A Little Touch of Eternity

"I do hope your Christmas has had a little touch of Eternity
among the rush and pitter-patter and all.
It always seems such a mixing of this world and the next
-- but that after all is the idea!"

~ British mystic ~ Evelyn Underhill (1875 - 1941) ~

~ Solstice Sliver Moon ~

~ The Supermoon on New Year's Night ~

~ Moonrise on January 2nd ~

"The moon on the breast of the new - fallen snow
Gave a luster of midday to objects below . . . "
If I want my Christmas to include a little touch of eternity, all I have to do is watch or read the closing lines of A Child's Christmas in Wales:

Always on Christmas night there was music. An uncle played the fiddle, a cousin sang "Cherry Ripe," and another uncle sang "Drake's Drum." It was very warm in the little house. Auntie Hannah, who had got on to the parsnip wine, sang a song about Bleeding Hearts and Death, and then another in which she said her heart was like a Bird's Nest; and then everybody laughed again; and then I went to bed. Looking through my bedroom window, out into the moonlight and the unending smoke-colored snow, I could see the lights in the windows of all the other houses on our hill and hear the music rising from them up the long, steady falling night. I turned the gas down, I got into bed. I said some words to the close and holy darkness, and then I slept. ~Dylan Thomas (1914 - 53)

Or the American counterpart; set a couple of decades later, but capturing the same magic of childhood, A Christmas Story, concludes with a similar bedtime reverie, the boys tucked under their blankets with their new toys, the snow falling outside the window:

That Christmas would live in our memories . . . All was right with the world. Next to me in the blackness lay my oiled blue-steel beauty [the Red Ryder BB Gun], the greatest Christmas gift I had ever received or would ever receive. Gradually I drifted off to sleep, pranging ducks on the wing and getting off spectacular hip shots as I dissolved into nothingness. ~Jean Shepherd (1921 - 99)

"this world and the next"

A Thousand Globes

“Each friend represents a world in us,
a world possibly not born until they arrive,
and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
~ Anaïs Nin ~
The Diary of Anaïs Nin
Vol. 1: 1931-1934


. . . even snow globes . . .

. . . other side . . .
see the Philadelphia Mummers?!

Len says:
When I see a snowglobe, I always recall Citizen Kane

. . . and that reminded me of this scene
from one of my favorite movies,
an incredible faithful adaptation
of one of my favorite stories . . .

"The human heart is vast enough
to contain all the world."
~ Joseph Conrad ~

The Man in the Wind and the West Moon

"Sometimes called the Full Thunder Moon,
because thunderstorms are so frequent during July"
(Farmer's Almanac).

It's true! This was picture was taken early this morning, around 1 a.m.
At 3 a.m. came the thunder & lightning, very intense for a full hour!

******************

Also called
the Moon of the Middle Summer,
the Hungry Ghost Moon
and the Moon of Claiming

I love the moon imagery in the following two poems
by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914 - 53):

In My Craft or Sullen Art
In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.

Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.


And Death Shall Have No Dominion
And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

Christmas Quiz

Fuqua's first Christmas. No breakables this year!

For me?
A couple of Christmases ago, I filled out this Christmas quiz with my siblings and cousins. I had fun with the answers and even got a few blog posts out of them (links provided).

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both. I especially like printed tissue.

2. Real trees or artificial? Fake -- because they can hold more heavy ornaments.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? As long as I can hold out (somewhere between mid - January & Palm Sunday).

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but not as much as Irish Cream (see below).

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A boy doll, when I was in 4th grade (age 9); I never gave him a name -- just called him Boy Doll and still have him. Little did I know that one day I'd have two little blond baby boys who looked just like that doll!

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes, about a dozen!

8. Hardest person to buy for? I used to say Gerry; but lately I have more good ideas for him than I do for Ben and Sam. Gone are the days of Brio & Thomas the Tank.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Sister - in - law Tina.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Maybe it was the Carolans Irish Cream Gift Tin -- with no bottle of Irish Cream inside -- just the empty tin. Symbolic?

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mostly snail - mail, with a few e-mail cards, photos, etc. thrown in for good measure.

12. Five Favorite Christmas Movies?

Starting at Thanksgiving with Home for the Holidays. Great cast including, Holly Hunter, Robert Downey, Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Geraldine Chaplain.

The House Without a Christmas Tree (Jason Robards)

The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (1973 animation, narrated by Tommy Smothers, Barbara Feldon, Arte Johnson)

A Christmas Memory, written & narrated by Truman Capote, starring Geraldine Page

A Child's Christmas in Wales, starring / narrated by Denholm Elliott

and . . . one more . . . the musical version of Scrooge with Albert Finney.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I Christmas shop on a perpetual calendar basis! I have, in fact, already started for next year.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Ask me no more questions, I'll tell you no more lies!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Tiny Mince Pies (my recipe).

16 Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored.

17. Favorite Christmas song? "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," "O LittleTown of Bethlehem," "Star of Bethlehem" (from the first Home Alone movie), and "Sweet Little Jesus Boy," especially the lines: "The world treats you mean Lord / Treats me mean too / But that's the way things are down here . . . "

One more: Stevie Wonder's "Someday at Christmas" -- best anti - war / protest song I know.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? You know that song, "I'll Be Home For Christmas"? I think it means staying at home, in your own home -- if only in your dreams . . .

