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One Snowy Night

Last night, I was getting ready to serve supper (which was chicken and  gnocchi with butternut squash), when I noticed that it was snowing out.  A couple of hours later, at 8:30 pm the power went out.  Since I have spent the last few days cleaning out the basement, I knew just where the candles were:  the lowest shelf, right at the bottom of the stairs. I carefully felt my way down into the deep darkness, sat on the cold cement floor with a box of kitchen matches on my lap and lit candles.  My older children came down the stairs one by one to carry them up.  I am always surprised by how much light one little candle gives.

 Photo by my son Seth

At first, it was exciting and fun to sit in the candlelight together  But, after two, and then three hours, we began to worry about the fish. We were right to be concerned.  Around 11 o'clock, Big Joe jumped out of the tank and onto the floor!  (A six feet drop.) Zachary thinks he needed oxygen.  The rescue effort was stressful and intense.  At one point his fins were caught in the net.  He is a gold-spot rabbit fish with poisonous dorsal spines, so it was challenging to get him back into the tank and untangled from the net without getting stung, which would have required a trip to the emergency room.

This is Big Joe :-)

The power came back on at 12:45 am.   

This morning there were about four inches of heavy wet snow on the ground.  We were sad to see so many trees down on our street.  One after another of them were badly damaged or completely felled like this one.  They are all young trees, about twelve years old and twenty-five feet tall. 

 I made waffles for breakfast this morning, brushed off the car, shoveled the drive, and went to Mass. In the afternoon, we had a pumpkin carving party.  

But, outside it looks more like Christmas than Halloween!

 

Seven

One ::  The first snow of the season happened last night.  It was thrilling, wild, and lovely--and, a little frightening; it's so early.  Since such things have been recorded in Boston, it has only snowed in October four other times.  Thankfully it was just a dusting :-)

Two :: I am cleaning out my basement. There are seven people in my house, and it's the place where things land when people think they still want something, but they don't want it now.  I've been at the job for two days, and I'm not done yet.  There are spiders down there.  And centipedes. :-0

Three :: Tea and cake are nice.  

Four ::  I wish that the yarn I chose for my Tea Leaves Cardigan was not such a dark shade.  It is really difficult to see the pretty yoke details.  However, I do love the yarn and the color.  It's darkest plum with lovely tweedy speckles throughout.  The rows in the yoke are  l o n g.  I can't wait to separate the sleeves tonight.   

Five :: Bunnies make great pets.  Our English Lop is gentle, affectionate, funny, and sweet.  I wish that I hadn't hesitated so long to get a rabbit.  I had heard nothing but bad things about them: they are stupid and bite and scratch.  Lies.  

Six :: I picked up Village School by Miss Read at the library this week after being reminded of Miss Read's books by Kyrie in her lovely blog series on the ordinary arts.  I want to read the whole Fairacre series this winter.  

Seven ::  Is there anything better than a bowl of hot, buttery popcorn with a steaming cup of hot chocolate while watching a favorite television show?  

  My daughter A made this creepy, chocolatey, Halloween cake today.  Yum!

Linking with Jennifer today for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

 

 

 

 

 

Now and Then

Yesterday it was clear and crisp, the perfect day for an autumn leaf walk and a bit of history at The Old North Bridge in Concord.  This old wooden bridge is the place where the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired.  

There were old trees there that were surely standing during the colonial period.  Perhaps colonial children climbed them, too. 

Near the bridge a couple stood together hand-in-hand while a minister read them their vows.  They were getting married!  Their wedding clothes were woolen coats, scarves, and boots.  They had no witnesses or guests other than the ducks and geese, the chipmunks, the trees and sky.  And, those of us who were also out enjoying the day.  The couple looked very happy.  My children and I thought it was a very beautiful wedding. 

At home we ironed the leaves we collected between sheets of waxed paper and cut them out to hang on the windows.

Some days are so golden-bright, that I feel powerfully and completely connected to God, man, and nature; all that is, and all that ever was.

Abiding

Photo taken by my son Seth at Horn Pond.  

 

A Morning Resolve 

I will try this day to live a simple, sincere, and serene life, repelling promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity, and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike faith in God.

In particular I will try to be faithful in those habits of prayer, work, study, physical exercise, eating and sleep which I believe the Holy Spirit has shown me to be right.  

And as I cannot in my own strength do this, nor even with a hope of success attempt it, I look to thee, O Lord God my Father, in Jesus my Savior, and ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

(From Forward Day By Day, a booklet of daily Bible readings and devotions published by the Episcopal Church).

 

Bunnies Are Good At Making Friends

Seven

One::  A golden October day playing chase in a corn maze, picking pumpkins, and buying mums to decorate the front of our house.

