Christmas Eve tea (Kathryn's photo)
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Do you know what I know?
My favorite part of that song is when the shepherd boy asks the king that question. So tonight, think of yourself alone with a flock.
In the distance are more sheep and more shepherds. The stars are bright and you are thinking of sadness and worry. Then your sky changes and what was once a field becomes a place of glory. An astonishing voice speaks as you tremble, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
You rise in wonder. Then more come and the sky is no longer dark and starry. The inhabitants of heaven are singing with a voice as big as the sea: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" You hear their words in your soul and your soul cannot stay where it is; it must move. You find a little family with a baby swaddled just as the angel said that you would. In a manger is a child. In a manger is a savior. You smile broadly and you tell the king what it that you know.
Maybe he'll say something like this: "Listen to what I say. Pray for peace people everywhere. The child, the child sleeping in the night, he will bring us goodness and light."
In the distance are more sheep and more shepherds. The stars are bright and you are thinking of sadness and worry. Then your sky changes and what was once a field becomes a place of glory. An astonishing voice speaks as you tremble, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
You rise in wonder. Then more come and the sky is no longer dark and starry. The inhabitants of heaven are singing with a voice as big as the sea: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" You hear their words in your soul and your soul cannot stay where it is; it must move. You find a little family with a baby swaddled just as the angel said that you would. In a manger is a child. In a manger is a savior. You smile broadly and you tell the king what it that you know.
Maybe he'll say something like this: "Listen to what I say. Pray for peace people everywhere. The child, the child sleeping in the night, he will bring us goodness and light."
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The Writer's Almanac for December 18, 2007
piano plays and fades.
Garrison: It's the birthday of American born blogger, linda jean. She spent much of her solitary life in the town where she was born. She thought that she was ill-equipped for living alone and yet believed that she grew to know herself more fully than she would have otherwise, and her life became more authentic because of it. linda jean who wrote:
"I told a man that my birthday was on the 18th and he said that his was on the shortest day of the year. I told him it meant that he was born on the longest night of the year which he hadn't considered. I have a belief that we are affected by the time of year in which we are born and so we have similarities to those who are born near the same day. It's not a belief in the cosmic, astrological sense, but based on the physical world. Our birthdays are cold, they include Christmas decorations, the day is short. Our first days were full of shortened sunlight, festive gatherings, clinking Salvation Army buckets, and heavy clothing. On our birthday we wake up and think 'why is it still so dark?'. I find the weight of heavy blankets comforting even when I'm not cold."
Garrison: It's the birthday of American born blogger, linda jean. She spent much of her solitary life in the town where she was born. She thought that she was ill-equipped for living alone and yet believed that she grew to know herself more fully than she would have otherwise, and her life became more authentic because of it. linda jean who wrote:
"I told a man that my birthday was on the 18th and he said that his was on the shortest day of the year. I told him it meant that he was born on the longest night of the year which he hadn't considered. I have a belief that we are affected by the time of year in which we are born and so we have similarities to those who are born near the same day. It's not a belief in the cosmic, astrological sense, but based on the physical world. Our birthdays are cold, they include Christmas decorations, the day is short. Our first days were full of shortened sunlight, festive gatherings, clinking Salvation Army buckets, and heavy clothing. On our birthday we wake up and think 'why is it still so dark?'. I find the weight of heavy blankets comforting even when I'm not cold."
Sunday, December 09, 2007
More sequins please
I think just about everyone had a grade school teacher that handed out a "test" and said "be sure to read all of the directions before beginning". There was a strange restlessness from half the class and the other half began working the test problems. I was, predictably, one of the kids that failed to read the directions that said not to answer any of the questions for an A or something like that. I was and am still indignant that no one graded the work that I did. No matter how many times I take a test like that I am going to fail. I have no idea how many essay exams I messed up by answering all three questions instead of answering one of the three thereby running out of time to complete the final essay question worth 50 percent of the points on the test. It seems like a simple enough solution to read the directions, but I've lived long enough to know that if the problem seems obvious to me, I won't read the directions.
This weekend I started a felt ornament kit project where I'm making little felt ornaments in the shapes of stockings and wreaths and other holiday icons. The kit was given to me out of one of my grandmother's stash of craft kits. I have to refer to the directions at various times in order to get through the tougher portions. One of the directions in the kit is not to deviate from any of the instructions. I have deviated. I've deviated a good deal. The ornaments have less sequins and are filled with cut up pieces of a plastic bag from the grocery store. The deviations let me come up with prettier ways to make things and make them look more like objects I would have made.
I wonder sometimes if all of my best work isn't the work that wasn't supposed to be. Maybe my best essays were the ones I wouldn't have written had I read the instructions or my best days are the ones not set aside in my calendar for fun or good. Some days it feels like I took a wrong turn somewhere, but I wonder if I had taken the right turn if my life would have too many sequins and look less like something that I had made.
P.S. If you haven't seen pictures from Thanksgiving yet, go and visit JEO.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
I can be pretty boring.
If you want, you can listen to today's arguments regarding 6 Guantanamo Bay detainees heard before the Supreme Court. It's an hour and a half long and there are a lot of references that went over my head (it's a lot easier to follow if you've read the briefs). It's easy to zone out, but fascinating.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
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