Monday, December 31, 2018

Time to Travel

Pereunt et Imputantur
"The hours pass and are reckoned to our account."

Sundial in St. Augustine, Florida ~ February 2017
This motto also appears on clocks
in Cornwall, Exeter, and Oxford.
[Variously translated: lost and counted, vanished yet evident]

I finished the calendar -- "Time to Travel" -- in time for the New Year! Thanks to my daughter - in - law Cathleen for suggesting a theme of random favorites from various trips over the last few years. As we plan for new destinations in 2019, the calendar pages will bring to mind our previous wanderings and inspire us farther down the road.

January
(photo taken 26 April 2016)
Clock Face at Old St. Mary's ~ San Francisco

February
(photo taken January 2016)
Perfect Spot for Xmas Dinner ~ New York City

March
(photo taken January 2015)
A Town Frozen in Time ~ Bruges, Belgium

April
(photo taken February 2017)
Garden Wall ~ Nassau, Bahamas

May
(photo taken September 2018)
Cousin Johnny Bristow's Pub ~ Edinburgh

June
(photo taken June 2017)
Chinese Garden of Friendship ~ Sydney, Australia

July
(photo taken August 2017)
World Expo ~ Astana, Kazakhstan

August
(photo taken June 2014)
Sunrise at McCarran Airport ~ Las Vegas

September
(photo by Sam, taken July 2018)
A Vista Fit for Kings ~ Colorado

October
(photo taken November 2018)
Autumn in Bay Village ~ Boston

November
(photo taken November 2015)
The Castle Bright & Beautiful ~ Dublin

December
(photo taken December 2016)
Alumbrados ~ Medellin, Colombia

CALENDERS FROM PREVIOUS YEARS
Everyday Custom & Ceremony ~ 2012
Mona's Clothes ~ 2012
Moons of Wintertime and Beyond ~ 2013
Never Quite the Same ~ 2014
Homes That We Love ~ 2014
814 ~ Where It Was Almost Always Christmas ~ 2015
Time for a Moondance ~ 2015
Love Me, Love My Cats! ~ 2015
A Day in the Garden ~ 2016
Team McCartney ~ 2017
Full Moon Night ~ Full Moon Year ~ 2017
Wishing You Were Here ~ 2018
Time to Travel ~ 2019

Friday, December 28, 2018

Product Placement

Clever Christmas Candy

Homemade is good, but so is store-bought!
Miniature British Christmas Puddings from Grandpa Ron

Gluhwein, Wassail All Over the Town


Cute Collectibles ~ Gotta Catch 'Em All!

Gluhwein Mugs ~ Christkindlmarket, Chicago

Previous Visits: 2011 ~ 2012 ~ 2013

For more fun Christmas Mugs
see my recent post

Past Three O'Clock

@ The Fortnightly Kitti Carriker
A literary blog of connection & coincidence;
custom & ceremony

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Mince Spies

Happy Christmas To All & To All A Mince Pie!
Thanks to Elisabeth Keller Green for the festive photo!

A Christmas Cracker Joke from Sam:

Q: Who hides in the bakery during Christmas?

A: Mince Spies!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Q: What makes the perfect midnight
or after - midnight snack?


A: Mince pies!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Past Three O'Clock

past three o'clock,
on a cold frosty morning,
past three o'clock,
good morrow masters all.

born is a baby
gentle as may be,
son of the Eternal
Father supernal.

seraph choir singeth,
angel bell ringeth,
hark how they rhyme it,
time it and chime it!

mid earth rejoices
hearing such voices.
ne'ertofore so well
carolling nowell!

hinds o'er the pearly
dewy lawn early
seek the high stranger
laid in the manager.

cheese from the dairy
bring they for Mary,
and, not for money,
butter and honey.

light out of star-land
leadeth from far land
princes, to meet him,
worship and greet him.

myrrh from full coffer,
incense they offer;
nor is the golden
nugget withholden.

thus they: i pray you,
up sirs, nor stay you
till ye confess him
likewise and bless him.


Old English Carol
by George Ratcliff Woodward (1848 - 1934)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Package for Mom

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
& TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!


From The Quotidian Kit &
The Fortnightly Kitti Carriker

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Winter Wonder


Winter Solstice yesterday!

Full Moon today!

The last time these two events fell within twenty - fours of each other was 2010 -- see my post "Eclipse, Moon, Snow, Solstice." This year we don't get an eclipse, nor is there snow in the forecast, but two winter wonders out of four is plenty enough to celebrate!


It's too bad that this Bethany Lowe ceramic pattern seems to have become entirely unavailable. I have two mugs, but it would be so nice to have these larger serving pieces for the season. The colors combinations are lovely -- the silhouettes against the pastels, and the depicted activities convey the celebratory tone of the Winter Solstice.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

The Pomegranate Reminded Me

One of several fabulous pomegranate
ornaments hanging on my Christmas tree!

