Animals help bring the balance too! Photo by Cristin McDonnell
Silence and Technology Our neighbor is running a leaf blower as I begin writing this. The noise is distracting— or might I say, my annoyance of it distracts me! It reminds me of an incident earlier this last week when a patient pointed out the ongoing barking of a neighborhood dog, a sound I hadn’t… Read more »
Cheers to a healthy 2016!
Weight Loss & Lavender: Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions By: Cristin McDonnell If your New Year’s resolution is to hit the gym in January, lavender will not only aid in weight loss, but will help you keep the weight off. Here are 3 reasons why. 1.) Drink Lavender Green Tea: Doing a teatox has become a trendy way to… Read more »
Post nostalgia debris.
Nostalgia and The Other Side of Christmas We left our aging yellow labs alone in the house for two and a half days right after Christmas. Ramon checked on them several times each day, letting them out and feeding them. Why we didn’t think about what they would do, I do not know, considering how they wait, beaver… Read more »
Lavender Chips
Lavender Chips by Cristin McDonnell This is an Armenian recipe for chips called lavash. The recipe for lavash is from allrecipes. I found a recipe for the lavender seasoning at Discover Lavender, a blog for cooking with culinary lavender. When I saw that the recipe included dried seasoning, I went ahead and came up with my… Read more »
Manger SceneManger Scene
Manger Scene Another Christmas story from earlier years. My sister and I called the nativity the “manger scene”. We would get the set out of the attic for the first Sunday in Advent. The scene had the holy family, of course, and an assortment of angels, but also a cow, donkey, two sheep, and a… Read more »
Why I Believe in Santa Claus
Why I Believe in Santa Claus Another reprint of a favorite memory! I have been thinking about Santa Claus, that jolly old Christmas saint of giving. To me he is as sparkly as Christmas lights, one of the few mysteries we participate in collectively. As a young child I remember being taken to the “real”… Read more »
Salvation Army Bell Ringer in front of Napa Post Office.
A Christmas Story: The Salvation Army and Paying It Forward Another of my favorite old memories I love to recount! This time of year I remember an experience I had many years ago as a teenager. My sister Judy, our Greek American Fields Service sister Charoula, and I were visiting our Uncle Rufus in Chicago…. Read more »
Televised Board of Supervisor Meeting from overflow room in lobby.
Jung and the Board of Supervisors Thoughts on what Carl Jung might have to offer Napa Valley The Napa County Board of Supervisors’ room was packed, standing room only, and the overflow rooms, overflowing. Police in uniform strutted back and forth in the hallways and guarded doorways. I overheard a county official tell one of… Read more »
Culinary Lavender and Wine Pairings: A Holiday Menu
Culinary Lavender and Wine Pairings: A Holiday Menu by Cristin McDonnell The holidays are a chance to take your regular menu and enhance it by cooking with a variety of herbs that you may not regularly use. This year I am taking our usual holiday menu and adding a taste of Provence by cooking with… Read more »
Abundant Life: A Christmas Story
Abundant Life: A Christmas Story This is another reprint of my favorite personal Christmas stories, those stories that remain in my heart this season. My departure from organized religion began when I realized “eternal life” was “abundant life”— spiritually abundant. At the moment of epiphany I was sitting on the stage near the altar of our… Read more »
© 2026 Patricia Damery.
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