By Sun and Candlelight

Sending you ...

 

May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!

Advent Family Fun, Part 2

  

I apologize that this post of holiday ideas is coming to you so very late in the season. I hope if an idea sounds fun to you, you'll tuck it into your 2010 Christmas planner. :)

You might remember my first Advent Family Fun post, which showed you the craft-tag calendar I set up this year. Well, here are some of the ideas from my holiday planner. Not all of them got done - not all of them made it to tags! - but it's fun to brainstorm and catalog ideas ... and there's always next year, right? ;)

~ Spend the first Sunday of Advent decorating for Christmas; set up the tree.

~ On a clear frosty night, bundle up the kids and drive around town admiring Christmas lights. End our journey at a beautiful outdoor nativity scene.

~ On St. Barbara's Day (December 4th), collect bare branches from flowering shrubs in the yard (forsythia, for example). Place them in water in hopes they'll bloom at Christmas. 

~ On the Winter Solstice (December 21st), decorate a tree in the yard with bird-friendly treats like dried fruits and plain popcorn, orange halves, suet balls and peanut butter pinecones. (Making these treats can be a fun activity a day or so before the Solstice.)

~ Because I am partial to animal stories, I like to collect Christmas books that focus on the beauty and peace of nature. This year I added a new book, My Wonderful Christmas Tree by Dahlov Ipcar. Other books in our "Nature Rejoices" basket:

Bear Noel by Olivier Dunrea

The Christmas Bird by Bernadette Watts

The Christmas Cat by Efner Tudor Holmes

A Wish to be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe

Night Tree by Eve Bunting

Who Would Like a Christmas Tree? by Ellen Obed

Hurry! Hurry! Have You Heard? by Laura Krauss Melmed

~ Bring out the Polar Express train set for Earlybird. Watch the movie and have some hot, hot, hot - Hot Chocolate!

~ Go to a local zoo one night to see the beautiful Holiday Lights and decorations.

~ Build a gingerbread construction with Nana (this year, a train).

~ Go on a nature walk and look for examples of Christmas greenery (holly, boxwood, evergreen, ivy). Take pictures of the first day of Winter and start a nature journal for the new year. Have cider mulling on the stove for when we return home.

~ Bake homemade donuts (chocolate with peppermint topping) one morning for breakfast and serve with Trader Joe's mint cocoa with freshly whipped cream.

~ On the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12th), make some cinnamon-sugar tortilla stars (recipe found here) and read the Tomie de Paola book, The Lady of Guadalupe. 

~ Make "hot" cocoa and eggnog popsicles. :)

~ Listen to A Christmas Carol on audiobook over a few afternoons - then go see the new movie starring Jim Carrey. Talk about how the movie differed from the book.

~ Set up the children's creche in the family room. Place a basket filled with nativity stories near the display. Put the magnetic manger scene on the fridge.

~ Bring Christmas arrangements to grandparents' graves; pray for our loved ones, then take Nana to lunch.

~ Attend a Yankee Swap with friends.

~ Surprise an elderly relative or neighbor with some baked goodies and Christmas Carols.

~ Spend a whole day at home baking cookies - eat some, freeze some.

~ Take the kids Christmas shopping one weekday - help them buy gifts for friends and siblings.

~ On New Year's Day (the day we take down our tree), pack ornaments and other holiday decorations in the day's newspaper ~ fun to reminisce over as we unpack next December.

Hope your Christmas week is going well! As my boys just announced moments ago, ONLY TWO MORE DAYS!!

Off now to wrap and bake and clean, etc.! I hope to pop in one more time before Friday, but in case I don't find the time, I want to wish you all a beautiful and blessed Christmas! :)

Fresh and Fragrant Eggnog Muffins

 

 Early this morning I made up a batch of these beautiful muffins ~ and oh how I wish you could have smelled my kitchen as they baked! The recipe (found here) was a new one for me, but it was so easy to follow and produced the most scrumptious results!

I have always been partial to eggnog (the boys and I start looking for it around Halloween!) but I especially enjoy eggnog-flavored baked goods. There's just something about that rich, nutmegy flavor and smell ...

So when I was ordering a gingerbread kit for the boys to make with my mum, I couldn't resist popping a bottle of Eggnog Flavor in my virtual shopping basket. (Btw, it's on sale at the moment - just $4.98 for 1 oz.) So far I have only made the muffins, but I am definitely baking some eggnog-spiked butter cookies before the holidays are over. (I'm thinking sparkly bells and stars for the New Year ...)

This debut batch made its way this morning to the office staff where Earlybird does his therapy, but I plan to make another dozen for Christmas breakfast - I bet they will taste great served along with freshly brewed coffee. :)

Are you baking something new this year?

Christmas Cards and Snowy Days

A few pictures from today (note the beautiful snowfall in the background!) ...

 

Our Christmas cards pinned to ribbon stretched along the windowsill ...

 

Our Christmas card this year (a picture of the boys is mounted inside the cover) ...

 

Our Christmas tree this year!

 

And Crackerjack in the snow early this morning - this boy just loves winter! 

As I type, they're all back out there again ... while I'm wrapping presents inside just as fast as I can!

One more pic before I go, just look at this evening's sunset!

 

Hope you all had a great weekend ... don't forget, Winter arrives tomorrow! :)

Looks like it will be a white Christmas after all ...

 

Batten down the hatches, fellow Mass residents!

So this puts a bit of a crimp in my weekend to-do list, lol. The snow should move in tomorrow night around nine, and by Sunday morning we'll have white-out conditions! So it looks like Saturday will be the day for running errands (here, there and everywhere - along with everyone else in the state) and Sunday will be a day for keeping at home - watching the birds, writing out cards, sitting by the fire and thinking about the true meaning of Christmas ...

Oh, and there will be cocoa, of course. ;)

Our Buche de Noel!

 I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but Bookworm is taking a weekly French class this year. It's a small class of boys and girls, starting out in their first year of French together; it's held at another homeschooling family's home. (Quite conveniently for us they live but a stone's throw away ~ and even more conveniently, my mum drives BW to and from class for me ~ this way Earlybird's morning doesn't get rattled.) Bookworm's teacher is absolutely wonderful and makes the class informative and fun - and in the case of this week's meeting, festive too! For their last class before a brief Christmas break, Madame organized a lovely holiday fete. Each family prepared a signature French dish, and Bookworm chose to bring the traditional Buche de Noel. I'd like to share the recipe and some pictures with you below - it was really much easier to make than I thought it would be!

First of all I should mention that my first intention was to make this gorgeous (but much more complex) cake found at (where else?) Martha Stewart's site. The steps and ingredients were many, but both Bookworm and I just loved the woodland appearance of this particular cake. As the party day got closer however, I panicked I did a little googling and found a simpler recipe at Cooks.com. 

So I started with a simple spongey chocolate cake, baked in a jelly roll pan. It got turned out onto a dishcloth dusted with powdered sugar ..

  

... and then rolled into said dishcloth - carefully. *Note, this part was not as hard as I feared - the cake was very flexible and held its shape well.

 

Once the cake cooled, it was spread with a bit of mocha buttercream frosting, and a generous amount of sweetened whipped cream.

 

 It was next rolled up again (sans towel) and then frosted with the remaining buttercream.

  

I used the tines of a fork to give a bark-like appearance to the frosting.

 

And just before Bookworm took it to class, we sprinkled it with powdered sugar ...

... a light dusting of snow on the log!

 This was so fun to make, I think I'll make it again for Christmas eve. :)

 Have a great night everyone ~ I'll be back again soon!

Happy Birthday, Earlybird!

 

Can it really be true ... my "baby" is eight years old today?

We love you, little man ~ you make us all proud with how hard you work on your challenges and you fill us with joy with your sweet affection and zest for life. God Bless you today and everyday, dear Earlybird!! He most certainly blessed us with you.

*********

And p.s. Happy Birthday, Papa!

My dad shares his birthday with his youngest grandson! I was due with EB on 12/21, but when my dad heard that, he immediately proclaimed, "The baby will be born on my birthday." And wouldn't you know it - as usual - my father was right! ;)

Have a great day, Dad ~ We Love You! :)

Advent Family Fun, Part 1

As I sit down to finish this post, the boys are busily hanging ornaments on the tree, Bill is filling our birdfeeders and I'm hanging garland wherever I can find a good spot. There are cards in a basket on the table, candles aglow in the windows, and Amazon boxes taking over our bedroom.

I'd say it's beginning to look a lot like ...

 

Now, a while back I mentioned my Advent calendar craft this year - a bulletin board adorned with ribbon and plain paper tags. As I explained in a previous post, on each day of Advent, the boys turn over a tag to read what little bit of holiday fun will be had on this day. 

And this, of course, leaves the planning up to me. The first trick is to keep it doable; no busy mother needs extra work for herself during the Advent season. The second trick is to brainstorm the ideas as far in advance as possible, and - or should I say, but - the third trick is to leave the assigning of activities to the last minute. Sounds kind of crazy but believe me, I found out the hard way you can't always make things happen according to (your) plan - particularly during the hectic holiday season.

For instance, the first year I made tags like this, I wrote all 24 tags out with an idea for each day. Invariably however, something would come up to make the planned activity an ill-fit for the day. A freak ice storm kept us housebound on a day we were meant to go the zoo. A wicked cold settled in and sapped us of energy - not a good time for a walk in the winter woods. 

So now what I do is I make myself a master list of activity ideas, and then I hang all my tags ... blank. Well, the front of each tag is numbered, but the backside is empty. About a week ahead I make a tentative plan for the next several days (this way I can pick up any needed supllies while I'm running errands), and each night before I go to bed I write out the tag for the next day, making sure we have the time, energy and weather to make it work best. 

In my next post I will share some of the ideas I have for Advent family fun this year. I can tell you what tomorrow's tag will read, though ... as it's Earlybird's birthday we will be having an afternoon movie time (Santa Buddies is his current favorite) complete with popcorn and cocoa, homemade pizzas for supper (his favorite) followed by cupcakes and candles of course! 

My Grandmother's Wreath

 

I wanted to post a picture of the lovely wreath we had made for my grandmother's funeral. I also had a small pillow made for the casket with matching flowers and a ribbon that said "Damee." The flowers were done in beautiful shades of soft white, pink and lavender. These were Gram's favorite colors (the lavender, especially). 

Just before we departed the funeral home for Mass yesterday morning, I asked the director if I could take a few roses from the wreath to bring home. He suggested I take the whole structure and so I did. I plan to dry the roses and make a potpourri to share with the women in our family. Potpourri makes me think of my grandmother ~ she was so feminine and enjoyed little touches like this through her home. I've never made potpourri before so if you have any advice or direction I'd love to hear it! 

I plan to do a holiday themed post this weekend (nearer the end than the beginning). On Saturday we'll be celebrating Earlybird's birthday (he turns 8 on Monday). He shares his birthday with my dad so it will be a double celebration ... I'll be sure to take LOTS of pictures!

Thank you again, and as always, for your continued support and all your kind messages. I appreciate each and every one. 

Have a wonderful day, my friends. See you all again very soon. :)

Rest in peace, dear Damee ...

Earlier today, surrounded by her family, my beloved grandmother passed away. Thank you for all your prayers and kind words these past few days ~ they have given me so much peace.

 

Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Everything remains as it was.
The old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no sorrow in your tone.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without  effort
Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was.
There is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting, when we meet again.

An Irish Prayer

If you have a moment tonight ...

 Please remember my grandmother, Mildred, in your prayers. She was taken to the hospital yesterday and is not doing well. This afternoon she was placed under Hospice care and started on morphine ... they do not think it will be long now. As my readers know, my Gram, or Damee as she is called by my children, means the WORLD to my family. All I want is for her to be at peace now ...

Thank you all, so much. I will post an update tomorrow.

 

Our Advent Calendar and other Fun Things ...

