"Raven came. All the world was in darkness. The sky above was in darkness. The waters below were in darkness. Men and women lived in the dark and cold. Raven was sad for them. He said, "I will search for light." I was inspired to needlefelt this wall hanging by my favorite story for this time of year, a Pacific Northwest Coastal Tlingit legend of how Raven the trickster ...
Tree of Light
On a clear weekend afternoon in December, we set out to find a tree. I wanted to write this story all about how we went out to our favorite sustainable tree farm on this woman's land way out Lynx Hollow road, where she lets the trees grow up like a magical forest, and the ground is carpeted in moss and toadstools. Now, we probably sound like the sort of folks who would go out in the forest ...
Holiday Market
(Image from the Holiday Market website) We are very fortunate to have an amazing holiday market in our community. Every weekend from late November until Christmas, artisans, crafters, musicians, farmers and darn good cooks gather in the exhibit hall of the Lane County Fairgrounds to create a whole little village dedicated to local arts. Our family goes every year to do a little shopping for the ...
Santa Lucia Day
What little girl wouldn't love to dress up like a Queen of Light with a crown of greens and candles and pass out warm baked goods? It's St. Lucia's day, and in Swedish homes and Waldorf Schools everywhere, a happy little girl is leading a procession through the house, or school halls, or village streets passing out those heavenly golden saffron buns. At our school, the second grade does the Santa ...
A Rose in Mid-Winter
Look what is blooming outside my kitchen window...in December. It reminded me of an old 16th-Century German Christmas carol, "Es ist ein' Ros' entsprungen", or "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming." "It came, a flow'ret bright,Amid the cold of winter,When half spent was the night." ...
Mountain Hearth Handcrafts
With the holidays fast approaching, I have been busily stitching, felting, gluing and beading in my craft room. Colorful wool is piled around in baskets, little scraps of this and that are becoming beautiful creations, and the midnight oil is certainly being burned. When we bought this old farmhouse, one of the selling points for me was an extra downstairs room with lots of ...
The Snow Faeries
The Snow Fairy by Claude McKay "Throughout the afternoon I watched them there, Snow-fairies falling, falling from the sky, Whirling fantastic in the misty air, Contending fierce for space supremacy. And they flew down a mightier force at night, As though in heaven there was revolt and riot, And they, frail things had taken panic flight Down to the calm earth seeking ...
Hearty Winter Rice
On a cold, rainy winter's day, nothing warms you up at the end of the day like a piping hot home-cooked meal. But what if you've had a busy day, working hard, transporting children, and all the other numerous things that keep one away from home, so that when you finally get there at the end of the day, everyone is hungry and you need dinner FAST. More time than I can recall, this rice dish ...
Deck The Halls: Do-It-Yourself Holiday Greenery
When the weather turns cold, and outdoors-people like myself are spending less time in the great outdoors, there's nothing like bringing a little outdoors indoors! There's also something really nice about making a home festive for the winter holidays. It just warms your bones. Over the past several years, I have made a lot of efforts to decorate with natural materials and reduce my ...
Winter Light Faire
Yesterday was my very favorite festival of the entire year, the Winter Light Faire at our Waldorf school. The whole community gathers and creates the most beautiful festival with crafts, performances, delicious food and treats, storytelling, beeswax candle dipping, wreath making, hot cider, gnomes, faeries, shopping for local handcrafted creations, games, and my very favorite, the Crystal ...