We celebrate a pretty secular and abundant Christmas in my family. There are lots of cookies, and sneaking around to find\/make\/give presents. Mom often makes a Christmas bread. Friends and I try to host a Cookiefest \u2014 though damn pandemic is thwarting that!\u00a0<\/p>\n
We have a tree\u2014now we usually cut a fir hybrid (Frasier x balsam maybe) at a local tree farm, though when I was a kid we’d go find a beautiful yet very scraggly fir in the National Forest. We probably weren’t supposed to! And it had to be small enough that two girls aged 8 and 9 (or a little older) could cut and carry it on our sled…<\/p>\n
Our ornaments \u2014 in my house, my parents’ houses, my siblings’ hours \u2014 are a mix of things we’ve found in travels, or things made by various of us (these still get hung, even if they eventually get very, very tattered), or ornaments that belonged to grandparents 10, 20, 50 years ago or more. And lights! My otherwise darling ElderKid, abetted by his Dad, wrap the darn light strings around the trunk (I can make this effect with much less poking! but Noooo!) … which is really lovely, although removing them later (much much later) is, um, stabby. Nevertheless, I plan to put up more….\u00a0<\/p>\n
I like the mystery, the surprise, the generosity, the treats. I like the snow and the lights and the end of year and the ridiculousness of it all. I love English and German Christmas carols. I love the many many interpretations of Santa\/Sinter Claus\/Pere Noel\/North. I love how we have a mouse named Xavier visit us each year from December 1 -24, who moves around at night when we sleep (sometimes in the company of Lego figures, carved ducks, or tins of spices) and leaves us notes in the morning. I love how this time of year has room in it for many people’s expressions of joy and faith, creativity and kindness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
May your own next several weeks, however you mark this time of year (or not!), be abundant, filled with music you love and silly giggles, rich in the smells and kindnesses you thrive on, joyful, expressive, and delightful. May your hopes be strengthened, your connections easy, and your stories neverending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We celebrate a pretty secular and abundant Christmas in my family. There are lots of cookies, and sneaking around to find\/make\/give presents. Mom often makes a Christmas bread. Friends and I try to host a Cookiefest \u2014 though damn pandemic is thwarting that!\u00a0 We have a tree\u2014now we usually cut… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phmexg-h0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":256,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/goats-tea-tree\/","url_meta":{"origin":1054,"position":0},"title":"Goats, Tea, Tree","author":"Kir","date":"5 August 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Goats, Tea, TreeFor Sketchfest #39,, prompt \"Goats in Trees!\".Blue ballpoint scribble sketch on smooth Piccadilly paperArt copyright \u00a9 2013 Kirsten Talmage","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1252,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/sketchbook-tree-dragon-hemlock\/","url_meta":{"origin":1054,"position":1},"title":"Sketchbook \/\/ tree dragon hemlock","author":"Kir","date":"22 August 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, at least this one is a little more finished?? I dunno --follow the inspiration such as it is or work on existing series? Really, the latter is the skill-habit I need more. But but but! What other species of trees are on my wee bit of land, anyway? Couple\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"pencil drawing of a dragon perched on a hemlock spray with hemlock twigs for wings","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_8070.jpg?fit=1200%2C1102&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_8070.jpg?fit=1200%2C1102&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_8070.jpg?fit=1200%2C1102&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_8070.jpg?fit=1200%2C1102&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/img_8070.jpg?fit=1200%2C1102&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1251,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/sketchbook-tree-dragon-yellow-birch\/","url_meta":{"origin":1054,"position":2},"title":"Sketchbook \/\/ tree dragon yellow birch","author":"Kir","date":"8 August 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Another sketch, another deagon, another series idea","rel":"","context":"In "Sketches"","block_context":{"text":"Sketches","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/sketches\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/099ca33d6fbce5e1c7edb9222400fe31.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/099ca33d6fbce5e1c7edb9222400fe31.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/099ca33d6fbce5e1c7edb9222400fe31.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/099ca33d6fbce5e1c7edb9222400fe31.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1031,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/coloring-goodness-for-june-2020-tree-shepherds-daughter\/","url_meta":{"origin":1054,"position":3},"title":"Coloring Goodness for June 2020 \/\/ Tree Shepherd’s Daughter","author":"Kir","date":"1 August 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"[** Update: downloads are archived after two months\u2014or more\u2014so patrons have plenty of time to access them. Sometimes it's much longer! I removed these over a year after posting... \u00a0I'm making the post public when I archive the downloads, so more of you can see the idea and the process.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1333,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/coloring-goodness-the-look-of-a-leaf\/","url_meta":{"origin":1054,"position":4},"title":"Coloring goodness \/\/ the look of a leaf","author":"Kir","date":"29 May 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The Look of a Leaf\" Tiny Tin drawing as a coloring page for patrons.","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Preview of coloring page \"The Look of a Leaf\": a dryad peeks out from behind the trunk of a tree. Copyright \u00a9 K. Talmage","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2212-Look-of-Leaf-preview.jpg?fit=840%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2212-Look-of-Leaf-preview.jpg?fit=840%2C470&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2212-Look-of-Leaf-preview.jpg?fit=840%2C470&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/2212-Look-of-Leaf-preview.jpg?fit=840%2C470&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":611,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/sketchbook-tree-shepherds-daughter\/","url_meta":{"origin":1054,"position":5},"title":"Sketchbook: tree shepherd’s daughter","author":"Kir","date":"2 February 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Um, I should warn you that the sketchbook is often full of low-contrast pencil work photographed in poor light with a somewhat scruffy iPhone. I really like to do little drawings right before I fall asleep, and the light there is dim at best. I will try to level up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"pencil sketch of shaggy man and bushy-haired girl","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_E7491-Small.jpg?fit=360%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1054\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}