I know I’m not the only one waiting right now. Maybe if you can look at clocks this beautiful, even if only in photos, it won’t be so bad.

La Grosse Horloge – La Rochelle, France

Bordeaux, France

Paris

I imagine we’re all waiting for something — for the days to get longer, the weather to improve, for something long-backordered to finally arrive, for the news to be less depressing, for the pandemic to loosen its grip on our lives. I hope you are also awaiting even better things than those, as I am — new classes to start, a new baby to arrive.

Here’s Beckett then and now. He’s awaiting a baby brother, expected VERY soon. I’ll keep you posted!

Beckett THEN – 29 August 2019

Beckett NOW – November 2021

Christmas was also a bit of a waiting game. I went over to Chelsea and Brian’s on Christmas morning, which was relaxed and lovely, even though Beckett was not feeling fabulous. We had to delay our full family Christmas until the 31st, to accommodate  scheduling with other parts of everyone’s extended family. It was worth the wait. We ended up with a lovely white “Christmas” and the broken oven mentioned in the poem in last month’s post experienced a Christmas miracle and came back to life just long enough for us to bake Courtney’s delicious cinnamon rolls and later roast the beef tenderloin. Lots of games, lots of laughs, lots of love.

The long-awaited delivery of the new oven was postponed to January 3rd. Ugh. But it’s here now and even provides a little slide show of gorgeous nature photos behind the clock numbers. Not something I ever thought I needed, but it is beautiful, and is about all the nature I’m getting these days. I’m waiting for spring!

If you’d like a bit more spring while you wait, click here and here and here.

Brittany got tired of waiting for her post-chemo hair growth to catch up with the remnants, and had most of it cut off. She now has a sassy new short cut, with healthy, thick, thriving hair, and best of all, her smile is back.

She and I went to a cheese-making class this past Saturday. Super-fun and interesting. We came away with a small waxed cheese, about the size of a hockey puck, which we were ideally to store at 50 to 55  degrees to age for several months. Yes, more waiting. My wine fridge has an adjustable temperature setting, so I  increased it to 53 degrees, a choice the fridge apparently doesn’t like. Occasionally I hear an eerie, moan rising from below, as if something had taken to haunting the place. A bit creepy until I tracked down the source of the sound, not gonna lie! But still, I will wait.

So here’s wishing you patience and all good things in this new year. While you and I wait for . . . well . . .  whatever is to come, here’s a tiny, adorable video created by (granddaughter) Felicity. Thanks, Felicity! 

Things got away from me at the end of November, when I would ordinarily have posted something, and even the beginning of December was packed. There were fun things, like a quick road trip to Minnesota. We saw this again on the way:

We had no Sharpie, but Brittany managed to sign the one designated “signature” car:

We were headed to Shakopee to surprise Courtney (Jay’s idea) with an early 40th birthday celebration, although the big day is not until the 20th.

Chelsea didn’t have as much time off, but of course, she wouldn’t miss it, so flew in to join in the fun:

So we were all together. Jay pulled it off. Courtney was completely surprised and nearly in tears when she saw us. Worth every mile to see her smile!

Then, both Brittany and Courtney had surgery on the 8th, but I’m happy to report both are recovering nicely, although it takes time.

Meanwhile at my house, all kinds of things were going wrong and needing attention or time or money or all three. Yikes. Here’s a poem I wrote around the time things were going haywire at an alarming pace: 

I’ll Admit I Have a Thing for Snow Globes

And yes, I did just willingly fork
over forty bucks for the privilege
of watching silver glitter flash
and swirl around a cockeyed 
scene in ceramic—
a tiny steepled church,
leaning left, as I do,
dwarfed by three tall spruces,
green-painted branches tipped in white.

And yes, the oven needs replacing,
and the HOA is demanding 
funds for a road,
and a window was broken
by landscapers who are not
happy to pay, no matter what they say, 
and a blind won’t obey
when the button is pushed,
and the heat just kept heating
and blowing and burning,

pulling me from sleep,
waking to summer’s heat
on that cold winter night,
the night of the day where I paid 
with funds needed elsewhere, I paid
to smile and stare
and pretend myself there,
in a sparkling, pristine, 
beautifully serene,
miniature world. 

Of course, a snow globe can only do so much on the inner peace front, but things are getting done. The landscaper turned out only to be busy, not reluctant, and has paid me. Yay! Several other issues resolved with little or no expense, and suddenly here we are in Advent and it’s nearly Christmas.

Apparently I’m not the only one occasionally feeling a bit frazzled these days. I heard an ad the other day recommending Legos to adults as a source of peace, but if you’ve ever stepped on one barefoot, I doubt peace was the immediate result. 

Which brings us finally to the reason for the title: “Advent Peace.” (I know you were wondering.) I’ve been thinking about the four themes of Advent especially this year, because I was asked to write and present something for one of the four weeks, which include Hope, Faith, Joy, and Peace. If you know me at all, you know I’m a pro  worrier, so it may surprise you to hear I chose to write about peace.  Weirdly, wonderfully, supernaturally, I do often feel the peace of God, even in the midst of whatever is going on, even if it’s going wrong. He meets me where I am, if only I pay attention.

I’ll be presenting what I wrote (and lighting the candle–yes, they’re trusting me with fire) this Sunday, the 19th.  But if you won’t be there or watching online, here’s the shorter version–it’s already short:  The very best gift you could receive this Christmas is the transcendent peace of God, which he gives freely to anyone who asks. I hope you will. 

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a glorious New Year!

Peace

October for me is always about color.

Fall foliage, especially, always feeds my soul somehow. As Brian Doyle used to say, “Nice work, there, God! Now you’re just showing off.”

 I’ve also been enjoying color in a few of the classes I mentioned last month.  My first photography class with Eli Vega has started, and I’m loving it. He absolutely knows what to do with color. Check out his website here. Now I’m scrambling to get my technical skills up a bit to be able to even attempt some of the things he’s demonstrating. But until that happens, you can revisit a few of our more colorful adventures, like the Outer Banks and colorful Key West and the post about the maddening butterflies.

I’ve also started the “Loose Watercolor” class with Steve Griggs, another who knows his way around the color wheel. Check out his website here. One of the great things about that class is that it’s on Zoom, so NO ONE can see what I’m painting, or rather the mess I’m making, so it’s 100% stress-free. Super fun. 

The “Food and Culture” class with Chef Larry Canepa was only three weeks, so that one’s finished. Here’s his website, including recipes. Yay! His visual aids were a feast of color, especially yesterday, when he talked about herbs and spices. Reminded me of a great little restaurant we enjoyed in La Rochelle in 2017 with Tom and Lexi. I’m afraid his spice photos were way cooler than anything I have on hand, so you’ll have to use your imagination (or maybe stay tuned, if the photography class goes well). 

My life is very much about reading and writing, so literally black and white much of the time. I have to lift my eyes from the page to notice and appreciate all the color around me, but it’s worth it every time I do. 

Beckett appreciates his fall leaves in a slightly different manner.

What a great gift color is. I’ve tried to give you about as much of it as I can fit into one post, but I hope you get out and savor the real thing in nature, even if you, like Beckett, prefer rolling on the ground to unleash the full joy of the moment. Enjoy!