Holidailies 2017

Thank You Hamish Macbeth

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Photo A..M. Moscoso

This is Hamish Macbeth- I was lucky enough to become his Mommy  just before Halloween in 2014.

I almost named him Boris Karloff in honor of the season and one of my favorite actors but he actually responded to the name Hamish Macbeth- so Hamish he is.

Photo: A.M. Moscoso

2014 was not a good year for me for a variety of reasons- one being I suffer from depression and even though I had begun counseling and medication that stuff doesn’t kick in right away so I was struggling.

And why not throw the Holidays into that mess just to make things a little bit harder?

I was lucky. I had help swoop in just before the first fake trees hit the Mall.

The thing that saved me from really having a hard situation become an intolerable one was my  dog.

He was a  12 week old Chocolate Lab Puppy with ( then ) yellow cat’s eyes.

Hamish was this very serious little puppy when I first brought him home. But within a month his personality exploded and he became outgoing, friendly, engaging goofy and scary smart.

He just couldn’t get enough of the world and the people and things in it.

So I got to watch this little bundle of joy take to the world around him with unbridled enthusiasm and energy and curiosity- and I was lucky enough to be there when it happened.

So I went along for the ride an it was just before Christmas.

Here are some of Hamish’s first Christmas pictures- it just seems right to put this post and these pictures up now because I think Hamish is what the holidays SHOULD be about.

Puppies make Christmases perfect!

Hamish wanted in on the Christmas Wrapping fun, so my nieces wrapped him up- which he proudly wore until the tape got warm and the paper fell off.

My niece, my Mom and ” Baby Hamish”

Luis and Hamish- quite the handsome pair!

 

amm

Christmas Special (2017) Writing Prompt #14 – Best Christmas present

 

Who Put THAT In The Punch Bowl?

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I have never got a bad Christmas Present in my LIFE which is a shame because I have given some crap gifts over the years.

The sad thing is- I didn’t KNOW they were lousy presents when I wrapped them and stuck them under the tree.

I have tried shopping from a list, giving something I made, paying attention to what was popular. I even paid to have someone wrap them and I STILL managed to screw it up.

Most of the time I  think it’s funny when  people give me  that ” Really Anita Marie? WHY?” look- but that’s when I write something strange or say something weird on purpose.

It’s not a lot of fun when it comes to the Christmas Gift part of the  holiday festivities.

This is the one time of the year where I wish I could, for once get on the same page with the people around me.

So now I give out gift cards- of course I got creative and would include some candy or something. But in the end it was a plastic gift card with Christmas Candy and it ended up being safe and not very festive.

I really do wish that presents wasn’t a part of this holiday- but it is and like every other year I guess I’ll try and maybe one Christmas I’ll get it right.

amm

Christmas Special (2017) Writing Prompt #13 – Worst Christmas present

How Sweet It Is

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The

Christmas Morning I woke up to snow, the Mumps and a brand new lime green bike with daisies stamped on the frame and a gear shift

the Christmas Eve Dinner when I tried Bourbon Balls for the first time and fed the half chewed remains to my cousin’s champion Saint Bernard Show Dog

All of the Christmas Nights that were cold and dark and full wandering pale winter  ghosts, warm rich food and soft lights burning from our over decorated tree

racing out the frosted windows into midnight

to find

and bring back

the next

perfect

Christmas.

 

Christmas Special (2017) Writing Prompt #12 – Perfect Christmas

Holiday Chocolates, A Ghost and a Mirror

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Photo A.M Moscoso

Last month I learned this great ghost story- it involved a chocolate shop, a mirror and a ghost with missing fingers.

The night I learned the story, it was chilly and it was just starting to rain and better yet the shop was closed at the time, so we were all lined up at the window peering into the darkness  towards the back of the shop where the mirror is.

I had my face right up against the glass- of course- and I was thinking to myself:

” I can’t wait to come back in the morning and buy a bunch of chocolates to take home with me.”

Here’s the funny party- I don’t like chocolate. Not even a little. I like milk chocolate and white chocolate ( yes, yes, yes, I KNOW white chocolate is not ‘real’ chocolate ) but as far as the traditional, dark, rich chocolate.

Ugh- I am not a fan.

But I had a plan.

A delicious one.

So the next day I went back and bought a big box of chocolates- and they weren’t little bite sized candies- they were generous sized pieces of chocolate with delicious creamy fillings. I went vampire on a few and drained the filling out, so I can vouch for the heaven that was hiding there in the darkness.

Photo A.M. Moscoso

I had my family over for Thanksgiving- and just before pie I pulled out a candy dish stacked with the chocolates

Just after the unwrapping and the moment my family began to sink their teeth into the chocolates I told them the story about the Haunted Candy Store and the ghost with the missing fingers.

They looked at the candy, they looked at me and back at the candy again.

They could have rolled their eyes around and thanked me for ruining the moment- but my family loves a good ghost story and I have been known for bringing up unsavory topics involving graveyards and missing body parts at dinners before so for the most part my story about buying candy from a haunted candy store wasn’t exactly earth shattering.

So.

They chewed, they were in heaven, I was in heaven.

We are all in heaven but for different reasons, as you can guess.

At the end of the evening though- when I was encouraging people to take some of the candy home ( I kid you not- those are BIG pieces of candy. Two people can share one piece and call it good ) I noticed some of us were calling the chocolates ” Ghost Candy.”

Next time I go back to Rogers I might snap a picture of the mirror- and maybe if I’m lucky, there will be a little handprint on it.

Maybe next time I’ll  ask if they have Lady Fingers.

Photo A.M. Moscoso

Daily Post Prompt: Jolly