Happy New Year my dear blogging family.

I know it’s the beginning of a spanking new year, but I have a secret; where it’s at is “OLD.” When I was a child, one of my favourite quilts was a patchwork creation. On one side was a soft flannel sheet and on the other, an intricate, selection of various material squares, all sewed together to make a cozy, warm quilt. I especially loved the moss green velvet pieces. My hand would invariably stroke these squares and find comfort there. This quilt, pieced together by my grandmother, Clark, from scraps of old, worn clothing, always made me feel safe and loved. I wonder if she knew the power in her stitches?

I grew up in a generation where everything new was considered chic. In my twenties, newly married, there was a term to describe my husband and I; “DINKS,” which was an acronym for, “Double Income No Kids.” We were proud of our accumulations and we worked hard to acquire more of the same. We grinned when we heard the term DINKS, as if we were in some secret club where we had it all.

But society sold us a bill of goods. A fake lifestyle built on consumerism. At almost thirty, sitting in the house we had custom built, surrounded by interior designed window coverings, freshly home from Hawaii, I looked at my husband and realized our lifestyle was not making us any happier. I remember at the time wondering what more I needed to feel content. My husband had started to hint that he was ready for children and although I was scared to give up my independent lifestyle, I had a sense that we would find joy in becoming parents.

Having our first child was stressful though as we tried to juggle our lifestyle AND be parents. We tried living that way for a number of years and finally, when we decided to have our third child, we both agreed that something would have to give. I was so tired of juggling work and our home life and trying to have it all. The something that went, was my career.

I was so busy for years mothering our children that I didn’t have a chance to really look at that decision. but it was the BEST thing we ever did. We were forced to change our lifestyle and become more creative with how we spent our money. I discovered that was one of the keys to HAPPINESS.

“At our core as human beings, we are creators, not consumers. ”

~Lee Reynolds~

I’ve been home with our children for over two decades now and while there have been many stressful situations financially, I know that experiencing difficult times has taught us to appreciate the simple moments in our life. For me, being there at the end of our children’s school day with warm cookies fresh from the oven, lighting a candle and holding hands in prayer before our meal, cuddling with our children at night while reading a good book, have been my happiest moments.

No amount of money can buy these moments.

This past Christmas was another good example where we stretched ourselves to give our children some carefully thought out gifts. The BEST gifts were ones we made ourselves. My husband David made our oldest daughter a headboard and base. It wasn’t fancy, but it suits her quaint sea side home. He also made our younger twin daughters a two storey, Veterinarian clinic, since they have a collection of small animals and are both passionate about caring for pets. (Kathryn aspires to be a Vet one day)

Then when I was making my Christmas pillow covers for the family room, I made our oldest daughter a set of black pillow case covers for her guest futon. Last year, we had given her two pillows but she hadn’t bought a set of pillow cases because as she told me, “mom they are expensive.” In addition, I made her a Christmas pillow to go with this set.

While we bought new things for our children’s Christmas presents, I found the greatest joy in making these items. From the smile on Alyssa’s face on Christmas morning, I know she will treasure the things her parents made just for her.

Another thing I did was re-purpose our youngest daughter’s old Christmas dresses. They had seriously outgrown the top but as I folded the dresses and was about to put them in our donation box for our local thrift shop, I realized the skirt on the dress was very full and quite long. With a quick snip, taking off the bodice, and folding and sewing over the waist band , I turned the sweet, red plaid dresses into cute little Christmas skirts. I think I was channelling my mom because she used to make outfits for her four daughters out of old clothes. One Christmas she made us all matching red felt skirts.

The girls were so happy as they had loved their dresses. There is a beautiful black velvet band with a crystal piece on the waist band that actually stands out more now that the piece is a skirt. And the skirts are so versatile depending what you pair them with. They even wore the skirt over their solid black music, concert dresses that were getting a bit short. Voila, a new outfit!!! (Plus it was nice and warm when we went to church on Christmas Eve which was snowy and cold in our part of the world!)

Inspired with these homemade creations and also re-purposing the girls dresses into skirts made me want to go on the hunt for “old,” things and so at the end of our Christmas holiday, my two older daughters and I enjoyed an afternoon sleuthing through antique shops in our little town and then we stopped and had a lovely tea break at our local, “Bean to Cup,” cafe. Walking around the antique shops, seeing many things from my childhood, like a 1960’s metal dollhouse, made me realize that I’m getting old.

These things are now considered ANTIQUES! and yes, I’m well over 50 now and I guess I’m considered an antique too. If you are there too, you will understand how bizarre this feels because I may be old (biologically), BUT I don’t feel old.

And what makes me feel young, is creating. Always having new ideas, new dreams, new ways of living, and turning the things around me into new re-purposed items.

You could say, I am even re-purposing my life. Shifting and changing with the seasons brings me so much joy and caring for the earth while I’m at it restores my soul.

So as the New Year unfolds, I’m looking for old. I’m looking for character filled items to surround myself with, and character filled people too. I know I’m not alone in looking at my belongings and re-purposing what we own as I was talking to my oldest sister this morning and she told me that one of her goals for the New Year is “not” to buy any clothes, shoes, etc. She is going to make do with what she has. Way to go, B!

I hope a warm, old, quilt, made from our most comforting memories covers us all and we realize, the simplest things bring us the greatest joy.

~Lee Reynolds~

And we are happy together.

