the candles are lit,

dinner is roasting, party music playing, champagne is on ice - ready for our friends to arrive and celebrate with joy and glee the arrival of 2011. Happy new year!

library movies

The sticker on my van says it: I love my library! I just have to love a library offering wonderful DVDs that allow me to turn a drab Thursday night into something like a Masterpiece theater Sunday. A marathon in this case, since I could not stop and watched all four episodes of BBC's North & South in one sitting and I even admit that I watched the ending more than once, being the hopeless romantic that I am. Nothing better than a good movie kiss before going to sleep.

little ones

The best thing of my mother-in-law's yearly family Christmas gathering is seeing the changes of people from year to year, especially the little ones. Last year one of them was handed around as a cute little baby and was walking around today - just as cute I might add - and two little ones were not even born then and I know next year they are the ones walking around. I remember Christmas parties when many of the moms and dads were still children themselves. These kids are all wonderful and it is such a joy to see them grow. And most of all it is an even bigger joy to hold the babies, it's one of the best things in the world as far as I am concerned! Remember how annoying it was to have relatives be so shocked over how big you have gotten? Oh my, now I have turned into one of those aunts, scary. Then again, passage of time is something entirely different to children than it is to people who are past the midpoint in their life.

mystery

Like most people, I am a complete sucker for mysteries, can't help myself. My youngest is definitely a mystery and I love her dearly. Even though the road with her is often a difficult and sometimes a heartbreaking one, I know she is a blessing and eventually more than the people close to her will see that as well.

white

How lovely to wake up to a world all white, the windows covered in snow, softening the light. Not quiet though, because the wind sure is howling through our valley here and contributing to us feeling just so cozy inside the house.

relaxing

A day that started early with frantic cooking and cleaning was given a snow induced time out and turned into a calm and relaxing day at home due to postponing our big family party. It is the best gift - a house that is sparkly clean, the fridge is full, the wind is howling, the candles are burning - it is a gift of time and peace and that is rather special.

friendship

It is wonderful to see the friendship of these four children, who probably don't even remember a time when they did not know each other. Many children are just other people's kids, but a few special ones are like family and I feel it is a blessing to care so deeply for them.

believe in magic

There is definitely magic in the air. Thankfully the children sprinkled oats and sparkly dust all over the yard for Santa and the reindeer to find our house. Sophie, our future vet, is mostly concerned with the well being of the reindeer and always makes sure there is some celery for them, complete with instructions. Santa Claus always thanks us with a long letter, the stories he describes from his past year are almost unbelievable, but that comes as no surprise, we are dealing with magic after all. We do believe in magic. Merry Christmas.

little houses

We have these little houses in the kitchen window and it is almost a morning ritual to light the candles inside these houses when it is still pitch dark. Then slowly the sky is getting lighter and lighter - for us in the real world and for the imagined inhabitants of the pottery houses as well. And then in the evening, when it is time to light candles to invite light and warmth into our house, the same happens in the little houses. It's a kind of parallel world where everything is lovely and alright.

prism

When the morning sun hits our prisms in the kitchen window at just the right angle, we get a shower of prism rainbows all over the kitchen. Even though we understand the physics behind it, it is magical nonetheless and definitely makes us quite happy.

finally snow

First the lunar eclipse during Solstice night and now snow on the first day of Winter - wow, the world is running according to the calendar. I love when snow is falling, blanketing the world into a hushed quietness, so peaceful!

hawk

Many times a day I stop at the window and look out into our backyard to see what kind of animals are up to their usual mischief. My friend was so nice to catch a red squirrel and relocate it to here, but as much as I look, I have not seen it. Instead, this very large red tailed hawk was sitting right, so close to the house... maybe he was waiting for the same squirrel, for a different reason though.

and then it was the forth

There is something very special to light the last candle on the fourth Sunday of Advent , it carries a feeling of completeness. But at the same time it has a melancholy notion, signaling that the arrival of Christmas is now imminent and we have to switch gears. Some years I find it difficult to trade anticipation for the real thing, but I had so many celebrations during Advent this year, that the transition into Christmas will be alright.

booyah!

It is such a great feeling when I have accomplished a task and can cross it of the list. To make up for the missed last years, I put extra effort into the christmas cards this year, all 98 of them. This was the last pile to be mailed off today.

cold promise

Jordan Pond is completely covered by a smooth layer of ice, like a cold promise for soon to come ice-block parties. Hurray!

frosty

Getting into the car in the morning feels like some kind of torture when it is as cold as these days. Yet, I am open to the random beauty of the ice crystals on the windows and I enjoy driving around with the crystals all around me, as long as I have a enough opportunity to see where I am actually driving.

