DECK THE HALLS... SPA's FESTIVE FOLIAGE CHALLENGE...

 Deck the halls with boughs of holly...

Tis the season to be jolly.

~

Traditional Carol

LIGHTING THE WAY... DIGITAL WHISPER's RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER CHALLENGE...

 Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer 

Had a very shiny nose 

And if you ever saw it 

You would even say it glows

~

Gene Autry

HOLLY & IVY... OMM's RED & GREEN CHALLENGE...

 Red and green are the colors of the season, 

Red and green are the colors all around.

Of all God's gifts to the sighted man, 

color is holiest, the most divine, the most solemn.

~

 John Ruskin

CHRISTMAS TREE MAGIC... DIGITALWHISPER's CHRISTMAS TREE CHALLENGE...

 "He who has not Christmas in his heart

 will never find it under a tree." 

~

 Roy L. Smith

BUFFALO WINTER... DIGITAL WHISPER's SNOW CHALLENGE...

 "I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields,

 that it kisses them so gently? 

And then it covers them up snug, 

you know, with a white quilt; 

and perhaps it says, 

"Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes

 again." 

~

 Lewis Carroll

SPIDER's IN HEAVEN... SPA's ANGELS CHALLENGE...

 Do you think there are spiders in heaven.

tell me I just have to know

For if there are

SPIDERS IN HEAVEN!

I don't think that I want to go.

~

DSW

HAUNTED CHRISTMAS... MY SOUL's DARK IMAGINATION's CREEPY CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE...

 "Something magical has happened to me: 

like a dream when one feels frightened 

and creepy, 

and suddenly wakes up to the knowledge 

that no such terrors exist. 

I have wakened up." 

~

 Leo Tolstoy

STAR SHIP... OMM's STARs CHALLENGE...

 

"I like the night. 

Without the dark, 

we'd never see the stars." 

~

 Stephenie Meyer

THE WORD BIBLE... SPA's DICTIONARY CHALLENGE...

 

"If you're looking for sympathy 

you'll find it between shit and syphilis 

in the dictionary." 

~

 David Sedaris

SO THANKFUL FOR INDOOR PLUMBING... DIGITAL WHISPER's WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR CHALLENGE...

 "There’s the spider in the outhouse 

minding his own business" 

~

 Jack Kerouac

A GOTHIC GUEST FOR DINNER... MY SOUL's DARK IMAGINATION's GOTHIC THANKSGIVING CHALLENGE...

 "In my opinion, 

the only good spider is a dead spider, 

and women's rights aren't worth diddly 

if they mean I can't ask a man 

to do my bug squashing." 

~

 Janet Evanovich

HANG TIME... OMM's TIME CHALLENGE...

"Time you enjoy wasting 

is not wasted time." 

~

 Marthe Troly-Curtin

STAMPED... SPA's POSTAGE STAMP CHALLENGE...

 

"Be like a postage stamp. 

Stick to it until you get there" 

~

 Bob Proctor

HOW THE WHOLE THING STARTED... DIGITAL WHISPER's PILGRIM CHALLENGE

American settlers arriving on the Mayflower were called "Pilgrims" in the 1800s, a name that stuck due to the narrative of their religious journey to a new land and a phrase used by one of the settlers, William Bradford. The group itself, composed of religious separatists, actually called themselves "Saints" and were not officially known as "Pilgrims" until 220 years after their arrival.

THIS IS BEAUTY... OMM's WHAT I AM MOST THANKFUL FOR...

 "When everything goes to hell, 

the people who stand by you without flinching --

 they are your family. " 

~

 Jim Butcher

GRIDIRON MONA... SPA's MONA LISA MAKEOVER CHALLENGE...

"If a man watches three football games in a row,

 he should be declared legally dead."

~

 Erma Bombeck

BRAVING THE DRAGON... MY SOUL's DARK IMAGINATION's DRAGON CHALLENGE...

 Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,

 for you art crunchy 

and good with ketchup.

~

 (anonymous)

DESPERATE MEASURES... DIGITAL WHISPER's TURKEY CHALLENGE...

 "Thanksgiving dinner's sad and thankless.

 Christmas dinner's dark and blue. 

When you stop and try to see it 

From the turkey's point of view.

~

Shel Silverstein

AUTUMN PUNK... OMM's ORANGE, GOLD & BROWN CHALLENGE...

 Sitting by a cozy fireplace, 

Watching the leaves fall to the ground, 

Orange, yellow, red, purple,

 gold and brown." 

~

 Charmaine J. Forde

MOTHS AROUND A FLAME... SPA's MOTHS CHALLENGE...

 "Be the flame, not the moth." 

~

 Giacomo Casanova

FALLEN... DIGITAL WHISPER's HELLO NOVEMBER CHALLENGE...

 "December is the toughest month of the year.

 Others are July, January, September, 

April, November, May, March, 

June, October, August, and February." 

~

 Mark Twain

THE IRREVERENT REALITY OF GLOOM... MY SOUL's DARK IMAGINATION WALK THROUGH THE NIGHT CHALLENGE...

 Must I accept 

the irreverent reality of the gloom, 

the dark, as much a part of my life, 

this old friend?

~

Kym Decker

DRESSED FOR TEA... OMM's PATTERNS CHALLENGE...

 "Perhaps the biggest tragedy of our lives

 is that freedom is possible, 

yet we can pass our years 

trapped in the same old patterns...

We may want to love other people 

without holding back, 

to feel authentic, 

to breathe in the beauty around us, 

to dance and sing. 

Yet each day we listen to inner voices 

that keep our life small." 

~

 Tara Brach

GOLDEN WALK... SPA's AUTUMN CHALLENGE...

 "Fall has always been my favorite season. 

The time when everything bursts 

with its last beauty, 

as if nature had been saving up all year 

for the grand finale." 

~

Lauren DeStefano

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION... DIGITAL WHISPER's EVIL CHALLENGE...

"May the forces of evil 

become confused on the way to your house." 

~

 George Carlin