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December 27, 2005
We tried to get a nice Christmas picture ...
This is as good as it gets ;-)
I'll post Solstice pictures later. Photobucket assures me it has resized my pictures, but it hasn't.
Posted by lynx at 10:44 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 23, 2005
Two Words: Rum Icing
Mmmmmmmm. You make icing, but instead of using vanilla flavoring, you add rum. What a brilliant idea.
I thought I'd use that to ice the Mommy and Daddy cookies. The boys came upon the icing, though, and being boys, and being icing, they ate it.
They loved it. But my kids are funny about alcohol. They don't want to touch it with a 10-foot pole. Our kids. How did that happen?
"Mom, that vanilla frosting is great!" Aidan said to me this morning.
"It's not vanilla."
"It's not?"
"No."
"Then what is it?"
"Rum."
"Rum?"
"Yes, rum."
"Oh," he said, and looked thoughtful. "Mom, could we call it something else? I'm really uncomfortable with that name."
Posted by lynx at 11:07 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
December 21, 2005
Sunrise
So pile the bonfire, join the dance
And raise your voices high
Old winter can no more advance
Its hold on earth and sky
For soon the sap will rise again
The mute once more will sing
And the weary heart will wake anew
To the promise of the spring
Jaiya
The Shortest Day
by Susan Cooper
So the shortest day came, and the year died,
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive,
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - Listen!!
All the long echoes sing the same delight,
This shortest day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, fest, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!!
Susan Cooper
Posted by lynx at 6:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Table Blessing
You have to understand that Lachlan, who is three years old, calls sneezes "bless you." If he sneezes, he runs into us and says, in his sad little-boy-wants-attention voice, "I have bless yous."
Tonight, at our family Yule dinner, we thought we'd ask one of the boys to say the table blessing. Connor declined. Aidan declined. Griffin said "Tinco!" (His I'm-being-silly word.)
So without thinking, we asked Lachlan if he'd like to bless the food.
He said yes.
He sat quietly for a second, closed his eyes, and sneezed on the food.
Posted by lynx at 1:02 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
December 14, 2005
Griffin's Cosmology
Griffin: Where was God when the dinosaurs were on our earth?
Me: Where do you think God was?
Griffin: In the sun.
Me: Why is God in the sun?
Griffin: Because if God was on the earth, and he heard a meat-eater, he would go to the sun to be away from it. And all the people would go on the sun too. When the dinosaurs die, God can bring the people to the earth, because they don't want to be eaten.
Posted by lynx at 11:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 13, 2005
Blame the Crib Chick
Last year ... remember last year? I did the One Sixteenth Holiday Extravaganza. Yuletide songs galore!
I just couldn't wrap my brain around it this year. However, Ms. Crib Chick and a few others have emailed me asking for Christmas music suggestions. I love you people.
Here are the songs that always make it onto my personal holiday mix:
"I Believe in Father Christmas" - Greg Lake
"Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
"Yule is Come" - Jaiya, off the album "Firedance"
"A Soalin" - Peter, Paul and Mary (live version)
A Mad Russian's Christmas" - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
"The First Noel" - performed by Billy Pilgrim off the album "You Sleigh Me"
"The Christians and the Pagans" - Dar Williams off the album "Mortal City"
"A Winter's Tale" - David Essex off the CD "That's Christmas" (I was unable to find a clip for this online. It's a shame, as this is a lovely song.)
"Walking in the Air" - performed by Aled Jones (Couldn't find a clip of this either. This is worth seeking out.)
"Walking in the Air" - performed by Nightwish off their album "Oceanborn." This is a direct link to an mp3 clip.
"Ring Out Solstice Bells" - Jethro Tull
"Good King Wenceslas" - Loreena McKennit
"Gabriel's Message" - performed by Sting, this can be found on "A Very Special Christmas."
"Christmas" - Blues Traveler, off of "A Very Special Christmas 3"
Chris Cornell doing "Ave Maria" - off the above album
Natalie Merchant's "Children Go Where I Send Thee" - also off the above album
"Easier Said than Done" - Jon Anderson, off the album "3 Ships"
"Christmas is Coming" - John Denver and the Muppets
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" - John Denver and the Muppets
"Gaudete" - performed by The King's Singers
"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings" - Barenaked Ladies w/Sarah McLachlan
"An Angel Came Down" - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
"Mary's Boy Child" - performed by Boney M. Really.
If it's parody you like, Bob Rivers is always a good bet. My favorite of his is "O Come All Ye Grateful Deadheads."
And then, there's Deck the Halls With Skulls and Saxons.
Posted by lynx at 11:01 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
December 8, 2005
Experiment in Self-Direction
Reading about what others do is sometimes dangerous.
I usually give my kids assignments every day. This week I got the idea that as Connor is nearly 10, perhaps he should have more control over his schedule. You see, I had just read a description of someone else's homeschooling day, a day in which the child finished his assignments early in the week so that he could have a couple of days free.
So on Monday I presented my eldest son with a list of his assignments for the week. He was thrilled with the idea.
It's Thursday night. Would you like to make any guesses? Place any bets?
Yet to be done: 33 math problems (75 to be checked and corrected), two day's worth of Latin work (which is unfortunate, as his chapter quiz is scheduled for tomorrow and he will not know the material), and an entire week's worth of grammar (four worksheets and a test).
PE is tomorrow; that's three hours of our afternoon.
It's going to be interesting, eh? I think I've done a good job or reminding him of his work, while not nagging. I've sat on my hands and bit my tongue. Our deal was that he finish the work by Friday afternoon, or he loses all privileges (computer time, time with friends, etc.) until it's all done.
I've learned that he's not quite ready for this much freedom - my error by making that call too early. I'm darned if I'm going to step in before the week ends, however. We're going to follow this one out to the end.
Posted by lynx at 11:04 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
December 7, 2005
The Holidays in Texas
We got our tree on Sunday. We went to a tree farm, picked one out, and cut it down. The whole shebang.
It was 90 degrees. It's kind of hard to keep that whole Christmas/Solstice spirit going in 90 degrees.
Right now it's 20.
That's Texas. There's summer - that's when it's hot. That's when every day is above 90 degrees. After summer comes the time when it generally stays under 85, but every few weeks it will freeze for a day or two.
This week we get our "winter storm." We have one every December. We had ice and sleet all day long. The precipitation will be over by morning. One day. We're done.
So on that special day, we do it up big. We get out the hats, coats, boots, gloves. We make hot chocolate. We light the fire. We have something like pulled pork for dinner, which takes six hours to cook and makes the house toasty. We snuggle in for extra TV and a family movie night. Today this meant an episode of "Cosmos," and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." (Does that make us weird?)
Off for more "Firefly" ...
Posted by lynx at 11:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 5, 2005
Late to the Party
We've finally started watching "Firefly."
Why didn't anyone tell us? No, I know, you all told us. This show is fantastic. We're only three episodes in, and I dearly love these people. A spaceship captain who uses the phrase "don't get tetchy" - what's not to love?
There must be some mathematical constant that describes the relationship between the quality of a science fiction show and how quickly it gets cancelled. Mark, Jeff ... can't you work that out?
I don't think we're going to watch "Serenity" until we finish the series, but Jeff, here's Orson Scott Card's review of the movie.
I. Can't. Wait.
Posted by lynx at 9:39 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
That's it, I'll protect you from witchcraft!
You are the Christmas Holly.
What Christmas Ornament are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Posted by lynx at 9:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack