Friday, December 11, 2020

Second Week of Advent: Re-developing a winter routine, and settling into serenity

Hello all, and I hope that your Second Week of Advent is going well! We're hanging in over here, and looking forward to some cozy hygge time coming up as we move into the coldest part of winter. This week, we lit the second candle on our Advent wreath:


...AND we were able to go to mass in-person, which was delightful! Our parish is doing some fundraising for repairs to the stained glass windows, so I purchased a CD of our magnificent music minister singing hymns that we enjoyed on the drive home. The kids have also been keeping up with our variety of Advent calendars, and everyone is quietly having a good time with those. 

That morning also heralded the feast of St. Nicholas, and as always my kids left their shoes by the hearth, and were rewarded were some chocolate gold coins and boos. 😎


We did not practice this tradition when I was growing up, but as a parent I have always been on the lookout for ways to draw Church traditions into our home life in ways that would capture my kids' imagination and help them to carry their own faith into adulthood. I have really enjoyed this one, and I know that they do, too.

Sunday was a busy day, as it was also pickup day for the poinsettia and wreath fundraiser at Anne's school. The red ones this year are particularly spectacular!


We seem to have settled into a happy Advent routine, and I'm pleased about that. In terms of other  winter things, we're trying to make things as joyful as we can. The kids are both back in school after being on remote learning for a week, and things are going great. They both are content and happy. 

I've also been crafting, and finished a Christmas doily for a gift this week!

Pattern is Eversong

I just love the color. And...

*drum roll*

I FINALLY finished Mike's cabled cardigan that I've been working on for like 10 years. 😂

Isn't he so cute?!

It's a success! He loves it, and I'm SO GLAD to have that out of my work-in-progress basket!

I'm also working on a few dance projects, including preparing for an online show next weekend, and that all has given me a much needed sense of purpose and nervous excitement! These are all good things, and right now, we need to focus on the good, for sure.

How has your Second Week of Advent been going? I would love to hear about it in the comments!


4 comments:

  1. We have been enjoying Advent. We put up our live tree. Marilyn put on the lights.We will decorate the tree soon. We give each other a little gift for Saint Nicholas Day. We are wrapping our gifts so we do not have to rush on Christmas Eve to complete the job. Glad you finished the cardigan. The doily is so pretty. Have a Blessed week.
    Joan,Marion and Marilyn

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    1. Hi ladies! I need to get to my wrapping, and I'm procrastinating. It's such a good idea to get to it early like you do! Glad to hear you also enjoy the St. Nicholas feast day tradition, it's just so lovely. :)

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  2. Happy third week of Advent! Hope the kids were excited to light the rose candle.

    Mike's cardigan looks terrific. It's such a great feeling to finish up a WIP that's been around for a long time, isn't it? I think it took me eight or nine years to finish a knitted afghan waaaay back when I was young. I like the deep green color of your doily, too.

    How's your MKAL gnome coming along? I used a very traditional set of colors for mine (white, black, red, green), all chosen from the Knit Picks sale earlier. It was so satisfying to stuff him today and see how he's taking shape.

    Today (12/17) is the first day of the traditional "O" Antiphons, so we're in the home stretch before Christmas!

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    1. Hi Dianne! Totally agree on the wip's. I've never knit an afghan for this very reason, lol! I've only crocheted them, which is definitely faster!

      My gnome is going well! As of today, I'm on clue 9. I'm hoping to get to that and clue 10 this weekend, that one should be coming out tomorrow. I'm just about to stuff, oooo, and now you have me excited for that step! Those colors sound perfect for the holidays. :)

      The O Antiphons, great reminder! I need to pick up my neglected Advent devotional, hee hee!

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