White Sunday

Whitsun Day.
Pentecost.
The birthday of the Christian Church.

I had never really celebrated Whitsun before, so way back in April I signed up to participate in a festival swap. There were 20 of us involved, from all around the country, and we each made a few Whitsun themed decorative items. The themes were mostly fire (reminiscent of the tongues of flame which came to rest upon the apostles heads in Acts 2:3), and doves (reminiscent of the descent of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:4). The items then went to the "hostess'" house where they were sorted. Then we each eagerly awaited a package of surprise items for our own Whitsun celebration. Totally fun!

I decided to make a wall hanging depicting the tongues of flame.

I tried many versions in many mediums before I settled on colored pencils and a mono-chromatic scheme.

The final version:

Our package was almost entirely fire themed as well. Here are our beautiful gifts on the seasonal table!

Happy Feast of Pentecost!

Happy Easter Season!

I am so happy with how these butterflies turned out! They are so light, and glowing, and ethereal! I used a completely different technique from last time. It made me nervous because I wasn't sure it was going to work, and I was working under a deadline! But I feel that although the first batch is more technically correct in their colors or designs, this batch is more true to the airy nature of the butterfly. And, therefore, more representative of Christ's risen body. I left the empty cocoons hanging as a symbol of Christ's empty tomb.

A comment from B made me realize that although we had a tree full of butterflies we shouldn't leave out our daily butterflies, so they all came to flutter around our wreath. And below our butterfly tree there is an abundance of bunnies, birds, root babies and a lamb. And of course the Blessed Sacrament (holy card); the star of the whole season!

He is risen! Happy Easter Season! Alleluia!

Maundy Thursday

As of last night I did not have any formed plans for marking Maundy Thursday. I had invited some friends over to make unleavened bread, but that was it. As it turned out we had a wonderful time throwing together a shared meal with unleavened bread, hard boiled eggs and charoset. I made up a Seder plate just so we could see the beauty of the display. I don't have a shank bone on hand, and I decided not to put out any horseradish because none of us were going to eat it. Since we were only imaginatively participating in a Passover meal, I thought imaginative shank bones and imaginative bitter herbs would do. It is really lovely when happenings emerge organically. That is definitely something this type A personality needs to learn to trust more often! Perhaps, to further deepen the physical participation in the traditions of the season, me and my little ones will have a foot washing party later on. : )

Passiontide

Passion Sunday brings us to the last two week stretch of the season of Lent.

Our caterpillars have closed themselves into their cocoons.

Our little felt bulb babies have been covered over with a warm layer of wool.

(After some sorting) the Christmas Limas have been planted.

Our Easter wheat has been sewn into the soil.

Our icons have been veiled.

Along the road to Easter we have come to the point where we begin to dwell on the enclosure of the tomb. "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" - John 12:24. We have surrounded ourselves with seeds of hidden transformation. Although everywhere we look we see only the outer, lifeless surface, we heard today the story of one man's unexpected emergence, and the cry that has been taken up in our house is "Lazarus! Come Out!" In the coming weeks, through our symbols, we will begin to see how life emerges out of the tomb.

It's Still Lent!

Now that we have had two whole days of spring like weather, I am noticing how different it is to try to maintain an inward, contemplative, Lenten mindset. While it was snowing and sleeting outside it just made sense to be eating beans and forgoing treats. Now, it takes some work to remind myself of the season. I am actually finding it to be a lovely bit of work, though. And there seems to be that little spark of hope and lightness in everything that means Easter is coming.

We've been listening to this on repeat: (Kind of a weird video, but I love this rendition of the song.)



I have always loved American revival (style) music, but I haven't known where it fits in to our Catholic life, until this Lent. Somehow it clicked for me that the same spirit of letting down one's guard, and letting God in runs through both the music of the American revival movement, and through the ancient tradition of Lent. In both there is a call to reach into those places where we find our limitations, and to respond by shoring up the limitations of others and by reconnecting to God's vision for us. So, as a way to maintain our Lenten spirit in these beautiful, burgeoning, budding days, I have been relearning the lyrics to some of my favorite songs. (I will readily admit that I don't really know if these are actual American revival songs, but, to me, they have that old timey feel, and they have that lenten attitude. :)

The Saints Go Marching In!

