We hope you enjoyed the November 2024 issue of This Awful Awesome Life. Many thanks to Orlando Bartro for his contributions to the magazine. Special thanks to Tony Valerino for his interesting answers to our November Q&A.
Please take a moment to thank and recognize FEMA for their continued response to the natural disasters that have occurred across the United States this year. It’s their job, and they are doing it well, no matter what you’ve heard.
As we plan and prepare our holiday parties and dinners, the World Central Kitchen will be bringing hope and preparing much needed meals around the world. I made a donation in November to help them keep up their humanitarian efforts around the world. I plan to make another donation this month. If you are able, I hope you will also make supporting the WCK part of your holiday giving.
Orlando Bartro writes about “The Warning of Messiaen’s Angels,” and the power of our imagination.
This year, I’ve written a short story for each issue related to the theme in some way. This month, my short story, “Tangles” is about the holidays and “the way forward,” our December theme.
Rachel Ann Bovier is featured in this month’s Q&A. She was originally featured in a June 2020 Q&A. The Q&A has been so popular we invited Rachel back to share with us what’s she’s been doing since we last spoke.
For our new column, “Happy Birthday,” celebrating the birthdays of famous writers, we have featured J.D. Salinger, Toni Morrison, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Hans Christin Andersen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Gail Godwin, Franz Kafka, Isabel Allende, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tim O’Brien, and C.S. Lewis. I’m pleased to announce that Jane Austen is our December birthday. She’s a personal favorite of mine and Orlando Bartro, so there’s a little more pressure to do her justice. Happy Birthday to everyone celebrating a birthday in December! you’re in Great company!
We have an eclectic assortment of films this month for you to stream. Our December quiz, “What are We Celebrating/Commemorating?” tests your knowledge about what’s happening in December.
For December 2024 in “The Twelve Months of Salsa,” I decided to make Cranberry Salsa. This recipe is festive and delicious with tortilla chips, or with your holiday meal instead of regular cranberry sauce.
We found some great choices for our December reading recommendations for kids, young adults, and adults. Some are holiday themed while others explore positivity. We’ve included a few cookbooks to help with those holiday menus.
We’re constantly updating our Author Page to include the latest published works of your new favorite authors, and we’re adding authors. Being able to give authors a free place to display their work is a dream come true for me, so please check every month to see who’s new and what’s new.
Don’t miss our new Artist Page where we will be celebrating creatives and providing their contact information. We will be updating and adding to the list during this month and the following months, so keep checking our new page.
Everything in Between is now available in audiobook. The narrator, Louise Porter, does a wonderful job bringing Sabrina and her story to life, and I can’t wait for you to have a listen. You can purchase the audiobook for Everything in Between on Amazon, iTunes, or Audible. https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Everything-in-Between/dp/B0DDR8GRWS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TV0J0HCWYT7T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tdRKc5MxwdOobXZOLckDvQ.0BXe9QYH3JnZOn9j0LC6Yy6gCG9UI3lIcRu4KlRnIPs&dib_tag=se&keywords=everything+in+between+by+frances+joyce+audiobook&qid=1725234363&sprefix=everything+in+between+by+frances+joyce+audiobook%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-
All year we’ve been encouraging you to make informed choices at the ballot box. The election may be over, but insuring we have responsible qualified cabinet members is our next job. If you’re worried about the qualifications of certain nominee and their abilities to understand the needs of our public-school students, housing, the environment, Healthcare, Social Security, or safety regulations that protect our workers, please make those concerns known to your Senators. You can email or call their office and make your concerns known. If you support FBI background checks for anyone working in the president’s cabinet, please make those concerns known. We The People should have a say in our future. If you don’t want two billionaires, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, with no accountability to the American people evaluating how your tax dollars should be allocated and the benefits you will receive, let the people in Congress know.
If you are worried about the direction of our government, start preparing for the midterms now. Do your research, so we don’t end up with legislators who care more about partisanship than serving the needs of the American people. The League of Women Voters is a reputable and impartial source for information check them out before you head to the polls.
Please keep showing up and voting. We will never tell you who to vote for, but we will keep telling you to vote and do your homework!
Which incumbent legislators have actually authored and submitted legislation to benefit Americans? Who’s all talk and soundbites? Who refuses to bring legislation to the floor of the House of Representatives or Senate, so our Representatives/Senators can vote on it? We pay them to conduct the government’s business, not to sit and do nothing. We don’t pay them to do the bidding of political parties or billionaires. Would you hire this person to run your business or trust them to be a fair boss?
Samantha Sayers has been missing for six years since she disappeared on August 1, 2018, after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam grew up in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live. Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home. In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.
If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we can update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page, but only after it is verified. Thank you!
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Happy Reading,
Fran