Day 365 + 26: Advent..ures

"Advent is concerned with that very connection between memory and hope which is so necessary to man. Advent’s intention is to awaken the most profound and basic emotional memory within us, namely, the memory of the God who became a child. This is a healing memory; it brings hope. The purpose of the Church’s year is continually to rehearse her great history of memories, to awaken the heart’s memory so that it can discern the star of hope.…It is the beautiful task of Advent to awaken in all of us memories of goodness and thus to open doors of hope." - Memory Awakens Hope

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Seek That Which Is Above, 1986

Project 365: #365 + 26

With the start of advent last week, I have started with the Christmas decorations. (I can't believe that it is actually December already!) It seems to be the first year in a few that I am excited for Christmas again, and couldn't wait to begin. I don't have a nice new foto, but this was such fun, with Campbell advent..uring in the tree! I love advent, and the quiet reminder for us to have hope through our awakened memories of goodness. I am looking forward to the next few weeks, when we will be together as a family again, although it is bittersweet, as we miss family in SA terribly during this season. But, in our reflections of the birth of Jesus, the message is faith and hope, which we must always hold on to!

Day 365 + 25: Helping with chores

"Time spent with cats is never wasted."- Sigmund Freud

Project 365: #365 + 25

I originally started this blog to find something to be grateful for everyday. Some days have been much easier than others, and some days I just haven't even been able to add anything at all. Not because I am not grateful, but usually because I am overwhelmed with circumstances, and can't always find ways to express the gratitude in my heart. The big leaf-fall at this time of year requires extra time in the garden on weekends. Last year, being new and all, I commissioned a garden service that was taking care of leaf clean-up in the neighbourhood. Well, after the astronomical bill we decided to do the garden ourselves this year (and effectively paid for the lawnmower after three weeks). Instead of seeing it as a burden, I have been looking at it as time that could be in the gym, but in a much nicer setting, and without the stinky smells of sweaty bodies. I also have a helper, Mouse, who much to her delight, cannot be harassed by the dog who is sitting insanely jealously at the front door, dying to get to us! It has been a delight having the help...from playing in the piles of leaves, to following me with the bag from the front to the bottom of the garden for about ten thousand trips, while talking (and possibly muttering) to me all the time! It is true that time spent with cats is never wasted, and that our pets are truly the best therapists ever! By the way, this picture was after about three hours of labor...it began as a carpet of leaves on the lawn, but the time flew with the entertainment provided by Mouse!!

Day 365 + 24: New beginnings

“There is a fable in the forest

Whispered by the branches, as they blow.

A tale about the truth of leaving

Things that no longer help you grow.

For on the surface it looks simple,

Like you only need lace your boots,

But there is nothing quite as painful

As untangling your roots.

And proof is found in tree stumps

Of the price some pay to flee,

That they would cut their lives in half

To cut the time before they're free.

Yet from the little left behind

Life has been known to grow again,

For unless you take your roots

A part of you will still remain.” 

― Erin Hanson

Project 365: 365 + 24

Today marks a new beginning on so many levels! The results of the election in our new country have just been revealed, marking a time when the citizens of this amazing country need to put aside their differences and work together to benefit everyone, more so now than ever before. As an observer in this election process, I have gained some insight into the history of the country and the passions of its people, and now understand "America! America! God shed His grace on thee, Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought, By pilgrim foot and knee!". I have not experienced this passion and patriotism anywhere else in the world. One of the most painful things I have been through is untangling my roots, since with all the patriotism felt here, I have been overwhelmed with guilt and grief for leaving the country that we love that is in our hearts and souls. At times it has felt as though we have cut our lives in half and have not been able to move forward. It has been an ultimate test of faith that we are on the right path. Slowly, life has begun again, with new roots taking hold. Where school is a little easier, college is falling into place, business opportunities are taking off, and after months of searching, I have landed a new job! Yay! A beautiful bouquet of flowers were on the counter for me in honor of my news! It marks new possibilities, with a new positive future, building on the roots and strengths of the past.

Day 365 + 23: The golden sousaphone

"The tuba is certainly the most intestinal of instruments, the very lower bowel of music." - Peter De Vries

Project 365: #365 + 23

The music boosters have been raising funds to replace the original sousaphones (almost forty years old)...and a new one arrived this week, which Nic had the privilege of playing on Saturday in the marching band! Woohoo! The golden sousaphone! The deep baritone music produced from these instruments are the very goose-bump making sounds produced by bands, and without these sounds the music is incomplete! Well done Nic, on persevering  and excelling with this instrument, despite the odds!

Day 365 + 22: Last of the fall

"October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again." - Hal Borland

Project 365: #365 + 22

Well, here we are at the beginning of November...with October passing in a blur of fluctuating temperatures and changing colors. The beginning of October began with nice warm days and cooling evenings, with the green of summer beginning to fade into yellows and browns, to ending in the vibrancy of icy mornings, bright reds and diminshed greens, falling to the ground in leaf-rain  in a final bid marking the end of summer, and the beginning of dreary November. With the emptiness of the trees comes clearer vision and a wider horizon, helping to focus on what is important and still has to be achieved before the end of the year. I love the seasonality for the passage of time, knowing there is a time for everything!

Day 365 + 21: Autumn blooms

"Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale." - Lauren DeStefano (Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1))

Project 365: #365 + 21

The wild autumn blooms are so pretty, lighting up the paths, as the bright greens from spring and summer have dulled and browned. The flowers are the beginning of the grand finale marking the end of the season and heralding the beginning of winter. With each week, there is a little more orange and brown in the landscape as summer fades away, just as the sun sets with beautiful colors, illuminating the world with a flash of boldness. The darkness that follows is a time for rest and rejuvenation to bounce back with the promise of new beginnings...a new day and a new season.

Day 365 + 20: Amazing trees

"Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life." - Hermann Hesse, Bäume. Betrachtungen und Gedichte

Project 365: #365 + 20

I love the area we live in, it is thickly forested, and there are always the most amazing trees to see, each unique, and all responding without question to the change of seasons. This tree was one of the tallest I have seen, and seemed to go on forever. There is something mystical and reverent about trees. They  have been around forever, just watching and growing in wisdom. They have so much to teach us if we will listen; patience, steadfastness, protection, provision. If we remain still in the presence of their sanctuary, completely still, we can feel their life, and begin to grasp the ancient laws.