For Unto Us...

Merry Christmas week and pre-Happy New Year!! 

Let’s go back a couple of weeks to the day we were finally able to get our tree.  We went to the same place we go to every year and came home with a beauty.  It was an easy choice and we were able to begin the decorating process in record time.  I have a box (many boxes, actually) but a specific box for Christmas lights.  Each year, I put them away in working order so there are no surprises the following year.  When, what to my wondering eyes should appear… but 3 strings of lights with 50% of the bulbs blown.  **sigh**  Last year I spent 2 days searching – and finding – the non-working bulbs.  This year, with N.E.wear projects and a deadline, I opted to replace the entire strings.  There must be a better way!!  L.E.D. lights, you say.  My track record happens to be tarnished with them, too.  So, I supported our local hospice thrift store and replaced my strings with someone else’s donation.  And now the tree twinkles in colours that surround our angel decorations.  On the top of the tree is “Angie”, the same angel we used on our family Christmas trees when I was a little girl.

I have to say our Christmas has been delightful – we’ve been able to “skype” with our long-distance relatives and kept our busy-ness to a minimum.  But here’s the question:  Is it right that a Canadian girl celebrate Christmas with green grass and a blooming weeping pussy willow?  I’ve searched my snow-starved soul long and hard, and my husband has convinced me that the lack of snow over Christmas has saved lives.  This season is already riddled with stressful travel time issues and with whom we spend that time.  So… I put on my big-girl panties and let this one go; not having miserable road conditions to deal with was a Christmas blessing. 

Today is Thursday, December 29 – 3 days from 2012.  We have been very blessed this year and look forward to making the most of each day we’re given.  From our home on the pond, our family wishes all of you good health, good friends and enough free time to appreciate what you have. 

Frosted Window Panes...

I’m not usually on the road at 8:30 in the morning, but last Thursday I was headed to the Certified Angus Beef meeting room to pick up what remained of my stock after their Christmas Show & Sale.  It was my second such show and at the very end of the day, someone bought the dragonfly wing earrings and the Tiger Swallowtail butterfly wing pendant.  Even though everyone who sees my wing pieces catches their breath when they find out they’re made from REAL wings, this jewelry is not for everyone.  Not unlike switching summer dresses for chunky sweaters, finding real wings is seasonal so I await next summer with baited breath.

Being on the road at 8:30 last Thursday morning was a gift; the landscape was covered in a heavy frost.  I call it hoar frost and someone on Wikipedia wrote:  “The name hoar comes from Old English and can be used as an adjective for showing signs of old age in reference to the frost which makes trees and bushes look like elderly white hair.”  I like that definition.  Everything was still.  Everything was quiet.  Kind of like what the carol Silent Night says – “all is calm, all is bright”.  Evidence of the death of fall was everywhere.  And it was beautiful.  Really beautiful. 

In our road trip last month, we saw the same vision while driving through northern Ontario one morning.  The only sign of life was a lone wolf standing in the middle of a small, frozen pond.  I’m not sure why I’m so smitten with this image.  Perhaps it goes to simplicity.  Being in awe of what’s in front of us and not taking it for granted.  My friend, Ginny, has a generous bird feeder hanging from the tree in her front yard.  She has the most beautiful collection of birds who frequent her feeder daily.  Ginny also has a hunter kitty.  One day she handed me a handful of feathers – striking, red feathers, and striped grey/brown and black.  Sadly, she explained that they belonged to one of the cardinals and a Carolina wren that used to visit her feeder.  She hoped I could use them.  I’ve added them to the Khepri jewelry.  Wings.  Of all kinds.