December 2020 Issue

To Keep Christmas Well

“…and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well …” It is among the closing lines from Charles Dickens’ classic story, “A Christmas Carol.” It may be one of the best remembered and most cherished sentences in the book. “To keep Christmas well,” I suspect, implies different things to each of us. But in the language of the day when this book was written, it meant to observe, or to honor, or to celebrate something. To actively remember. Perhaps in this year of rather lopsided “celebrations” — with their often double-edged experiences and wobbly sense of imbalance — I have found myself searching for

‘Tis the Season to Prepare for Your New Year’s Job Hunt

The holidays are a season of hope, but they should also be a season of preparation if you are thinking of changing jobs in the new year. According to Monster.com, January is the busiest month for job searches, although we typically see hirings begin to ramp up in February. We have found that when you apply for a job — as in, how soon you apply after the job is posted — can decide whether you get selected for an interview. That means you cannot wait until a job is posted to refine your resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile. We call these your personal brand, and we recommend you

Healing Water for My Soul

My love for healing water is the whole point for so many of the stories I tell and that I’ve told on the pages of Bella Magazine this year. The drops of healing water in my life are the moments of loving connection with others where I get the opportunity to share life with them, and they with me, with no strings attached. Some of these encounters this year have been a brief passing moment as I exchanged glances and a smile with someone, and other encounters have been for long chapters of my life that continue. There are so many times in this chaotic year when I have felt

5 Reasons to Use Hemp Oil Supplements for Wellness

Every day, more people are using hemp oil supplements to promote wellness of the mind and body, and it’s easy to see why. The natural phytocannabinoids found in them boost the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is key to maintaining health and wellness. Below are just a few reasons celebrities and professional athletes advocate for this plant-based product, and you should consider including them in your daily routine as well. 1. Relaxation and Focus Everyone has a list of daily responsibilities that may feel overwhelming and add strain to the body, even if you don’t notice it. Many individuals rely on hemp oil supplements as a way to relax without providing

A Thrifty Christmas Celebration

Christmas in Ireland is a massive celebration over the entire month of December. Normally we would be celebrating Friendsmas, a great huge gathering of my husband’s mates from Blackrock College and their spouses in a nice large restaurant spilling over with people. There is also the grand adventure of The 12 Pubs of Christmas, where friends and family take on a pub crawl that is not for the faint of heart, as revelers must complete a set of challenges for each pub. Anyone sick of his family on Christmas Eve can wander down to his local watering hole, always bursting to the door with people. For television entertainment, there is

Holidays and the Gathering Spirit

Celebrations have social and emotional motivators Grandma Anderson made delicious meatballs with a secret ingredient called Rusk that is no longer found in stores. She taught my brothers and me to play Rook, which may explain why I still get the creeps when black birds soar overhead. Grandma Harper made prize-winning potato pancakes and stuffed cabbage. She taught us how to play pinochle and we would dance around the table if someone got what she called “a thousand aces.” My mamma was the most creative in the kitchen. She ventured away from traditional meat and potatoes and delighted us with recipes from our South American lifestyle. Gold Coast Stew served

Do You Hear What I Hear?

The Senses of the Holidays Every culture has its traditional festivities. Our celebrations, whether weddings, harvest festivals, religious holidays, or national observances, are woven tightly into our overall cultural identity. The sounds of the season are an important part of our celebrations. These sounds put us in the mood as we prepare for our festivities with loved ones. When we drive to the store to purchase gifts or ingredients for the heirloom red velvet cake, there’s holiday music on the car radio. The Salvation Army volunteer rings the bell outside the store. People talk and laugh. Employees, friends, and strangers wave and say, “Happy Holidays!” As we celebrate together, we

Celebrating the Beauty of the Natural World through Artwork | “Outside and Around Us”

Artwork provided by Aiken Center for the Arts, used with permission Plein air painting is about leaving the four walls of your studio behind and experiencing painting and drawing in the landscape. An upcoming exhibition at Aiken Center for the Arts, “Outside and Around Us,” features plein air artwork by local artists Al Beyer, Bill Daniel, Sally Donovan, and Andrew Murphy from December 3, 2020 through January 29, 2021. For these artists, there is something about being in the environment as they paint that is important to them. It is more than simply painting outside; there is value from being in the open air. They are offered the opportunity to

100 Christmases

I walked into the old farmhouse that housed four generations of the Jenkins family. Suddenly memories of Christmas Eve flooded my mind. I remembered so many details of that special night that made me laugh and shed a tear, but mostly, my heart swelled with gratitude. Uncle Bill was standing in the doorway with his fancy video camera with enough lights to illuminate a football stadium. So what I did I get for Christmas that year? Retina damage… I remembered my grandfather — we called Gumpa. He sat in his old burgundy chair with the wooden arms. It was his corner, almost a sacred place. He had a bird’s eye