The Annual Holiday Lights

~ GrayMareWrites ~ 2 Comments

The third of The Five Blogs of Christmas is all about the lights and sparkle!

December is my least favorite month. The pressure of gift giving, which has dwindled to a precious few but can still induce anxiety. The constant bombardment of holiday sales, sales, sales/buy, buy, buy! The carb loading. The general expectation to be merry. And for the last few Decembers without The Mom, who adored Christmas, it’s painfully emotional.

But this dread of December isn’t new. Over a decade ago, I sat myself down and thought about what brought me holiday joy when I was a kid. And I remembered that touring neighborhoods of crazy Christmas decorations lit up my spirit like a cozy fireplace. Since then, nearly every year, we pick up our fave seasonal drinks (The Husband ~ Hot Vanilla, Me ~ Peppermint Hot Chocolate) and stroll around the Eagle Hills neighborhood in Brea (CA), to renew our Holiday Spirit and walk off those mini mince pies and Christmas cookies.

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A Little Holiday Reading

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The second of The Five Blogs of Christmas is all about the books. Who doesn’t love a holiday romance?? Here’s a few I’ve read in the last few months, with additional recommendations in links below to past holiday reading fun.

Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon   Matthew Norman

I cried through the entire first chapter. Then I belly laughed through the second. Grace lost her husband to cancer in January, then she and her kids, Ian and Bella, adopted a dog on the way home from the funeral. Henry lost his wife in a plane crash in January and he hasn’t returned to their home in 10 months. Their mother’s scheme to get them together for a ridiculous, obvious meet cute. With the theme of holiday movies for each chapter, they grow closer in some ways, largely, in the beginning, because they understand completely what the other is going through. But Henry bonds with Ian, who’s trying to win an art contest at school. Bella’s a little harder to crack, like her mother. Both have near misses with other people. And they gradually begin the process of coming back to the real, painful world. There is so much honest, real chaos in both their lives, that the other makes better. Matthew Norman writes about the messiness of relationships, both romantic and platonic, with such ease. I highly recommend all of his books!

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Gingerbread Houses at The Cube

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Holy Moley! It’s been two months since I posted! Well, life been lifin’ and writing has been on the back burner. Seems like I owe a few posts, so here is the first of The Five Blogs of Christmas.

A few weeks ago, we visited the Hilbert Museum to view their special Christmas art exhibit. The artworks were challenging to photograph due to the glass protecting most of the paintings but here’s a selection of the ones with the least glare. They were all beautiful, though!

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Mazes and Hay Rides and Pumpkins, Oh My!

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I’m always looking for new experiences nearby, here in Southern California, so when I saw a listing for the Tanaka Farms Hana Fields pumpkin patch in Costa Mesa, we had to give that a try. Jurassic-themed corn maze? Tractor hay rides? Pick your own pumpkin? And get to hand feed goats? Yes, please! Except for feeding goats, I’d never done any of those things, at least in recent memory.

We got our tickets for nearly half price on Groupon. I didn’t even know that Groupon was still a thing, but, Yay! We picked a day in the middle of the week and lucked out with a beautiful, clear sky and mild weather. If you’re in the So Cal area, it’s open till November 9.

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Happy Fall, Y’All

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Thought I’d do a little catching up on the ole blog.

Here we are at the No Kings Rally last Saturday, October 18. Yup, we were part of the 7,000,000 patriots marching for the rights and dignity of this country.

On the writing front, I got a batch of beta reader feedback and now I’m pausing work on the book to complete the reader magnet, which details my main character’s spiritual origin in regards to seeing ghosts. I need to clarify in my own mind what her reasons are for finally engaging with a spirit before I can deepen her story at the beginning of the full-length book. So now, I’m looking at a 2026 publishing date… But it’s all good. I really want to bring you the best book possible!

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Hilbert Pastels and Watercolors

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Not much to say—just wanting to add a little beauty to your day!

