What Do You Do in the Awkward Zone Between Christmas and New Year's?

taking photos of wasp nests in bared branches

starting to think about new year's resolutions

watching robins and starlings gather in the oak trees

experiencing a fond feeling for brussel sprouts

eating

granola and milk before bedtime

molasses ginger cake with eggnog and rum ice cream or apple sauce and caramel sauce

apples for breakfast

dried biodynamic cherries

really good salads--smoked trout, fennel, grapefruit and salmon roe

leftovers for lunch

indulging in two pots of good, strong tea at Shaktea, grooving to Ella Fitzgerald singing a-tisket a-tasket

sleeping in

discovering an online episode of Morse I had never watched before--like buried treasure

developing new lessons for next year's classes

revelling in warm, fuzzy feelings for family and friends

reading the obits of the famous people we lost this year

eagerly awaiting an autobiography by Nigella Lawson

going for a walk for no other reason than going for a walk (and finding jumbo croissants)

Wednesday Rituals

One thing that's good about hobbies is the weekly and daily rituals they add to your lives. Having choir on Wednesdays means I have to 1) do laundry and 2) take a bath. We get a lecture at the beginning of the term to practice good body hygiene because we sing so close to one another. It's a good point and now I am totally paranoid, so I try to make sure I am not offending anyone I'm singing next to with my BO. Today I worked up a sweat working in the garden so I had a nice hot bath to get clean and relax my spasming back muscles.

It's also a day to work at the new music, pronouncing the unfamiliar Latin and going over tunes and rhythms. Some songs are already firmly planted in my head so I am already avoiding rehearsing them so I don't get sick of those ones. We don't have a real Ipod, but we have an Ipod Shuffle, which I've finally figured out how to use with the choir tracks our conductor uploads on our choir's website. This is already changing my life and putting a new spring in my step.

First honey bee sighting for 21012 at noon today, and the crocus blooms are open.

Symbolism for a Christmas Stocking

A book for an exciting life story,

some small gadget for inventiveness,

soap for freshness and fragrant memories,

something homespun for a creative soul,

seeds for nourishment and beauty.

An orange for travels to exotic lands,

chocolate for passion and energy,

socks for warmth and shelter.

A butterfly for joy.

An acorn for a long life.

A charm for luck,

a rock for protection and grounding,

tea for friendship and conversation.

Making Traditions

You know how it is--some traditions are worth keeping and some just fall away. I have made our homemade family calendars a yearly way of organizing my photos and keeping up on making hard copies of the digital files worth keeping and filing into a project or an album. I often do some collage projects at this time of the year, making little books and gifts and cards. Today we made peppermint bark and pipe cleaner snowflakes and candy canes. We made our gift lists and checked them twice, putting tags on all the bags of Shaktea's finest that we bought for our friends, family, and for each other.

We finally put the tree up last night and Ules has already performed the annual ritual of shaking and feeling his presents to try and guess what's under the wrapping. Every year I vow not to use new paper wrapping and every year I succumb to at least some shiny happy crinkly paper. I am glad I finally posted my Christmas cards--some I did though snail mail and some through e-mail to keep it economical. There's something special about sending those cards off, knowing that they might create the same thrill you get when a Christmas card comes in the post. I like the ones that come with at least a bit of news or a photo.

The collection of snowmen is out, the tiny Christmas village and ornaments old and new. This year I bought some vintage chenille ornaments from the most senior lady on our block. I will think of her each Christmas and I value the memories she gave us. Some ornaments are glamorous and glittery, some homespun, and my favorite are the ones with just a touch of homely pathos. I appreciate those ornaments with a good helping of wabi sabi or the je ne sais quoi of the bittersweet melancholy that this season is tinged with. This is the time of the year when we count our blessings and think about those events and news stories which really touched us this year. I am thinking about the local family whose two daughters were involved in a (thankfully non fatal) car accident and I wish them healing and rest. This year there were two stories of women trapped in Saudi Arabia without the ability to leave abusive situations which really touched my heart. The first story, a woman whose family would not allow her to be with her lover did have a good ending, I believe, thanks in part to at least one CBC radio interview. The second story, a woman trapped with her children in an abusive relationship is still ongoing. I wish and pray for an ending to her pain and suffering.

It is with fatigue and sadness that I hear rumors that once again the short-sited conservative government is going to try to shut down the CBC. Bah humbug and a one finger salute to Stephen Harper. The CBC radio is one of our family traditions. I listen to it almost every morning as I do the dishes and prepare breakfast. It's one of my tiny windows on the world and a very important agent for tolerance and change in our country.

Christmas Morn

Up with the dawn to open our stockings!!! We startled our Christmas mouse and it ran under the Christmas tree and just about gave Peter and I a heart attack. Ules was too focused on his stocking to notice. This year it was very touching because Ullie gave Peter and I gifts and was very excited for us to open them. He made a calendar for his dad and he picked out a top from Smoking Lily for me. Peter gave me some Tugwell Creek mead and I got some fancy tea and an eco-purse from my sister. Mom and dad are buying us a new couch--yay!!! It will be the first time I have ever bought a piece of new furniture.

For breakfast we had Terra Breads cherry and chocolate panetone made into French toast and spread with a locally made chocolate hazelnut spread. It would have been great with some whipped cream and cherry preserves.

This is a little superhero Djeco stamp set I found for Ullie.

This is the art set I gave Ules with a book on how to draw fantasy characters. Peter's reading the rule book to a big game our son wanted--War of the Rings.


I've been making up hot almond milk with cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg topped with a big eggnog marshmallow from Butter bakery. It's very soporific. We opened our gifts, had breakfast, and then I settled in for a long winter's nap!

This is the snow family Ules made in Bear's class. The snow boy has stolen all the candy canes. Merry Christmas!