In These Hills: January 2010

My Work Buddies

>> Tuesday, January 26, 2010 – winter

Outside

and inside

that tail can really get in my way

Lou picked up this book when we were out enjoying a book store a few weeks ago. She was very inspired by all the cool things to sew with just one yard of cloth. Lou decided to try the Hands-Free Belt Bag for her first project.

She choose a red silk scrap from the stash which, in retrospect, was not the best choice as it was difficult to iron and sew.

It has these cool belt loops on the back,

2 pockets on the front, and a zipper on the top.

I quickly realized that just because the project didn't take a lot of fabric didn't mean it was easy for a 10 year old. This was definitely a joint project :) I did a lot of pinning and then she sewed. It's now up in her room full of all her "cool stuff."

Our own little winter carnival

>> Monday, January 18, 2010 – winter

The mountains met the sea this weekend when we had our own little winter carnival with friends from Maine. In the summer we sometimes sail with them. This winter they got to be "in these hills."

Lou's chalkboard welcome

Lots of local foods--our own maple syrup, homemade pizza, local cheeses

Chatting at the puzzle table

A huge crokinole tournament and a big round of Apples to Apples--truly our favorite party game.

A bit of antiquing

But most of our time was spent outside in the snow

We have a big sledding hill!

Snowballs

and a few more snowballs

A sad snowman

Odin ran alongside all the sleds

A bonfire to keep us warm

And a gentle snowfall to end our weekend.
It's been 25 years of a wonderful friendship!

Saying Farewell to Christmas

>> Wednesday, January 6, 2010 – Christmas

I confess that the past few days have not been the most harmonious or Christmasy. Nels and I have been working and the girls have suffered from a bit of benign neglect. We were in danger of the twelve days of Christmas just quietly slipping away. Sadly, Nels also had to be out of town for two days quite unexpectedly, so it was just the three of us at home.

This morning, as I sat with my Christmas journal reflecting on the past few days, I decided that today we would say farewell to Christmas. I decided that my work could wait a day and that my girls needed a day with me truly present.

My journaling turned to baking and the girls woke up this morning to scones topped with red and green sugar. Christmas music was playing and, as we ate our scones, I read their favorite Christmas books. Helen hadn't read any this year and was secretly pleased to be read to.

As I cleaned up from breakfast, Lou made gift tags for next year by cutting out scenes from the Christmas cards we had received and punching holes in the corners. Hels began to make a 3 Kings Cake.

We then sang along to every single song on our favorite Christmas CD while we tucked all the ornaments away for the year and dragged the tree outside to be decorated for the birds this weekend.

It was lunchtime by the time we had packed away all our Christmas decorations. Helen and I had to run to the fabric store to find a pattern for her handwork class. When we got back, we sat down to a 3 Kings Day Cake, complete with hidden coins. The table had been already changed to the deep blues I like to have in January. We gave a toast to Christmas and the New Year.

We had one surprise--a late gift for each of the girls from my brother and his wife. Here is Helen beyond thrilled to receive a new set of colored pencils.

The late afternoon brought thank you notes--thankfully they are all done!

Our final farewell to Christmas was a game of snapdragon where we snapped a raisin out of the blue flames of burning brandy and made a wish for the coming year.

I sat with my journal again at the end of the day, filling in the final bits of our Christmas season. I added my wishes. Wishes to help me through this year--a year that will be bringing many big decisions and projects that will impact our family for years to come. These wishes are not of my own writing, but of Lynn Jericho's. Yet, they are just right for me this year. I wish for~

Fierce Courage
Profound Creativity
Stable Confidence

May all your wishes come true in the coming year.
Merry Christmas

One Small Change

>> Tuesday, January 5, 2010 – One Small Change

We have spent many cozy evenings talking about our predictions and wishes for the coming year. The One Small Change project has been a part of these discussions. We are all inspired by the idea of choosing one small change each month leading up to Earth Day. We have generated a list that could go far beyond the next 4 months.

For this month, however, I chose to "not go to 12A". 12A is the strip of shops in our region containing all the big national stores and restaurants. There's a Walmart, several big grocery stores, a Kohls, etc. It looks like all the other strips in the United States.

By not going to 12A I will:

shop from locally owned stores
think harder about what I need, if I really need it, and where I'm going to get it
shop from our local COOP grocery store which will also change the food that comes into our house. While I already buy mostly organic, now I'll be forced to buy more local organic.

I'd like to think that I'm not a big 12A shopper, but I think I end up there more often than I realize. Last night I took Helen to the movies to see New Moon. Rather than go to the movie theater on 12A with its surly teenagers dressed in cheesy tuxedos, overpriced yucky popcorn and sticky floors, we went to our little town hall theater which plays one current movie a weekend.

There we found a huge screen, surround sound, reasonable prices, and reasonably sized (and priced) snacks offered by a friendly volunteer. Even better, our money went to support our local arts organization.