I get an irresistible urge to make my own Advent calendar every year, no matter the time crunch or energy level. This year I was inspired by a pack of tags made by Martha Stewart Crafts ...

 

 I have a weakness for plain craft paper and bakery string. :)

I used our bulletin board as my base and some pretty Christmas ribbon for a splash of color.

 

Oops, that last strip needs too be trimmed!

 

There's a tag for each day of December. On the backside of each tag is a note revealing something fun we'll do that day. (My next post will focus on some of those ideas ...)

 

This is Earlybird's little nature shelf - right now it holds a few small board books (he's really into mouse books these days) and three little angels - who are not yet wearing the golden pipe cleaner halos I've crafted for them. (I need to re-stock my glue gun lol.)

 

Our December nature shelf ... holly is the theme at the moment.

(ETA: the books shown here are, from left to right, The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice, The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady, Night Tree and Flower Fairies of the Winter)

 

I had so much ribbon leftover from the Advent tag craft, I decided to put it to good use on the rest of the learning room windows. Using clear pushpins I lined the mid-sills with the ribbon - over the holidays I'll hang our Christmas cards here, securing them to the ribbon with tiny craft clothespins.

 

I also placed 24 tea lights along the sill - one to light each night of Advent.

 

We have our tree in the learning room this year, but as you can see, it's somewhat light-deficient right now. Bill's working on it, though - and we're waiting to hang ornaments until every light is sparkling as it should.

 

A small grapevine tree I found at Target this year. Looks so pretty at night in our front window.

 

Couldn't resist showing you my "new" Christmas mug (a stowaway from my mother's collection). It features the lovely and seasonal artwork of Marjolein Bastin.

 So there's a little peek at some of the Christmas decorating we've got underway around here! As I mentioned above, in my next post I will share some of the Advent activities I have planned for my family this year.

Hope you all have a good night! :)

Happy Advent!

I just love this time of year ...

 

There is something especially beautiful about winter sunrises, don't you think? It's almost as if the sky is doing it's own holiday decorating! Or maybe giving  us a bit of cheer on these bitter early mornings. Scientifically speaking, it must have something to do with the weather conditions at this time of year - cold, frosty, dry - but almost daily it seems (unless it's raining) - the sunrise is startlingly intense and varied. I think I take pictures almost every day ...

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! Ours was wonderful - bustling, happy and homey. Lots of good food, family and friends ... and lots of leftovers to indulge in this week!

Right now I am working on a December "plans" post (hoping to post mid-or-late-week), but for today I'd like to share some photos from the past month or so ...

 

One Saturday Bill was breaking down the yard toys and we found this little fella (a salamander) hiding in the folds of the bouncy house! Isn't he gorgeous? We deposited him safely under an old log by the compost pile. Hopefully he'll curl up and enjoy a long winter's nap.

 

The Blue Jays have been especially active this fall. This picture was actually a tree filled with a band of birds, but the best shot was this guy in the middle.

The following few pictures were taken on a recent Nature Club activity - we learned about a local watershed and did some percolation experiments. It was a cool, gray day ...

 

 

 

I really love the woods at this time of year - everything seems so bleak and done-for, so the tiny bits of color really stand out all the more. A flash of blue feathers, a bright ray or light, the punch of a red berry ...

 

Boston on (yet another) cloudy day ... on our way into the Science Museum.

 

Crackerjack and Bookworm making "their" pie on Thanksgiving eve - a lime jello cool whip variety. :)

 

I made the one above - a "Holiday Fruit Pie" filled with cranberries (dried and fresh), orange peel and golden raisins. I thought it came out pretty well. :)

 

And a little taste of Advent preparations underway ... more on the tags and ribbons (etc.) to come later this week!

Have a wonderful week, my friends ~ and Hurray for December tomorrow!

Be back just as soon as I can ...  

A Very Happy Thanksgiving to You!

 For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

I hope you all have a lovely day with your family and friends. :)

I am grateful for every one of my readers, especially for your kind wishes and prayers of late. We are all finally back on the mend and I got the all clear from my surgeon yesterday.

