Wise Man collage

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Kim Halloran-Fry

I was so pleased with the collages the children made for the Epiphany, even if we didn't make them prior to nor even ON the Epiphany since we had a full weekend. Sometimes they are actually in a better frame of mind after we have discussed and we carry on the season as long as possible anyway. Bottom line? Whenever you create a beautiful thing is the right time. (pssst – you can still do this. : ))

We discussed the traditional names of the Magi – Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar and the spiritual significance of the gifts they brought. Gold was a fitting gift for a King. Frankincense was connected to priestly ritual and indicated diety. Myrrh was used for annointing and foreshadowed His redemptive death. We talked about gifts we can present to God today. He has no need for material things but we can offer our good attitudes, our charity to others, our peaceful resignation to His will – all every bit as precious.

Then we gathered old scrapbooking paper and created these collages based on this tutorial. There is no pattern given so we just got the gist of it and made makeshift templates from spice lids and so on.

note: A wonderful tradition, which was common in the part of Germany where we lived, is the chalking of the doors with the new year's number and the intials of the Magi. If you've never heard of it this article explains.

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Kim Halloran-Fry

The children had another magical Utah Halloween, so even though we are several days past now, it's worth noting. We are running a little behind schedule since we spent the end of October on the road. Lots of memory making has been happening.

Halloween really should be a state holiday here. The neighbors put out incredible, tasteful decorations. (nothing that makes your kids cry) One street sets up a popcorn machine, hot cocoa, and handed out hotdogs this year. Dad of the Year goes to the dude on an ATV pulling a little Halloween float, decked out in orange lights and lawn chairs for a couple moms. The kids would run up to several houses then load up and move down the street.

Oct 2017 halloween costumes web (4 of 4)

Since we decided to extend our road trip another night we didn't arrive back home until an hour before trick-or-treat. For real – ONE hour. Most of the costume gear was ready ahead of time, thankfully. I couldn't pull off the Mom and Dad costumes we had begun this time. There is only so much awesome and I used it all up. The children's outfits worked out just fine without us.

I hope you had a wonderfully fun holiday. Before we turn around twice it's going to be Thanksgiving. I love this!

served up family style

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

Seventeen years ago our two families spent our first Thanksgiving together here in Utah. They had just arrived after living in Germany several years. Today the tables were turned and we made our first Thanksgiving dinner in Utah after many overseas, again with our old friends.

Since all of us are originally from the upper midwest, we share a very similar holiday menu. They are the same dishes we ate all those years ago and the same ones we will be eating in years to come – roast turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, cranberry jiggling from the can, jello salad, brown and serve rolls, and pie, pie, pie.

All carried in deep 9×13 dishes and served on paper plates so clean up is quick work because…

We have important stuff to do after we eat. Board games, ping pong, and…

Curling up on the couch with Charlie Brown.

"Thanksgiving is more than eating…Those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that's what they mean by 'Thanksgiving,'"

Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving

Autumn in the Dining Room

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

I can rarely get my um, stuff, together to do a proper Pinterest worthy tute. We were happy enough with the new centerpiece to at least share though. It's so simple you can sort of figure it out.

One thing I miss terribly about Europe is fresh flowers. They do have them here but they cost so much more to have on the table regularly. Since we really prefer natural, when I saw the bunches of wheat at Walmart I grabbed two ($4 each) thinking I would figure something out. This is what I figured out.

Grab the two bunches into one big bunch and wrap with a rubber band. Then shove an empty can inside to beef it up and stabilize. Give a slight twist. Wrap tightly with leftover Christmas ribbon because it matches the $1 gold charger you bought ten years ago and haven't used. Ok, maybe this isn't a universally applicable tute. ; ) But you get the idea. So for $8 we have a nice natural centerpiece for fall.

If you were here and looking left you'd see the fireplace wall. It was a major selling point for us. Major. I love this brick wall. Currently it holds my copper collection.

Copper was a fixture of British kitchens. I was gifted with some vintage pieces at our going away party. Goodwill locally netted the teapot, sugar, and creamer at the far end.

The pullback below. The china cabinet is dressed in blue in this house. (staging shelves is not my strong suit) Top right is the delft plate I stuffed in my suitcase when I came back from the Netherlands as a student. The dining chairs are still covered in nasty old green upholstery. It's on the list of home improvement projects. Til then, cropped out. Voila. : D

The vintage pictures to the left have hung someplace in my house since I found them in my Grams attic and finally persuaded her to let me have it. She found it in her century old farmhouse attic when they moved in in the 60's. We don't know who they are but when I suggested replacing them with our own old family portraits everyone freaked out. Actually it's rather wonderful now to honor whomever they are. They are family after all these years.

The quilt rack was a gift from my late Grampa when he was on a woodworking kick in retirement. It needs a quilt. Or some linen. Still thinking on that.

Star Spangled

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Kim Halloran-Fry

There was some debate over where to see fireworks this year, our first in Utah. Zach and Megan were in town and voted Park City since none of us have been yet so that's where we headed.

First stop while it was still light out was the Alpine Slide. One boy needed to think about a few minutes before committing. We don't push that sort of thing but do encourage when they are on the fence and seem intrigued, if a little unsure. We walked closer to the gondolas and slides and watched for a while and that cinched it. Tickets were ordered and up they went….

It was a loooong ride up. So long that they texted us selfies. Then let us know they were on the way down.

Down was awesome. At least until catching up with Tess. Then it became increasingly less awesome til the end. Cautiously spontaneous, she is. She was dead set on doing the ride but did it her way. (read: slow ; ))

Since we have had a stretch of scorching hot, dry weather we didn't consider that the cloudless skies would be anything else yesterday. All our years in the Rockies should have made us wiser than that. The wind picked up as we arrived and the Weather Channel app was warning of rain coming in right about showtime. We debated for a while, but having lived in the Rockies we decided to ride it out and see. Good call. With a change in wind direction the clouds went off course and all predictions were cancelled. We enjoyed a beautiful show.

Hope Can Still Glow

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Kim Halloran-Fry

The Lights

As once in that

Old desert sky

Was hung the the star

Men traveled by,

So on cold earth

In this year, we

Hand the warm lights

On our tall tree.

Now in the month

Of long, dark nights,

We put out strings

Of long, gay lights,

That men may know

Hope can still glow

On earth below

Through night and snow.

– An Old Fashioned Christmas

Starry Sky Journal

Reflections from Starry Sky Ranch

Tag Archives: holiday