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Preparing for Candlemas

By on January 31, 2012 in Feast Days, Rhythm, Waldorf

Our Christmas tree is now ashes in the bonfire pit down by our pond.  Once Poppa threw the match into the pit, it only took 3 minutes before there was nothing left.  Likewise, all the Christmas decorations have been carefully gathered and put away but in the final week of January the nativity displayed on our piano is still there.  In our family, we leave it up until the Feast of the Purification of Our Lady ( the day Mary was presented in the temple for purification, 40 days after she gave birth) also known as Candlemas. It is also considered the beginning of spring, the return of light and renewal of life, a time when the ground awakes and becomes fertile once again after a long winters rest.

The crocheted table cloth which the nativity is displayed on was made by my grandmother, Rosa Eva.  I have blogged about her in the past but in case you have never read about her, she was the mother of 14 and she crocheted every day of her life.  That I know of I am the only one of her decendants who inherited her love of crochet and as you guessed I am the only one with a big family though not as big as hers.

the beeswax candle next to the nativity is on one of my favorite belongings. It is a cast iron candle stick holder  and I found it at an antique store.  I need to clean it and take off the little bit of rust that is on it but I am afraid that it will take off the pretty little hand painted flowers.  Do you think that just washing it and oiling it would be enough?  

If Candlemas be fair and bright
Come winter, have another flight,
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain
Go winter and come not again
On Candlemas we will begin the daunting task of beginning the weeding of our very overwintered garden and prepare it for spring plantings.  We will then return inside where it is nice and warm and  make beeswax candles.  These will be the candles we light for birthdays and special occasions for the following year.   At suppertime we will make pancakes, because crepes are traditionally served on Candlemas but I have yet to make a successful crepe so pancakes it is.
Will you be celebrating Candlemas?  I would love to know how you do it.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or follow me by email at the top right hand of the screen to have future posts sent to you. Tricia (Crunchy Catholic Momma)

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Rhythm of our week. Thursday: Library day

By on September 30, 2011 in Rhythm

Happy Michaelmas everyone.  I love feast days and of course so do the kids, no school and lots of fun.  We tried to make caramel apples to celebrate the beginning of fall but even after sanding the apples surface, the caramel slid right off?  Hmmm, maybe next time I should make the apples cold before dipping them in the caramel?  Anyone done this lately, I could use a clue! We spent the day playing badminton out front, playing cards, cooking and enjoying each others company, and of course today is library day.

Going to the library is one of my fond memories of childhood.  Unfortunately, my momma only took me every once in a long while and I kept a book for about a year one time.  I remember thinking that the police was going to come and get me at any moment for not returning Harry the Dirty Dog.  I still love that book but it still gives that feeling that I am living against the law haha.

When I became a stay at home mom and got rid of the help, the one “homeschooling” activity that I did for my then 1st grader and two boys 3 and 4 years old, was storytime at the library followed by letting them get lost in a pile of books until nap time.

Library day is a day to find a new adventure.  You never know where you will go or what you will learn.  When you find the perfect book it is bittersweet to come to the end and even worse when that author never wrote another book.  Library day is a day when momma will not ask you to put down your book to match socks or clean up the front porch.
We usually come home with bags of books though lately I have had to limit the amount of books the little ones get so they don’t get lost.  Last week I found one in the garden and thankfully it was in perfect condition.

 

We live in a small town so our selection is not as good as when we lived in the city but good enough.  We will hopefully make new friends and visit faraway lands then land safely on our couch or favorite reading spot.

How often do you go to the library?  Do you have a sure fire way to not lose any library books?

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