Time to weed out that TBR pile?

If you're in Los Angeles, you can donate books to Books For People, who will sell them and use the proceeds to fund charities serving homeless children. And they PICK UP your books. (They also accept DVDs, CDs, and records. Any books they can't sell, they donate to local libraries. Check them out.

Because not everyone is going to be home for the holidays

There are men and women serving on behalf of me and every other American in places that are inhospitable and downright hostile. Some of these soldiers are stationed far from a PX (post exchange) and some of them can't afford even little luxuries. Military Connections is a non-profit organization that sends care packages (more than 600 a month) to soldiers stationed overseas. They're now putting together Christmas stockings. They have a wish-list of items from unopened, unexpired OTC meds like Tums and Tylenol to packages of athletic socks and AT&T calling cards to extra Christmas cards they can send. You can also sponsor a soldier or marine's stocking for a $10 donation and include a note or a picture. Giving a little could mean a lot.
For more information, check out the Military Connections website here.

Cityscape: Richmond, Virginia

I lived in Richmond my last two years in high school and during the summers I went to college. It's a very scenic city and there are things about it I miss, like the James River. This is a view of downtown from the James. All those rocks were really enticing. I've sunbathed on them. And every year, some kid gets stranded and has to be rescued.  My parents' house was only two blocks from the river, we could always hear the helicopters flying back and forth. Some summers it was like the Fall of Saigon out there.

Another reason to embrace your inner Frenchwoman...

Seems the French village of Bugarach is going to survive the Mayan apocalypse. Who knew?

More about Christmas cards...

From papercards.com

Greeting Card universe is having a blowout Cyber-Monday sale. Every card in their inventory is $1.49 each. They've got everything from a card with a snowman mooning to a lovely Joyeux Noel card for the francophiles. And speaking of things French, 123 Greetings has an animated French-language ecard that features the Eiffel Tower, Santa and fireworks along with its French holiday greeting. (It's actually kind of horrifying in a cross-cultural way, but it's so over-the-top that it's kitschy.)
PaperCards.com has Christmas cards divided up into 43 different categories (Pop Up, Patriotic, Disney, Nature, Spanish-language, Animal) and you can buy single cards or batches. They have cards with African-American angels, Madonnas and Santa. Oddly, they have only four Hanukkah cards available.
If you're looking for one of a kind humorous greeting cards for the season, Snafu Designs can hook you up. I'm partial to their "Fleas Navidad" card.  Tiny Prints cards are on sale all this week (Why have Cyber Monday when you can have Cyberweek?) Check them out for something different in personalized cards.

Fleas Navidad

Twinkie Lovers! The Daily Meal is looking out for you...

I get the Daily Meal newsletter every day and it's a must-read for me. (I get a lot of newsletters every day and sometimes find myself just deleting them unread from my In-box, but that fate never befalls The Daily Meal.) This morning they have a home-made Twinkie recipe for those who are worried about the demise of that iconic lunch-box treat. Check it out http://www.thedailymeal.com/homemade-twinkies-recipe

The best religious Christmas card ever

"Kissing the Face of God" by Morgan Weistling

Morgan Weistling is a California artist who mostly specializes in western-themed subjects. His work hangs in museums all over the country and his commissions are highly prized. His work is exquisite. (Seriously, if you click on his link, it'll take you to his website and you'll see a gallery of his work. If he were living in the Renaissance, someone named Borgia or Medici would be his patron.)
He painted "Kissing the Face of God" in 2001 and it's become one of his most popular images. The first time I saw it, I was struck by the sweetness and youth of his Mary.  (I'm not sure, but I think his daughter might have been the model.) At any rate, the painting has so much reality and love that it really humanizes the Christmas story.
My mother was an artist and I've seen a lot of Madonna and Child paintings in my day (I loved Fra Filippo Lippi's "Adoration of the Magi" when I was a child because I liked saying "Fra Filippo Lippi.) I think this painting stands up to the best of them.

"Adoration of the Magi"

You can buy "Kissing the Face of God" at any number of religious bookstores online. Here's one, where you  can buy 25 cards for $25.95.  You can buy cards with "Adoration of the Magi" on it from numerous sources.  has it in with a whole range of "Adoration of the Magi" cards. Shopwiki offers it along with a full range of "Adoration" cards by various artists.