Oh Tannenbaum

The girls are getting their own tree this year and they are so unbelievably excited to make ornaments for it, they even ventured out into the bitter cold to pick and cut the tree. Even though they are getting older, Christmas still holds this special kind of magic for them.

cookie tree

It is always sad when my mother goes back home. We all miss her, but in a way, she is still here in spirit because of the crafts and baking she did with the kids, like the little cookie tree she made with Sophie as a test. I think when we make things, along with effort, we put a little bit of our heart into it and that can be felt.*

* in a good way, not a Horcrux kind of way ;)

solitude

I love being by myself, I grew up being mostly alone and as much as I love company, I am so grateful when the house is completely quiet except for the ticking of the clock as the only reminder that time is not standing still.

yellow

Friends widen our horizon, partly because in friendship we can learn to see some things from a different perspective. Yellow is probably the only color I was never into, but I have a friend who loves yellow* and lately, when I see something yellow, instead of frowning upon it, it makes me happy because I know it my friend would love it. Besides, it is not really possible to frown upon a flower anyway.

* while despising my much loved purple ;)

cat in a basket

We are not sure why Mika loves Johanna's sock basket so much. No matter how high in the shelf it is, she finds a way to get in there, but she likes it even more when we leave it out in a sunny spot. I wonder if she is guarding the socks from the sock monster, who is stealing single socks from perfectly fitted pairs.

morning

When the light returns in the morning, after the deepest darkness of night, it appears as if space and life returns and no matter how restless my night was, how monumentous my troubles appeared or how hopeless something seemed, it all looks better once the sun shines his light. It is as if the light in the sky switches the light switch inside my soul.

winter berries

In a season where almost everything in nature is turning shades of gray and brown, the winter-berry's radiant red glows from afar, especially on a clear and cold day. These where greeting us the moment we got out of the car at Tower Hill, setting the mood for our walk.

incense

We live in a very visual world, but we have so many other ways to experience life. Some sensual impressions of childhood live on forever inside our brain and that is especially true for scents. My very special Räuchermännchen, which literally means little smokey man, burns incense every day during advent, filling the room with this old traditional scent and connecting our senses today with past experiences of ancient times. It looks fabulous when the smoke is wafting around the room, I also love the fact that somebody handmade this in Germany and of course this wizard is just so darn cute - he's got some kind of Dumbledore charme about him.

beautiful boy

Max, the embodiment of joy, turned a year old today and his happiness is gift to everybody around him.

airplane

Seeing and hearing an airplane up in the sky always has something magical for me. There is something strangely comforting, because it reminds me that there are many people completely out of the context of my life. Up there in the air are all these people from different walks of life, some old, some young, somebody is sleeping, a baby is crying, somebody might be on the way home to his family, somebody else might fly to see relatives she has not seen in a while. While one person is on a work trip, somebody else might be on vacation and yet another is on the way to a job interview. The possibilities and scenarios are endless and I find that comforting, because I am sure that everybody has their share of good and bad in life and hearing that airplane up ahead, makes it almost tangible.

kale / Grünkohl

Kale or like we call it in Germany: green cabbage. One cannot imagine how much I hated it growing up, there was only one things worse in my book and usually they were served together. My family used to tease me with this frightful vegetable. Forty years later and I love it. Here you can see five whole pounds of Kale, which really seems like a lot, but once you clean it and cook it, it a lot less. the cashier in the supermarket and the people ahead and behind me in line struck a conversation with me about Kale and I told people how to prepare it the traditional German way, how to use it when juicing and how to make kale chips. I wonder if google experienced this surge in 'Kale' searches. If only my grandmother could have seen how much I enjoyed my green cabbage tonight.

it's beginning to look a lot...

... like Christmas. We thought it would be nice to spend an afternoon in Portsmouth, New Hampshire before going to a concert there and stumbled unexpectedly into the festivities surrounding the tree lighting ceremony and parade. Christmas spirit is contagious and I am so happy I caught the bug this year.

squirrel

My ten year old made this little drawing for my mom today and I think it is so cool and amazing.

morning moon

I cannot even put it into words how much I despise to get up early every morning. So it is rather nice to be greeted by the morning moon and Venus. To stand by the window with a hot mug of tea in my hands and watching the sky slowly come to light around the moon is incredibly peaceful.

fairy lights

Thank you little fairy lights, your sparkly glow makes me wonderfully happy and fills our rooms with an atmosphere that is a melange of festive, cozy and special all at the same time.

steps to Crane beach

It could be the cheery yellow or the fact that I love words and quotations or maybe just the fact that these are the steps over the dunes to the beach, I am happy in an instant, as soon as I see these steps. Thank you Crane Beach, for being one of the loveliest places in Massachusetts and especially today for the plethora of driftwood the last high tide left for us.

westward

Between soccer and shopping I had to take a little detour and visit the Border's parking lot, conveniently located on top of a hill. It was funny, while I was taking pictures, more people showed up with the same thought - who knows, maybe we start a club! The sunsets lately have been just breathtaking.

