Getting closer!
Little by little, the house is getting decorated. We will put up the tree tomorrow (the big tree, not this little tree that is in my mother-in-law’s silver musical stand that rotates!), and I will not see you here until after New Year’s, most likely!
A real-life friend on Twitter asked to see my tree, and I blithely responded that it’s not up yet but there are pictures on the blog. I then went looking myself, and realized that I never have any before Christmas, but here is one from a couple of years ago that shows what it usually looks like! Our tree is very personal, with decorations made, given, and found over the years, interspersed with unifying red and gold ones.
I haven’t even gotten to hanging the stockings… but I do feel the spirit of Christmas coming in, as we enter the time of the O Antiphons (which also means it’s Suki’s birthday today!). (Last week’s post has resources for O Antiphons for you and the children — scroll down.)
Still furiously (yet sluggishly, as wading through molasses) crafting…
bits & piecesIn the long process of rethinking the kitchen, I’ve been mulling, here on a couple of posts, on some of Christopher Alexander’s patterns (from his book A Pattern Language, and the posts are tagged as such if you want to take a look). Taking a break due to holiday busyness (mine and, apparently, the contractor’s!) from that obsession (and enjoying the change that removing the Pile of Bricks has offered).
But Alexander’s observations came to mind again when I saw this amazing series of short videos, by an architect, about a Godshuis De Muelenaere in Bruges, Belgium, a garden courtyard formed by 24 small houses, built in 1613 for elderly women in need. Built and endowed by the Muelenaere Family as a charitable work; all they requested in return was prayers for their souls. (I will simply discuss a little about the architecture, but of course there is another side — good works offered by wealthy people that really helped the poor, were truly works of mercy, enduring to this day as an example and, perhaps, an examination of conscience for the well to do.)
Remember, Alexander is observing what has worked in the past. He is offering his insights, to be sure, but his objective is to analyze what has worked and what gives delight. The hope is that we can recover the patterns for ourselves, and stop making such grievous mistakes with our environment, which has become “antiestetico” (an Italian word brought back by Suki from her studies, that can be translated as “unsightly” but, it seems to me, means so much more; perhaps it means something that stands athwart beauty in a way that drains life of charm and that indefinable connection with the harmony of a higher sphere).
All I know is that the Godshuis is “estetico” and I would live there in a heartbeat, and assisted living is “antiestetico” and please just put me in a shed in the backyard — if there’s a wood stove, a composting toilet, and little sink I’ll be better off. I won’t have a short walk to the shops and a little courtyard, but then, I’m not as poor as the widow women the houses were built for! In the Kingdom of Heaven the last shall be first!
Watch these short films (first one here) and listen to Thomas Dougherty’s excellent commentary; think about assisted living facilities you’ve been to (or even, never mind the elderly, apartment buildings in which children are expected to dwell, but then, we find few children there). Here are just two patterns I pulled out quickly that relate to the subject:
“Pattern 102: Family of Entrances: Lay out the entrances to form a family. This means: 1. They form a group, are visible together, and each is visible from all the others. 2. They are all broadly similar… make a transition in between the public street and the inside…”
“Pattern 112: Entrance Transition: … whatever kind of building or building complex you are making… the entrances create a transition between the “outside” — the public world — and some less public inner world… the gardens help to intensify the beauty of the transition… a graceful transition… [is] more tranquil than [opening] directly off the street… The experience of entering… influences the way you feel inside the building [complex].”
(If the videos are not appearing in your email, click through to the blog online and you will see them embedded here.)
Very often truisms bandied about are … not true. Take Galileo. You think you know about the case, and certainly kids in school are taught the line. But is it true?
On my husband’s site, Catholic Culture, there are amazing resources. One of the best is the Fr. William Most archive. There is nothing that is not interesting there.
All our booklists on the Library Project feature Robert Louis Stevenson! Tony Esolen talks about Treasure Island and offers a poem on his substack: Christmas at Sea.
We are fallen, but we are not meant to be at war with nature.
The New York Times has an article about teens who want to ditch their phones. In some ways it is hopeful; in some ways it is actually frightening (the ways that the adults, including the “reporter,” react). I am convinced that people don’t understand the real dangers of certain apps (I notice the article mentions Instagram, which is medium dangerous, and not TikTok, which is very dangerous — I wonder why). Perhaps I will do a podcast about this article and what the danger really is. Suffice it to say for now, you have no idea what TikTok is doing to your children. Be the parent who protects them from these apps and from devices in general. It’s incredible to me that the adults involved are anxious that the young people want to give up their phones.Speaking of dangers, “water beads” swell inside when swallowed. They will likely not just pass through. Keep these things away from children!
from the archivesIf you perhaps are Feeling the Pressure, think about relieving The Day from All the Celebrations and transferring some to other Days of Christmas. Some interpret celebrating The Twelve Days of Christmas as giving gifts on each day, but that would be madness.
Instead, think of making one of the days A Bring-Your-Own-Mug-Family-Cocoa Party; one of them could be a long-planned family outing like ice-skating, skiing, taking a long family hike or walk around a city pond, a visit to the museum on a free day (most museums have one!); one could be family restaurant night — a nice break for mom, and for families living on one income, a rare treat indeed! And so on.
Write it out beforehand. I go into detail in this post. We’re always saying we want to take the focus off of things and put it on family time and togetherness. The Twelve Days of Christmas are the perfect opportunity, with most events already built in. Don’t kill yourself with more gifts (or leave the opening of a box from the grandparents for one of the Days)!That one time Habou wrote a post: it was about Christmas.
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My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available now from Sophia Press! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
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