Santa Lucia Story

I posted this on the blog a few years ago & I'm reposting as tis the season & Lucy's Day is a favorite for me...

On a cold and dark morning a girl went out to milk the family cow. She looked at the straw on the ground and she saw little snowflakes. It was a frosty, cold morning in December. The little girl greeted her cow and began to fill her pail with milk. She would take a break and blow on her hands to warm them up. When the pail was full, she heard her mother calling her, "Lucia! Breakfast is ready!" The father and mother had named her Lucia, meaning "Light," because when she was born, they looked out at the night sky and were amazed at how bright it was outside. The moon was full, but the parents thought that Lucia entering the world had brought the light to the sky.

Lucia thanked the cow for her milk and slowly walked towards the house with the full pail. She tried not to spill any milk on her dress. Her dresses often smelled of old milk. The night sky had disappeared & only the last star was left in the sky. The sun would be up soon to melt all the snowflakes she had seen.

While Lucia was eating breakfast with her parents, her father was telling her that her uncle had disappeared. Her father's brother was Lucia's favorite and only uncle. Her father told her that he had a guess where he might be & he was going to look for him that evening. Lucia begged to go with him, but her father said it would be too dangerous for her and she was to stay at home with her mother. Her father told her that many people were not too happy with Christians lately. He told her how some people did not think that Christians should not be able to live well.

Lucia could not stop thinking about the conversation she had had with her father while she was doing her morning chores. That night, after dinner, her father left the house. Lucia decided to follow him, because she wanted to know what had happened to her uncle. She followed her father for what seemed like eternity. He was obviously looking for something, but it appeared as if he could not find it. Finally her father went behind a large rock. Lucia ran up and slipped behind the rock as well. In front of her was a dirt path that led into a cave. She was scared, but she had come this far and she was determined to see her uncle. It was hard to see in the darkness, but slowly her eyes adjusted. She looked around the dark room. The floor was full of men and women. Some were sleeping, others were talking, still others were singing. Suddenly there, before her, were her father and uncle. She embraced them. Her father was surprised to see his daughter, but he did not scold her. The people in the cave were hungry. They asked for food. She remembered her own dinner. She didn't have any food to give them, but reassured them that she would bring them something to eat. Her uncle told her & her father that he would not leave his friends. He would remain in the cave until everyone was safe. He told Lucia and her father that they should join them in the cave along with mother because they were Christians as well.

That night, when Lucia and her father walked home, Lucia was telling him all her ideas for bringing back food for the people in the cave and her father wondered how much longer they would be safe inside their own home.

The next day Lucia and her mother cooked and baked all day long. At night they had plenty of food to bring to the people hiding underground. Lucia had armfuls of baked sweet bread to carry. It was a dark walk. Her mother put a ring of candles on her head, so they would light the way to the cave. When the people inside the cave saw Lucia walk in with food in her hands and candles on her head, they thought she was an angel. They were so grateful to the visitor who brought them light in the darkness and food to nourish their bodies.

In the far northern country of Sweden still today people remember this most loving deed. When it is dark and cold outside, on the morning of December 13th, families are awakened by "Lucia" who brings bread and a hot, spiced drink while singing this beautiful song:

Santa Lucia
Thy light is glowing
Through darkest winter night,
Comfort bestowing.
Dreams float on wings bedight
Then comes the morning light.
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

Through silent winter gloom
Thy song comes winging.
To waken earth anew
Glad carols bringing.
Come thou, oh Queen of Light
Wearing the crown so bright.
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

Santa Lucia
Christmas foretelling,
Fill hearts with hope and cheer,
Dark fears dispelling.
Bring to the world again,
Peace and good will to men.
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

Snow Queen Bonnet

 Wanted to make a bonnet for Nuriel to wear as part of a Snow Queen costume for Krampusnacht.

 A quick knit on US 9 needles.

Soft blend of Alpaca & Wool. 

Ravelry Notebook

Simple Joys

The sweet lil' moments in the midst of the daily grind of life...

Almost every day in Aftercare Nu draws a picture for me. She folds it and puts it in an envelope. I have joked with the Aftercare teacher that the school should charge me an extra supplies fee for all the envelopes Nu uses.

As soon as she sees me, she exclaims, "Mama, I made a present for you today."

She always makes me wait until we get home to open it.

She stands next to me, with a huge smile on her face as I open it.
It's always such a sweet moment.

Birthday Pie

Nuriel is four years old today. We made some yummy Raspberry-Ricotta Pie yesterday, then decided to have a bit of it right away. - After all it *was* her Kiwi birthday. - Happy Birthday to my Girl!

Kindergarten 2014/15

Nu's official first day of school as Kindergarten started today. Hard to believe she will be four years old in a couple of days. 

Follow Not

Follow me
The old man said.
Don't question me.

I have the answers
to your questions.

Follow me
The young woman said.
I will show you that the answers
lie within your soul.

They looked at her
and followed the old man.

Don't question me
The old man said.
Follow me.

It's so easy to just follow.

This way he said,
pointing.
And they walked
Straight to their deaths.

