On colored lights...

One can learn a lot about oneself just by decorating a Christmas tree.  This year, all but a couple of strings of lights gave up the ghost and I asked the family if we should get white or multi-colored lights.  They unanimously voted for colored lights so off to the store I went.

I wrestled the 600 feet of lighted strands onto the tree and stood back to admire my handiwork (and to check for gaps) and realized I really, really don't like multi-colored lights.  And then I realized why.

When I was growing up, my family was, shall we say, economically challenged.  OK, we were poor.  I didn't really have an understanding of that, but as I grew up, I began to see the differences between my house and other kid's houses, my clothes and their clothes, my one Sunday dress and their endless array of Sunday dresses.  Kids can be cruel.  Teenagers, especially, can be extra vicious.  I did my best to avoid and ignore comments, but some of them bit deep.  And so began the personal quest to be good enough.

Around Christmas time, I noticed that the nicest houses had all white Christmas lights, whereas the trailers, such as mine, had colored lights and somewhere in my head, I began to associate multi-colored lights with being poor and all white lights with class and wealth.  It's weird, I know.  And here it is still, hovering around my 36th Christmas, the same old aversion to appearing different, or less than others, merely by something as simple as Christmas lights. 

So there they sit, my multi-colored lights.  (On a timer so I don't have to scramble under the tree every morning to turn them on.)  The kids flipped out when they saw them, of course.  Judah said, "WOW!  I yike it!" while hopping around.  Cora just sat at the foot of the tree and smiled up at it with shining eyes. And I smiled and did my best to prevent the youngest from pulling the 7 foot monster down on top of himself in his exuberance..  Their joy adds to my joy and I can let go of this association.  Multi-colored lights are beautiful and I am good enough, lovely even.  My tree and house are good enough, lovely even.  It's a process.  

Merry Christmas...in our own way

It was a wild day.  I am not even sure I survived it intact!  I was up until midnight on Christmas eve cooking and picking the first of two turkeys.  Then this evening after the Christmas mayhem died down a bit, I picked the second turkey.  All I could think about while up to my elbows in turkey carcass was shows like  CSI or 'Bones'.  How did this Turkey meet it's end?!  Words like 'viscera' keep floating through my head.  On the other hand, it's a great way to stay on a diet for the holidays!

I know I've been going on about the family across the street for some time, but through the generosity of both my MOMS club and our Church's neighborhood group, we were finally able to get them some wonderful tools to get them through the winter.  Both groups pitched in and bought them a kerosene heater while the fabulous mamas bought coats, blankets and fun things for the children and mama.  To top it off, we fed them a huge Christmas dinner here and sent the leftovers home with them!

The day was just beautiful.  Matt, Cora, and I celebrated Christmas morning and then I got down to the nitty gritty of putting a Christmas feast on the table!  Even with other mamas from the MOMS club dropping off wonderful dishes of tamales, cornbread stuffing, quiche, fruit, yams etc, it was still a heck of a job!  I never knew!  For all you wonderful relatives (Mama, Robin, Gramma, Mom) of mine that managed to do this every year, I owe you a huge thank you!  (Even posthumously!) You are truly amazing!

After the meal, the gifts, and pie, we all sang some Christmas songs together, while the youngest of the T- family entertained us royally with her rendition of a sort of lounge singer version of 'Feliz Navidad.'  Hilarious stuff!  We attempted a game of 'Clue', but my eyes were sliding shut, so we packed them all home with gifts in hand.  It was a good day.

It's not Christmas without it.

The stockings are hung, the presents wrapped, we have be-glittered everything that will stand still, the turkey is defrosting in the fridge, the pies are being baked one by one, the Christmas tablecloth bedecks the table with pine branches, homemade tea lights, and pine cones we found on our walk today (and glittered, because we can! And by 'we', I mean me, while Cora played with the glitter tubes).

But it's just not Christmas until we have put out the Psychedelic Snowman.  Here's a bit about where he came from and a photo of him from when he still had two arms.  So sad!  I just have to buy some resin glue and some brown paint and he'll be as good as new.

When we decorated earlier this  month, I wasn't the one who brought up the holiday stuff from the basement (you are the best, honey!), so I thought he was lost!  (Matt swears 'he' is really a 'she' snowman because of the outfit, but I digress).  So after weeks of casually digging through closets upstairs, I finally realized I was looking on the wrong floor of the house.  And there it was, on a shelf in the basement.  And now, our holiday is complete.  What weird or funny or unusual holiday traditions (or decorations) do you have?  Share!

The stockings were hung on the...uuh...bookshelf with care

I've been working on this stocking (Suzi is a friend's daughter by the way) for what seems like an age now!  I ripped out the leg part of the stocking no less than 5 times (too skinny and I needed to add stitches, too bunchy because I stranded the yarn too tight etc, etc.) and the heel and toe (my first foray into 'short rows'), no less than 3 or 4 times respectively.  And now, blocked, woven in, with scarf and jaunty little top hat added post knitting, and some lovely flannel lining sewn in, I give you 'The Christmas Stocking'!  Hurray!

This was definitely a learning experience for me.  Stranded knitting, pattern charts...this was a whole new world!  But I made it to the other side with lots of extra knowledge.  Plus, now that I've done a sock (albeit a big one), I  know I have NO desire to do socks.  None.  Perhaps that will come later, but for now...ug!  I am not a sock knitter.  (which is strange, since I love wool socks)  I liked the pattern even though the chart had what seemed like errors on it. (design ended in a strange place and should continue on to next row since it's in the round, but doesn't - the adding in of stitches when I widened the pattern fixed the problem )

It turned out very well and now I am debating if I should do knitted ones or felted ones for my own family.  Hmm.  Tough one. (Matt has cast his vote for knitted after seeing this one)

[For those who care about these things, I got the pattern from Annie's woolens and knitted it with Lion Brand Wool Ease - worsted weight, in Denim, Avocado, Ranch Red, Black, and White Multi which had a bit of sparkle in it. The yarn felted just a bit during blocking which added a nice clean look to the stitches.  I also had to adjust the patten for the smidge smaller gauge than what the pattern called for.  It called for 16 sp4i and the Lion Brand knitted up at about 19/20 sp4i (stitches per 4 inchs).  One would think that doesn't matter much until you get halfway through and realize how skinny the stocking is and have to rip it all out.  Ug!  The holly flannel lining is from Joann fabrics.]

Advent :: His story begins

[Hey all. We've been laying low all weekend. Cora's fever persisted for days and the docs told us to wait it out. No need to bring her in unless a cough starts. Which it didn't.  But talk of possible strep freaked me out, so we went.  Just a virus. Poor little had been sleeping most of the day and night, not eating very much and living off of milk, apple juice, pb&j's, and cheese (her favorite). Today was finally the turnaround.  I'm so glad to have a well household again!  Now on to the post]

Happy third week of advent!

This week in our advent readings begin the actual story of the birth of Jesus.  The first chapter of the book of Luke sets the scene.  A baby boy born to a childless older couple.  A boy who will grow up to be the herald of the king  Angels visiting people here on earth and amazing them with glimpses of God's plan.  A young girl says the words that would change history. (Imagine if she had said no!)

Here are the readings for the third week of Advent:
Sun. Luke 1:5-13
Mon. Luke 1:14-17
Tue. Luke 1:18-25
Wed. Luke 1:39-45
Thu. Luke 1:46-56
Fri. Luke 1:57-66
Sat. Luke 1:67-80

So many things are happening around here in preparation to celebrate my favorite birthday.  And an amazing thing has happened!  My moms group has decided to 'adopt' the family across the street for Christmas!  Such a beautiful outpouring of love and generosity.  There needed things, fun things, warm things, a tree and much more!  Including a heater!!  It is a beautiful season around here. 

Wonder :: revisited

I love seeing the world through Cora's eyes.  She is just fascinated!  It reminds me to look for wonder in my day.  I know I mentioned this before, but like all things, I need reminding.  This is really the first Christmas that Cora will be able to observe and interact with decorations and her surroundings during the season.  It's beautiful to watch.  I am curious to see what memories stay put in that little noggin.

