Snow and Sun settle
Upon the slumbering pines
Yuletide gleaming bright
The longest night – hidden hope
Darkness surrenders to light
❄️❄️❄️
A Winter Solstice poem for you, my friends. Wishing you much joy and happiness this holiday season!
❄️❄️❄️
Christmas
Holiday Gifts from the Heart #GivingTuesday
Hello, my friends! It’s here! 🎁🎄My annual gift-giving post. 💝 I love this (it brings me such joy) and have been posting it every year since 2016.
I used to post mid to late December for last-minute ideas but have posted a bit earlier the past few years for Giving Tuesday (which takes place on November 28th this year). (If you shop on Giving Tuesday, most organizations will match, double, or even triple your gift.) Enjoy!
Quick, easy, heartfelt. 🎁🎄💝 Perfect for Giving Tuesday (and last-minute gifts):
Environment / Nature
ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION
Mission: “to help others understand and use trees as a solution to many of the global issues we face today, including air quality, water quality, a changing climate, deforestation, poverty, and hunger.”
These Trees in Celebration certificates are lovely and only two dollars plants a tree. They have other fun gifts here like delicious, rich, rain forest coffee. Every sip helps the world. Because. Trees. Behold the beautiful trees! 🌲
Animals / Wildlife
ASPCA
Mission: “animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans and must be protected…”
Show your love for our four-legged friends. Give a holiday gift card in honor of a beloved furchild. I can’t stand the cuteness of that puppy. You know you want to help these little munchkins. Available in snail mail cards or ecards.
Hunger / Poverty
HEIFER INTERNATIONAL
Mission: “to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way by supporting and investing alongside local farmers and their communities.”
Choose a donation and mail, print it out, or email with a custom message to the gift recipient. Or you can give a gift card (to print out or send via email) so they can choose their own donation.
My personal favorite gift to give is honeybees. They are awesome. Here are 2 reasons why:
“Food for Life: Honey is the only food that includes all the essential elements necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals and even water. Its unique chemical makeup also allows it to be preserved indefinitely.”
“Farmers’ Helpers: In the process of searching for nectar, bees pollinate plants. The placement of a single colony can potentially double local fruit and vegetable yields.”
Isn’t that incredible? It’s the bee’s knees. 🐝
KIVA
Mission: “to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. We celebrate and support people looking to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.”
Print these out or email them to the gift recipient and they can start loaning right away. Change someone’s life, get paid back, help someone else… And on it goes. Making spirits bright.
Childhood Cancer/Childhood Diseases
ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
Mission: “Finding cures. Saving children. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”
Please do check out the site if you don’t already know about St. Jude Children’s Hospital. And, if you do, well… ‘Nuff said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Use the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #GivingTuesday2023 on your blogs and social media to spread the word and find tons of ways to help this holiday season!
❄️ Have a beautiful holiday season! ❄️
Last-Minute Holiday Gifts from the Heart
I love this post from 2016 and have published it every year. Wow. Seven years. Anyway, here’s Lemon Shark’s annual “Holiday Gifts from the Heart” post. ❤️ Happy holidays, my friends!
If you’ve got a couple (or a ton) of last-minute gifts to get, these amazing organizations let you email the recipient or print your own card. No waiting, just giving. Donations help those in need as well as give your loved ones a gift from the heart.
Quick, easy, heartfelt. ❤️🎁 The perfect last-minute gifts:
Environment / Nature
ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION
Mission: “to improve water and air quality, slow climate change, and reduce poverty by planting trees.”
These Trees in Celebration certificates are lovely and every single dollar you spend plants a tree. They also offer “Give-A-Tree E-Cards” to send a holiday greeting with meaning. Because. Trees. Behold the beautiful trees! 🌲
Animals / Wildlife
ASPCA
Mission: “animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans and must be protected…”
Show your love for our four-legged friends. Give a holiday gift card in honor of a beloved furchild. I can’t stand the cuteness of that puppy. You know you want to help these little munchkins. 🐶😺 Available in ecards here.
Hunger / Poverty
HEIFER INTERNATIONAL
Mission: “to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth.”
Choose a donation and print it out, email, or text with a custom message to the gift recipient. Or you can give a gift card (to print out or send via email) so they can choose their own donation.
* My personal favorite gift to give is honeybees. They are awesome. Here are 2 reasons why:
“Food for Life: Honey is the only food that includes all the essential elements necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals and even water. Its unique chemical makeup also allows it to be preserved indefinitely.”
