A Welcome Gift

Toni Morrison on the cover of The New Yorker

Just when I am sure that I have absolutely everything a woman could want, Steve thinks up a gift that is going to charm me 52 weeks a year.

He told me that for Christmas he was ordering The New Yorker for me.

"I have always wanted that," I blurted out.  "In fact, I tried to order it on my own and then something went wrong and I never finished off the order form."

I seemed to wait forever for the magazine to begin.

I told Steve I didn't think it would ever arrive.  He investigated for me to find out what the hold-up was.

Still no magazine, but the free tote that came with the subscription came.

I said to Sumin, "Look I have the free tote, but not the magazine." 

She gave me a blank look (rabbit-caught-in-the-headlights) and then said, "Oh there has been a magazine coming here that is in the name of Steve Carter, and I didn't know who that was."

She pulled out some issues for me.

As well, that day I got into Miranda's van with her and looked on the floor.  "Oh, you have The New Yorker too," I exclaimed.

"No," she said.  The mailman just delivers it to the wrong address.  I think it belongs to you.

So hooray!

I am one totebag and two issues into the subscription and loving it. 

As well, I am having Sumin read some of the articles aloud to me and as she reads, I help her with accent reduction.  And I get to enjoy the jokes twice.  She is laughing -- a bit -- especially at the comic issue and the article about Roz Crantz.

A gift I never expected

A gift that is a joy to receive.

Arta

Single Parenting

Alice likes to play with other set of toys 
besides the Nativity, Alice asked 
if she could have Lego for girls for Xmas.
So here she is with the Pool Party.
Betty looks on with great interest as to
how to construct the slide to the pool.

I have a small Peruvian nativity with the figures dressed in the national costumes of Peru.

I keep it out year round as well, hoping that Alice will play with it.

She does.

In fact, she broke the head off the donkey, but that was easily fixed with a glue gun.

I, however, dropped the figure of Mary, and smashed it to smithereens, yesterday.

I thought I had a good hold on it, but it just dropped out of my hand.

There is just no hope of getting it back together with a glue gun.

I wondered, is it better, while trying to downsize, to just throw away anything that is not in perfect condition anymore which would mean throwing out the whole set.

I opted instead, to keep, rather than throw it away, leaving it on the lower shelf in the china cabinet, and in the days ahead, Joseph shall just have to do single parenting.

What I want for Christmas ....

Photo Credit: Shawna Pilling
The Shuswap: Summer 2018

Now, if anyone is dying to give me something for Christmas, I have finally decided what I would like to have.

Please send me something about yourself that could go up on this blog.

Or you could put it up here yourself, if you want to try your hand at that.

But I am absolutely available to transfer anything up to the blog if anyone is fearful of trying this on their own.

For example, Rebecca just sent me the following which I am happy to accept as my first Christmas 2018 Gift:

Dated: Dec 1, 2018

I am spending the next few days in Kamloops at the Secwépemc Winter Gathering (Pelltetéqum, or cross over month), for some conversations about our research partnership with the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. I am looking forward to connecting with friends, learning a few more Secwepemc words for relations, and trying my hand at fish spear making! I will be back at the law school on Monday, December 3.

I would consider a note like this up on the blog as the finest present I could receive this year.

Please, do not let this request take more than 10 minutes of your precious time.

Arta

Hand-made Gifts

Snowman in a mug

Rebecca's idea for a homemade gift

From Catherine:

We went shopping in order to buy Rebecca supplies so she could make a home-made gift for a friend.




 It is for a gift exchange with her volleyball team.




The only criteria is that the gift had to be home made. The dollar store is a wonderful place.

... hand-crafted gifts ...

While at the dollar store, Hebe saw a straw cup and kept asking me to buy it.




I kept saying no. Finally, I remember that she had received money to buy a gift for herself. I said to her that if she really wanted it she could use her Christmas money to buy it.

She looked at it a long time, and then told me she wanted to buy it. I guess that means she really wanted it.

... the Christmas craft table ...
... wish it could last all year ...

The last step is to clean up all of the wonderful products used to make home-made gifts.



Catherine

gifts that rival those of the magi

They packed my eggs for travel (image from Foodie Reflections)

Some joys are sought out, and others come as a surprise. I got three surprise gifts this week.  

As part of my private practice, I got to take a beautiful 65 Km drive out to an unincorporated settlement on the south side of the Shuswap Lake. 

