HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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To all my dear friends here in the blogging universe.
My wish for you tonight is for the coming year to bring you joy and happiness
and perhaps a bit of magic.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Stepping Into The New Year

One of my favorite things about a fresh snowfall is looking for animal tracks. You never know what you might find in the morning when you take a walk outside. I usually see rabbit tracks and sometimes opossum or raccoon tracks. We also have deer and skunks but it is rare to see their tracks in the yard after it snows. And yes, there are always squirrel tracks in my yard.

But these tracks are something a little different, another wild creature has been traveling through the snow. What could it be?

With six feral kittens our yard has been filled with little tracks. This is Big Sister, or Sissi for short. She always seems to be watching out for the two smaller kittens like a big sister would.

Of all the kittens so far Sissi is the only one that likes to be picked up and petted. Five of the little ones were rounded up and taken in to be fixed and get their shots. I still have one more kitten and mama cat to catch and take in. Our patio has been turned into a kitten nursery so the little ones have food, water and a safe place to sleep.

Thursday means it's time for Freda's ThisWay/ThursWay and Thursday Two-Questions.

A brand new year is on the way. My questions for you today:
1) Will you be making any New Year's resolutions?
2) Will you keep them?

Euphemania - Review and Giveaway

EUPHEMANIA
Our Love Affair with Euphemisms
by Ralph Keyes


Synopsis

How did die become kick the bucket, underwear become unmentionables, and having an affair become hiking the Appalachian trail? Originally used to avoid blasphemy, honor taboos, and make nice, euphemisms have become embedded in the fabric of our language.

EUPHEMANIA traces the origins of euphemisms from a tool of the church to a form of gentility to today's instrument of commercial, political, and postmodern
doublespeak.

As much social commentary as a book for word lovers, EUPHEMANIA is a lively and thought-provoking look at the power of words and our power over them.

Learn more about Ralph Keyes on his WEBSITE.

My Review

In polite society (we are polite here aren't we?) there are certain words and terms used to describe bodily functions, sex, etc that we do not like to utter aloud. So what do we do? We could perhaps avoid the subject(s) altogether. But after awhile this could make conversation rather difficult and prevent us from being understood.

Or we could use euphemisms.

While I have heard most of these terms (I did learn some new ones) I had never really thought about how they came into use. To me the most fascinating part was the history behind some of the euphemisms.

This is one of those books you will want to read in a single sitting. If you are a lover of words and the English language you are going to enjoy Euphemania.

You can buy Euphemania HERE

or Win it on The Road to Here!

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the folks at Hachette Books I have three (3) copies of Euphemania available for giveaway. That means three lucky winners! Since we are still in the holiday season I am going to keep this giveaway as simple as possible.

To enter all you have to do is be a follower of my blog, The Road to Here, and leave one comment telling me why you would like to win a copy of Euphemania.

If your email address is not on your Blogger profile please leave it in the comment.

That's it, one comment = one entry. Quick and simple. Only one comment per person will be counted for the drawing.

This giveaway will end at Midnight Pacific Time on January 6, 2011. At that time I will select 3 winners and email each of them. The winners will have 48 hours to respond or new winners will be selected. Open to US and Canada readers only!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, I was not compensated for my review. All opinions are my own.

Delightful Mess

One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly.
Andy Rooney

We had a great Christmas, our college student kid came down from Alaska for a visit. The feral furbabies are doing fine, Cindi Lou is still excited about all the boxes and I even had time to fix my computer. I'm still tweaking it but so far so good. The photos above were taken during a quiet moment after all the excitement of the day was done.

Today I am cleaning a little , but not too quickly. Soon the lights and tinsel will be put away for another year but I think we will enjoy them for a little longer.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. Please take a moment and visit Freda's Photo Time (this week's theme is Christmas Day Moment) and Macro Monday.

Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale



Somewhere
in a winter night
the angels
begin their flight;
dark skies
with miles to go,
no footsteps
to be lost in snow.

If you have never heard Enya sing you are in for a treat. She has the voice of an angel.