“Farmers’ Helpers: In the process of searching for nectar, bees pollinate plants. The placement of a single colony can potentially double local fruit and vegetable yields.”
Isn’t that incredible? It’s the bee’s knees. 🐝
KIVA
Mission: “to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. We celebrate and support people looking to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.”
Print these out or email them to the gift recipient and they can start loaning right away. Change someone’s life, get paid back, help someone else… And on it goes. Making spirits bright.
Childhood Cancer/Childhood Diseases
ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
Mission: “Finding cures. Saving children. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”
Please do check out the site if you don’t already know about St. Jude Children’s Hospital. And, if you do, well… ‘Nuff said.
❄️ Have a beautiful holiday season! ❄️
Happy Holidays!
⭐
December
~*~*~*~
Snowflakes dance
in Winter’s frosty sigh
Sunshine plays with shadows
nestled in the arms of powdered pines
reflecting light and health and hope for Yuletide
Thinking of you all and wishing you a wonderful holiday filled with love, laughter, and light. 🎄☃️
* I may not get to comments. I thought of turning them off, but I’d like to see your lovely words and beautiful, little avatar faces.
Some winter words (and a little tree) for you, gentle readers. May your days be merry & bright.
Wishing you all a Happy Holiday season! ❄️
Holiday Gifts from the Heart #GivingTuesday
Here it is. My annual gift-giving post. ❤🎁 There’s something for everyone on your list.
I usually post mid to late December for last-minute ideas but I’m posting early for Giving Tuesday (which takes place on November 30th this year). (If you shop on Giving Tuesday, most organizations will match, double, or even triple your gift.) Enjoy!
Quick, easy, heartfelt. ❤🎁 Perfect for Giving Tuesday (and last-minute gifts):
Environment / Nature
ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION
Mission: “to help others understand and use trees as a solution to many of the global issues we face today, including air quality, water quality, a changing climate, deforestation, poverty, and hunger.”
These Trees in Celebration certificates are lovely and every single dollar you spend plants a tree. (For Giving Tuesday, every dollar you spend plants two trees.) They have other fun gifts here like delicious, rich, rain forest coffee. Every sip helps the world. Because. Trees. Behold the beautiful trees! 🌲
Animals / Wildlife
ASPCA
Mission: “animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans and must be protected…”
Show your love for our four-legged friends. Give a holiday gift card in honor of a beloved furchild. I can’t stand the cuteness of that puppy. You know you want to help these little munchkins. Available in snail mail cards or ecards.
Hunger / Poverty
HEIFER INTERNATIONAL
Mission: “to end hunger and poverty in a sustainable way by supporting and investing alongside local farmers and their communities.”
Choose a donation and mail, print it out, or email with a custom message to the gift recipient. Or you can give a gift card (to print out or send via email) so they can choose their own donation.
My personal favorite gift to give is honeybees. They are awesome. Here are 2 reasons why:
“Food for Life: Honey is the only food that includes all the essential elements necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals and even water. Its unique chemical makeup also allows it to be preserved indefinitely.”
“Farmers’ Helpers: In the process of searching for nectar, bees pollinate plants. The placement of a single colony can potentially double local fruit and vegetable yields.”
Isn’t that incredible? It’s the bee’s knees. 🐝
KIVA
Mission: “to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. We celebrate and support people looking to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.”
Mail, print these out, or email them to the gift recipient and they can start loaning right away. Change someone’s life, get paid back, help someone else… And on it goes. Making spirits bright.
Childhood Cancer/Childhood Diseases
ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
Mission: “Finding cures. Saving children. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”
Please do check out the site if you don’t already know about St. Jude Children’s Hospital. And, if you do, well… ‘Nuff said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Use the hashtags #GivingTuesday and #GivingTuesday2021 on social media to spread the word and find tons of ways to help this holiday season!
❄️ Have a beautiful holiday season! ❄️
Last-Minute Holiday Gifts from the Heart #GivingTuesday
I post this every year. I love it. But I usually post mid to late December for last-minute ideas.
This year, I’m posting today, December 1st, for Giving Tuesday. (Note: If you shop today, most organizations will match, double, or even triple your gift.) Enjoy!
Quick, easy, heartfelt. ❤ 🎁 Perfect for Giving Tuesday (and last-minute gifts):
Environment / Nature
ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION
Mission: “to improve water and air quality, slow climate change, and reduce poverty by planting trees.”