Talking about old and being happy together, last week our son William came home from his cello group practise, and shared one of his “new” orchestra pieces. I had to laugh when I heard it as it’s a song from my childhood. It’s a catchy tune and everyone in our house is now humming it. I wonder if you know it? Check out the following link to the YouTube video, “Happy Together,” by The Turtles. It’s old and new! Come sing along with us.

Oh that was fun and reminds me that music is another simple thing that brings joy and all of us together. Signing off for now, while singing, “Ba, ba, ba, ba, ba, babababa, baaaa, ba, ba, ba, baaaa…. “Happy Togetherrrrr.”

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can’st give me;
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can’st give me;
How often has the Christmas tree
Afforded me the greatest glee!
O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!
Much pleasure thou can’st give me.
~Traditional German Folk Song~

Welcome back and Happy Holidays!

How’s the Christmas decorating going in your house? Do you have your tree up yet? Today, I wanted to share the story of the search for our 2019 Christmas tree, for it was fraught with indecision. With our thoughts going towards creating a simpler Christmas, with a less consumer driven bent, we went back and forth over which path to take.

Artificial tree, cultured tree, Christmas farm tree, or no tree at ALL!

Gasp!

Before I travel too far into this story, I thought I would share what I discovered about why we put up Christmas trees anyway. Where the heck did this tradition begin? Bringing evergreens into the home at this time of the year has gone back centuries, but it wasn’t until the 19th century, when Prince Albert, (Queen Victoria’s husband) who was German- born, brought his childhood tradition, of the decorated Christmas tree, to England. Soon every home in Britain had a tree bedecked with candles, sweets, fruit, homemade decorations and small gifts.

And with that, a Christmas tradition began.

Going back even further, it’s believed that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. While he was walking home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he saw a breathtaking sight; stars twinkling brightly through the evergreens. Wanting to share this beauty with his family, he brought a tree into his home and set lit candles among the branches.

As the shortest day of the year approaches, when darkness prevails, it’s understandable that we want to wrap ourselves in light. Travelling even further in time, way back in history in Northern Europe, the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated with evergreens as a symbol of everlasting life.

In my personal history, my family always had a real Christmas tree. Today I spoke with my oldest sister B and she travelled down memory lane with me, reminiscing over Christmases when our Dad was still alive. The family would all pile into the big, old Buick and head out of our little town of Hope and into the woods. My Dad, Mom and three older sisters would all tromp through the snow looking for that elusive Christmas tree. B said that Dad was choosy too, so sometimes they had to hike for a bit.

That story reminded me of the movie, “Christmas Vacation,” when the character, “Clark Griswold,” (played by Chevy Chase) took his family on a winter quest to find the perfect Christmas tree. Finally, when everyone was freezing to death, the dad, Clark, sees THE tree at last. The choir starts to sing and the tree glitters brilliantly. That’s when their youngest son, Rusty, asks his Dad, “Did you bring a saw?” If you want a good laugh, click the link below. The clip is entitled,”The Griswold’s Christmas Tree.” This movie came out thirty years ago and is one of our family’s traditions, as it heralds the Christmas season into our home.

I was young when Dad died but I do have flashes of memory from our last Christmases together and the Christmas tree played a prominent part in the joy and excitement I felt. Of course, in those days, the tree industry was not the massive commercial industry it is today. There were no Christmas tree lots or even artificial Christmas trees in the stores. If you were to drive around our little town at Christmas you would see freshly cut fir trees standing smack dab in the middle of everyone’s “picture window,” decorated with balls, silver tinsel and shining brightly, with colourful lights.

It was a simpler time.

Our tree was far from what people would call perfect these days. It filled our tiny living room with long branches that were sparsely spaced, but oh the scent of that fragrant fir, fills me with memories of Christmas to this day.

The first Christmas tree I had as an adult was an artificial tree. Let’s call it what it was, a fake tree. I’ll never forget being five months pregnant with our first baby and going to our local Eaton’s Department Store and choosing the tree they had on display. I also bought boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations to match the decor in our newly built house. (lots of pink and seafoam green, ugh now!)

What made it special as I look back now, was having my mom come over and help me decorate. She loved our new house and all the matching ornaments since most of her life she had had to make due and be careful with her money. That Christmas, the joy I felt was from the anticipation of waiting for our new baby and decorating my first Christmas tree with my mom.

Once our children started to arrive and our family grew, we continued to put up our pre-lit fake tree in the living room. Having young children and a cat meant that I had to decorate the tree myself, ensuring all decorations were above cat’s paws and pudgy toddler’s hands.

Knowing we wanted to create lasting memories for our children, we decided early on to take them out to choose a real Christmas tree. For many years we went to a local gardening store, that turned their whole interior space into a Christmas wonderland. Our children excitedly helped us choose a cultured tree and then we would allow them to pick a keepsake ornament as well.

Once the tree was set up in our family room, the children were allowed to decorate as they saw fit. In addition to the keepsake ornaments, they filled the tree with decorations they had made at school. Over the years this tree got very full. Some years we would make popcorn strings for garland. A few years ago, our younger children made dozens of white paper snowflakes and colourful chains. When I looked at our artificial tree with all the matching ornaments and compared it with the real tree with all the handmade ornaments, I bet you can guess which one I liked better.

But as family change and grow, they also evolve and with the arrival of our youngest three children came a heightened environmental awareness. I know ironic hey! Here we were over populating the world with children and suddenly we were hyper focused on the footprint we were leaving. Once our youngest were out of the baby stage and I had more energy, I started to critically look at each aspect of our lives. When Christmas rolled around, I decided I was sick of our fake tree.

It screamed of plastic to me and didn’t represent my changing values.

