Reflections, Fortunes, and Wishes

The twelve days of Christmas are a reflective time for me. I think a lot about our family, the girls, and the coming year. Some of my reflections are quiet and personal, some are shared with just Nels, and some are shared with others. Here are some things we do during the holidays that bring out those reflective moments in a festive way. All of these things use fire and are best done in the dark!


Casting Fortunes

For this you need a roll of solder, an old spoon, a candle, and a bowl of water. Snip a piece of solder into your spoon. Melt it over the candle and then pour it into the bowl of water. The solder will explode into interesting shapes which foretell something that will happen to you in the coming year. Sometimes a magnifying glass (along with your glass of champagne) will help you read into these interesting shapes. LOL.


Snapdragon

For this you need brandy, raisins, and a pie plate. Put some raisins and a little brandy in a warm pie plate. Light the brandy and as the dragon dashes about the dish, snap out a raisin, pop it in your mouth and make a wish. It will come true in the coming year.


The Yule Log

Our girls also enjoyed making a yule log one year. We all wrote down things we wished to cast away from the past year and tied them to the log. We also included bits from the Christmas tree which made it have a very satisfying POP in the fire. Writing down our thoughts brought a beautiful, reflective moment to Twelfth Night in a kid-friendly and party-friendly way.


So whether it be the Solstice, Christmas Eve, New Years Eve or Twelfth Night, cast your fortune, make some wishes, and send your midwinter reflections out into the world.

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I said the Donkey all Shaggy and Brown

Santa brought stockings full of chocolates and treats.

We loved having most of the presents in cloth bags. We noticed how quiet the unwrapping was--none of that dramatic....r...i....p--and how little trash we had. Instead of a huge garbage bag, we ended up with this:

After a long, lazy morning of opening gifts and digging into our new books and games, Nels and I took a walk to a nearby donkey farm.

I sang carols to the donkeys and the entire herd came up to the fence to listen.
"I said the donkey all shaggy and brown..."

We ended our day with a feast and a family showing of "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe".

It was a lovely day.

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The Handmade Gifts

Our girls tell us that the handmade gifts on Christmas Eve is their most cherished Christmas tradition. We save the gift opening for the very end of the evening.

I made the girls snuggies (or snuglets). Did you know there are enough snuggies in our country for 1 in every 12 people to have one? One day I was at the fabric store trying to come up with fabric to make Helen a quilt, when Liz suggested a snuggie for her (of course Liz wanted one too). It was a brilliant idea and a huge hit for both girls--somehow I managed to surprise Liz.

It seemed like everything Liz wanted for Christmas had a treble clef on it. Her list for Santa included a treble clef hat, treble clef chocolate, and a bumper sticker that said "If you can read this, thank a music teacher." Nels obliged by making her this treble clef to hang on her wall.

Helen followed up on the music theme by making her a silk and velvet blanket for her violin. Liz was just stunned.

Helen took all the old photocopies of recipes we have collected off the web and all our favorite recipes from the family card file and created a recipe book on Lulu as a gift for her Dad. She even included photos of the family and friends who had shared recipes.


Nelson made me this bird feeder. We have already had as many as 8 birds at a time feeding on it.

Liz made me this dear elephant out of clay. I am in love.

Helen had been wanting a Yin-Yang poster for her room, so Liz painted her one.


She also painted this for Nels. We need to get a frame.


Nels made Helen this "Village Harmony" wall plaque. This is the group she toured with this summer.

Helen made me this sterling silver ring in her jewelry class at school.

I truly can't express how special this Christmas Eve tradition is to each of us.
We ended our evening so full of gratefulness for the love we all share.

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Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is a time for candlelight. It is a time when one desires nothing more than family and soft music. Who can say what passes through our hearts on Christmas Eve? Strange thoughts, undefinable emotions, and sudden tears-- All this and more, unbidden, come without reason.

And we burn our candles
For this is Chrismas Eve.

Our evening brought singing, stories, and the final lighting of our Advent Spiral.

Christmas Eve is not a time to be merry, but quietly glad. It is the proper time to wish upon a star. It is a time of wonder, of thankfulness that life is still being created anew out of darkness. It is a time of quiet awakening to beauty.

And we burn our candles

For this is Christmas Eve.

Our evening brought a walk with lanterns, under the starry sky.
We wondered at the stars, left food for the wild animals, and scurried inside as coyotes howled all around us.

Christmas Eve is a time of memory, When one remembers past happiness and love And often sighs for the good that might have been. Peace on earth.

And we burn our candles
For this is Christmas Eve.

Our evening ended with steamy cups of tea and the opening of our handmade Christmas gifts.

The Christmas Eve blessing is from Celebrating Christmas, edited by Carl Seaburg. We read from this book every year.

