Christmas Chronicles: Sledding Day

The Monday after Christmas, our neck of the woods was scheduled to have a whopping snowstorm., and everyone here, needless to say, was thrilled at the prospect!  Nobody was traveling, we had plenty of food and provisions stored, and we'd just gotten a new sled and new waterproof gloves all 'round, We were ready for the snow games to begin! It was all just a matter of nature cooperating with our plans.  And it did!  For the most part, anyway.

We had been hearing that we could get between  8"- and 12" of snow throughout the day on Monday, and we did end up getting a good amount -- an additional 4" or so of powder -- added to the roughly 6"of iced-over base from the week before Christmas).  But here's the thing that we didn't figure into our excitement: the COLD!  I mean BRRRR!  The thermometer read about 14 degrees, but the wind was blowing a gale, at least it was at the top of "Ice Cap Mountain" (there was almost no wind down at the house as we are protected by the big hill and trees behind us, thankfully!).  But the windchill up top of the sledding hill had to be -5! Ohmygosh! It took your breath away!

But do you think that would stop us?  Goodness, no! Here are some pictures of the day.  (All I could manage before my fingers froze, anyway!)

The trek through the woods behind the house, on the way to the sledding hills.

That's Anna there, who was right in front of Dan and me on the upward slog.
But, who's that coming down the hill on the green sled?

Still can't quite tell. He was coming really fast!

And before we could really react, we realized that he was coming, indeed! --
directly at US!

And missed hitting us by about 2' maybe!  The stinker!  You know he did
that on purpose!

And who was it?  Dominic, of course!  "Nanook of the North!"

There he goes, back up the hill, with us following.  (Huffing and puffing by this time,
and the wind is starting to hit us, full force, now that we're out of the cover of the
trees.)

Here we found William (pink hat) and Gabriel (red hat) already at the top,
having already sledded down a couple times.

The wind is blowing right through Theresa's hat.  But Anna's hat (a gift from
Paul, her KK),is doing a great job for her ears!

Here's the sledding gang, December 28th, 2015 (l-r): William, Dominic,Cathy,
Theresa, Gabriel, Anna, Dan -- and me, behind the camera)

Gabe is already worn out.  No kidding, the wind and tramping up and down
the hill takes it out of ya!

William. His cheeks match his hat.  He was cold! But he was a trooper,
broken arm and all!  (He only actually sledded down a couple times and was
very careful, but figured the cast protected his arm one arm pretty well.  The
other bones were still at risk, though... Mom tries not to linger on that notion..)

Cathy.  Squinting in the wind.

Gabe.  Brrrrr!

Me.  Can't we take this picture with my back to the wind?

Me with Dan.  :)  He didn't do a very good job of keeping me warm out there,
 though I told him that was probably in the contract somewhere.

Anna.  Pink cheeks!

Theresa. Pink cheeks!

Trudging up the hill.  Can you see the general path, down to the right of that
big tree?  The whole goal is to not hit that big tree, but to get some more
speed as you go over that last rise and make it all the way down to the
electric fence -- without hitting the electric fence (not hot, but, well... you
wouldn't want to be clothes-lined by it...)

After a couple hours, everyone's getting tired and cold.

Dan's ready to call it a day.  He and I headed down to the house first and put
on a big pot of hot chocolate.

And they all came trooping in a little while later:

Anna. "Where's the Cocoa?"

Cathy.  Looking very Nordic.

Gabe.  His teeth still chattering.

Theresa, with a bloody nose and fogged up glasses.
Seems the very last run, she came down on the sled behind Dominic
and hit the back of his head with her poor little nose!  She was OK, though,
Dominic's head suffered no ill effects, and everyone considered it a successful
event, regardless. Especially after they all had cups of cocoa in hand and had
a chance to warm up by the fire.

Filed Under: Best Days

On December 15th, following the ordination of Fr. Robert Letourneau and the subdiaconate ceremony of Frater Francis Crawford, we got the chance to invite Frater Francis' family over for a little tea and conversation.  Our good friend, Dan Hansen, grandpa emeritus of our parish, joined Frater Francis' grandpa for the event -- perhaps the first tea part either had attended!  And they fit right in like they'd been doing the toast and tea circuit their whole lives.  :)  It was a wonderful time!

You can see here (clockwise), Mari Crawford (far left), Gabe, Cathy,
Dan Hansen, Maddie, Hannah, and "Grandpa." 

Our friend and neighbor and all around great guy, Dan Hansen, with
pirouette cookie cigar, cutting up with Maddie Crawford.

Frater Francis Crawford's Grandpa (we just call him "Grandpa")
enjoying the menu: deviled eggs, curried chicken
sandwiches, cucumber and tomato sandwiches, meat
"roll-ups," cherry and cranberry scones with lemon
curd and mock Devonshire cream, and a variety of
"boughten" cookies, plus orange spice and English
Breakfast tea.

"I'm making out like a bandit over here!"

Hanna gets in the picture a little better in this shot!

In Our Old Farmhouse

In an Old Farmhouse

 by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Outside the afterlight's lucent rose

Is smiting the hills and brimming the valleys,

And shadows are stealing across the snows;

From the mystic gloom of the pineland alleys.

Glamour of mingled night and day

Over the wide, white world has sway,

And through their prisoning azure bars,

Gaze the calm, cold eyes of the early stars.

But here, in this long, low-raftered room,

Where the blood-red light is crouching and leaping,

The fire that colors the heart of the gloom

The lost sunshine of old summers is keeping­

The wealth of forests that held in fee

Many a season's rare alchemy,

And the glow and gladness without a name

That dwells in the deeps of unstinted flame.

Gather we now round the opulent blaze

With the face that loves and the heart that rejoices,

Dream we once more of the old-time days,

Listen once more to the old-time voices!

From the clutch of the cities and paths of the sea

We have come again to our own roof-tree,

And forgetting the loves of the stranger lands

We yearn for the clasp of our kindred's hands.

There are tales to tell, there are tears to shed,

There are children's flower-faces and women's sweet laughter;

There's a chair left vacant for one who is dead

Where the firelight crimsons the ancient rafter;

What reck we of the world that waits

With care and clamor beyond our gates,

We, with our own, in this witching light,

Who keep our tryst with the past tonight?

Ho! how the elf-flames laugh in glee!

Closer yet let us draw together,

Holding our revel of memory

In the guiling twilight of winter weather;

Out on the waste the wind is chill,

And the moon swings low o'er the western hill,

But old hates die and old loves burn higher

With the wane and flash of the farmhouse fire.

You Have One Job

Everybody smile and look at me.

Sheesh.