That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! (Luke 2:8-12)
We woke up to six inches of snow Thursday morning. It’s been a while since that has happened. Last winter Minnesota was practically snowless. The fresh, white snow was pretty lying over the harvested cornfield outside the windows of our new sunroom.
It was cloudy when the full moon rose on December 15th, but I can imagine the scene; moonlight on the field of freshly fallen snow. It reminded me of a poem I read recently:
December Moon
Before going to bed,
after a fall of snow,
I look out on the field shining
there in the moonlight.
So calm,
untouched and white.
Snow silence
fills my head after I leave
the window.
Hours later, near dawn, when I look down again,
the whole landscape has changed.
The perfect surface gone, criss-crossed and written on
where the wild creatures ranged
while the moon rose and shone.
How much can come,
how much can go when
the December moon is bright.
What worlds of play
we’ll never know
sleeping away
the cold, white night
after a fall of snow.
~Author unknown
(This poems seems to be a rework of May Sarton’s December Moon poem: here is a link to May’s original poem. I cannot find any information on who wrote the words above.)
I like the image of animals leaving their tracks in the snow, as evidence of their nightly esapades. And, I’ve always be attracted to the moon and its tales and lores.
A lot is happening during this season of change…the full moon, the fresh snow, the winter solstice (December 21), which marks the longest night of the year. After Christmas with its many variations of light, after the New Year’s celebrations, after we settle into the new year, the days start getting longer in our corner of the world, and we will be gifted with more light, and that is very good.
I love sitting and looking at a 180-degree view of the field outside our sun room windows.
We have been working hard to fit in all the furniture and house accessories from our other house where we lived in for 30 years, to a new, one-level modern twin-home. It’s challenging and exhausting, but exhilarating at the same time. We’re excited for this change and already enjoy living in this new space.
The last month has been a blurr and it’s hard to believe Christmas is next week. In my mind it’s still October. We put up a small artificial tree with lights we’ve used in a small space in the other house, put out Christmas placemats, made a Christmas porch pot, and set an olive-wood sculpture of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus on the mantle,
and set a German wooden pyramid (mini) on our dining room table.
Christmas cards will not be mailed this year, and there will be no home-made cookies or gingerbread houses, but Christmas will come no matter what, and we will celebrate the birth of Jesus. It will be joyful, even without more preparations and decorations.
Last Friday morning the moving van arrived in the driveway of our old house. The four movers packed up all our heavy furniture and moved it a mile south to our new house. It took about six hours. We set up the beds and slept in our new place for the first time Friday night, and slept well. It was an exhausting day.
We woke up to a beautiful sunrise Saturday morning, over the field and bluff out our back windows.
And saw the beautiful sunset that evening.
We’ve been unpacking for almost a week and we’re making progress.
We’re celebrating the next chapter in our lives.
As we continue our preparations to move, I brought to light a couple of old dresses I had tucked into the back of our closet. It was fun to think back on their stories.
In junior high I learned to sew and continued sewing a lot of my clothes through high school (and a few years beyond)…including prom dresses. I liked a lot of the clothes I made…I guess that’s the beauty of making your own clothes…picking out the right fabric, adding details to make them your own, and they fit well. Of all the clothes I made, there are only two dresses, from the 1960’s and 70’s, that I kept.
This red/white dress I made in high school…the hem length was short, as was the style back then!
I loved adding detail to my dresses. The flared-cuff and the lace trim around the neckline, wrists and small waist, made this dress unique. It used to fit!
The cranberry color dress has interesting details; front pleats, a peter pan collar with a knot, and a belt I made.
I did not make the black and blue party dress, but I fell in love with it when I first saw it. I wish it still fit! I felt really good in it and it was a pleasure to wear. I remember finding it at an extremely low price on a clearance sale. There was a time when Gary worked for a company that threw elaborate Christmas parties (in the 80’s) and they were dress-up events. It does have shoulder pads which definitely dates it, but I couldn’t part with it, so it hangs in my closet.
The cream color peasant dress was another dressy-dress I wore for special occasions, including wedding soirées. I’ll wash it up and give it to a thrift store. I can imagine a young woman wearing it today…maybe I’m wrong…
My delicate baptism gown – I have pictures of me in this dress at my baptism, but obviously I do not remember wearing it…but it does have special meaning and I’ll keep it.
As I thought about my sewing days, I envisioned the basement in the house where I grew up. I realized between practicing on the upright piano and sewing with a Singer sewing machine, I spent a lot of time down in that finished-off basement. I enjoyed it. I pondered whether to bring my sewing machine (bought in 1978) with me to our new house, and decided I will take it with me – just in case I get inspired to sew something!
From our home to yours.
We are moving one mile south of where we currently live. When we moved to Northfield in 1994, we moved into a house on the edge of town, with a cornfield in the backyard. The community grew and houses were built up all around us. Thirty years later we decided it was time to downsize and move into a smaller place. We are having a twin home built one mile south of us, and the backyard is the same cornfield view that was behind us 30 years ago. Only smaller.
So, moving into a smaller, one level space is exciting, but challenging. It is bittersweet to be leaving this beautiful green house on the corner, which I love. We have so many wonderful memories here. We were a happy family in this house. But now it’s time for a change, and to downsize.