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Christmas Eve Day

Christmas Eve day found us busily finishing last-minute cooking and crafting. We each have our own Christmas Eve specialty-- Nelson makes lobster casserole for Christmas Eve, I make cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, Helen makes a Buche de Noel for Christmas day, and Liz makes cookies.

We made some Christmas mice, sleeping in walnuts, just like my Grandmother used to make. Keeping busy is a good way to make the time go fast. It was hard to wait for the evening's festivities.

Here is one my Grandmother made and one we made hanging on the tree.

Finally, we also finished up our Christmas bags. I had bought fabric last year during the sales and we had made gift tags on Twelfth Night when we said Farewell to Christmas.

Late in the afternoon, we took treats to the neighbors and wished them a lovely Christmas. As we sat with our neighbors and gazed at their tree, we reflected on how fortunate we are to live in this wonderful place.
It was a perfect break from all the work and we turned our hearts and minds to the evening ahead.

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Revels

I first attended a Revels performance when I was a young girl. It was in Cambridge, MA, and I loved it. I loved the music, poetry, costumes, and dance. I resolved that somehow, some day, I would get to be involved.

How happy I have been that there is a Revels organization here in Vermont. The girls have been involved in the Summer Solstice celebrations since they were young.

Here is Liz singing her heart out on the summer solstice as part of the Revels cast.

Here's Helen and a friend getting ready to perform a Morris Dance at Revels.

Here's Helen now.

She had planned to be part of the Morris dancing team on stage, but they had to cut the dance due to time considerations. She was disappointed, but found a way to still be involved. She's the assistant to the make-up designer and reigns over this massive make-up room that serves a cast of 70.

Being part of the crew has been a fantastic experience for Helen. She has learned so much about what it takes to put on a performance. She's had to interact with a lot of great adults and teens, including some folks she met while on tour in Canada this summer. She's had to use her French with the guest performers who don't speak English. How do you say "hold your breath" in French, anyway? She also still gets to be on stage to sing for a couple of key songs.

Here is a video about this year's Revels performance. Check out the make-up on the guest performers. My girl did that! We get to go tonight. What fun!

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Sunday in my Kitchen: Third Sunday in Advent

We had a long, busy day in the kitchen on Sunday. We listened to our favorite Christmas music and worked away.

There were girls baking sugar cookies...

There was lots of giftmaking...

Among the gifts being made were these little catnip mice.

We gave one mouse away as an early Christmas gift to Calvin.
Here is the result--doped up cat being guarded by Alfred the Christmas goat.
Catnip = safe Christmas ornaments.

We ended our busy third Sunday in Advent with an early birthday celebration for Nels.

This coming week is production week for the Christmas Revels which Helen is involved in so no time for a family birthday.

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First Symphony Performance

Remember the audition? It was one of those parenting moments when we had to push Elizabeth in a fairly uncomfortable way (to put it mildly).

Elizabeth has loved her experience in the Green Mountain Youth Symphony. After her first rehearsal, she came running out saying, "Mom, it was CRAZY HARD. I loved it!" She has just thrived on the intensity of the experience.

Saturday was their big performance. Here she is getting ready to go. She was a bit nervous, but excited.

Here they are waiting for the Concert Mistress to begin tuning.

We really enjoyed the performance. Helen took some video, but I must say they are a bit nauseating to watch as she was up in a balcony with a young child who kept banging into her. Lou is on the back left in front of the timpani.

I wish we had a picture from after the performance. Both her violin teachers came as did a friend from school. She was just glowing in the midst of her fan club. It was a great night.

She reports that next semester is going to be "wicked hard." They will be joining their sister group and performing up in Montpelier in the opera house which should be fun.

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The Advent Paradox

Advent. A time to ponder. Wait. Circle inward.
A time of joyous anticipation. Music. Performances. Friends. Feasts.

For me, Advent is best when there is balance between these two gestures of circling inward and joyous celebration.

I like to have moments where I sit in the candlelight and hold hands with my family.
I like to have moments when I bake glittery treats to my heart's content while singing carols.

I like walking the candlelit spiral in the deep snow.

I like driving around looking at all the crazy Christmas lights.

It is harder to find that balance this year. The girls are more involved in Christmas performances than ever before. Below is our schedule for next Sunday - Saturday. Those squares don't even represent work and school and extend through the dinner hour until 10:30 p.m. almost every night.

My wish for Advent this year?
To help my family find the moments when they can just stop and ponder the star.

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Off to the Symphony

After leaving the Winter Fair, we headed up to Burlington to see the Vermont Symphony.

Only in a small state such as Vermont can you....

...run into the guest performers from the Symphony at breakfast...because, really, there aren't a lot of hotels....

...and bump into the grammy-winning violinist and conductor while out shopping and stop to chat...because, really, there is only one street on which to shop.

I'm not sure which thrilled Elizabeth more...meeting musicians or getting to do some Christmas shopping amidst the twinkling lights, carolers, and bell ringers.

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