Advent and Nature

My theme for this first week of Advent is to "Cherish and care for the earth". I express my unity with nature by offering small gifts of love and attention in recognition of all I receive from the earth, and by finding joy and fulfillment in simply being alive, instead of in an excess of buying, eating, using, and wasting. 

I've been trying to do more than tolerate the cold and wet of the season. I've been-

Exploring the Amazon, looking for birds.

• Walking and biking everywhere, being careful to wear the clothes that keep me comfortably warm and dry. 
• Working outdoors for a few minutes everyday: Harvesting a little kale, raking leaves, and turning the compost.
• Paying attention to the weather, the sky, the outdoor temperature, the birds, the leaves, the moon.
• Collecting greens, pine cones, and other natural materials to use to make gifts and decorations.

We were looking for some of the rarer ducks that come
here in the winter, but all we found were lots
of charming mallards

Agenda Today:
1. Go for longer walks:
I walk a mile or more every morning with my beautiful dog, Sadie, but this week I have challenged myself to walk further, and especially to visit the creek path to watch for birds.

2. Learn more about the flora and fauna in my area: 
I should review the names of the trees in my neighborhood- I used to be able to recite them...


3. Bird food pine cones:
Right now, because of the cold, the wild birds are looking for high energy foods. 

Peanut butter is high in fat and full of protein, and could be considered the perfect bird food. Be sure to get natural, no-sugar peanut butter, or use vegetable shortening as an alternative.

Supplies:

• 1 c. peanut butter or shortening, or a combination
• 1 c. oatmeal or cornmeal
• pine cones
• bird seed
• yarn or string

Yield: Makes 2 bird cones-

1- Mix equal parts peanut butter or shortening with oatmeal or cornmeal until well blended. (I used half a cup of each and it just covered this one medium-sized cone.)



2- Choose a pine cone. Cut a long length of string to hang the bird feeder, and tie around the pine cone near the top (about 3 sections down).

3- Use a butter knife to spread peanut butter inside the pine cone and around the edges.

4- Fill a bowl with birdseed. Roll the pine cone in the birdseed. 

Go out and hang it in a tree where you can watch from a window.

New White Moon

The Chinese call the eleventh new moon the White Moon, perhaps because it brings the snow, or perhaps because it's a yin time of year: Night, female, water, and cold is dominant.

Chinese philosophy says the winter season is a time of conservation and storage; we slow down, go inward, and spend more time on quiet activities.

Agenda:
1. Altar:
It's time to discern what to add to my altar for December. (For my thoughts on altars see About Altars). I generally keep it simple and choose only things that speak to me and feed me, and reveal what I believe in. I ask, what quality of Spirit do I want to invoke? 

I cleared off some of the objects from last month, but left 

• my straw doll- for luck and protection
• an angel- to remind me to be giving and loving

Today I added:

• pine cones- for the earth
• a red candle for courage and will power
• a green candle for harmony, balance, and growth
• an early photo of me and W- for synergy

2. New moon meditation:

This month I use the Christmas colors as a focus in my meditation. I light the red and green candles, and a small white moon candle, and settle into quiet:

Focus on the red and find my courage and will power within.

Focus on the green and find harmony, balance, and growth.

Focus on the white candle. Feel myself fill with thankfulness for all I have now in my life.

Continue to sit this morning, and feel the presence of Spirit within me and without me. Just notice my feelings and sensations, and listen for guidance.

3. Journal:

The new moon is my monthly time for “seeding” intentions. I write down what I hope to focus on in the next 30 days or so, and then give my ideas a period of gestation, like seeds in the soil, before I take action. Having this regular time each month to focus my goals has helped to give me clarity of purpose.

This is the last new moon before the new year, so I have a lot to consider.

What is my inner Guide leading me towards?

What might give my life more wholeness?

What are my next steps in life?

List my intentions for the next month in these areas-

Self, Friends and Family, Teaching, Artwork, Writing, Home and Garden, Work/Business, and Volunteer work.

4. Start a new intentions poster:

My Intentions Poster for 2016, organized into 9 sections--
Top- Synergy, Depth, Stillness
Middle- Joy, Balance, Strength
Bottom- Receptivity, Integrity, Abundance

For the last two years I've made a poster, showing my intentions for the New Year. Today I plan to examine this year's poster to see what I've accomplished. I will remove the items that I have finished, or which are no longer needed, and consider what I might like to add for next year.

5. Practice at my theme:
My theme this month is synergy, the ability to seek unity, embrace teamwork, and work tirelessly towards a better end. It’s the eternally active primal force of creation: No matter what the conditions are-- they will change. You create synergy in your life when you make the effort to see clearly, stay open-minded, and take persistent right action. Synergy will allow you to experience the people in your life as angels, and the places you live, work, and play as paradise.

One place that I consistently experience synergy is in my marriage. I put a photo on my altar this month of the two of us in our youth to remind me that the hard work of being part of a team is ultimately worth the effort.

I think our country is in great need of synergy right now. Now more than ever, I want to be of use to my community, to work for peace and justice. But activism and teamwork are not my forte! I need to give attention to the usefulness of synergy, and the skills I need to develop:

• Be open to where God is leading me to work. 
• Take it slow. Choose carefully; no need to feel rushed or anxious.
• Be persistent. Be patient. Keep showing up.
• Create synergy within myself, and an explosion of passion, by engaging my heart, mind, body, and soul
• Seek to understand different opinions, and remember how to interact successfully with different personalities.
• Remember to wait for the unity that comes with divine insight.

“True unity may be found under great apparent differences. This unity is spiritual, it expresses itself in many ways, and we need divine insight that we may recognize its working. We need forbearance, sympathy, and love, in order that, while remaining loyal to the truth as it comes to us, we may move forward with others to a larger and richer experience and expression of the will of God.”

~ London Yearly Meeting, 1916

Black Friday

Black Friday sales are an abomination! All I want to do on the day after Thanksgiving is eat pie and whip cream, and think about Advent. I make most of my holiday gifts, and usually spend this free day at home, with my family, working on projects.

This year I offered a Black Friday candle-making class, so this afternoon I get to play with other people's kids, and make candles with them- what could be better?

Agenda:
1. Compile a family wish list:
It's a family tradition that we make a list on the day after Thanksgiving of what we want for Christmas. (Why is it so hard to get men to tell you what they want?)

2. Make candles:
We will make rolled candles and dipped candles. 

For rolled candles you need: Honeycomb sheets, knife, cutting surface (thick cardboard), metal straight edge, wick (flat braid, 15 ply), scissors, pot of water, paper towels

1- Cut the beeswax sheet length-wise or width-wise with a metal straight edge and knife.

2- Cut a piece of wick to just a little bit longer than the height of your wax.

3- Warm the piece of wax in front of a heater until it is flexible (but not melted), 











then crimp the end over the table edge, insert the wick, and roll.

4- Seal the top and bottom of the candle by pressing them onto the outside of a pot of hot water. Be sure to catch drips with a paper towel.

For dipped candles you need: 4 parts beeswax and 1 part paraffin, hammer and chisel, a large can or canister, large pot of water, hot plate, large pitcher of cold water, wick (square braid, #5/0), scissors, masking tape, towel, knife

1- Prepare the wax several hours before you plan to dip. First chop the block of wax into small chunks and fill the canister. My old olive oil container holds about 5 lbs. of wax (4 lbs. beeswax + 1 lb. paraffin). 

2- Put the canister into the oven on low for several hours so it can melt slowly. I put a smaller pot of wax in as well, to have ready for topping off the canister as the level drops.

3- Prepare the dipping area: I set up a hot plate with a large pot of water on a low chair, and a tub of cold water on another chair. When the canister of wax is completely melted, set it into the hot water pot and insert a thermometer; adjust the temperature of the water to keep the wax at 150-160ºF.

4- Cut a wick long enough for two candles, double it over and dip it smoothly but quickly in and out of the wax, then into the cold water. Lay the candles flat on a towel and roll them to dry and straighten. Repeat. Tips:

• The first couple of dips will crumple up the wick- just carefully straighten it and keep going.
• If wax doesn’t stick to the wick it may be too hot, or you may be holding the wick too long in the hot wax.
• If bumps form, the wax may be too hot or too cool.
• Don’t shake or move the candles too much or they will develop cracks.
• If you leave water on the wax it will spit when you burn the candle.
• The bottoms will eventually get long, so pinch or cut them flat once in awhile.

