Journal

Christmas Reflections

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Well, now we’re exactly halfway through the twelve days of Christmas. I’m currently enjoying listening to my Christmas music collection and looking forward to dining on my family’s traditional midnight snack of shrimp and sparkling pear juice to celebrate New Year’s Eve. I’m also spending some time reminiscing about the past year. Of course it seems like the time has flown past, but somehow, that time that seems now so short was packed with a lot of wonderful experiences.

The  first half of the year was a flurry of performances, from Tantara One-Act Festival to my ballet recital and finally the Drama Camp musical. There wasn’t one week from  January till June when I wasn’t either rehearsing, memorizing, singing, or pirouetting in preparation for one of these three events. In Drama Camp, our wonderful director really pushed me out of my acting comfort zone. The play we performed was a melodrama, and I was the over-dramatic heroine, so the intensity of every word I said had to be magnified three times over what I thought was over the top.  Doing a love story sometimes felt very awkward, and I was fortunate that the hero was played by a boy who was the master his facial expressions. Amazingly, he never once broke into a grin at the crucial parts of the play such as at the end of the play (when I had accepted his proposal of marriage). We had to gaze lovingly at each other, and I would never had been able to pull it off if even so much as the corners of his mouth twitched!

This summer passed without a day that I wasn’t in the garden. I loved every minute of trimming, fertilizing, digging, and planning my little plot of earth. One of my favorite things about gardening is that nothing is ever finished. There will always be new plants to grow and more ways to improve the soil. My soil needs improving really bad,  so in the spring I found a way to take things that would be ordinarily wasted and put them to use in the garden. With the help of my Dad, I started a vermicompost system (that’s using worms to make the best fertilizer on earth). Now every evening after Mom makes supper I collect egg cartons for worm bedding and coffee grounds and vegetable scraps for worm food. The first batch of super plant food was ready this fall, but since it was the end of the season I saved it for spring. I’m looking forward to using it on vegetable seedlings in a few months. Now we also have chickens that eat the meat scraps the worms can’t have, and turn that into even more fertilizer. Next summer is full of potential!

2012 is also the first year that I have had a real job: teaching at the ballet studio. Teaching ballet has probably been the hardest challenge I have faced this year-and the most interesting. I was the helper once in a ballet basics class, and I must say that I really didn’t appreciate how hard it was to direct a class. There are many fine lines to walk with the seven to nine-year-old age group. For forty-five minutes every week, I tightrope between keeping it fun and keeping them learning, making sure the steps are not too difficult and yet still challenging, explaining difficult concepts and not going over their little heads. Phew! I have to glance around at their sweet little faces frequently and judge whether I am boring, overwhelming, or doing everything just right. Also with such a large class (I have twelve students) there is the additional challenge of making sure that they are well behaved. One minute they are standing neatly against the barre in first position, ready to start the next combination.  I turn my back to start the music, and if there’s even the slightest delay with the CD player they suddenly erupt into talking, squirming, jumping, and hanging on the barre.

Fortunately, I have become much better at keeping class moving smoothly than when I first started teaching in September. Once you do figure out how to balance all the elements of the class, seven to nine-year-olds really are a very rewarding age group. I am actually surprised by the concepts they are able to understand, and they always are very happy and excited to be at class. And the way their faces light up when they finally understand a new step is precious.

As this is my senior year of high school, I am trying to cherish every moment. I know that the year will be over before I know it.  Yet even as I try to focus on every moment of the present, my mind keeps running on to the future. Where this time next year find me?  What new things will I have experienced?  I’m looking forward to seeing what adventures 2013 brings.

Ruffle Scarf

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  This scarf knitted up in less than two hours! It took a little while to get used to knitting with the yarn. I made a few mistakes with it, but the yarn is so bouncy and ruffly it covers them up perfectly. I really love the sparkles embedded in the yarn!IMG_2516

Christmas and the Old Testament

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For school this year, Landon and I have been using a book that goes through and explains Scripture. Appropriately, we ended this semester at the end of the Old Testament, right before the Incarnation and Christmas.  I must say that in the past I have not enjoyed reading the Old Testament. It seemed to be full of war, being conquered, and turning away from God. Much less enjoyable to read than the hopeful New Testament.  I also had a very low regard for the Jewish people. I mean, how can you walk through the Red Sea and fall down and worship the Golden Calf on the other side? Now, however, I’m able to look at the Old Testament for what it is: the preparation of the world for the Son of God.

The Jewish people spent almost the entire Old Testament either falling into captivity or rising up in a glorious rebellion and freeing themselves. Every time God blessed them with victory, such when he allowed David to defeat the Philistines, they enjoyed a short time of prosperity while they were faithful to God. Then complacency would set in, and they turned to the idols and false gods of the people around them, such as when King Solomon, despite the wisdom and wealth God had given him, worshiped the idols of his many wives. Not long after, a neighboring king sent in his armies and conquered all of Israel. Then the people realized their mistakes, repented, and were able to drive off their enemies, and the whole cycle started all over again.

In view of this, it is no wonder that when they were told they would have a Savior they looked for a military leader. But upon closer scrutiny of the Old Testament, you realize that the cycle of captivity and freedom is closely linked to the cycle of obedience and disobedience to God. What the Israelites didn’t realize, however, was that their bondage to earthly kings was a result of their bondage to sin. Instead of sending a military leader, God sent a Savior for the root of the problem-slavery to sin.

Latin reads: ‘and the Word was made flesh”

 

Chickens in the Snow

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After a few days of being extremely suspicious of the snow, the chickens have finally adjusted to it’s presence. Now they walk right through it, taking an inquisitive nibble from time to time. 

They leave the cutest tracks!

Chicken Coop

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The chicken coop is finally built and operational, and the chickens moved in a couple weeks ago. Thanks to the warm weather, we were able to put a coat of paint on it. I think it looks adorable now!

The chickens are only in the coop at night, and during the day they roam around the yard, staying pretty close to the coop

This is Beatrix. when I step outside, she is the first of all the chickens to run to me, looking for a treat. She must have decided it would be easier if she just came right to the door to wait for me:


 

‘Tis the Season for Pomegranates

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Pomegranates are my favorite fruit, and I eagerly await the two month window when they are in season. Each little aril explodes with sweet, tangy juice, and a nutty, crunchy center. Also, they not only taste good, but they look beautiful too!

Stitches

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No, not one of the boys.    Me.    Yes, that’s right-me. Monday I had driven to ballet and was going inside the studio, but I forgot to mention something to Maria. So, I went to climb back into the car where she was still sitting. Carrying my ballet bag in one arm, I used the other to heave open the car door, but I was parked on a slope and door swung back.

I hit my eyebrow right into the edge.

I saw the reflection of the cut in the window and thought, “Whoa, that could be serious!” I grabbed a napkin that was conveniently nearby and applied pressure, then made my way to the dance studio, knowing that I could check the cut out in the mirrors in the rooms. I still am laughing at myself because instead of immediately getting a teacher to help me, I first put on my ballet shoes. I was still planning on dancing! I was a little surprised then when my teacher insisted on calling Mom, who decided we should go to the doctor. Sure enough, I needed four stitches. After I came home, bandaid over my brow, I had to promptly brew my favorite herbal tea (honey vanilla chamomile) to unwind from the trauma.

Winter Color

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One thing I’ve learned is that hard winters are easier with lots of accessories. Always having a scarf ready to wear and gloves waiting in my coat pockets really makes winter a lot less bitter-and more colorful. I’m knitting a scarf with this beautiful yarn that will surely brighten up the drab months of January and February! Like a squirrel storing nuts for winter, I’m trying to gather enough color to last all the way till spring.

Chickens and the Boys

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The chickens now get to go on outings to the backyard with the boys. They seem to really like being outside, and they took to scratching and foraging through the grass like naturals. They even dug up ants and an earthworm out of my garden.

We are watching the black one with that suspicious tail. It looks a little rooster-ish.

Joseph is still the chicken’s most devoted friend. He will sit outside, letting the chickens run around him and hop over his legs, long after the other boys have gone inside.

Snowy Chrysanthemums

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These hardy chrysanthemums, the only burst of color left in the garden, were especially lovely with a light coating of snow.

This picture is from our first snow on October 25. We had a computer part break that had all my pictures on it, and Dad had to restore the backup before I could get to them. (Thus the lack of blogging)

Fall Garden Reflections

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Excess foliage has been cut back. Seeds from the ever-faithful marigolds have been strewn evenly across the ground. Clumps of lilies that were reaching for sunlight have been divided and relocated. Daffodil and crocus bulbs have been planted – a promise to cling to through dreary winter months. The garden has finally wound down to a close, yet it’s on my mind as much as ever. Since the ground is not yet covered in snow, I have been frequently walking the now empty plot of soil, imagining next year’s planting arrangements. Inspired by a stop on our city’s garden tour, I’m going to plant a lot of things in pots above the ground, for better soil and protection from those terrible gophers.  I’m also going to try to plant members of the bean family, as I grew lots of nitrogen depleting vegetables this year. I am continuously changing and adding to my list of must-attempt produce, but here is what I have right now:

peas

green beans

spicy jalapeño peppers(pot)

bell peppers (pot)

zuchinni (visions of zucchini bread are dancing in my head)

tomatoes (pots)

  northern breed of cantaloupe (much shorter growing season than watermelon)

Though some of the things I grew this year were technically failures, I did learn a lot from tending to them. I saw that there must be very uneven pockets of nutrients in the soil, as certain corn plants shot up to become twice as tall as one close by.

Also, my seedlings stayed about the same size from a week after sprouting to a month and a half after planting.  Then they all of a sudden started to grow really, really fast, even though there was no change in temperature or watering. I’m guessing that the surface of the soil is depleted, and it takes a long time for the plants to get roots down to nutrients.

One more interesting thing: as a test, I grew one extra row of corn without adding manure to the  soil when I planted the seeds. At the end of the year, this row was literally half the size of all the others. I will definitely be using a LOT of manure next year.

On All Souls Day

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Requiam aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let your perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.

So Big!

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Wow, they have grown a lot in three weeks! They are very funny to watch, especially if you throw a couple chunks of tomato in the cage. One chicken will pick up a piece of tomato, and then all the rest will chase it in circles around the pen, ignoring the five other tomato pieces on the ground. When the boys take them outside, the chickens follow the boys around, staying very close to them. They are friendly!