On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me. . . . .


I have had this recurring fantasy lately where I become a fabulously sucsessful chef for some form of obscure European royalty and prepare a feast themed on the twelve days of christmas complete with the french hens, five donut rings, six geese, roasted of course, seven swans (how does one cook a swan?) a huge cake topped with marzipan drummers, maids, ladies, and lords.

Then of course I come back to the first Christmas and how it was an event which was surrounded by the most abject poverty. Of course the irony is that twelve days later come the kings who bring the costliest of gifts. Of course Chesterton reminds us that the learned wealthy men come later, it being the poor who make it there first. It is of course easiest for the humble shepherd to greet the infant. Still the point is, the magi DO make it there and there is a little room for a little excess, a bit of opulence in honor of the king who was been born.

I have fallen in love with paper crafts this Christmas and we even made a star mobile out of the gold cardboard that our Christmas Eve smoked salmon came in. The girls and I also decorated our upstairs windows with lots of paper snowflakes and chains. It certainly makes the winter seem much less dreary!

THe Christ is Born!!!

Buon Natale! Christmas has begun!


I am so stuffed with duck l'orange and panetone and cranberry relish and chocolate and wine I think I won't eat for three days and the girls are finally asleep after spending the day playing really hard all day long stopping only for crackers and cheese and the occasional peice of chocolate.


May the peace of the Christ child come into the hearts of all men this Christmas.

Advent is such a wonderful season. My evenings have been very full of the thousands of little Christmas projects that I have taken on myself. Of course very few of them have been accomplished. I am endeavoring to do some spiritual reading this Advent and have been reading Fulton J. Sheen. I think in the past I sort of wrote him off as a pious fifties bishop who would be very dry. Well I have eaten every one of my words because he is wonderfully fantastic. I am struck with how the plight of the poor is a huge theme of his. I keep trying to think of ways that we could be more aware of how all those below the thirteenth parallel live. One thing I have been realizing is how often I just buy something because I can, not because I need too, This is not a huge immoral thing to do but perhaps not very in solidarity with the poor. Of course the horrid thing is given our past experience at being employed by a non-profit I am somewhat mistrustful of organizations that give your money to the folk below the border. I know there are good organizations out there but the research is overwhelming. Of course there is the isolation and poverty of spirit to be ministered to here in the first world. And of course the poor are always with us. They just get food stamps and a welfare check in our country. Does that really exempt us though?

Of course probably the poor folk in the nursing homes are the most obvious outcasts of our society. Angelica's little Flowers group met at the nursing home this past week to sing to the elderly. The man at the home told us we were the first children they let in to see the old folks this year on account of the swine flu. They said yes to us because we were homeschoolers and probably wern't exposed.

This is a good time of year to think about the poor. . Fulton J. Sheen says that if you want to see what life is like for a poor person from India just eat one bowl of rice and a small bit of fish a day for your food ration. Wow. There is some food for thought too. I keep looking at our pig scrap pile and realizing how these hogs eat better than many people. Ugh, I roll up my sleeves and resolve to waste less, consume less, and look to the coming celebration with a mind to thankfulness for all the beautiful things that surround us at the feast of Christmas.

Whooo! WHat a fun week we had visiting family in Indiana. I felt like the william tell overture was playing the whole time with Zita and Peter Xavier (three and four years old respectivly) running around together. The girls has a blast sleeping at Grandma's house and playing with all their cousins( all nine of them are quite a crew together. ) We came back home and I feel like we must have slept for three days. Angelica is seven now and taken on setting the table every night.
The girls and I are reading Ronia the Robbers Daughter. It is so wonderful! I look forward so much to our chapter every day. Waking child calls. . . . .

I had a wonderful birthday this year. Our friend Jason does wine tastings (and makes magnificent chrevre!!) and he was doing one at the great little deli across from a historic mill where Ben and I spent my birthday the first year we were married. We decided to head back for old times sake had a wonderful time, bought a bottle of Virginia wine and consumed it with some salame, cheese and a bit of chocolate next to the creek behind the mill.

Fall has definitely arrived and we celebrated the turn of the year with a small Michaelmas gathering. Angelica decorated a dragon on a candle with her beeswax for St. Michael. I have been really busy with caring for all the animals. We moved our pig down here to root up the garden and the chickens are getting ready to transition out of the shed and into their coop now that they are getting all their feathers. I am amazed at how much time I spend just watching the pigs. They are so interesting. I bought onions and garlic to plant and that is supposed to happen this week but I have a feeling it won't .
It was a rather bittersweet weekend. On Saturday we attended the funeral of a baby who died of crib death, my friend Colby's nephew. It was so sad to see the tiny casket. On Sunday though, my friend Dian who suffered multiple miscarriages last year birthed a healthy baby boy, and so we had cause to rejoice as well. It all seemed so fitting at this time of year when we are seeing the death of one season and the birth of another to experience a birth and death side by side.

I have gone through the winter clothes and put away the summer things and feel that a monumental task is behind me. It is so crazy not to hunt down three little pairs of everything, shoes, gloves, socks, etc. I found a wonderful clothing company (alas expensive) through a friend and feel that I have finally found what I am looking for. Their catalogue is great inspiration for handmade items too. I am hoping to copy one of their courderoy skirts for Angelica. The company is Olive Juice Kids. www.olivejuicekids.com

Ciao a tutti in Gravagna! Daniella I'll try to post in Italian for everyone but i am tired so bear with me!

Provo fare un post in Italiano.. Ho visto mie genitori in Luglio e sonno state bene in Gravagna. Fa bene la salute Gravagna. Ho visto come ha perso qualche kili mio papa. Loro tornanno a Gravagna questo primavera. Anche noi volgliamo andare con loro ma e dificile dire adesso, (Non c'e stato tanto lavoro per Ben adesso.) Le bimbe stanno bene. Angelica ha cominiciata sua scuola. Io la insegno a casa e fa le lessione al tavolo. Giulia parla tante parole adesso, alcune in Italiano e alcune in Inglese. Zita piace sentire le storie a fa la cuoca in cucina. Anche Ben saluta tutti in Gravagna. In questo stagione penso sepmpre do le castagne e i funghi. . . . . braci per Teresa, Mafalda, Carla e Fede e Lina!

Ci manca Gravangna sempre! Ciao!