Parchment Paths

  During my usual scrolling through Pinterest I noticed a great deal of pins concerning the Danish concept of hygge.   The word was often accompanying pictures of cozy blankets draped over a chair with cups of coffee and books artistically arranged by a window overlooking a snowy scene. I had a vague idea about hygge having encountered the word while adding to and browsing my  winter themed board, but I dug a bit deeper to remind myself what it actauly meant.   As far as I can tell, there’s not a definite translation but more of a feeling or a concept, a concept of coziness during the winter months.   In Denmark people commonly enjoy hot drinks and foods while visiting friends, basically enjoying winter rather than tolerating it. After refreshing my memory on hygge and learning how to pronounce it ( hyu-gah) I was intrigued and encouraged by the whole concept.   I decided that it seemed like a great way to not just survive winter but to enj...

This Christmastime was wonderful and yet strange. It all seemed to happen within the last week  leading up to Christmas Eve.   Last Christmas I had more time to celebrate throughout December, going to my niece and nephew’s play, a church dinner, going Christmasy places with friends, and shopping.   This year, I had a cold the first week, worked a great deal, and found myself missing my mom very much around Thanksgiving.   I still enjoyed Christmas music, and movies but felt as though I was only working and resting. Thankfully, the cold went away and I was able to get out Christmas shopping with my dad. I had already ordered gifts online and bought some earlier, but it was nice spending time with him and helping him pick out gifts. Work was, as usual in retail during the holidays, stressful and exhausting.   At home, I wrapped presents and watched Christmas movies, and was finally starting to enjoy what I call real Christmas, which is when I’m not at ...

Like many women this time of year, I’ve been binge watching Hallmark Christmas movies since Thanksgiving week.   While I do chuckle a bit at the predictable plots, the overly adorable kids, and the perfect holidays, I still enjoy the movies. Sometimes I sit down and just watch, sometimes they are nice background as I wrap presents or do the dishes. Despite some of the unrealistic even cliche` bits of the movies, I think there’s a lot to be learned from the stories.   Aside from caring about Christmas, people care about each other  and their community.   If only real people cared as much for each other  in real life. If only we took time to enjoy the holiday, without treating retail workers and other customers badly, without overspending for the sake of getting everyone we can think of something we think they may or may not like. While reality will never be as Christmas card perfect as the movies, we can still treat each other kindly, help each other, ...

This past weekend I attended my first Steampunk convention with a friend. Though I looked at the event’s website and Facebook page, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect at the Steampunk and Fantasy Showcase.   After navigating the crowded parking lot and traveling through the sports complex section of the building, we finally looked up and saw a cluster of parasols on the second level. Encouraged by this old timey beacon of Steampunk goodness, we made our way up the stairs to the registration desk. After getting our admission wrist bands, we strolled along the vendor lined hallway. Almost instantly, something shiny caught my eye, a wooden pin with a silver ribbon and dragon from Design by Night.   After buying it and chatting with the man working the stand, we moved along, each stand pulling us forward to examine hats, jewelry, plaques, coats, soap, magic wands, and the afore mentioned parasols, even a magician.  Aside from buying a fe...

Once Halloween is over I have trouble remembering that autumn is not over for several more weeks. I’m not sure if the Christmas items flooding stores makes me forget or if concerns about work makes me want to forget about Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Until I know what I’m working Thanksgiving, I can’t enjoy the holiday fully.  .  I’ve completely missed Thanksgiving dinner before due to work and it’s always a possibility.  My mother passed away several years ago the week before the holiday, so I tend to guard Thanksgiving and other family centric holidays a bit jealously.  I know that working in retail means I need to work many holidays, but every year is seems that stores are open earlier and later on holidays we used to be closed completely or only open for a short amount of time.  It does make it difficult to be excited for the holidays, especially Thanksgiving since that day is over and done with in a flash, squished between Halloween...

Now that autumn has officially arrived, I am getting increasingly excited for Halloween and all things spooky. While I am not a horror movie fan, I do enjoy a creepy tale and have found some great choices on Netflix. 1. The Curious Creations of Christine McConnel    - One season, rated PG- 13  Part cooking, craft show, part kooky story, all with a deliciously dark tone.  If one season is not enough, she does have a You Tube channel, From the Mind of Christine McConnel. While it does not feature the same plot and characters as the Netflix show, Christine is still cooking, sewing, and constructing gothic style items. 2. Creeped Out - Two seasons, rated PG  Reminiscent of  the Nickelodeon teen show,  Are You Afraid of the Dark? , this show is geared teens. The stand-alone episodes follow a creepy collector of stories, called The Curious as he, she, maybe it, observes but never interferes with the stories. 3. Murder Maps -Three seaso...

As a fan of the 1982    Jim Henson movie, The Dark Crystal , I was both excited and apprehensive about the Netflix prequel series, The Dark Crystal : Age of Resistance. My apprehension came from knowing what befalls the Gelfing race since that sad fact is outlined in the movie. I also was unsure of how the movie would translate to a modern series. Don’t get me wrong, I love the movie, but the world building is a bit lacking. Perhaps this is an intentional device to show the devastation the Skeksis have wrecked upon Thrall, but it does leave the story feeling a bit empty. The characters, likewise seem a bit flat, the brave but clueless hero, the brave, smart hero, and the evil villains.   I need not have worried one bit; the series took all the missing pieces of the movie and gave them life. The first season was breathtakingly amazing, the puppetry, the scenery, the music, the characters, and the story. All of those wove together an incredibly rich and vibrant wo...