That week between Christmas and New Year's

Ahhh...that week between Christmas and New Year's...food, just so. much. food. I made fudge. What in the world was I thinking? I try not to eat much sugar in real life but we all know that that week is not real life.

I was thinking about this👇🏽and I didn't want to be Susan!

I should have actually made banana bread! But I was remembering that my Grandma Hall (Mom's mom) made fudge every year at Christmas and I missed her and I missed Mom so I made fudge and ate my feelings.

Did you know a 9x9 pan makes like 4 lbs of fudge? And then I made coconut macaroons with chocolate bases. For Christmas dinner we had bourbon maple ham, scalloped potatoes, and green bean casserole made with homemade cream of mushroom soup that was so good I wanted to roll in it, like a dog.

Or scooch my neck in it.

Ecstasy.

And we ended it with a bang! by Brad making chicken alfredo and then had those leftovers on New Year’s Day. Delicious.

But now… Gag. Bleh. Gack.

I need a cleanse.

Or maybe a high colonic. (I've never done one, have you? They sound hideous!)

Or a salad. Yes, lots of salads That sounds more palatable. No need to go overboard here.

My favorite "in between" memes:

And even famous poets can't resist:

How can you say no to anything they want to do when you are still on the couch in your jammies??

That week is all indulgence, all the time: watching football with the boys, sleeping in, a million movies and shows and then, so much art! I had been in an artistic slump for a few months now but I popped out of it with art journaling! I've never tried it, which seems crazy with as much as I love to write and paint. I painted 8 pages in a few different journals I made out of old hardbound books from the thrift store. It's lovely to try new things and gets my creative juices flowing again! I will probably be sharing some bits and pieces from them soon. If you're interested in learning how I'm creating mine, let me know!

By New Year's Eve I was beginning to emerge from that weird little bubble, look around and think: Ok. I think I'm just about done with all of this. Time to clean up, take down the tree and decorations, and get back to some semblance of normal. Can I go back to work now?

So bright and early on January 2nd, I was sitting at my desk and writing. I could hear the birds chirping up a storm as the sun popped up over the trees on the other side of the pond. Then I heard a distinctive call and saw something big in a tree outside my window. OMG! A Pileated Woodpecker! I've never seen one out front, only in the forest behind the house.

See his silhouette?

These are the birds Woody the Woodpecker was based on. Looks about right, big body and head, skinny little neck!

Being me, I had to go look up what the Pileated Woodpecker might mean:

"Determination, steady work towards a goal, loyalty, presence. Woodpeckers tend to work at a project until they get it. They do so at a rhythmic pace, and they also tend to return to the same spots year after year, with the same mates, so they represent steadiness, loyalty, and progress.

If you are someone who tends to run until you burn out, the Pileated Woodpecker may appear to you."

That last sentence struck a chord because running until I burn out has been my M.O. all of my 54 years. Something I realized and started focusing and working on the last few months of 2023. I'm learning why I'm like that and how to work with it. I'll write more about that this year!

I'm loving this message from the woodpecker this morning!

And now here I am, with an awkward goodbye because I've already posted my memes! What have I done?? Memes in the middle of a post? Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!

Thank you for reading :-)