This Year’s Ornament

Each year I give Hannah, Kevin, and Michael their own Christmas tree ornaments. Sometimes they're similar -- like the year each received a musical instrument corresponding to the one they were playing or the year I knit mini socks. Sometimes I'll find an ornament over the course of the year that just seems to fit …

The gift of knitting

You know the saying, "chopping wood warms you twice"? I propose a knitting corollary: knitting a gift for another is a gift for yourself. I've long known there's joy in the making and was recently given the chance to experience it. Last month, my nephew and godson asked if I'd be able to knit a …

Christmas Presence Redux

Can it really be six years since I wrote my Christmas Presence post?! So much has changed since then, but the essence remains. Michael, now 18, commented last week that he hasn't really felt in the Christmas spirit this year. Perhaps it's because he's been focusing on college applications, senior year schoolwork, getting to know …

Strange, Sacred Time

The most recent cold snap has broken and the pipes in the second floor bathroom have thawed -- without bursting, again. The contractor from whom we bought our house ran pipes up an uninsulated, exterior wall and didn't add any heat to the bathroom -- duh! We leave the taps and shower dripping and put …

Pardon the Interruption

We (that's the royal "we") interrupt the usual knitting stuff for a brief baking interlude. I've written before about the pre-Christmas traditions in my home -- the Advent wreath on the table, lights in the windows, the creche above the fireplace, the Advent calendars (usually two) that hang in the kitchen, and baking St. Nicholas …

Christmas Presence

When Michael recently told me his favorite part of Christmas, I thought he said "presents," but he continued, explaining that he really likes the "presence" -- the smell, sounds, sights, anticipation, tastes, and as he put it, "the feeling you get from all of that and all the love." Out of the mouths of babes …