Christmas Eve morning!

Shopping list divided into three! Power team!

the shortest day

I woke at 6 am this morning to the repeated sound of a great horned owl in our woods. The waning full moon shone in the window creating yellow patterns on the  wooden floor.  How could I not get up in the dark lit by the moon and put the kettle on for a cup of tea?  After doing some writing, I checked The Writer's Almanac which arrives in my email every morning and read what I have pasted in below. I try not to miss a chance to notice what is happening beyond the world of people and Christmas craziness (so many cars, so much frenzy!) 

The earth turns and rotates on its axis, the days will grow longer starting tomorrow, we can look forward to brighter days by February.  Christmas  Day provides a time out from a busy world. It is a time to listen for the owl and each other. May we all listen below the surface of our words to deep knowing.

 Listen, Pause and then Speak.

 We've got plenty of time.

**************************

In the Northern Hemisphere, today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and the longest night. It's officially the first day of winter and one of the oldest-known holidays in human history. 

Anthropologists believe that solstice celebrations go back at least 30,000 years, before humans even began farming on a large scale. Many of the most ancient stone structures made by human beings were designed to pinpoint the precise date of the solstice. The stone circles of Stonehenge were arranged to receive the first rays of midwinter sun.

Some ancient peoples believed that because daylight was waning, it might go away forever, so they lit huge bonfires to tempt the sun to come back. The tradition of decorating our houses and our trees with lights at this time of year is passed down from those ancient bonfires. In ancient Egypt and Syria, people celebrated the winter solstice as the sun's birthday.

Henry David Thoreau said: "In winter we lead a more inward life. Our hearts are warm and cheery, like cottages under drifts, whose windows and doors are half concealed, but from whose chimneys the smoke cheerfully ascends."

the whole family and visitors!

The manger was a crowded place on Christmas Eve!

Taking this photo was challenging, trying to get everyone in.

Kings- move in.

Angels- spread out.

Cows- we can't see you.

etcetera.

I am reminded of those five years that I directed a Christmas Pageant at 

The First Parish Church.

A living creche!

I like the silence of this one.

The only thing missing is chickens.

The South American Creches usually include a rooster.

Of course.

Angels

the new one

The one on the right is the original angel, the one on the left just added. 

They are mirror images, similar but not exactly alike.

I like to wander through shops in Concord at this time of year to just take in the Christmas feeling. There are small trees with handmade ornaments from around the world, there are birds of felt and silver origami stars.

I see miniature snow scenes like the one my mother used to assemble with hand carved figures skating on a round mirror pond dusted with snow.

And of course I seek out the creche scenes; Joseph and Mary bending low over the baby, shepherds and wise men keeping watch and animals all around.  At home I have a creche, each figure carved from olive wood made in the Middle East.  But the one I treasure is the collection of figures that I have been tenderly unwrapping from tissue paper once a year all my life. This is the creche from my childhood.  The camel with his long legs is cracked, but the rest of these figures are fine.

As I wandered through Nesting on Main, I spotted a single angel on a shelf all by herself.  I picked her up and looked at the bottom.  There on the green base was the familiar stamp, "made in Italy" and the a yellowed square sticker with "JJ Newbury...29 cents" stamped in purple ink.  This angel looked similar to the one in my creche at home.  I could not leave her there with no baby to bless, no wise men, no cow. She was without her people! I took her to the counter to buy her and the shop keeper said with authority, "she is part of a classic 40's creche." "I know, I answered, I have one at home."
Classic 40's.  I pictured mom at JJ Newbury's picking out each figure to create the creche  scene that we children would see each year.

"People love angels, she will go soon," the shop keeper continued.  "But what people come looking for most often is the baby.  For some reason, they go missing. Maybe children tuck them into a pocket or they just get lost in the shuffle."

That did NOT happen in MY household,  I thought smugly.
Jesus is alive and well at my house surrounded by adoring figures and now TWO  angels keeping watch!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

December Day

Happy December!

Get out that parka and tie the hood tight.

(There is nothing colder than a hockey rink!)

November in New England

Cold nights bring out the brightest leaves. We have had a long and lovely fall with warm temperatures, some cold nights and now with leaves falling, the world is brighter. Just as the days grow shorter.

Now begins the slippery slope to winter.  

Rain today is bringing down the last of the leaves, soon to be raked up.

 Colder temperatures in the morning, so I grab my gloves and coat. The steering wheel will be cold.

More time needed now to defrost the windshield. 

The last zinnias have died in their jars on the windowsill and it was good they did because somehow they just looked wrong.  Like birds that forgot to migrate.

Happy Halloween!

What a DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jonathan Weigel!

The golden ticket! Thanks Kate and Carrie!

"Now, I know that the President of the United States coming to Boston is not the most important thing happening here today." B.Obama

Thanks to Carrie's friend, Kate Gage, who once did advance work for the Obama campaign, we were given two tickets to hear Barack speak at Faneuil Hall yesterday.  After a long wait and a talk by Gov. Deval Patrick,  Barack came to the podium. He came to  Massachusetts to address the concerns and promise of universal health care since universal health care has been so successful here. He wanted to highlight the success of the program here in Massachusetts while acknowledging that it didn't happen instantly. A program the size of this one will take time to run smoothly.

Most of all it was fun to see him, to see him in action, to stand 24 feet in front of  him and to witness such a great teacher and public speaker. The President!

We took the MTA back to Alewife, drove home on Rt. 2, and made dinner.
Then at 8:00 the World Series came on TV. What a game.  On October 30, 2013, the Red Sox beat the St Louis Cardinals and won the World Series in front of their fans in Fenway Park. Hear that Dad?

