A Christmas Manifesto

Here's to the Holiday...I hope to keep the spirit of Christmas evident this year.  I want to focus on the Reason for the Season.  I hope to encourage those around me  to want to embrace the season. I want my children to be aware of the purpose of the season.  I hope to make time each day for me in reflection of the day and how I am keeping this time a time of reflection and enjoyment.

Every year I look forward to keeping a journal of pictures and writing to focus on Christmas the past and the present, the good and the bad.  It has made want to try new things(advent calendar) and understand my past as well.  I will try to post some of my pages here.  I will probably blog about the prompt though.   I have not finished a journal yet but have fun trying.    If you like to join me in doing a journal just click on one of the journal your christmas links.  It will take you to Shimelle's blog to join the class.   The best thing about this class is it is perpetual.  Once you buy the class you take every year for no additonal cost.  It was the best money spent to keep me present in the moment during this busy Christmas season.

Time for Journal Your Christmas!

I have been keeping busy with getting my stuff together for my annual Christmas Journal.  Every year Shimelle Laine www.shimelle.com does an online class to journal your Christmas.  It helps to look at all the things that go on in December at least take one picture or journal about the event.  It makes every day special.  I get a prompt each day from Dec 1 to Jan 6.  It always takes me all day to think of  what to write but it helps remember things I have forgotten.   The picture above is how I am going to number the pages and first day page which I am still have to journal about. I will try to get pages posted at least once a week.  I know the Sunday are all spoken for as far as things to do.  Next week we start on Dec 1 with Seth's school program.  It all goes too quickly some times.  It is nice to remember some of those memories.
IMG_3832.JPG, originally uploaded by stephrussell2001.

Explore Class and Through The Viewfinder

Today as I was very bored at work.  The harvest is late so I will be incredibly busy in another month or so but right now very slow.  I have been taking an online class with Shimelle in the UK.  I take her Christmas journal class every year.  This is another class along those lines but with everyday things.  It is taking apart how we scrapbook and what we scrapbook.  One of her ideas was to use another older camera with a twin lens reflex and use the digital to take a picture of the viewfinder.  It is really cool.  Since I don't have a twin lens reflex camera lying around, I had to fake it.  She gave directions how to do it.  I was able to do it with some photos I took at lunch.  All in all a good day. 

Fleece Washing Experiment

Here is a Debouillet fleece I just received.  It is a very nice white fleece with locks as long as 4+ inches. 

 I decided to preserve the lock structure by using a tulle squares and a washing bag.  I pulled locks from the fleece the width of my finger and placed them on some tulle the width of my bag. All of the tips and butts were placed in the same direction.  I made about 3 packets of these locks.

 This process took some time but it was worth it because the locks structure was so great.  I used some boiling water and my hot tap water to get it to 135 degrees F.  It was perfect for using some Power Scour soap I was looking to try.  I ended up folding the wash bag over a third.  I left this for about 20 minutes.  The water cooled to about 120 degrees.  I then did a second wash with about half the amount of soap I used the first time.  The water by the end of the second wash was less dirty than the first.   I then did two rinses of the same temp water and each was left for 15 minutes.  The end of the second rinse was really clear.

The tips didn't come as clean as I would have liked but really that will come out with flicking the ends or just snipping them off.  It took about an hour and 15 minutes to do the wash process.  I did  use my washing machine to spin the water out after the last rinse.  That helped alot with the drying process.  The locks dried over night.  Below is a picture of the storage bag that I store all of my fiber. It has breathable sides and can fit quite a lot.  I decided to be really scientific and weigh by fiber before washing and after.  Before weighed 5.8 oz  the after was 2.9 oz.  So I lost 50% weight of dirt and lanolin.  That is acceptable as the Debouillet fleece is expected to have 50% loss.    This was a fun experiment and I will do this again.  It helps to appease the nerd in me.
 

 So that was my evening of getting my fiber fix satisfied and still waiting for Spring to arrive here in the northern plains. 

Journaling my Christmas Day 1

Shimelle_JournalYourChristmas_2010Manifesto_LargeRed.jpg, originally uploaded by stephrussell2001.

This year I am going to rekindle the magic of Christmas that I remember as a child. I hope to give from my heart to all people that I come in contact with during this hectic season. I hope to cherish the time that I spend with family and friends over this season. I hope to find peace, celebrate the joy and remember the reason for this season.

Every year for the last 4 years, I have taken on online class. It is a process by which I receive a prompt in my email each day for the next 37 days. It has various themes for each day. Things to think about as the season progresses. I enjoy it because it causes me to look around and really see what is going on in my life and town. I want to document in way that the kids will remember and I will remember years later how each year happens, things that change and the things that stay the same. It is how we found out that Autumn's loves the season for the traditions that we have made. The boys go along with just about anything. This year we are starting something new an advent calendar.

So if you would like to join me in documenting your Christmas let me know I will show how you too can discover the meaning of Christmas in your life.

Thankful for the snow?

It is snowing here again but really it has just started.  We got our first snow and it will probably stay and we won't see the grass or dirt again until March or so.  It looks like it is shaping up the way the Farmer's Almanac has forecast snow and cold.  D might actually have to get on the tractor tonight to do the driveway.  I am so glad we got it.  It is a wonderful thing not to have to walk behind the snow thrower for miles on end.
 Well, I guess we have to thankful for snow and we aren't in a drought or something else.  I just hope every one remembers how to drive in the stuff...me included.  It is pretty to watch it come down but I know the wind outside of town will be not as pretty when I am driving in it. 

Traditions

Tradition have been on my mind lately.  This year is the first year the kids seem to be interested in our traditions.  I was thinking of changing some things this year and but Autumn was all you can't change things now.  It is  tradition.  It surprised me because I haven't thought too much about what we do and when we do it.  The kids haven't complained or said much of anything about anything that we do.  It is nice to have the feedback to know there are things they look forward too.  Seth this year is interested in the ornaments on our tree.  He was standing looking at it one day and was curious about the ornaments with his Dad's name on them. So I told him about some of the ornaments and he told me about what he remembers about the ornaments.  It was a fun conversation and I am glad that he noticed a tradition.  

Our traditions are this, we go to the Christmas concerts for the kids.  We go caroling with a church group or scouts at the local nursing home. We perform in the live nativity and become icicles.  But we also go on sleigh rides and get warm by the bonfire.  We drive around town and look at all the lights everyone has put on their houses.We sing solos during Christmas Eve church service.  We open one gift Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas morning. Christmas morning we spend enjoying our gifts and each other.  We usually watch White Christmas, The Santa Clause, and a few other Christmas movies during some weekend. I try to fit in making cookies but that sometimes does not happen. 

During Christmas time we are busy with school and basketball games.  Next year will be different as we won't have basketball games to go to anymore. I might find more time to bake those cookies.  We see how it goes and what new traditions will form as our family changes.