Traditions, Kindness, and other Essentials of the Season

Yesterday morning, while doing chores,

Hubbs called to me from the chicken pen.

"Hey... I have a blog idea!"  he called... as he occasionally does.

"Why don't you write a blog post on "Diversity".

I looked at him quizzically,

and he held out this box of eggs to me.

"As I pulled these eggs out of the nesting boxes,

I was reminded of how we are so much like these eggs.

We come in different sizes, shapes, and colors...

but take away our different exteriors,

and we are all the same inside."

Crack any egg, and what you find on the inside is just an egg.

At this time of year, maybe it's a good time to remember this and

strive to practice kindness...

 (something that we practice day-in and day-out eventually becomes a habit.)

Kindness, after all, means "of the same kind".

So if we treated each other as if we were all of the same kind,

perhaps we could heal the great divide that seems to be growing amongst us.

If you have a chance to get out to see "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"...

please do.

You will be moved... I promise!

If you cannot get out to see it... please rent it when it is available.

Christmas seems to be a good time to reflect on things like this.

Perhaps its because at Christmas time, so many of our layers are stripped away,

and we are in touch with feelings from days gone by.

I find myself very sentimental at this time of year... remembering

Christmases past with loved ones now long gone.

I remember the childhood anticipation of Christmas,

when the world was filled with endless possibility...

when dreams were filled with sugar plum fairies and jolly elves and stockings hung by the fire.

Most of us have fond memories of childhood holidays...

of traditions, of loved ones... family and friends...

of warmth and peace and hope and love.

And though the holidays change as we mature,

there is still a bit of childlike anticipation that we all feel at this time of year.

It's important to remember as we hustle about getting ready for the season,

that the holidays are a difficult time for many.

Loneliness and isolation can be profound at this time of year.

It is my hope that in blogging about our Christmas preparations,

that I don't contribute to those feelings.

I was approached by Paperless Post a few days ago, and asked to mention them in a blog post.

And since I had just used their invitations for our Gingerbread Extravaganza,

I thought... why not!

Our family Gingerbread House day has become a tradition,

and one that everyone anticipates.

It takes a bit of work to get it all together, but the work is well out-weighed by the

laughter and smiles of the day.

This year I sent out this invitation... by email, as we are trying to reduce our consumption.

Two weeks ahead, I baked enough walls, and gables, and roofs for nine houses,

with extra pieces, just in case.

It's important to allow your construction pieces to air dry for a couple weeks before

assembly.

On the morning of our extravaganza, Hubbs and I and Ryan and Bekah

assembled the houses with royal icing as the glue that held the houses together.

This is the trickiest part of the whole activity.

If I had a place to safely store the drying houses, I would assemble them a few days ahead,

to assure adequate strength.

Doing it just a few hours ahead worked out just fine.

All of the houses held together and decorating was successful.

The most important thing about the activity is...

we are making memories...

ones that can be carried forward by our youngsters.

It is my hope that our littles, when grown, will look back

at these family traditions, and be filled with warm and wonderful memories.

I am so happy to be able to facilitate these memories.

As for Paperless Post...

it's the perfect way to announce a tradition,

or to to spread a little holiday kindness

to someone who might need it

It requires no trip to the store,

no trip to the Post Office.

You can personalize your message and send some heartfelt sentiments...

without the need to cut down a tree!!

Since it is the season when

"not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse"

it seems only fitting to tell you that we definitely have a stirring situation.

I found this in the back of my pantry, under the lowest shelf.

 Yes, that's dog kibble.

(Needless to say, it was cleaned up and the floor was scrubbed.)

Someone has been very busy.

Then this on our paper-free papertowels (bamboo and sugarcane)

We've heard scampering and scurrying at night as well.

It seems that someone is making a nest and putting up stores of food

for a long, cold winter.

My question is this... and it is directed towards Ivy:

"Might you have a little time in your busy schedule to do your job?"

Here we are at the end of another week.

I have no idea how we got to Friday so quickly.

Regardless, I have one last piece of business for my local friends.

I received an email from the original "mama" of our seven newest runner ducks.

It seems they had an "oops",  and she has 6 three-week-old baby runners

who need a home.

I would take them, but I have no good place to raise them for the winter...

as our two black kitties are still calling our extra stall their home.

If you are interested and have a good warm "over-winter" home for them,

email me and I will hook you up!