Mom's Christmas Cardinals

For many years, my mom brought winter beauty indoors by making red and black felt cardinals. I don't recall where she got the pattern, but from my early 20s onward, Mom could often be found on snowy winter evenings making cardinals as gifts for family and friends and as decorations for our home and Christmas tree.  I have a photo that I took of Mom and Dad seated on the floor in front of our tree some 30 years ago that was decorated simply and tastefully with little white lights and Mom's lovely cardinals.  This holiday season, I have some of her cardinals in wreaths and arrangements of evergreen and curly willow around our home.  But, rather than just look at them and admire their beauty, I find myself touching the tiny, precise and even stitches carefully, wanting my hand to touch where her hand had touched.  Today, Mom's close friend Lou emailed to tell me that when she opened her ornament box to decorate her tree, a cardinal that Mom had made for her fell out.  Lou took that as a sign that the cardinal should be placed at the top of her tree this year.  Lou said she enjoys looking at it and remembering very good times together.  This first Christmas season without Mom is marked by sadness for those of us who knew and loved her. Yet, we are wrapped warmly in memories and feel close to her as we celebrate the season with her lovely cardinals.

Bookin' It in Baraboo

We have a bookstore in our downtown called The Village Booksmith, where one can disappear into the stacks for hours, sip some coffee or tea with a friend, or vie for the comfy reading chair with the resident golden retriever.  There is an eclectic array of books, posters, bird houses, greeting cards, journals and other items displayed everywhere.  The cozy, comfortable atmosphere draws you in.  But it's the diverse cultural programming scheduled there by the store's proprietress that sends Larry and me -- along with countless others -- to the store on Friday nights.  Last Friday evening, we heard a marvelous Christmas music concert presented by a sextet of a cappella singers and a quintet of brass musicians.  A couple of weeks earlier, we heard a trio of musicians there -- a mom, dad and teenage son -- performing spirited and soulful folk and Christmas music from the British Isles and elsewhere around the globe.  The jubilant music from those evenings had everyone in festive mood and grateful that such a place is available to all ages, all walks of life to stretch their minds, please their ears and feed their souls.  Just another of the many special gathering places in our small rural community.

Music To My Ears

I had my first root canal today.  Given the horror stories one always hears about such procedures, I'm pleased to report that mine was a pleasant experience.  The dentist was skilled and professional and his assistant was thorough in her explanation about every step along the way, all of which inspired my confidence and relaxation.  But what made the experience even more enjoyable was the fact that Christmas music was playing throughout the clinic and the dental assistant gently hummed along while my tooth was being drilled.  It was all music to my ears.  Throughout the rest of my work day, I encountered a series of so-called "root canals," challenges that at another time might have affected my mood.  However, instead, I decided to think of that delightful humming to Christmas music at my dentist's office and I found that my everyday "root canals" held no power over me.  It's all in what I choose to listen to, the drill or the song.

Literary Dreams

My good friend Kitty made me a quilt that she calls "Literary Dreams." When she gave me the beautiful masterpiece, she explained the quilt's name by suggesting that I use it while resting in my chair, snuggled up with a good book.  Made of botanical-theme fabrics (because of my love of nature), "Literary Dreams" is exactly where I'm transcended when cuddled up with that lovely quilt and a good mystery or a P.G. Wodehouse romp or a magazine. The quilt sits on my chair's ottoman, ready for me whenever I'm ready for a restful time.  This afternoon's bleak sky gave me permission to take a break from my self-imposed busyness.  It was as if the sky was telling me to relax a bit.  As always, I had a to-do list at home.  Despite the laundry beckoning me and the dust rag chiding me for not bringing it out, my quilt's whispers were louder in my ear.  Instead of succumbing to my household chores, I snoozed happily with my "Literary Dreams."

Decked in Holiday Style

Our community has a picturesque downtown.  Everything is situated around a stately courthouse in the town square: a wide variety of retail establishments, banks and law offices, coffee shops and restaurants, a florist, two bookstores, a magnificent theater, churches and more.  There is vintage lighting, a cannon on the courthouse lawn and a pocket park for the children.  Our downtown is beautiful at any time of the year but it is particularly enchanting at Christmas.  Swags of evergreens with deep red bows hang from the exteriors of the well-kept old buildings while evergreen roping twines around every vintage light pole throughout the retail district.  Twinkling holiday lights are everywhere.  You don't have to go to the big city to enjoy artfully crafted Christmas window displays.  A stroll in our fine community's vibrant downtown is a treat, with nearly every store window decked in holiday style.  One sees charming and elaborate displays of antiques, the latest in children's toys and games, mannequins attired in stunning royal purple evening gowns, shimmering silver, old and new books, and colorful kitchen gadgets and cookware.  A couple of the surrounding communities offer weekends of historic living windows in their downtowns, where shop windows are decorated with vignettes depicting holiday seasons of old.  Small-town life is a gift and at Christmas time, it seems to be wrapped up beautifully with a bow.

O Tannenbaum

Larry and I attended a sneak preview of our local historical museum's Victorian Christmas celebration this evening.  The beautiful mansion was made even more magnificent tonight thanks to the glow of flickering Christmas tree lights everywhere.  Twelve trees, decorated to the theme of "The 12 Days of Christmas," exemplified the boundless abilities of imagination.  From frothy and feathery to fanciful and fun, each tree was a visual delicacy.  Creative local people adopted the trees, each employing his or her own unique interpretation of a verse from the popular Christmas song.  For instance, the Four Calling Birds tree was adorned with the "tweet-tweet-tweet" of little telephone-talking birds.  Six Geese A-Laying took a nostalgic view of the 1950s with everything from Red Goose Shoes to feathery angel ornaments.  There were drumsticks, plaid bows, french horns, a partridge in a pear tree and even a tribute to Audrey Hepburn.  It was such a lovely way to end the week -- appreciating holiday beauty with child-like wonder.

Season of Light

Today is the first day of December.  A local newspaper columnist, Betty Lee, wrote this week that December is considered the cloudiest month of the year and that, in our corner of the world, the sun will only shine 25% of the time this month.  That's a mere seven to eight days out of 31!  I felt quite victorious when I saw the brilliant sunshine this morning, thinking that today was one of those precious seven to eight days.  The next time I looked outside, however, the sky had become overcast, then leaden, then filled with a wintery mix that fortunately quit as soon as it started. December is the month when we experience the longest night, followed by the journey to regain daylight, minute by minute.  December often encompasses what we call the season of light.  During all of the figurative and literal darkness of this world, I saw evidence of people bringing light to others today. This morning, I was invited to take part in two cash donation collections to bring a little light to someone else.  No matter what darkness abounds, there is also much light.  If we can't see it, perhaps we are being called to be the ones to initiate it.