These Trees in Celebration certificates are lovely and every single dollar you spend plants a tree. They also offer “Give-A-Tree E-Cards” to send a holiday greeting with meaning. Because. Trees. Behold the beautiful trees! 🌲
Animals / Wildlife
ASPCA
Mission: “animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans and must be protected…”
Show your love for our four-legged friends. Give a holiday gift card in honor of a beloved furchild. I can’t stand the cuteness of that puppy. You know you want to help these little munchkins. Available in ecards.
Hunger / Poverty
HEIFER INTERNATIONAL
Mission: “to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth.”
Choose a donation and print it out or email with a custom message to the gift recipient. Or you can give a gift card (to print out or send via email) so they can choose their own donation.
* My personal favorite gift to give is honeybees. They are awesome. Here are 2 reasons why:
“Food for Life: Honey is the only food that includes all the essential elements necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals and even water. Its unique chemical makeup also allows it to be preserved indefinitely.”
“Farmers’ Helpers: In the process of searching for nectar, bees pollinate plants. The placement of a single colony can potentially double local fruit and vegetable yields.”
Isn’t that incredible? It’s the bee’s knees. 🐝
KIVA
Mission: “to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. We celebrate and support people looking to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.”
Print these out or email them to the gift recipient and they can start loaning right away. Change someone’s life, get paid back, help someone else… And on it goes. Making spirits bright.
Childhood Cancer/Childhood Diseases
ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
Mission: “Finding cures. Saving children. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”
Please do check out the site if you don’t already know about St. Jude Children’s Hospital. And, if you do, well… ‘Nuff said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
❄️ Have a beautiful holiday season! ❄️
Last-Minute Holiday Gifts from the Heart
I love this post from 2016. It’s become an annual tradition here at Lemon Shark. Anyway, here it is, my friends. ❤
If you’ve got a couple (or a ton) of last-minute gifts to get, these amazing organizations let you email/text the recipient or print your own card. No waiting, just giving. Donations help those in need as well as give your loved ones a gift from the heart.
Quick, easy, heartfelt. ❤ 🎁 The perfect last-minute gifts:
Environment / Nature
ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION
Mission: “to improve water and air quality, slow climate change, and reduce poverty by planting trees.”
These Trees in Celebration certificates are lovely and every single dollar you spend plants a tree. They also offer “Give-A-Tree E-Cards” to send a holiday greeting with meaning. Because. Trees. Behold the beautiful trees! 🌲
Animals / Wildlife
ASPCA
Mission: “animals are entitled to kind and respectful treatment at the hands of humans and must be protected…”
Show your love for our four-legged friends. Give a holiday gift card in honor of a beloved furchild. I can’t stand the cuteness of that puppy. You know you want to help these little munchkins. Available in ecards.
Hunger / Poverty
HEIFER INTERNATIONAL
Mission: “to work with communities to end world hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth.”
Choose a donation and print it out, email, or text with a custom message to the gift recipient. Or you can give a gift card (to print out or send via email) so they can choose their own donation.
* My personal favorite gift to give is honeybees. They are awesome. Here are 2 reasons why:
“Food for Life: Honey is the only food that includes all the essential elements necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals and even water. Its unique chemical makeup also allows it to be preserved indefinitely.”
“Farmers’ Helpers: In the process of searching for nectar, bees pollinate plants. The placement of a single colony can potentially double local fruit and vegetable yields.”
Isn’t that incredible? It’s the bee’s knees. 🐝
KIVA
Mission: “to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. We celebrate and support people looking to create a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.”
Print these out or email them to the gift recipient and they can start loaning right away. Change someone’s life, get paid back, help someone else… And on it goes. Making spirits bright.
Childhood Cancer/Childhood Diseases
ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
Mission: “Finding cures. Saving children. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.”
Please do check out the site if you don’t already know about St. Jude Children’s Hospital. And, if you do, well… ‘Nuff said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
❄️ Have a beautiful holiday season! ❄️
On the Edge of a Raindrop ~ Holiday Sale #FREE #BookSale
As a little gift to you, gentle readers, my second collection of flash fiction is free for the holidays.
Enjoy these bite-sized delights between driving, eating, and unwrapping.
