‘Tis the season!
Happy Los Posados! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Christmas! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy New Year!
It certainly ‘tis the season! And once again it seems to have snuck right up. We had a fun time at a party thrown by friends over the weekend, and we’re super looking forward to Christmas Eve, when Scott’s kids join us, and Christmas Day, when my son and daughter-in-law visit. And, of course, the yellow Lab presence on each occasion – we love our grand-dogs! We will mingle jollily with other family members and friends, as well, and look forward to taking a few days off.
Have you been having or hearing conversations about holiday greetings? How some people say “Happy Holidays” to be inclusive during the holiday season, and others hold to “Merry Christmas” as the holiday of real weight, some getting all harrumphy about the topic. I like to address each individually as circumstances suggest. Scott leans toward the universal, inclusive expression with people he doesn’t know and what holidays, if any, they may celebrate. Or he’ll return a message in kind if offered. He talked about the topic in his recently revitalized blog, if you’re interested in reading it. Please feel free to leave a comment!
Speaking of Scott and his messages, he will be announcing a pretty cool decision soon, likely right after New Year’s (and our fifth wedding anniversary on the 31st!). If you do read his blog and then roam around on his website some, you’ll find out what’s up. He’s still tweaking that and readying it for his latest adventure.
Here’s a picture of us from our visit to Block Island in September. Scott loves the shot not for the breathtaking beauty, not for the fun pic of us enjoying a day of adventure together – but because he forgot to take his reading glasses off for the photo. And for having a great hair day! LOL!!!
Public health myth: Holiday season downer message needs correcting
Sorry! This topic may seem surprising, but talk about sending a wrong message during the holidays! So many articles historically have linked the holiday season with increased suicide rates, and that simply isn’t so! In fact, the opposite is true, and has been for years. Here’s a recent, accurate story that addresses the topic. We say accurate, because we researched it and found several quality sources stating this position, beginning with the CDC. Seriously, we need some actual fact checking, please!
Maybe blame the holiday movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” and all those depressing scenes featuring Jimmy Stewart aimed toward rock bottom and contemplating suicide. It might seem reasonable that some people do get down during the holidays, especially if they’ve recently lost loved ones. But most people who we’d think might spiral downward are actually lifted by the bright times and social gatherings and especially by kindly acts of others. Imagine if we treated ourselves so well year-round!
Here are some other myths/facts about suicide.
Health tip: Instead, let’s look up at hope!
We were inspired by a positive message from our friends at the National Breast Cancer Foundation, who addressed “hope” in their email last week. Here’s some of their message:
“Dr. Louise Lubin, a licensed clinical psychologist with over 40 years of experience working with women facing breast cancer, outlines tools we can use to have and hold onto hope. One tool is to keep HEAL in mind. When we HEAL, we:
- 1. Have a positive experience. Create a small daily pleasure. It could be something as simple as listening to the birds, having time to create, or watching a child do something adorable. Something small that allows yourself to find a positive experience.
- 2. Enrich that positive experience, allowing it to soak into your body. You may want to lower your shoulders, relax your face, or breathe deeply. Allow the experience and the sense of it into your body, and take an extra 10, 20, even 30 seconds to let it flow throughout.
- 3. Absorb it. Really savor it, and bring that positive experience into your body. Don’t move on from it too quickly.
- 4. Link that experience—if you can. When you’re having a tough time, try to remember parts of that positive experience and the way it felt inside your body.”
Read more from Dr. Lubin here.
We came across this essay about hope by musician Jonathan Belle – a worthy read! He says:
- “First, we must keep in mind that hope is active, it is something we do rather than something we have.”
- “Second, surround yourself with positive uplifting people that are out to better themselves and the world.”
- “Thirdly, make a list of possibilities.”
These points are expanded in his essay.
“The capacity to hope,” he says, “is an indispensable human quality; even in times of crisis when confidence and trust have been broken, hope sustains us in our living.”
We wish positivity for everyone, especially in these challenging times!
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Alternative uses of the Comfort Pad
Well then! Back to the cheerier side of life! Lol!
It appears that our Featherstones Comfort Pad started with such momentum as a means to alleviate breast pain on the massage or chiropractic table, or on the beach or the chaise (all of which it was designed for), that a lot of people seem challenged at seeing its other uses. And there are many more of those!
We’ve been saying how it’s being used successfully in hospital MRI settings, bringing relief to patients who find going into the tube difficult from the discomfort. I decided to demonstrate other uses. Here are a few photos.
You get the idea. And there are many more uses! So, while the Comfort Pad line has been on a Happy Holiday Sale leading up to the holidays, we’re going to keep it going through New Year’s – they’re in stock and ready to ship for free to anywhere in the USA. Just visit https://featherstonesinc.com/comfort-pad. These are not just a great gift; they’re a great product to offer comfort for many areas in need.
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Holiday recipe time
So, most people don’t think of Hot Clam Dip as a holiday recipe – but we sure did growing up!
My mother, Missy, made this every year, and it became a Christmas tradition. We kids would rather gorge on Hot Clam Dip than just about anything, so thought I’d share another recipe favored by my dear Mom.
Hot Clam Dip
- 1. Blend together equal parts of room temperature butter and cream cheese with a hand mixer.
- 2. Add to saucepan and heat slowly.
- 3. Add 5 cans of minced clams, drained – save the juice if needed to thin the mixture.
- 4. Slice open large pita bread.
- 5. Spread the pieces with butter and garlic mixed.
- 6. Toss into the oven.
- 7. When just crunchy, break into bits for dipping.
- 8. Transfer the Hot Clam Dip into a fondue pot to keep it warm.
And that’s it! The recipe is a bit vague on amounts; just use what seems right for you. And prepare to eat lots! Please tell me what you think. A worthy binge food? Let me know at leigh@featherstonesinc.com and tell me how it came out!
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Ever so grateful!
We’re super thankful that the Comfort Pad is being reviewed by area hospitals, now that it’s a regular fixture at Boston Children Hospital’s MRI Department and being studied in others. Things are on hold right now as the year wraps up, with all their year-end activity. We’ll be back in touch with our contacts in January.
I know I mention it each month, but that’s because it’s really important to us. If you enjoy your Comfort Pad, please, right now, leave a rating and brief review. Just go to https://featherstonesinc.com/comfort-pad and click on the pad you own and you’ll see where to do it. Reviews help immensely with our marketing, so, sincerely, thank you!
It’s also very helpful for you to share our social media posts so like-minded people in your world see them. Here’s where to find us: @featherstones.comfort.pad on Instagram and @FeatherstonesComfortPad on Facebook. We post a mix of business, info and fun. 😊
And please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might enjoy it – if they like it, they can sign up at the website. We’ll never sell or give anyone’s info away!
As we say in our posts: “Featherstones – pass the word!”
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Happy Holidays to you! And happy anniversary to us! 😊
With love, Leigh