More thoughts in the time of COVID-19 …
There is snow on the ground … but not a lot.
This morning’s low was the coldest yet … 19०.
Morning Sunrise today on the lower Eddys – 0755.
Morning Sunrise in the window – 0819.
Two days into winter … 88 to go.
Wood shed and pantry are full.
~~~
The Holidays began last friday with the online Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas show.
I had never known about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Guess it is time for me to take a step forward. They are a rock band plus, but I guess a lot of you already know that. Oh well …
I was pleasantly surprised at hearing classic carols given the rock treatment. And the holiday story, although timeworn, was nice. It’s good to be reminded.
And a holiday-tradition-in-the-making was hearing Paul begin with Jingle Bells on the keyboard. He will begin piano lessons once COVID allows.
~~~
One downer in the season was the announcement that Mark Shields is retiring from PBSNews. George and I had come to look forward to his insight on the week’s federal politics each friday. His partnership with David Brooks was always civil and instructive. It provided good instruction in the art of agreeing to disagree with the added possibility of learning and possibly changing opinions. I hope the new partner chosen for Brooks will be as good a match.
I will miss Mr. Shields.
First Gwen Ifill and now Mark Shields … profound losses.
~~~
I spent last monday afternoon renovating the chicken house. I cleared a spot on the floor where I can scatter scratch (evening chicken candy) for the cold months. And rearranged the floor space so the feedcans are more accessible. Also replaced the straw in the egg nests.
I felt quite good having accomplished all that. Now the hens need to show appreciation by laying … laying … laying.
~~~
Because of an incident in a group to which I belonged, I began thinking about the difference between reasons and excuses. I’ve thought about this before and felt I understood the difference. But the incident reminded me that others don’t seem to differentiate.
To me, it seems simple.
The reason you do something is the why and every action has a reason.
But an excuse is when something you’ve done didn’t go well and you feel the need to escape responsibility.
Reasons can indicate regret and possibly trigger apologies. Excuses are saying “It wasn’t my fault” and laying blame off somewhere else.
I will continue to act with this difference in mind. How someone else reacts is not within my control.
~~~
Current reading is the prequel to Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth set at the turn of the century from the 900s to the 11th century … the end of the Dark Ages. The site is the English Channel countries, specifically the Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire area in England and Normandy on the continent. It is a heavy read (over 900 pages as well as a lot of history and atmosphere). I am enjoying it. It brings to life a scary, depressing, hopeful time … much like today.
Next up on the reading pile … escapist fantasy fiction.
~~~
Over the years, one facet of holiday tradition was unchanged … until three years ago. For over sixty years I baked the Shaffer recipe for Sand Tarts shared with me by my older sister-in-law Sally. George once said “How can it be Christmas without sand tarts?”
Sand tarts are a very (!) thin sugar cookie. Instructions are to roll them so thin you can read the newspaper through them. And they are always cut with handmade cutters dating to the mid-1800s (at least then, but I think they are older than that), topped with a fingertip dab of milk, a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar, and an almond half (when almond halves weren’t available, and I didn’t have time to split whole almonds, we used almond pieces).
Everyone had their favorite cutter.
The family make-up changed after George’s death and I hadn’t pushed to continue the tradition. I missed them, but …
Then yesterday, Kamille brought them into a conversation. It was a gift. She may not recognize it as such, but I did.
The cookie cutters were found and set out. Mark reminisced about holidays past and pointed out his favorite cutter. This morning it was agreed that after packages on Christmas Day the kitchen area would be cleared and we would bake sand tarts.
When there were children at home, I mixed and rolled and the cutting, dabbing milk, sprinkling sugar, and punching on the almonds was left to George and the boys. For the last twenty years it was just George and me so the mixing, rolling, and cutting was up to me while he did the milk, sugar, and almonds. This year we have enough folks to set up a production line again.
I am indeed blessed.
~~~
Sunrise on Yule (Winter Solstice) came through my window at 0817. Tuesday it seemed to be the same. Guess I’m just too impatient for the days to show their lengthening. By Candlemas (2 February … mid-winter) mornings should be brighter.
And again I am reminded of the R.L.Stevenson poem about mornings. There is a pronounced difference in mornings between where I grew up (southern California – little seasonal difference) and where I have lived for the last 40+ years (far northern California – very different sunrise position and day length as seasons change).
~~~
Last monday I received two gifts … phone contacts from friends with whom I had not spoken in too long.
I will make myself a calendar note to try to remember to make an unscheduled, possibly unexpected, call at least once a month.
Pay it forward …
~~~
Mark has been working on producing a Christmas Eve video for his church as a replacement for the COVID banned in-church service. He has been working on it for over a week. We, as a family, had gotten into the tradition of attending Christmas Eve service (there is a kneeler off to the side of the altar area dedicated to the Blessed Mother where I would stop after the service). I hold on to the memory of standing next to Mark listening to him sing. Now I am looking forward to tomorrow at 1900 PST when the video will show on YouTube (link at SBECMS.org).
~~~
I am always gratified when someone says what I wish I had said and says it well …
Robin Wall Kimmerer: “I cherish the notion that the holiday ‘gift’ economy might back away from the grinding market economy that reduces everything to a commodity and leaves most of us bereft of what we really want … relationship and purpose and beauty and meaning, which can never be commoditized. I want to be part of a system in which wealth means having enough to share, and where the gratification of meeting your family needs is not poisoned by destroying that possibility for someone else. I want to live in a society where the currency of exchange is gratitude and the infinitely renewable resource of kindness, which multiplies every time it is shared rather than depreciating with use.”
So ‘til next week … Blessings and Happy Holidays all…