It’s the perfect book to bring along when you’re stuck in traffic, waiting for never-on-time Aunt Jackie, or sneaking out of the room because your cousin brought up that wedding thing. Again.
If you want a collection to dip in and out of during the holiday season, here’s your chance to grab a copy.
On the Edge of a Raindrop is FREE! You can get a copy HERE.
Also: Hinting at Shadows is still on sale for the holidays. You can get a copy for just 99c/99p HERE.
Happy Holidays! ⛄️
Here’s what some people are saying about On the Edge of a Raindrop:
Brentyn’s prose is poetic…
for those who enjoy being able to read shorter works without losing the impact of a story.
It’s amazing what can be conveyed in just a few sentences…
I read these stories slowly savoring the words and connecting to her prose much in the same way I do with poetry.
I could see a whole life in a paragraph, so insightful and artfully captured are they.
Happy reading, all! 🖤⛄️
Who Gives A Crap? #Holidays
The holidays are fun! We all feel relaxed and happy. Except for when we feel stressed out and irritable. Because, honestly, holidays can be stressful. (Just saying.)
Sometimes, around this time of year, you might want to say to hell with it all and go home to grab a bottle of Merlot and binge-watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer or whatever floats your boat.
And leading up to the holidays, after your eyes have gone buggy from shopping online or your nerves are frayed from standing in lines for six hours, you may be tempted to say to hell with it all and go home to grab a bottle of vodka and binge-watch whatever Netflix recommends.
When someone asks what you’re getting for your in-laws, parents, partner, or kids, you may just turn to them and say, “Who Gives A Crap!”
I do. And Who Gives A Crap toilet paper company does. And, now, you do. Because you’re going to gift toilet paper to all the people in your life.
It’s a wicked good idea. (No shit, right?)
Everyone uses the toilet. Everyone. On. Your. List. (Except your dog but he can totally learn.) So toilet paper is, like, the most thoughtful gift ever. It’s helpful and useful and won’t add clutter for minimalists or anyone trying to KonMari their crap.
They even have holiday gift wrapping. How cool is that?
Their mantras (of sorts). (With parentheticals from me.)
Good for the world
All of our products are made without trees. (Save the trees! 🌲)
Good for people
Our TP helps build toilets for people who need them. (People need toilets. 🚽)
Good for your bum
We don’t use any inks, dyes or scents. (You want color on your lips, not your arse. 💋💄)
This toilet tissue is made from recycled paper or forest-friendly bamboo so you are helping the environment. It’s dye-free and soft so you are being nice to your bum. And 50% of the proceeds are given to charity so you are giving two gifts for the price of one.
From their site: 40% of the world’s population don’t have access to a toilet…More people in the world have mobile phones than toilets.
Who gives a crap? They do. (Seriously, read this page to see what they’re doing.)
PROTECT: Environment / Nature / Animals / Wildlife
HELP: Poverty / Childhood Illnesses / Preventable Diseases
There IS NO BAD HERE.
It’s. ALL. GOOD.
Where to buy:
AU site
UK site
US site
Toilet paper. The PERFECT gift for everyone on your list. 🚽🎁
Hinting at Shadows ~ Holiday Sale #99cents #99p #BookSale
October has come and gone. Whisked away like colorful leaves caught in autumn breezes. My annual fall sale is over but the holidays are approaching and the spirit of the season has filled me.
This is a great time of year to enjoy some bite-sized morsels between driving, eating, and unwrapping. For those who want a collection to dip in and out of during the holiday season, here’s your chance to grab a copy. (If you prefer paperbacks, these slim volumes are a perfect stocking stuffer. Just saying.)
I’m putting Hinting at Shadows on sale for the holidays. ⛄️ Because why not? You can get a copy for just 99c/99p HERE.
FYI: I’m putting On the Edge of a Raindrop on sale (FREE) the first week of December. Watch for that one. Cheers! 🍷
Happy Holidays! ❄️
Here’s what some people are saying about Hinting at Shadows:
Short and brilliant…
beautifully and richly crafted. Brentyn has a skill with the written word that just leaves you breathless…
Every story is a pearl. The writing is exquisite…
The author’s haunting prose very cleverly invokes strong images with the minimum of words. Sarah Brentyn delivers something quite different, written beautifully…
Hinting at Shadows…is sheer poetry in the garb of flash fiction.
If you’d like to download a copy, here’s the link:
Hinting at Shadows 🖤❄️
Happy reading, all!
Lemon Shark 