Tag: traditions

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#ThrowbackThursday Goodbye Lord & Taylor

Since 1914, Lord & Taylor has had its flagship store on New York City’s Fifth Avenue. Sadly it was announced earlier this year that the current owner, Canadian company Hudson’s Bay Co., has sold the lovely landmark building to WeWork (other locations will remain open). For years the Lord & Taylor Christmas windows were the highlight of my family’s holiday outing to New York City. The demise of this location hits hard because of that and because it reminds me of another venerable retail institution which was shuttered and which was like part of my family – B. Altman’s. My dad worked at Altman’s for over twenty years and I worked there as well to pay for high school and college expenses. I actually based the store in ONE SUMMER NIGHT on Altman’s which is still so dear to my heart.

So today’s Throwback Thursday is an homage to the Lord & Taylor Christmas windows. Thank you for so many wonderful years and memories. You will be missed.

FYI – Hudson’s Bay also owns Saks Fifth Avenue. Wonder if that location will be the next with a “For Sale” sign?

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Easter Sunday #ThrowbackThursday

With Easter just a few days away, it reminds me of all the Easter Egg hunts we used to have with the kids when they were younger. We kept them up until the kids were way into their teens since it was so much fun.

Hopefully we’ll soon have another generation who can participate!

This is a photo from one of those long ago Easter Egg hunts.
Easter Egg Hunt

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Traditions, Navajo Mythology, and Raven #giveaway

Today I have the pleasure of having with me my dear friends and fellow authors Aimee and David Thurlo who are here to share with us the inspiration for their latest Harlequin Intrigue, POWER OF THE RAVEN. Please welcome Aimee and David and also, check out the cool giveaway they have going on to celebrate their new release. For more information, you can visit David and Aimee at www.aimeeanddavidthurlo.com.

POWER OF THE RAVEN

When you write stories that focus on places and the people who live in them, as we do with our novels about the southwest, people often want to know how we get ideas for the next book.

Our February release for Harlequin Intrigue, “Power of the Raven,” is a story that came to us when we were walking around Old Town in Albuquerque and saw a small, beautifully carved fetish in a storefront window and stopped to admire it. According to tradition, a fetish is more than just a carving. It’s a symbol that is said to capture the essence of the animal and impart those qualities to its owner.

Out of that moment came a storyline about a hataalii, a Navajo medicine man, Hosteen (mister) Silver, who fosters troubled Navajo boys, giving them a new life and future. On their sixteen birthday, each of the boys receives a gift – a special fetish carved for them. Gene Redhouse, the hero of Power of the Raven, carries a bear fetish. A bear fits Gene because bear’s power is made strong in solitude. Though Bear has a dark side, he also stands for confidence and inner stillness.

“Power of the Raven” centers around Gene, now a man, on a path that will test the limits of his courage.

I’ve always had a special affinity for animals, and the lore that surrounds each fetish is something I find particularly fascinating. One of my favorites is Raven.

Raven’s magic brings the power needed to take your dreams, give them time to form, then make them a reality. Raven belongs to the inner world, that place where we protect the part of us that’s often injured by the sting of rejection. Raven becomes a powerful ally who encourages us to embrace the shadows because they’re also part of who we are.

I find that especially beautiful, because as authors we have to dig into memories of pain as well as triumphs to make our characters come alive. The process can be difficult and leaves you feeling vulnerable at a time when you most need to protect yourself. Not everyone will see what you want to do in the story you create and the words you use to do it. There will be harsh comments, and judgments. You have to be able to take the blows, smile, and keep going. It can hurt – badly – but like a famous teacher once said, ‘It doesn’t matter how many times you fall down – only how many times you get back up.”

Each of the Copper Canyon stories will feature a hero and heroine who has, or will receive, a very special fetish in the course of the book. As the characters learn about their new spiritual brother, the reader will go on their journey with them, and maybe some will find their own fetish – an animal carving that will remind you of your own uniqueness, and the power that resides in each of us.

To celebrate its publicaton we’re having a very special giveaway – a handcarved raven fetish signed by the artist, Amos Pooacha. Mr. Pooacha is confined to a wheelchair and makes his living carving these very special fetishes.

Please write me at ADThurlo at aol dot com, specify you want to enter our drawing, then Feb. 29th we’ll announce the winner on our web page, and of course, that person will immediately notified via e-mail.

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Holiday Blog Hop #Giveaway & Holiday Traditions

Welcome to the 2011 Holiday Blog Hop. We’re having some fun during this crazy holiday time talking music, movies, and more. Best of all, we’re giving away over $80.00 worth of prizes!

Two days. Tuesday December 13 and Wednesday December 14, 2011. Four blogs each day. All you have to do is show up and comment on each blog to be entered for the grand prize drawing of eight e-books and a $40 Amazon Gift Card! Just in time for the holiday season!

Day One December 13th:

Lynn Rush: http://lynnrush.com/
Kendall Grey: http://www.kendallgrey.com/
Caridad Piñeiro: https://www.caridad.com/blog/
Rebecca Zanetti: http://rebeccazanetti.com/blog-2/

Day Two December 14th:

Rachel Firasek: http://www.rachelfirasek.com/
Ciara Knight: http://www.ciaraknight.com/
Lisa Kessler: http://lisakessler.wordpress.com/
Jean Murray: http://wickedromance.wordpress.com/

Guidelines for the Blog Hop!

