Thursday, December 23, 2010

the Solstice Lunar Eclipse - super cool



I'm backtracking a couple of days, but I wanted to touch on this.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a moon girl. I especially love full moons. A few months ago, I noted that we were having a Harvest moon at the Fall Equinox and that we'd be having a full moon at the Winter Solstice, too.

Last year some friends of ours had a Solstice party at their house, where they projected Frosty the Snowman onto the side of their garage for the little kids and the Winter Fairy came to deliver treats (bells and stickers). It was really fun and although I wouldn't call myself a pagan, I decided to start recognizing the Solstices and Equinoxes - if for no other reason than to reflect upon the passing of time in nature, time and space, and to feel connected to the universe at those times. Why not?

When a friend of mine reminded me about this special lunar eclipse the other night, I made sure to go outside to see it. Luckily the cloud cover was moving fast enough for me to get some great glimpses of this phenomenon.

As I read descriptions of this eclipse, the one that took my breath away with wonderment was this:

"Monday night or early Tuesday morning, depending on your location, many around the world were able to witness a phenomenal and rare total lunar eclipse, watching as the Earth passed directly between the sun and the full moon, shrouding it in shadow and transforming the white image into a stunning deep red glow. The event was especially significant as it coincided with the winter solstice, something that hasn't occurred in 372 years and won't come around again until 2094."

Why the red glow?

"when the eclipse is underway...you're seeing every sunrise and every sunset in the world, all of them, all at once. This incredible light beams into the heart of Earth's shadow, filling it with a coppery glow and transforming the Moon into a great red orb."

Pics from around the globe:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/21/lunar-eclipse-2010-photos_n_799618.html#212892
I don't know how long that link will be active, so I'll try to save and post some of the pictures as well.

okay I guess that's it for this post. ;)

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Our Christmas card


Merry Christmas, everyone!


(click on it for a larger view)

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Another year.


Today is the day that I make a point to mark the anniversary of my friend's sister & nephew's tragic deaths. It's certainly not something I like to think about, but in this case, not wanting to think or talk about unpleasant things is kind of exactly the point - as well as a significant part of the problem that led to their unnecessary passing.

For information, go to www.jennyslight.org

And remember to pay special attention to any new mothers in your life. You know her. A friend, cousin, neighbor, coworker, a friend's spouse... New moms are everywhere, and the statistics about postpartum depression are shocking to most people. So many women suffer silently through really hard weeks or months after childbirth.

So check in with the new mom you know. Look a little deeper than you would normally. Find a way to let her know that you care about her and this profound journey that she has begun by bringing a child into the world and becoming a mom. Be willing to hear about the difficult aspects of this monumental change for her; maybe even her birth story, if she wants to share it with you. Listen. Make eye contact. Listen some more.

You could be a life saver.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Christmas stuff

Okay, I'm totally cheating, but I used free software to Grab these photos off the website from our recent photo session at One Of Those Places In The Mall.
Shhh. Don't turn me in.
(don't get too bent out of shape; I did purchase some prints from the company, so I'm not completely without morals)







We're busy gearing up for our every-other-year trip to Merrimac for Christmas. I always over pack and I always stress about having enough warm clothes for everyone. I'm sure we'll be fine. Actually, this year our biggest challenge might be the plane ride, as Lilah is really close to crawling and will probably want to be put down on the floor. Yeah, that's not happening. The problem is, she's got lungs and she knows how to use them. I might buy a few boxes of earplugs and pass them out if she gets loud. I have heard of parents doing that, and there have been times when I would have appreciated that myself, so I figure it's worth it - even if just for the gesture of goodwill.

Sadie is all about Santa and Rudolph this year. Our dear friends in Colorado sent their Elf on A Shelf, Pipsqueak's, best friend to us, whom Sadie named Pippy - such originality. Each morning she finds him somewhere different in the house, as he has gone to the North pole during the night to report to Santa about Sadie's ranking on the Naughty or Nice scale.

She's learned all of the lyrics to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and sings it a lot. She received the movie as a surprise direct from the North Pole and I think she's watched it at least once a day for about 5 days now. We sang Christmas songs at Music Together class this week, and she hung onto "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" from that. Just today she asked me "Mom, what does 'pout' mean?" - presumably because she has now learned that she'd better not!

We've got a beautiful little tree and some wonderful ornaments, which endlessly fascinate Lilah.

We play Christmas music in the car and we keep our eyes peeled for special decorations everywhere we go. We're receiving lots of great Christmas cards and I'm almost done with all of ours. We've been reading all of our Christmas books and we'll be having an early Christmas at my parents' house this weekend, since we'll be away this year.

Last but not least, here is Sadie's letter to Santa, which of course I helped her to write: