REDONDOWRITER'S SACRED ORDINARY

My First Letter to Santa Since 1944

Art journals are so important to me in reliving old memories and trying to express myself in more than words. On the other hand, I have kept handwritten diary/journals since I learned to write at age six. They remain my primary way of not only keeping track of life, but exploring the layers of me I can't access so easily. Because they do often pertain directly to others and sometimes in what would be hurtful ways should those people see them, they remain totally private. I'm vacillating about what happens to them when I die. If you are famous, which I am not, they could be donated to research centers. I have yet to find a genuine journal depository willing to take them. Sixty-eight years of journals so far.

Art journals, on the other hand, are totally public, at least the ones I create. I leave them out on coffee tables and my granddaughter has asked if she can have them after I die. I put personal thoughts and angst in them, but do not use them to specifically explore my relationships with others. 

So, here's an art journal letter to Santa Claus from Redondowriter aka Frannie Banannie. 

What would you write to Santa Claus at this point in your life? 

A Virgin a Day 2011 - Rebecca Encourages Us All to Participate Dec. 1-12

Today Rebecca at Recuerda mi Corazon is

calling all virgins...

enchanting, traditional, contemporary, 

exotic, edgy, campy, irreverent, irresistible,

unusual, joyful, rapturous, lovely,

glorious, ordinary, astounding,

simply

 bring her on!

This Mary was on the wall in the Church of the Visitation in Israel. I took this photo during my Feb. 2011 pilgrimage tour. 

Rebecca says, “I hope you will join me in a pilgrimage of Marys.

Feel free to re-post this invitation on your blog,

and link back to

recuerda mi corazon.

As December grows busier we will

quietly greet the new day one Mary at a time.

Mr. Linky will be here to gather all the virgin sightings.

Just add your name and direct link back to your virgin 

so we can effortlessly share the divine." 

I participated last year and the experience deeply influenced the experience of advent and the coming of Christ that Christians celebrate on Dec. 25.  You may find this link at Rex Research on Marian apparitions to be of interest. All I know is that for me personally Mary is the symbol of the divine feminine and I seek her out everywhere I go, particularly when I travel. 

Advent 2011 Begins With the First Candle Lighting of the Wreath

Though my own family did not use an advent wreath when I was a kid, it was a custom my husband and I introduced to our children when they were growing up. And, though the kids are long grown up and gone, I still use an advent wreath for myself. I remember the kids being pretty excited each year when we got out our advent wreath; it meant Christmas was right around the corner. Each night during Advent, after dinner, we would light the candles in their right order and say a brief prayer. 

Sunday past, Nov. 27, I went to church with my friend Sallie at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Ojai and that parish's advent wreath can be seen on the left. 

 

This is my own advent wreath at home this year. Below, if you are unfamiliar with the tradition of the advent wreath, is how the custom came about and evolved. I know that Catholics and Episcopals have them on the altar during advent, but I don't know what other Christian denominations do. The following has been adapted from Christian Style. 

History of the Advent Wreath

The full history of the advent wreath is not clear. What we do know is that it seems to originate from pre-Christian Germanic peoples. During the short winter days, candles were often used to signify the coming of the New Year and the lengthening of the day after winter solstice. Often this use of candles was combined with a wreath or a wheel (the wheel of time), as a prayer for the seasons to cycle back to the warmth of Spring.. This use of candles and a wheel/wreath symbol was gradually adapted over time to create the tradition we now have of the advent wreath. 

Catholic and Episcopal Symbolism of the Advent Wreath

Advent wreathes are filled with symbols about the coming of Christ and the eternal nature of God. Here are some explanations of the symbols of the advent wreath:

• Flame: The use of flame represents Christ as the "light of the world."
• Evergreens signify the continuous life and victory over death.
• Holly, with its prickly leaves, symbolizes the crown of thorns.
• Nuts and seeds in the wreath decoration symbolize new life and new birth.

The Four Candles of the Advent Wreath

Each of the candles on the Advent wreath represent one of the weeks of advent. Some also talk about the candles represented 1,000 years of the roughly 4,000 years between Adam and Eve and the birth of Jesus. Three of the candles are purple (to symbolize waiting) and one is pink. The pink candle is lit on the third Sunday of advent, on something called Gaudete Sunday. This is a Sunday of celebration as advent is half over and Christmas is very close. 

The Christ Candle

Some traditions include a white candle in the middle of the wreath to symbolize Christ. This candle is lit on Christmas Eve and continues to be lit during the rest of the Christmas season. You could also replace the pink and purple advent candles with four white candles and continue using the wreath as a Christmas wreath until Epiphany. 

Using an Advent Wreath

To use an advent wreath, the tradition is to light one candle during the first week of advent and two purple candles during the second week. One pink and two purple candles are lit during the third week of and all the candles during the fourth week of advent. At the lighting of the candles, a brief prayer is usually said. The typical time to light the candles is at dinner time after the blessing of the food.

 

Postcards from Paradise: Ojai, California

I was born in Los Angeles and have had the opportunity to visit almost every nook and cranny of it in my 74 years. All of California seems like paradise to me, but my favorite three places to visit, however, are Mammoth in the Eastern Sierra, Santa Barbara, and Ojai in Ventura County. If you click this link, you'll see an interesting article about this small town's quaintness -- and that there are a few celebrities who have ranch properties there. 

For the first time in three years I spent the weekend in Ojai, where I have friends, celebrating the 75th birthday of one of them. Though I did not take scenic photos this weekend, the weather was spectacular, mid-80s, and the 100-mile-drive was smooth and gorgeous. The mountains, the city and the coast are crystal clear right now. There is a lot of agriculture in this and surrounding towns and most the homes are just regular family homes. Here are two photos of Ojai. If you unfamiliar with it, I suggest you put it on your list of places to see. 

