A Snowy Day

Today we got up to a pretty snow-covered landscape. That is, some of us got up. I'm speaking of Percy kitten, who slept much of the day away. Though he did arise eventually, went out briefly, and returned wet and hungry. So the kids dried him off and fed him and all is well. Merlin kitten, too, wished the weather wasn't so messy. He hung around, looking out the door once in a while, clawing BlackLion's leg with a demand that he stop the precipitation immediately. He did go out a couple of times anyway.

The kids were out quite a bit, helping with shoveling and playing in the snow. Quester ran the snowblower and cleared the entire driveway. The kids also played crazy run-around-inside-the-house tag games. Yes, teens and pre-teens still play that sort of stuff...so do some of the adults for that matter.

We had quite a big session of online gaming today, too. The team of gamers was playing D&D Online - their group of characters are elven sisters with varying specialties. Personally, I wasn't involved in that part. I was working on the cutout card project! With some help from various family members throughout the day. I also did my usual computer communications, and helped ElvenTiger with her new e-mail and Facebook accounts (which mostly involved answering spelling questions).

Sash made a delicious dinner, a root vegetable casserole with all kinds of ingredients from the CSA, including parsnips, celeriac, potatoes, shallots, carrots, garlic, and a really cool striped variety of beets. It was very tasty and is all gone. Quester and I went for a grocery run this evening once things had turned to rain (and before they iced). We brought back a bunch of snacks for the crew as they finished their D&D adventure.

It was a mellow day at home and, although we did miss our usual Wednesday routine of homeschool group, I think everyone had a fun time.

Making Cutout Cards

Every year, we make cutout cards for our family members for Christmas. Also known as collage cards, these are homemade cards, personalized for each recipient. I thought you might want to venture into this unique form of art, invented (as far as we know) by my Aunt Peg in the 1980s.

Here's how. First, gather your materials. You'll need a variety of old magazines and catalogs, sharp scissors, glue sticks, construction paper, and envelopes in which to store the cutouts.



Next, go through the magazines and cut out pictures of things the recipient enjoys: foods, hobbies, flowers, animals, quotes, phrases, cartoons, travel destinations, art, etc. You can also cut out holiday pictures and greetings for the front of each card. Try not to make the pictures too big. Put on the holiday music and sip some hot chocolate as you page through the magazines. It's OK to stop and read interesting articles, too. Note: while you're trimming each picture, be sure to capture and recycle all the little "scrids" of paper you trim off, or you'll find them all over your house.



Design a layout of the pictures and words, gluing them to the construction paper. You might want to group them in mini-themes, such as foods, hobbies, etc. We use the front cover of the card to display holiday wishes, like "Merry Christmas, Mom," and seasonal pictures. If you can't find the person's name in a magazine, you can cut out individual letters in varying fonts.



After your first session of gluing, you'll likely have gaps between pictures. Now you'll go back through your stack of magazines (get friends to save them for you, so you always have fresh material) and fill in the holes. While thinking of the person, search for the right pictures for the spaces you have, then glue them in the appropriate spots.





When the card is full and looking lovely, you're done! This process will take time, but it's a lot of fun! If you have several cards to make, set up envelopes with each person's name, so as you go through the first "cutting out" phase, you can save pictures for all of them. We keep separate envelopes for "holiday pictures" and "holiday words." For me, this is like "art therapy." It's a fun process and creates a very special card tailored to each of your loved ones. Trust me, people will save these and cherish them for years to come!

Subaru, Come Home!

In the fall of 2008, my green 1999 Subaru Outback was totaled in a car accident. Don't laugh, but we swerved while trying to avoid hitting a chipmunk (yeah, I know, soft-hearted hippies!). Luckily, none of the passengers were hurt, including our dog Star. But the poor car was not fixable.

