Christmas Gift!

Christmas Gift! is the title of a book by Ferrel Sams, an author I had the privilege to meet in the 1990s. It also covers the work I've done over the last six weeks, trying to get everyone's gifts ready. A year ago January, I started teaching myself to crochet (thank heavens for youtube.com!). I'm left handed, and I've taught myself to work right handed so I can follow the videos. It's been an interesting journey.

For my two-month-old grandson, I finished up a sock monkey blanket. It had been intended as a gift when he was born, but I found myself challenged as to how to assemble the pieces. The body of the blanket is a v-stitch. I was determined to get this blanket right. I started the blanket over 15 times until I was satisfied. Someone recently accused me of impatience. I pointed out that anyone who would start over 15 times could not be impatient. I just have a low tolerance of fools.

Grandson's baby blanket

Close up of grandson's blanket

My favorite crochet pattern in the granny square. I seem to be far more accurate with it than others.

Daughter-in-law's lapghan

Mother's lapghan

No, Rosie's not crochet. But an interruption to enjoy a cat is necessary around my house. I love how she sleeps with her paw over her eyes. Probably the result of too much exposure to bright lights in the middle of the night when I get up to go to work.

Rosie's contribution to the process

Christmas Eve service is always important to us. I've missed church these last two months, trying to recover from an upper respiratory infection. It was a relief to make it back to church.

An interruption in creativity for midnight service

I love my church. Candles, incense and garland feels very pagan. I really look forward to the burning of the green.

Midnight Christmas Eve service at church

Like Rosie, Lugh had to provide his share of distraction. Lugh's in the box. About ten minutes after this picture was taken, Lugh got out of the box to eat. When he came back, Thor, the cat on the table, had taken over. He never go the box back.

If I fits, I sits.

 I made a bunch of scarves. There are more, but here's kind of a representative sampling.

Mother-in-law's scarf with her favorite school colors.

Sister-in-law's scarf

Brother-in-law's scarf

One day shortly before Christmas, one of our contractors asked what I was making. I told him I was working on my dad's scarf. He hinted that he's  scarf kind of guy. All four contractors and their boss will get one as well. We live in the south, meaning we only wear scarves a few months a year. I'm going to have to come up with other ideas for next year.

Christmas 2013

I had to work Christmas Eve, as we always do. Over a month of "traditional" Christmas music, turned too high, culminates in Santa Claus and a clinic full of children on top of the usual chaos and the added chaos of those who depend upon methadone daily. And addicts also tend to walk around triggered for a month before Thanksgiving until shortly after New Years. So the conclusion of the working day was a huge relief.

We gathered at a friend's for the Orphan's Christmas. Unfortunately, he and his wife separated two years ago, and finalized the divorce most recently. It's been hard watching two people who shared their lives for twice the amount of time I've known them shred their relationship and bicker over the details. The last detail is the house will be sold, so there will be no more Orphan's gatherings in the same place. Nevertheless, we had a lovely evening with friends, followed by the midnight service at church. I treasure being Episcopalian in a gay friendly church. The heavy Pagan influences also don't hurt.



Since we cannot find a stable Pagan group in our area, the church is of great spiritual comfort. And the service last night was a joy. I've been ill with first an upper respiratory infection, and then an upper respiratory virus. So as Cameron has tried to get back to church, I've not been accompanying him. Being in church for a very familiar service, listening to the priest talk about things that ring of the Sacred Feminine, was amazing. It touched that deep place that calls me to the path of the Goddess, to the Sacred, to Being and Becoming. It's, after all, not about the destination but the journey. And the journey is good.



Cameron and I are enjoying a quiet day today together. School is done, the license is complete, my body is healed. We have a new grandson who is very much part of our lives.



Today we have corned beef in the crock pot and are watching Highlander today on Netflicks. It's a wonderful day. Thor was thrilled when I put the crock pot on. He licked the edge and dreamed of when he was kitten. Thor was found cold and wet, wandering a field behind the neighbor's house. They thought perhaps he was one of ours. It only became a few moments for him to become one ours. A few days later on Christmas, he made off with a piece of corned beef. He couldn't have been more than 10 weeks old, and the corned beef was bigger than he was. He managed to keep the entire house off of him and eat every bite himself. Then he feel into a food coma for the next 24 hours.



After he gave up on the lid, Thor fell asleep on the table. Christmas day is hard work!



Merry Christmas to all, and welcome back to my blog. Other days will be filled with complexities and challenges. Today is beautiful and wonderful.

Reflections and Snow

Cypress was our first Christmas tree, purchased
six years ago. She was about 18 inches tall.
 She now towers at about twenty feet.

Just before Christmas, the clutch went out on my car. Now I knew the damn thing was going out and had been sending up daily prayers for months that it would hold until my income tax refund came in. So the very morning the speed trap got me at 4:30 in the morning on a deserted highway, I was stopped, and then I couldn't get the car over 45 the rest of the way to work. And once I made it home, AAA had to tow it to the shop. That speeding ticket and fine certainly have added insult to injury! My first ticket ever!

So I sent an email to the son who is still talking to me and told him that his present would be late. Not that he or his wife mind in the least. And Cameron and I agreed that one more Christmas would be without presents. Since she moved in six years ago, we've not really exchanged presents. I really object to Christmas occurring at the end of December. Why didn't they schedule it after taxes come back? Or the beginning of the semester when we have student loans?

Christmas Eve is always reserved for Cameron's parents. They've both made it to their eighth decade and are a delight. Every year they give us both the same kinds of gifts and the same number of gifts. This year we received really, really warm winter coats (have I mentioned that the heat is out in Cameron's car and we have had record cold temperatures?). 

Then we went to the Christmas Eve service at out church. Check out Cameron's blog for a much more eloquent account than I can give. I hugged Mother Linda's neck and thanked her for not giving up on us. I think the last service we attended was Christmas Eve last year. Yet I found gift cards for a grocery store in the area waiting in our mailbox last week from the church. Exactly what we needed!

I've been incredibly depressed this fall. Done with school, utter exhaustion has sapped me of drive, energy, creativity... Of course, my millionaire boss refusing pay raises and threatening to sell the clinic to a group that will deny us a raise for another year doesn't help. I owe about $250,000 in student loans to collect pee and not be able to afford my electric bill. No, I'm not bitter...

So sitting in sacred space, listening to the music, seeing the candles was a balm to my soul. And we reconnected with other goddess worshipers that we met at Goddess Fest two-three years ago! Who would have thought?  And South Carolina saw its first snow on Christmas since the 1960's. Don't laugh if you open my freezer. Cameron stuck a snow ball in there! 

So now I trudge toward another New Year, hoping the fruits of my labor will be more abundant in this coming year. Our grove has accepted our first student.  My transgender, lesbian identified wife adores me...and change is coming. I believe this year will be transformative!