Monday, January 15, 2007

NEW BEGINNINGS

For a time I belonged to a TOPS support group (Take Off Pounds Sensibly). Every week we'd arrive with our weight record books in hand and weigh in. It was carefully recorded in our book and in the chapter's ledger. Your weight was compared to that of the previous weigh-in, and losses or stand-stills were recorded in black, gains in red. There were little rewards for losses, and minor penalties for gaining. At the end of the year, the weight at the beginning of the year and that at the end were compared, telling you what your gain or loss for the year had been.

It was always a downer when you gained. However, on the first meeting of the new year, the slate was wiped clean. Your weight wasn't compared to the last one in the previous year: No one lost and no one gained. It was a joyous feeling - this idea of a new beginning in a new year.

Happy clean slate, my friends, for whatever needs to be erased from yours. Happy new beginnings, and a very Happy 2007.

Dee Ann
Posted by Dee Ann Palmer 8:50 PM 2 Comments:

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--------------------------------------- Saturday, January 06, 2007

After the Ball is Over

I promised to tell you about decorating our fresh Christmas tree, but first I must tell you it was "The Sound of the Trumpet" mystery I was looking for. The horn involved is that of Clifford Brown. That's perfect, because at a four day convention our trumpeter son performed in an orchestra that played music Brown had played. My husband and I love jazz, and we thoroughly enjoyed that concert.

Another year at the convention, in a hotel near LAX, the orchestra he was in performed a jazz version of "Porgy and Bess." That was incredibly special. However, it wasn't until I'd attended a Left Coast Crime Convention that I made the connection - that people who love jazz did the same thing we were doing! Just as we writers and reading fans had assembled to talk about the books and writing that fascinated us, musicians and music lovers would come from all over the world to hear about and listen to jazz.

Anyway, back to our tree. We put tiny multi-colored lights on it, and the ornaments I use are sentimental. There are things our sons made while growing up, and things that represent the interests of each of us in the family...trumpets, a skateboarder, a little guy typing on a stack of books, figures of Kristie Yamaguchi, Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman, running and track shoes, a baseball glove and ball, tennis rackets and golf bags, a polar bear, a mandolin and an acoustic guitar. There's something to represent each of us, even the grandparents who have passed away.

When he was eight, our youngest son made a cross-eyed jointed Santa out of construction paper in school. Santa's about a foot high, and his job's to cover the holes. Every Christmas tree we've ever bought has had a hole.

I complete the decorating with shiny ornaments and tinsel. The tree isn't beautiful. It isn't even balanced, but it has charm. It has heart. And, most of all, it's a family tradition.

I love putting it up. When New Year's Day has passed, and the tree's branches are dangerously dry and giving me hay fever, I can hardly wait to take it down.

That's when the ball is over, and it's time to step back into a world not of my making. Time to create with words on paper one I can control.

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's to health and prosperity.

Dee Ann

Posted by Dee Ann Palmer 7:55 PM 0 Comments:

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