Happy St. Brigid's Day!

Now, I've been Catholic my whole life and blogging about liturgical crafts for nearly 10 years ... but this was my first attempt ever at making a Brigid's cross! Mine's a humble creation for sure, but I'm quite glad I made it! I had help, of course ... and I'll explain more below. :)

But first ~ blessings to all on this lovely first day of February! I don't know about you, but today was very un-February here in New England: the sun was bright and the temperature soared to 60°! Mid-morning, as we scuffled around outside (because who can stay inside on a morning like this?), I asked the boys to help me find something that was somewhat like "straw" on our property ...

So we came across this ornamental grass which I thought might work ... and as I cut several stalks, the boys ran off to do other things. Like swing and throw rocks in the puddles and run down the driveway and be neighborly to the horses next door. It was SO nice to get out in the yard!

A while back I googled the directions for making a Brigid's cross, and though they looked a bit like Greek to me, I thought I might try anyway. So I started by clipping the leaves and trimming the stalks to a similar length (roundabouts 10-12 inches) and then soaked them in a shallow tub of water for about 30 minutes. (I used the lid of a storage bin for this because bending the stalks would break them.)

Next, I let the stalks dry for a bit on some paper towels. Meanwhile, the boys were digging into lunch ...

... while I worked at the counter. Archie was NOT letting me (and that grass) out of his sight!

I started weaving the stalks as shown in the graphic and oh my gosh, it actually worked! Well, kind of. It was a bit messy and I used binder clamps and paper clips as extra "hands," but at the end it did look like the picture! Or, close enough. Most of all, I really liked that we used "greenery" from our own backyard and that boys running outside and mum working on a craft became part of the fabric of our day. :)

I tied the cross into our grapevine, heart-shaped wreath which is hanging on our front door - and I think it looks nice here! Originally I was going to use a blue ribbon to write out Brigid's blessing (embellished with stars, a la Brigid's Cloak) but I had no blue ribbon on hand, so instead, I used some vibrant star garland to add some color - it kind of makes me think of Mardi Gras. :)

Tonight we're having deconstructed shepherd(ess) pies - which his to say, meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas. Oatcakes may happen if I get my act together but there WILL be Irish apple cake made on Friday's baking day!

Here are some supplies for tomorrow's project ...

We'll be making candles for Candlemas. :)

Enjoy the rest of your evening, my friends ... see you here again very soon!

Book Party: Gill's Books & Nooks ...

Happy Monday, my friends! I am SO excited to kick off our Book Party today! This morning I have some pictures and thoughts to share from a lovely friend and longtime reader, Gill. I loved seeing how Gill has her books displayed in her home, and I know you will too! Such wonderful inspiration here ... Bill peeked over my shoulder as I was reading her email and said, "Would you like me to build some shelves like that?" I almost fainted, lol. We NEED more bookshelves, that is certain. Where to put them though ... ? That is the question.

Now, remember, Book Party is running all month and you can read all the details here. All submissions - thoughts, ideas, pics - are welcome, and will be included in my pre-spring giveaway ... so I hope you'll join us!

*From Gill*

Books ... How do I love thee? Let me count the ways ...

Books have travelled the world with me as essential companions and have been carefully inscribed with my name, date and place of abode upon acquisition. I have always bought fiction written in or about the place I am living if possible, and with the cookery books and nonfiction, my books tell the story of my life and of my family. Raising my children, I found that Charlotte Mason's "living books" added many volumes and filled gaps in my library. I liked Ambleside Online's suggested reading list.

Books I "need" - that would be my Desert Island books in addition to the Bible and the Complete works of Shakespeare- would be those that tell of everyday family life in a small community ... I seem to have several sets of the Anne of Green Gables series!

In our home there are books in every room! My husband has built bookcases for me in the schoolroom and in the hall that take most of the nonfiction and I have a special bookcase for seasonal/holiday books so that they are easy to find.

One day(!) I might find that I alphabetise my fiction, but I can generally put my hand on a book if I want it; mostly it is double shelved, jammed in, and lucky not to slide off a too tall pile! More and more I find that I purchase an ebook or even audio if it is a new "paperback" kind of novel, but I definitely prefer a vintage hardback for any other kind of book! 

The schoolroom is gradually becoming a sewing room for me now!

My eldest son is a book addict just like me, but as he is severely dyslexic we have done a huge amount of reading aloud and audio books together. (Boy was I told off 😉 for not getting the Harry Potter voices just like Stephen Fry's when he couldn't wait for the last epic book 7 to come out on audio! And goodness, have I struggled with Ancient Greek in Percy Jackson!)

My daughter has filled notebooks, and now data files, with her ideas for writing her own stories, and my 12 yr old son has finally taken off into reading and is now devouring books hungrily to seemingly catch up on the long years he resisted even listening to stories!

We (I) have just as much an addiction to magazines too, and the children have each enjoyed their own subscriptions, from My Big Backyard and Aquila to Donald Duck! Whatever would get them eagerly turning the pages!

So my children do seem to have absorbed my love of books. I make them part of our everyday life; whatever we are interested in, doing or learning about, I try to find books about it to extend the subject. At the moment I have out books on winter cookery in the kitchen, snow and winter wildlife on the nature table and a variety of bird books for the annual garden bird count this weekend. I am just starting to put out books for Shrove Tuesday and Lent, too. 

What am I reading this month?

A Redbird Christmas by Fanny Farmer, the Thrush Green books by Miss Read, The Edwardian Lady (a biography of Edith Holden) by Ina Taylor, The Dawkins Letters by David Robertson, In the Palace of the Khans by Peter Dickinson, Acts and Omissions by Catherine Fox and the Collected poems of Rupert Brooke.

And here is the waiting pile for next month!

Happy Reading 😀
Gill

*❤*

What an absolutely wonderful, cozy, and joyful atmosphere you have in your home, Gill! I could pore over each photo (and have done so) to see all the lovely details. I agree so much with what you said about making books an extension of our everyday life - setting apart those books that reflect the current season or domestic "goings on." I also enjoyed hearing about how your children each followed their own path to love reading as well as the books you yourself enjoy most!

I spent a good amount of time in our own library yesterday, attempting to clean out and reorganize bookshelves. It will not be a quick job, I'm thinking - as I took books out and made tidy (ish) piles all about me, the younger boys kept diving in to check things out. But that's a good thing I suppose - there was a definite atmosphere of "excitement" about the project and I hope they are equally eager to delve in once I get them arranged as I'd like them. 

But the bottom line seems to be that we do actually need more shelves. I have so many books still in tubs down in the basement and though I think cycling books in and out of rotation is a good idea, it seems that is a task that does not happen often enough. Children grow so fast and windows of opportunity - when books are just the right size/shape/subject - open and close so fast!

Well my friends, I hope you enjoyed this first Book Party post! Many thanks to Gill for taking the time to show us how she enjoys books in her home ... I can't wait to take some of these ideas and run with them in my own home!

Remember, if you'd like to join in the Book Party fun, please send me an email at your earliest convenience:

bysunandcandle AT gmail DOT com

And thanks so much for stopping by everyone, I will see you here tomorrow with a Downton Abbey recap - I did not catch the episode last night but will plan to do so tonight, for sure. (I'm getting spoiled on Facebook, I'm afraid!)

See you all again very soon ...