Feast of the Holy Family

Happy Feast of the Holy Family!

Icon of The Holy Family, written by Charles Rohrbacher for
St. Paul the Apostle Church, Juneau, Alaska

May the blessings of the Holy Family be with all of you today!

Please continue to pray for my sister, who had surgery yesterday.  She will be in the hospital for a few more days.

New Recipes (And A Prayer Request)

We didn't have our usual big Christmas Open House this year, but instead had small gatherings with the neighbors and other close friends.

I didn't even make my usual traditional Christmas cookies - I ran out of time and energy (I am just three weeks post surgery)!

Since I had a couple of glass jars of marshmallows left over from this summer (I over-estimated the number of s'mores we would be making), I decided to make fudge.  I used this recipe from Martha Stewart, without nuts.  It was delicious!

Pinterest

I read about Pippa Middleton's Peppermint Creams in US Weekly Magazine and decided to try them.  They were wonderful and everybody loved them!

We had Christmas dinner with our friends James and Maura and Pat and Kim (along with James and Maura's baby Seamus and Pat and Kim's kids Molly, Elias and Toby).  We had turkey with all the fixings.  I made a Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread Cake.  It was fantastic!  I made a glaze with powdered sugar, brandy and a little milk and sprinkled red and green sprinkles on it.  The secret ingredient is Guinness Stout (although any stout beer would probably work).  It was deep and rich and flavorful and just right for Christmas dessert.  We made whipped cream to top it off with.

Smitten Kitchen

It was fun to try some new things this year!  Did any of you try a new recipe for Christmas?

By the way, as we were getting ready to leave for Christmas dinner, yesterday, I got a call that my sister was hospitalized and was in intensive care.  She is doing much better today, but will be in the hospital for several days to monitor her status.  I would appreciate prayers for her recovery and also for her family who are understandably quite worried.  She had a miserable Christmas, poor thing!

Merry Christmas from Home In Douglas!

Merry Christmas to all my readers!

Magnificat

Visitation Icon by Charles Rohrbacher

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.
                                      Luke 1:46-55

I love this image - women meeting, cousins greeting.  Jesus and John encountering each other for the first time, while still in their mothers' wombs.

May our hearts leap with anticipation just as John leapt in his mother's womb when he looked forward to meeting Jesus at his birth!

Nativity Set

A few years ago, Charles painted a Nativity Set for our home.  It is based on the icon of the Nativity of Christ and has all the elements of that icon, including figures of the Three Wise Men, which, of course would be in the icon of the Epiphany.

Charles' intention at the time was just to have the Nativity Set for our family, but when we began to display it, our friends were so taken with it that they urged us to sell reproductions of it.

So, we began to make reproductions, which was quite an arduous process, involving having prints made of the images (we had them made smaller because the original figures are quite large), cutting them out and and affixing each image to the Gator Board (like foam core, only with wood instead of paper), with Mod Podge and then sealing them.  We ended up purchasing  a scroll saw to cut out each figure.  After all that, we would paint the backs and edges and glue paper easels on the backs (I say "we", when what I really mean is "Charles"!).

A couple of years ago, I found a dry mount press, which made the process so much easier - we could mount the images on the backing without glue and laminate the front as well.

We sold them at the Juneau Public Market for the two years that we had a booth there, and then when we moved to the Juneau Artists Gallery, we displayed them there.  We only sold a few, and they didn't fly off the shelves like hot cakes like we were certain they would.

The cost of each set might have be a factor - as each image takes a great deal of work to reproduce and manufacture, we decided to charge $100 a set, basically, $10 for each image.  When Charles added the Wise Men to the set, we decided not to charge extra and kept the price at $100.

I think that since the sets are so large (the largest figure is of the angels and is about 15 inches tall), it prevents people from purchasing them, along with the price, which is pretty expensive, unless you are in a position to spend that kind of money.  A few Nativity Set collectors have bought them, which is nice as well.

This year, we decided not to manufacture any sets and just put the word out that if folks want them (they would be for next year) they can let us know and we will make them to order.

I am thinking that it would be good to make them a bit smaller or at least to offer the option of having a smaller set than the size we have now.

I sent off a set today that had been ordered last year.  It was kind of fun, as I had to pack them at the Post Office and the folks waiting in line were intrigued by them.  I had a couple of folks ask if they were for sale.  I told them not this year, but we would be taking orders for next year if they were interested.

Charles did such a beautiful job painting the original set that I wanted to share it again this year with my readers!

It is such a lovely and unique addition to our Christmas decorations and helps keep us in mind of what the season is all about.

Sleep In Heavenly Peace

I was too tired (and frankly, too sad) to stay up and watch Saturday Night Live this past week, so I missed a beautiful moment.

In a tribute to the victims in Connecticut, a children's choir sang a simple rendition of Silent Night.  No instruments, no fancy lighting or costumes, just children in red choir robes, singing a capella and in unison.

In case you missed it, here is a link:

New York Children's Chorus

Reflection

Pinterest

I am deliberately avoiding watching the news on television, listening to the news on the radio, or reading the news in the newspaper.

I know enough of the facts:  On Friday, a mentally ill young man killed over two dozen people, including little children, in an elementary school in Connecticut.

There are so many questions.

How could this have happened?  How could it have been prevented?  And inevitably, who is to blame?

Proponents of gun control blame the fact that huge numbers of guns that are readily available, with little difficulty. to the public.  People who are in favor of upholding 2nd Amendment rights argue that madmen would find ways to kill regardless of more stringent gun laws.

I have my own opinions, but would rather not get drawn into the debate in this forum, and I respectfully ask that your comments reflect this.

What really matters in the end is that, because of what happened on Friday, there are empty little pajamas at the end of empty little beds.  Little jackets are hanging on hooks with mittens hanging off the cuffs, and little boots are lined up next to back doors, waiting for snow ball fights and snow man building adventures that won't happen.  Presents are wrapped and under trees for children who won't be there to open them on Christmas.  And parents and grandparents with empty arms are mourning.

Families are shattered by grief, friends are unable to find a way to help or explain, and strangers who have never heard of this town in Connecticut before Friday dissolve in tears because of this tragedy, and at the thought of something similar happening in their own town, in their own school, to their own children.

And through my tears, all I can do is pray.

Protect us all from the violence of others,

keep us safe from the weapons of hate

and restore to us tranquility and peace.

We ask this through Christ our Lord

Amen.

                                                                                                                           Book of Blessings