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For a long time, I thought Good King Wenceslas was just the title to a funky Christmas carol…but it turns out, he was a real person. In fact, he was a King and a Saint who was murdered by his younger brother. Geez-o-Pete, scandal much?

If you are like me, you probably never paid much attention to the song…but if you look closer, you might be surprised at what you find.

The song takes place today, St. Stephen’s Day (December 26) and describes King Wenceslas braving a horrible storm in order to help feed a poor neighbor.  Pretty great when you think about it. Click here to listen. Or read blow:

Now, I don’t know what it’s like to be a Bohemian King or what it feels like to starve in the snow, but I do know what it like to be on the receiving end of a random act of kindness just when I needed it most.

Yeah, that Good King Wenceslas was a cool dude.

It’s that time of year again.

Halloween has barely past. The candy is off the shelves, the tinsel is moving in and White Christmas is now on television.

It’s not my personal favorite movie, but if it’s on the color TV, you can bet good money I’ll be glued to that screen long enough to watch Rosemary Clooney come out and sing Sisters, Sisters. Screw the skinny little blond snippet. Rosemary beats all! 

Please note, if the skinny blond snippet was your favorite sister, you probably just got offended. I deeply apologize. This deep seeded rivalry between Team Rosemary and Team Snippet goes back to ancient times. Let us look past our differences and unite together in this season in peace. 

Just as long as the uniting part goes down while listening to Christmas with Rosemary Clooney.

Also, please note, I’m not going to link to the real scene, because if you don’t know the scene in question, you should just stop reading this and go watch the full movie.  

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Haynes Sisters”

Now, I’ll bet I have watched that scene more occasions than I can count, and yet, every time I see it, I once again ask myself the most important and pressing question of our time:

WHERE DO I GET ONE OF THOSE FANS?

And thanks to the internet, now I know. They can be found here, here, here, here, here.

I know plenty of women who have wonderful memories of dancing to Sisters, Sisters with their sister on the living room rug every December. If you are one of them, and you are in the market for an opulent gag gift, well, I think I just ticked one line off your holiday shopping list. Your welcome.

Speaking of holiday shopping, I could really use a new feathered headdress. 

Not the type of thing one can show off at the office Tuesay morning, but gosh, wouldn’t it be fun to wear one with your bathrobe while your picking up around the house?  Can you imagine how glamorous vacuming could be if you were wearing one of THESE? Or waving hello to your neighbor, Mr. Katzendanner, while taking the garbage out in THIS? 

Or, just screw the outfits and go for decor! Necklamann’s has a tremendous selection of fabulous feather goodies at reasonable prices. What about sprawling an ostrich fan across the mantle, or getting yourself a Bernadette to display a feathered headress on your dinning room credenza? Or, hey, how about an ostrich headdress on top of the Christmas tree? Now we are talking! 

And now you know where to get it. You know, in case you were wondering…

I’m pretty sure you have a plastic pumpkin bucket in your house.

Doesn’t everyone?

A while ago I was staring at mine and noticed that the lines of the pumpkin are really, quite nice. Similar to a fishbowl, almost. They are deep enough to hold a flower arrangement, or sewing notions, or legos, or crayons, or kitchen utensils, or rolled up towels, or…or…or…or…or…STRAWS!

I’m wild about drinking straws. Can’t get enough of them.

I also can’t get enough pedestal bowls. Everything looks better on a pedestal. Everything.

There is no tutorial on this because I didn’t take photos as I made it. And, as someone who is known to, ahem, ramble on occasion, I’m trying to challenge myself to rely on visuals more than words.

Tip: If the pumpkin’s eyes/mouth are indented, cover them with duct tape before decoupage.
Tip: Dilute the glue with equal parts water and mod podge, for a smooth, water resistant finish.
Tip: Scraps from leftover coffee filter flowers make THE BEST decoupage materials. If you have ever made your own confetti by punching holes in tissue paper, you will recognize where the gold bits came from.

Now you have the fanciest candy bucket in town!

Election poster from Zimbabwe. Peeps: If the people in Zimbabwe get it, we should too.

It’s election day Y’all!  Are you excited as I am?

Yes? Then quit reading this and get down to your polling station!

No? Why is that?

If you are one of the 60% of Americans who will not be voting today because you think…

I don’t follow politics enough to make an informed decision…
I don’t have time to research the candidates and the issues…
I don’t think my vote counts…

… then I  have news for you my friend: your vote counts. Big time.

I will never dare to tell another person how to vote, however, I will urge you to take a few minutes to check out THIS WEBSITE and decide for yourself. Project Vote Smart a legitimately non-partisan organization that provides information about every candidate running for federal and state races. Just enter your zipcode and skim the results to see where your candidates stand on the issues. It takes three minutes, maybe five if their servers are busy. It’s easy! And regardless of your ideology, it is a valuable tool for getting quick and accurate information about the people asking for your vote.

Look, I get why people are discouraged with government these days. I know I am. If anything, our government has become more partisan and our politicians have become less accountable. But that’s not an excuse to give up.

When you don’t vote, you don’t get to complain about the choices our government makes. You forfeit your voice in the public forum, and that would be a real shame. Your voice should be heard. Your representatives work for YOU and they want to hear what you have to say.

VOTE!

Need to find your polling place? Click here.
Need to register so you can vote in the next election? Click here.

Be the change you want to see in the world. 
Mahatma Gandhi

Away for a little while preparing for BFF’s wedding this weekend, visiting with family, spoiling my niece, and playing with eldery dogs. More to follow soon!

OK, I didn’t know there was a national Aunt and Uncle Day until now, but in my defense, this is my first! My niece isn’t even a year old. Just look at that face. This calls for a tinker tape parade!
Why doesn’t Hallmark sell cards for this momentous occasion?
Bastards.

Internet: meet Lola, my child-with-fur.

Don’t worry, you will hear plenty about her in the future.