 I am very pleased to present our family's collection of peg people Saints! Last Christmas, over a year ago, I set myself a goal. I wanted to develop an overarching yearly rhythm that included not only the natural rhythms of the earth, but also the liturgical rhythms of the Church year. I was feeling a need for a greater differentiation between times of fasting and times of celebration. I felt like our consumption of sweets on a day to day basis was a little out of hand. I wanted to develop a seasonal rhythm that had breath to it; time for feasting and time for appreciating that we even have the ability to feast. I wish I could say that I had immediately implemented some great charitable plan to share our riches with others. My face is burning a little to admit that that didn't even occur to me. I guess that might be because I started by identifying the feasts, rather than the fasts.

As a family we have very organically begun identifying the Saints with whom we have a connection. I posted a litany of the Saints in our kitchen starting with those whose names we share. The second verse (so to speak) are those Saints whose patronage we have specifically asked for through confirmation, and those Saints whose memorials are the same as our birthdays. Then come all the Saints for whom we have a particular devotion. This litany has become a great help to us when things are down right horrid right around the pre-dinner melt down. I find that by singing the litany every so quietly it really does help calm us all down, and it helps me focus on what needs to get done to move things along. Since these Saints' days fall throughout the year I used them as a guide to help form the yearly rhythm that I was seeking.

I wanted the rhythm to be visible to B who was only just two at the time. I didn't want to say much about it to B, I just wanted to live the rhythm in such a way that he would feel it. I hope that by hearing the stories of these Saints year after year, they will become as familiar to us as aunts and uncles. So, through the course of the year I made these peg dolls. They appear on the seasonal table on their feast day. Since we like them, they usually stick around until it is the next Saint's turn. They are just the right size to be held in the hand, and didn't take so long to make that if they get a little frayed around the edges I don't mind. That is really the extent of the form these feasts took this past year. There are many rich traditions associated with celebrating Saints days. I am looking forward to bringing those traditions into our home. And, now that I have a little practice with this overarching yearly rhythm, I can work on cultivating the richness of the fasting times too. : )

An Angel and St. Micheal the Archangel

St. Brigid of Ireland, St. Patrick of Ireland, St. Nicholas, St. Martin of Tours, St. Valentine

St. John the Baptist

Sts. Joachim and Anna (with young St. Mary)

The Holy Family

The Three Wise Kings

Epiphany

The Host of Heaven

 I am flattered to say that these little peg dolls were so admired that it was requested that I make a tutorial. You can find Part One here!

Rhythm

I have been thinking a lot about rhythm. When this summer started it lay wide open before us, and I was excited to get out with my curious and newly mobile little fellow, and do things. We have been very successful so far, from visits with grandparents, to multiple trips to our outdoor children's theater, to camping, to the Brickfair, to visiting friends.

But on a down day after a particularly busy weekend, I realized that not only did I not know when B's nap time was, but he didn't know any more. We struggled for a few days, tuning in again to what it means to be tired, and what to do about that (sleep!). And there were moments when I was wondering, should I have struggled against the breezy freedom of this season's nature? Should I have stuck more rigidly to a schedule?

I very much believe that rhythm fosters health, especially for little ones. And when I usually think about "rhythm", especially for little ones, I think about the daily rhythm, and sometimes the weekly rhythm. But I think what we've been experiencing is a surprising and yet very natural tension between the many different rhythms of our world. Because what we've been experiencing is the rhythm of the seasons.

Summertime has a very well known and breathlessly anticipated nature. There is a relaxing that comes with Summertime; school is out, schedules are eased, bedtimes are later, mealtimes are less formal, foods are sweeter. So, while I could have developed a schedule for the summer, marking out times for every activity and every moment of rest, I think, following that schedule, we would have missed the summer. We would not have known the summer's true nature and it would have passed us by.

That being said, the daily and weekly rhythms still exist, and they must be attended to.The trick I think, is to find the balance between the daily, weekly, yearly rhythms. Or maybe it is to learn to understand how the yearly rhythms color the other rhythms of our life. We are still working on that.