Driving West on the TCH leaving Salmon Arm, I found myself holding my breath. This incredible arial view can only be glimpsed at briefly in your periphery if you are always in the driver's seat.

After speech therapy was done, I got a free tour of the family's chicken coop by the youngest member of the family. The Kindergartner spoke directly to those in her care. "Back up you chickens. I'm shutting the door now. Watch your sweet beaks."

Do you like a distinct flavour to your egg? (image from Earth Haven Farm)

Back inside the house, I got to see the father hand washing each egg with care at the kitchen sink, and laying them out on a dish towel to dry.  In addition to being paid for my work, I was then gifted with a dozen eggs from this family operation. 

The daughter on the cusp of her teen years shared with me that she sells eggs to her school teacher. 

Her favorite way to cook an egg? She rattled through her options ... and settled on "boiled just enough to have a goopy, runny centre".

And their final gift to me ... a quote posted by their front door.

If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered, then let us allow them to love the Earth before we ask them to save it. David Sobel

Gifts that rival those of the magi:  a breath-taking vista, fresh eggs, and my new family mission statement

Postscript

In reply to my thank you note the mother wrote back, 
We are very happy to share the eggs with such “egg-thusiasts"!

Two turtledoves or two young pigeons

Artist: Brooke Melchin

Our home teacher, Brooke Melchin, is the artist on the cover of a Christmas card he gave to us.

The card celebrates the following passage from St. Luke: “when the days of her purification ... were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord; to offer a sacrifice ... a pair of turtle doves, or two young pigeons".

The charm in the card for me is the celebration of a Biblical passage I rarely hear read or set to music.

I don’t know the medium Brooke used. I am guessing India ink and good quality parchment paper. The picture has concentric circles enveloping different images: a halo around Mary and the child, then one around the Holy Family, one around the other pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, the last halo encircling the gate to Jerusalem.

I love the way I feel when I look at the walls of the city. I am looking from above and instinctively I lift my chin a little to see over the walls and down to the roof tops of the houses.

I don’t have much space left on my walls to hang another picture.  Still I designated a "frame shopping" event for myself, touching down at Pier I Imports, then Bed, Bath and Beyond, then at London Drugs, wanting just the right frame. Those tiny figures in the bottom left-hand side of the picture need to pop out.

I found the right one: clean, simple, white.

Kelvin will hang the picture as his good-bye to 2013 and as a hello to 2014.

 How is that for a good New Year’s Eve?

Happy New Year to all.

Arta

Christmas Gifts

We have a soft agreement in our family.

For birthdays and Christmas we send emails, make phone calls, give personal greetings to those we love or we do whatever we want.

 It wasn’t always this way. When the kids were young there were presents – lots of them. Maybe a roll of life savers or a bracelet bangle. Now that I look back on it, I probably spent more money on wrapping paper than the kids spent on gifts. That how things were then.  Times change for families. My kids are gone – some thousands of miles away; one family just a sprint away, still ... all are gone. And so I wasn’t expecting any gifts this year, more than the always welcomed email or phone call or even blog post.

... a gift to me from Lurene ...

Still as far as gifts go, Kelvin and I scored on two fronts. Lurene slipped into the Santa bag a tea towel for me. I wondered if I should cherish it or use it. I am going to do both by doing the latter.

Kelvin received a wonderful gift in the “present exchange” held at the family party at Marcia’s house. I had bad timing. That was just the moment when I knew it was time for a nap. I only woke up to hear the happiness in the voices of those who came out of the game with presents that became more meaningful, the more they were desired by others. But this post is not about that.

I want to focus on Audra Treleaven. “I am five,” she says, beaming, as though she has entered adulthood. There is a look in her eye and a tilt of her head that lets you know she has gone through a rite of passage. I think it may have been when she started kindergarten in the fall, because by then she was telling her mother, “No, you let me out of the car a block away from school. I will walk in.”

On the night of the party Bonnie Wyora was watching how Audra can print her name – in block letters.

... a fantastic gift in the present game ...

“Wherever did she learn that?”, Bonnie asked Marcia.

“From her brothers. She is curious, dying to know everything about printing and she copies everything.”


And that is how we knew where the gift came from the Kelvin received.

It is a reading light that hangs around your neck.

Others who have this light like it ... say that it really works.

... the best part of the mylight gift ...Audra's printing practice at the bottom of it

What I like about the light is that Audra added a special touch to the package.