Two::  Eight balls of Silk Road yarn, by Jo Sharp, color Emporio, and a pattern called Tea Leaves, by Melissa LaBarre for Madelinetosh.  

Three::  Waking up in the early morning while it is still pitch dark, and seeing the quarter moon hanging brightly outside my window.  

Four::  Two children who won't use the upstairs bathroom because of the "lady monster".  

Five::  A very sweet bunny who makes us laugh and smile.

Six::  Reading bedtime stories that feature the Big Bad Wolf, who frightens us and makes us laugh both at the same time. 

Seven:  Making and playing with playdough on a rainy day.

  Kool-aid Playdough Recipe

• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 Tablespoon Cream of Tartar
• 1 1/2 Tablesppons oil
• 1 cups boiling water
• 1 packet unsweetened Kool-aid

Mix first three ingredients together.  Add oil.  Mix Kool-aid and water.  Add to dry ingredients and mix well.  When cool, knead with hands until smooth.  Store in air-tight container.

Joining Jennifer today with 7 Quick Takes Friday.

Whipporwil

Whipporwill by Carina Spencer.  I loved this pattern--it was clever, fun, and fairly quick to knit.  Raveled about here.

Yarning Along with Ginny here.

Standing With the 99%

We are Americans.  We have the right to protest peacefully.  Why are the police in cities across the nation harrassing and arresting un-armed citizens?  Over 125 cities are participating in the Occupy Wall Street protests.  The protesters are workers, retirees, students, mothers and fathers, clergy, military men and women, young people and old.  They are your neighbors.  They are you and me.  

This movement has been criticized for not having a clear focus.  Yet, the message is crystal clear:  Get Big Business Out Of Government and Politics.  Just as Martin Luther had a list of 95 Theses against the Church (and no one accuses him of being unclear), so the Occupy Wall Street movement has a long list of malfeasance against current government policy.  To list just three:

• The unemployment rate (the US is short 20 million jobs)   
• Ending the war (the war has cost the American people three TRILLION dollars)
• The Bail Out (which cost the American people 700 billion dollars)

99% of Americans are struggling to make ends meet in an economy where jobs are scarce, pay cuts are common, and a four year college education costs about $100K per student.  

If you are not outraged, then you should be.

If you care about freedom, please watch the following video.  If you care about this issue, please consider sharing it with everyone you know:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

 

Waffles

or Geo, Cookies, Flopsy, or Bugsy. We can't decide on a name.  We've just been calling our new bunny whatever name pops into our head at the moment :- )

We got her last Sunday when she was just eight weeks old.  She will be a "house bunny", which means that she is not caged--although, she does have a cage.  Her cage is her den, and the door is always open (well, almost always.  We confine her when we go to bed and when we leave the house; this is for her safety).  She learned to use her litter pan in only three days.  No accidents since then.  We are keeping her confined to the kitchen for now, which is the most bunny proof room in our house. Today, we had to trim her nails, which went pretty well considering that both she and I were terrified.  

Her fur is very soft.

Her nose is very twitchy.

Her ears are very long.

I've always wanted a bunny.  

(Just thought I'd say that :-)

Ever since reading The Call, by Yannick Murphy this summer, I haven't been able to stop thinking about bunnies.  She made them some sound so sweet and appealing.  

Here is a 15 second video that I took of her nibbling on one of her toys the day after we brought her home. 

   

 

Stories

It has been a very full week--so full that I haven't had any time to write a blog post or do much laundry (there is a mountainous pile to be done).  I do have a few happy things to report:

• The Whipporwill Shawl is off the needles.  I just need to weave in the ends and block it (why do I always put off these tasks?)
• My son has received a volunteer position at The New England Aquarium--the only 16 year old this fall!
• I'm on book #3 of the Nell Sweeney mystery series.
• We have a new pet bunny.  She's an 8 week old English Lop (these are the bunnies with the really  l o n g   ears that drag on the ground--adorable!)
• The new prompt is up at The Aeolian Harp.  

Okay, let's talk about that last point :- ).  I really hope that some of my readers will consider taking a peek at "The Harp".  There are some great poems and stories to read there.  Sarah and I would love to get more people writing and particpating.  It's all just for fun--completely judgment free.  Take a look at the current prompt and just let your brain play with it.  You can write anything, in any format, any style, any genre.  (Kids can participate, too!) Email it to Sarah or me, and we will put it up on the site.  It's that simple.  Why not give creative writing a try?

This afternoon, when I should have been vacuuming, I wrote a little story for the new prompt.  A few days ago, another internet friend submitted a story for Prompt #4 (it's perfectly fine to write something for any prompt that grabs your attention--you don't have to stick to the current one).  

