::this moment::

Please stop by http://www.soulemama.com/ to see other moments, or to share a link to yours!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Snow

White are the far-off plains, and white
The fading forests grow;
The wind dies out along the height,
And denser still the snow,

A gathering weight on roof and tree,
Falls down scarce audibly.

The road before me smooths and fills

Apace, and all about

The fences dwindle, and the hills

Are blotted slowly out;

The naked trees loom spectrally

Into the dim white sky.

The meadows and far-sheeted streams

Lie still without a sound;

Like some soft minister of dreams

The snow-fall hoods me round;

In wood and water, earth and air,

A silence everywhere.

Save when at lonely intervals

Some farmer's sleigh, urged on,

With rustling runners and sharp bells,

Swings by me and is gone;

Or from the empty waste I hear

A sound remote and clear;

The barking of a dog, or call

To cattle, sharply pealed,

Borne echoing from some wayside stall

Or barnyard far afield;

Then all is silent and the snow falls

Settling soft and slow.

The evening deepens and the grey

Folds closer earth and sky

The world seems shrouded, far away.

Its noises sleep, and I secret as

Yon buried streams plod dumbly on and dream.

Photos by Donna Keon

Song by Loreena McKennitt

Sugar Cookies

It would be much easier if I just waited till the kids were in bed to do my Christmas baking.

But where would be the mess fun in that?

Decorating sugar cookies with children can be stressful for people with control issues. Having kids has been great therapy for me. I have mostly let go of my conceptions of how things should look. The only real rules when baking is that everyone must have clean hands and noses.

Violet's cheerful trio of Christmas lights.

Margot clarified to me that "these awe NOT Gwinches. They PWINCESSES".

I tried my hand at a few, then got carried away, making a bride, a snowman, a cookie that looks like my brother-in-law (whiskers and a plaid shirt), and two wrestlers. They're hilarious.

Now I need a nap. But first I have to clean up the sticky, coloured pools of icing on my island, wash some dishes, and make some tea to go with my cookies!

Here's the recipe:

Perfect Sugar Cookies

Cream together:

1 cup Crisco (vegetable shortening)

1 cup sugar

Then add:

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

In another bowl, combine:

2 1/2 cups flour (I used gluten-free)

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients with wet, then roll out till 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes! Bake at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until the tops are no longer shiny.

These can be delicate, so move carefully onto a cooling rack. Mix icing sugar with water and colour to create glazes. Let your kids do it. It doesn't matter what they look like...they taste exactly as a sugar cookie should!

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes I'm negative. I complain, worry, bitch, and moan.

But sometimes all it takes is a certain song to come on the radio...a song to make me bop, smile, sing along, and shake myself out of the funk I'm in.

At Christmas time, when money is tight and time is short, a song like David Myles' "Simple Pleasures" is the perfect balm for my busy spirit. In addition to being really catchy, it also has a wonderful message. It reminds me to be grateful for all the simple pleasures in my life.

Take a listen, then come back and tell me if it made YOU smile. It's worth listening to the whole thing through.

Basket

In the evening, when all is quiet and the dishes are washed, I sit on the couch to knit. Two little kittens start the evening out by wrestling and stalking my balls of yarn, but (being babies as they are), they are soon tuckered out and find a place to sleep.

What could be a cosier bed than this basket of wool, on the table beside where I sit (conveniently close enough to reach out for a little rub or a pet)?

Their little blissed-out faces speak of full bellies, adventures outside, and mouse dreams.

Oh, to sleep the sleep of a well-loved cat!

Mad

A while ago, the dad of the house lost his cool with Jude.

It happens.

Jude is particularly sensitive to raised voices, and although we know it's ideal to be calm and reasonable, we don't always manage that. Daddy raised his voice, and I watched from the sidelines, wanting to step in, but torn between presenting a "united front" and jumping to my child's defense.

When my husband raises his voice, it triggers an old terror in me. Don't get me wrong; our dad never laid a hand on us; he never had to. His raised voice and steely stare were enough to convince us that there would be hell to pay if we didn't do what we were told, and NOW!

When I raise my voice, it is usually with complete exasperation.  The kids barely blink. But when my husband raises his voice, it cuts them to the quick.

It turns out, Jude doesn't need me to explain to my husband how his "mad voice" affects the kids. After the storm had subsided, Jude went to his desk to create this:

 Jude loves to draw this "not allowed" circle-with-a-line-through-it symbols. He put them to good use here, eloquently illustrating his very tall father leaning over him with a mad face. He makes it clear that this is NOT ALLOWED.

 Also not allowed: telling Jude to STOP with a mad face on.

This is the part of the picture that spoke most clearly and spurred my husband to work harder at keeping his cool: a self-portrait of the artist, his ears enlarged as if to say, "I can HEAR you and it hurts my ears (and my spirit) when you shout at me".

No parenting guru could have conveyed the message more clearly. I may take to drawing pictures to express my feelings, too, although I doubt I could capture the simplicity and eloquence of Jude's.

Monday Musings

Visit Nadja to join in the fun of Monday Musings!

Right now...I'm breathing deeply to recover from the chest-pain-inducing stress of getting three kids out the door, realising that my husband used the van all weekend and left the gas gauge on the fuel light, dropping my screaming toddler off at daycare, and arriving at work. On time. Amazing.
This weekend...I went on a whirlwind trip to a cottage in Northern Ontario. I spent the weekend with a gang of loud, outspoken, hilarious, warm women, eating beautifully rich food, drinking wine and hot whiskeys, painting our nails, sharing our stories, knitting, napping, and cuddling. This has replenished me more than a weekend at a spa!

Some plans for the week: Monday, I want to book an appointment with an optometrist...my eyesight is failing rapidly! I will start preparing for our weekend away, celebrating Christmas early with most of my family of origin at a cabin in the woods: gluten-free baking, packing for five, wrapping gifts, etc. My niece, Meredith, will celebrate her eighth birthday next weekend as well!
If I find some time for myself, I hope to get out for a walk in the continuing mild weather which is rather unseasonal!

I am grateful for my husband, again, for taking on our three kids and our two nieces this weekend so my sister and I could escape! Everyone was happy and healthy upon our return, and I never had a moment's worry. He's a star! Also grateful for the way I've been embraced by a gaggle of wonderful women.

A special prayer intention for the week: for myself, that I will learn to let go of harms that have been done to my children and myself.
Something that makes me smile: the sound of farts in the bathtub...always hilarious! Watching old Kids in the Hall videos with other people who "know all the words". The comedy of a naked toddler wearing my rubber boots, which go right up to her bum. So many blessings in my life!