Catch Up with These Blogs

     N. C. State beat North Carolina. And Stanford overpowered Notre Dame. I'm a happy man. Not that I watch a lot of football. I don't. But what else is there to do over Thanksgiving weekend?

     Well, you can catch up on your blogs . . .

     First of all, I just heard -- Kathy Gottberg has a new book out called Positive Aging. It has a long subtitle, but to see that -- and get your own copy of the book -- you'll have click on the link and go to amazon.

     Also, if you want to lower your holiday stress levels and avoid all the angst, check out her latest post 10 Ways to Rightsize Your Christmas. I like her advice, especially numbers 5, 9 and 10. But I have to admit, I'll never go for number 4.

     Meanwhile, Six Decades and Counting’s Meryl Baer spent Thanksgiving day with family, enjoying traditional fare and political discussions, but no yelling and screaming. Everyone in her family (that was at dinner!) is on the same political page. Travels to her holiday destination were bookended by hours of driving, summarized in On the Move Again.

Oops, I gave away the subtitle!

     Rita Robison of the Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide offers a list of What Not to Buy during the post-Thanksgiving sales. But her main focus is on Australia -- because  that's where she is right now.

     We're having a great time, she writes. It's too bad it's so far away and expensive to visit. Sydney has grown so much. Lots of cranes everywhere. The economy is good. Australia now has 24 million people. It had 11 million when I lived here in the late 1960s. A good part of the growth comes from Asians, who have discovered that Australia is in their backyard. And not just for tourists. Eastwood, one of the neighborhoods where I lived, is now 90 percent Asian, with homes costing upward of $1 million Australian (or about $760,000 American). On the front of the library, there is a mural with an Indian child, a white child, and an Asian child. It's a different place . . . and thriving . . . and so far away.

     For her part, Laura Lee Carter has been lost in gratitude this week, a very nice place to be. She says she has found a simple way to focus completely on Feeling Daily Gratitude -- which isn't hard to do when you wake up to a sky bursting with bright colors, as in A New Sunrise in Southern Colorado.

     Jennifer Koshak, of Unfold And Begin, notes that practice is important to creativity. But at times we need some inspiration, some help, and some guidance. So whether for your own needs, or as holiday gifts for those artists, crafters, writers and bloggers in your life, she shares 6 Unique Gifts To Inspire Creativity. 

     And finally, Carol Cassara offers a guest post from Gayle Kirk who has a website called A Healing Spirit. In her post The Bond of Love Is Never Broken she recognizes that many of us, especially during the holidays, find ourselves missing loved ones who have crossed over. So this piece on grieving might give us some comfort, because as Kirk points out, they are still with us, just in another form.

     Happy holidays to all, and may your upcoming Christmas season be cheerful and bright.