How to Cut a Pomegranate
[Read by the poet]

"Never," said my father,
"Never cut a pomegranate
through the heart.
It will weep blood.
Treat it delicately, with respect.

Just slit the upper skin across four quarters.
This is a magic fruit,
so when you split it open, be prepared
for the jewels of the world to tumble out,
more precious than garnets,
more lustrous than rubies,
lit as if from inside.
Each jewel contains a living seed.
Separate one crystal.
Hold it up to catch the light.
Inside is a whole universe.
No common jewel can give you this."

Afterwards, I tried to make necklaces
of pomegranate seeds.
The juice spurted out, bright crimson,
and stained my fingers, then my mouth.

I didn’t mind. The juice tasted of gardens
I had never seen, voluptuous
with myrtle, lemon, jasmine,
and alive with parrots’ wings.

The pomegranate reminded me
that somewhere I had another home.


by Imtiaz Dharker (British poet, born in Pakistan 1954)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another pomegranate, behind the nutcracker:

So many more favorites!


Previous Pomegranate Discussion

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Even Cowgirls

Cowgirl Keychain from my friend Eve.
I gave the little boot to my dad decades ago --
and now it has found its way back to Christmas tree.


Even cowgirls get the blues sometimes --
especially around Christmastime.

A couple of ways to cheer yourself up:

1. Read the novel by Tom Robbins

2. Sing along with Emmylou Harris:

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Sung by Emmylou Harris

She's a rounder I can tell you that
She can sing 'em all night, too
She'll raise hell about the sleep she lost
But even cowgirls get the blues

Especially cowgirls, they're the gypsy kind
And need their reins laid on 'em loose
She's lived to see the world turned upside down
Hitchin' rides out of the blues

But even cowgirls get the blues sometimes
Bound to don't know what to do sometimes
Get this feelin' like she's too far gone
The only way she's ever been

Lonely nights are out there on the road
Motel ceiling stares you down
There must be safer ways to pay your dues
But even cowgirls get the blues

Even cowgirls get the blues sometime
Bound to don't know what to do sometime
Get this feelin' like she's too far gone
The only way she's ever been

Even cowgirls get the blues sometime
Bound to don't know what to do sometime
Get this feelin' like the restless wind
The only way she's ever been


Written by & music by Rodney Crowell

Friday, December 14, 2018

Turning Towards the Solstice


As the earth turns towards the solstice, so do we:
December

The white dove of winter
sheds its first
fine feathers;
they melt

as they touch
the warm ground
like notes
of a once familiar

music; the earth
shivers and
turns towards
the solstice.


Linda Pastan, American Poet (b 1932)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more Wintry Solstice Imagery
see my current post

Shorter by the Day

@ The Fortnightly Kitti Carriker
A literary blog of connection & coincidence;
custom & ceremony


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Previous Linda Pastan Posts
Turning Towards the Solstice
Dogwood Days
Your Poem
Let Us Eat Quickly
Kiss Today
What Do Writers Want?

Shorter by the Day
Dogwood, Spring and Fall
Hopefully
Lucky Rock

Emily From Different Angles

Monday, December 10, 2018

Happy Hanna Day

Hanna Andersson Holiday Patterns:
Gnomes & Reindeer
Recipe for Christmas Pudding

You can't see much of it, but this is my
Hanna Andersson dress for moms
~ Summer 1990 & 1991 ~
Ben & Sam in their almost - matching
Hanna Andersson Vests ~ Christmas 1997

My Boy Dolls:
Ben (1990) & Sam (1993) in Sailor Suits
& Hanna Andersson Pilot Caps


Christmas 2020 Update: a new Hanna customer!
Eleanor Rose McCartney ~ born August 16, 2020
Baby Ellie!

Baby Aidan ~ born May 18, 2022
in his Hanna - Me - Down Sleeper
from Big Sis Ellie
with Happa in his Snowman Costume
Halloween 2022

Our Tiny New Cousin
Catherine Elizabeth ~ born October 21, 2023
Matching her Mom Anna
and Big Brother John

Friday, December 7, 2018

O Christmas Tree Unchanging

What I was up to 52 years ago today (age 9):
Drawing this fabulous Christmas tree . . .

. . . and writing a birthday letter to my Uncle Earl

Although the older members of my family must surely have discussed it among themselves, I doubt that I was very aware at the time that, in addition to being the day before Earl's 32nd birthday, it was also the 25th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor (and today is the 77th).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Family Tradition:
My Mother's Tree
1936 (age 5)


My Little Brother Aaron's Tree
1966 (age 5)