Golden Morning

I love having a yellow flower on the piano, because the morning sun works this alchemy upon it:

It makes all the difference to this not-morning-person, seeing something glowingly lovely first thing!

Things are starting to wind down a little around here. My husband has handed in his most demanding papers and taken his exam, so we are all a little more relaxed, and I have computer access again!

Even with all of the business, we managed to have a pretty good weekend. Saturday was a baking day for me. I had a sudden overwhelming urge to bake an apple pie, complete with homemade crust, and Daniel was very sweet and played independently while I sliced and cored and rolled.

I wish I had taken a picture of it, since it came out much better aesthetically than my previous pie attempts (which is to say, the top crust was all in one piece, and the edge was crimped in a semi-regular manner) but we were in too much of a hurry to eat it, so here is a picture of Daniel being well behaved instead:

Then in the evening I baked ginger snaps in preparation for St. Lucy's and Gaudete Sunday.

Some were eaten right out of the oven, some saved to be sent to my grandfather (it has become something of a tradition that I send him ginger snaps for Christmas) and the rest were packaged up...

..put into a basket...

...and left anonymously on our neighbors' door steps!

Redeeming the Time

Today was not the day I had planned.

To start out, I was so tired yesterday evening after a full day of shopping at IKEA that I didn't have the energy to go out again for treats to put in Daniel's shoes from Saint Nicholas.

And, after a night of nursing my little boy, I was too tired to get up early to bake the strawberry scones I had planned for a special breakfast treat.

In fact, I was so tired that Amos took Daniel to the early Mass that we usually go to as a family and let me sleep in till the 11. So we didn't even get to go to church all together.

I have been feeling wretched about this for the past couple of hours, but i have decided to try to salvage what is left of the day and make the evening as pleasant and festive as I can.

This afternoon I will tidy the house and put up a few more decorations.

For dinner I will make my husband's favorite pork chops with onions and apples. We will dim the lights and eat by the light of the Advent wreath and the other candles arranged on the table. I will put a cloth on the table, and real cloth napkins.

In the evening Amos will probably go back to the library to work on his papers (30 pages to write by the end of the week!!!) and so I will make a pot of tea, get out one of my beautiful china tea cups, and work on my knitting.

The Second Sunday of Advent

People, look east. The time is near
Of the crowning of the year.
Make your house fair as you are able,
Trim the hearth and set the table.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Guest is on the way.

Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare,
One more seed is planted there.
Give up your strength the seed to nourish,
That in course the flower may flourish.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Rose is on the way.

Birds, though you long have ceased to build,
Guard the nest that must be filled.
Even the hour when wings are frozen
God for fledging time has chosen.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the bird, is on the way.

Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim,
One more light the bowl shall brim,
Shining beyond the frosty weather,
Bright as the sun and moon together.
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Star, is on the way.

Angels announce with shouts of mirth,
Him who brings new life to earth.
Set every peak and valley humming
With the word, the Lord is coming
People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Lord, is on the way.

--Eleanor Farjeon

I have been meaning for some time to make a post about the changing of the seasons. While in many parts of the country, the excitement of the transition into Autumn has worn off long ago, and it is time to look for snow and ice, here in Texas, we are just coming to the end of the long slow burn.

When I first moved down here, I was desperately unhappy that the seasons did not follow the pattern that I was used to growing up in New England (my husband likes to call me a snob for this). Only this year, my fifth Fall in Texas, have I begun to understand and come to love the particular rhythm that governs the change of season here.

I think seeing it through Daniel's eyes has helped immeasurably in this respect. Our daily walk takes us over the same path, and I have been at leisure to notice the subtle changes and the way things come to fullness over time. His fascination with acorns, pine cones, the brown coarse leaves on the ground, and the copious mud from the rains that finally return after a long, inhumanly hot summer has let me be fascinated with them as well.

The colors are not so overwhelmingly glorious and abundant as in New England. Everything is more muted, the transition more gradual. But there are falls of golden leaves (which remind me of the shower of gold poured out in Danae's lap), and red berries, and deep purple oak leaves, and -- delightful in their unexpectedness -- yellow jasmine and crimson roses!

Peaceful Morning

This morning was full of sunlight and snuggling and quiet domesticity.

Daniel practiced being gentle to the long-suffering Audrey...

...And was overjoyed when she rewarded him with a kiss!