Winter Kissed Cheeks

Happy New Year!

Finished this blanket this morning -- just in time for a new year filled with new projects!  Pattern found at attic 24.  I made it for my lovely friend, Amanda, but I was oh so tempted to keep it!  I love the colors and the pattern is so squishy and comfy!  I might just have to make an identical one sometime in the future.



I was trying madly to finish the blanket before Christmas, but then a couple of weeks ago I ran out of yarn on my last row of that color -- so close mushroom, so close! 



So I had to order more -- I just couldn't stand the idea of changing the color so late in the game!  It simply would not do.  The problem is that I order from a place in England, so 1. it takes a while to get here and 2. there is a flat shipping rate, so of course I am compelled to order plenty of yarn to make it worthwhile, am I right?  One of my goals for the next year is to stop spending money!  I know!  Completely insane!  But I must do something about my compulsive impulsivity!  Since I knew that I was going to have this lofty objective, I went ahead and planned all of my crochet projects for the coming year so I wouldn't have to buy any more yarn after my start date... of today!  I'm pretty much all set, with one blanket about halfway done and I think five more waiting in the wings. 

We enjoyed a rousing New Year's Eve party at Rose and Rick's abode -- the boys always manage to stay awake until midnight!  No early birds in this house!  The girls both slept at friend's houses so we didn't have to worry about waiting up for them.  Matthew ran Charles to work around 11:45 and barely missed the countdown.  I received my new year's kiss a couple of minutes late.  Neither of the little boys would deign to let me give them a smooch.  They're really quite affectionate, but not in front of their friends apparently.

Today was a relaxing one for the most part and then we're going to Amanda and Dave's for dinner.  I'm so excited for the new year!  I try to calm down and not get into the cliche of making new year's resolutions, but I honestly cannot even help myself!  The excitement of a completely blank slate yawning and stretching out into the great beyond appeals to the deepest parts of me and I get carried away with hopes, dreams, resolves, affirmations, desires... delusions.  Matthew tries to temper my fervor by telling me to stick to just a few goals, or not be so strict and absolute, but I generally ignore him and forge wantonly ahead with "50 million actions of improvement" that are going to utterly transform my life!  Hurrah!

Boxing Day Highlights

::working on the puzzle o' year

::reading new books, playing new games, nibbling chocolate -- bien sur!


::the Christmas cactus actually bloomed on Christmas!  I was stunned by its punctuality!


::sleeping under the Christmas tree = dreamy

Merry Merry Christmas to all!

::required line up photo -- blurry, gah!

::so happy to get a robot from his new brother-in-law


::they were both completely happy and occupied all day


::La La Land music was a hit -- listening to them sing and play piano is one of my absolute favorite things


::the sun was shining, the magic of Christmas morning was in full force, and Ella gave me the most scrumptious mug that has ever been created = bliss.  I was so enamored of this gift that I was holding it to my face and stroking it lovingly -- Matthew just looked at me and said, "I'd like to apologize in advance for knocking that mug off of the counter."

Festivating

::the annual Yule Log

::Nativity reenactment with the Clays -- and Ian

::always a photo shoot

::Christmas light viewing

Merry Christmas Eve Eve

::getting those gingerbread houses in right under the wire

::Final creation -- blurry


::two cuddle bugs

Hooray for Light! And Magic!

I am going to take a risk here and proclaim that Winter Solstice is my favorite day of the year!  It may not be completely true, but it feels like it.  The dark and cold feel so oppressive sometimes, but simply knowing that even though the worst of Winter is still ahead, at least the days will be getting longer and longer and longer -- taking us straight into the heart of Spring and Summer!  Big happy sigh.



Tonight is the women's circle that I attend and I cannot think of a single thing I would rather be doing than communing and chanting with my fellow witches on this mystical night.  I made some Sun cookies -- I only had a flower cookie cutter, but it was close enough.  There is orange flavor in the cookie dough and then orange zest in the frosting as well -- citrus is the flavor of sunlight.  We were asked to come with an intention for the new year so I started thinking about my new word of the year.  I had a few things rattling around my head, but nothing felt right.  I have been reading Eckhart Tolle's, The Power of Now so the idea of time -- chronological vs. psychological -- has been forefront.  I also recently heard a podcast with Richard Rohr -- on OnBeing my favorite! -- and he mentioned that in Greek there are two words for time: Chronos which is chronological time, and Kairos which is God's time, or the right moment.  This afternoon I suddenly realized that my word should be Kairos.  There is so much loaded into that word -- that I need to have patience for things to come to pass -- not when I want it, but when (or if!) it's supposed to happen, that I need to stop and just BE in every moment instead of regretting or fantasizing about the past, or longing and yearning for the future.  I find myself often wanting things to be over so I can have done them, not be doing them, haha!  It's no way to live!  So, I was so excited to finally have a word picked out, but I decided to do a tiny test to see if it was the right one.  I went into our little library and randomly plucked a book of poetry off of the book shelf -- it was Mary Oliver's Evidence.  I flipped it open and read the poem that was on that page.  

Deep Summer

The mockingbird
opens his throat
among the thorns
for his own reasons

but doesn't mind 
if we pause
to listen
and learn something

for ourselves;
he doesn't stop,
he nods
his gray head

with the frightfully bright eyes,
he flirts 
his supple tail,
he says:

listen, if you would listen.
There's no end
to good talk,
to passion songs,

to the melodies
that say
this branch, 
this tree is mine,

to the wholesome
happiness
of being alive
on a patch

of this green earth
in the deep
pleasures of summer.
What a bird!

Your clocks, he says plainly,
which are always ticking,
do not have to be listened to.
The spirit of his every word.

What??? Are you kidding me?  First of all, Deep Summer is a little ironic with it being deep winter, right?  And then I was already fully recognizing that the Universe was affirming my word with the instructions for pausing and listening, to the reminder to be happy and content, but then the clocks!  Always ticking!  Do not have to be listened to!  It was like being hit over the head with a hammer, haha!  I gasped and then let out a jubilant little scream.  It was too perfect.  Too magical.  I accept it.