Feeling Redeemed

Sometimes I feel so grateful for my redemption from evil that I can hardly contain it. This is one of those times. So I haven’t bothered to contain it!

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Advent and Beyond, Day 32 – “The Little Match Girl”

I have always loved Hans Christian Anderson – not just the stories, but the attitude and imagination of the man behind them. Here is a lovely animated renditioning of the story of “The Little Match Girl”… …and the story behind it. Also, a second, fancier, annotated version.

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Advent and Beyond, Day 31 – “The Fool’s Prayer”, a poem

The royal feast was done; the King Sought some new sport to banish care, And to his jester cried: “Sir Fool, Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!”   The jester doffed his cap and bells, And stood the mocking court before; They could not see the bitter smile Behind the paint grin he [...]

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Advent and Beyond, Day 30 – Adding Jem’s Family to the Picture

Some while ago now, Jem got thinking about his family, loudly enough that I could hear. He never actually said the words, but finally I knew he was asking, “What about my wife? What if…I bring her?” I felt like the sun had finally reached to the bottom of a deep lake. I told him, almost [...]

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Advent and Beyond, Day 29 – Christ the Conquerer

I got to spend some extra time at Mom’s before Christmas, decorating. We have always loved decorating for different holidays, and could have cared less, through the years, what other people thought of our decisions…even when we got told we were displaying unholy practices by putting up Christmas trees, greenery (Heaven forbid mistletoe), and lights, [...]

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Billy and the “Bombies” – family dream genes?

My son has been telling me about his dreams lately – up to three and four times a week. Not just any dreams, you understand – ones with “bombies”. These “bombies”, as he calls them, seem to be war planes, being similar in appearance to World War Two bombers – except bigger. He has been praying four [...]

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Advent and Beyond, Day 28 – “Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening”, a poem

I thought I’d share this lovely version of a Robert Frost poem.  A sort of soundscape, for a tranquil moment. It makes me want to go walking, when the evening is all blue and white, and the dusk is almost thorough.

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Advent and Beyond – Day 27 – Hans Christian Anderson’s story “The Cripple”

Here is the story of “The Cripple,” which gave me pause, and could stand many readings. It makes me glad of my life, and the opportunities in it. It also makes me glad I gave good thought to the gifts I chose to give this year.

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Advent Day 26 – About Jem’s Cookies

I was unsure today what I was supposed to put here…my original idea didn’t work out. As I mulled over the possibilities, only one thing kept bringing me a smile every time I passed by it. Jem and his cookies. He’s been so funny about them. First, to show my total goodwill toward him, I made [...]

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Advent Day 25 – Hans Christian Anderson on Winter – from “The Elder Tree Mother”

“Here it’s agreeable in winter!” said the little girl, and all the trees were covered with hoar-frost, so that they looked like white coral. The snow creaked under one’s feet, as if one had new boots on. One shooting star after another traversed the sky. In the room the Christmas tree was lit, and there [...]

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Goat shouter…or would that be whisperer?

When we hear “Old Yeller,” my siblings and I think of Dad. It’s not that he’s always angry…just loud. Even his goats have gotten used to it. He yells for them to come in for feeding; he yells for them to come be milked. He yells at the “teenagers” for getting out of their fences, and [...]

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Advent Day 24 – A Danish Rice Pudding recipe

I’ve tried several rice pudding recipes over the last few years (not something my mom ever made). The concept below is far and away my favorite.   The original recipe, from the official Denmark site, runs thus: 1 plateful of cold rice pudding (3/4 dl pudding rice boiled in 1/2 litre of milk) 25-50 g almonds [...]

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Inspirations – “Jarn”, who kept me from sitting on what I know

This bio, about “Jarn”, proved a catalyst in my life. One moment, I was happily perusing Helium articles and titles, to see what I might want to write in the coming week, and the next, I was being torn apart inside by what I was reading, about a young man who had grown up in [...]

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Advent Day 23 – A Glimpse of Christmas Day, from “April Snow”

Singing “en Jungfru fodde ett barn i dag – Today the Virgin has borne a Child,” they drove to church, in darkness and in cold; sleigh bells were cymbals; hooves against the frosty ground and snow, were snare drums. The horses pranced to the tune of high voices, low voices, mature voices, and thin piping [...]

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Advent Day 22 – A Glimpse of Cristmas Eve, from “April Snow”

It was fine to have [their friends Johann and Georg stay with] them. But it was fine, to, to have the men out from underfoot when after breakfast they shouldered their guns for hunting, and the boys followed them out into the open. There was so much of women’s work to do. There was much [...]

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