To all of my friends in the blogging universe
Happy Holidays
and
a
very
Merry Christmas

I will be taking a few days off from blogging. Mostly for the holiday but also I need to do some work on my computer. It has gotten so slow and I am having a lot of trouble leaving comments on many of your blogs. A little maintenance should solve all of these problems.

Be sure to visit SkyWatch Friday, Macro Flowers Saturday and Freda's Quote It Saturday!

The Last Minutes

Christmas is almost here. There are still many things to do before everyone arrives. Perhaps a gift has been forgotten or maybe an ingredient for the feast was omitted from the grocery list. Sigh, another trip to the market.

Time is running out and there are so many little things on my mind. But stress serves no useful purpose so it's time to put on the tunes and complete my tasks to the rhythm of the music.



It's time for Thursday Two-Questions!
1) How do you relieve stress during the holiday season?
2) Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Joyous Holiday season!

Santa Claws is Coming to Town

One of six little reasons I have been so busy lately. More on our little feral fur babies later.

Please don't forget our furry friends at Christmas. A donation to your local humane society or animal shelter will only take a few minutes and can make a big difference. If you are looking for a pet consider adoption, there are so many little ones who would love to have a forever home for Christmas.

I am a fan of Simon's Cat and wanted to share this Christmas video.



Be sure to visit Freda at Tuesday Takes and also stop by Wordless Wednesday (by now you all know I have a problem with the wordless part).

Christmas Flowers?

Everything outside is covered with snow and all of my beautiful flowers like the one above are gone until spring. But fortunately I have plants inside where it is warm. It is always thrilling when one of the plants blooms in the wintertime, especially the rare ones.

Isn't this exciting, my Candy Cane plant is in bloom! Just look at the color of those gorgeous flowers. This rare plant only blooms around Christmas.

You know I can't resist doing a few macro shots of the beautiful blooms.


It is a little sad however when the blooms start to fall off..........sad, but very tasty!

Speaking of tasty here's a recipe that uses crushed candy canes: Reindeer Feed! Click on the link and check it out.

For more beautiful flowers visit Macro Flowers Saturday and Today's Flowers.

Small Town Sidewalks

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air there's a feeling of Christmas.

Somehow it just isn't the same when it's raining and nearly sixty degrees. But the weatherman says the snow is coming so maybe it will be a White Christmas after all.

Be sure to drop by and say hi to Freda and maybe join in ThisWay Thursday while you are there.

Thursday is also time for Thursday Two-Questions.
1) What is your favorite Christmas song?

2) If you could make one wish for Christmas what would it be?

Thoughts for the Flowers

'Tis my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes!
William Wordsworth, "Lines Written in Early Spring," Lyrical Ballads, 1798

Please visit
Quote It Saturday
Macro Flowers Saturday
Today's Flowers

Winter Sunset

By now you probably know that Thursday means there will be questions. That's right, it's time for Thursday Two-Questions.

Today's questions:
1) We are all starting to prepare our holiday menu. What is the main course for your celebration? Turkey? Ham? Some other yummy dish?

2) Who will be doing the holiday cooking? You? Everyone shares in the work? Elves?

To see more skies from around the world visit SkyWatch Friday.

Fly Away Home

A shy ladybird was checking out my rose bushes last month before the weather took a turn to the colder side. For more photos check out Tuesday Takes and Wordless Wednesday.

Pleasant Pheasant

Lady Amherst Pheasant
Range: Southwest China & Northern Burma
Habitat: Forested areas and bamboo thickets
Status in Wild: Debated, pure Lady Amherst are considered rare, but a census of breeders show this to be a very common aviary bird.

A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody's talking about the bird!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
The Trashmen

Visit Quote It Saturday for more great quotes.

As soon as I saw the theme of this week's Photo Time (The Bird is the Word) the song above leaped into my head.
Do you remember it?
No!
Go HERE for the video.

Be sure to visit Photo Time for more photos and if you have a few minutes stop by Camera Critters too.

Holiday Questions

Thursday! I love Thursdays because that means it time for Freda's ThisWay Thursday and Thursday Two-Questions. Twice the fun!

My questions for you this week:
1) Have you started your Christmas shopping? Or are you one of those folks who starts in July and is done already?

2) Do you like to shop in brick & mortar stores or do you prefer online shopping?