In addition, it was a pain to bring in and out pf storage, it was difficult to assemble and the twinkling lights, all wired into the branches, were not all twinkling any longer. I was thrilled, when at our last garage sale someone felt they had found a treasure in our tree. A lot of our fancy Christmas tree decorations went with that tree. Goodbye pink and seafoam green ornaments!

As our old artificial tree left our property, being hauled up our driveway in a big box by two people, I felt a sudden sense of freedom. It’s funny hey, how a fake Christmas tree can lay the foundation for your family’s traditions, values and also once gone, give you the space to create a richer life.

A simpler life.

Now I had space in the storage area and space in our life to create new traditions…..but what were they going to look like?

Several years ago now, we started a new tradition of going up into the mountains and cutting down our own Christmas tree. The glistening snow, the scent of pine, cedar and fir, the fresh, crisp air all contributed to create that old fashion feeling I remembered from my childhood. I thought I was onto something, certainly it got us away from the consumer driven industry but my concerns for the environment had me thinking twice about our decision to cut real trees.

I wanted to plant more trees and not cut them down.

As I shared some of my concerns with my sister J recently, she told me how she and her husband B, visit our local municipal hall at the end of Earth day each April and then plant the seedling trees on their property. That got me thinking about how we could go up the mountains and plant a few trees each spring that would more than replace the one(s) we cut each Christmas. I was moving closer to knowing where we would get our tree from this year but I still wasn’t 100% there yet.

At the end of November and into December I stayed busy decorating our house with evergreen boughs from our yard, pine cones and dehydrated oranges. I made festive pillows and hauled all of our keepsake Christmas decor out of storage and decorated our house with twinkling lights and garland.

When I brought out the nativity set, passed down from my parents, it pushed me closer to the direction I wanted to go with regards to finding our tree. The wooden stable had been built by my Dad. He had stained it and even put little bits of straw in the animal’s feeding troughs. Above where baby Jesus would lay, he had even wired in a large bulb so the baby would shine brightly. (I’m looking for a large bulb to replace the old one which burnt out ages ago…they don’t make big Christmas bulbs like this anymore…everything is LED) My mom had filled the little stable with a little plaster nativity set, probably from Sears. I loved the nativity set as a child and as I set each figure in it’s place, I knew I wanted to recreate, a simple, REAL, Christmas for our children.

Then driving home in the dark one early evening, my ten year son William and our twin, eight year old daughters, Kathryn and Victoria, were noticing all the beautiful trees decorated around our little community. “When are we getting our tree mom?” they all chimed. I shared with them my feelings over not wanted to cut down a real tree this year. Then William, in simple straight forth language said, “but mom, won’t we have the tree chipped after Christmas and don’t they turn that into the stuff for your garden?”

That was it! We were going real and the tree would continue to live on helping to grow other things, in my garden and my neighbours gardens.

So after weeks of going back and forth weighing our options, we finally decided that we would head up the mountains once again for our tree. Last Sunday, we all dressed warmly, filled a large Thermos with hot cocoa and crammed a container with Christmas cookies. Then we piled into our old fashion, Honda sleigh and sang Christmas songs all the way to the mountains.

” O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree
Your boughs can teach a lesson
That constant faith and hope sublime
Lend strength and comfort through all time
O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree
Your boughs can teach a lesson”

It was a beautiful, blue sky, cold day when we went up the mountain and we weren’t alone. When we hit the logging road, where cutting trees is legal with a permit, there were several families like us, choosing their Christmas tree. We drove slowly up the road, the kids and I both exclaiming, “oh there’s one,” ” and there’s another.” When we came to a stretch where there were several choices, we got out of the van and tromped up and down the road.

Finally we narrowed the choice down to a large thirteen foot tree. It was perfect! Before David cut the tree though each of us touch the tree and we said a little blessing of thanks. (p.s…D left a good stump so the tree could send an off shoot in the spring)

While David cut and wrapped up the tree, the kids climbed the hill above us. By the time the tree was safely in our van the kids were at least fifty feet up the hill. Their voices and laughter echoed in the crisp air.

I finally lured them back down by waving the Thermos and container of cookies. They slid and skidded, laughing all the way down the hill and finally plopped onto a snowbank to have their treats. We clicked our cups of hot cocoas in celebration of finding our 2019 Christmas tree and while enjoying the moment, several cars and trucks carrying trees too passed us, honking and giving us the thumbs up as they passed with big smiles on their faces. I felt like we were a secret community of people who had all found the real joy this holiday season.

It was a magical experience. It took me right back to my childhood when life was simpler and everything seemed brighter. The Druids knew what they were doing when they brought evergreens into their temples as a symbol of everlasting life.

How about you? What brings you joy? What memories from your childhood linger and how are you creating those for yourself and your family this holiday season?

As you think of Christmases past, click on the link below and hear the song, “O Christmas Tree/ Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Oh that was fun and also took me back to my childhood. I always loved A Charlie Brown’s Christmas special. I want to “Thank you” for coming to visit today. As we move closer to the winter solstice, may your heart be filled with light and joy. May the simple gifts of the season come to you and your family.

Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessing from Hope

P.S. If you wanted to know where our daughter Grace was in the Christmas tree hunt this year, the night before we went up the mountains, she had had her best three friends over to celebrate her 17th birthday party. Since the girls had stayed up into the wee hours of the night, she opted to stay home and work on her piano, do her homework and NOT tromp through the snow, but she was with us in spirit and appreciated the tree when we brought it home. Here’s a picture from her FAMILY birthday party

Have you seen those decorative Christmas pillows with whimsical quotes and images? Last Christmas when I was in Homesense I saw the throw pillow of my dreams. It was white and had the word, “Hope” in gold glittery letters. In my mind I had images of an all white farmhouse, with white walls, white furniture, white dishes, and that pillow would have looked PERFECT on my white sectional….the one I didn’t have.

