December 2025 Highlights

• My December header is the Season's Greeting sled Heather painted and I decorated each year with slightly different arrangements of seasonal greenery. I haven't had a place for it the past few years; this one is from a previous place.

• Early December brunch in Santa Monica

• First Trip in a long time to the Getty Center

• Christmas Decorations at The Grove

• First Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Hazelnut Frappe (the only affordable anything at The Grove) in forever. They're still the best!

• Fierce! The Story of Cats at the Natural History Museum

• A quote from Titus for Christmas Eve and semi-bilingual (much more English than español) Eucharist at Saint Mary's Mariposa—a two minute walk away.

Five Minute Friday :: Stable

When all things were wrapped in deep silence,
and night in her swift course was half spent,
your almighty Word, O Lord,
leapt down from your throne in heaven.
Wisdom 18:14-15

• Five Minute Friday :: Stable Linkup at Andrew's Place

Into the old RSV Bible I used and wrote in for a long time, I copied a list of life guidelines I found somewhere. Each was a situational symbol derived from scripture, followed by its meaning as God acts in our lives. When I find them they'll be great to blog, but right now I only can remember the Mark of the Stable and the Mark of the Empty Tomb.

The Mark of the Stable means? Begin where God says! Begin at the very start as a helpless vulnerable infant like Jesus? Yes, but let's also begin every day, every new endeavor, each new relationship and opportunity where God says, which is? On your current longitude and latitude and amidst the social, familial, and occupational places you find yourself right now.

When we study and begin to learn the histories of God's people, we often recognize similarities in our own walk by faith. Like Moses, like jacob-Israel, like Amos. Like Jesus' mother Mary/Miriam and like Jesus himself. Like the newly birthed church we know from Luke's book of Acts.

So God in a recent dream has inspired you to prepare to teach high school in the inner city or in the rural outback; maybe open a bakery and train people who already love to bake into professional expertise; possibly offer your accounting skills to non-profit organizations for a great price.

You don't and you can't start that new morning on the other side of your state or province. Or on the other side of your city or town. The bold startup eventually may take you elsewhere, or to a series of other places, but you begin it here and now.

Andrew loves to feature quotes from well-known people. I'll end this week with one from Gian-Carlo Menotti's one-act opera, Ahmal and the Night Visitors: The child who will do all these wonderful things is the infant who starts out in the manger in a stable in Bethlehem. Where will you start out to do all the wonderful things God calls you to?

The child we seek holds the seas and the winds on his palm.
The child we seek has the moon and the stars at his feet.
Before him, the eagle is gentle the lion is meek.

On love, on love alone will he build his kingdom…
His might will not be built on your toil.
Swifter than lightning he will soon walk among us.
He will bring us new life and receive our death.
And the keys to his city belong to the poor.

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Nativity 2025

For the grace of God has appeared,
bringing salvation to all.
Titus 2:11

Fierce!

This afternoon I went to Fierce! the comprehensive story of cats at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. Although I took a whole lot of pictures, the exhibit wasn't bright and light, so most of the pictures have a flash scar, which means I'm not including them.

As a bonus surprise, I captured a great group of pictures and information about P-22, so I'll put those together as a separate post later this week.

An Extraordinary Egg

• An Extraordinary Egg by Leo Lionni on Powells

• Website for the book's author and Caldecott Winner Leo Lionni, 1910-1999

Assumptions, mistaken identity, and what else? Through whimsical painterly illustrations and a more than credible narrative, three frog friends adventure together and get to know a creature from another species. Marilyn thinks she knows everything, even if it's only the words and she's not sure what a word refers to. August frog goes along for the adventure, while Jessica loves to reach out and discover what's new and trending.

If someone (Marilyn) calls the big pebble a chicken egg, whatever hatches from the egg must be a chicken and once a chicken, always a chicken, even if someone (like the parent who laid the egg that hatched) calls it an alligator. That's how life works.