Where are you finding wonder these days?  I really want to know, so please leave a comment!  I love reading your words.  It's like a very slow and sweet conversation.

Advent :: A Light to the Darkness

Happy Second week of Advent!

This week, the scriptures we are reading are all about why a Savior is coming.  He will reconnect God's people with God and He will be a light in the darkness. 

To honor the Light that came to the Darkness, we light up our house and a tree.  Perhaps someday, when Cora is bigger, we will do the Jesse Tree decorations and readings, but for now, we decorate the tree and think of the Light that has come.

The readings for the second week of Advent:
Sun. Is. 11:1-10
Mon. Zech. 6:12-13
Tue. Mic. 5:2-4
Wed. Mal. 3:1-6
Thu. John 1:1-8
Fri. John 1:9-18
Sat. Mark 1:1-3

Advent :: His coming was foretold

Last month, the ladies (and often their tireless hubbies) of my church got together and with much sewing of tiny camels and other barnyard animals, wrangling of burlap, and gluing of tiny bits of velcro we created Advent calendars for the families in our church.  Based on this calendar (by Noel Piper which has been discontinued), it is about the true meaning of 'Christ-mas' rather than based on 25 days of presents.

Each day has something to add to the Nativity Scene as we tell of the birth of Jesus. We will be reading the Christmas story from The Message (revised a little by my sister) along with some other scriptures which have meaning to us.  Here is the complete list of advent scripture readings.

This week is all about how this story was written into all other stories from the beginning and that His coming was foretold, over and over again.   
Sun. Is. 40:1-5
Mon. Is. 52:7-10
Tue. Is. 40:9-11
Wed. Gen. 3:8-15
Thu. Gen. 15:1-6
Fri. Deut. 18:15-19
Sat. Ps. 89:1-4

I'm no great thinker

In fact, although I was a skeptic, I am noticing baby brain is a very real phenomenon. I could not think of the name Harry Connick Jr. for the life of me today! Why? I'm not sure. I used to think deep thoughts, now I ponder formula, pee, poo, and how can I get outside into the sunshine today. Not much else. I'm sure it's reflected here on my blog since I have no time to peruse the 'interwebs' in search of interesting tidbits to amuse you with these days. I bet you'd settle for baby pictures. Hm. I knew it! Everyone's a sucker for cuteness.

Cora had her 2 month checkup yesterday and was 8lb 8oz and 20 1/4 inches long. What a hoss!! She's only in the 10th percentile, but that is to be expected for a preemie. She also had to have her shots and we had her frenulum clipped so she could eat better. It was a rough day. Thank goodness for baby Tylenol!

And now for the cuteness:

Bathtime! (with modesty washcoth :) )

Napping with Papa at Gramma's house. (notice how there are rarely photos of 'napping with mama? That's cause I'm the picture taker around here)

Napping with Uncle Jessie in her Christmas sleeper (there's a lot of napping going on lately)

Being entertained by the graphics I made! Yay for photoshop to make stuff to entertain the baby! She's 2 months old in this picture and can't get enough of the changing table graphics.

Christmas means carnage!

Remember that from Babe? I do. Christmas isn't like when I was a kid, it's crazy!

We decided that the Geek's family was close enough to visit without too much chaos and crying baby. We intended to rent a car, but due to new policies about having a credit card (and we have none) we weren't able to. So, with a prayer for the car and our safety we took off for Atlanta into a storm that we kept driving back into. We'd stop to feed the baby and the rain would stop, then we'd take off and catch up to the storm. I drove the first leg, slowly and nervously since I'm a little night blind and with rain added, it's only worse, then the Geek drove the second leg. We made it all in one piece and with only minimal poop, spit-up and crying baby in the car.

