Archive for the 'Holidays' Category
January 1, 2010 @ 9:39 am | Filed under: Holidays
Happy New Year, my dears.
December 21, 2009 @ 7:24 am | Filed under: Advent & Christmas, California landmarks, Family Adventures, Holidays, Photos
One of the many treasures of Balboa Park is the Spreckels Pipe Organ—the world’s largest outdoor musical instrument. San Diego employs a civic organist and offers free organ concerts on many Sunday afternoons throughout the year. I’ve been wanting to attend one ever since we moved here, and yesterday we happened to think of it just in time to catch the Christmas concert and community sing-along. The timing was perfect; my mother was visiting for the weekend. (She comes out for my birthday every year, which is the best possible present.)
We wore our new Christmas hats that my sister Merry made for us.
It was really too warm for them, but we were full of Christmas spirit.
As were the many doggies who attended the concert along with enthusiastic carol-singers.
It was all very merry and bright.
Possibly a little too bright.
Our all potential Christmas card photos turned out to be outtakes. That’s okay because I’ve already abandoned hope on sending out Christmas cards this year anyway.
The best part was when the organist invited audience members to join her onstage for the carol-singing. We didn’t know we’d get to be part of the concert! Beanie, Jane, and I were eager to sing. The rest of the gang watched from the back of the amphitheater.
We thought of our snowed-under East Coast friends when we sang White Christmas.
(Out here it’s a white T-shirt Christmas.)
The best part was the final song—an enthusiastic and somewhat ad-libbed rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus. It is still ringing in my ears.
Methinks we have ourselves a new holiday tradition.
Thanks for the hats, sis!
November 7, 2009 @ 1:10 pm | Filed under: Holidays, Photos
Just one week ago, Jack was in his prime. Ruddy, round-cheeked, he had a cheerful grin for all the world.
Then he went out one night and got lit up.
Now, sad to say, that once sprightly youth has aged before his time. He spends his days on the porch, cantankerously frowning at passersby.
Let this be a lesson to you, children.
October 7, 2008 @ 6:49 pm | Filed under: Holidays
I didn’t grow up Catholic. I converted a year before I got married and two years before I became a mother. I had studied the theology pretty intensely for the two years before my conversion, but as a new Catholic, I was clueless about many of the cultural traditions (small-t “traditions” as opposed to capital-T “Sacred Tradition,” which is kind of a big deal in Catholicism).
All Saints’ Day celebrations, for instance. I knew Halloween; I had a very good handle on Halloween. Halloween was one of the three best days of the year when I was a kid. And I’d read enough history to know the roots of jack-o’-lanterns and trick-or-treating; I knew the name came from All Hallows’ Eve (or Even, E’en), which is the night before the feast of All Hallows, or All Saints. Okay, so far, so good: I grokked that All Saints’ Day was something pretty special in the Church calendar—a rather splendid notion, actually, this setting aside of one day of the year to honor all the heroic folks who have made it to heaven.
What threw me for a loop was the way All Saints’ celebrations necessitated coming up with a second costume for each of my children, the day after Halloween. Because, you know, none of my kids have ever wanted to be the same thing for Halloween and All Saints. On All Saints, obviously, you dress up as one of the saints. Halloween is when you get to indulge your desire to be an elfin princess, or Wendy from Peter Pan, or a girl in colonial garb, or a kitty cat. (Seems like there’s always one kid who wants to be a kitty cat.)
Halloween costumes have never been my strong point. For Jane’s first Halloween (she was all of four months old), we were invited to an office party at HarperCollins, where a whole crop of new babies belonging to current and former employees were going to appear in adorable garb to be oohed and ahhed over. I had weeks to plan something creative and meltingly awesome, but I drew a blank. At the last minute, I put together a rather desperate ensemble: dark blue baby sweat pants, a white baby turtleneck, a brown stocking cap, and (brace yourself), one of Scott’s brown socks folded in upon itself and secured at Jane’s little tiny knee, with the blue pants tucked in. This, you see, was supposed to be a wooden leg, and Jane was an old sailor. I fashioned her a wee black eye-patch out of construction paper and a shoelace, but that turned into a chew toy after about six seconds.
Pathetic, I know. There she was among all the chubby little pumpkins and pods of peas and fluffy bunnies, a rugged old salt with a floppy wooden leg, with wads of soggy black paper stuck to her chin.
I really haven’t improved much since that day, and it has been a relief to have my children grow old enough to make their own costumes. But still: two costumes, two days apart, for five children—it’s a pretty tall order. (Okay, I have yet to bother providing All Saints costumes for my two youngest children, and for Halloween the youngest child in our family always wears the amazing and super-adorable zebra costume my sister made for Jane’s second Halloween—taking pity on the poor child, no doubt.)
But this year: listen to my enormous sigh of relief. Here it is three weeks before the Big Days, and we are well on our way—thanks to the gorgeous handiwork of the talented seamstress behind the scenes of Our Coats of Many Colors. We were asked if we’d like to check out a few of her costumes for a look-see, and I said yes quicker than you can say “pathetic old sailor costume.”
The St. Brigid of Ireland costume is my favorite, and not just because she’s my confirmation name-saint. I love the deep-green hooded cloak and the Celtic knots on the gown’s trim. Jane was ecstatic: this lovely creation will double as a Lord of the Rings-style costume for Halloween. She’d better enjoy it while she can because now that she’s catching up to me in height, I’m pretty sure this gown would fit me too, if I weren’t seven months pregnant. I know what I’m wearing to next year’s Comic-Con.
I jest. I’ll be toting an infant by then. I’ll need the nursing version of this dress.
Rose’s patron saint is St. Catherine of Siena, so that’s the other costume we requested. She loves it. I foresee many an All Saints’ celebration featuring a Peterson in a habit.
You know I have much envy admiration for people who can sew well. I’m really impressed with how well made these costumes are. The fabric is good quality, the detailing is superb, and I can tell the costumes will hold up to the years of dress-up games and celebrations in their future.
So that’s two kids down, three to go. I’m thinking Rilla would make an adorable Crusty Old Sailor, if only I can find Scott’s brown sock.
November 17, 2007 @ 8:02 am | Filed under: Advent & Christmas, Art, Best Gifts for Homeschoolers, Books, Comic Books, Fun Learning Stuff, Holidays
Here’s another topic I’ve written many posts on, both here and at Lilting House.
Books We Love, Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Signing Time DVDs
More about Signing Time
Yet more about Signing Time
Showcase Presents comic book collections
Family memberships to zoos, museums, etc.
Each of the above link is a longer post on the subject.
Other people tackling this topic:
Alicia at Love2Learn
Jennifer at As Cozy as Spring
Danielle Bean
(List lifted from Karen Edmisten—thanks, K!)
Note: these are old posts and may contain links to my Amazon Affiliates account.
December 24, 2006 @ 2:48 pm | Filed under: Holidays
Just had to share this clip of Beanie discovering treasure in her stocking last year. How will St. Nick ever top those ponytail holders?
November 15, 2006 @ 7:15 am | Filed under: Holidays
You all know about Works For Me Wednesday, right? It’s a collection of helpful hints hosted by Rocks in My Dryer, and people from all over the blogosphere submit their own nuggets of useful advice. Very cool. I have a Works For Me tidbit I keep meaning to share, and I popped over there today to enter the link. Turns out today is the special Christmas edition! My tidbit isn’t Christmas-specific, so I guess I’ll save it. But there’s a lot of nifty stuff there. I especially like this make-your-own stationery gift set idea from The Wilson Six.
Let’s see, do I have any good Christmas advice to share? Well, there’s the Kringle tradition…the year Wonderboy was born, a friend of mine sent us a scrumptious Kringle from the O & H Bakery. So. Very. Good. We actually ate ours on the feast of St. Lucy instead of Christmas morning as my friend had intended, because—it really was incredible—her gift happened to arrive the day before St. Lucy’s feast day, and Scott and I were still in the NICU with Wonderboy, and on our way home from the hospital late that night I realized to my horror that the next morning was the day our little girls would be expecting to dress up with crowns of candles and serve sweet rolls to Daddy in bed. I had nothing in the house that could pass for sweet rolls (or so I thought), and though I knew the girls could make do with cinnamon toast like in my little picture book, Hanna’s Christmas, I still felt so bad. We’d had a terrible week, what with the surprise surgery Wonderboy needed right after he was born, and I hated to disappoint my girls, who had been on such a roller-coaster all week.
And then we got home from the hospital and my mother, who was staying with the girls, told me a package marked "Refrigerate immediately" had arrived that day. It was the Kringle. (Tami, thank you again!) My little clan of Lucias served it to Daddy next morning, and we’ve continued the tradition every year since. I order one to arrive around December 10th, to be sure I have it in time for the feast of St. Lucy on December 13.
(Oh, and the O & H Bakery offers a Kringle giveaway drawing every week!)
For more wonderful Christmas inspiration, do check out the group blog called O Night Divine. Some of my favorite homeschooling mothers have come together to share their ideas for making Advent and Christmas holy and (this is key) serene. This week, Alice of Cottage Blessings posted a simply stunning Advent activity—it’s a lovely and original craft in which simple wooden cubes are used to bring to life many Advent traditions such as the Jesse Tree, sacrifice and good deeds, and the Nativity set. Brilliant and beautiful, just like Alice.
Also—because I figure if you can’t be the first person to share a link, you ought to be the last—don’t miss The Loveliness of Homemade Gifts fair at By Sun and Candlelight!
May 14, 2006 @ 2:22 am | Filed under: Carnivals, Holidays, Home and Hearth
On this special day, Amyable of Among women invites us to A Celebration of Hearth and Home. Pour a cup of tea and settle in for a nice long visit in the lovely home of this “mother most amiable.”
Speaking of lovely, I cannot resist sharing the beautiful new blog of Lesley of Small Meadow Press. Small Meadow is my favorite source of notecards and other stationery—such a peaceful, joyful spirit suffuses every page Lesley creates. Her blog, The Bower, promises to be just as inspiring.
