There's still time! Especially if you love walnuts!

I guess I've already said it, but I LOVE holidays. And a good one is coming up! The first day of Advent is this Sunday, December 2nd.

What is Advent really? I had no clue it was anything more than counting the days til Christmas until just a few years ago. And even now my understanding is quite the mix of religious celebrations and traditions combined with quite the crunchy-granola-natural twinge. I'm not going to even attempt at giving the history nor a correct description of the holiday. I can only attempt to describe what it is for me.

To me it symbolizes the falling into the darkest weeks of the year. The solstice on the 21st is thee shortest day of the year. Naturally in the winter we bundle up in clothes and snuggle down in layers of blankets, shielding the cold and preserving our inner warmth. It's a time of anticipation for what is to come. Some people say it's a natural time for reflection, inner awareness and a perfect time for kindling our inner spirit and fire. Everyone has their own way of doing this; there are many cups of tea. For me it just seems reasonable that when you're in the dark you look for the light. If the sun isn't bringing it, from where does it come?For Christians I guess it would be the birth of baby Jesus, a bringer of light and love. For a naturalist it might be knowing that after the 21st the days begin to get longer, literally there is more light. And for those of us that believe in the power of meditation or intention, maybe it is using these tools at a dark time to help us find our way...

Regardless there are a bunch of ways of celebrating Advent if you so wish. Basically it is a way of preparing and celebrating for what is to come - whatever you believe will be coming. I thought I would share my favorites. And I'll say too that yes, having kids around adds a great incentive to celebrate, but last year during Advent I wasn't involved in a school community nor did I have any children around to celebrate with and I found it just as much fun to sing and celebrate - but maybe that's just the preschool teacher in me.

Last year I made a centerpiece out of evergreen branches and red berries. In it I placed a spiral path of stones I had collected and placed four white candles scattered through the path. At the center a candle to light on Christmas. The first Sunday of Advent at dinner we lit a candle and sang a song. Every night for that week we lit one candle and sang before dinner. The second Sunday of Advent we lit two candles, and the third three, etc. The song a mix of what we used to sing at Little Friends Farm and another song I found on a Waldorf-inspired blog. It goes:
      Advent, advent, your candles burn
      I light the night, my candles burn.
      First one, then two, then three, then four
      My heart is shining like a star.

And then there is the walnut chain.  Two lovely teachers at the Mariposa School taught me this tradition. It involves either a big love of walnuts or lots of friends that love walnuts. So anyway, you split open 24 walnuts and eat (or save, or give, or bake) the nut inside. The trick is that you need to crack it open so it splits perfectly. Jagged shards of walnut shells can't be used - believe me, I've tried to even super glue the pieces back together, it doesn't work. Here's a trick though, the bottom of every walnut right in the middle where the two halves meet there is a part that if you use a fork or a butter knife or camping can opener, you can wedge it in there and with a little bit of finesse there is a pop and the two halves split. Hurray. Make sure you keep the halves with their pair, or otherwise you'll have an interesting matching game to play later. Using an egg carton is helpful in keeping the shells well behaved.

 So then comes the part where you fill each walnut with a little something. Yes, you can put little presents inside, but I rather prefer to find little nature treasures or fold in a piece of paper with a special activity on it. It works way better because 1) nature is just really good as making small things, 2) it's really hard to find little trinkets to buy in almost any store 3) it would be really expensive to purchase 24 little things and really, that's not the point anyway. Sneak peak at what my nieces will be finding...

 So once they are all filled order than how you like in one long procession. (note - the ones at the top will be the last to open). Using a long piece of ribbon (long enough to fit all the walnuts and extra to make a bow or loop at the top for hanging), glue the walnuts halves back together with the ribbon in between. The end product will be a garland of walnuts. Each day the ribbon is cut so that one walnut falls off the chain. Crack it back open and voila! Less walnuts on the chain = less time til________!

I also like the idea of putting activities in each walnut. For example: pick out Christmas books at the library, go hike someplace new, make hot cocoa/tea, draw a picture for someone, write someone a letter, etc. Although maybe it's easier to make a different kind of advent calendar with activities so that you have the ability to switch around what your little one will be finding (aka it's a hot day and drinking hot chocolate wouldn't be so magical)

So the last weeks I have been combing the beaches for shells and things. Jota telling me in all sincerity that maybe I have "a problem with shells." He didn't know I was envisioning a walnut chain. After I told him he seemed to look at me more like a normal person again. I like shells, and I do my fair share of collecting, but I don't usually fill every tupperware that we have with sea treasures- that or shards of walnut shells, or more nuts than we can actually eat.

In other news, Jota has rigged up a kitchen sink in the van. The other day I started washing my hands and all of a sudden I realized that sound. "Oh my goodness, do you HEAR that?" I say. "What??" Jota responds in that frantic way that I know he is intently listening for any creak, snap, pop or groan of the van. "No, it's nothing bad. It's RUNNING WATER!!!!!" Oh the happiness. Four months in Galicia and then this last month here in Barcelona without running water and I can't tell you how grateful I am to not have to try and pour a five gallon bucket with my knees while I try and wash my hands, not drop the soap on the ground and not loose my balance, stumble over and land in the puddle. And I won't even go into the details of washing dishes. There is a reason I guess we don't have too many of those. The beauty of the experience though has been that we know exactly how much water we use. When you have to go find it, carry it in and carry it out (and feel in your cranky back and knees every spill because you have to go back to the fountain and get more), you can't not acknowledge every single drop and that's pretty cool. Now if only we could figure out a bicycle-powered hot water heater and I would really be in heaven.

There is a art fair coming up and I've turned the van into a craft workshop. I'm thinking of giving a workshop for the fair. Origami being the art form of choice this time - mostly because it's easy to fit, light and free (if you use scrap paper, old maps, newspapers, wrapping paper, etc.). 

Well that's all for now.