advent

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, what a lovely season it is. It is such a peaceful and quiet time with moments of reflection by candle light and filled with anticipation and preparations for the louder and brighter christmas time ahead. I love lighting the first candle; of the many traditions and rituals that anchor my life, advent is very special and full of memories.

leftovers

Leftovers are awesome, I look forward to them already while making the meal. They are delicious, effortless and so very casual. It is so often that we have more peace and time to appreciate the food after the festivities are over. The after-Thanksgiving-turkey-sandwich is definitely one of the best leftovers in the entire year.

decorations

It is time to get out the advent and christmas decorations. Since I can remember, the Saturday before the first Advent Sunday is 'decorating day' and it is always so much fun to pull out old favorites, heirlooms and German traditional crafts because they are connected to cherished memories, times past, friends and relatives who are no longer with us. December is the month of traditions, like the Moravian star, which has been almost a staple as long as I can think back.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite holiday. The thought itself - to give thanks - is something that is too scarce in every day life. Besides the truly black Friday following Thanksgiving, it is relative free of commerce and is a day that has humble expectations of good food and good company. And really, that is all I need. I am very grateful that I got to host it for the first time and share this day with wonderful friends and family.

anticipation

The excitement before a feast is a tremendous force inside me. It is unbelievable how much I can get done in the the frenzy of anticipation. The incredible amount of preparations is foremost a labor of love, but honestly, I also love the appreciation of it.

home sweet home

The bird who built this home is unknown to me, nonetheless I love seeing little nests like this one today at Gates Pond. It looked really sweet all the way up high in the tree, swaying in the breeze. Amazing, isn't it?

Köttbullar

Some nights one needs a little Sweden in the shape of Köttbullar (meat balls !). I have this strange affinity to anything Swedish, probably because I was made in Sweden, in Göteborg to be precise, just like the lovely Volvos.

dextromethorphane

We have a proverb in Germany 'Ehre wem Ehre gebührt', which kind of means 'honor to whom honor should be bestowed'. There are many things to be grateful for this Sunday, the wonderful music we performed today, the beautiful voices of soloists, orchestra and chorus combined, the lovely friends who came to the concert and the nice visit we had afterwards. But this Blog is not about the big things, it is about the little things and hence, I should give credit where it is due and the big shoutout goes to dextromethorphane, because without it, I would have had no voice at all!

... it really tastes awful though.

inspired and inspiring

Today I got an email from my twelve year old and this was at the end of her email - how inspired and inspiring!

when clouds are the exception

Brilliantly clear today and just nippy enough to know winter is coming. It almost smelled like snow, but that could be because I was hanging christmas lights. Yesterday somebody remarked that I was still so chipper, despite being rather sick with respiratory maladies. I figure I am sick either way, might as well keep chugging along and try to be relaxed about it. I do everything I can and the rest just needs time. Therefore the decision was to be happy about the sky and the christmas lights and let everything else run its course. The sky looks much more blue when there are some clouds for contrast and we can look at life the same way.

cheese

When you get to taste a variety of cheeses with perfect condiments and in combination with special cold cuts, carefully thought out by the master of cheese and friend Simone at Pecorino - you are in cheese heaven, which happens to be in Grafton. God I love cheese.

old brook

Whenever it rains, the old brook in our back back yard swells and starts gurgling, it is such a wonderful and soothing sound. We have been here 9 years and it never occurred to me to go down and try to catch the movement of the water with my camera. Good that I have this blog to keep me taking pictures left and right.

orange

Hardly any color can generate this much excitement in me - thank you orange for your warm, uplifting and defiinitely happy nature.

monteverdi

There are many theories around Monteverdi's vespers of 1610 and one is that he wrote the piece for the Saint Mark's basilica in Venice. In my view, this whole piece is ground breaking and magnificent and at rehearsals tonight it just clicked in place mentally and I felt tremendous joy singing it. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to perform this on Sunday.

I took this photo 4 years ago on a foggy morning in late fall during my first stay in Venice.

piano

I love it! My kids have gotten to the point, where I find it quite enjoyable to listen to their piano practices. Thank you for the music.

blue skies

... smiling at me... Isn't it incredible to have a few days of completely clear skies, so clear in fact, that at sunset, the color is not found in the west, but actually in the east? I took this picture at the clam flats in Ogunquit last night and the image stayed with me all day today.

catching waves

Overwhelming force of nature, waves relentlessly crashing into the rocks of Ongunquit, Maine - so majestic and fantastic. It took a lot of patience to get a picture of the spray, it appears that waves come in waves (!). The waves themselves were already humongous, but the spray was even bigger, creating a spectacle for all the walkers on the Marginal Way. Thank you awesome waves!