Children's Literature: Pick of the Week

George and Martha, by James Marshall

The George and Martha books are a series of books written by James Marshall about two best friend hippos. Each book contains several very short stories about George and Martha's adventures. If you value honesty and humor in keeping relationships healthy, you would love these books. I bought my kids a couple of new George and Martha books for Christmas (shhhh! don't tell them!), but they are really for me, because I love them so much. Let me give you a bit of friendly advice: if you have kids, buy one of these books. If you don't have kids, think of a kid you know and buy one of these books yourself so you can read it to them. At least that will give you an excuse. These books are really that great. I've read that there is a tv show based on them. It can't possibly be half as good as the books. Trust me.

Lux Venit

Today is the first day of winter. The darkest day of the year. The last few years I have taken a few moments to wax philosophical on the solstice. This is the moment to celebrate the light breaking into the darkness. We thought all hope was lost. It kept getting darker every day. Until the solstice. The "turnaround" day. Hope! The light is coming!

I just read a book by Jessica Prentice, New Moon Feast. I don't agree with everything she writes in this book, but what she says about Christians celebrating the solstice seems to hit the mark:

Christmas has become secular and commodified, but this was not always the case. In the traditional Christian calendar, the Moon of Long Nights corresponded to the period of Advent, which means "coming." Advent was a time of penitence, abstinence, and prayer. For those of the Christian faith, the period of long nights is about the expectation of a miracle: the coming of the light. It is not an accident that Christ's Mass - the celebration of the birth of the Son of God - corresponds to the winter solstice - the rebirth of the Sun.

She makes the point that since the arrival of electric lights, this season has become one of hurry and busyness. But in the old days, it would have been a time of slow, quiet reflection. Long nights with no light means more time literally in the dark! Imagine complete darkness with perhaps only the moonlight to see by. Can you imagine the pent-up expectation for light? And what comes along three to four days after the solstice? We celebrate Christ's birth - the light has come. Daylight returns and we can see clearly again. I love it.

One of the classic Christmas cd's in my collection is the first Micheal W. Smith Christmas recording (ok, so it was a cassette tape when I first heard it. Now I have the CD!) The song "Lux Venit" was included on it - translation from Latin:

Lux venit: "the light has come"
Sursum corda: "look upwards hearts"


Lux Venit Lyrics

The solstice is a time to celebrate that even in our darkest hour, God heard our cries and sent a shining light into our darkness - Jesus Christ. Look upwards hearts. The light has come.

SOTP!

This one has me cracking up tonight. Happy solstice!

Toys and Garlic Soup

It is virtually impossible to find toys at a store that are not made in China. I went Christmas shopping this week. I definitely could not find what I wanted. Everything I looked at said Made in China. The only catalog I know of that sells nothing made in China is this one. I like their stuff, but there's not a lot of variety in it. The stuff for girls especially. Not much there for a 4-year-old girl.

I tried a new soup last night. Garlic soup. (side note: I've been fighting off a cold recently, so garlic has played a big part of my life this week). It was delicious. I got the recipe from this book. Every soup recipe I have tried from this book has been excellent. I've never been much of a soup person, but I think that was because I was used to canned soups. There is no comparison. The key is to start with homemade stock. If you use canned stock or bouillon cubes you will not get the same delicious, healthful results. Other good soups from this book that I have tried: coconut chicken (only I used turkey), black bean, french onion, asparagus, and mushroom soups. My favorite stock is turkey. It seems to have a richer flavor than chicken stock, although of course chicken stock is good also.

Soup is a healthy, light, nourishing food, good for all of humanity; it pleases the stomach, stimulates the appetite and prepares the digestion. -J.A. Brillant-Savarin

My Sentiments Exactly

No one has yet really decided that controversy about whether the hen or the egg came first. If it was the hen, there must surely have been a bleak period before the first eggs were laid. -Cooking with Mrs. Appleyard

That conveys my sentiments exactly. I think that eggs are pretty much the perfect food. About a month ago our chickens went from laying nine or ten eggs a day to one or two eggs a day. That didn't scare me, though. I had stockpiled my eggs because I knew this was coming. Hens will moult in the fall (they don't lay eggs while moulting) and laying also will significantly decrease due to the smaller amount of sunlight we get so close to the shortest day of the year. I had six or seven dozen eggs taking up space in my already crammed refrigerator. How long do you suppose it took for us to use up that stockpile with an input of only one or two eggs a day? Less than three weeks.

I told myself not to panic. I put eggs right up there on a pedestal along with breathable air and potable water. Air, water, eggs. Three substances necessary for life. So, you will all be relieved (but not as much as me) to know that our pullets (a.k.a. the teenage chickens) started laying this week! Now we are up to an input of six eggs a day, which is still a little low (especially considering they are quite small eggs), but I do believe we can scrape by on that. So, praise the Lord, and pass the salt and butter.