Yet!

I have often thought about that pillow. I could have picked it up, although my husband D was with me when I saw it and he often reminds me of my minimalist path when I start vibrating in the household furnishing section of stores. We did not buy it. The thought of it, however, has stayed with me since last Christmas.

I believe the Universe shows us things that we might, or might not want to manifest in our lives. The things we want to manifest are TOTALLY within reach. All we have to do is;

Ask and you shall receive,

Seek and you shall find,

Knock and the door will be open unto you. ~Matthew 7:7~

(sometimes the timing, or what we eventually receive may be a bit different than what we ask for….but trust that it’s coming!)

A few posts ago, I started talking about creating a simpler Christmas, one that was less consumer driven. I’m proud that we have stayed true to our intent, decorating with nature inspired items, really thinking before we made any purchases and moving towards experiences over things. It was when I looked at our family room though, with it’s extremely well worn brown, leather sofa and love seat, dark wicker chairs( with faded cushion) and dark wicker coffee table, that I decided the whole room needed a face lift. This is after all where our family spends all their time together.

This is our gathering room.

I started by taking a picture of the family room and tried to look at it with a critical eye. An eye that had never seen the room before. This was a good exercise and I immediately knew the dark wicker had to go. Thankfully, the weather wasn’t too cold and my husband D was not too busy, so he agreed to spray the wicker chairs and coffee table for me in the garage.

While he was busy repainting the dark wicker, I decided the pillows needed MAJOR work. I could have gone to our local fabric shop but I knew that buying material was going to cost a small fortune. Instead, I went to our downtown dollar store.

It’s not a chain, dollar store, so it has unique items in it. The store is called “Scattered Goods,” and there is something there for everyone. Do you have one of these in your town? It’s the kind of store that is piled from the floor to the ceiling with STUFF and you could spend the whole day roaming the aisles and not see it all. While there, I found two large Jacquard dining room table clothes (one black and one red) and a half dozen red plaid dish clothes. I also picked up some red and black felt squares. I found a package of gold bells as well, since D and I had just watched, “Its a Wonderful Life.” When I hear bells ringing, I believe angels are getting their wings.

I wanted to hear bells ringing all through the holidays!

The table clothes were $13.99 each but they were huge so I knew I could make quite a few pillows from them. The plaid drying dish clothes were an amazing deal at only $1.29 each and the cotton is quite heavy. They would make perfect pillow covers. The felt was only $.39 cents a sheet and the bells were a bit over a dollar. I took my loot home and gathered all my old worn out pillows and started taking off their pillow covers.

One evening after the kids were tucked into bed, I pulled out my sewing machine, set it up in front of the T.V., put on my favourite Christmas movie and started sewing new pillow covers.

The really BIG and cool thing I did this year was using my computer and photo copier to create quotes and images for my pillows. Have you heard of taping a thin, white piece of cotton onto a piece of computer paper and then printing off the Christmas saying you loved best….and the image too? I was really worried my photo copier was going to get all bungled up with the material on the paper but it DIDN’T!!!

Before all sides of my pillows were sewed together, I sewed the felt pieces with the quotes and images onto the front side of the pillow and then sewed up the sides. The result was absolutely spectacular and the cost was ridiculously inexpensive. The wicker chair pillows cost $3.00 dollars each to make. I would have easily paid $20.00 to $25.00 dollars at Winners or Homesense for pillows like this. Note: the white material was something I had on hand; just pieces from old sheets that I was saving to use for zero waste bags but they worked perfectly for the pillow quotes and images.

Take a look at how they turned out……

and then I did the leather chair cushion…

And as if that weren’t enough, I decided to cut up the red felt and turn them into poinsettia leaves, using the gold bells for the centre of the flower. I sewed these onto the black pillows I had made from the Jacquard table cloth material. At first I was really concerned over the shape of the poinsettia petals so I made some patterns using computer paper. Some big petals, some medium ones and some small ones were used to make a layered look. I cut the felt out and sewed the petals together finishing the poinsettia with bells sewed into the centre.

The result was really amazing and the best part is that I can take off the petals and turn the pillow into a year round decorative pillow. (Some day I would like to get a new sofa and love seat, maybe in off white, cream or light grey, so these pillows will look amazing on that colour) but for now this helped to update and make our room cozy for the holidays.

I’m grateful for a creative heart!

Above, the new cushions, the newly spray painted chairs and table, a few glittery lights, a nature inspired candle holder and we have an updated gathering room

And as if that was not enough to make this room a bit brighter and updated, I talked my husband D into getting some fireplace friendly spray paint to FINALLY get rid of the brass look to our two gas fireplaces…what do you think?

And the last thing I had D paint was our family room wall….it was a pewter grey but too blue in my opinion. We had the Home Depot paint people add some dark grey tint to the rest of the paint can, which is now a custom colour and we have been calling it, “tranquil seas.” I like it better and although it looks quite blue in these pictures, since we get a lot of natural light from our southern exposed windows, it actually looks dark grey during the day. Hey, it’s not the white of my dreams but it’s more practical with our family. What I love about paint is that it can change the mood of the room so easily.

(when I was doing all this sewing, I was drinking my eggnog latte’s…Cheers!)

