How To Recycle a Christmas Tree in Pittsburgh

Recycle Christmas Tree

First, if you put your tree at the curb – the City will take it, but it will NOT be recycled.  That’s very important. I had a chat with a local organization that used to recycle trees and they told me it is not a very profitable endeavor – essentially they  chip the trees into […]

Five Things I Did To Make Myself a Merry Christmas

donation coat and blanket

I answered the daily prompt about writing a note when I’ve visited a new place. This year, I worked hard for Christmas. Not shopping, cleaning or cooking. I worked hard on my attitude. And it paid off. The holidays are really hard for so many of us, an emotional flashpoint for anxiety, depression, addiction and […]

Our Family Christmas House Putz

Christmas House putz

The Prompt: Merry Christmas (if you’re Christian)! Share a photo from your day. Also the best holiday ever is sometimes learning what happened back in the day to create your modern customs. Merry Christmas! These photos capture the spirit of a family tradition stemming from my father’s maternal relatives – the Remleys. They were German and […]

Guilt, PTSD and a Dog Named Jack

Daily Prompt: The Guilt that Haunts Me  Share a time when you were overcome with guilt. What were the circumstances? How did you overcome your guilt? What an interesting prompt that happens to fall on Christmas Eve when the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future haunt Ebeneezer Scrooge. I’ve been really enamored of A […]

My (Honest and For True) Festivus Miracle

holiday giving charity festivus

A few weeks ago, I posted a little challenge to ask people to send me a Christmas card and promising to donate $1 to Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Community Center in exchange – to bolster their membership campaign. It was a very off the cuff thing so I didn’t expect a huge response. We got about 20 […]

Why I Am Spewing All This Heavy Stuff On My Blog

kindness mental illness

Someone recently told me that they’ve enjoyed reading my NaBloPoMo posts where I respond to a daily prompt because it helps them get to know me better and makes them think. That’s high praise. Inspiring people to think is pretty much the end goal for a blog (with occasional calls to action, of course.) I’m […]

Who Is My Number One Person?

The Prompt: Who is the most important person in your life? Describe that person in as great a detail as you can muster and most importantly, tell us why you cherish this person.   [slideshow_deploy id=’5857′]

Forgiveness (and Peace) Begin With Me

forgiveness Christmas

The Prompt: Share a story where it was very difficult for you to forgive the perpetrator for wronging you, but you did it — you forgave them. So – wow. This is a very difficult question to address. Forgiveness is not my strong suit. I’m more of a ‘let’s pretend everything is okay’ type – but […]

Saturday Memory: Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas

Emmet Otter

Who is with me on this one? Jim Henson created this from a children’s book. It aired on HBO in 1978 and then on ABC in 1980. I was 8 and we might have had HBO in 1978, but it is more likely that I saw it on ABC in 1980. I have no idea […]

Yarn Bombing Miracle in Pittsburgh

donate blankets pittsburgh