I can’t believe its all over!  The holidays I mean!  

I did not go "all out" this year with Christmas decorations. Instead I just focused on the living and dining room.

Hey, even though I scaled back quite a bit this year because the whole family, including me, went to Colorado for the week that encompassed Christmas, I still put some effort into the decor of the house.

The "star" piece on the mantel this year was just a simple arrangement of white and dark pink poinsettias with light pink roses and some burgundy accents.

Big sigh … Now, it must all come down!  

I used a few poinsettia flowers that had glitter on them just to give the arrangement a conservative amount of sparkle - not too gaudy, I think!

Such a shame because its so romantic and pretty, and lends such a soft and festive air – especially to the living and dining room.  This year I really played up the PINK, burgundy and white.

With my Victorian-style ornaments that I have collected over the years, it was an aesthetic treat for me. I really enjoyed seeing it all every day.

But now it’s time to carefully pack it away.  (Secretly, I wish I could do like my Aunt Betty used to, and cover the tree with a sheet and stick it behind a decorative screen in a corner of the living room.  Unfortunately, there isn’t room here.) Hopefully, I’ll stick to my resolution to wrap and file it so its easier to find next year.  Ha!  We’ll see …

                              Sleep peacefully Christmas decorations!  See you again after Thanksgiving!

Mother collected 12 doll head ornaments designed by Marie Osmond. They continue to go on the tree in the house every Christmas …

The “White House” Christmas ornaments go perfectly with with a romantic-themed tree. This one of the first wedding in the White House is my favorite.

Another of my favorite ornaments …

At my house, Santa drives a fancy car!

And the ladies are always dressed to the nines!

I must admit I have always had an interest in self-help and advice books.  They are so tempting with their promises of  ”… turn your life around in 30 days” or “become a millionaire in five years.”  Even though I know that none of these things are going to happen to me – at least in the time-frame the title promises, I still figure I can glean a few worthwhile pointers.

Katie Couric's "The Best Advice I Ever Got - Lessons from Extraordinary People" is delicious and filling good food for the soul.

I found a book, however, that doesn’t make grandiose promises yet offers some advice worth remembering.

Even if she’s not your favorite TV news celebrity (actually I like her myself) Katie Couric has a written an advice book worth recommending.  ”The Best Advice I Ever Got - lessons from extraordinary lives” is chock full of juicy tidbits of advice and life lessons from celebrated people you want to hear from – people we all know that are respected in their field, from psychology to sports to chefs to show biz.

Some of the most memorable entries for me were:

Meryl Streep, Empathy Opens Doors

Chelsea Handler, Pay Attention!

Chris Evert, Get Off the Sidelines!

Matthew McConaughey, You were Just Having Trouble

Ina Garten, If You Love Doing It, You’ll Be Very Good at It

The trouble with many advice books is I’m not likely to read the whole tome.  It’s just not entertaining enough, or even interesting.  I find myself jumping around looking for the key points, then getting bored and putting the book down.  Not this one. It’s a quick and easy read that gets its points across without boring or preaching. Often the advice entries from celebrities and luminaries are dished out in one or two pages.  I give Katie Couric‘s “The Best Advice I Ever Got – lessons from extraordinary lives” TWO THUMBS up!

Gift worthy?  Yes – Christmas, birthdays, anytime

Beach read?  Definitely.  

Georgetown Cupcake, Emily Post, Flea Markets, and Tony Horwitz – Oh My!      

 On November 15  my friend Len and I attended the annual “Book Fair” put on by the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Katherine Kallinis and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne-founders of Georgetown Cupcake at the National Press Club annual "Book Fair" with Deborah Deal-Blackwell

In addition to scooping up some new titles to review for A Romance Renaissance, and getting my copies personally autographed, we took a few snapshots.

Len with Tony Horwitz - the author of Midnight Rising" at the National Press Club.

Of course, I picked up some editions that would be appropriate for a blog about bringing more romance back into daily living.

Hamming it up with Daniel Post Senning, one of the Post family authors of the NEW - now 18th edition! -- of the "bible" for A Romance Renaissance - Emily Post's "Etiquette"

Check back here as these intriguing titles get reviewed … 

Running my mouth again! Talking to Maureen Stanton author of "Killer Stuff and Tons of Money" - Seeking History and Hidden Gems in Flea-Market America. Yum! Love the subject! Love Flea Markets and Antique Markets and well, anything to do with SHOPPING, basically!

Book Signing a the National Press Club's annual "Book Fair."

Every year it comes and goes with not nearly enough attention from the mass media. What am I talking about? EARTH DAY. Officially it’s Monday, April 22, although EVERY day SHOULD be Earth Day. Contrary to deniers of climate change, the planet is changing. Whether mankind is wholly responsible for this is something that’s been hotly debated. But, while experts and subsidized deniers do their hot debating about who or what caused it, and whether or not it is a normal cyclical change, it continues to get even hotter, and we still have to deal with droughts, storms, loss of shoreline, loss of species, acidification of the oceans, reduced foodstock from the sea, lack of clean fresh water and more! AUGH!

Ignoring, evading, denying, and mocking the problem is not helping and all this takes precious time and resources away from actually doing something to prepare for the change that IS coming.

Take a look at The Great Disruption by Paul Gilding. It makes sense to me that the planet has a finite amount of natural resources and we could run out ...

The problem for most Americans is that we live our luxurious lives (compared to that of other nations) in air conditioned offices and homes far, far removed from the processes of farming, water purification, and energy resource extraction. We don’t have to get our hands dirty. We are only affected by increased prices. But, this somewhat blissful shelter from the realities of climate change is not going to continue for long for Americans. Soon, it will no longer be a problem for “the poor folks in Africa,” Nope, the problem is going to come home and hit us hard, and not just in the form of an extra dollar per gallon of gas.

Another of my favorite volumes on the subject of "what's coming next ..."

I’ve been reading “The Great Disruption – How the Climate Crisis Will Transform the Global Economy” and I would suggest it be read by everyone. Basically, the author talks about how climate change is just one of many factors that is going to affect the way we live on this planet.

Another good read ... The End of Growth by Richard Heinberg

It’s the kickstarter that people notice, but there are other factors such as the gobbling up of natural resources in the making of “stuff” that is going to change our idea of a successful and productive life. Simply, we won’t have the natural resources to keep making stuff; we’re going to have to recycle to get even the basic materials and everyone is going to have to live with less stuff – particularly less “throwaway” stuff. It’s a good read, but I’ve also added photos here of some of my other favorites.

Take a look; pick up one of these books. Knowledge is power. Sticking your head in the sand will just irritate your eyes so you can’t see the truth. Happy Earth Day everyone!

and yet another of my favorites on the subject ...

See more books and links to Earth Day websites below.

T-Shirts, posters, and my favorite bumper sticker “It’s the GREEN Economy Stupid.” can be found on the home page of http://www.earthday.org

http://www.earthday.org

http://www.epa.gov/earthday/

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/earth-sciences/

Talk about UN-romantic!  Shuffling through the house with my left arm immobilizedin a sling and feeling fuzzy because of pain killers – shoulder surgery is not for sissies!  However, it has allowed me to take some needed down time  and in that time catch up on the stack of mail, TV shows and magazines that I’ve been meaning to get to, but couldn’t bring myself to sit down and enjoy.

Here’s some of the things I’ve found, that I’d like to share:

MaryJanes Farm Magazine

I was way behind on my MaryJanes Farm editions and that’s too bad because it’s a great magazine to de-stress with; I almost feel guilty stealing time to spend with it.  However, the “Newsroom” section in this gem abates my guilt by providing me with useful information that can really help people and the planet.  Like the new April-May 2013 issue, that, on top of the lovely quilt article, fun “clamping” article, interesting edible flowers article and other cool stuff, provides some serious news on the nasty stuff that’s allowed in our food here in the U.S.  but isn’t in other countries.  See page 34 and carry the list with you to the grocery store!  You will want to read labels and avoid so-called “food” products with these items in them!

Neat New Safety Product!

This is one of those products that makes you wonder “Now why didn’t someone invent and market this BEFORE NOW ?!”    I mean REALLY!  Everyone – parents, grandparents and the government gets all worked up about putting kids in car seats, but what about when the child outgrows the car seat?  He or she is still too small to properly wear a regular  car seatbelt, which, by the way, is regulated in the U.S. car industry by the U.S. government to fit the 50th percentile male (5′ 8″ tall & 172 pounds).  That’s only  about 25% of the population!   If you are not a 5’8″ 172 pound guy, you are going to have an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous ride using standard in-car seatbelts.  

We at A Romance Renaissance give this inventor and product a “thumbs up” because nothing is romantic about a child or small person getting hurt in a car crash because the seatbelt doesn’t fit …! 

Check it out:  http://www.ridetightinfo.com/

Food Rules!

Yes it does!  Food is probably the most talked about and written about aspect of life.  Huge tomes are written about how to cook all kinds of fancy, schmancy stuff, and we LOVE that romantic fancy, schmancy stuff, but Really, I mean Really, what should we be eating?  I found this petite guide at the Gum Spring Library’s website and asked my brother to go get it for me because I still can’t drive for heaven’s sake! After perusing it, I quickly decided I needed to BUY my own copy.  Oh yes, I guess I should tell you the name of it again even though I already did!  It’s Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan.  Mike is one of my favorite writers and his In Defense of Food made a big impact on me.  I’m glad he took the most important “to do’s” out of “Defense” and put them in a small handy guide. Between this and MaryJanes Farm, what else do you need to take to the grocery store … I mean besides lots of m-o-n-e-y …

P.S. I haven’t reviewed the “illustrated edition” of Food Rules yet but imagine it’s just a more “fun” version of the pocket manual I read.

More Neat Stuff coming in future blog entries …

   Last year we braved a cold wind and overcast skies to hold our annual Family Fun Walk for the Gum Spring Library.  But, this year, we got a big reprieve.