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yup -- even to include Bambi! This is a little joke in our family because when I asked Gerry what ornaments he liked, he pointed to a little Rudolph and said, "Well, I don't think much of this Bambi." Bambi! Can you believe? Haha! We're not going to let him forget that one for a long time!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? On top of our big tree is a tiny Nativity scene -- with it's own very even tinier star on top -- so I guess the answer is Star. We sometimes top the other tree with a St. Nicholas Bishop's Hat that Sam made for a school project a few years back. When growing up, we had a white plastic angel painted with gold details; a Christmas light fit right into her back and she was beautiful. Some years, my mom would let us keep her out as a night - light, even after we had put the tree away.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning (delayed gratification).

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Rarely annoyed . . . just dismayed at how extremely fast away the old year passes, even as I'm trying to clean the house and hang the greens and write the cards.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color: Oh so many! Lots of kitty - cat ornaments; a couple of 12 - Days sets; a couple of Nutcracker Suite sets; a couple of Alice in Wonderland sets; the kings & queens of England. I love them all! Occasionally I've been tempted to try a "theme" tree, but in the end I just have to cram it all in. As one of my neighbors said last year, "Now, that's what I call a stuffed tree!" That's the way I like it!

Who wouldn't want to find a giant kitten
in a bread basket under the tree?
"Little" Fuqua (10 mos old; 10 lbs.)
24. Favorite Christmas dinner -- a big ol' repeat of Thanksgiving: turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes and marshmallows, stuffing, peas, cranberry relish. And for dessert: Nutcracker Sweet Chocolate Pecan Pie. And our four British favorites: Christmas Cake, Figgy Pudding, Tiny Mince Pies, and Sherry Trifle.

25. What do I want for Christmas? Funny, the year my family did this quiz (2009), I had just ordered eight pair of boots, tried them all on, returned five pairs, and kept my three favorites to wrap and put under the tree. What did I get this year? Three pairs of boots -- red, black, and brown! So, I guess I always want boots. I also like getting Christmas for Christmas: Christmas magazines, Christmas books, Christmas candles, Christmas stickers, Christmas tree ornaments.

26. Most likely to respond: We'll see!

27. Least likely: Bah, humbug!

Fuqua Watching For Santa

Additional quizzes . . .Possible ~ Plausible ~ Improbable

Quarantine Quiz Shows

Class of '75

Challenges: Special K & Ten Favs

["Christmas Quiz"]

"You're Out Walking"

"Take This Quiz!"

"Monday: Pop Quiz"

"Talk to Me"

Happy Birthday Dylan Thomas

"My birthday began with the water-
Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my name
Above the farms and the white horses
And I rose
In a rainy autumn
And walked abroad in a shower of all my days"

by Welsh Poet Dylan Thomas
27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953

from

"Poem in October"
Read by Dylan Thomas

see also

"Poem on His Birthday"
"Dark is a way and light is a place . . . "
Birthday Blog

and

"Especially When the October Wind"
" . . . Some let me make you of autumnal spells . . . "

Rainy Autumn Paintings, here and above
by Leonard Orr

Additional Leonard Orr paintings
featured previously on this blog:

Excellent Images

Golden Paintings by Leonard Orr

End of Summer Sounds

Haiku For The Family

SIX KIDS THEN

















"Snakes-and-Families and Happy Ladders.
And Easy Hobbi-Games for Little Engineers,
complete with instructions.
Oh, easy for Leonardo!"

from A Child's Christmas in Wales
by Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953
Welsh poet, writer, and reader

My Haiku for the Family

I'll try to write a
Haiku for the Family
Once upon a time

The mother, the dad
Two big kids, three little kids,
Then a new baby

Sunflowers in Kansas
Then Idaho, home of spuds
Show us Missouri

Few Acres, our farm
We could walk safely to school
Ah, the American Dream

"A little sparrow
Could not fall unnoticed Lord
By thee." Our first prayer

On to St. Louis
For a subdivision life
We passed through the Arch

(not the golden ones)
Gateway to the west Across
the Wide Missouri

Our oldest brother
A hero in Viet Nam
Plus, he wrote haiku . . .

That made sense to me
About our favorite sandwich
Titled "The Salmon":

"Bravely leaping falls
For love. They'll never call you
Chicken of the Sea" . . .

In a white notebook
Left behind when he grew up
But I cherished it

Big sister could sing
Took us everywhere with her
She loved the Beatles

When she was younger
She called us "grills and kids"
Her words for girls and boys

If I was sick, she
Held my head when I threw up
Always there for me

Us four little kids
Little sister and brother
Twin brother and me

Born a Gemini
With a real twin, my brother
What's the connection?

"Love ya like a sis"
She wrote that to make me laugh
Well, we are sisters

The Little Baby
Jesus of our family
We adored him so

Childhood Games: Happy
Families, Snakes and Ladders
Monopoly Life

Why me, Oh Goddess?
Naturally curly, frizzy
What big hair you have

Ready to grow up
We each pick a way to go
What would we find there?

Boyfriend in high school
Touching but not forever
Time to walk away

Boyfriend in college
Oops, that was a big mistake
How to extricate?

Finished school at last
B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
The Ideal Husband

Inordinately
Realistic, said the quiz, yet
A true romantic

Remember that dream
A gentleman and scholar
From far far away?

Santa once brought me
Boy Doll with a big blond head
Then my two real boys

Looked just like that doll
But animated, not ours
They have their own plans

Another passage
Mid-life-crisis-empty-nest
Now it all makes sense

What keeps you going?
Obligation, holidays
Curiosity
Every day a new surprise!

SIX KIDS NOW












MY - NESS
"My parents, my husband, my brother, my sister . . .
I delight in being here on earth
For one more moment, with them, here on earth,
To celebrate our tiny, tiny my-ness."
by Czeslaw Milosz, 1911 - 2004
Polish poet, translator, Nobel Prize Winner