{bits & pieces}

The “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

 

Due to my advanced technological approach to filing away potential {b&p} material (namely, opening a bunch of tabs over the course of weeks and then accidentally having the browser close on me and for whatever reason, after the seventh tab-gathering/browser-closing, not being able to “restore previous session”), I don’t actually have much to share with you today.

But I’m choosing to imagine that you’re all in the same boat that I’m in (namely, you’re mostly keeping it together but also slightly behind on everything and you really should be stamping addressing writing Christmas cards rather than sitting here at the computer anyway), and you don’t need much reading right now.

 

 

Normally I’m squarely in the school of waiting until Christmas to bring out the Christ figure of a Nativity set (as you know from this post about observing the 12 Days of Christmas, it has always been an important part of my understanding of the mystery of Christmas to wait for the little Jesus until Christmas morning). This set is more for Finnabee’s hands-on experience, however, so I’m allowing the presence of the Baby during Advent.

 

The rule is she has to play with these pieces in the living room, at this little coffee table. No running around the house dropping them!

 

 

Meanwhile, the Magi are traveling towards the other Nativity set that’s in our Little Oratory…

 

 

At some point I need to get around to bragging about The Artist having made me these bookshelves. It was my Christmas gift from him last year – the first woodworking he’s ever done! Such a good husband, that Artist.

 

But no time now! Trying to keep this short and sweet!

 

(If you could see up close, you’d see that the manger is empty in this one:)

 

 

This week’s links:

I’ll just go ahead and start with my top pick for this week:

 

In Defense of Domesticity. This article is so good. There is so much to unpack here. Do you remember how I brought up koselig that last time? Here, the author delves into this current topic of Nordic “coziness” and brings it home to so much more. From the article:

“Marriage and family were no longer the shared life they used to be. Processed foods and laborsaving devices removed much of the art, and much of the dignity, from the woman’s role as mother. She was left at home to manage menial household tasks. Domesticity became dull, something to be outsourced. Even a woman’s role as child-bearer and mother has been taken out of her hands and into those of specialists, often men. Hark! The advertisers are singing! The domestic arts can be traded in for purchasable products so everyone will have more time to sit around. We have been so successful at freeing up time to sit it’s actually killing us, and it will take more than a height-adjustable standing desk to get us on our feet again.”

Read it as a reminder of many of the things we are getting at here at LMLD.

Books:


Another great read, from the NYTimes: Our (Bare) Shelves, Our Selves. Don’t underestimate the power your physical book collection imparts to the collective memory in your household and your culture!


Miscellaneous:


Ever wondered what the story was behind that funny quasi-accent in old movies? I definitely have – many times! At last, an explanation (short video).



Do you have any plans with your Pocket in the New Year? Don’t forget to snap a photo if you get together, so that we can show your shining faces here on the blog and get some encouragement from you! I have been so grateful for my Pocket here in Manchester in this past year. In some ways, it feels like we’re just getting a slow and creaky start as a group and there is so much more to come (because it’s happening naturally, it takes time); in other ways, it feels like we have bonded a lot in a short time! This morning I started a meal train for the mom of the newest “Pocket baby,” and there were four meals listed on it by noon. I was so proud.

 

From the Archives:


Vespers, or, Building the Culture of Love



Sometimes I like to dig for something random from way back when, like this post from 2008: A pink and green baby quilt



Decorating Mistakes Real People Make by Taking Design Ideas Seriously



And that’s a wrap, folks! A blessed conclusion of Advent and a very Merry Christmas to you all!

 

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