As I said, it was quite a day.

Happy Birthday to my biggest blog fan!

My brother Donny comments frequently on my blog. He understands  what I am trying to communicate and often his comment illuminates something I didn't know was there.

Donny was the one who told me about One to One lessons at the Apple store many years ago. It was there that I gained my confidence on the computer, learned how to use iPhoto, make movies, make books and organize my documents. Donny has always set the example for me to stay current, to be up on the latest technology. He put all of our family photos on line, scanning hundreds and hundreds of images so that we all now have access to photos of our relatives and ourselves across the years.

 Donny has become the glue in our family- a patriarch of sorts. He keeps up with each of his siblings, checking in to see how we are, asking about our latest ventures, offering support when needed. 

I know I speak for Ruthie and John when I say have grateful we are to have such a great big brother.

It was important to our parents that the four of us stay in touch. 

They would love to know how close we all are.

Much love to you, Donny. 

and Happy Birthday! 

The girls

Mt Massive Summit Ascent

Hello All!

Last week, during the second-to-last day of my 10-day backcountry with High Mountain Institute students, I led my group up Mt Massive, the 2nd-highest peak in Colorado (14,421 ft). Though not all students were able to summit, it was one of the few clear days on a very snowy trip, and I took advantage of the incredible weather by video-taping the ascent. HMI recently acquired a very fancy camera, and I have been having a blast playing with it!

Mt Massive Summit Video

I hope you all enjoy.

Love,
Eliza

corn on the cob

A recent visit with my cousin Tom revealed some family photographs that I have never seen. He has generously sent the ones I requested.

I am joining my brother Don in becoming the family archivist. I realize that although my siblings smile knowingly when they see a photo like this, our kids may not know who this is or where they are!

So here is my grandmother, Ruth Lamb Dobson, with her second husband Perry Dobson. Years after my grandfather, Henry Lamb, died of kidney disease and her five children were grown up, Granny married Perry.

This photo was taken at Lake Memphremagog, perhaps on the Pines beach. I recognize my sister Ruth but do not know who the boys are. As is true of so many of the iconic events that took place in our family, I was not born yet.

Corn on the cob, anyone?

The Privet Hedge

Sid, Barby, Martha, Ruth (their mother), Peggy, Ruston

Martha, Sid, Ruston, Barby, Peggy

Here is a photo of my mother's family in front of the privet hedge in Stanstead, Quebec.

Look how it grew over the years!

Owl's Head, Quebec

Owl's Head on the west side of Lake Memphremagog in Quebec, Canada has been the inspiration for many artists.  Here are two watercolors done by my uncle Robert Montgomery. You will see my aunt Peggy in the foreground of the lower painting. These were on the wall of my cousin Ann's house. Worth a trip to Ogden, Canada (AKA Beebe or Cedarville) to see them and Ann.

the lake

In August, Ruthie and I did the cousin tour. We saw Martha Gordon in Barton, Vermont, Brenda Lamb Makarov and family in Derby, Vermont and Ann and Tom Montgomery in Ogden, Quebec. Yes, the Hemlocks and Winter Palace are in Ogden, Quebec. 

I have always liked seeing my cousins and feel a deep connection because of the time we spent together as kids at "The Hemlocks"- a shared summer place in Canada.  But lately I value them as holders of my own family history.  I search their faces to find traces of their younger selves and features that are shared across generations. I spent the first ten summers of my life with Tom, Ann and Martha who were six, eight and ten when I arrived on the scene. Tom was close friends with my bother John and they were just a blur -always on the run and up to something. Ann rocked me in the hammock and "payed attention" I was told by my mother. 

Ten summers, two families joined by the link of mothers who were sisters. This summer we sat on the veranda of the lake house that we once shared and talked about "the ancestors." Tom and Ann know a lot about our shared great grandparents (Hattie and Gardner Stevens), our grandmother (Ruth Stevens Lamb Dobson) and even about my parents who were like parents to them when we all shared the house. My people are their people in a way I had not appreciated as fully as I do now.  

"When did our mothers buy this place?" I wondered. Being the youngest, I always assumed that everything happened before I was born. 

"Their first summer here was 1953," answered Tom after doing some mental calculations. 

The year I was born. 

My first summer was everyone's first summer at this sacred family place. 

"See, Barb, you didn't miss a thing." said Tom.

In fact, maybe I was the inspiration for the whole thing. With the growing families, they needed a place of their own.

(Our house in Summit, New Jersey-160 Oak Ridge Avenue bought the same year.)

On our last night there, Ruthie and I were alone in the cottage. There was a powerful thunder and lightning storm that at first was lovely to watch over the lake but then came to us. Wind slammed the doors and rain blew in from all directions. In the morning we discovered that a few major trees had blown down across the path. 

"The ancestors visited us last night!" said Ruth.

We definitely stirred things up.

September on Isle au Haut

My friend Nancy invited a group of woman friends out to the island in Penobscot Bay, Maine, where we spent summers as a family years ago.  I was curious to see what it would be like on Isle au Haut in mid September having always gone there as soon as school was out in mid June. We were always there for the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and this visit was pretty close to the fall equinox, the time of year when day and night are equal length.

It was wonderful to be in this familiar place but strange to be there without my family!

We took some wonderful, familiar walks, enjoyed the almost full moon and the extreme low and high tides caused by the full moon.  Night was like day, we walked down to the pier without flashlights marveling at the moon shadows.

Rudi and Wilson were great companions on walks, getting muddy whenever possible and swimming to clean off whenever instructed. I envied them their swim in Long Pond. I wanted to jump off the dock, too, but at this time of year it was just too cold.