I hope to see you there :- ) 

Knitting, Books, Diary

Joining Ginny in her Wednesday Yarn Along:

I'm in the final section of the Whipporwil shawl for my daughter.  This has been such a fun knit, and much quicker than I thought it would be.  Hopefully it will be blocked and ready to photograph next week.

My friend Annie sent me a book of short stories called, Lucy's Eggs, which I am enjoying.  And, I started the second book in P.B. Ryan's Nell Sweeney series. This one is called, Murder In a MIll Town.  One of the things that I find annoying about reading series books is the inevitable re-cap of past events and characters at the beginning of each book. I wonder if the authors think that it's important, or if it's something that publishers require them to do in an attempt to make each book stand-alone.  It really destroys the pacing of the story.  But, I love Nell Sweeney's character and the setting of this series enough to suffer through the re-caps.   

Today our power was out for almost two hours, which sent us rushing off to the nearest pet shop to find a battery powered air pump for Z's fish aquariums.  He said that if the power was off for much longer than two hours the fish would die.  Unfortunately, the pet shop's electicity was out, too. The traffic lights were also out, making driving quite hazardous.  Happily, by the time we got back home the power had been restored, and there were no fatalities, human or aquatic.  

I spent the morning editing a story for a friend who is taking a univeristy fiction class.  She and I grew up next door to one another, and the story was based on her memories of when her childhood home burned down. I was three years old when it happened, and she was five, yet we both have pretty vivid recollections of it.  I remember being woken up in the middle of the night, the sky flickering orange-bright, casting weird shadows on the walls of my bedroom, my father's strong arms lifing me.  I remember the fire engines filling our narrow lane, how loud they were, and how big.  My family went across the street to my uncle's house.  My aunt made me hot chocolate and toast. My cousin Judy was asleep upstairs and couldn't play with me; I was disappointed.  I was wearing a pink blanket sleeper.  It had lost it's softness and was covered in pills.  When I read my friend's story of her memories of the fire, I cried. There were things that I had forgotten, like how her sister had to jump from a second story window and broke her leg, and that her asthmatic brother was hospitalized with smoke inhalation. Her family had to live in a rented house for almost a full year while their house was being re-built. I had forgotten all that.  It's funny, the things you recall, and the things that you don't. 

Today was the first sunny day of the week.  I'm still waiting for the trees to burst into color.  It seems late to me.  I did see a large V of Canada Geese high in the sky this afternoon, heading south for the winter.  Does the fall foliage seem to be on schedule where you live?

Hide and Seek

This red-tailed hawk has been hanging around our yard playing hide and seek with the chickens.  Luckily, our dog has kept him from coming too close, but I know that he is a real threat.  I don't want to lose any of our hens now that they are all good layers.    

For the past week, every evening after supper when the dishes are washed and put away, we turn off all of the lights in the house except for the one over the kitchen sink, and our whole family plays hide and seek.  The rule is that  you can hide anywhere you want on the first and second floors (the basement, garage, and attic are off limits).  It is the most fun I've had in a long while--I feel just like a little kid. It's quite thrilling to hide in the dark and search for new hiding places. We play until everyone has had a turn being the seeker.  In my family that's seven rounds :- )

Chatelaines

Sometimes I find myself researching odd bits of things, which often find their way into the stories I write.  Currently, I've been interested in chatelaines.

From Crewel Jewels: 

Chatelaine is French for, "Mistress of the castle".  

In the 18th and 19th centuries, women in charge of their estates wore a decorative clip of long chains holding important household items about the waist. These items were things like the key to a pantry where valuable tea, spices and food were kept; a small notebook; sewing items; a magnifying glass; or maybe a watch, nail file, or compass. The earlier waist-hung items were referred to as "equipage", later evolving to "chatelaine" in the early1800s    

The chatelaine, while still having the useful purpose of organizing the household, also became a fashion accessory that was often given as a wedding present from a husband to his bride. Sewing and needlework were an important part of a young girl's education and these accessories were ideal in organizing notions.  Chatelaines were made of silver, brass, steel, leather, or fabric, depending on the financial status of the household. There was a decorative clip that attached to the waistband with three to seven long chains with clasps suspended from it. If you've seen "The Others" with Nicole Kidman, she is wearing one.            

Chatelaines were also called "necessaires".

Isn't this Victorian drawing by John Leech 1886, entitled, "How to Make a Chatelaine A Real Blessing to Mothers", both humorous and charming?

Here is a (rather creepy) photograph of two Victorian ladies wearing chatelaine style purses at the waist:

I find this ribbon brooch style chatelaine appealing: