Celebrate the Solstice
Let go of what's not needed
Welcome light and love.
"Little House Christmas" at the Main Street Theater in Houston. Silas and I read all 9 books together this year, so it was fun to hear is very detailed analysis of all the liberties they took with time, place, persons and events.
We FINALLY got to ice skate at Discovery Green and Santa showed up!
Afterward, we had a quick bite at our favotire Mission Burrito and went to Silas' piano teacher's family concert, full of piano, basoon, bell choir and lots of singing.
Silas, the Star Wars lego-loving Ninja (new balaclava and ski goggles in his stocking this year!).
Taking the break from the holiday joy, wearing new safety glasses from his very own real took kit and his new sweater & pj's.
Oh, no! Auntie gave Silas the new version of "Battleship"!
On Christmas Eve I did a lot of food prep for Christmas and we enjoyed a lovely evening of holiday cheer with friends at their gathering. On Christmas morning we had a slow and sweet time with gifts for our tiny family, a breakfast of cinnamon rolls, and later a festive lunch and rousing game of Timeline with family, and an adult viewing of the Christmas premier of Les Miserables. Foosball, lego and other fun stuff ensued for the little one and his daddy.
I hope everyone had and continues to have a peaceful, companionable, and joyful holiday season.
December 12 ::: a visit to Santa & some ornament-making
I asked Silas if he wanted to see Santa this year (he's only sat on his lap twice in his life), and he was certain that he did. So, I got a referral for what is ostensibly the best Santa in our area and we headed out after piano practice and homework for a little holiday magic. Alas, although Santa was beautiful, he was a little dull. Too much holiday cheer the night before? Silas said he was really glad to see him, but clearly had a crush on the speed boats, Arctic Cats, Bad Boys, remote control cars and multiple firearms. Don't you just love the pink rifle?
Clearly Outdoor World was a hit with Silas, but I was ready to pitch him overboard by the time I could drag him out of there. Did I actually put that in words for others to see? Yes, sometimes, even my beloved and adored Silas can push me over the edge. Not his fault, of course. I unwittingly set myself up big time. It's the war stuff that gets me. He actually said to me in the car on the way home, "I don't want to be in the army, I want to design bigger and more dangerous weapons to help the army." ("Help them do what???...and why????," I wanted to scream! Maybe I did...you'll have to ask Silas.) Still, I managed to hold onto most of my patience long enough to get him home and through dinner, and the making of the holiday ornament for his martial arts school's tree.
Thankfully, Daddy handled books and bedtime so I could cut out 70 tiny red felt circles to serve as hollyberries for a classroom party craft. I keep saying, "Yes." Hmmm. My motto for 2013? Priorities and boundaries. Maybe I need a pink rifle of my own?
So, on a sweeter, more serene, holiday note, here is Silas' multi-prototyped ornament for a little contest at his martial arts school. He drilled the holes in the cup himself, cut the snowflakes, taped it all together and tied the string. He had a little guidance, but I really urged him to do it all himself. Such fun.
Materials:
Instructions:
Drill two small holes in the sides just below the rim. Cut two paper snowflakes out of kite paper (tissue paper might work) in a dark color (we used blue). Cut a tube and make a cone-ish/cylinder liner in white (yellow might also be pretty).
Tape the liner to the inside of the cup, being careful to avoid the holes you drilled.
Tape the snowflakes to the outside of the cop on opposite sides (with the holes between the two snowflakes.
Insert a ribbon through both holes and tie off the ends to hold it onto the cup.
Place an LED candle in it and hang it on the tree or from a nail. These would be super cute decorations for a party as a wintry alternative to Chinese-style lanterns.
I'm thinking this might work as a kid craft for our Solstice party if the holes were pre-drilled and the snowflakes were folded and ready to cut. What do you think? Our guests range in age from 5 to 12 or so.
We took a little relaxation from the Advent business on Monday and Tuesday, partly owing to a mid-season melt down I had on Monday morning after sending Silas off to school. So, after some tears and comfort, I finished all the hot cocoa powder making and Silas and I snuggled down to homey activities like making gifts for his classmates (limit 50 cents per student!!!) and reading a delightful new treasure of a Christmas book, Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales.
This is truly an outstanding little gem, full of detailed, slightly askew and very colorful imagery, extremely funny turns of phrase, incredibly evocative language, and really pretty illustrations. The book very beautifully immortalizes a childhood full of an active and very vivid imagination, lots of friends, and a balance between a cozy and predictible home life (complete with an extended and slightly wacky family) and free range exploration of the coastal topography and town he obviously cherished. This is a book to be enjoyed for many years since Silas and I found different parts funny and engaging based on our various understandings of context and language. This one will grow with us.
I wanted to extend our holiday book collection this year and turned to online recommendation lists, including this one from the Huffington Post. So, Silas is soon to be introduced to Cops and Robbers and Horrible Christmas, as well as A Child's Christmas in Wales. I also scored an excellent used edition of The Nutcracker (the version illustrated by Maurice Sendak) in honor of our inauguration into the ballet this year.
I know that one day Silas may outgrow being read holiday stories and picture books in general, so I am savoring every moment we spend with Jan Brett (Home for Christmas; Christmas Trolls), Cynthia Rylant (Christmas in the Country), How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elsa Beskow's Ollie's Ski Trip, Jane Yolen's Owl Moon among many, many others we've amassed. I have to put a big plug in for Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins by Eric Kimmel. This is the very first book Silas asks us to read when we bring down the Christmas stuff from the attic and unpack the beloved box of holiday books. It has just the right combination of creepiness and heart to soothe a 6-year-old's spirit.
And as for all those school gifts? A rustic little jingle bell ornament is my alternative to the Dollar Store schlock, plastic doodads made in China, stickers, 150th pencil or erasers...that have arrived home with Silas over the past couple of years. Don't all kids like jingle bells? This one involves six bells, a yard or so of jute twine, a little ring and ornament hanger and a grosgrain ribbon. All it took was time, and I have the sore thumbs to prove it! Now I just have to individually wrap them. Yikes. Couldn't we just do a $10 gift and have them pick one decent thing? Oh, well. It is what it is. I continue to have my dislike of the United States (and Texas') public school institutions, no offense intended to all the well-meaning and child-loving people who work in Silas school's specifically, and public schools in general.
Day 9 ::: The cookie party
My first experience making and using Royal Icing. Suffice it to say, I learned A LOT!
Quite a few salt dough ornaments were painted and decorated, but I only have this picture (mine), since I got a little distracted and separated from my camera. Can you imagine?
December 10 ::: A day of rest. Decorating a little, making a little. Testing out the hot cocoa mix recipe for inserting in the mugs.
I liked the cocoa. Not too sweet, even better with a tiny bit of milk mixed in....
December 7 ::: Watch Frosty the Snowman, Make Cookie Dough for Party (& for mommy, elving)
The king-sized bed doubles as a work surface. It's the best I can do, since my sewing machine is in a cabinet in our capacious master BR.
Various sets of these note cards, each unique from 100% post-consumer recycled paper and the fabric scrap bag, are underway for certain friends who write notes...
December 8 ::: Bake cookies for party and attend the Bayou Village Waldorf-Inspired School Winter Faire (& later, dinner with adults at home while Silas attends an evening out with his friends).
A puppet play about the four seasons and the ability of all the contribute, no matter how small.
My favorite thing was the "Crystal Cave" with beautiful treasures and sweets for the children inside.
Below, Silas loves his ribbon ring.
Preparing a warm atmosphere for conversation and sharing.
The last day of Kindergarten ::: ever! (Here is the 1st day of school!)
How to amuse 12 kids while awaiting the Space Shuttle!
There it is!
The Shuttle Explorer
There it goes! On to Space Center Houston, the official visitors' center for the NASA Johnson Space Center.
I recently read this translation of Anna Karenina, my first reading of this, Tolstoy's self-proclaimed first real novel. I was enraptured by the characters and fell a little in love with Tolstoy, who was so deeply flawed and human and therefore able to capture the fullness of each of his characters. He made it impossible not to identify with or at least understand the motives, thought processes, weaknesses, strengths and vulnerabilities of each person, seen in relief against a background of a particular time and place in history. I can't say enough good things about it. I was deeply moved by Levin's spiritual maturation and his discovery that he's happiest when he is engaged in the work that needs to be done (solving disputes among his farmers, tending to his wife and son, ensuring preparations for the harvest, etc.). When he stops to contemplate the meaning and purpose of his life, he becomes paralyzed and overwhelmed by existential longings and questions. Hmmm. I can relate.
The pursuit of "happiness" being a tantalizing subject for me right now, I turned my attention to The Geography of Bliss, which a friend gave me about 2 years ago (sorry!). But, it's one of those books that requires a certain mindset. In my case, Anna Karenina strongly rooted me in a grand, sweeping view of human nature as essentially changeless, but expressed in a nuanced way depending on the social, political and historical circumstances in which a human lives. The Geography of Bliss is the travel journal of a western worrier and grump who attempts to gain insight about himself by sifting through academic research about happiness and traveling to some of the "happiest" and "unhappiest" places on the planet. His goal? To get a first hand view of happiness in practice from both cultural and personal perspectives. As I was reading, I documented the keys to happiness that he identifies. Here's a smattering directly from my notes:
I'm now turning my attention from the theoretical to the practical. I've resisted reading this book for a while. The genre of "be like me" middleclass self-disclosure memoirs is a bit tiresome. I read two earlier this year (Poser and Project Happily Ever After). I frankly did not like either person as they presented themselves and I found myself full of judgments (I'm suspecting a little projection here...as well as internalized classism). Nevertheless I ended up identifying more than I thought with their feelings and experiences. So, here I am reading, The Happiness Project, another middle class memoir/instruction manual. I thought it would be interesting to see a practical journey toward happiness and this is what was out there. I'm 5/6 of the way through her year-long "project." Frankly, I can't wait to be done. I'm not sure I've gained anything useful for my own experience, but I'm reserving judgment. Actually, I can think of a couple useful things...
(I guess I am getting more out of it than I thought!)
I think I'll turn to the Dalai Lama's The Art of Happiness next. I can't help but be inspired by a person who exudes such positive energy and broad perspective in the face of cruelty to his own people and throughout the planet. I had the privilege of hearing him speak in person once and I will never forget it. If I ever doubted the power of one person's energy to ripple through and influence the energy of multitudes, I didn't doubt it after being in his presence.
Here's to actually being happy.
