Pilgrimage Recap and Refreshment & Curiosity for Dec 2024

December 20, 2024

Greetings!

Christmas and Hanukkah are both on December 25 this year

The holidays are upon us! Are you ready? We went minimalist on the decorating this year. I didn’t want to mess with a tree. Gregg likes one in the front window. Our compromise was the tree (artificial and pre-lit) went in the window with no ornaments on it. I figure that no one will notice the difference. Haha!

My mother made a large, 3-piece ceramic creshe for my grandparents in 1979. Thanks to Aunt Evelyn passing it along to me, it is in the dining room all year around along with our other nativity set collections from around the world. I added twinkle lights around Mom’s. A few snowmen were begging to be displayed so I put them out along with 2 Santa hats.

Soon after, four of my great nieces and nephews who live in my neighborhood knocked on the door. They were craving cherry tomatoes and know we usually have them. Haha! I think they prefer tomatoes to candy so who am I to argue? The boys spied the Santa hats and promptly put them on. None of the children noticed the empty tree. There you have it. Perfect decorations.

Last week, Gregg saw a billboard encouraging Christians to celebrate Hanukkah, especially this year since Hanukkah begins at sundown on December 25. Honestly, the thought had never occurred to me. Come to find out, Jesus celebrated this holiday which, in His day, was called The Feast of Dedication. See John 10:22. When visiting Israel in 1990, we purchased a minorah. Gregg found it in a box but, alas, it only holds seven candles, not nine.

Do you celebrate one or both of these holidays? Or maybe you celebrate another holiday. I’d love hear about your holiday traditions. And thoughts about how I, as a Christian, might learn ways to celebrate Hanukkah.

UK Celtic Christianity Pilgrimage Recap

Thank you so much for those who read the blog during our 3-week pilgrimage in Scotland and England.

Our highlights of the trip include:

• our time on the island of Iona, Scotland (days 4 & 5)
• worshipping at St. Aiden’s Parish Church in Bamburgh, England (days 9 & 10)
• Durham Cathedral (day 11)
• St. Julian Church, Norwich (day 13)
• time with friends in Oxford (days 14-15)
• choral eucharistic service at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, (day 15)
• St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (day 18)

Some interesting statistics from our three week trip:

• We ate ice cream a mere four times (Maryland, Edinburgh, Cambridge, and Oxford.) Shocked?!
• We received holy communion 11 times. (including the Sunday we left and the Sunday we returned)
• In addition to those communion services, we attended seven non-eucharistic services. (morning prayers, evening prayers, agape meal, compline, evensong, plus prayer walking a labyrinth)
• We went into or walked around 35 churches, abbeys, cathedrals, and church ruins.
• According to my Garmin, we walked around 130 miles.
• Gregg drove (on the left hand side of the road) over 1,200 miles. Kristin, zero.
• Aunt Kitten thoroughly enjoyed her pilgrimage, too.

Aunt Kitten’s Fizzle Drizzle Flop book is Progressing

Speaking of Aunt Kitten, I have 2/3 of the illustrations penciled out for the next book. I’m excited and have been getting positive feedback. I’ll be taking the next two weeks off for the holidays but plan to get right back at it in January. My target date is aggressive, yet it is a goal. I have a “big” birthday coming up in February. It would be so fun to release it on that day.

Eggnog Ice Cream

Last but not least, a word about our ice cream creations. Gregg found eggnog without corn syrup (we get ours at Costco in the milk and egg cold room.) He just pours it into the ice cream machine as is and it comes out creamy and delicious! One ingredient ice cream. Easy peazy!

Here’s to living each day to the fullest, watching for glimmers of joy as we pass from 2024 to 2025.

You are a gift to me! Thank you!

Kristin Emily Friend  🐾

www.kristinemilyfriend.com

PS – If you have any Hanukkah ideas, or want to “talk” about something else, just hit reply to this email. From my website, click “Contact” in the top righthand corner of any page to send me a message.