The Fourth Week of Advent and Christmas!

Without warning

the four thousand years of yearning

split

seared into silence

while one waiting woman

willing

wove God into child

                                                        --Galen Martini, OSB

Merry Christmas!

The Third Week of Advent

Meditation Before Dawn

I am a spiral held in a circle

               Held in a circle of Love.

           I spiral in to the depth of my being

               Held in a circle of Love.

   I spiral out to a world in need

               Held in a circle of Love.

I am a spiral held in a circle

               Held in a circle of Love.

                                 --MEW 11/27/05

The Second Week of Advent

Mother of Dark Spaces,

I bring myself to you,

And we sit, so still, waiting,

In the silent, early morning.

Sit, without a word;

Only breath,

Only breath.

At first light,

Snowflakes, perfectly formed,

Falling slowly, slowly.

Awe!

                                                     --MEW 12/8/13

The First Week of Advent

"O, Come! O, Come!" 

though I know You are here now

in this aching world and deep within my wounded self. 

What I feel and know are at odds. 

I feel the dark descending...

     empty, lonely, void, silent.

Yet what I know is pregnant darkness:

     In the darkness of the earth, hidden, a seed germinates.

     In the darkness of the womb, hidden, a baby grows.

I long for that which I already possess, 

that which is already infused in every cell of my body

and every atom of the Universe. 

Yet, when the dark times on Earth and within me come, 

I forget...I forget.

Remind me...

Re - mind me...

change my thoughts, my assumptions, 

my habits, my heart. 

Let me turn my face to You

and let Your Light shine in my darkness. 

Let us become the Light shining.

In this time of increasing darkness, we hold in memory and hope the glimmer of Light returning, yet always here. Light your candles in anticipation and longing, be it for Advent, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or a celebration all your own.

"We are the Light of the World."

Ah, the Cat!

Why has my cat chosen this somewhat inconvenient place for me to take her nap?

Oh, yes, much better if you cram yourself under the kitchen cabinets!

But look carefully. Notice the corner of a vent peeking out? This vent is directly over the basement wood burner that was fully loaded and belching heat through this one vent. No wonder it did not feel very warm to me upstairs in the kitchen!

Ah, the cat!

Down Memory Lane

I have always...at least as long as I can remember...loved trains. So a trip to Chicago to visit my Aunt Cora AND to catch a visit with my son, Joe, needed to start with a train ride.

After an early start, I rested quite a while, but woke as we were passing fabulous recycling facilities. There were car bodies stacked 5 high on pallets, engines, wheels. There were piles of crushed concrete, chopped up rubber, glass, sewer piles, and lampposts. I saw mobile home frames and camper shells, cardboard and plastic smashed into giant cubes cubes and stacked in rows. I LOVE recycling!!!

Later, a gray view of Lake Michigan while I read a novel. Yes, me, reading a novel!
I LOVE NOT DRIVING to Chicago!

I spent the day with my Aunt, and after some goodbyes the next morning, I headed into the city via the commuter train line to visit my son and his friends that he was visiting. Joe and I took a little trip to the neighborhood where my grandparents lived. In my previous post, there is a picture of my family standing in front of my Grandma and Grandpa's home in 1956. Here it is about 57 years later. It felt so familiar!

My Grandpa Jim had had it built to his specifications in 1940. The stone around the front door, the bay window, the decorative set of the bricks along the corners, and the glass block windows. I am honored to be the keeper of the original blueprints and purchase records. I spent a lot of time in that house and yard as a child. It was a real treat to go back and see it again and to see how well it has been kept.

The next day, Joe and I went into the Loop via the "L" and the subway. This is something I used to do often with my grandparents when I was young.

I would stand in the very front of the first car and look out the window. And since the sound was deafening when the train was moving, I would sing at the top of my lungs with no concerns of being scolded for being too loud!

I'm so grateful to have had the time and help from others to be able to get in some family visits and a trip down Memory Lane just before Thanksgiving time. Thank you, everyone!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Gertie!

Today, in honor of the 110th anniversary of my Grandma Gertie's birthday, I hung my laundry in the basement. As a child, I spent many a rainy day roller skating in my Grandma's basement to the music on the Victrola, weaving in and out of her freshly washed clothes all hanging on the lines. She had a fabulous wringer washer; nothing more that a tub with an "on and off" switch for agitation and an attached wringer through which she would feed the dripping wet clothes repeatedly until they were ready for the line.

