Christmas – The Holiday That Calls for Generosity

This time of year, we all look forward to receiving gifts — to finally getting those things we’ve dreamed about, without spending a dime. But Christmas is not just about receiving. It's a time to be generous, to spread happiness, and most importantly, to show humanity. It’s often said that the good deeds done at Christmas are never forgotten. Many institutions need help during the holidays. Orphanages, already filled with sadness, always welcome a break from their daily routine. A small material donation — toys, clothes you no longer use, or even homemade cookies — can make a world of difference in such places.  

Soup kitchens and homeless shelters are also places where your help will be welcomed with open arms. The magic of Christmas Night should be shared with as many people as possible — family, friends, and even strangers. A celebration that spiritually unites millions of people around the world should be about generosity, kindness, and sharing joy. Christmas is the perfect time to remember everything that brings us happiness, the good we’ve done throughout the year, and the blessings we’ve received. It’s also the time to be thankful and try to bring a smile to those who aren’t as fortunate. This is the true spirit of Christmas.

Bird Feeders

Today I went to the store and bought some hangers and the small feeders. Note the feeders do not have a lot of seed in them. There's a reason for that. It's almost impossible to keep seed dry here during the winter. My chair is just inside the door so I figure I can put out small amounts and add more as needed. It's easy for wet seed to mold and clog the holes. No, I'm not crazy. That is a hummingbird feeder. There's one breed that lives here in the Willamette Valley the year around. Occasionally we've put out a feeder and I do remember going out every few minutes to wipe the snow off so the hummingbirds could get to it. Bob just called me to the window and we have a hummingbird at the feeder. That didn't take long. I am under no illusion this arrangement will keep the seed dry. My best hope is that it will help since they're hanging under a covered patio and I put out a source of water. So far the hummingbird is the only customer we've had but the feeders went up late yesterday afternoon. Now about that nice plump gray squirrel that crosses my patio multiple times a day. When I went to the store I contemplated getting a squirrel feeder and putting an ear of corn on it but my experience has been that they will rip the corn cob off and take the whole thing, feeder and all if necessary. I did buy a small bag of squirrel food and will put a handful out everyday. I'll explain to him the system of sharing, he gets his and the birds get theirs. I'm sure he won't want to make me unhappy.

Picture Hanging

What I love about picture hanging is there are no rules. Many of you have written to me asking about specific sizes and patterns used in photo collages like these from past posts, but the fact is, with any photo collage, when you are hanging them you may only have a few pictures to hang, but as the years go on you'll add onto it. So, I say no rules! Just hang them as you see fit. This obviously can't apply every picture hanging project, there are some that are more complicated and would definitely require some more tricks and planning, and patience. There's tons of great tips out there as well for ways to easily hang your pictures.

Rock to The Top

Entrepreneur, broadcaster, and author of the best selling and highly motivational book Rock to the top, What I learned about success from the world's greatest rock stars, Dayna Steele shares success secrets from legendary rock stars including Van Halen, Aerosmith, and KISS. She shows how you can use their ideas and techniques to become a business rock star. Dayna Steele is my internet radio show guest on Blog business success, hosted live on Blog talk radio. The show airs live on this thursday. Entrepreneur, broadcaster, and author of the best selling and highly motivational book Rock to the top, Dayna Steele shares success secrets from legendary rock stars. You will learn how show business techniques can be applied to business; the power of networking and getting help where needed; how to build and protect your brand and its image and how to organize a business as if it were a rock stage stage show. Dayna Steele is an entertaining and inspiring motivational keynote speaker and the author of the best-selling business book Rock to the top from the world's greatest rock stars. She reigned for years as Houston's "First Lady of Radio", building a large army of fans known as "Steeleworkers" at local rock radio station.

Meet Hypnosis: The best Technique to Treat your Pains

Hypnosis is the best choice for most people suffering from diverse forms of pain, anxiety, and also for the people who want to quit smoking and lose weight. Throughout history to our present time hypnosis has been commonly used and is being used as a natural healing tool all over the world. Today we speak of hypnosis in the UAE, specifically, hypnotherapy Dubai.

Hypnosis is a set of techniques created to enhance the state of concentration, minimize the distractions, and increase responsiveness to suggestions to alter one's thoughts, feelings, behavior, or physiological state. If you didn’t know, hypnosis is a practice used to assist other types of mental health therapies and medical treatments. People are different so they respond differently when it comes to hypnosis. The only way to be hypnotized is to focus your mind and spirit in the attempt to meditate on your condition, goal or issue. Hypnosis is also a state of conscious awareness which most people experience often, many times each day.

Hypnotherapy has three important values:

• Absorption, or a state of focused concentration or attention;
• Dissociation, where the client’s perception of the external environment diminishes;
• Suggestibility (the capacity of an individual to respond to verbal communication). 

People talk about the hypnotic state of mind in many ways like, “being beside oneself”, “out of body experiences”, “daydreaming”, “tuning out” or a meditative state. Hypnosis has also helped in the evolution of the relationship between psychologists and people who need them. It is well known that our society needs more help from therapies like hypnotherapy. However hypnosis is a process that requires time and openness to new dimensions. The collaboration between science and hypnosis leads to an evolution both in emotional and physical, and represents an increasingly used alternative to conventional medicine and therapy.

What's Happening?

Nothing, no phone call, no email, no nothing. It's 10:20 a.m. and we've not heard a word. Will they come at noon, this afternoon, or this evening? Will they come at all? I have no phone numbers to check on them. We woke up to heavy rain this morning. By now the roses have lost their splendor. Sometimes after a light mist or rain you can get beautiful photos of roses with rain drops on them but not today. This rain is hard enough to beat the petals off. I have located a nursery where they can purchase an Austin Griffiths Manzanita in a one gallon container for $12.99. The coast? Not today baby.

A Better Day

We picked up a very different couple at the hotel this morning than we'd seen the night before. They'd rested well, had discussed their situation and realized a four week road trip was too much. They had canceled reservations for the rest of the trip through Washington, Canada (not the post secondary blog) and South Dakota. When they leave here on Tuesday morning they will be heading home. They seemed relieved. They put an ice chest of medical supplies in the back of the van. If he checked his glucose or gave himself injections I never saw it. Not a medical term was heard all day. She's very horticultural minded and was quickly lost in all the beauty surrounding her as we drove to the coast. It felt like I was riding with a talking plant encyclopedia. She'd never seen plants grow so big, trees so tall, wildflowers so beautiful and on and on she went. It is true she can not walk long distances but she can walk about two blocks. Rodger would drop us off then park the car, and return to pick us up. Once she saw a bridge over a small rushing stream and walked to that. It rained off and on most of the day but we managed to do and see what we needed to. The weather looks much better here this evening so I'm hoping we'll have a good day at the rose gardens tomorrow. I'd really like her to see it at its best. Oh yes, the manzanita bush is on again, so we'll pick that up tomorrow afternoon.