Five Clever Gifts for the Book Lovers in Your Life!

Hey there friends.....

For those still completing Christmas and Hanukkah shopping ...

or birthday shopping as well...as it seems there are a lot

of December birthdays out there......one of my sons among them......

I'm stopping in to share some amazon bookish awesomeness!

I stumbled on a few of these, which led to more of a search for literary-ish  gifts,

which led to this short but perfect gathering of items any avid reader would love .

They're tons of fun and always a big hit....

So pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy some armchair shopping

from bookmarks to band aids!

I was going to save the best for last, but I just can't........

seriously.....

Edgar Allen Poe band aids?

How great are these!?

 

And personally, I recommend giving season 1 of The Following with Poe.

Don't watch The Following?

Yikes..guys...go fix that!

Because...well, Poe is life.

And then there's  Kevin Bacon.

Trust me, he's not dancing in this one.

You. Need. To. Watch. This.

Library card Socks

'Nuf said.

Who doesn't want these? 

Calling all Little Women junkies~~~

"She is too fond of books" stuff reminiscent of the great Louisa May Alcott

necklace 

bracelet 

And for the book and coffee lovers among us, the mug

Keep Calm Bookmark 

Love the little beaded bauble, don't you? 

And here are lovely note cards

Eat Sleep Read  shirt just for fun!

Looking for a few more, creative ideas?

How about my 35 Frugal, Creative, Educational, Homemade

 and Faith -Filled Christmas Gifts & Stocking Stuffers for Kids

Go check it out....I think there's something for everyone there!!

I'm delighted to share this post at the 

Frugal Friday link up!

Please click over and peruse some wonderfully creative and

inexpensive lifestyle and faith links!

 Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!

And hey:

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

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This post contains amazon affiliate links....

If you are shopping at  amazon this Christmas season,

would you consider clicking through my link?

In this way, I will receive a small commission on the purchase.....

a few pennies per dollar.

If YOU are an amazon affiliate, please send me

your link and I will do the same!

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

~Chris

..: O Come O Come Emmanuel :.. Advent in Our Hearts from the Archives

Just crazy how long it's been since I stopped by to chat with you!
 A whole month---sheesh.  

Well I miss you all, miss the comments, the chatter, the everything.  Life has kept me away. occupied,  longer than planned.  I hope my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  

And now, onto Advent. 

This time, this gift of being still. Pondering. Silenced. Quieted. Hopefully so. Waiting. Watching. Remembering.
 Catching glimpses of  the small and the extraordinary in the every day. While we anticipate the most amazing gift ever. 
However you "do" advent will fit the family culture you're building. Elaborate crafts and stress inducing how to's are not allowed, Momma! Simple reflections in this season of waiting are all we need.......
I'll look forward to reflecting here in this space a bit on this liturgical season of advent during the  coming weeks...For now, here's a collection of numerous activities my family's enjoyed in the decade and a half we have been blessed as parents.

 Some are just plain fun and some have taught us much about ourselves and this glittering, sparkling season of......well...waiting.

Enjoy my friends.

I'll look forward to seeing you soon.

It's the .:Most:. Wonderful Time of the Year! 10 of Our Traditions for Advent and Christmas~ Wreaths, Trees, Recipes,  Crafts, Stories, Santa, Science & Savoring

By the way, if your kids are fans of hands-on science and

 The Magic School Bus, check out this amazing subscription box deal !!

The $10/ month  offering is good through the end of October. 

Also--don't forget: just a few hours remain
 in the Ultimate Homemaking bundle sale!

Interested? Check it out here--

100% money back guarantee!

Thank you for spending some of your precious time today

here at my home on the web! 

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just click here to 

subscribe to Campfires and Cleats by email 

quickly and easily  so we can be in touch regularly!

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

If you are shopping at  amazon and Target. 

or shopping for Halloween costumes, 

why not consider clicking through my link? 

In this way, I will receive a small commission on the purchase.....

at no cost to you.

THANK YOU!

Until next time,

~Chris

BTW, I'm offering photo services and customized

photo packages for your blog or business!
< Subscribers receive a deep discount! > 

Top 7 Pope Francis Memes ~ QT 10/30/15

As are many of you, we're big fans of Papa around here......

Although it was a good five weeks ago today that we were blessed to attend His mass

at The Garden, we're still riding the Francis High.

