calender, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, a powerful symbol signifying success and happiness. I like the sound of that. I'll take that over some of the Mayan calender predictions.  While I may feel a bit shanghaied into this new year, I'm looking forward to it. Onward and upward! We had some extra excitement for our New Years, my niece gave birth on January 1st, her first baby and her son was the New Year's Baby for our area. So far, a wonderful start to the new year :-D A big part of new year traditions in many cultures is making New Year Resolutions. As Tanya mentioned in her post on Wednesday, the tradition of resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C., The concept is to reflect upon self-improvement annually and set new goals. Sharing that goal with other increases accountability--in other words, peer-pressure ;-) Wikipedia actually has a list of the most popular resolution goals:

• Improve well-being: lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, stop biting nails
• Improve finances: get out of debt, save money
• Improve career: get a better job
• Improve education: improve grades, get a better education, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music), study often,
• Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent, perhaps watch less television, play less sitting-down video games
• Take a trip
• Volunteer to help others, practice life skills, use civic virtue, give to charity

Of course, they also mentioned a 12% success rate in keeping up with most resolutions. A year is a long time to be good ;-) I have a couple tips for keeping up with those resolutions--first off, write it down. Write it, print it and tape it somewhere you'll see it daily--for me that would be on my computer desk hutch or computer monitor. And then repeat to yourself:  SEE ~ BELIEVE ~ ACHIEVE  Also, start off with smaller short-term goals, something that can be easily achieved in a few weeks. Little steps to get you moving and increase a sense of success to keep that attitude positive :) I haven't done a resolution in a few years, though I did get an early jump on the health and exercise thing--I went for all my yearly check-ups, which I hadn't done in over three years. My youngest has plans to become a personal fitness trainer and I've become his genie pig of sorts and I try to stick to his fitness plan...mostly.  When I'm good and listen to him, I feel great and I have lost twelve pounds over the last few months. Since I home school, there's no escape *g*. So, the new year plan is to maintain on the health and home front, but my writing schedule is getting an overhaul. My New Year resolution is to FINISH these long overdue books.  My goal is to have at least three for the new series turned in by the end of the year to a happy editor. If I don't have the first one turned in by next month my critique partner will be hunting me down--so yeah, thumbs up on the peer pressure :-D How about all y'all? Got any resolutions for the new year you'd like to share? I have some extra incentive--I'll be giving away an ebook to one lucky comment poster, through B&N Nook or Amazon Kindle, winner's choice of any of my books.

    

I love New Year’s Eve. When I was younger, I was pretty much a wallflower who sat home year after year. I would watch the glass ball going down in Times Square and wish I was there. As an adult I’ve tried to make up for all those lost New Year’s Eves and rarely miss going out on the town.

I love to dress up in black sequins and high heels, and am fortunate that my husband is a knockout in a tuxedo. One of my favorite New Year’s parties was in Beverly Hills. I was invited to a function that was the height of elegance and even had celebrities in attendance. I remember seeing Hugh O’Brien, who used to be Wyatt Earp on TV, a really gorgeous guy back then, and Faye Dunaway, who was class personified.

For me New Year’s Eve is champagne and romance, and being a romance writer, why wouldn’t I adore it?

This year, besides going out on the town, I’ll be celebrating the re-release of one of my all time favorite books--HOT RAIN. The hero, Jake Dawson, would look gorgeous in a tux--or better yet, nothing at all. Allie Parker is blond and sexy, and the chemistry between them burns. Jake’s an undercover agent working to catch a gang of drug smugglers. Unfortunately, Allie Parker believes he’s one of the thugs who have taken her prison and stashed her on the yacht they are taking to Mexico.

Jake has a helluva time keeping Allie safe and at the same time playing the roll of her captor. There’s a lot of humor in this one, which is why my readers chose it back when it first came out as their all-time favorite.

The book has been out of print for nearly ten years, so I’m hoping readers who haven’t had a chance to read it will give it a try. It’s got a fabulous new cover and will be out in e-book format for the first time ever.

I hope you’ll try HOT RAIN and that you enjoy. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Very best wishes,

Kat

 

Kat's giving away a kindle copy of HOT RAIN to one lucky commenter!