5-  When your candles are fat enough cut the bottoms flat one last time and store flat until they are completely cool.

Thanksgiving

I am looking forward to this Thanksgiving because I will be with my family and dear friends. But I am also anxious- about hosting a huge meal, providing the right atmosphere, and getting the details right. I want everyone to feel comfortable and relaxed, not overworked or stressed- including myself. 
How can I help to make it a great day for everyone and also retain my own contentment?

In order to set this day apart, I will treat it as a Sabbath… no unkind words, no rushing, no work that isn’t thankful work. I choose to stay present, notice everything as if in slow motion, and pause often to observe what I am thankful for in the moment.

Agenda:
1. Thanksgiving Meditation for Peace and Abundance:
In order to start the morning right, I began giving thanks before I got out of bed. I plan to stay in a thanksgiving meditation as long as I can...Take a deep breath and feel deep gratitude for what I have, for the abundance of having a home, a family and friends. I am thankful for the things I usually take for granted. I am thankful that I AM ALIVE.

I give thanks for my warm bed, for my slippers, my dog, my sleeping family, my clean kitchen, and my morning cup of coffee. I pray that my friends and family stay safe and well.

I give thanks for the pies on the table, and the abundance of food in the refrigerator. I pray that others find enough food today to feel full and satisfied.

I give thanks for a home of peace, and a town with no riots or bombing. I pray for peace and justice for my brothers and sisters with darker skin than mine, and that I will have the strength to stand with them when things get dangerous.

2. Cook the Turkey:

I’m cooking a 14 lb. turkey this year, and it was in the oven at 9 a.m. as planned. I was up early to make the stuffing, warm the bird to room temperature, rinse it off, pat it dry, stuff it, and baste it with melted butter.

3. Give thanks:
Thankfulness is a powerful and transforming emotion. I hope to take time to feel each nuance of the day, to feel gratitude for each person present, and for each dish offered; and give thanks for the food, all the way back to its source and all who handled it on the way to our table.

I hope to take the time to connect deeply with the people I am with and appreciate each person’s uniqueness, and I challenge myself to find out something new about every person at the table.

Prepare for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is in three days, and our plans are pretty much set. We are hosting our dear friends at our house for a traditional turkey dinner. We'll make the turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, and lots of pumpkin pie, and they will bring sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, juice, and berry cobbler!

Agenda:

1. Cook the pumpkins:
The secret to good pumpkin pie is to use fresh pumpkin. We harvested seven small pie pumpkins from our garden this year, which will be enough for several pies. 

I cooked the pumpkins last week. After chopping and cleaning them, I baked them at 250ºF until they were soft. Then I scooped them out of the skins and put the pumpkin in containers in the refrigerator for later. 

I got about 18 cups, way more than enough for the three large pies I plan to make; I will probably have enough for a couple of pies at Christmas, too!

2. Make a thank you card and hand it out:
I am continuing the tradition I started last year of making a thanksgiving card to give my friends. I painted a colorful abstract on watercolor paper, photographed it, then uploaded it to Pixlr, a free on-line program, to add words and borders. I printed a few to hand out, and I plan to send some by email as well.

3. Buy a Turkey:
According to the Butterball Calculations site, we need a 14 lb. turkey, and we'll need 3-1/2 days to thaw it, so I bought it yesterday.

4. Make the pies:

This recipe card is very old!

On Wednesday I will make pies-- several, because we need one for breakfast on Friday! My pumpkin pie recipe-

Ingredients:

• 4 c. pumpkin
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. each ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg

Makes one large pie-

1- Make the pastry and line the pie plate. Preheat the oven to 450ºF.

2- Put half of the pumpkin and half of the milk in the blender with one egg and blend until pureed.

3- Pour into a mixer bowl, and repeat with the second batch.

This is enough for two pies.

4- Add sugar, salt, and spices to the mixer bowl and mix on low, then pour into pie shell.

5- Bake at 450ºF for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 375ºF and bake for 45 minutes.