Printing practise at the bottom of the gift.

What kind of treasure is that.

Arta

Duncan's creme brulee

on 'what duncan got for christmas', ......
http://carter-johnson2.blogspot.ca/2013/12/christmas-creme-brulee.html

My Triangle

... the beginning of my gift ...

Rebecca's post on creative projects reminded me that I had a hand-made gift sent to me by Hebe Jarvis.

The gift began with the design of the gift on a piece of paper.

Hebe's original sketch shows the direction she was headed.

Her mother tells me that the final project was done by Hebe with a pair of scissors.

... the final project ...

But not after colour was added.

I love how carefully she had to work to maintain the original shape of the design with her scissors.

And really, there is nothing like having a picture of the artist, or a small bio about her when I get a gift like this.

 ... Hebe: the artist ...

I haven't seen her for a long time.

It was a surprise to me to see the length of that beautiful black hair. The rest of her looks the same.

The twinkle in the eye and the charm of the smile.

This was one of my best gifts this Christmas --  I received a home-made triangle in the mail.

 Arta

Christmas in Austin with the Bates

We have had a good time settling in here in Austin.

Charise is reading short Canadian stories to Anneliese while Ivan is getting ready to wrap presents.

Ezra just goes around being cute.

Christmas morning began just after 8 a.m.

Trent was the last one up.

The Santa socks were emptied onto the kitchen table and were full of goodies.

We cut a dish of fruit in case someone wanted something healthy.

Ezra found himself a place at the table.

We opened presents one at a time starting with the youngest.

However, Ezra refused to leave the table displaying no interest in any present even though Ivan brought the largest present out and tried to woe him.

Who could be happier than Ezra!

Greg is very handy when it comes to keeping Anneliese happy.

Ezra finally opened his big scooter. Ivan is happy with his small scooter. Jamie is enjoying a look at the family calendar that Jamie is looking at.

Presents have been opened and Ezra is still in his place at the table. "No I will not open any presents Ivan. "

The girls are having a great time together on the couch.

Charise found a way to be the motor on Ezra's scooter.

And a good time was had by all.

And have a good holiday y'all!

My New Christmas Sweater!

Yea!   I finally got myself the present I have been wanting for ages:  a hand knit Coast Salish Sweater!

http://carter-johnson2.blogspot.ca/2013/12/my-christmas-sweater-and-tocque.html

Christmas on the Wall

... a lovely Christmas gift ...

Catherine made a lovely gift for me some years back. A lovely picture for Christmas, done in black and gold and carrying the following words: Wonderful, Counsel, Emmanuel, Mighty God, Mighty God, Everlasting Father. She gave it to me framed and ready to hang.

I always thought I would put it on a stand and set it at the end of along buffet. But I could never get the stand and the picture together in the same place when I wanted to use them.

So I brought the picture back from British Columbia and had Kelvin hang it on the wall where we watch TV. No need to take it down after Christmas for now it has a permanent home.  I love those words from Isaiah, the ones that I hear sung at this season should I be see lucky enough to see (or hear a recording of) Handel's Messiah. 

Arta

The Orange Bag

The Provenance of a Life as Demonstrated in a Bag
... use it, patch it, reuse it ...

When Catherine and Eric went to India they brought back cloth shoulder bags for four of us. “Made in a leper colony in India”, Catherine lovingly said to me as she gave me my gift. My bag is a lovely royal blue colour, with a fringed bag flap, and a broad shoulder strap. I found Bonnie’s orange bag as I have been sorting through boxes. The fibres on the shoulder strap have been worn, only the lengthwise threads still intact and to make the bag useful she had pinned the strap to the bag with a large safety pin. Functional, but not fashion-wise. I am going to give that threadbare strap some loving attention with my sewing machine and give the bag back to Bonnie as a Christmas gift.

Suze Orman would be proud of me.

Arta

All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth

Hello,

Richard walked in with a small tupperware container at about 7 pm.

"Come to borrow something?" I asked from where I was kneeling on the floor, putting wax on the hardwood.

"Yes," he said as he was leaving out the door again. "Ice for my tooth. I just knocked it out eating something. I have a phone call in for some emergency dental work."

Now two hours later I phoned his house. The new dentist at Stonehockers, Curtis Holmes, has met Richard, put the tooth back in and Richard is home again.

Richard has what he wants for Christmas: two front teeth.

Arta