In the meantime, you can whet your appetite for it by reading an excerpt at http://katbooks.com/Hot%20Rain.htm#Excerpt

or  check out this video:

 

 

Buy links:

Barnes & Noble:

paperback: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-rain-kat-martin/1103286731?ean=9781420123975&itm=1&usri=hot+rain

Nook/ebook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hot-rain-kat-martin/1103286731?ean=2940013802155&itm=1&usri=hot+rain

Amazon:

paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Rain-Kat-Martin/dp/1420123971/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323810718&sr=8-2

kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/Hot-Rain-ebook/dp/B006IT1YOI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323810718&sr=8-3

Indiebound:

paperback: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781420123975

Elvis Presley’s famous holiday song, Blue Christmas dates back to 1957 when Russ Morgan, Hugo Winterhalter and Ernest Tubb also had hits with the song.  Elvis recorded his slightly different “bluesy” pardon the pun, version at Radio Recorders in September 1957 with the Jordonaires singing back-up. The song was a part of Elvis’s Christmas album that year, but it wasn’t released as a single until 1964, seven years later.  The Beach Boys also released a version of Blue Christmas in 1964.  Their record made it to #3 on the charts, but The King’s rendition became a Christmas classic, shooting straight to the top as number one, even amid the British Invasion and changing tastes in music.  To this day, Elvis Presley’s version of Blue Christmas continues to top the Christmas music charts. 

 

 

 

I’ve always been fascinated with Elvis Presley.  I have seen every movie he’s ever made and many of them, numerous times.  I’ve seen him live in concert in Las Vegas in Lake Tahoe, where we were honeymooning, no less. And my running joke was that going to the Elvis concert was the Highlight of my honeymoon. Thankfully, dear hubby didn’t take offense.  So when the Fillies decided on sharing holiday songs and their history for our Special Holiday Week, I knew Blue Christmas was just for me! (And you!)   Here are the short lyrics and to make life even more grand, tune in to Elvis’s YouTube performance!  

I'll have a Blue Christmas without you
I'll be so blue just thinking about you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
Won't be the same dear, if you're not here with me

And when those blue snowflakes start falling
Thats when those blue memories start calling
Youll be doing all right with your Christmas of white
But Ill have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas

You'll be doin' all right, with your Christmas of white,
But I'll have a blue, blue, blue, blue Christmas

 

Be sure to enter THE COWBOY’S PRIDE Contest on my Win Stuff page at  www.charlenesands.com

Have a great holiday!!

Charlene

 

 

  Christmas carols have to be my favorite form of holiday cheer. My husband and I both sang in choir during college as well as in an adult classical chorus a few years ago. My children love to sing too, and one of our friends from church jokingly calls us the family Von Trapp. As soon as the Thanksgiving dishes have been cleared away, we immediately grab the Christmas CDs and switch out the music in the car as well as in the home stereo. The kids love jamming out to the Phineas & Ferb Christmas album while my husband prefers Straight No Chaser. I love them all. But there is a special place in my heart for the classic carols that echo sounds of ages past. One of my favorites is I Wonder as I Wander.Written in a minor key, this hauntingly beautiful song evokes strong emotion with it's simple music and lyrics. [caption id="attachment_29131" align="alignright" width="146" caption="John Jacob Niles"][/caption] I Wonder as I Wander originated as a folksong from deep within Appalachia. As is true of most folk songs, it was handed down through an oral tradition, the original author unknown. However, in 1933, a collector of folk music, John Jacob Niles traveled to Murphy, North Carolina and came across a revivalist family camped out in the town square. The mother was cooking and hanging her wash on the Confederate monument. The family had been deemed a public nuisance and was on the verge of being ejected by the police. They needed to hold one more tent meeting in order to earn enough gas money to take them out of town. This is where Niles encountered the young daughter of the family, Annie Morgan. Unwashed but exceptionally pretty, she sang three lines of a song that captured Niles's attention. He paid her a quarter to repeat the tune. And another, and another. He paide her eight times in all, giving him the chance to transcribe her music and put her lyrics on paper. She sang the same three lines each time, but it was enough to inspire Niles to expand the song and eventually publish it. Today, this classic carol lives on, it's haunting melody and spiritual lyrics touching untold hearts. And it all started with a young girl's song.

I Wonder as I Wander

I wonder as I wander out under the sky How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die For poor on'ry people like you and like I; I wonder as I wander out under the sky

When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all But high from God's heaven, a star's light did fall And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing A star in the sky or a bird on the wing Or all of God's Angels in heaven to sing He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King

I wonder as I wander out under the sky How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die For poor on'ry people like you and like I; I wonder as I wander out under the sky

         In case you're not familiar with the beautiful melody, I've included a recording for you to enjoy. Just click on the song title below. Merry Christmas! 