Does it matter? The name usually matters to the critter, the human, to the group that first imagined and then created whatever it was. Is "a rose by any other name" still a rose? If you call an alligator a chicken does it become a chicken? No, it doesn't become a chicken. However, the egg starts out being called a chicken and for the three frog friends, it ends as a chicken, even after the alligator's mother calls it her "sweet little alligator." I did call this story "a more than credible narrative."

My cultural anthropology instructor told us about three baseball umpires. The rookie umpire announced, "I call them as I see them." The umpire with more experience said, "I call them as they are." The long-time veteran umpire insisted, "They are what I call them."

Do you remember "define your terms" when you were – or still are – writing a certain kind of paper? It's about everyone being on the same page so each person knows what the other is referring to. Chicken or alligator or…?


Dragonfly Books

It took a long search, but after I visited the rhc books dot com I found on the back cover in tiny print, I discovered this particular Dragonfly Books series is a Random House imprint.

Inside the back cover tells us:

Dragonfly Books introduce children to the pleasures of caring about and sharing books. With Dragonfly Books, children will discover talented artists and writers and the worlds they have created, ranging from first concept books to read-together stories to books for newly independent readers.

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03 Thanks

What's something I want to thank myself for enduring or growing this year?

Intro

During fall 2024 I attended a workshop with journaling mentor and coach Joelle. You can follow her substack at Reconnect and Befriend; her Instagram is Reconnect and Befriend Coach.

To help conclude this year (that wraps up a quarter of the twenty-first century), Joelle's recent substack offered three questions – with three lively illustrations – to answer as we anticipate a bright 2026. This third reflection is about thanks or thanking.


What's something I want to thank myself for enduring or growing this year?

On the way to Thanksgiving Dinner, each of us shared what we were especially thankful for. What had been. What we anticipated might be. On Thanksgiving Day, everyone was thankful for shelter. For enough food, even when or if it always wasn't elite and deluxe and decadent. We had gratitude for each other, for whatever semblance of community was happening. Thanks for some employment—even jobs that weren't too terrible.

I'm almost always happy to look back in time to discover how far I've come by faith and by grace. Astonished that God goes to my future and waits for me there.

Many individuals end most days with a gratitude list, but Joelle suggests thanks with a different focus. It's about where I've been, what I've been through, how I may have changed as a result.

During 2025, what did I endure or go through? Joelle didn't specify, but those words sound like hardships more than they sound like things working out or a series of unexpected surprises. Most years most people experience at least a few difficulties and disappointments.

I had a few. More than discrete instances I can name, it's more that I didn't find my coveted long term housing. Didn't get more opportunities I wanted and needed. I want to blame myself because I barely reached out or tried to connect, and that's a factor, but hundreds and thousands of attempts to connect already hadn't budded, let alone flowered or borne fruit.

When I was formally studying music performance and later on when I was performing, I'd learn the notes to a new piece of music and practice it to a certain level that wasn't quite public performance ready. Then I'd let it rest for a while before returning to it a few months later.

Is resting what I did with my hopes, dreams, wants, needs, and expectations during the past twelve months? I think it was! For that I'm super thankful. It had to have been Spirit Inspired, because on my own I wouldn't have thought of doing that. I'll call that a time of "enduring." I hope it led to some growing I haven't yet discovered or discerned.

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Five Minute Friday :: Mall

• Five Minute Friday :: Mall Linkup at Andrew's Place

Such a nostalgic topic! I've mentioned malls so many times in this blog, mall needs to be a keyword. Here's Last Call, Last Mall inspired by the title of a song by Steely Dan.

My header pic is the Dead Cottonwood Mall I wrote about in the three part reflection I linked to. I featured it because I really like my photoshopping on the picture.

What's on today's mall docket? Long gone are the days of active, buzzing malls where teens hung out, retirees power walked, and the whole family sometimes shopped and dreamed, sometimes shopped and bought. Southern California has many dead indoor and open air malls. Between online merchandising and purchasing and the fallout from Covid, it's an understatement to say some that still are open have taken a huge hit. Ya know what? As much as I enjoy shopping of all kinds, I no longer much care for those big malls that have a national anchor like JC Penney or Macy's. That also can read that had a major anchor.

