barn raising

16 February

over the moon

Hello sweet friends!  I'm back over at Rhythm of the Home with my thoughts on celebrating the full moon.  I'm having a blast over there...please stop by and say hello!

11 February

Rhythm of the Home: the nature candle

I was a guest again this past Thursday over at the amazing Rhythm of the Home talking about our nature candle.  I'd love to see you there!

30 December

life's joys

This time of year is so full of awakening.  I found myself in the days before Christmas revelling in the joys of the season and thinking how can I possibly move past this time of year?  How can I not listen to these Celtic carols, and soak up the anticipation of so much to come?  How can I not drink deep the smell of fir tree in the house, and the quiet peace of Advent.  Then, like magic, somewhere around Christmas feast I realize I've let go and am ready to move forward into the wonderful space of post-Christmas; a simultaneous winding down and winding up of life's joys.  After much inward reflection and honouring, and fuelled by inner light, the journey toward the new year beckons.

But, oh, those days before.  The days when we tried to decide what treats to leave out for Father Christmas's reindeer.  Parsnips? Cranberries?  Lichen?  The days when we welcomed King Winter at last and celebrated the magic of Solstice with a lantern and labyrinth walk in a nearby seaside village.  On the eve of the longest night of the year we threw stones into the sea by moon and lantern light, casting away our troubles and sending wishes and blessings into the night.  The days when we feasted with our family and friends- breakfast, lunch and dinner!  The days when we soaked up the winter sunshine, and the days when we layered on the woolens as shelter from the fog and mist.  The days when, for Advent, we honoured the beasts and humans.  The trimmings, the sweets, the laughter, until finally it was Christmas Eve.  Once Coco was snug in bed, we worked in the spirit of Christmas to give her the greatest gift...a morning of magic and belief.

Then, the day after Christmas.  Saying goodbye to family, we went for a fresh and chilly walk through the woods at the base of a local mountain.  It's a trail I love deeply.  Everything seemed so blue and the woods so purpley dark, and the air felt clear and new.  The creek rushed next to us and we gazed above at the higher peaks to the snow dusting the trees like a storybook wonderland.  In all of my heart's memory and longing for the countryside in which I was raised, I often overlook and forget the majesty of where I live now.  It is breathtaking, as are all of life's joys. 

I hope your holiday celebrations continue to bring you and your loves togetherness and joy!  

21 December

Wintering

Our winter days have been oh so full:

- planning, anticipating, preparing and welcoming the arrival of family, celebration, and winter!

- trimming the tree, gathering holly, and decking the halls.

- loving little 2 year old party dresses and shoes!

- making peace as best we can with the urgency out there in the world- lots of rushing happening outside our front door as our suburb quickens it's pace under the pressures of the season.

- enjoying closing the door on it whenever we arrive home, and seeking out the quiet areas in our neighbourhood...there's no one rushing in the woods!

- taking the time for one more mug of tea; one more cup of homemade stock.

- cutting in half the amount of decorations we've brought out, the items on the to do list, and streamlining a certain little one's collection of toys.  Simplifying, clearing the space, making room for more magic.

- finding a comfortable balance between introducing the excitement of Father Christmas arriving on Christmas Eve, and the symbolic spirit of Christmas, to a two year-old.

- befriending so many birds this season!  The whiskey jacks eat out of our palms in the snowy mountains, and the chickadees, juncos, sparrows, and finches come in droves to our feeder.

- dreaming of a time already so dear to my heart when we will celebrate the holidays in a smaller, quieter community on a little patch of countryside.

- and in the meantime giving thanks for the shelter and peace this lovely, old house provides.

- taking the plunge further into gluten free baking.  Gluten free is most definitely a necessary way of life for us now, and one I'm more comfortable with when avoiding the abundance of rice, rice, rice.  Whole grain is fine, but I'm welcoming quinoa and sorghum flours as our family baking staples.

- indulging in turkish delight!

- marveling at the sweet world of a two year old in all of her determination, wonder, and incredible love and empathy.  Feeling very sure that mothering a little one (through all of her ages) is the best thing I will ever do!

- loving the connections I'm making with all of you on this blog; the emails, the discussions in the comments, the support, and the shared desire to live more meaningful, more simplified lives rich in family connection, foundations and magic.  There is a real slow family movement underfoot, and I'm proud to be a part of it with all of you!

I'll be back soon to share our further celebrations of Advent and our honouring of Winter Solstice!

13 December

St. Nicholas

St. Nicholas is a kind and understanding fellow, so he didn't mind that he had to visit our house on the eve of the 7th, rather than the 5th.  Because we were away, the magic was a little belated, but just as wonderful to celebrate.  I had thought of bringing the festivities to my mom's so that we could honour St. Nicholas day in a timely fashion, but even though my mom's seaside cottage is about as close as we can get to a home away from home, I still think it's so important to celebrate these rituals in our home.

We set out a nice carrot in the wooden klompen and Coco was very excited to think this mystical Saint would be arriving to feed his donkey and to leave a little magic.  In the morning, she was jumping up and down in anticipation of what might be waiting for her by the front door.  St. Nicholas didn't disappoint with a few gold coins, a clementine, and a little velvety, woolen pocket doll. 

Yes, I'm glad we waited until we were home from our beach combing and crafting days away.  Celebrating here, within these walls, stirs the magic and casts a spell that I want to capture here.  I was glad, too, to have the wooden klompen as our St. Nicholas shoes.  You really don't have to have special shoes to celebrate, but in our tradition I really wanted shoes that were separate from our daily life.  Magic shoes, if you will.

And always the magic draws closer.

- from The Christmas Magic

9 December

the second light of Advent shine

I'm finally catching up a little on a busy week around the house.  (oh, as soon as I wrote this I spilled my full mug of tea with milk all over the couch.  Some days are just like that, aren't they?).  Ahem, anyway, yes, it has been busy.  Busy in the good- among other things a two day getaway of crafting and beach combing with my mom, aunt, and Coco, and we got our Christmas tree!  And busy in the not as good- among other things we're all a little under the weather and it seemed there was a spell on my laundry pile this week as it only seemed to grow (despite one load a day).  Never mind.  More than ever when things speed up I have learned to let things go.  When the tree comes in the door and there's dusty boxes of ornaments all over the place, the laundry in the dryer can go another day unfolded.  When there's woolen pine cones to make for a special order, the wreath can wait until after dinner to be hung in the window.  And so it goes.

One thing I don't let go of, though, are our festive rhythms.  This past Sunday, we honoured and welcomed the plants into our Advent celebration.  Because of our colds, Coco hasn't explored the plants as much as she did the stones, but I've really loved having so many favourite plant species grouped together in one bowl- lichen, sage, lavender, eucalyptus, holly.  Ancient plants with such powerful abilities to heal, comfort, season and celebrate.  This little bowl, it seems, is symbolic of all of this.

In the second candle of Advent shine

The plants and the berries on the vine,

The green grass and the lovely tree,

And all the flowers that we see.

Now the plants are on the earth,

Waiting for the Winter’s birth.

2 December

enjoying

Exploring Advent this week.  The stones, shells and crystals make their way in and out of the bowl; marvelled at and studied by little hands.  Coco has always loved rocks and I believe she takes after her great-grandfather, a geologist, in her fascination of them.  Sometimes, the animals from our nativity come to visit (and often the nativity is in parts as favourite pieces get carried around and join in with other play).  I am loving the 2's.  So much exploration and interest in everything that is going on, and always on board for what the day holds. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend!  I so enjoyed the comments back and forth this week.  Looking forward to hearing more of your reflections for the second week of Advent. 

30 November

the first light of Advent

Sunday was the first light of Advent.  I have to tell you, this ritual that I only knew to be Advent calendars some 4 years ago has become such a meaningful celebration for me and such a symbolic marker of time.  I was first introduced to the concept of the four candles by my wonderful Catholic neighbour, who explained to me the meaning for her and how they celebrate it in her home.  Then I did research (of course...I'm always researching things) and found that Advent was symbolic of a time of waiting- in most cases, waiting for the arrival of Christmas, but in our case, also waiting for the news that our family was growing.  Since then, Advent has held this special magic for me. 

Now we have a 2 year old who just participated in her first Advent Spiral ceremony at school this past Sunday.  What a difference a few Advents make!  There are so many elements of Waldorf that resonate with me and fill me with pride and confidence in the educational choice we are making.  Advent, and the celebration of it in the school, only deepened this for me.  Cedar boughs were laid out in a spiral, and the children were given candles held in apples which they then, one by one, carried to the centre of the spiral to light from a larger candle.  They then set their candle down on a gold star in the boughs and in doing so the darkness in the room turned to a beautiful orange light as the spiral was set aglow, thus symbolizing the warmth of light in all of us, even in the greatest darkness.  Needless to say, my eyes were blurry with tears as Coco took her teacher's hand and walked quietly to the centre.  Grateful for her, grateful for her chance to learn in this environment, grateful for the teacher she already loves, grateful for the spell that fell over all of us.  The lyre music; the celebration; the hush.  She was so sure of herself, and there was no hesitation.  Her face glowed from the light of her candle and I felt as though we were all living in a magical storybook (to which a dear friend would answer, you are!). 

Later, and after Coco proceeded to eat her Advent apple, we brought Advent into our home with the lighting of our first candle at dinner.  Our Advent ring only just arrived yesterday, so we improvised with our first candle- a beeswax tealight surrounded by the treasures of this first week's celebration.  This year is our first in honouring the four elements with each new week of Advent.  First the stones, minerals, bones.  Second, the plant kingdom.  Third, the animals and, finally, the fourth light honouring humans.  I think I could stay in the stone element for all of Advent.  I love the variety of the crystals, the calcium in the shells, the rocks, the beach glass.  It brought magic to the table, indeed.

The first light of Advent is the light of stone-
Stones that live in crystals, seashells, and bones.

28 November

the season is upon us

This is the time of year, isn't it, when all of our intentions to stay slow and mindful are put to the test?  I admit to playing my Christmas music from time to time for a couple of weeks now...okay, 3 weeks, but how can I not fill the house with wintry and festive fiddle music?  I do get, though, that for many people hearing carols the day after Halloween is just too much and despite my love of Celtic carols, I agree.  There are lots of reasons that the seasons are pushed, mainly to encourage people to buy, buy, buy, and through that we lose the sacredness of what we're actually celebrating.  It's too bad, but totally understandable, that the holidays are stressful for so many people.  Simplicity gets so lost under the weight of it all- decorating, gifting, cooking, buying, preparing, rushing. 

Christmas is my favourite time of year.  I love it for its beauty in the bringing together and celebrating of those we love in our lives.  And the celebrating of something greater than all of us, whatever that may be for each person.  That's the magic, right?  What makes it special is the very part we can't quite put into words and explain. 

Though I have a lot of Christmas decorations that have been handed down to me and acquired over the years, I've decided that this year I'll be very choosy about what comes out in an effort to help capture that magic.  Our house is already full enough, and I don't want the decorations to make it feel overwhelming.  Some garland, a nativity set, the tree, of course.  It will be enough.  And through that we can focus on the true meaning of the holidays.  For us, we'll turn toward the ritual and tradition that fills this season- Advent, St. Nicholas' Day, Christmas.  In many ways, the it's the addition of these added celebrations that help in slowing down to take in the moment.  Knowing, too, that how we choose to celebrate is also choosing what kind of experience Coco will have.  Will it be lots of in and out of the car, gifts upon gifts to tear open Christmas morning, and other busyness?  Or will it be reverence, stepping slowly through the festivities, taking it all in like a deep breath; enjoying and creating the space for her to fall in love with the season. 

I had this chance as a child.  The magic of all of it lives deep in my heart.  We always had a tree, the special Christmas books were brought out each year, and the same friends visited us every Christmas Eve for a moonlit walk through the woods in search of a yule log to burn.  It was the same every year, and looking back I'm grateful to my parents for nurturing the magic in these very simple ways.

What I love about blogging and my time spent on the computer is the daily reminder of my best intentions.  Both through writing and reading, researching and learning, I've come to be able to cultivate those parts of life and living that I wish to celebrate.  As we approach a very big season, celebrated in very different ways across the globe, I look for inspiration in how best to create magic for Coco, and for myself and Sean, and I turn toward our values and family intention in bringing that magic to life.  I'll share our celebrations here over the coming weeks, and I would also love to hear how you keep things simple and special in your home as the holidays begin.

Yesterday was the first day of Advent.  I'll share more on this later, but Advent feels to me like a lovely quiet hush that falls over us and transforms the days and weeks before Christmas into a time of inner warmth and ritual; days spent telling stories, lighting candles, and inviting the peace of the holidays to settle in.

13 November

Martinmas

Sorry if these photos aren't great, but if you could have seen the weather!  We celebrated Martinmas one day late last evening on an adventurous walk with some wonderful friends.  I left my big camera at home as the weather could only be best described as "sleeting" as we drove to meet everyone.  I'm glad I did have my phone, though, and that I have at least some photos to remember this evening.

Martinmas is special to me.  It really was my first introduction to Waldorf years ago.  We've only celebrated it for the last three years, but I truly look forward to it so much.  Martin is a family surname, and so I feel that connection to St. Martin, but it is the beauty in what we are celebrating that makes it one of my favourite annual festivities.  Martinmas reminds us to allow our inner light and being to shine as the world around us darkens in preparation for winter, and it celebrates human kindness in such a gentle way.  It's lovely to celebrate this, no?  When I stop and think that we take a day to honour these things it fills me with hope and gratitude.

And so back to the walk.  Did I mention the sleeting rain?  It was also cold.  Very cold.  Even still, our friends showed up just as excited as we were and with the most gorgeous lanterns.  We chose to walk at dusk down a little path in the woods that leads to a sweet little pond.  We stopped there to have a snack- popcorn, chocolate and cranberries, hearty cookies, and hot mulled cider, but it seemed to start raining harder!  Announcing Martinmas officially celebrated we quickly gathered our things as the little ones began voicing they had indeed had enough!  As we hurried across a little wooden bridge and back to the trail, somewhere from deep in the forest and the dark of night we heard a horse bray.  St. Martin's horse, perhaps?

I like to think so.

Thank you friends, and happy Martinmas to all!