I have found myself thinking forward to the structure and steadiness of "when school starts". It dawned on me that no one in this household actually goes to school any more (how long has it been? 30 years? : p ). But it really seems to me that seasons have characters unto themselves, and I fully expect that when the days grow short enough and the air cools, I will find myself falling into step and slowing down. I am excited to see how the Autumn colors our daily rhythms. But we have a few more weeks of airy Summertime left!

Grounding

A college friend of mine once said, "why do you walk so fast? I've heard that sometimes it can mean you aren't very comfortable being where you are". I brushed him off at the time, but his words obviously stuck with me. I've come to think that it is, in part, just my nature, I think of myself as very sanguine, but it is a part of my life to which it is useful and beneficial to bring balance. I have learned to "cycle back" as my (very sanguine) grandmother says, to complete a project, task or sentence that has been left adrift. Inspiration comes freely to me (most of the time) and I enjoy my flights of fancy. But there are times when a host of ideas whirl themselves through my mind and I am at their mercy. Well, actually, I suppose I am usually at their mercy, it's just that when the thoughts aren't so nice, when I unintentionally imagine the worst over and over again, it can be hard to bring that flight down to the reality of this moment,

                                                              I'm fine,

                                                                                    let's take it one step at a time.

I have come to call this process of coming down to earth "grounding". Often, when I find myself in need of grounding, my mind is not useful to me because it is that which needs to be grounded. Mantras and sayings don't help for long because they are merely air. So what is it that can help? Something I can hold in my hands, and feel with my body. I have started to assemble a little kit for myself, for those moments when I need to be reminded of the earth . . .  the stones . . .  the soil . . .  the slow pace of snails and growth.

I think the main idea in grounding is to bring one's attention to the actual moment that one is living in, now. And the one part of me that is always exactly now is my body. So, anything that presses on me, weighs me down, slows me down or otherwise alerts me to my body helps in grounding.  I like the thought that grounding is a process of forming, like a sculptor with clay, and the opposite of anything having to do with flight or wind.

I collected together a really beautiful, large and heavy crystal that had been given to me years ago, a flax seed pillow that I made, and the idea for a stone mat, like this one. The crystal and the flax pillow are just heavy and nice to hold. They each have their own non-body temperatures as well, the one being cool, the other able to be warmed in the microwave. I ended up making the stone mat differently than the given instructions, because of the materials available to me, but I can use it to massage my feet whenever I have a moment to sit.

I did actually think of one other "tool" that I have used. It is a Navajo healing song, spoken aloud while doing slow, three-part walking. (1. Lift the right heel.    2. Continue by lifting the right toe from the ground.    3. Swing right foot forward and step onto the right foot. Repeat alternating feet. Sounds like walking, right? It is, but slower, more deliberate, meditative.)


Here in beauty I walk.
With beauty before me, I walk.
With beauty beside me, I walk.
With beauty behind me, I walk.
With beauty above me, I walk.
With beauty below me, I walk.
With beauty all around me, I walk.


I hear over and over again these days the ideas of slowing down, being mindful and in the present, living fully in the here and now. These, to me, seem like worthy goals. I am still mulling over why they seem worthy, but I can understand how they could be useful; for the simple act of being able to finish something, without flying off in a million directions; for being able to focus one's mind on the gratitude for what is and not what might be (good or bad!); for maintaining an emotional equilibrium. So, if any of these things seem true for you, or if you would just like to make a nice foot massager, please join me on Wednesday for a Stone Mat Tutorial. You can find the tutorial here.
______________________

I wanted to say, that while I don't think my blog is really a commentary on current events, I didn't want this event to go by without saying that I am heartbroken for all those who were involved in the Aurora shooting. I am praying for and thinking about them.

So, with our departure time set for 9am Thursday morning, we have spent the last few days soaking in every moment of our time here in the north.

(1. Raspberries in the garden.  (2. Helping Dziadzi in the garden.  (3. Sprinkling dirt, everywhere.  
(4. Watching Dziadzi mow.  (5. Following Ying  (6. Enjoying summer's produce, as food . . .  (7. . . and drink.     (8. Waiting for the storm to break.  (9.  Working on the tapestry.  (10.  Newly painted toes on a back drop of summer sky.  (11. Inspecting seaweed. (12. Look! Up in the air!  ( 13.  feeling the earth.  ( 14. Kisses from Dziadzi.  (15. Our watchful dinner companion.