Advent Prayer

"O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care: Come. O Sacred Lord of ancient Israel, you showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush and you gave the holy law on Mount Sinai: Come. O Flower of Jesse's stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all people; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you: Come. O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel, you [not the systems of this world] control at your will the gate of heaven: Come break down the prison walls of death. O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: Come shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; o Keystone of the mighty arch of humankind: Come and save these creatures you fashioned from the dust. O Emmanuel, God-With-Us, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people: Come and set us free.
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." Amen. Lord Jesus, come soon! Lord Jesus, come and free us from the prisons of death. We ask for it together as his people. And we ask for it in Jesus' name. Amen. "
- Richard Rohr, from Preparing for Christmas with Richard Rohr

Men and Women Together

"St. Paul says, "There can be neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). The new humanity that we are pointed toward is not neuter, unisex or oversexed, all of which make love impossible. In Christ we are whole, one, in union, integrated. The self becomes wholly holy. That is the final product of the Spirit making all things one. It is the consummate achievement of God in Christ, who reconciles all things within himself (Colossians 1:20) and invites us into the ongoing reconciliation of all things (Ephesians 1:3–14).
Men must be converted to the feminine, women to the masculine. Maybe that is why God made sexual attraction so compelling. If we are converted to the non-self, everything changes. Thereby we approach authentic religious conversion toward the utter not-me: God. From the whole—and center—position, we see through eyes other than our own half-blinded ones. We see the other side of things and forgiveness becomes possible. We see that the enemy is not enemy but spiritual helpmate. Once we have met and accepted our inner opposite, there is nothing more to defend and nothing more to be afraid of."
- Richard Rohr, from from Radical Grace, "Masculine Spirituality"

My (big) baby and me

Who's your mommy?

The second annual Christmas Tree

It's that time again. We are done with the apples, and the pumpkins and we have come now to my VERY favorite time - the smell of evergreen when you walk into the house, tiny bright lights and sparkly ornaments, peppermint in everything edible (or potable), warm stews, hot chocolate, ribbons, bows, and (hopefully) snow! It's Christmas time! That means it was time for the Second Annual Christmas Tree-cutting Expedition.

Jon and I were going to go the Friday after Thanksgiving, but it snowed all night. This is Jon's yard.

So, instead, we went this last Sunday. We went up to the Jemez Mountains, past the community of Ponderosa, past the primitive camp site and then up the dirt road, to the very same valley I got my tree from last year. Here is Jon with the tree of choice before it was cut. Here it is in its special cutting ceremony.

Here is the valley where it began its life. The actual cutting took a lot less time than last year, so we were out of there in less than 5 minutes! The increased efficiency could have been due to the strength of the woodsman or the sharpness of the blade, or both. On Tuesday, we decorated it. Isn't it pretty?!Hanging ornaments is fun!!Ditto :)There is only one member of the "family" who really does NOT enjoy decorating the tree. In fact, he delights in knocking ornaments OFF the tree with his voluminous tail.
The finished product! My awesome christmas tree in all its blurry glory.

Saturday Hike

On Saturday evening, Lucky, Jon and I went for a great, but short, hike in the Sandia's. We hiked straight up from the big rock wall at the top of Candelaria. It was quite vertical, so on the way back, I spent a lot of time sliding on my butt. It sure was pretty, though. When we got as high as we were going to go, we sat down and Jon and I (but, thankfully, not Lucky)saw three deer right in front of us. We sat there, quietly in awe, at the scene of three deer in the wilderness, with a huge bustling city right behind them. They seemed so oblivious to all that was going on. It was amazing!

The rock wall at the beginning of the trail.

The fellow hikersThe North Crestum... rocks and cactiThe moon peeking out from behind the cloudsA really cool picture of JonOh no - it's getting dark! Hurry UP! The lights turn on, and the hike ends.

Happy and Busy

November has certainly been busy so far. Work has been quite hectic, and I went to a conference last weekend in Denver. It was at the Colorado Convention Center, which is just a really cool building. It has a massive blue bear trying to get in and go to the sessions.

While we were there, we went out for some really delicious sushi on the 16th Street Mall. We got the rolls with just avocado, and then some with avocado and raw salmon. YUMMY! Sushi was immediately followed by a delish crepe. It was stuffed with strawberries, Nutella, and cream cheese, drizzled with chocolate and whipped cream. It doesn't get any better than that, people. My colleagues and I decided that the night's culinary progression would be our version of "tapas". While I was in Denver, Lucky stayed with Jon, and broke the World Record for "Length of Time a Dog has barked fairly continuously". I don't know what comes over him when he goes to Jon's house, but he certainly changes his personality in a very drastic way.

Now, in case you are worried that knitting has taken a back seat recently, fear not! I knit when I can, and when there is time. There is not a lot of time, but I have been faithful, whenver possible.

I finished Kristen's mittens - they are a modified version of the ones in Easy Knitting from about three years ago. I added the cables in the cuff. They are knit out of Paton's Merino. I LOVE the color. They turned out very well, although I had to rip out one top and reknit since they weren't the same size.

I also started knitting a new scarf for myself. It is out of Mountain Colors 4/8's wool in (as you can see) a fantastic color - I think it is called "Crazy Woman". I am using a modified Knitter's Review pattern. I also finished socks (below) for Corrie. I forgot to take a finished object photo - I was so excited to give them to her. Silly me! Apparently, they fit well, so I am happy.

I started this pinkish-reddish beret for my aunt. It is almost done, too. I like the pattern, except for the end, when half the decreases are written to lean the wrong way. They are NOT elegant. The patter is the Tweed Beret by Kristen Tendyke from Interweave Knits either from last winter or the one before that. Other than the decreases, I have enjoyed knitting it. It is super fast! I have just six more rounds to go. As soon as that is done, I am casting on for a hat for Jon. I dyed about a quarter of the yarn for it a deep navy blue. The rest will be natural, undyed, straight from the farm. I got the yarn at the Taos Wool Festival. As is my custom, I will make this hat using a fair-isle stitch from the Knitter's Bible, and size it specifically for him. I am excited - it will be a great hat (I hope!).

Speaking of Jon, I just have to say that I am the luckiest girl around. I am crazy about him, and I could shout it from the top of a mountain, but instead I'll just shout it from the top of my blog (blogs don't really have tops and bottoms, but there you go).

An important event!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUCKY!

Yesterday was Lucky's fourth birthday! I have been explaining the significance of a birthday to him all week, so I think he was (almost) as excited as I was. He got lots of birthday hugs and he got the best birthday present a dog could ask for - a good long hike with his mom in the sunshine. In order to commemorate this important occasion appropriately, I think I will show some pictures of Lucky's most significant events of the past year.

Last December, Lucky went to Denver and played out a three day snowstorm. Luckily, he is a "snow dog". He also got to chill with his good buddy, Zarek. Back in Albuquerque, he was excited to, once again, play out another three-day snowstorm. He even got to hike along the Crest Trail in the snow. He celebrated New Years in style! For Spring Break, he went on a long road trip through Southern New Mexico. He got to hike just south of Alamogordo. Hikes are the best! In April, he met Jon and "helped" him plant a vegetable garden. He also got to go hiking in the Jemez Mountains. Look at all that hair!

He enjoyed many hikes in the Sandia Mountains throughout the spring. The Jemez Mountains in May are a great place for a happy dog. Alas, all that hair had to go!
In July, he met his current girlfriend, Molly, a German Shepherd. In August, he travelled to Durango and Silverton, CO in a Volkswagen Rabbit. He has certainly had a very full year! He is more loving and kind this year than before, and, I think, cuter than ever before. YAY LUCKY! I LOVE MY BABY!