Then it was a whirlwind of family, food, feedings, fun, freaking out, and frazzled mamas (and other things that start with F, I'm sure.) I got most of my Christmas postcards addressed and in the mail. Cora was passed around enough to make even the happiest baby have a little meltdown from being handled too much. (All in all, she did ok, but we are recovering none the less and she has been grumpier than usual for the last couple of days.) I got to spend great time with my nieces and nephews, plus have good and connecting conversation with my sisters in law. The Geek read the Christmas story to me as I fed our little girl at midnight on Christmas day.

The Geek disappeared into the basement with his brothers for hours on end to play some game which involved a load of fiddly bits of cardboard, dice, and plastic men. Two days (not continuously) and into the wee hours of the night later, he came back to his mom's house tired and a little worse for wear, but had fun.

Worn out, we decided to head back a day early, but not before meeting with some friends for dinner. It was wonderful to catch up with Nick and Sarah, see how big their babies have gotten and have them oooo and aaah over how small ours is still. I forgot to take pictures. (sigh)

Now we are back home with our fuzzy children, still not tackling the laundry that we acquired while away and I am longing for leftovers! Merry Christmas to you all. Sorry I didn't get this posted sooner. If you think of it, pray for a job for the Geek soon. Severence won't last forever!

To Do:

1. Make the house not so cold without cranking the furnace 24/7...I have weather stripping stuffed in every possible crack and cranny and STILL it is cold in here. The gas bill was just under $300! Yipe!!
2. Return library books. Nashville Public Library lets me cancel my book fines with a canned item per $1 owed from now until the 6th of January. And I think I owe a lot! I'm a little forgetful when it comes to library books. Especially the ones that have house repair pages I use every week or so. I don't want to give them back! I really should just suck it up and buy them. I'll need them as long as I have a house. Sigh.
3. Install new cook-top. Oh the joys of landlord-ship. The cook-top I bought (used) for the cottage, bit the dust and I've not been able to get the thing working again. So it's time to get a new (used) one and install it. Re-wiring is required for this project since oddly enough the last cook-top was made for 120V. I know. My electrician was baffled by that too. This project is electrician supervised, but Musician labor. Double Yipe!
4. Go back to work. Dave says I should. At least my interpretation of what Dave says. I AM able to work, am not currently recording or touring (or being paid to be the musician) I have to go back to work for that same Huge Institution Type University that keeps having temp jobs for me to do. Sigh again.
5. Register to vote. In our new location.
6. Vehicle Registration...oops.
7. Pack away Christmas doo-dads.
8. Take down the tree. It was a good run, giant tree, but I'm tired of watering you. Besides, you'll be going to a better home making someone's plants grow big and strong as opposed to providing entertainment for my insane cat. Who thinks it's his personal job to seek and destroy all things dangley and window blinds. Window blinds especially. And then sleep on the back of the chair like so. And wake me up in the morning by jumping on the bed, walking up the entire length of my body, perching on my chest all the while saying any of the following "me me row", "marooo", "mah", "meh", "mrauwoo" and then placing a paw upon my face until I open my eyes. (These are all direct Gizmo quotes) Besides, I don't think the little stuffed snow man can take much more. He's lost his nose, his scarf, his clove buttons and his dignity.

The monster tree takes over and the psychedelic snowman joins in

So last week we set off into the wild world of Christmas trees to find one of our very own. I mentioned our fruitless trip to the tree farm which brought us to Green Hills. Normally I avoid Green Hills. Just a trip PAST the mall there makes me poorer. Danger! Plus the traffic generally sucks. This area was not meant to be a major retail center. There is only one road in and out of it and it goes through a neighborhood which has already been encroached upon as far as it will allow! Any more road and they'll have to tear down houses. I don't see that happening and yet, it expands. I digress... So off we went to choose a tree...

Lots to choose from

Our tree!
After wandering awhile, I chose this one. I like em FAT! We wrestled it into the car, recovering from sticker shock, wrestled it into the house (the Geek pulled his back out!) and after several days, and having to re-arrange the ENTIRE living room, it's all done. I thought I'd share.


So happy to find a tree

A forest?