I have so many things to be thankful for,  but I guess what I am most grateful for this year are the blessings of good health and the abundance of support and love that surrounds me. 

This year, for the first time in years, we are not hosting Turkey Day here. Instead we are gathering at my parents' house for our family celebration. I am making several dishes to bring over, however:

Cranberry-Apricot Relish

Artichoke Dip

Green Salad (this is Crackerjack's offering)

Thanksgiving Punch and Sparkling Pear Juice

Sweet Potato Casserole

Annie's Macaroni and Cheese (Earlybird's offering)

Lime Jello-Cool Whip pie (Bookworm's offering)

Holiday Fruit Pie

Maple Walnut Spice Cake (it's my mum's b.day today!)

***

After today's bustle, I plan to sit down and sketch out a simplified Christmas season for myself. Usually by now I have the holidays fairly well organized, but not surprisingly, I'm behind on everything! Ah well, I know I will get us all back on track ~ this has been a very good lesson in patience for me. ;)

Enjoy this day my friends, I will see you all very soon!

Timing is everything ...

Hello, everyone! :)

Sorry I've not been around much lately. The good news is, I have completely healed from my surgery and feel just about 100% again. The bad news is (or was) the boys got the flu last week. Like, hardcore FLU (possibly of the Swine variety): high fever-chills-body-aches-cough. It was "conveniently" staggered: Crackerjack got sick on All Saints Day, Bookworm fell ill by the end of the week and Earlybird crashed hard last Sunday. Each one of them was sick for several days - honestly it was the sickest they've been in years. Luckily, Bill and I did not get it, and happily, they are all back on their feet. EB still has a nagging cough but is sleeping well again and acting like his little old self. (Sleep was hard to come by last week!)

I know I don't have to tell you what it's like when the flu hits your household ... you just lay in supplies, batten down the hatches and hope (and pray) for the best. Thankfully we're on the other side again, so I will be posting again soon.

I sincerely hope all of you (and yours) are staying well this late autumn season ... thanks so much for checking in. :)

~*Happy November* ~

Small jars of candles and a garland of marigolds sit upon the mantel, along with pictures of loved ones who have passed away. Today is the Feast of All Souls, and if I were feeling up to it, we'd be visiting a local graveyard today. Well, that trip will have to wait for another day but there are some simple homey things we can do to honor this day. As it is also known as the Mexican Day of the Dead, we'll be having tacos for supper tonight and this afternoon we'll be reading a couple of favorite books from our November basket:

Day of the Dead by Tony Johnston

Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book by Jeanette Winter

and

The Spirit of Tio Fernando: A Day of the Dead Story by Janice Levy

I'll make some Aztec Hot Chocolate for the boys to sip as we read. It's appropriately chilly today, on this second day of November. I hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween. I can hardly believe that holiday's already come and gone, and with Daylight Savings Time in place, the days are growing ever shorter and darker. We need to fuel our inner light all the more as we journey ever closer to winter ...

Thank you again for all your kind wishes and prayers for my recovery. I am feeling so much better ~ it's mostly down to plain old tiredness now. I guess they really meant it when they said to take it easy, lol! There's really not much else you can do while waiting for your stamina to return. I can't complain though ~ my family has been wonderful stepping in to help out and making sure I do in fact take it easy.

Thanks for stopping by. I wish you a day filled with life, love and remembrance. :)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life.  ~ John Muir

Home Again :)

Well this has been quite a few days for me! As most of you know, I went in for gallbladder surgery yesterday ~ and as some of you know, it was also my 16th wedding anniversary! Bill and I joked that at least we got to spend the day together and it will certainly be one of our more memorable "celebrations" lol.

Actually, sweet guy that he is, he surprised me Thursday night with a bouquet of gorgeous fall flowers:

And then Friday morning, just before we left for the hospital he surprised me with some post-surgery treats:

Godiva truffles (my favorite!) and a box of Ina's brownie mix (that he - and the boys - will bake for me). You see, I've had to restrict my diet considerably lately due to the gallbladder situation (low-fat, bland foods etc.) so I will be looking forward to a few indulgences now that things are resolved. :)

So now I'm home and everything went smoothly yesterday. Except for the tonsillectomy I had done when I was 4 (which needless to say I can barely remember) this was my first time having surgery. I was mostly nervous about the general anesthesia - only because my brother reacted poorly to it when he had his gb out a few years ago. He was so sick they kept him overnight and I was anxious that would happen to me. After sharing my concerns with the doctors, they decided to up my anti-nausea medication (inlcuding a patch I am still wearing behind my ear). So far everything feels ok - things are pretty tender to say the least but the pain medication helps. Bill has taken time off through mid-next week so I can just rest up and concentrate on getting back to 100%.  

I will say, Bill sure has his work cut out for him! He'll be shuttling the kids wherever they have to go, minding the housework, making meals, supervising their studies and taking care of me! Come to think of it, that all sounds familiar! ;) He's a good sport about it all though and I am very lucky to have him!

So I think that's all for right now, I just wanted to check in and let you all know I'm home and doing fine and I truly appreciate all the kind thoughts and prayers you have left for me here at the blog. I really do have the very nicest readers. :)

I will check back in again next week ~ for now, enjoy your weekend and keep safe and be well!

Well, hello there!

Look what I just found in - or should I say on - today's mail!

 

We see lots of grasshoppers around the house in early to mid-autumn. These are the last warm(ish) days of the year so I try to appreciate each little critter sighting when it occurs. Not too sorry to see the wasps, mosquitos and ticks pass on, but I'll miss the butterflies, bumblebees and dragonflies. And the grasshhoppers, of course. 

Thank you all, so very much, for your kind and supportive messages about my upcoming surgery. I take every message to heart and appreciate your prayers more than you know. :)

Hope you're all having a great week!

Pictures and Notes from the Past Couple of Weeks ...

So, what have we been up to lately? :)

Well, we spent a (cold, gray) morning at the Topsfield Fair:

 

Made friends with a donkey ...

 

... and a sheep.

 

Got fall gardening ideas.

 

Spied the giant pumpkin (all 1,471.6 lbs)!

 

Marveled over the giant sand sculpture.

Enjoyed fried dough with my boys.

***

We took a bike ride through the autumn woods:

 

Watched a gray heron come in from flight ...

... and make his way to his nest. 

 

Spotted a beautiful turtle by the path ...

 

But look what was on his shell (a leech)!

 

We removed the leech and sent the turtle on his way.

 

Watched milkweed float by.

Listened to noisy mallards in the lake.

***

We met Old Frost in the yard one morning:

 

 

 

 

And we added a bit of flash to the night ...

***

We spent some time learning about (and meeting!) wolves:

 

***

And we made stuffed peppers for the Feast of St. Francis:

 

 

 

 

 

Topped with cheese in the final 10 minutes, this was an absolutely delicious dinner!

This promises to be a busy week, too ... on top of all the usual goings-on, we have two field trips this week (Walden Pond and Whole Foods), Bookworm starts his volunteer "job" at the library and I go in for surgery this Friday. Yes ... surgery ... but nothing serious thankfully; I'm just having my gallbladder removed. As some of you know I've not been feeling my best for a few months now, so I'm glad to be getting this taken care of. I will probably be MIA again next week while I recover, but will try to post again this week with pics from our field trips and a few other topics I want to discuss. :)

I hope you enjoyed catching up with our family ... and I hope you and yours had a wonderful weekend. It's snowing here right now if you can believe it! This feels a little more like December than October!

Take care, everyone ~ Talk again soon!

When the frost is on the pumpkin ...

 

Nevermind frost! We had our first SNOW here this morning!

I honestly can't remember the last time we had snow this early in the year!

***

It's been a while since I posted and I have lots to tell you about, so I will carve some time out this weekend to write. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the weather ... whatever the weather ... wherever you are. :)

"Oh it sets my heart a-clickin like the tickin of a clock, when the frost is on the pumpkin and the fodder's in the shock ..." John Whitcomb Riley