We have open air shopping centers around here; I call them Shopping Sprawls. I think they may function more or less as successors to malls.

Is it because of my interests in economics, lifestyle, and culture that I see a dozen articles every day about changing consumer habits, stores closing, brands merging, or is because those interest everyone? People source home furnishings far differently than in those olden days. Fast fashion still is a thing, though the trend is slowing down for a plethora of mostly positive reasons. If too many dollars don't keep chasing too few products, goods, and bads, does that mean people want less stuff and crave more experiences?

Where do we go from here? I enjoy most kinds of shopping. At the supermarket or the dollar store, I like to choose what I need, and I like to see what's new, check out colors and styles and possibilities. But I can't think of a mall I'd be willing to frequent in its present state of decline and sometimes disrepair.

Two days ago on my day off Tuesday I went to The Grove open air mall to see the holiday decorations. Although I wouldn't call it crowded, it didn't lack for people, but there's no way to know how many were actual customers and consumers. However, regular people don't shop at any of those stores or eat at those restaurants. It has a GAP, but I'm a Gap Factory person. It has Barnes & Noble. Sigh.

The farmer's market is an all around exciting shopping option, sometimes even offering local crafts. Does the decline of The North American Mall signal the return of profitable small shops? Let's keep waiting and hoping.

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Fashion Valley, San Diego, California

The Grove, Los Angeles, California

Square One Saugus Massachusetts Mall by John Phelan,
who says we can edit if we give him credit, so I did.

Andrew's mall picture

Sylvia

02 Named Acknowledged

What needs to be named or acknowledged this year?

Intro

During fall 2024 I attended a workshop with journaling mentor and coach Joelle. You can follow her substack at Reconnect and Befriend; her Instagram is Reconnect and Befriend Coach.

To help conclude this year (that wraps up a quarter of the twenty-first century), Joelle's recent substack offered three questions – with three lively illustrations – to answer as we anticipate a bright 2026. My second reflection is about named or acknowledged.


What needs to be named or acknowledged this year?

This is another old one for me because "you can't change what you don't acknowledge." Particularly since Covid was pandemic, I've looked around and seen how many are struggling with finances, housing, career, mental and emotional health, social well-being. What's on your list?

You know the adage about women settling for too little. However you identify, you've probably been so overwhelmed, disappointed, and snowed under that you've truthfully admitted almost everything is pretty bad, not what you expected, far from what you ultimately need, but when you scarcely can breathe or take another step, you still admit "at least" I have a roof. "At least" I have some income. At least I don't quite hate my job(s). I'm "even" doing better in some ways than I was in and when…[name the place and/or name the time].

But it's not only naming the situation that's never objective because it involves living breathing people. It's acknowledging the sorrow, grief, and devastation. Most of us are doing whatever possible to alter our current circumstances, because so few are in anything better than passable. Amidst all that, naming where I am today professionally and residentially is easy and I've been doing it out loud, on paper, and online.

Like almost everyone I know, I'm working on updating my living and career situations. I've been taking action, however sporadically, imperfectly, and otherly. What I want is simple. How to achieve it isn't simple; that I know because I can't count the dead ends and roadblocks.

I need to name and acknowledge the grief, the loss, the shattered minimal expectations. The emotions!

Someone in a past life told me their physiological reactions usually were vascular. Mine are visceral, so my gut takes a whole lot of the impact. For physical health at least as much as for my mental and emotional well-being, I need to name and acknowledge the grief, the loss, the shattered minimal expectations. The emotions! Out loud (on paper, and online) now.

It's hard because we do need to tough things out some extent. Everything cannot become a major crisis, or even a crisis saved for later when I have time for it.

That's my word of acknowledgment today. Because I can't change my reactive gut until I admit to it.

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