Wreath Blegging & More

Got a really nice note from the Norbertine Nuns in California, who thanked me for mentioning their wreaths, which are selling gangbusters, according to the Abbess. Have any of you ordered any? I am curious to know what you think, because the Boy Scout troop we usually buy ours from is selling popcorn instead of wreaths this year, so I need a new outlet, and if I can buy a wreath and help out a monastic house, I’m up for that! Perhaps I will order one, this week.

UPDATE: From a reader who asks not to be identified: Please do not disclose our name. We have not only acquired three beautiful wreaths from the Norbertines, but we have also just visited their monastery. The sisters are wonderful, inspirational. They cannot handle serious website traffic, but what you have done to publicize them is a blessing for them and all of us. Their needs are great. Their work is phenomenal.

Speaking of “buying,” did anyone go out for “black Friday?” I didn’t but I never do. Crowded stores make me feel all ughy. What was it like for you? Instead I stayed in and took some of the excellent advice I received here, for children’s books, and I also found (for my yellow-lovin’ ballerina 3 year-old niece) this book and this yellow tutu, that is almost offensively cute!

I’m sending Buster back to school with a gift for one of his favorite coaches. Can you guess what it is? Why, yes, it is a sample pack (two samples, actually) of Mystic Monk Coffee, along with one of their new travel mugs, which is my new favorite hot beverage container.

You can’t really tell from the picture, but what is cool about the mug is that while the bottom is perfectly round for your cup-holder, the body streamlines into an oval, with a thumb-ledge. So if you’re carrying it and other things, it is easier to grasp. Also, the lid has real a real o-ring, which provides real sealing, so things seem to stay hotter, longer. I like it. It is my early stocking-stuffer from hubby!

And then there are these really lovely sterling silver and enamel cross earrings, from our friend Kim at Musing Minds and her little Cottage Industry

Being something of a cottage industry, myself (someday I’ll get my Zazzle shop going!) I do like to talk up those businesses that are mom-owned or family-run. I still wear and use the very same sturdy, lovely fancy agate rosary bracelet I’ve been talking about for three years, from just such an enterprise.

Hey, Mother Angelica started with handmade fishing lures. Then she became one of the biggest fishers of men in recent times! I say kiss your endeavors up to the Lord, and keep dreaming!

FTC Disclosure: purchasing wares from Amazon, or Aquinas & More, or the Nuddle Blanket or the Mystic Monks via the buttons in my sidebar or the links within this post generates modest income for this site. Nuns and cottage industries, however, are nice to buy from, just because they’re nice to buy from!