Oh that was fun! I’m really proud too that I kept things simple. I stayed true to my intention to focus on a less consumer driven decor and while it’s not interior decorator perfect, it will welcome our family home. I hope everyone will gather to watch some movies and play some games on the newly painted wicker coffee table.

By the way, if you aren’t a big sewer or don’t have a sewing machine, when you use dish clothes they are already finished on all the sides so you just need to sew one side and that can be done by hand. There are lots of YouTube videos on sewing simple pillow covers. I used zippers, seam ripped them out from old pillows, to save money and reuse items, but you can also just sew all four sides as well.

I was really inspired by a Youtube channel and thought you may like to see it too, that is if you like that shabby chic farmhouse style. The Youtube channel is called, “The White Cottage Company.” The owner of the channel, Mary, is so creative and thrifty. She also reminds me that decorating is not rocket science and each of us has the ability to create. If you want to be inspired check out her channel.

Did Mary make you want to get a can of white spray paint? Ha! Slowly, slowly, I think I will be moving in that area but white with kids scares me. I’d love to hear what you think of decorating with all white…okay, maybe a bit of greenery and red this time of year, but white for the most part. Does it make you feel peaceful too?

Well, it’s time to say goodbye but I hope to get a few more posts done before Christmas to share with you. Our Christmas tree story for sure and also a story I want to dedicate to my son, Mitchell, who in in Australia this Christmas and won’t be home. If you have time, come back for a visit.

Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

Can you believe it’s only a month until Christmas? It doesn’t feel as if we are moving any closer to the winter solstice, since in my part of the world, (Okanagan Valley, in southern British Columbia) we are experiencing a lovely, sunny November. Usually it’s rainy, sometimes snowy, and definitely cold this time of year. The days are getting shorter though and our nights extremely chilly, still I’m not complaining. I have heaps of leaves to shred and compost directly into my garden, which is going to create light and fluffy soil next spring.

I’ve been thinking of Christmas though. When you are the mom to eight children who’ve all enjoyed a few Christmas treats and surprises in the past, you have to start planning early. I’m absolutely thrilled to say that seven of our eight kids will be home for the holidays. Sadly, our son Mitchell won’t be able to come home but I’m happy he’s making friends in Australia, where he has been living since last March. I know wherever he is, joy will find him and wherever I am, a piece of him is always with me.

Anyway, with almost everyone coming home and only a month to go, I’ve been thinking about how I want to celebrate the season. I know we want to continue to move away from a consumer driven holiday, since we have been going down that path for several years now, but this year, I still don’t know how that will look. With my desire for a zero waste holiday, more vegetarian fare, and emphasis on spending time, instead of money, my intention is to unplug the Christmas machine.

To inspire me, I’ve been reading a book by that very title, “Unplug the Christmas Machine, (A complete guide to putting love and joy back into the season)” by Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli.

While talking to people and doing workshops over the years, on how to create a more meaningful holiday, these two authors have written a book filled with thoughtful and practical advice on how to have a joy filled Christmas.

One of their workshop attendees shared this thought, “When spirituality leaves the holiday in favour of materialism, it leaves a very large hole.”

Spirituality means different things to different people, but in my case I was thinking about the magic of the season, versus the stuff and that resonated with me.

I particularly liked their Christmas Pledge. It read like this:

(Believing in the true Spirit of Christmas, I commit myself to:)

I’ve thought about each of the above statements and ways I could incorporate them into my holiday celebrations. For instance, this year we ordered seven poinsettia plants to give to our children’s teachers. All the funds raised will go to a less fortunate school’s parent advisory group in our area. That makes me really happy as it’s giving to those less fortunate. Also, I like the idea of giving a living plant to our children’s teachers as they help our children to bloom and grow and it’s in keeping with my concerns for the environment.

Then, like an affirmation that I was on the right path, this morning, while pulling apart my little girls bedding to be aired in the sunshine, I found my daughter’s holiday wish list hidden under her pillow.

It said, “Kathryn’s Christmas Wish list”

1. Whole family to come home
2. Flannel Sheets
3. Headbands
4. Arts and Craft (canvas, paints, etc.)
5. Slippers (bigger size)
6. 2020 calendar (animal, cats, yoga cats)
7. new p.j.s (Christmas ones)
8. Chocolates
9. A Christmas surprise
10. A big huge empty box to play in

The first and last items on her list made me realize that what my daughter wants more than anything is to just be with her family and have open space to create the holiday of her dreams. Easy!~ I can make that happen, literally and figuratively.

It was her letter that inspired this blog post today. If we truly look inside our hearts, what do we REALLY want for the holidays?

I think we may get confused when we look outside our homes at what other people are choosing to do, and worse, when we venture into any retail outlet. (Why do we do that again???)

While I was doing some recent web surfing for ideas on how to decorate our house for the holidays in an organic and environmentally conscious manner I came across dozens, and I mean DOZENS, of You tube videos of Vloggers inviting you to come into their homes to watch them clean, decorate and then finally tour their home for the holidays. As a voyageur I couldn’t resist. I clicked on several of these links and was taken into another world.

Another world filled with twinkling lights, glitter, and the latest in Christmas decor. I was thinking, does this say, “have yourself a merry little Christmas?” For many it obviously does but I want something different. While I continued to read the book, “Unplug the Christmas Machine,” I realized that this was something I needed to figure out for myself. Each of us is a creator and when we turn inward, we find what is most meaningful to us. And that brings me to the last point on the Christmas Pledge, “To rededicate myself to my spiritual growth.”

Personally for me, it’s not about being in a church any longer, although our church’s Christmas Eve candlelight service is a sweet reminder of Christmas’s past, when I used to sing in the children’s choir after my Dad died and I needed faith so desperately. Or those Christmases when David and I were new parents, often with a December newborn in our arms. We were so grateful for our family. I wanted my children more than anything to hear the story of God’s love and let it fill them with peace and joy. Now, for me at least, I find my way back to my spirit, back to God, when I’m out in nature. I want more of that this holiday season. What would it look like for you?

Today at my lunch time school gig, I read a story to the kindergarten class I supervise for an hour each day. I read them a story called, “Pig the Elf,” by Aaron Blabey. It’s a hilarious story of two dogs, one humble and sweet, the other greedy and rude. It illustrates beautifully how being grateful and gentle is an easier path, and yet, it’s fun to watch Pig, the Pug take a different approach to Christmas. It reminded me that no matter the path we take as people, and as parents, lessons abound and to just relax and enjoy the journey. Hopefully, an angel saves us. Check out the YouTube video below to hear the story. I hope it makes you laugh as much as my kindergarteners did at lunch today.

Well, at the very least I hope this blog post gets you thinking about how you want to spend your holidays and the memories you want to create for your family. In the next few weeks, I want to share our journey with you. As our days grow shorter and darkness descends, I want the upcoming season to be filled with light. To be filled with love. For me and for you.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you find some time to come back soon and we can chat about ways to stay well this winter..

Until we meet again, may you be well, peaceful and happy.

Blessings from Hope…..and……….

P.S. ………..

Another birthday celebration to declare,

it’s my sister C’s birthday I want to share.

Peace and joy, love and delight,

C, if you are reading this,

You make the world bright!

Ok, I never said I was a poet, ha!….but I wanted to reach out and say……

Shine On! Happy Birthday from me to you! Love D.L. a.k.a. Hope

With a steaming mug of pumpkin spice tea next to me, I’m joining you once again. Two seasons have passed since my last blog post. I had material a plenty but felt I needed time to just be in the moment. Instead of capturing and posting life, or writing down my thoughts in words, I wanted to just be.

As a family we were also busy. Our spring flew by, while I worked at my gardening gig and as I finished up the school year working as a lunch time student supervisor. Our twin daughters, Kathryn and Victoria, turned eight in May. Our youngest son William turned the grand ole age of ten at the end of June.

Blue skies and warm days met us all through our summer. Thankfully we didn’t experience the choking smoke from forest fires, since rain scattered through our warm months like a welcome blessing. Our garden flourished; our cherries were luscious, and as summer came to an end, Italian prune plums abundantly filled buckets.

We accomplished many projects as well. David built a rail styled fence along our garden and then created a lattice privacy wall at the end of our swimming hole. He painted the pool house and the play house and then built a set of steps up the middle of our rock wall.

While he was building, I painted. Steps, fences, and benches. When I wasn’t covered in paint, I was deep in the garden harvesting and canning or freezing food.

William went to camp, the little girls had a mid summer’s eve party, Grace worked at the water slides and our oldest son came home from University and worked as a landscaper once again.

Mid summer, we had a lovely respite when we took the family to Vancouver Island for a weeks get away. We picked up our oldest daughter in Victoria and headed up Island where we set up a base camp at Rathtrevor Beach in Parksville. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for a camping holiday. The days were warm enough to swim in the ocean and during the evenings we happily gorged on s’mores around the camp fire.

We were able to visit all of our favourite haunts too; Qualicum Beach, Coombs, (Goats on the Roof Country Market) Englishman Falls, Cathedral Grove Forest and we had an amazing, warm sunny day at Long Beach and Tofino, on the west side of the island.

All spring and early summer I’d been feeling off balanced. As if I was walking on a long, narrow board and at any time I would fall and crash. I pushed myself along but the fear of falling stayed with me all through spring and summer. That trip to the island helped to restore my soul but I still felt off centre and sad. I couldn’t explain why because I was so grateful for so much in my life…but a dark feeling persisted.

Then the kids went back to school and our fall routine slipped into place. Feelings of melancholy weighed me down. Then I started to hear about the climate action marches around the world, inspired by Greta Thunberg, a sixteen year old Swedish teenager.

With every march, and every speech I heard her give I realized that a heavy stone, holding down the hope I had for our children’s future and the health of our earth was being lifted. (I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was feeling unbalanced from all the negative voices in the world, fighting “against” climate action) Also, I felt like we, as a family were not moving fast enough to help the earth. Yes earlier in the year we had cancelled our garbage pick up but we were stalled on our path towards a zero waste lifestyle. We weren’t where I wanted to be.

But as my heart opened and balance returned, I realized that I was being too hard on myself and I wouldn’t be able to take any action if I didn’t have hope. This blog is all about hope. This blog is about inspiring others to live a more sustainable life, connecting with others while helping our planet. If I didn’t have hope, I had nothing to write about. Greta gave me back hope.

And here I am today, drinking tea and writing, while my youngest make gingerbread cookies.

And while I’m still not where I want to be in all areas, when I look back at where we used to be ten years ago, I know that progress is more important than perfection.

Fall has nourished me with the reminder that each season has it’s own gifts. As the days grow shorter, my energy is restored. My heart is open. I’m excited again about the ways we can make a difference in our own home. And I see I’m not alone. At our children’s school there is now a compost bin in each classroom. There are fewer buses and more children riding their bikes to school. There is less paper coming home in backpacks. Our community is coming together. Greta has us talking about ways we can make progress towards helping our environment and that’s inspiring.