Grandma Gertie, aka Gertrude Anna Murray, was born on November 18, 1893 in Chicago, Illinois. She was my mother's mother, and the Grandma I knew best. She married Grandpa Jim in 1919, then raised two children, ran the household, and later often cared for all 5 grandkids. Here we are in April 1956. My mom is on the far right with Grandma next to her. I'm the short one, about 3-1/2 years old. Then my half-brother, Brian, three cousins: Kathy, Marge, and "little Jim" in front, and my Grandpa Jim on the far left. Grandma's hair may have still been brown then, but I only remember it all gray.

Grandma Gertie was always old to me, yet ageless. She had a great humor, loved to play the fool, would sing and dance in the kitchen with the broom, burned the toast every morning (no automatic toasters then) and made fried chicken unparalleled to this day. Here she is in 1982 with my son, Joseph. Not sure who was having more fun!

This is my last picture of Grandma Gertie taken in November 1985. She died in December that year. I've long studied this picture. At first glance she seems tired; like she was ready to go. And yet there is the tiniest hint of a smile, I think, like maybe she knew some secrets that only someone who had lived a full life of 92 years could know. Hey, Gram, would you whisper a few of those secrets to me in my sleep tonight?

Goodbye, Panasonic

Anyone who knows me at all, knows that I have a thing about getting every bit of usefulness out of the things I own. So it's no surprise that the vacuum that was bought on June 12, 1986, was with me until today.

This old Panasonic vacuum worked well until 2003 with few repairs. Then the motor just wore out, and it was no longer advantageous to fix. But did I get rid of it then? Of course not! I knew that the vacuum at Morning Glory cabin was a twin of my vacuum, so I saved mine for parts. And I used quite a few over the last 10 years.

During my cleaning frenzy today, I realized that there really wasn't anything more that could be scavenged that would be helpful, so I said goodbye...mostly. The motor and a few other parts will be going to metal recycling later this week!

It may not be too long before a similar fate befalls my VCR, also from 1986. Of course the Maytag washer and dryer from 1974 are still hanging in there, as is my 2001 Saturn which now has 266,880 miles on it as of today. Eventually, they'll all end up with most of them going to metal recycling. They have all served me well, and owe me nothing at this point. Thank you, old mechanical friends!

Band Competition

This post is especially for my daughter, Karen. Around 20 years ago, I remember standing at my upstairs bedroom window in Ionia, MI, at 8 am hearing the high school band practicing on the field that half mile or so away. I loved the sound, just because I love music, but also because it warmed my heart and made me feel connected knowing that my Karen was helping make that music I was hearing.

To the present...So a few weeks ago, some of us from choir went into Reed City for a local band competition. I lost the program and don't know the area schools that well, so this first group shall remain unnamed for now. Enjoy!

This one is Cadillac High School. I remembered because I couldn't imagine, as a mom, dealing with white uniforms!

It seems band performances have changed over the last 20 years. Many were much more like a show choir performance than what I think of as a marching band performance. But don't get me wrong, I like the changes! It was wonderful to enjoy after all these years, to think back to those sweltering hot and freezing cold performances of Karen's, remembering her forcing her long hair to all fit under her shako (band hat), and just the excitement of seeing my daughter marching down the street or across the field with her bandmates.

Adventures with Karen

My daughter, Karen, is known by family and friends for instigating adventures that produce fun stories. Well, here is one.

I should have taken pictures from the beginning, but I didn't have the forethought. It all started with me chatting with Karen, maybe a year or more ago, about how it would be cool to have a bike trailer so I could carry stuff between home and town...computer, groceries from the Farmers' Market, etc. "But I'm not going to pay what they want for a new trailer on just a whim," and blah, blah, blah....

So my daughter who lives in Seattle says to me in a phone conversation in May or June, "I have a surprise for you! I found a bike trailer for FREE at a closing garage sale.You just need to get it home. I think you should fly here with your bike and peddle home...He-He :-) " (Remember I live in Michigan.)

So in August I visited and found the filthy, used trailer in their garage. We concocted a plan to make it small enough to take on the plane as a regular-sized first bag: $25, which was cheaper than any other way of getting it to Michigan and far cheaper than any used one I had ever noticed. I took it apart as much as humanly possible, wrapped it as tightly with cardboard as I could, used half a roll of duct tape to secure it, (Thanks, Todd, I owe you.) and measured it. Well, it was pretty difficult to determine if it would fit the airline's rules, but as a team we decided that if they were going to charge me for it being too big, I would tell them that it was theirs and leave it behind. 

Lastly, I needed a way to carry the monstrosity (27 pounds and wildly awkward) from Karen's house about 5 blocks to the bus stop, on the bus to the light rail, on the light rail to the airport, and through the airport to the baggage check. I made a neck/shoulder strap of duct tape and Karen fabricated a handle that I was uncertain would hold.

