Blind on the Lite Side

Candlemas , Ground hogs and Tater Tots, February 2nd, 2026. 290 words

By the time of this writing, the prediction results are not in. This event has occurred since in 1887 in Punxsutawney Pennsylvania.. The celebration combined the Indian folklore tradition with the older Christian celebration of Candlemas Day. The day marks 40 days after Christmas. It was to commemorate the presentation of the baby Jesus at…

The Peanut Brittle Story, January 26, 2026. 356 words

Though we have made and distributed peanut brittle for many years, I never knew the origins of the confection. The story I heard was The first peanut brittle recipe was first published in 1893 in Good Housekeeping Magazine. Though George Smith, a candy maker from Illinois is often credited with making the first recipe, he…

Day of Service, January 19, 2026. 268 words

Though a bill was introduced in the House and Senate in 1968 to make Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday a holiday, it was not considered an official national holiday until 1983. During the time between, many local cities changed a major road to be renamed for Dr. King. In my capital city of Lansing…

G.S. Cookie Time, January 12, 2026 473 words

January leaves little to look forward to. Snow, cold and winds create a palette of whites and grays without the relief of colorful Christmas lights. But for an old Girl Scout, this is the season for ordering traditional Girl Scout Cookies.I recall waiting for the start date for taking orders for shortbread, thin mints and…

Epiphany , January 5th, 2026. 415 words

It is Epiphany or the twelve night after Christmas. The creche scene is the first to be wrapped and packed for another year. The figures are six inches in height and hand painted by Aunt Joy for our first Christmas together. Given as a wedding gift from Aunt Joy and Uncle Bob. The small band…

As the year draws to a close, I think of the time we are given and how we choose to spend it. We can spend time, waste it, share it, give to another, lose track of it and find time until time is up. There are ways that I can improve my use of time.…

Finishing Odds and Ends, December 22, 2025. 709 words

As I put the last tags on gifts, I remember back to the excitement and mystery of this time of the year. As a youngster, my brothers and I served at midnight Mass as choir members or alter servers. The novelty of staying up well past midnight, walking through the quiet, calm of evening and…

A Different Christmas, December 15, 2025. 628 Words

Not all Christmases are joyous. In my life I had a sad holiday become a joy.In November of 1990, I opened my front door to be given divorce papers served by a stranger. I closed the door and walked down the hall to knock on the spare room used as a shared office.”Mick, what is…

The Lost Art of Letter Writing, December 8th, 2025. 505 words

Growing up the first week of December was devoted to helping my Mom write notes and preparing for Christmas Cards. After dinner dishes were washed and put away, Mom would open a box of Christmas cards, laying out pens, blank sheets of stationary, stamps and return address labels to work on cards. My job was…

Ready for Christmas, December 1, 2025. 711 words

After a festive Thanksgiving with brother Craig and his wife Karen, we are ready for the preparation activities for Christmas. On Friday, instead of shopping at the Black Friday sales, we ate some of the leftovers ,froze the rest and worked on the Christmas tree and the Manger scene. John hung the small multicolored lights…