Christmas is just a few days away. Holidays can be very stressful, so do some self-care. Yesterday was the winter solstice, the northern hemisphere’s shortest day (and longest night) of the year.  I have done very little, and am still not driving so this should be an interesting time. Pay attention to free press issues. NPR’s complete list of the 125 Best Songs of 2025.  Don’t foreget Kwanzaa.  Support NPR  and PBS.   1,234  more days.  Wild Cooking Woman  12/22/25

 

Self-care Ideas

• pet an animal
• take deep breaths
• take a short nap
• have something wonderful to drink
• do yoga or meditate
• make an online playlist of music you really enjoy
• call a friend
• sing a favorite song out loud, to yourself
• get or give yourself a manicure or pedicure
• enjoy a bubble bath
• go for a walk
• listen to music without lyrics (jazz or classical come to mind)
• draw, paint, or collage – anything artistic and stress-free
• watch a favorite movie (Moonstruck is my go-to)
• make a list of things you are grateful for

 

Having company and need to get ready quickly? Here are a few things that will get your home ready for company:

• Clean your front door handles
• Scrub the toilet and bathroom sink
• Gather up junky stuff and hide it in a closet or under the bed
• Swiffer your kitchen floor
• Get rid of pet and food smells

 

 

For most second-term presidents, fund-raising tapers after inauguration. Not so for the current president, who has raised nearly $2 billion since being re-elected. The Times traced more than half a billion dollars’ worth of those donations back to 346 donors. We found that most of them had benefited from the Trump administration’s actions since he retook office. See who gave the money and how the Trump administration is using it.

 

 

 

 

Do you have someone in your life who lives alone and far away?  Are you going on vacation because you need a break from caregiving? Here are some free ways to help check on them while you’re away:

• https://buddyhelp.org/     Offers free emotional support through volunteer listeners and also provides access to professional online therapy.
• https://www.snugsafe.com/    A free app that sends daily check-in reminders. If you don’t respond, your emergency contacts are notified.
• https://checkinbee.com/     Sends daily text messages asking for a simple reply. If no response, designated contacts are notified.

 

 

 

CBS News abruptly removed a previously approved segment three hours before the broadcast. The segment covered stories of Venezuelan men deported out of the U.S. this year and taken to an  El Salvador maximum-security prison.

 

 

Direct Source Seafood LLC is recalling about 83,800 bags of frozen raw shrimp sold under the Market 32 and Waterfront Bistro brands due to possible contamination with cesium-137, a radioactive substance. Recalled shrimp were sold in the following states: Colorado, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. (more)

 

 

Traveling this holiday season (or any other time)? Were you downgraded? Here’s what to do when it happens and what you’re entitled to. 

 

 

Looking for movies to watch? Here are a few suggestions:

• Sinners
• One Battle After Another
• The Housemaid
• Bugonia
• Souleymane’s Story
• Black Bag
• Marty Supreme
• How to Train Your Dragon

 

 

 

I am old enough to remember:

• rotary phones that were wired into the wall
• computers with floppy discs and dot matrix printers
• cars without seatbelts
• cars with spare tires
• milk and diaper deliveries
• S&H green stamps
• only 4 television channels

 

Poire Enchantée: A Cinnamon-Spiced Cocktail to Sip by the Fire

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice weather break today, but now the temp is dropping. Heat went off, fixed. Internet, fixed.  Laptop gone crazy, not fixed. Have a chauffeur. Christmas shopping almost complete. Cards mailed. Desk cleaned, not. Making progress. Don’t foreget Kwanzaa.  Support NPR  and PBS.   1,239  more days.   

Wild Cooking Woman  12/17/25

 

 

 

Did you know…

These countries are under a full or partial travel ban (their citizens can’t come to the USA):

• Afghanistan
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi 
• Chad
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Haiti
• Iran
• Laos 
• Libya
• Mali
• Myanmar
• Niger
• North Korea 
• Somalia
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Syria
• Yemen

 

The following countries face partial restrictions, 

which mainly affect visitor, student, and exchange visas:

• Angola
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Benin
• Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
• Dominica
• Gabon
• Gambia
• Malawi
• Mauritania
• Nigeria
• Senegal
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

 

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles stunned Washington with a very candid interview about the president, saying he “has an alcoholic’s personality.” (My understanding is that he doesn’t drink alcohol.) She should know, as her father was Pat Summerall, who, I understand, may have had some alcohol problems.

 

Here is the exhausting reality of being a black lawyer (even in 2025!)

 

 

Several major food recalls were issued this month, affecting a variety of dairy products, snacks, and condiments. They include:

• fat-free milk
• shredded cheese
• salad dressing
• nuts
• coffee
• ice cream
• protein powder
• (more)

 

Kwanzaa is a Pan-African and African-American holiday created in 1966 by activist and academic Maulana Karenga. Karenga designed the holiday as a way to reaffirm African Americans‘ roots in African culture, to have a regular time for Black people to bond, and to introduce the nguzo saba. Read more about this fun celebration here.

 

 

 

Ah, but next year…

 

The 36 Questions That Lead to Love

You can now hear the essay “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This” read by the actress Gillian Jacobs in Modern Love: The Podcast. Subscribe on iTunes or Google Play Music. In Mandy Len Catron’s Modern Love essay, “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This,” she refers to a study by the psychologist Arthur Aron (and others) that explores whether intimacy between two strangers can be accelerated by having them ask each other a specific series of personal questions. 

1. Given a choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
2. Would you like to be famous? In what way?

Read all of the questions here.

 

 

According to Dotsie Bausch, Olympic silver medalist in cycling and executive director at Switch4Good, there are two great reasons why chair exercises are a fan-favorite workout for many. They’re convenient to do wherever you happen to be—and they deliver real results. “When you pair these exercises with a dairy-free, anti-inflammatory diet, you create the perfect environment for belly fat loss: lower bloating, more efficient digestion, improved hormone balance, and better metabolic function,” Bausch adds. Watch the videos HERE.