@mimi
daily in individual small ways, and, in time, in concet and with tffect. We can only try, try to be consistent in out acts and to prod others.

to me What Christmas means.

hmm ... he quotes T.S. Ellit's poem:

The magi turn their backs on their old world to embrace one that is alien, obscure and perplexing. They are full of doubt. They feel pain, not joy, “with the voices singing in our ears, saying that this was all folly.” There is no sudden epiphany. There is only bewilderment. They become aliens in their own land, “with the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly.” Faith, they find—this new faith—is exhausting and even disillusioning. Eliot concludes:

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

America is in terminal decline. It is enveloped by radical evil. Its corporate systems of power and empire exploit and kill with impunity. Its perverted values champion cruelty, mendacity and greed. It bows before the idols of money and power. It is severed from the human. It, like Herod and the Roman Empire, damns the infant Jesus. There is nothing easy about faith. It demands we smash the idols that enslave us. It demands we die to the world. It demands self-sacrifice. It demands resistance. It calls us to see ourselves in the wretched of the earth. It separates us from all that is familiar. It knows that once we feel the suffering of others, we will act.

Will we act?

@divineorder
is for all of to act, continuously, a step at a time and a day at a time.

Our sins away.' Washing away the sins of tptb' and military seems such a daunting tadk.

Peace, el.

@OLinda
& tree just for the sake of celebrating, possibly a late yule, because the solstice varies but a major shopping holiday cannot, or something. Glad it is warming there. Our morning temps have gone from 28 last week to 39 today, which is good. Enjoy your day.

everybody. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate. I don't celebrate Christmas. I did put lights on the porch though. Just because it's pretty I guess.

Still cold here, but above single digits this morning!

@riverlover
Potato-chorizo casserole sounds like just the thing for doing so. Sounds great, though I might go with kielbasa instead. We later shall travel for a gathering and indulge in ham and what goes with it.

Unless one counts my harbor bell ringing, bong-bong and the winds are supposed to pick up today. Power-outage threats for us peons. A white Christmas here. Colder this coming week. Teens for highs.

Dog is asleep after a warm Christmas breakfast of what looks to me like gruel with a few pieces of kibble. I am probably getting a visit later from my daughter and her husband and maybe their two dogs. Not ready. I am considering making a chorizo/potato casserole later for me.

Now that my health is declining, I get lucky and win stuff in random or guess-the-number giveaways. I find that somewhat unsettling.

Happy Monday and this week, however you do it!

@Raggedy Ann
NM food sounds possibly great. My wife invented a new delicacy, a thick, chunky variant of leek and potato soup, using leeks, white potatoes, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach and parsnips with a cilantro garnish. It was surprisingly fabulous, especially with fresh homemade artisan style sourdough batard.

and everyone ~~ it's not as cold this morning. We had a nice family dinner with traditional NM food. So delicious and so warmed to be with my family.

My grandson has a friend living with him who was too depressed (bad upbringing) to join us. I sent him a small gift (his only one, sigh) and dinner. Hope he's ok.

I'm grateful for what I have and who I have in my life. I'm so grateful for this community. There is so much evil around us, let's work to smother each other with kindness.

Let's think of others as we strive to have a beautiful day, folks.

@Shahryar

time to go to the neighbor's for some Christmas sherry!

@earthling1

a great bacon, egg, potato, and cheese casserole, everbody is napping on the floor or couch.
Well, at least they're not glued to their phones. Just me.
Anticipating a great dinner and evening.
Then, the 1200 mile drive home. Freezing rain awaits us.
Glad I packed the chains.
Have a safe day everyone.