10 I Wonder as I Wander

The Bible doesn’t mention the animals that were in the manger on that first Christmas Eve.  But surely they were there, silent witnesses to the miracle.  What would they say if they could talk? “The Friendly Beasts” is a song about the gifts the animals gave to the baby Jesus.  The melody comes from a Latin song first sung in 12^th Century France to give thanks for the donkey that carried the Holy Family into Egypt.  The current English words were written by Robert Davis (1881-1950) in the 1920s.  Since then it’s been recorded by artists as varied as Burl Ives, Johnny Cash, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Garth Brooks.

Jesus our brother, kind and good Was humbly born in a stable rude And the friendly beasts around Him stood, Jesus our brother, kind and good.

"I," said the donkey, shaggy and brown, "I carried His mother up hill and down; I carried her safely to Bethlehem town." "I," said the donkey, shaggy and brown.

"I," said the cow all white and red "I gave Him my manger for His bed; I gave him my hay to pillow his head." "I," said the cow all white and red.

"I," said the sheep with curly horn, "I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm; He wore my coat on Christmas morn." "I," said the sheep with curly horn.

"I," said the dove from the rafters high, "I cooed Him to sleep so He would not cry; We cooed him to sleep, my mate and I." "I," said the dove from the rafters high.

Thus every beast by some good spell, In the stable dark was glad to tell Of the gift he gave Immanuel, The gift he gave Immanuel.

This simple song has always been a favorite of mine.  When my children were young, our family spent 6 months on a remote volunteer site in Guatemala.  Missing music, I bought a cheap guitar in the local market and taught myself a few simple chords.  This song is one I sang to my children at Christmas (I sing to kids and cats, no one else). I try to remember animals at Christmastime.  My daughter, who died in an accident in 1985, loved animals.  Every Christmas I remember her with a gift to Best Friends, a wonderful no-kill animal sanctuary in Southern Utah.  My sister and I, who need nothing, give each other charitable gifts.  For her, I donate to Heifer International, an organization that provides livestock to needy families in many parts of the world. Do you include animals in your Christmas celebration?  Tell us how. Here’s a link to a cute version of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCTndPudzEc

Hello, Winnie here.  I love Christmas carols.  And not just at Christmas time - all year round.  I raised my children to love them as well.  When they were little, one of our nightly rituals was for me to go to each of their rooms at bedtime and sing them a song.  Among the usual (and not so usual) lullabies were show tunes and, yes, Christmas carols.  Many's the night I would get requests for The First Noel, or Away In A Manger or Angels We Have Heard On High.  So, needless to say, I was very excited when we decided to do a special spotlight on Christmas carols event here at Wildflower Junction. The song I picked to focus on was Do You Hear What I Hear, Partly because I’ve always liked the song and partly because I was curious to learn a bit about its history.  And what I learned surprised me.   I’d always figured this was a long standing traditional carol with European roots.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  In fact, it wasn’t even written as a Christmas carol at all.    A little of the song’s history.  The lyricist was a man named Noel Regney (what an appropriate name!).  He was a Frenchman born in 1922 and trained as a classical composer.  Noel was drafted into the German army during WWII.  He hated the Nazis and secretly joined the French Resistance.  The horrors he witnessed during the war haunted him throughout most of his life.   After the war, Noel worked in French Indochina for the French Overseas Radio Service and then in 1952 moved to theUS.  There he met Gloria Shayne a pianist working in a hotel dining room and the two were married.  The couple wrote a number of successful songs in the 50s and early 60s.  Normally it was Gloria who wrote the lyrics and Noel who wrote the music.  But in 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Noel, who had experienced the horrors of war firsthand, was moved to write the lyrics of this song as a plea for peace.  In a later interview, Noel Regney made this statement “I am amazed that people can think they know the song and not know it is a prayer for peace. But we are so bombarded by sounds and our attention spans are so short.” Noel's favorite version was the one sung by Robert Goulet.  You can hear it here   My favorite is this one, sung by Bing Crosby   And of course there is nothing more touching than a song such as this sung by a youth choir.  You can hear one such version here   To all of you out there I’d like to wish you a very joyful and blessed Christmas!