Just four gentle notes and we find ourselves walking towards a snow-covered chapel nestled in a snowy Austrian forest. We open the wooden doors and are drawn across old planks towards a simple altar, graced with candles and boughs of fragrant pines. In the air … Read more
We’re entering “Fill-up the Fridge” season. Everything from mandarin oranges and heavy cream to smoked ham and extra-special cheeses is wending its way into our iceboxes and onto our pantries. For those following an Advent fast, the return of these items builds extra excitement. Today … Read more
If you, like me, grew up in an urban area, then light pollution blotted out the night sky during your childhood. But if fortunate, you might find yourself one day living out in the country where the stars at night are spectacular. We made that … Read more
As Christmas Eve draws near, our family friends in Weimar pull out their East-German tinsel from the attic. They gingerly unwrap long bundles of it, packed away the previous Christmas, and then, carefully, press the strands with a cool iron. As you might guess, this … Read more
“When is Christmas?” If you have little ones in your household, this question is floating in the air. A grandchild asked it of me yesterday. She seemed astonished to learn that Christmas Eve would be coming in one week, despite seeing three candles lit in … Read more
The topic of Shepherds has arisen previously in this Advent Calendar. At that time we were knee-deep raising goats and cows. Now we are urban folk, knee-deep in grandchildren and legos. Still, the lessons learned from a decade of raising livestock continue to speak their … Read more
It’s beginning to look a lot like a blizzard, Everywhere you go. . . . A blizzard of confectionary sugar, that is. It’s Heritage Cookie Week—time to haul out the recipe cards penned in beautiful cursive by our ancestors and bring them back to life. … Read more
King Herod is definitely the bad guy of the Christmas Story. His vindictive order to kill all baby boys in the region echoes eerily back to the Old Testament account of Pharoah’s order that sent baby Moses down the river in a reed basket. Anyone … Read more
The scents of the Christmas season account for so much of its specialness. In fact, no other holiday has such delicious odors trumpeting its arrival. Think of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg wafting from the seasonal cookies and cakes in our ovens. Hot grog and spiced … Read more
