In fact, Christ is born all over our house, in a variety of manger scenes finally being completed! My favorite certainly being this little doll in the wooden manger John made. He's just a bit too long, but still I think he looks rather comfy on his bed of hay.
I made the head Waldorf style - although I just did it from memory, and I'm sure I didn't do it quite right. The body was just sort of a stuffed tube that the head was stitched onto, and the swaddling clothes stitched on permanently as well. We'll keep him around for the 12 days of Christmas before hiding the baby away for next year, when we will marvel again at the baby who comes to bring peace to the world.
I might as well say "Lucy Cats" since there is nothing Swedish about my bread. I saw lots of talk about St. Lucia day, and since I love an excuse to make shaped bread, AND I loved Kirsten as a kid (and in fact have her tucked away in the attic. Shhh! I don't want to tell the girls I have her until they finally sit through one of the books!) I thought we should have a little last minute St. Lucia day celebration, too. At first, I dreamed of the girls letting me sleep in, and then waking me, dressed in pretty gowns and bearing fresh-from-the-oven sweet bread and hot coffee, to serve me breakfast in bed. But then I woke up and decided a tea party was a better idea.
Unfortunately, I had already started mixing the ingredients before I learned of the vital (and rare and expensive) ingredient saffron. Even more unfortunately, I realized too late that I didn't actually have enough flour to turn this batter into bread. So I stuck the goopy mess in the refrigerator. Yes, this is how I roll. The next day, I added some flour and cinnamon and a few other entirely non-Swedish-tradition ingredients and braided up this bread. I intended to shape them all into the cat shapes (sort of a cross made of 2 S's), but it was messy and the kids were yelling, and so I quickly braided the rest into a Lucia crown, and threw them in the oven. It was quite ill-planned - nevertheless, we sat down to our tea party with sweet bread, cocoa, candles and a little reading from the end of the Kirsten book. (spoiler! It's St. Lucia day and guess who gets to be St. Lucia!) The girls loved the story and (surprisingly) the bread, although the cocoa was a touch too hot. It's amazing how sticking a candle into your food can get everyone in a festive mood, and plenty of sugar glaze will keep everyone quietly licking their fingers while you read. Yes, it was a good time.
I'm overwhelmed by sadness today. I had never heard this beautiful Christmas hymn until yesterday, which tells of the innocent children Herod killed in his search for Christ. It is unfortunately so fitting. Peace to you all.
We've enjoyed being outside with the girls and especially watching the sky with them. Its very dark at our new house since we are far from any street lights, which makes the star gazing absolutely amazing. Seriously.
This week has been especially fun, with all the organizing credit going to John (okay, and the folks at NASA, too). John signed up for Spot the Station, a free program by NASA that will send you text or email alerts telling you when the International Space Station is visible in your area. John has been spotting the ISS for a few months now, but this week the timing was at the perfect time in the evening when we could all bundle up and sit outside together. It was very cool to see and to think about the astronauts on board (the NASA website is also very cool). Space stuff is always a little mind boggling to me in all of its paradoxes: far away but visible, empty but infinite.
Left to Right: Windows, Space Station, Jupiter
I know you're amazed at my crazy photography skills. Yes, that dot of light is impressive. But seriously, it's fun to watch and it passes over fairly quickly, so check it out if you can.
Last night, we bundled up for another adventure - watching a meteor shower! The peak time was at 3:00 AM, but there was no moon or clouds, so they were visible for most of the night. We took the girls out from 7-8PM and made a cozy bed in the back of the truck and watched patiently. We probably saw two dozen shooting stars, and the girls were thrilled with each sighting. You can keep up with what you can see in the sky each night at EarthSky, although John says sometimes you have to google around for meteor showers and comet sights. He got up again at 3 to watch at the peak time, and said he saw 75 shooting stars that were brilliant! I'd say that was worth losing sleep.
It seems fitting to marvel at the stars during the Christmas season. It reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas Carols, O Holy Night. I prefer the version with the coffee commercial, but I couldn't find it, so here's one with a scene from the Nativity Story. Happy star gazing to all!
I've been plugging away on the Rose Creek Farms CSA blog, with 2 recipes each week. I'm learning so much about vegetables, and we are eating new foods each week. If you're wondering what to do with your kale, turnips, cauliflower or kohlrabi - be sure to check out my recipes. I've been wondering the same thing! Come check out my recipes, but please share your favorites, too.
I'll admit I get goofy excited about taking these food photos. Plus I get to play with all my fiesta dish colors. Too fun. :)
Updated 12/13/12 to add: Okay, I just realized that Lamb Sausage Balls are not vegetables and so they sorta don't fit here, huh? Nevertheless, the lamb sausage did come from our CSA, and I did post a recipe, so there you have it.
"It's been a long journey from the Fourth Century Bishop of Myra, St. Nicholas, who showed his devotion to God in extraordinary kindness and generosity to those in need, to America's jolly Santa Claus, whose largesse often supplies luxuries to the affluent. However, if you peel back the accretions, he is still Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, whose caring surprises continue to model true giving and faithfulness." - from the Origin of Santa at the St. Nicholas Center
I hope you all have a lovely St. Nicholas Day! Learning about St. Nicholas is a beautiful way to delve into this season with a spirit of giving, and take a step back from the tensions and commercials that can overwhelm us this time of year. We started the morning with just a few small treats in our shoes - a candy cane for St. Nicholas' staff, gold coins to remind us of his generosity, and a few small stickers just for fun. We read this story of St. Nicholas over breakfast (which was half chocolate coins, I'm afraid), and this afternoon we'll make cookies.
My intentions of making this day one of meaningful charity have fallen through yet again, and I marvel at those like St. Nicholas, for whom charity was a daily activity. Alas, the girls and I will make Christmas cards and cookies to give away, so that we can at least think of others throughout the day.
Last year, I shared a picture of the story of St. Nicholas and the dowries from the St. Nicholas center, but this year I'm enjoying reading the stories about St. Nicholas at the council of Nicaea and the role he played in defending the doctrine of the Trinity. One retelling is here: Bishop Nicholas loses his cool. Theology nerds will enjoy this silly song to the tune of "Supercalafragalisticexpialadocius" about the doctrines formulated at the council:
[chorus]Superchristological and HomoousiosisEven though the sound of them is something quite atrociousYou can always count on them to anathemize your GnosisSuperchristological and Homoousiosis
One Prosopon, two Ousia are in one Hypostasis. At Chalcedon this formula gave our faith its basis. You can argue that you don't know what this means, But don't you go and try to say there’s a "Physis" in between!