We did have collision insurance, and the old car was already paid off, so we had some money to spend on a replacement. I started using the Law of Attraction to bring my new car to me. I knew I wanted another Subaru. I visualized myself driving a black Subaru wagon, listening to a CD on the stereo (my old car didn't have a CD player). It worked well! In fact, after I'd had my dark blue (almost black) 2002 Subaru for a couple of months, I was driving to Massachusetts for a yoga retreat and found myself living the moment I'd pictured earlier. I was so happy to have a newer and even cooler mode of transportation!

But last spring, my happily-manifested car suddenly broke down. After multiple attempts to repair the engine, I received it back, only to have it break down again the same day. Apparently Subaru Outback models from certain years have a percentage chance of this type of massive engine trouble. The saga went on. My mechanic did lots of research, trying to keep the costs down and save the existing engine. No luck.

Next he tried to find us a new (to us) engine and transmission, to little avail. This all took quite some time. I've been car-sharing with BlackLion for many months. A friend of ours who is going back to college, Sash, is living with us, and shortly before school started, his car was totaled too. Without collision insurance, and on a student budget, he wasn't able to replace it. So we've done some serious car-sharing this fall. I'm getting used to scheduling appointments and get-togethers on certain days of the week based on Sash's school schedule, and it all usually works just fine.

The latest on my Subaru has been that our mechanic can get another engine, but needs to have a pretty large chunk of money up front. Quester and I simply haven't had the cash. I've been visualizing myself in the car again, and focusing on how much I love it. And now, with the start of a new semester approaching, Sash is about to give us some money for living expenses. I'm going to hand it right to the mechanic. Subaru, I've missed you - come on home!

Seasonal Favorites

It's time for another "fours list." I'm not sure why my blog lists seem to come out in fours. They just do. So, here are some of my holiday favorites:

Movies:
White Christmas. The traditional music, the eye-catching costumes, and the charming plot are what keeps me watching it over and over. And the young Bing Crosby!
Love Actually. This is such a terrific movie. The quintessential romantic comedy, with many different stories woven into one.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The original cartoon version. Though I did think the live-action Jim Carrey one that came out a few years ago was funny.
A Christmas Story. My family's all-time belly-laugh favorite from my childhood. "You'll shoot your eye out!"

Books:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Classic.
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. The pictures are lovely, as is the sentiment.
This Year It Will Be Different (and Other Stories) by Maeve Binchy. This Irish author is great at making you feel like you really know the characters - even in short stories.
The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett. Check out any of the picture books by this author. Delightful pictures and fun stories for all ages.

Music:
"Holiday Spirits" by Straight No Chaser. These guys have amazing voices, and a sense of humor.
"A Christmas Together" by John Denver and the Muppets. I rediscovered this one a couple of years ago, and it brought back the feeling of the holidays as a kid, when we had the record album.
"In the Christmas Mood" by The Glenn Miller Orchestra. This CD swings!
"Celtic Christmas" by various artists (from Windham Hill). Really pretty and relaxing. Great to listen to on a snowy day.

Foods:
Banana Faerie Cake. It's a recipe created by BlackLion and I, and it's a yummy vegan treat that everyone loves. One Yule, this cake was a bigger hit than the sugar cookies or the chocolates!
Truffles. These homemade treats are easy to make and very decadent.
Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Coffee Cake. I'm not sure if that's the actual name for it, but my Mom makes it and sometimes brings it for Christmas Day breakfast. Perfect with hot chocolate.
Seitan, Gravy and all the Fixings: The traditional holiday comfort foods, vegan-style. We make enough to have plenty of leftovers.

And yes, I've noticed that my favorite holiday foods are mostly sugary. That's why they're treats, people! :)

A Balanced Lifestyle

We've been really busy lately, for various reasons, and I'm feeling a bit of strain and a desire to slow down. There are also some creative projects that I've been neglecting simply because I've been out straight "doing stuff."

It seems that our family's balance between busy and relaxed varies quite a bit. Sometimes we'll get so busy that, in reaction, we decide to cut back on some of our activities for a while. Since the kids both play team sports, there are some things they want to continue regardless, so we've incorporated practices and games into the regular schedule. As the one who does most of the family's scheduling, I try to be aware of not putting too much on our collective plates. But at certain times of year, there are so many cool things going on that it's hard to reign in our desire to participate.