Well, my tea cup is almost empty, so our visit is coming to a close but I know I will visit with you again soon…..if this is a place that you find nourishing too, please come back for a visit. I wanted to share with you a few things that we are doing again this year to have a less consumer driven holiday. I love Christmas and the joy the season brings but I want to teach my children that it’s not about what’s wrapped in a present. It’s not about decorating our house to the nines. It’s not about looking perfect or attending every party and event. It’s about the gift of love we give each other. Also, Christmas is about finding hope again.

With hope we find a place of balance.

I hope this blog can be a place of balance to nourish your soul too.

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope

P.S. Sending a birthday wish off to a dear one in my life. Happy Birthday Danielle. May you know how much you are loved! May a balanced life always be yours! (I wrote this blog post on Nov 23….but it’s shown as being posted on Nov 24th…the joy of blogging)

Welcome back to my blog. Spring has arrived at long last and with it, came focaccia bread and inspiring sparks of joy. A few weeks ago, our children were off school for their two week, “spring break.” Boy, did we need a time out from our usual routine. During those two weeks, we accomplished a tremendous amount, but when I look back, the highlight was when our sixteen year old daughter, Grace, made focaccia bread. “Focaccia,” comes from the Latin word, focus meaning “hearth, or place for baking. Those two weeks ended up being a time of focus, when we grounded ourselves around the hearth and created an atmosphere where sparks of joy flew.

We started the holiday by resting first, which like bread dough, after an intense kneading session, was something we needed in order to rise to become our best selves.

Don’t you find rest can do wonders for a body? I feel as if rest is viewed negatively in our society. We seem to need to fill each and every moment and day. Even our holidays are jam packed with activities. In the week before the break, I had many people ask if we were going anywhere or doing anything over spring break. I would respond by saying, “we don’t have any great plans,” and then I would ask what they were doing, only to hear that Hawaii or Mexico were on the agenda. For our family, I knew what we needed most was to rest and gain strength. I knew we needed that in order to clear our house, clear our minds, so we could focus on what we really wanted in our lives.

In the weeks leading up to spring break, I had been watching Marie Kondo’s latest Netflix series on tidying up and decluttering. Have you seen it yet? If not, click on the link above and get a glimpse of her program. She has developed an interesting method of gathering all like objects together and then letting the things that spark joy be your guide in deciding what remains in our homes. While I thought I was rather a master at decluttering, using “this” concept, allowed me to tune in more accurately towards inner feelings of elation.

To hone this approach to a greater degree, I also read her latest book, “Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up).” After that, I was hooked on getting down and dirty, touching everything I owned and asking myself one question, as I held the item close to my chest, “does it spark joy?”

At first this wasn’t easy for me. I would hold the item close to my chest and often feel something, but it had more to do with, “but I may need it in the future,” rather than a zing of joy. I believe this is the residual effects of being raised by a mother who was a child during the depression and then a young woman during the World War II years. If you come from a history of lack, then the tendency is to hold on to things, just in case. As I touched each item, sometimes I would hear a tiny voice saying, “you may need that one day.” But then there was another inner dialogue occurring debating whether it was worth holding onto, maintaining and having to house the item and worst of all, using my energy again next spring picking up the same item! Disregarding both voices, I would simply ask, “does it spark joy?” If not, I thanked the item and put it in the donation box.

I know this may sound weird but this was the part that gave me the greatest joy. I absolutely loved thanking the item and then letting it go. It created this marvellous space in my life and everything around me seemed to sparkle and was suddenly very special. While I decluttered, I also took time to clean or organize what I was choosing to keep which made me feel immensely grateful for everything in our house.

Can you tell what sparks joy for me most in our home from the pictures below?

Did you guess, “books?” Well you were right. I love them….they spark joy and I love surrounding myself with them and I think our children do as well. I have let go of many, and I’m not one to hoard them, but having books around me makes me happy. What makes you happiest in your home?

In the second week of spring break, my family and I started the meditation challenge together that I wrote about a few posts back. The topic was on Manifesting Grace through Gratitude. Have you been meditating with us? Today is day 21 and the title is, “Seeing with the Eyes of the Soul.” Now I won’t say everyone was enthusiastic over sitting together in a guided meditation, ahem, but I have to give our daughter Grace my thanks, for she hung in there with us throughout the week. I knew the experience was powerful for our younger children, as our daughter Victoria drew a picture during that week, of us sitting in a circle around a candle and she wrote, “I feel way better after doing medating, it also helps me to keep cam and follow my brething.”

Then when the break was over, on our drive to school when everyone was feeling anxious about getting back to the routine and seeing classmates, Will remembered one of the mantras, “Namaste,” he said to me as he kissed me goodbye.

When we weren’t omming together, and while I was tidying and decluttering, David, my husband was painting the interior walls of our house a “graceful grey.” After ten years living in a home with varying shades of beige, it was time for a change. Last year, when we were on Vancouver Island, I picked up my future decorator’s palette, while walking on the beach; a piece of creamy driftwood, a grey rock, a dark blue one, a black one and a white one. Those were the colours that spoke to my heart and I knew that even though we may not be able to live at the coast right now, we could recreate those nature colours around us.

