Christmas 2013

 

                

This holiday was a busy one, and in some ways we learned a lot about what we most like - and I am pretty sure it includes being here at home.   We started it out simply and cut a tree down in our backyard.  It saved time, money, and it was a charming tree.  There was lots of space between the branches, it was small and fit nicely in our house.  The tree was growing near the chicken coop and crowding out 2 other trees that were all competing for space.   Anna solved that problem. The boys carried it in.  Everyone helped to decorate, and this year the boys spent extra time placing the ornaments; we have a lot of feathered bird friends for our tree and animals remain a favorite toy of the boys.   We then hung stockings, baked cookies, and made many of our gifts this year.  Anna and the boys created wooden peg leapfrog games, and the boys and I made clay word magnets. 

         

The holiday began to rev up as we first traveled to the Catskills for Christmas to be with Anna's family.  We spent four days there and celebrated in fun Swedish style.  The kids hiked, swam, bowled and played a ton of games with their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  We had our traditional Swedish smorgasbord followed by about two hours of gift exchange.  It was a slow and lovely Christmas eve this year and the boys were amazing throughout.   Claes, Lea and I also worked hard on creating a family Christmas video.   

 

 

 

 

The weather was warm in the Catskills, while back at home it was icing everywhere.

 

 

 

We ended our time with Anna's family on Christmas morning, when we awoke before sunrise to carefully head back home and spend it with my family.  The long icy drive back ended with stockings full and presents from Santa Claus.  Anna and I were a wee bit tired at this point, yet we managed to make an absolutely delicious meal of slow roasted venison with figs, roasted vegetables, and a delicious dessert of peppermint ice cream with dark chocolate fudge and crushed candy cane.  Serious bliss in the food department.  We shared this second Christmas meal with my parents, sister and family. 

 

                

 

In part three, (yes there was a part three!) of our holiday week we drove up to the Von Trapp Family Lodge.  The Von Trapp Family Lodge is pretty much an amazing place...totally set up for families with children.  The beauty of the ski trails, the mountains, and the facilities are remarkable, and we were happy to spend two days with our good friend Cathy.   

 

 

 

 And now it's the eve of New Year's eve and I have a minute to capture the holiday before the next arrives.  I am not even sure what we are doing tomorrow night, but I know it will be low key and hopefully quiet.   I am ready to welcome 2014 with candlelight -maybe even at home.    



A READER!

Anders has begun reading for pleasure.  A third grade reader he is!  

 

Mom and Dad

My mom and dad are all settled now in their new home.  Things are unpacked, they are getting the lay of the land; newspaper delivered to their doorstep, lunches at noon, crafts at 1, canasta on Fridays, etc.  The journey since they arrived has been up and down.  Some days good, some days difficult.  When you've been in one home for fifty years the leaving can be a bit tricky and sometimes sad.  But, my parents are spirited people, willing to give it a go.  I marvel at the aging process and I wonder how in the world anyone does it gracefully.   How do you keep your mind open, your ability to reflect a priority, and your willingness to keep learning at the forefront - yet all the while making room for gratitude.  It's easy to be weary, harder to simply appreciate when so many things have come and gone.  Like siblings, and parents, and hearing, walking, seeing, sleeping...you know, everything we take for granted, yet a senior truly must learn to do without.  Still, here they are posing...posing for a holiday photo.  And they look marvelous.  They are marvelous.   These are my parents.  Stunning, amazing seniors.  Learning constantly how to handle every little bit that this wild life throws their way.   And trying so valiantly to age gracefully. 

The Dala Horse

Because my in-laws are Swedish and have enthusiastic Swedish pride....I myself have been wooed and seduced into all that is Swedish.  I have a particular fondness for the dala horse.   Seriously simple in design, it is a traditional icon that I just love.  The red-orange color and the uncomplicated shape could not be better in my mind.  I happened to stumble upon a website that showed part of the process in the actual making of this horse and I became even more smitten.  It is made in only one county in Sweden, Dalarna, and it is illegal to make them anywhere else.  They are all hand carved and hand painted.  They come in a variety of sizes, as well as colors.  Red-orange being the most favored.  Here are some photos of the process: an older grandfather carving, bins and bins of carved horses, red and blue painted horses pre-final paint details and the last step - hand painted details.  Don't you just want one......or fifty?  I did.  So I set about making almost that many. 

 

 

In celebration of my very favorite Swedish Icon, I made three dozen dala horse cookies this year. 

They taste just as good as they look.

 

Note to Brother

The boys were at Mormor's the other night and came home with this beautiful paper.  Note paper they had gotten from her that was filled with messages written back and forth to each other.  I am not sure they could possibly hold each other in any higher esteem.  Seriously, as their mom, I feel grateful, happy, and so blessed.  And I know how lucky they are to have one another.

J O Y and the speed of life

It's been busy around here and I sort of wonder if we are really going to get everything finished for the holidays.   One full week to go and the list looks like this: bake and decorate cookies, finish making, packing, sending, buying, and wrapping gifts, finish decorating house and porch, think about menu's and get prepared, clean, clean, clean.  You may wonder what we have actually done.  Well, the tree is up and the boys are merry.  And isn't that what counts the most anyway?

T R E E

 

This year it was so easy to choose our tree.  There was no discussion about which Christmas tree farm to go to at all.  It was rather simple.  The T R E E was in our own backyard.  Anna decided it was too close to the barn and so we chopped it down.  The boys carried it the short distance from barn to house and there it was....the best wabi sabi Christmas tree we have ever had. 

 

The Amazing Clay Dragon

Ander worked so very hard on this amazing clay dragon. Hours and hours of work.

It's simply chock full of details. Luckily I have photographs of it because it never made it into the kiln.

I accidently broke it in transport. But this is the proof that this kid is talented and amazing.

 

Unbridled Joy

 

"You are the sun, Grandma, you are the sun in my life."

2013 has been a particularly noteworthy year.  Both of the boys grandmothers and one of their grandfathers have moved to Vermont.  Incredible really.  I feel absolutely thrilled for them.

Anna's mom moved here in April and lives about a mile from us.  She is spry, spunky, fun loving, capable, healthy and busy.  The boys have to run to keep up with her. 

My parents moved here one week ago.  They are quite elderly - almost deaf, nearly blind, and have difficulty with mobility.  Their range of motion is limited.  My boys have to be careful not to run them over. 

All of the grandparents love the boys - each in their own unique ways.

Anna's mom takes them for hikes, babysits, buys them fruit leather and other treats, and provides plenty of freedom.  She also gives them a run for their money.  The boys give it right back to her. 

My parents kiss, hug, and joke with the boys.  They lather the boys with love...tons of it. 
And the boys respond to this in kind, absolutely respectful of their fragility.

The boys thrive in both environments. 

How lucky they are to bask in the warmth of their grandparents love.   

Crow's Path

This year Anders has not gone to school on Tuesdays. 

Instead, he has been going to an outdoor field school called Crow's path.  At Crow's Path he gets to connect with the natural world around him.   He spends his time - the entire day - out of doors - no matter the weather.  He gets to stalk through the woods, play games, explore the land, eat cattail roots, carve spoons, learn how to build a tinder bundle, start a fire without a match, make rope from dog's bane, make beads from Staghorn Sumac, create a coal burned bowl, build a fort in the woods, and so much more.   It's been a wise decision.  He loves it completely.  We love it for him. 

The Benefits of An Arts Magnet School

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have lots of dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solution without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.” 

–Steve Jobs

One of the great rewards of our children going to an art magnet is the range of arts experiences they have the opportunity to engage in - regularly.  I had no idea how vast it was until I started organizing photographs.  I put together just a sampling of Anders experiences over the last few years, ranging from the visual arts to drama, dance, and music.  These are just a few...and do not capture the additional exposure they have to the exquisite range of exemplary artistic performances they have seen and experienced both within the school building as well as out of the building at our local theater.  I know they are so lucky.

Singing at his Spring concert with his classmates 

Taiko drumming and taiko performance 

 Art class at the local art museum.

Printmaking experience at a local printmaking studio 

Back stage tour and on stage class at our local performing arts center

 Warming up with a national dance teaching artist from the Kennedy Center

Printing a self designed t-shirt at a local graphic arts studio

Performing a dance about the lunar cycle 

 Working on a math painting with an artist in residence   

Getting Salsa and merengue lessons with a local dance instructor

Pantomiming a text in reading with our drama coach

Learning to throw a bowl on the potters wheel at the clay studio