This time of year is especially interesting, because I have enthusiasm about the holiday season, doing volunteer work, and celebrating with loved ones, yet there is also my connection with nature's rhythms urging me to stay still and go inward. I've always been a fan of "the middle path," and I think we can have it both ways.

Tonight I'm taking some down time, and I think tomorrow I'll continue it throughout the day. We don't have any plans on the schedule. I've been looking at some other blogs this evening (for inspiration) and came across this post about "X Days" on the blog A Handmade Life. I like the idea, especially since having a "day off" doesn't mean that we won't do anything at all. That would probably drive me crazy (I'm a Virgo, after all). It simply means taking time to slow down and focus on the projects or activities we choose, not the ones that "have to" be done in that moment so that we can move on to the next task.

I have lots of creative and joyful options! Some of the projects I want to focus on are: writing, making holiday cards, decorating the tree, and sending out invitations for our Yule gathering. Some fun activities might include: reading to the kids, creating my character for our new Cyberpunk game, reading fiction, and watching a holiday movie with the family. As well as just sitting and contemplating this lovely life I'm helping to create.

Yule and Christmas Celebrations

Today we went with my Mom and Dad to cut down a Christmas tree. It's one of our traditions. Every year, we go to a tree farm and pick out two trees (one for their house and one for ours). We cut them down and bring them home to decorate. After the holidays, we store the old tree out by the fire, and then we use it to help start the next year's Yule fire.

That got me thinking about our family's winter holiday traditions. Some of our preparations include making sugar cookies with my Mom, spending time creating gifts for people in our community, and donating gifts to a family in need.

On Yule, which happens on the date of the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, we host a big gathering of friends and family. At sunset we light the fire and begin our Yule ritual. After that we have a big feast, exchange gifts (usually homemade ones), and alternate between the fire and the house. A few of us keep vigil all night, staying up until the dawn, when we greet the newborn Sun. The days begin to get longer from that day forward, which we celebrate with a delicious breakfast. Then we head to bed and get some sleep. That evening is usually spent watching holiday movies and nibbling on some of the leftover Yule goodies.

For Christmas Eve, we usually gather with my parents and brother to watch a movie and share a meal. Our big Christmas celebration is on Christmas Day, though. Mom, Dad and my brother come over first thing in the morning. We get up early to unpack our stockings, drink hot cocoa and eat bagels, and then we open gifts. At lunchtime, some other family members join us for a big Christmas dinner. Like Thanksgiving, we have two entrees (one meat and one vegetarian) and a bunch of yummy side dishes. My Aunt usually makes one of her fabulous chocolate desserts.

The evening is spent relaxing and playing with our new toys and games. Sometimes friends will join us to exchange more gifts and share a light evening meal.

On New Year's Eve, we attend our homeschool group's annual celebration for kids and adults. It's a lot of fun! I think this is the fifth year. We have a scavenger hunt which culminates in a skit performed by each team, a potluck feast, and a Scat tournament (Scat is a card game, also known as 31). We do a gift exchange where each person is a Secret Santa for another member of the group. We stay up late to greet the New Year, playing karaoke, dancing and generally having a lot of fun. I love this time of year!

Maine Wholeschoolers' Fundraiser a Huge Success

Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful community, the Spaghetti Supper was a huge success! We raised over $400., and the discussions at our celebration tonight have been about a trip to the Boston Museum of Science, helping our new Drama Club put on a play they write in a real theater, and investing in a community service project to help disadvantaged girls & women (among other things).

Thank you all so very much for supporting this very cool and creative group of kids in their chosen education!

RPGs

I never really got into the whole video game thing. I love reading fantasy and sci-fi books, and watching the movies, but I can't really seem to connect with becoming the figure on the screen. However, I love RPGs (role-playing games). You know, like Dungeons & Dragons. You play a character in a fantasy world, with your actions governed by various rules and rolls of the dice. You work with a team of other players to accomplish whatever objective the person running the game - the game master, or GM - sets for you.

I first encountered RPGs when my brother and his friends played them in high school, but never got seriously interested until a group of new friends in college got me involved in their games. My favorite characters are spellcasters: wizards, druids, the occasional cleric. Go figure! The stereotype is that geeky teenage boys are the only ones who play RPGs. But I have quite a few friends my age of both genders who play - it's a fun thing to get together and do for an evening.

A couple of years ago Quester started up a campaign for the family. We're playing 3rd edition AD&D (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons) set in the Forgotten Realms world (for those who don't know how it works, each campaign has its own imaginary world - some are made up by the person running the game, and others are published in books and game sets, called "modules"). Since ElvenTiger was new to the concept, she and I decided to play sisters, both elves. She's a rogue, and I'm a wizard, and we help each other out as we move through the game.

BlackLion decided to run another game about a year ago, based on the Amber series of novels by Roger Zelazny. This game is diceless, and thus relies more heavily on each player's imagination and creativity. Again ElvenTiger and I are sisters, this time a set of twins who specialize in mind-related skills (as opposed to combat or endurance). It's a different type of game, and it was a bit of a challenge for Dryst at first because everything is based on the actual role-played conversations you have with other players and characters. But we're all getting the hang of it now.

Our friend Sash GMs a game he made up, set in a "steampunk" world. We play that one occasionally. He also runs a D&D campaign with BlackLion and the kids. See, if you start playing with a certain group of people, you need to convene that same group to continue the game the next time. You can add in a character, but more often you keep the same set of people because they're working within the same story until their quest is fulfilled or the objectives are met.

Right now we're creating characters for a different type of game. While he's on vacation from college, Sash is going to start a Cyberpunk game. The closest thing to my usual style of character is a street doctor, someone who can heal others through traditional medicine as well as dealing with cybernetic parts. Should be exciting!

I like RPGs because you contribute to creating a story. You work with others cooperatively, working together to solve puzzles and mysteries. The game requires imagination, flexibility, and usually a sense of humor. There's a lot of freedom. To me, it's much more fun than choosing from the limited options programmed into a computer game.

Lightening Up

I’ve been experiencing negative self-talk lately (inside my head), and some of it is about my current weight. I’m about fifteen pounds overweight and have been for several months now. Just a couple of years ago, I was at what I consider my ideal weight for the first time in my adult life. I was certain that I’d continue to maintain that weight indefinitely. So what happened? And how can I get back there?

On a logical level, to get back to where I want to be I simply need to consume fewer calories than I burn. But like most women (and many men) in this culture, I have a complex emotional web surrounding my physical body, weight, and self-image. A wise healer, who also happens to be a skilled chiropractor, told me that holding on to extra weight is connected to an emotional need to feel protected from something.

In my case, my fears have surrounded money and financial security. Last year I left my longtime career (by choice) and began to rely primarily on others in my family for financial support. I never realized that it actually felt good being the breadwinner, having spending money in my pocket, and knowing that I was providing for my family’s needs and wants on a regular basis. Also, since we are now a family of self-employed workers, we no longer have the security of knowing exactly when the next direct deposit is coming and how much it will be. I’m an Earth sign, and I like to be prepared, especially when it comes to the basics: food, clothing, and shelter. Maybe I’m having a hard time trusting that my needs will be met. But they have been, for the most part, despite my worries.

I think now I’m ready for a change, ready to let go and release the pounds I’ve added through worry and fear. I’ve recently been purposefully letting go of worrying, and that’s working well. I’ve stopped eating sugary sweets as a way of dealing with stress. But I guess I also need to deal with those old worries that manifested as the additional weight. While I’m not adding new ones any more, I still need to consciously release the old ones.

I’ve done this before and can get there again. I know I want to be more consistent about my yoga practice, and get outside more often to go for walks. I already eat a healthy vegan diet; I just need to watch the frequency of snacks and my portion sizes. This will totally work, as long as I’m aware of supporting my emotional needs without relying on overeating or fretting about things I can’t control. It’s time for another transformation!