Open internationally

Contest runs from 2am (Eastern Standard Time) Tuesday December 13th, 2011 to Midnight (Eastern Standard Time) Wednesday December 14th, 2011. Winner announced Monday December 19th, 2011 on all of the blogs in the hop.

Winner: You will have ten days (10) to contact us to claim your prize: (lynnrush at cox dot net) Failure to contact us within allotted time will forfeit your prize. We can then choose either to re-award the prize to another entrant or not.

To earn the twenty-five (25) entries toward the grand prize you must comment on each of the eight blogs participating in the Holiday Blog Hop.

Please remember it is illegal to sell, forward, give away or copy electronic books in anyway. Doing so violates copyright.

If you are unable to leave comments on the blogs due to lack of internet connectivity/availability, you may enter via email to LynnRush at cox dot net.

And now for my holiday traditions!

I love the holiday season! Starting with Thanksgiving and going all the way to Christmas, the holiday season for me is filled with family, friends and remembering something very important: How blessed I am in life.

So, first it’s a wonderful time with family at Thanksgiving and this year we headed out a little early to get our Christmas tree. Every year we head to the Anne Ellen Tree Farm. It’s a lovely and peaceful time, traipsing through the fields to find the perfect tree to take home. After we find it and chop it down, we buy a couple of ornaments to commemorate that year’s visit.

Then we head home and as time allows, trim the tree and also set up a Christmas village. Both are so much fun.

For the tree, we sift through the ornaments, recalling the Christmases of the past. It’s fun to see what we thought was important that year as we always try to get ornaments that reflect what was going on in our lives that year. So there are ornaments about graduations or getting licenses. Others we bought on vacations and with the flavor of where we’ve been to remind us of those good times and wonderful places. You’ll see one of our favorites (the naked butt Christmas family) in the slide show below (or you can check out the album by clicking here!).

This is the ornament we call the naked butt Christmas family. I bought the ornament when I was able to visit Peru many years ago and we love its simplicity and humor!

Naked Butt Family

But the tree isn’t the only thing we do to prep for Christmas! We also put up a village. The pieces in the village have been collected from various places and stores. We pick the pieces when they appeal to us, so it’s a mix of all different kinds of buildings, people and other assorted objects. We try to add a little something every year and it’s always fun to try a new look and layout for the village.


Created with flickr slideshow.

After the tree and village are up, we decorate the outside of the house and the other rooms to get ready for Christmas Eve. Since hubby is Italian and I’m Cuban, Christmas Eve is a mix of the Italian Seven Fishes and a traditional Cuban meal. As you can imagine, tons of food, but the best part is having lots of family and friends around the table to share in the celebration. Here’s a photo of what the tables look like on Christmas Eve.

I won’t even tell you how long it takes to cook all the food and do all the clean-up, but no matter what, it’s worth it to be able to share the love of family and friends on such a special night. To me, that love is the true spirit of Christmas!

Thank you for visiting. Please visit my other friends and fellow authors on the blog hop and leave comments in order to earn points toward the giveaway!

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The Royal Wedding

There are some memories that never leave you, whether good or bad. 9/11. That memory will never fade especially as the tenth anniversary approaches.

The shock of going to the convenience store one summer weekend to pick up bagels and the paper and seeing that Princess Di had been killed.

Watching Princess Di marry Prince Charles on another summer day. My mom and I had gotten up early to watch together. She had been diagnosed with cancer just a couple of months earlier. Little did I know I would only have her for another short couple of months.

Still, it was a magical memory. The carriage. The gown. The traditions. I still remember it to this day!

So here’s a look back in time to that day. Tomorrow I will be recording the wedding so that my daughter and I can sit side-by-side watching the event. Maybe I’ll buy some scones and clotted cream. Whip up a little tea for us to enjoy while we watch.

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Fun Friday – Holiday Traditions

Snowman Holiday TraditionsIt’s that time of year when I can’t stop thinking about all the fun and wonderful things that the holiday season brings. For me the best part of it is getting to spend time with my family. We always go and chop down our tree, play tourist in New York City and share Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Eve with family and friends.

Here’s a shot of my dining room, all ready for those family and friends!

How about you? What are some of your fun holiday traditions? What other fun things do you have happening today or over the weekend? Please share with us.

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Welcome to the Three Kings Today!

It’s the Epiphany! Little Christmas to some and Los Reyes Magos to Latinos in many countries. Los Reyes (The Three Wise Men/Magi) is celebrated with a variety of festivals and parades as you can see by clicking to view this video of a parade for Los Reyes in Madrid.

Los Reyes bring small gifts and toys much like they would have brought gifts for the baby Jesus. In my house, my parents would leave little gifts near the fireplace and my sister and I would leave carrots and other vegetables for the camels to eat. One year my sister woke up the entire house because she had heard the camels on the rooftop and had seen one of them looking in through the window!

We still keep this tradition in my household and when I get home tonight from work, we’ll open up the little gifts that Los Reyes have brought.

How about you? Do you celebrate the coming of the Three Wise Men? Do you have a special tradition that you do on Christmas Eve or through the 12 Days of Christmas until the Epiphany?

threekings

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