Also, with us living on the hillside above the glacial formed, “Kalamalka Lake,” that has earned a moniker of, ” the lake of many colours,” due to all the minerals in the water, I felt that the grey’s and blue’s on our walls would echo what is often outside our windows. I want our house to feel like it’s part of the landscape. Our home and garden, are all works in progress and keep me grounded to this earth. Often as a society, we turn to what is trendy and wonder why we aren’t happy in our homes. If we started to look inside and ask ourselves what makes us happy; what do WE love, then and only then, will we discover authentic joy. What colours make you happy, make you feel good? Are you surrounding yourself with those?

As David and I were busy inside our home, our three youngest enjoyed the warm spring weather. They rode their bikes, jumped on the trampoline, ran in the yard, played board games, read books, played music, and helped me find what sparked joy for them.

In the case of their clothes that was fairly easy. It it fit, it stayed and if it didn’t it went into the donation box after a blessing of appreciation. After learning, from raising our older children that kids grow fast, we try not to over buy clothes for them, making decluttering each season fairly easy. But with regards to stuffed toys, well, as I discovered, that was a totally different animal.

One afternoon, I had our twin girls bring all their stuffed animals and pile them on the floor of my bedroom. I had them hold each animal close to their chest and had them ask themselves if it sparked joy. In most cases, they only had to pick it up and you could tell from the light on their faces that it wildly sparked joy. As we moved through the pile, to my dismay, almost every single stuffed animal sparked joy. There was little culling going to occur. Is that the right word for stuffed animals; culling?

Whatever is the right word, letting go was not something they were prepared to do. It’s funny, but they did let go easily of their “FurReal,” stuffed animals. These were the ones that actually barked or meowed, or moved in some mechanical way. Interestingly enough, these were also the ones that were the most expensive toys. I choked thinking of the money we had spent, as they hugged these stuffies one last time, thanking it before dropping it into the donation box. I had to accept that this was a part of the process and lessons for all of us. The animals that sparked the most joy were the ones that were in the worst shape. They looked well loved!

I’d like to think at the end of my days, this is how I will look.

Oh, and you may be wondering how our older daughter Grace spent her spring break? She went to the gym a lot, she worked on her piano pieces as she is hoping to complete her Royal Conservatory grade 10 next year and she spent a bit of time also tidying and decluttering her room, as she has caught the bug and understands the concept of surrounding herself with only things she loves.

She also spent a bit of time helping us cook in the kitchen, making Focaccia bread with a lovely pasta dinner one night, bagels another day and she and her siblings treated us to a pizza dinner one night, a group effort I was proud of. It was so lovely after a day of painting and intense tidying and decluttering, to light a candle, and sit down as a family, enjoying dinner together.

Grace’s Focaccia Bread Recipe (to pronounce, the first C is hard and the second make a cha sound)

Ingredients

2- 3/4 cups of flour

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 tsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup warm water

4 tbsp virgin olive oil (3 tbsp for the recipe and 1 tbsp to brush on top before baking)

2 garlic cloves…but I like more and would use 4!

1 tsp of rosemary/ 1 tsp of thyme/ 1 tsp dried oregano/ 1 tsp basil

Opt: 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

Directions

In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, sugar, yeast, thyme, oregano, and basil. Mix well and slowly add the warm water and 3 tbsp’s olive oil.

Mix well and when dough has formed a ball, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface ad knead it until it’s smooth and has an elastic feel. Lightly oil a large bowl, placing the dough inside, turning it over to coat it. Cover it with a damp, cotton cloth and place it in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Punch the down down and place it onto a greased baking sheet. Grace used a round cake pan. Pat down the dough to 1/2 inch high and brush with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle it rosemary and optional cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm with a pasta dinner…or as a appetizer with a dipping sauce of

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

5 minced garlic cloves

1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp each of rosemary and thyme

Mix all together and place on a plate for dipping

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When spring break finally came to an end, our house was almost fully painted, almost every category had been thoroughly vetted. Only a few boxes of sentimental items and years of pictures are still on the to do list. We were all feeling healthy and strong, ready to focus on what is truly important to us as we head back out into the world. It’s amazing what a rest, some meditation, some tidying, some updating, and some hanging out by the hearth, eating healthy meals with your family can do for a person. I highly recommend it! So on your next break, I hope you take some time to make some homemade focaccia bread, dip it in olive oil and rosemary, and look around your house elated at things that spark joy.

I think Grace’s Focaccia bread recipe will become a family favourite, like our son Mitchell’s crazy bread recipe that he brought home from his Foods course years ago. Before I close though, I have one other thing I want to leave with you. Over spring break I watched a heart warming Hallmark movie. It reminded me yet again, that we don’t have to go far, we don’t have to travel the world, we don’t have to visit expensive restaurants, or spend our time being consumers at the mall. To find real joy, is to be present in the moment.

It’s when we are present, grateful, surrounded by people and things we love, that real sparks of joy occur At least for me. I like to talk about ways where we can live sustainably on this blog and to be moving in that direction, where we are living a lifestyle reducing our carbon footprint, and our need on Earth’s resources, well, it all comes down to living more simply. Resting our bodies, meditating, being grateful for everything in our lives, cooking and baking from scratch and spending time with our families; eating, talking, laughing.

When I watched the following Hallmark movie on You tube, called, “The Magic of Ordinary Days,” I was reminded of another time in history, just before our society took a big jump towards “modern living.” I think something was lost along the way and like an archaeologist, excavating artifacts from past societies, I think we can learn something about living more sustainably and joy filled from past generations. Just like Marie Kondo’s greatest wish, to help the whole world tidy their space and find sparks of joy, my fervent wish is for the world to find the magic in ordinary days. One evening, make a big bowl of popcorn and sit down to watch this movie ,……I will be right there with you, sparking joy!

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope