After Epiphany, More Christmas

Today

On my computer screen this morning was this important reminder:

When I went out this morning for chores and my walk, I did not take my camera. I had considered it, but the day looked uninteresting. Mistake. It was a clear cold day, frost covered the hills, the mountains were gorgeously visible, a watery sun was pushing through the clouds and edging everything in rims of light - and the Przewalski horses had just been turned out and were romping in their pasture, tails flagged and strutting as if they were Arabians. I went back for my camera (a double walk after last night's feast is not a bad idea), but, of course, it was too late: the light effects were gone and the horses back in their paddock.

More Christmas

Many of you have said you are taking down decorations today. I should, but won't be. I have something else to do. Yesterday a son said he was invited to join his friend's family for their Orthodox Christmas dinner, which is today, January 7. One should take something for the occasion. Son agreed but didn't know what and didn't have time to find something, so I offered to do a small painting.

I had done one for that family last year when we were invited to join them for their St. George Day feast, and they seemed to like the picture. They have icons hanging in their home and are faithful supporters of some monasteries in their homeland, so I did a quasi- icon style. Icon painting is extremely regulated, so I don't make icons. Actually the works are considered "written," in that one must follow strict forms to convey precise theological concepts, and certain devout meditations should be incorporated, and certain materials used, and so forth.

(Sorry about the terrible pictures - from the screen.) This is the icon style, and it has a its own kind of medieval beauty. I will do something quite similar today, probably - but "westernized."

This is what we are more used to seeing.

Epiphany

Gift

While it was not from the three Wise Men, and while we are not the Holy Family, we got a surprise gift like they did for today- from our grocery store, no less. "In appreciation of your loyalty"... with a nice pro-Family New Year's message. That's a good thing these days, and not common.

It isn't Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh, but it is useful nonetheless.

Epiphany

This evening, as many of the family as could gathered for our observance of the Feast of Epiphany.
First we enjoyed a dinner together with good conversation. Then we lit all the lights and candles, including the tree, for one last time this season.

We used our traditional Epiphany Day service (copy available for anyone that would like one), with the focus on Christ's call of grace to the Gentiles and His threefold office as our Prophet, Priest, and King. We use the song "We Three Kings" and the catechism readings for that latter part.

The Kings Bread with crown (for the recipient of the King in his roll) and Gifts - note the "gold," which (chocolate) gets eaten after the service. The incenses are essential oils on some carrier material, wax or cotton.

Then it is time for King's Bread - which are actually yeast rolls.

Traditional package design

We had more rolls than people this year, so the first round did not produce a king, not the second. But eventually Thomas got the King in his roll and was duly crowned. I remember his second Epiphany, when he could actually eat food, he got the king, and we got pictures of Florian holding him with his crown. Sweet little guys - still sweet today, but not little.

See - he is a Christian King.

The Twelfth and Last Day of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Twelve drummers drumming, (drum roll, please),

Eleven pipers piping, (add piping),
Ten lords a leaping, (and cavorting),
Nine ladies dancing, (and dancing),
Eight maids a milking, (leave them be so the milk doesn't spill),
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five gold rings, (hold that, then crescendo),
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, (rallentando),
And... a.... part-ri--dge....in... a.... pear.... tree! (You may applaud your singing.)

This is the last day of the twelve days of Christmas. It requires a great and glorious party, with singing, and leaping and dancing. Enjoy!

This Nativity scene is put up in our town square every year, where the Christmas story is read three times a day during Advent. It stays up until after Epiphany, so the Kings get their day, too. (I took this picture yesterday.)

Epiphany

Tomorrow is Epiphany. On the calendars here it is called Heilige Drei Könige Tag/ Holy Three Kings Day. I expect we all are busy today preparing Three King's Bread (yeast rolls with sugar and sliced almonds on top, made in a ring, with one roll having a king figure inside - so one person will be crowned for Epiphany), and glitzy containers for gold, frankincense and myrrh for the table/family altar, and the "We Three Kings" song to intersperse with the Catechism readings on Christ's three-fold office (after each verse of which a person presents a "gift"/container to the Holy Family - set out on the table/altar), and Bible readings from Matthew 2 and Psalm 72 and Isaiah 60. All of this will be celebrated with the last lighting of the Christmas tree. We don't get the day off for this festival (some places in Germany do have a public holiday), but everyone in our household has orders to get home from work and school as soon as possible, because we always celebrate.

Wise Men arriving from the East to be in Bethlehem tomorrow.

Assemblage Angel

Sometimes - actually, often - thoughts in my mind on various subjects provoke an idea for a creative work. Today, too. For lots of years I have had to stuff the compulsion aside until "someday, later,"  but today I decided to make something. The thoughts have to do with having much in place for answers to some prayers, but having to wait on God's timing for the realization of the answers. So it is also with art supplies on hand that want using, but need focused attention and my space organized (after two decades of Too-Busy). So what I did was to do what one must do: take what one has on hand and make some meaning in it, even if the parts themselves appear to be junk or useless. The result might be funky, but the making is good for the soul.

This is what I had out originally, and I might do something with it next; but it wasn't quite what I wanted for today...

...so I found brass pieces, from old Brockenhaus finds, metal blanks, jewelry findings, and odds and ends.

I punched holes, wired, added jump rings, stamped, beaded, arranged and re-arranged....

So I put this and that together to assemble an angel, a messenger of God to remind me to be patient and all will happen in due time.

.... until I had this.

But it could have more. Maybe. One son advised "less." Your opinion is invited:

Does it want the flower, or not? It could have a top hanging loop added, but it has a loop in the back of the head now.

Does it want the skirt, or not?

The Eleventh Day of Christmas

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

 Two days left of the Christmas season. Enjoy.

For Sunday service we light the tree.

And candles

And angels.

And

I mentioned spring weather yesterday and our hope for snow. We got some last night - sort of. Near by. A bit.

How is that for impressive snow cover? It was pretty though when the morning sun peeked through for literally one minute this morning.

Behind the picture above was this grey sky and a momentarily brave sun.

Immediately followed by this for my walk.

Along the way, in the rain.

Some winter bloomers.

These are the unsold trees from Christmas. They are collected and then get fed over the next several months to deer in wildlife parks and castle moats. The wild deer fend for themselves.

A wet chicken.  I had a warm fire awaiting at home.

The Tenth Day of Christmas

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Ten lords a leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds, 
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

Nice but..

Today is a lovely spring-weather day with the sun shining and no fog at all.
The problem is that the plants think it is spring, when winter hasn't started.

Primulas on warm days in January are almost understandable...

.....but violets in January are much too early.

 

 

 

And daffodils are pushing too hard. The ski areas are not happy either. But, since we have it, we'll enjoy it today.

A New Year

In Oregon

I wanted to show you my new angel.

Alyssa and I went shopping a couple days after Christmas. She is about to get married and set up housekeeping for herself (her betrothed bought her a little house for Christmas!) so thinking of next year's (now this year's) Christmas, we hit the after-holiday sales so that she would have something with which to decorate their first Christmas tree. 

I couldn't resist this angel, on sale, with its velvet gown and Bottacelli porcelain face and hair.

                                      

And I think Sarah would be pleased to know that we had cheese fondue on New Year's Eve. I had baked whole wheat sourdough bread in the morning, but also roasted some potatoes for dipping. On the side we had smoked salmon (ubiquitous in the Northwest) and sausage with pickles. My husband gave me the deluxe fondue pot as a Christmas gift many years ago.

                                        

My soon-to-be son-in-law had never had fondue before. At the beginning we established the rule that if the bread was lost in the cheese we got to kiss the person next to us. Both Alyssa and I had to chase Peter for our prize.

         

And finally, here is my creative endeavor during my holiday vacation from homeschool. In anticipation of   updating Peter's bedroom (from a little boy's room to one more fitting for a teenager) I sewed four curtain panels for his windows. Later this week as time allows we will repaint walls from the tractor colors to a western cowboy theme of browns and red. 

         

                       I'm happy with how the plaid pattern of the two panels matches up just right! 

May God bless you all richly in the new year!

The Ninth Day of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Thee French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

The process for making these paper collages is rather complicated to get any detail, but I rather enjoy the making.

These get augmented with markers and gel pens, then are assembled. The face and hands pieces get drawn in colored pencil, then all parts are mounted on the background sheet over a lightbox.

Berchtoldstag Today

The Second of January is an ancient Alemannic holiday still celebrated in certain German-speaking areas of Switzerland and southern Germany and Lichtenstein. It is not a saint's name day, but is said to come from the old verb "berchten" - "to walk around asking for food." In modern times people visit and meet at pubs, and some areas have parades of masked revelers. In Switzerland a few Cantons have public holidays, and quite a number of German-speaking Canton's have public buildings and businesses closed, including in Zürich.We could ask Maria about the colorful old customs in her town in Appenzell.

A wet, rainy day today

After

I have been thinking about what to do about this blog. It served its purpose in Advent - from my end - to keep me on track to get the preparations done for Christmas, that I likely would not have managed otherwise. That was good, and I heard some nice words from numbers of people about those preparations. Thank you.

On the other hand, I most certainly don't need a blog to blab about myself, nor do I have a business to promote, nor is a blog much use for social communication; and I think most everyone is awash in blogs and social media already without adding more, so I have considered dropping this after Epiphany, and maybe revive it next Advent.

I have, however, had to learn some new things about computers, so in that sense it is helpful to me to do this.  Stefan said just to leave it and whoever wants to can use it sporadically, which could be O.K., but I'd guess that even fewer people look at sporadic blogs than regular blogs. So this is just a heads up, that I am thinking. Comments welcome, of course.

On the front porch - a gift from guests with thoughts on spring. The garden catalogues will come in the mail soon.

Christmas Song

A Check on the list

My technician is working through his To Do list and finally got at the process for this post:
Here is the song by my children for their mom for Christmas.

"Blood Red, Hope Green"

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jio7rt19p45pzef/%5BChristmas.3%5D.pdf?dl=0

The Eighth Day of Christmas

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Eight maids a milking,
Seven swans a swimming,
Six geese a laying,
Five gold rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

New Year

With the start of a new year one must start a collection new calendars, all over the house, with the Central Planning one in the kitchen, of course - all marked in colors for holidays and celebrations.
European calendars put Sunday at the end of the week - very unbiblical - so I always import an American calendar for our main one, to keep us mindful of proper things. Unfortunately American calendars don't note the liturgical year and church festivals, so the European ones are good for that. We really do want to know when special days like Ascension and Pentecost are, not only because we get a four day weekend.

Really?

So, yesterday I mentioned about packages being mailed. Not.

The web site said, "Open until six p.m." as usual. We got a New Year's card from the post in the morning mail:

"We are here for you the whole year." Not hardly...

...and they were closed in the afternoon. Everywhere. Most annoying, because now my sister's birthday gift will be late. And no angels winged anywhere. I'll try again on Monday - all holidays (Berchtold's on the 2nd, too - will tell about tomorrow) and Sunday until then.

Resolved for this year:

MORE CREATIVITY! Do Art!