Off to Texas

Mr Popularity is off to Texas and my only consolation is that my Mom and Dad are coming to stay with us in his absence. Here he is enjoying his last morning coffee with Angelica giving a running dialogue on duck feathers and oil. How will he manage without these peaceful domestic routines?


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Nothing happier. . .

. . . Then toddlers with bread dough.


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cats in Bethlehem

I took down our tree on Sunday. Angelica as always mourned its passing. This year we were gone for part of Christmas visiting relatives and when we returned the girls still really wanted a tree. There was of course no place left to buy one so we walked down the railroad tracks and cut down a scrubby Virginia cedar. Ben and I decorated one of these the first year we were married so it brought back memories.




This year I kept the manger scene and the lights up. Our parish priest aked us to do this until Candlemas, February the second. Out cultural attention spans are so short. Inside me the desire to have all the decorations put away rebels. But perhaps this is a reminder to me that unlike all the tinselly cheer amidst box store stampedes, our celebration is more than just party decorations and stuffing ourselves with panettone and candy and goose.
I could learn a thing or two from our cat. She still sleeps in the manger scene every morning, happy to be with her Creator who is a baby. Just as he did two thousand years ago Baby Jesus chooses to be with the animals. He knows that they won't tire of adoration.
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The pause in the day. . .

This the view out my kitchen window. While it is one of the best windows in our house it is unfortunately blocked by counter space and a filled in chimney so it is not easy to sit by and enjoy. However the brief glimpses that I am afforded when I turn to put dishes on the drainer after washing them always uplift my heart.



To get through the winter months we really need to find those little places of beauty and light because they are a precious commodity.

I also find that just because this is not a Latin country does not mean that my day does not need some kind of siesta to break it up. I find this difficult to do at lunch because of the demands of the children, the table work and the housework, especially in the winter when the days are so short. The time for it seems to fall between a little before three to a little after four. That is my window. On the best days I prep something for dinner even beforehand and then feel like a schoolgirl running out of the classroom freed from obligation. I usually try to go outside at this time of day, at least for twenty minutes even if it is freezing. Fresh air and walking help clear my head and often put the petty domestic dramas in perspective.

Now if only there was a pub. . .


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New Year

New chairs. . .



New blanket forts. . .







New haircut . . .




New IPad. . .



I hope this blog app thing works. Here goes. Take that 2013!