There was something for everyone at the 3rd annual FROGS Family Fun Walk on April 21, 2012 for the new Gum Spring Library!

   The storm that would dump several inches just to the north of us, and plow us into 48 hours of (needed) rain, mercifully held off just long enough for the FROGS (Friends of the Gum Spring Library) to enjoy a beautiful day for our 3rd annual event.

Walkers and participants in the 3rd Annual "FROGS" Family Fun Walk enjoyed great weather.

Every year walkers get a t-shirt, a goodie bag stuffed with items from local businesses, fruit, snacks and water.  The moon bounce is always popular and the participants are happy to wait in line for  chance to get their faces expertly painted by our “face artist.”   This year, we even had LIVE entertainment provided by Bach 2 Rock!

Another successful Family Fun Walk for the Gum Spring Library.

    We can’t wait until NEXT year when the library will be open and we can all retire to the stacks after our stride through the neighborhood.

We had a looooong line of walkers! It was quite a sight!

Some of Deb’s random thoughts on creating a Successful Community Event:

• PLAN, PLAN, PLAN way in advance.  The FROGS start working on their April Family Fun Walk event in December!

• Look into what licenses may be needed as far in advance as possible so there are no last-minute surprises that could squash your event
  
  

  Everybody waited patiently for face painting!

• Break down the event into specific tasks and then assign those tasks to reliable people.  Call those people 48 hours beforehand to

make sure they can still carry out their assignments. 

• If you don’t provide specifics for completing a task in advance, don’t nag about  how that task is achieved after the fact.  Volunteers don’t appreciate micro-managing when its too late.  Instead, make a note on how that task should be achieved  for  whoever gets that task next year.    

• Have good signage.  There are always regulations on signage in any community.  Just find out what the those regulations are and do the best you can. (exploit the loopholes if necessary on the day of event, and just take down the signs immediately afterward.)  

Arcola Fire Department Volunteers.

• Take advantage of as many area newsletters, magazines,  newspaper listings and area cable TV listings as possible to get the word out about your event.  

• And make sure you create and utilize an email invitation list of everyone you know.  If you provide a way for the reader to opt out of future emails, they generally will not object and usually will not opt out.

• Don’t forget clean-up.  Leave the area the way you found it.

• Have a post-event de-brief.  Take good notes and keep those notes where they can be pulled out for the next event and read again.

• Think of as many ways as possible to THANK YOUR SPONSORS – that is, only if you want them back next time!

Everybody was in a great mood and enjoyed the event.

And, speaking of sponsors, we’d like to thank those that supported our 2012 Family Fun Walk:

•    East Gate Orthodontics - www.eastgateorthodontics.com
•    HCA Healthcare - www.hcahealthcare.com
•    Stone Ridge Orthodontics - www.smilestoneridge.com
•    Van Metre Homes - www.vanmetrehomes.com
•    Snap Fitness - www.snapfitness.com/stoneridge
•    Kravitz Orthodontics - www.kravitzorthodontics.com
•    Inova Loudoun Hospital - www.inova.org
•    Concept Marketing, Inc. - www.cptmkt.com
•    Aldie Vet - www.aldievet.com 
•    Montessori of Chantilly, Casa dei Bambini - www.montessoriofchantilly.com
•    Curry’s Auto - www.currysauto.com
•    Mathnasium - www.mathnasium.com/stoneridge
•    Family Veterinary Hospital of Stone Ridge
•    Family and Aesthetic Dentistry of South Riding

 

(Note:  This is a private blog. Of course, the comments herein are those of Deborah Deal’s and do not reflect or represent any other member of the Friends of the Gum Spring Library or the Loudoun County library system. All photos copyright 2012 Deborah A. Deal.)

A FROG board member thinks he really IS turning into a Frog now! He's practicing his frog pounce position.

Always have lots of balloons for a Family event.

 

       

Face painting is sometimes even better on something other than the face!

                       

                        

I'd rather have what you're having!

 

 

If you are like me and don’t want to use the pre-made flimsy garland and cheesy banners in your Valentine’s Day decorations, try this  Romance Renaissance Quick Trick …

Take a pack of Rick Rack you might have around the house or in your sewing basket already … this strand is great because it already had sparkles on it. I got it from a JoAnn Fabric and Craft store ...

These cards were not only pretty, they were pretty sturdy as well — and inexpensive!

Sit them on top of the rick rack. These cards were perfect for a banner because they were all alike and opened at the bottom. This made it possible to SIT them on the rick rack without having to glue or staple them. Now, they can be re-used.

I  bought one pack of six to decorate with, and one to send out.

My Hallmark store offered me free stickers to go on the back of every envelope in the packet of Valentine's that I purchased. Make sure you get yours too ... and remember to ask about their loyalty program - earn points for goodies!

I just tied them up between the sconces over my fireplace ...

However -- if you hang them from a fireplace mantle like I did, feel of the cards occasionally to make sure they are not getting too hot. You want a "HOT" Valentine's Day, but you don't want to burn down the house! NEVER leave a burning fireplace or candles unattended ..!