There was a knock at the door the other evening. Our neighbor spotted a small screech owl in the trees and called me out to try to capture him. (in camera, that is) He allowed us to get near enough to do just that. Then slowly floated down into the hollow below.
let the little things amaze you; that's how you'll remember life is a miracle. - alexandra wolf
While Tess served as St Lucy this morning I thought back over so many, many cinnamon rolls served by braided little girls in our home. It takes a little extra planning to remember to pick up the rolls and set out some white clothes but as Charlotte Seims' words reminded me in my morning reading:
"Traditions create a sense of belonging and comfort. Children relish those things that 'we always do,' and the once-a-year foods and décor call up a sense of wonder and excitement like nothing else."
Like nothing else, truly. It's not the once in a lifetime big events, but the repetition of little things year after year that brings so much delight. It's what we always do in our family on this day and it is wonderful. I like to think it is as comforting to them as it is to me to slip into a groove laid down over the course of so many years.
I came across this small prayer catching up on Katrina Kenison's blog which is always so encouraging and calming to me. It seemed a good one:
"I humbly ask for the healing power of your grace to help me sit with uncertainty, rather than to try to force answers before their time. Please grant me the faith that all will made clear in due time and let me surrender all my concerns over to You until then. Please send your angels to help me calm my anxiety and trust that I will be guided so I can relax. I thank You in advance, with my whole heart and soul for answering my prayer as I surrender to You."
Sonia Choquette
The city is only a half hour or so away but it usually takes company to prompt me to drive in. Colin's visit got me downtown. We hit a museum first and were a little overconfident about the crowds. When we moved to the city center we realized that's where the people were all hanging out. Temple Square had their tree lighting that day so we shopped and walked and waited around until after dusk then walked back to the car through the Christmas lights. With thousands of our closest friends lol.
This really launched us into the holiday season. It was so much nicer to go see the lights this year at 40 degrees than it was the last time at 4 degrees! Just a beautful day all around.
Our phones were upgraded last week. I was expecting this to be a non-event for me, other than taking the plunge to the larger screen. I long ago gave up taking photos on my old phone. They were bad from the day I got it. My pleasant surprise this past week has been the phone camera. It works! It works well! Such a blessing for documenting on the go. And that's just what I did when this young man wanted to try a new recipe today – Apple Dutch Baby Pancakes
He did a great job and actually caught my recipe reading errors before they became recipe making errors. (And yes those are repurposed protein powder tubs up there.)
Happy New Year! Happy new liturgical year that is. It is the first Sunday in Advent. I'd like to say it was full of holy contemplation but the truth is I have been all sixes and seven's, my attention divided many different ways. It snowed, however, which drew two little girls out into the late afternoon dusk to roll together a very twiggy, leafy snowman.
In true Austin Family fashion we complete approximately one bit of holiday preparation each day. Today we hung wreaths in the front windows. True to our family fashion, I keep finding one of them on the carpet. Darn generic command hook. Another day we replaced the girls' curtains with a hand-me-down holiday lace set. I love seeing the sunlight shine through the little stars and toys in the mornings.
Maria Von Trapp's Where Did Advent Go? popped up in my box this morning. It reminded me we are not 'behind' but rather have "weeks of preparation" for a reason. These monumental "commemorations cannot be celebrated in a single day each. Weeks are needed." This is always a good reminder. It isn't just me. It takes a long time.
The other essay I read this weekend was from Waldorfish but the message is relevant to all those who incorporate ritual and festivals into their family rhythm. Along the same line of thinking I shared the other day, they pose excellent questions:
+ which of the festival options for this season will help us achieve that feeling?
+ do we need to do all of them? (seriously. do you?)
+ is there one that resonates the most with our family's values?
+ how can I keep this simple?
+ what ONE or TWO activities might we do?
A very good read if you worry you are giving your children – or practicing yourself – a somewhat "less than experience."
Each day or so in this interim week between Thanksgiving and the beginning of advent I have been reading little portions of Leane VanderPutten's wonderful advent book. It is chock full of wonderful snippets of old classics, some of which are now out of print. It's a relaxing process these days, reading and copying down lines that help me focus on what is most important. No longer do I feel a mad rush to gather ALL the ideas much less to implement them.
"As a rule, it is best to begin with one or two customs and add others in years to come." - Helen Mc Loughlin
Or maybe we don't add more in? The beauty of the internet is that we now have access to resources and ideas from all around the world. The pitfall can be forgetting that in all these places people are embracing and celebrating their own one or two special customs. We would do well to choose our own favorites, the ones that speak to our own families, and simply appreciate from afar those which do not.
Today our family will begin the month long St Andrew novena. Sunday we will light the wreath. St Nicholas Day is a highlight of early advent for our children so I am making ready with coins and shoes and candy canes. There will be a lot of energy expended on table setting and centerpieces and trees because that is my thing. They asked for an advent calendar like they had living in Europe – not a Pinterest spectacular crafty calendar but rather the paper windows with chocolate inside. I can do that.
Conversely, our family will not be doing a Jesse Tree since, for whatever reason, that lovely idea never "took" over here. And we wont be making the braided bread one boy's godmother always gifted us with, though we are sure glad it is one of her traditions! The seasonal books will not be wrapped in pretty paper because I have gone so far as to purchase Christmas gift sacks to avoid having to wrap even the actual gifts. Not my strong suit.
It's going to be a happy, holy season however we do this because in the end it is not about us or our crafts or our recipes or our trees, though we look forward to all of those. It is about grace and mercy and new beginnings. May we extend some of those to ourselves, Momma's.
Some resources I enjoy:
Wood of the Cradle Wood of the Cross
Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family
Since it is advent and not yet Christmas we have been growing an advent playlist on Spotify which you might enjoy. (here)
Advent posts here
and here
and here
I often quote a line from a column I read back in the day that encouraged women to look around themselves and consider what was right in front of them already. "What is in your hand?" It is both a nod to Exodus 4:2 where God performs wonders with a simple stick that Moses already had in hand as well as a broader exhortation to make use of what you already own.
Catalogs and magazines show us what we can purchase to beautify our homes, which poses two problems. First, it requires resources to make the purchase. Second, it makes demands on our space to store the newly purchased items. We don't always have both of those. Truth is, we often already have simple things that could be arranged differently to brighten up a space and give it a new look.
We did that after putting away the Indian corn centerpiece and other autumn decor. We aren't in full blown Christmas mode yet. Just moving in that direction, gradually. A few things came together when resetting the table. First I had to reach behind a set of delft candle sconces which were in a cabinet since I don't have a place to hang them. The ended up working well on the table to warm up these newly dark evenings. I pulled a bowl of blue and white ornaments to the center. We set the table with the Dollar Store dishes. Then we added the collection of heavy cobalt blue glassware we have been picking up for a dollar a piece at thrift stores lately. They don't all match. It doesn't really matter.
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt
Our firstborn was here last week. He was here ALL of last week. We had such a long list of things to do that we didn't squeeze them all in, but we hit a lot of them. Like checking out at least one local record shop. Vintage album selections, like all things vintage, vary so much by region it is an entirely new and enlightening experience to thumb through bins in a new place.
I was ALL in for flipping through the bins. I love a challenge. I love dollar bins. I don't even care what the theme of the dollar bin is. It's like a contest to hunt through and find the best of whatever that is. In this case, knowing my kid, and knowing a lot of music recorded in the, ahem, eras that now qualify as 'vintage' I felt equipped to partner up on this excursion. It's a little embarassing just how animated I apparently can be sifting through dollar albums. It's like a history lesson and blast from your personal past.
Some things go without saying. Like Pearl Bailey. A moment, y'all.
I had a lot more moments it seems. "What Mom? I can't see you. Can you just tell me? No, I've never heard of Wolfman Jack."
"Wings? Do I know them?'
"Yes! You really do. Or you should. Paul McCartney. Here let me sing a few…."
"That's ok, I'll just trust you."
Which is good policy, I tell you. But the boy did not trust my judgement across the board. This, for instance, did not make the cut. Even after I sang BOTH I Think I Love You and Come On, Get Happy. Nope. No dice. I'm sorry, David. I tried.
Nor did Donny and Marie wind up in the final stack, even with the obvious selling point of being a little country AND a little bit rock and roll. And the fact that your mother actually saw them in concert.
I know, the boy's taste is starting to concern me too. We can only keep trying to expose them.
But hey. What I didn't master in the 70's can be learned yet. As it turns out there may still be time for me. I think I can do this…..
I mean, there is probably some historical burden on us to ensure the eggbeater is not lost for future generations. Who's with me?
Starry Sky Journal 