At Home With Valerie

  4 Tips for a Productive 2021 (Family Features) This year has taught many workers a thing or two about being productive when offices and homes blend into one. As the calendar turns to 2021, consider these key products and processes to stay productive next year. Find a system (and stick to it): Creating an organizing system is an easy way to ensure your at-home workspace is ready for optimal productivity. Designate space to house all your work items – a drawer, cabinet or box – and keep work items organized by type (pens, papers, computer gear, etc.) At the end of each day, transitioning to “offline hours” can be easier when you have a place to stow your work items. Start your day clean: Studies have shown cleanliness has a direct impact on productivity. Yet, many people struggle to find the time and energy to clean, especially at the end of a busy day at home. An option like The DEEBOT T8 from Ecovacs provides a hands-free cleaning experien...

I would like to extend my warmest wishes to you and your family at this wonderful holiday season!  I truly hope that you have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Trees - Decorated trees date back to Germany in the Middle Ages, with German and other European settlers popularizing Christmas trees in America by the early 19th century.  A New York woodsman named Mark Carr is credited with opening the first U.S. Christmas tree lot in 1851. A 2019 survey by the American Christmas Tree Association, predicted that 77 percent of U.S. households displayed a Christmas tree in their home. Among the trees on display, an estimated 81 percent were artificial and 19 percent were real. Source:  www.history.com

  "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is a line from an editorial called "Is There a Santa Claus?" The editorial appeared in the September 21, 1897, edition of The (New York) Sun, and has since become part of popular Christmas folklore in the United States. It is the most reprinted newspaper editorial in the English language. In 1897, Dr. Philip O'Hanlon, a coroner's assistant on Manhattan's Upper West Side, was asked by his then eight-year-old daughter, Virginia O'Hanlon (1889–1971), whether Santa Claus, a legendary character, really existed. O'Hanlon suggested she write to The Sun, a then prominent New York City newspaper, assuring her that "If you see it in The Sun, it's so."  Virginia O’Hanlon’s original letter to the Sun In so doing, Dr. O'Hanlon had unwittingly given one of the paper's editors, Francis Pharcellus Church, an opportunity to rise above the simple question and address the philosophical issues behind ...

 

Dear Friends ,   As we enjoy the holiday season, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the season when family and friends gather, and the big picture in terms of how we're all expected to get along on this increasingly crowded planet of ours.   The holidays often put people around the table who may not normally see one another throughout the year. Far flung relatives, cousins, in-laws, and other guests-of-guests may come from all walks of life. Their political, religious, and social viewpoints may differ widely from our own. Yet when we see them during the holidays, we do our best to tolerate differences. Ideally, we look for ways to connect rather than provoke arguments.   Tolerance is not always the easiest value to embrace. Now, especially, we can find ourselves thrust into polemic arguments driven by political and media forces which command enormous attention and influence. Social media and a profound lack of face-to-face interaction makes it easier to distanc...