My younger son and I happened upon a few fun memes recently

while doing some reading up on our Holy Father's life 

before priesthood and papacy.....

I thought I'd stick them in a QT, because .....

well, why keep the the enjoyment for ourselves? 

You may have seen some or all of these....

And, by the way, here's my (lengthy but newsy

and picture-laden) post on our day with Papa

and mass at The Garden in the Big Apple

in case you'd enjoy a peek at the festivities.

Anyway, enjoy friends!!!

I don't know quite which one is my fave!

Hey, head on over to Kelly's for others' quick take posts!

They are always wonderful!

Thank you for hosting, Kelly!!

Did you know, by the way, that I'm a Compassion Blogger?

I'll bet you're wondering 
how YOU can sponsor a child through Compassion International?

Well, click here for details.

Wait til you see these adorable faces!

  
 

Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!
And hey:

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

Enter your email address:

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

Until next time,

 ~Chris

Same Photo, Different Angle ~ TT/WW

Hi there friends~~~ 

Thanks for stopping over for some Theme Thursday fun!

For Micaela's theme this week, "same picture/different angle,"

I kind of cheated by not stretching my photographic skills

 and instead "recycling"  shots from our travels.

I've lots of history and culture here from our 

trip to  Mesa Verde in Colorado, summer 2014 .....

I really loved these two pictures of the Puebloans' amazing cliff dwellings

that we took from slightly different perspectives.....:

And yes, if you've not traveled to Mesa Verde, those are tourists

and you are allowed to climb in  (many) of the rooms!

Absolutely breathtaking!

That same summer, we also toured and hiked 

Arches National Park in Utah.

I remember taking several shots as we approached the  world famous

 Delicate Arch on our three mile walk killer hike

 out to a pretty deserted canyon area

where  only die hard outdoor nuts ----- 

and crazy people like us---- trek.

But it was worth it.

So I glanced through my 2014 photo  files and found them:

The miles back to the parking lot, up and down hills

 and on some red sand, 

went pretty quickly as we raced a serious thunderstorm.

We tied...... not too bad....!

Well, that was so much fun to re-live! 

Please visit Micaela for more TT fun!!

And  for you blogger friends who'd like to link up 

as well as perusing  themed posts~~ here's the scoop:

Come join in with the lovely group of bloggers each week :)

I'd love to chat further, but life has given me only a

 little down time lately..... I hope to be back soon!

Did you know, by the way, that I'm a Compassion Blogger?

I'll bet you're wondering 
how YOU can sponsor a child through Compassion International?

Well, click here for details.

Wait til you see these adorable faces!

  
 

Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!
And hey:

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

Enter your email address:

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

Until next time,

                                   ~Chris

Sun Flares ~ Theme Thursday/ WW

Have you heard the  Big  News in the blogosphere?

Theme Thursday is BACK!

Micaela, an awesome, west coast homschool mom 

 blogger is graciously hosting 

the fun photography linky which was 

where I met many of my blogging buddies.

I believe I met Micaela through TT too,

back in the day when Cari was hosting!  

Checking out bloggers' photog skills and mishaps and

most entertaining of all---  reading the back story behind

them all ------- is a blogging highlight for me!

So onto this week's theme:

SUN FLARES

These first couple of photos were taken in summer, 2013 by

the briny, sticky, muddy shores of The Great Salt Lake.

I was definitely in the right place at the right time, as they say, 

as the sun descended.

This summer, 2015, I captured this gorgeous sunset in San Diego......

how perfect.

Just the other day, driving west, I happened upon a sky

 that looked like it'd make a lovely sunset photo!

And - - while not exactly a "flare,"

my son  snapped a few amazing

 Super Blood Moon  a few weeks ago. 

Here are two of his two dozen or so~~ 

So lucky that we had  great weather for the rare event!

Thanks, friends, for stopping by!

Please visit Micaela for more TT fun!!

Did you know, by the way, that I'm a Compassion Blogger?

I'll bet you're wondering 
how YOU can sponsor a child through Compassion International?

Well, click here for details.

Wait til you see these adorable faces!

  
 

Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!
And hey:

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?

   If not, just enter your email address here

so we can be in touch regularly!

Enter your email address:

You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....

Until next time,

                                   ~Chris