But first, before our trip to the museum, author and creative writing professor David Sandner spoke at our California Writers Club this Saturday. He specializes in weird – a word popularized from Shakespeare’s Weird sisters, taken from the Anglo-Saxon wyrd meaning fate or destiny – and has written several historical fantasy and sci-fi books. His talk about adding weirdness and fantastical elements to our writing was interesting but he was much more animated during the Q&A session, especially when he discussed the historical aspects of his book, His Unburned Heart, based on the true story of Mary Shelley’s determination to retrieve her husband, Percy Shelley’s, heart from his publisher after his cremation. Speaking of historical accuracy and understanding, he also talked about the fact that, until a few hundred years ago when capitalism and democracy collided to challenge humanity, people did not have any discernable control over their lives. Capitalism allowed people to break out of their predestined roles and caste systems to become entrepreneurs and move up the ladder of wealth and respect, and democracy gave them the freedom to have a say in the way their leaders governed over their everyday lives. 

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A Thursday Adventure

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After several weeks at home hiding from the heat, we ventured out! I’ve got a list of things I want to do this fall when it gets cooler. The forecast for the next week or so gives me hope that autumn is here, but I’m not trusting it completely ~ LOL!  Can’t wait for the serious cool weather to get here. I’m ready for long sleeves, hot chocolate, and thick blankets! Believe it or not, it really does get chilly in Southern California 😊

Today we went to the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana to see the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit. To be honest, I thought it was anemic… We had gone to the original exhibition in 2008 with over 20 figures, ranging over several rooms in the open behind ropes, if I remember correctly. It was fabulous! The current exhibit only features five full size warriors behind glass, plus a horse and partial figure. Two chariots with horses and drivers, the centerpiece of the warriors on display, are replicas, although very impressive nonetheless. But most of this exhibition consists of bronze and jade ornaments and weapons, some pottery and sculptures, plus quite a bit of history regarding the location, peoples, architecture, and creation of the warriors themselves. If you’ve never seen the Terra Cotta Warriors up close, and you have the opportunity to catch them before they leave the Bowers (October 19 or if you’re in the Houston area, it moves to their Museum of Natural Science on November 14), you should go. The story of the clay army and the unique details of each warrior is worth a few hours of your time.

Ready for a couple of pictures?!

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Thursday Thoughts ~ August 28, 2025

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Happy Last Friday in August Eve!

Can you believe summer as I knew it as a child of the 60’s is almost over? Nowadays, school starts in mid-August in a lot of places, including SoCal, where I live. What kind of summer vacation is that?? To be fair, they don’t generally have “snow days” or the desert equivalent here, so they get out earlier in June. But going to school while it’s still August?? Ugh…

The weather’s hot and we’re mostly hiding indoors, trying to keep the cats cool. But we did venture to Knott’s, where we had lunch after The Husband’s nearby Tuesday morning class. Took a few pics in the Mine Ride:

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Thursday Thoughts ~ August 21, 2025

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Welcome to When Is Summer Finally Over Eve?!

I dream of living near San Diego, maybe Oceanside or Carlsbad, where the temperature rarely goes above 80 degrees. Right now, where I am in SoCal, it’s 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Is there a patron saint of moving?? LOL! I have to say, though, painting the house light blue has made these hot days a little more bearable than the dark green 😊

I’d been concerned about our diabetic kitty, Patchwork. A month ago, her numbers were very high, and the doctor suggested adding another ¼ unit of Vetsulin, the feline equivalent of insulin, to her current dosage. Last week, we had her tested again. Monday night, we got a call letting us know her numbers were way down and within acceptable range. Whew! I had told the doctor that sometimes Patchwork gets what we call Growly (scratchy, grouchy, growls) and refuses the shot, which she had done the night before that first test. Not sure how much that affected the numbers, but I’m just happy to know she’s doing okay.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ August 14, 2025

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Happy Friday Eve! This used to have significance when I worked, but now it’s just a way to keep up with what day it is… LOL.

Summer is probably our least favorite season. The heat, kids out of school, and tourists crowding SoCal. And the heat… In all honesty, it’s been a fairly mild summer so far, heat-wise, but it’s still uncomfortably warm and saps our energy a bit. We’ve been boringly lazy, except for a quick trip to Knott’s after a class The Husband is taking right around the corner on Tuesday mornings. Knott’s Berry Farm, the amusement park The Husband just retired from earlier this year, is about a half hour from home, so when we’re nearby we take advantage of our lifetime passes. It gives us a chance to chat with old friends and get some steps in for the day.

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