It didn't. While I waited for the bus, I used some twine I had in my backpack to re-fashion a handle. Then on to the bus, banging it into everything and tripping over it twice trying to pay and get to my seat with it, my backpack on wheels, and my laptop computer. The light rail was a bit easier and the airport the same.

Thankfully, no one blinked at its size and unwieldiness and they accepted it without question. Hooray!!! When I arrived in Grand Rapids, and collected it from baggage, the neck strap broke just as I got to the curb for my ride. We made it! Here's what it looked like when I got it home.

After a few days to recover from the journey, I brought it inside and opened the package. How did I get it all in there?

Oh, it smelled like seawater! Salty and seaweedy! Pine needles and leaves and a few spiders too. I had to try to remember how I had taken it apart and how it would go back together.

But first it sorely needed a bath, literally.

And a good drying on the line.

After some brain teasers of where all the pieces went, here it is assembled in my living room work space. It needed just a little reinforcement with heavy duty duct tape in some areas where the fabric had been stressed from years of use. (Do you notice a duct tape theme emerging?)

But, of course, I brought this all the way from Seattle just for you!

She moved in and slept in it for weeks until I got it outside.

Will you be willing to travel with me, my kitty? You'll need to fasten your seat belt.

Finally, the real trial. It pulled well and easily. But with all I had on my plate this fall, it was just in time to put the bike and trailer away for the winter. The adventure will have to wait for next spring to continue.

Thanks, Karen! I love adventures!

PS. Itty-Bitty will not stay in it when it is moving...I tried!

SNOW!!!

"Morning has broken like the first morning..."  One never knows what Michigan autumn may bring.

The heavy, wet snow clung to every branch. Unbelievably gorgeous. Makes me smile.

The Labyrinth Awaits

For your walking pleasure...

Or just to sit and ponder...

Wooly Bear Time Again

The Wooly's are back again. Another year gone by. I can't help but greet each one I see busily walking...somewhere... Hurry, it will be cold soon!

Monarch and Milkweed

Someone has been eating my milkweed leaves...

How lovely, it's a Monarch! I'm so glad to have milkweed available for them, so that I get to see their cheery colors each year.

The connection is more than meets the eye:  Monarch and Milkweed connection

An Applesauce Year

Since I moved here 9-1/2 years ago, I've watched and taste tested the wild apple trees near my house. There seems to be a pattern that they produce well one year and then not the next one or two years. There were apples aplenty in 2006, 2009, 2011, and, YEAY, this year! I found one tree that I especially like for taste and color.When the apples are abundant, I pick lots and make applesauce for myself and for MorningStar's gift shop.

First, washing. My favorite wild tree lives somewhat near the expressway, so I make sure the apples are well washed since I leave the skins on for all their nutrition and the beautiful color they impart to the applesauce.

Then, quartering and removing any bad spots and the occasional wiggly.

Then into the pot, the giant pot that takes in a hundred apples and more!

Heat and time and voila!

Now to run it through the food mill to remove seeds, seed coats, and skins. I love the pink color and wonderful flavor! No sugar, no cinnamon, just apples. Delicious!

And into jars to savor for the next two to three years until the next applesauce year. I will mete it out wisely.

Thank you, my favorite, old, wild apple tree!

Night Sky

The moon was calling, calling me...from my sleep, from my bed, out my front door. My cat looked at me with curiosity; the porch is her night territory, not mine.

But the moon was calling, calling me. I couldn't not take her picture as the clouds swiftly and repeatedly hid and revealed her brightness. Her light made silhouettes of all the trees.

"You called?" I asked. 

But only the wind answered, "Breathe."

Farmers' Market and Garden Bounty

My one little blueberry bush was gracious with fruit this year: about two quarts total. Not bad for being totally neglected except to put bird netting over it on the years that it chooses to produce. Thank you!

And the Kentucky Wonder pole beans I planted in the garden at MorningStar went crazy just as the peas did. The vines topped the trellises leaving beans growing higher than I could reach them! Also they produced many more beans much faster than Julie and I could eat them or want to eat them. And I just didn't have the oomph to make dilly beans or the like. But I enjoyed them steamed night after night with butter, salt, and pepper. Yum! Thank you!

And then there's the LeRoy Farmers' Market. This haul was from one Saturday: tomatoes, peppers, and squash, lettuce and cider, prune plums, pears, and cucumbers, and even salsa! I love eating all the colors!

Thank you to all who grow and sell these wonderful foods at our market and all who support the market with their purchases and friendly visits. Thank you to the rain and sun, soil and microbes...
Thank you, Mother Nature, Mother Earth!