In doing so there are many decisions to be made. It was easy to sell some stuff, donate some stuff, toss some stuff, but what about family heirlooms? Thankfully, family members wanted them. I cherish these items, but have no room for them in our new house. That they remain in the family brings me comfort!
My grandma’s desk: When my mother was given this wooden drop-front desk, she painted it. When she handed down the desk to me years later, I stripped off the paint and brought it back to its natural wood beauty (that was many years ago).
My grandmother’s china: My grandma’s beautiful, Noritake china set included more pieces than the average china set. The dishes were given to me by my beloved aunt because she knew I loved dishes. I thought of keeping part of the set, but when I knew it was to stay in the family, I gave it all away.
A military flag: The Department of Veterans Affairs provides a US flag to honor a deceased veteran’s military service. We framed this military flag that was given to my mother at my father’s funeral.
A cedar chest: My mother bought this cedar chest in 1947, the year she and my father were married. It cost $54.95 and included a 2-year moth insurance policy! Imagine that. It’s all recorded on papers inside the sweet-smelling chest.
A Norwegian painting: A 28”X38” print of the famous Bridal Procession on the Hardangerfjord is a framed print that my mother and father brought home from their trip to Norway in 1969. My mother had it hanging in her house for many years. It’s beautiful, but it’s large and we have no place for it.
A roasting pan: My mother made the best roast ever! Of course, when I asked for the recipe, she told me how she made it without any measurements. I tried to recreate it, but never got it right. So, when I brought her roasting pan home after her funeral, I thought roasting in that pan would be the secret…but it was not. My roast never did turn out the way hers did.
It would have been hard to part with these items, but it was made much easier to keep them all in the family. I am grateful.
Since we have been downsizing, we have been selling our more useful items on Marketplace and Craig’s list. It has been interesting to see what sells and what doesn’t sell, and for how much it sells. Our experience has been positive. With smaller items we usually meet the buyer at a public parking lot in town, but for larger items people do have to come to our house. We always ask for cash.
Sometimes, if we can’t figure out a mutual meeting time I’ll take a chance and use the honor system. I tell folks I’ll leave the item outside our front door and they can pick it up. I tell them to leave the cash under the front mat. So far, it’s worked every time. And that makes me happy.
When one party asked if I’d send a small item through the mail, I decided to go with the honor system again. I packaged it for mailing, took it to the post office and sent it off. I let the person how much the shipping cost and she said she would send me the money for the item, plus shipping. She did send the cash. And she included a few extra dollars for my time. And that makes me happy.
I’ve come to the place where I am not too worried if someone doesn’t honor the honor system. My experience is most people are honest and I am willing to trust them. And that makes me happy.
St. Olaf College’s annual family orchestra concert’s program is put together with children in mind, using fun and unusual antics.
During the opening piece by Bach, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Glory unto Thee be Given) the students played their instruments while walking up and down the aisles. That was different, and very engaging. I liked the idea.
And when I heard the very first notes of the concert I immediately was jolted to a place of enjoyment and contentment, and I said to myself, it’s been too long since I’ve had the pleasure of listening to this beautiful music. What a gift it is.
This year’s concert featured a guest appearance by Louis & Dan and the Invisible Band. Their catchy music and lyrics may work with an invisible band (as indicated in their name), but the St. Olaf orchestra was too loud for them and drowned out the two male vocal artists.
The traditional highlight of choosing a child conductor (this year three) from the audience is a favorite. Dr. Chung Park, the orchestra conductor, chose three kids from the audience who came forward to “try out” to be a conductor. As the students played Rossini’s famous William Tell Overture the three young kids started to conduct, however, Dr. Fang had to tell them to turn around and face the orchestra. It was comical.
A segment called the “audience orchestra” was interesting. A student stood up front and turned to face the audience, and without words directed our hands and feet to make sounds/music. It was very well done…and during this time Dr. Fang went back stage and changed into a Lord of the Rings costume. He came out as Gandalf and conducted the final piece of the concert, “Symphonic Suite” from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
This concert was a unique opportunity for the St. Olaf students to reach out to the children of the Northfield community. It was well attended, by the young, and the young-at-heart.
Over twenty years ago now…yikes…our oldest son was in college. At one point he moved out of the dorms into college apartments and he needed a desk. We went to the local big box store and picked out a desk that he and Gary assembled.
Who knew that when we bought that inexpensive desk so long ago, it would be with us today and be so functional. I have been using that desk for many years. It is a nice size. I’ve grown accustomed to it, and I like it. When I went looking for a new desk, I couldn’t find one quite like it, so I gave up looking and decided to transform the desk I had.
I used chalk paint, a product that has been around for a few years, and has good ratings. There are a lot of color choices too. I was hoping it would work as well as the reviews said. The only prep work is to clean the surface with a degreaser, let it dry, and paint it. And usually one coat works, it said in the instructions.
So I gave it the “old college try”…and it did work well, although I did have to put a second coat on the top. But I’m sure that is user error…I’m not the best painter in the world.
I was happy with the results of this paint job. I was happy for the low-cost transformation and the easy process of painting the desk.