This photo is of the valley itself and is in the local restaurant guide. The hiking throughout this area is wonderful. 

 

This photo taken by Leo Braun is the Ojai Museum and Visitors Center. It is near a famous old outdoor bookstore called Barts which is where I went first when I got into town.

The birthday party was billed as a "hen party and potluck" but our hostess, Sallie, decorated her dining room as though we were at the finest of restaurants. Today I went to church with Sallie at St. Andrews Episcopal Church where they have built a new labyrinth you can see if you click the link. Afterwards we went to lunch at Suzanne's and then to the annual sale at a small town department store, Rains. I bought out their supply of Ojai's famous Garlic Gold for holiday gifts. To die for!

There were some years when I was studying the work of Krishnamurti and Theosophy when I often visited Ojai to stay in the retreat centers. At one point, when two of my friends moved there in 2002, I looked at property there and then chickened out about leaving L.A. family and friends.

An interesting thing has happened to me the past few years, however, and that's that I have stopped enjoying the drives to some of these places further from home. It's an aging thing, I think, although the freeways were wide open this weekend. I have no excuses not to visit these days either. I don't even have to pay to stay because friends always invite me. 

By the way, if you are a hiker, Ojai is your kind of place--and there is something cultural or cutting-edge going on there all the time. Check out the visitors link. Not only is it a spiritual center, a place with very special energy, it is just so doggoned beautiful. It reminds me of the Sunland-Tujunga area where I grew up as a child. 

Now--if there was some way to "Beam me up, Scotty," I'd be hanging out in my special places a lot more than I have been the past few years. I've just got to get back my road confidence when I'm driving alone. 

To see many other people's Postcards from Paradise entries today, check out Rebecca's Recuerda mi Corazon.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haiku My Heart Friday: Purple Bumblekiss

On a chilly November evening, I happened across this photo I took three summers ago in Portland, OR next to a restaurant called Bumblekiss. It seemed perfect for Rebecca's Haiku My Heart Friday. 

Purple bumblekiss

On a Portland summer day

Brings warm memories.

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.  --Melody Beattie 

I hope your day has been filled with family and friends, good food, laughter and gratitude for everything we have in our lives. I, for one, celebrated with extended family last night and my daughter and her family came for a big breakfast we all cooked together this morning. Now everyone has disbursed except my former son-in-law who is watching football. He is like another son to me. I'm planning to work on art journals and begin creating my 40 hand-made Christmas cards, continue reading "The Miss New India," and probably napping, too. 

By the way, these flowers were sitting on the table at the Malaga Cove Library last Sunday when I volunteered at a reception for local homeowners. 

 

Postcards From Paradise: A Rainbow

Rebecca at Postcards From Paradise asks, "Where did you find paradise in your closest world today?"

My definition for paradise are those places where I reminded about gratitude--for my life, for those of my family and friends, and places in nature. 

Yes, today was a rainy day in Southern California, which many people (including me) consider paradise in and of itself. Late this afternoon I volunteered at a reception at the Malaga Cove Library of the Peninsula Library District, my very favorite library in the whole world. I just had my point and shoot with me, but this view was captivating because nearby peacocks were strutting and I had to capture the rainbow over the spectacular greenery while rain showers baptized me. 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of volunteering for the afternoon at this same library which was built in 1929 and is utterly charming in every respect. How lucky I am, I thought to myself, to be able to be a customer and a volunteer at a library I love so much. 

 

 

Haiku the Heart of Joe Spadoman

The heart is the home

A safe resting place for Joe

To heal thoroughly. 

Everyone who participates in Rebecca's Recuerda mi Corazon blog activities is wishing our friend Joe Spadoman a safe recovery at home from his recent heart challenges. 

If It's Thursday, That Means Friday to Me

Photo courtesy of Alan Hill, Chadwick School's Director of Outdoor Education

Because I work Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in my idyllic part-time job as a school archivist, Thursday night brings the feelings that most working people have on Friday night. (TGIT) Tonight I feel like my co-workers and I have reached a summit and I know that I leave work with adrenalin pumping, but also glad to switch gears for four days.  I love working and even on most days when I'm not working for money, I'm volunteering in some capacity--or reading, or making art, cruising on the Internet, consulting with people who want to pick my brains, or hanging out with friends. Because I have a Type A personality, to be happy and guilt-free, I HAVE to keep my time occupied. 

This has been an especially productive work week because a library school archival intern worked one day with me and we have begun to better organize my archival collection at Chadwick School. She'll continue spending one day a week with me sorting the collection, building a database, and the cataloging will begin. I'm hoping to work part-time as long as the school will have me, but I feel very satisfied that when I do leave, I will leave an organized, searchable by anyone collection. Right now I'm pretty much an archival black box. So, big-time kudos to Amy, who is smart as a whip, soon to graduate with her Masters in Library Science, and is a total and unexpected gift to me and my school. She is the same age as my granddaughter, 24, but both are light years ahead of me in their areas of expertise. 

But--I must admit that I'm glad it's Thursday night, my equivalent to most of your Friday nights. I splurged on a new set of Copic markers and I'm in the midst of beginning mass production on my homemade Christmas cards. 

And how is your weekend shaping up? 

So, Mr. Animal, What is the Meaning of Life?

My friend and colleague Christy, who goes by the name of M. C. Armstrong, has a studio in her home where she makes the most wondrous pottery, usually featuring whimsical animals. When she invited me to visit after a recent studio tour, I snapped this photo of her daughter staring intently at one of her mom's animals. His name, by the way, is Hector the Heedful. My caption would be, "So, Mr. Animal, what is the meaning of life?" How would you caption this?