The old man stood by the cliff,
laughing eerily.
You foolish young woman
he said.

The young woman wept.
So much potential in those
souls. If only they had trusted
to find the answers
- within themselves.

Summer Adieu.

The obligatory "first day of school photo." Why is at least one child always blurry? Or grumpy? Or why do you suddenly realize that the vacuum cleaner is noticeable in the middle of the kitchen floor, and you crop the picture to make it go away, but you chop someone's arm off in the process, and then undo the cropping because it's better to have a vacuum cleaner on a kitchen floor than 1/2 arm? - I don't know. Maybe because life is what it is - with all its imperfections.

Skeptical Senior - Sleepy Kindergartener - Joyful Freshman

Blurry Senior - "I'm awake now!" Kindergartener - "Can I stop smiling now?" Freshman

August Winter Knitting

Last Winter saw record-low temperatures here in Virginia. Nu spends about 1-1/2 hours outside at school in the mornings and she always complained that her face was cold. 

 She loves this cowl I made for her in hopes of not suffering from a cold face again this Winter. We do love our Winters - especially snow days! 

 Yarn: Koigu American Merino

 I love these beautiful coconut shell buttons. 

Writing My Grief

Over the past week or so, I have been sharing little bits of writing. The pieces were all written in the Spring of this year during an online writing workshop led by Megan over at Refuge in Grief. It's a course that I can highly recommend. And Megan is just great. (I knew this before I signed up, but it doesn't hurt to mention it, right.) --- I was actually hesitant to sign up at first. It had been so long. I should be "over it by now" - right? I'm a terrible writer... Those types of things swirled through my head. Turns out giving myself 20- 30 minutes a day to reflect on the daily prompt was a creative, healing time - albeit not always easy emotionally. I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot about myself. I don't wish Grief upon anyone, but if you do find yourself there... Yeah. I can recommend doing this!

Here's one more piece:

"I fell asleep on the couch just after we had that long conversation about our future. I told you that I would never leave you. A door opened and I found myself crossing a threshold. I hesitated maybe for a moment, but I knew I could keep my promise from the other side of that door. I knew you would be lonely, but I also knew it was the right time for me to walk through that door. My journey had come to an end, yet I felt you would be okay as I was leaving a part of me behind. 

There's a different sense of time on this side of the door. People come up from their lives and people go down to their lives. Nu and I met here for a while. I enjoyed spending time with her. I know that life is often sad and difficult for you. I know I brought some happiness to your life. I'm sorry it was short-lived. I want you to know that I enjoyed spending the last year of my life with you. As I wrote in that April letter, there are so many things I admire about you. I knew this spunky lil' soul would keep on working some of that magic. I know that it's hard for you to be alone, but I also know that you have a deep intuition and that you know certain things just aren't meant for our lives. 

Enjoy our girl. I couldn't have left a bigger part of me..."

This Summer

I'm not much a fan of summer weather - too hot & humid, but I do love spending time with the family (my children) and the opportunity to catch up on knitting. The teenagers spend most of their summer at their Dad's house. I'm looking forward to having them home on Monday. Here's what Nu and I have been up to...

This is the Snow Shadow Fingerless Gloves pattern by Anniki Leppik. I fell in love with the pattern & I'm knitting the fourth pair. Looks like some people will be happy with Santa this year. 

The flowers from the garden are sparse this year, but every now & then we do manage a wee bit of beauty for the vase on the mantle. 

I knitted these, using yarn leftovers, one night when I couldn't sleep. The pattern is the Incredible Expanding Gnome Cap. Anyone having twins? (No. Not me.)

Sleep. Yes, sometimes. 

Yet another knit. I've made a few of these over the year. The one Nu is modeling is for a friend of hers. It's the Olivia Kerchief pattern. 

Nu dipped a random pencil in her drinking water. It was an Aquarell one. Thus started an hour of creativity.

Since there's no one in my life who gifts me flowers, I buy them myself and then put them in lil' vases all over the house. It makes me happy. 

Nu's Autumn Dreamcoat. Noro Silk Garden. It's lovely, but I can already see the playground mulch getting stuck on it... I wanted a simple pattern as the yarn is so colorful & found Flary Cardigan. 

{I posted a few lil' pieces of writing. They are from a writing workshop I took in the spring. Unless I fall off the blogging wagon again (I'm trying to hang on!), I'll have a post about that tomorrow.}

Happy Summer!

Good Grief

Grief is the "black sheep of the family." He shows up at my door, uninvited and drunk, at the most inconvenient times, usually in the middle of the night. Politely, I try to convince him to leave, but next thing I know he's passing by me and plopping himself down on my couch. 

He smells. No, he stinks! The smell of his burps makes me nauseous. By golly! I've just given the living-room a good cleaning and there he is, sweaty, drunk, filthy, on my couch. Ughh. Not him again! He used to live with me twenty-four-seven a few years ago, but eventually I kicked him to the curb. He still shows up now and then, though. He makes me wonder why I have to have a family member like that, why my family can't just be normal. 

As I come to terms with the fact that I'm not going to get rid of him tonight, I try to get in touch with compassionate side. I mean, it must be hard to be Grief... Unwanted, unloved. I nurture him a bit. Talk to him. Where have you been? How are things going? And such. I cook him some food. As he sobers up, he shares a bit of wisdom from his journey. I prepare the guest room for him and he goes to bed. When I check on him in the morning, he's gone. 

My Redwood Heart

"The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. [...] The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It's not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time." - John Steinbeck.

As I was thinking about a fitting image for my heart, I remembered a book that has long been a favorite reader of mine for fifth grade Botany: "Big Tree" by Mary and Conrad Buff.

It tells the story of a Redwood tree through time; from its humble beginning as a tender sapling; through wind and weather; scorched by wild fires; scarred; always growing up and up; housing a pair of eagles; hosting a prospector in a hole in the bottom of the trunk; eventually marked to be cut down, Big Tree escapes that fate because of a group of committed environmentalists. It's a fictional story, of course, but the tree still stands today - in all its scarred beauty.

And I thought it to be a fitting image for my heart. There's a tenderness in the plant kingdom, but as I reflected, my heart is not a tender violet or a beautiful rose. It's a strong heart. It's weathered storms. It's been burned and scarred. There are prettier hearts for sure, but man, this heart has been on a journey!

(April 18th, 2014)

Thunder Cake

Nu loves Patricia Polacco's book "Thunder Cake." Nu also loves to bake. She's been asking about making a Thunder Cake for some time, and - although there was no storm in sight - we made one today. I had so much fun with my daughter. Too bad I often feel too stressed to take the time to do something like this during the school year. We made a chocolate ganache for the cake. It was so tasty! {Nu's Mustard Dress from LolliBugBoutique}

It's a muddy, complicated, daily world.

Allow yourself to walk in darkness

with grace.

Think deeply and creatively.

Continue to love.

Feel comfortable in your humanity.

Treasure that you have feelings.

Pain and joy can coexist.

Mayfaire

 Sweet girl with her crown... I just love Mayfaire so much. The weather was perfect - not too hot, not too cold. Lovely entertainment with songs and poetry as well as the play The Adventures of Robin Hood.

 Sweetest lil' crown with some special sage that's 5 years old now...

 Perfect weaving! I love all the beautiful ribbon colors!

More Mayfaire~ing tomorrow!

Rose Window

This beautiful stained glass rose window was made by my 6th grade students and now adorns a window in my home.

Grief

Grief is where the memories are

Where loneliness dwells.

Grief is in all the places 

we visited together.

The burlesque statue at the museum

The coffee shop

New York City.

Grief is in the theater

where we watched The Great Gatsby.

Grief is thus in all things 

Great Gatsby

and in all things theater. 

Grief is in all things

one enjoys in company.

A bottle of wine.

Parties.

Holidays.

- Good grief!

The holidays!

Grief is in airports.

No more smiles

beyond the sliding doors.

Grief is in feeling

failure as a parent.

If only this damn grief would go away...

Grief is in wives' complaining about

their husbands not taking 

the trash out. 

And grief is in stupid comments.

Of course you know exactly how it is

to be in my shoes

because your husband

is on a two-day business trip

and you miss him

terribly.

Grief is everywhere. 

Everywhere. 

Happy Easter!

 

 The first chocolate egg melting in her mouth...

 

 Sweet little gift from the Easter Bunny.

 Fiddle ferns on our nature table...

 Skeptical... and...

 ... happy in her favorite lil' playspace. 

Nathan's Letter

Dear Mayor Dwight Jones,

         My name is Nathan T. and I'm attending the 8th grade at the Richmond Waldorf School. I'm writing to you today because I want to urge you to allocate the funds the Superintendent of Richmond Public Schools has requested to increase the slots available at Appomattox Regional Governor's School.

         Even though I have been raised by a single mother for as long as I can remember, I have had the fortune to attend a private school where my talent and interest in the arts have been nurtured. Looking at high schools, it seemed natural for me to apply at Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts (ARGS) as they have an excellent Visual Arts program. I'm attaching some of my artwork so you can get an idea of my drawings. My portfolio review went very well. My interview scores were solid. I have a 4.0 GPA. I've received ribbons at the Virginia State Fair for my art. Last year I took up flying and I'm currently working on my private pilot's license. I also enjoy playing the cello and have volunteered in my community in various ways.

         I demonstrated a solid performance in all areas, but the process is so competitive that I was put on the waiting list. I'm currently, according to the RPS Gifted Coordinator, Mr. Washington, on the number one waiting slot. Attending ARGS is a dream for me. I have worked hard on my portfolio and my skills over the past few years. I draw every day. When I got the letter that I was waiting-listed, I was devastated. Many others are on the waiting list, too, and I imagine that they have similar feelings; that their art is excellent, too; this is their dream. 

         The funds the Superintendent is asking for from you include fifteen additional slots at the Appomattox Regional Governor's School. Liquidating those funds would give kids like me a chance to have a dream come true. I cannot speak for others, but I would be so grateful for this opportunity! Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. 

Sincerely,

Nathan T.