I made this! Trimmings are faboooo

This was Matt's from before. I have to say I hated it on sight and was all for pitching it out with the trash, but he pleaded for it's survival and so now it has joined the holiday tradition. Cause nothing says Christmas like a fiber optic snowman!

It's mostly good for getting stoned and looking at. Man...look a the pretty colors...
But I don't do that any more...wait!




Taking up the living room - aint it beeyootiful?!

What? Dis Mah tree now.

Christmas time is here....happiness and cheer...

Time for all that children call, their favorite time of year...Snowflakes in the air...carols everywhere...

Thanks Vince. I needed that.

After an unsuccessful trip to the tree farm this past weekend, we are still in need of a tree. We had a great time with our neighbors on the way there, but all of the trees were a little TOO Charlie Brown for my taste. The drought this year really took a toll on them, all brown and skinny. So we are opting for my favorite place, Hillsboro High School. Every year they have a Christmas tree 'store' in front of their school and we procure my personal favorite kind of tree...a Fraser Fir. While this is not the tree of my youth, I am not so sure I long for that kind of tree. Mama usually took a hatchet or hack saw out into the woods one day shortly after Thanksgiving and dragged back whatever the East Texas woods on Grampa's land would offer up in the relative shape of a Christmas tree. Generally a pine of some sort or occasionally a fir tree of some kind, they got the job done and were covered in enough tinsel as to make them appear festive and fun. Mama let us get crazy. The tree was practically choked with the stuff and we vacuumed it up until June! Plus, if you put a strand through your two front teeth like dental floss then blow...oh the crazy fun!!! Those were the days.

But I've grown up since then and have decided that if I am to be grown up and have to actually PAY for a tree (we live too far from Grampa's land, plus he sold it last year), I am going to get exactly what I want for a tree. Thus the selecting of big FAT Fraser Fir. The first year I got one I lived in

THE COOLEST downtown loft EVAAAR.

My windows faced the Cumberland river and we watched many a concert at the Riverfront Park. I watched a building burn the night Cake played the park. There were thousands of people...but I digress. So I bought this big fat tree and the threw a party and had all my friends make or bring an ornament for my tree. It was so lovely. So the tradition began and so it shall continue with a trip to Hillsboro High School tonight.

Merry Christmas to all...and to all some eggnog!

I know you like our new page for Christmas!! We are sending out all of our E cards for the holidays to all of our friends far and wide in the world, but the people who live in town get English toffee...It's so not a fair world. Matt and I are doing great this year, along with Freckles who came home to live with me again this May. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Freckles Saga, I (Ariana) moved to Nashville in 2000 and was living with my aunt and uncle in Hendersonville (the country! but still "Nashville") and this little freckly dog showed up in the yard to play with their dogs. Her owner never claimed her and I didn't want her to go to the pound so I became a dog mom. Weird, I know, because I am not a dog person. But I am a Freckles kind of person. So many years and travels with both country and apartment living and what was intended to be a brief stint at my parent's house in Texas that turned into YEARS, (I am so fired from being a dog mom) she has come home and lives quite happily in her hugemongous crate that we call her "house" and that takes up half of our kitchen. If we could use it as a table it would be bigger than our current one. She had her 7th birthday, along with my 30th. It was quite the shin dig.
Matt and my friend Christy planned and pulled off a huge party with a live band (talented friends playing) along with dancing, food and what else, a pinata (sorry Spanish speakers. my computer no make that nnya thing)
Many of you didn't know, but Matt and I were separated last Christmas for reasons that we have discussed at length with our therapists. I didn't even write about it here. There would have been too many questions to field. But we are happy (most of the time! I mean come on...it's marriage, not a walk in the park) and are really enjoying celebrating this year together. We decorated our little East Nashville apartment with lights and hung our stockings on the bookshelf...I think we might skip the tree this year.
So a very Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year!!

Happy Christmas to all!

Christmas is so weird with a husband. I got to have a room all to myself in my parents house rather than kipping on the couch. It was interesting. I thought to myself, I am sleeping with a boy! And my parents know!! B-Zar. At best. Well, a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. See you next year!