Lauritzen Gardens + Mom + Rachel + nephews

This exhibit goes through January 4.

 Can you spot the train in the photo below?

Happy New Year!

May your 2017 be filled with blessings!

There is a Croatian superstition that whatever you do on January 1, you will be doing all year.

I'm going to work on finishing my novel.... I'm not superstitious, of course, but it wouldn't be so bad to write lots of fiction in 2017.

Also, today I finished sewing a top.  Spending lots of time sewing would be nice, too.

Now What ~ Part II

On November 30 I wrote a post titled “Now What?” about picking goals and how to spend my (vastly reduced) free time.  I realized that I had finally arrived at normal, and life is likely to stay like this for years, so I’d better decide how I wanted to live between now and paying off the house/going full-time freelance.

I remember writing that post and feeling sort of bewildered and dazed.

But now I’m being patient with myself.  I’ve been through a lot of changes this year and for once there’s no hurry.  In fact, I’m giving myself until the end of February, six months into my new job, before I decide what my new goals are.  In the mean time, I'm just going to go with the flow.  I'm going to come home from work, take care of obligations, and then see what I want to do.

It's also a good time to pray about this question.  What does God want me to aim for?  How can I grow in virtue during this time?

So here’s a plea to all three of my readers:  What are YOUR 3-5 year goals?  Somewhere in between “get caught up on laundry” and “retire in _______” you have middling goals, right?  (And if you really want to be help, can you tell me how you arrived at them?)

And While I Was Asleep..

A few nights ago I dreamt that I was at a fair or bazaar.  After standing in line for a long time, I reached a jewelry counter where I began sifting through charms, trying to find one that represented me.  I couldn’t really find anything.  I didn’t want dice because I don’t really believe in fate or luck, at least not as a guiding principle.  I didn’t want logos or icons of pop culture.  That sort of stuff was all that was to be found.

I stood there, moving my hand through the piles of trinkets, searching, but I couldn’t find any charm or pendant that I wanted.

I woke up feeling amused.  It’s rare for me to find a dream so clear and obvious! 

Don't Throw Away.... Used Christmas Cards

Give them to me instead!

I'm still collecting used Christmas cards to make stuff with:

Christmas and Family

Gifts, cribbage, and chocolate (not pictured, but eaten in copious amounts!)—we had a lovely Christmas Eve with my parents.

My husband and my dad had matching hands in the same round of cribbage.  I’d never see that before.

On Christmas morning, one of my favorite students said Mass.  Thank you for your vocation, Fr. M, and for a wonderful Christmas homily.

Welcome the King of Kings!

This was the Gospel today:

When the angels went away from them to heaven,
the shepherds said to one another, 
“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem
to see this thing that has taken place, 
which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, 
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God 
for all they had heard and seen, 
just as it had been told to them.

It occurred to me that one important aspects of Christmas is what happens at the end of this passage.  The shepherds go back to their work, tending their sheep. Mary goes back to her work in Nazareth, caring for her child and her home. But they both take Christmas back with them, the shepherds by glorifying and praising God, and Mary by reflecting in her heart on what had happened.

We can all do those things regardless of where we are in our spiritual adventure or no matter how difficult or complicated our lives are.

Merry Christmas and many blessings!