Martinmas

One of my favorite waldorf festivals is Martinmas. The story goes that a frenchman was returning from war when he saw a half naked man huddling under a bridge in the cold. He tore his jacket in half and gave a piece to the man. Upon returning home he had a dream that the man under the bridge was actually Christ. Then he gave up his sword and spent the rest of his life helping the poor. Thus he became St. Martin. Of course there are many variations but that is the general idea. When Ellery was still in school we would go to a lantern walk every year where the children would walk with little handmade lanterns and tealights. Naturally we wanted to continue this tradition. We made our lanterns and had our own walk in the back area at dusk while we sang "My Lantern" from the wynstone series. We also learned this song on flute as well. Then we came back to eat some rosemary lentil soup waiting on the stove and followed it up with some homemade hot cocoa. Willow had such a great time since this was her first lantern walk and she was so excited. I also adopted a new tradition of knitting something for the kids to present for the holiday. I spent the last two days knitting mittens and staying up way too late doing it I might add. I've never knitted mittens being from Florida and all so the thumbs were a huge pain in the you know what and didn't turn out very well but the kids are delighted with them anyway....thank goodness. It is wool and warm...that is all that matters right? I just love these winter festivals and the whole theme of light in the darkness.

There is a certain magic in the air anyway as we all anticipate the first snowfall. We know it is coming but just don't know when. Yesterday we had a few snow flurries in the morning. Ellery came inside saying "it's snowing outside!!" Well, not quite. You could see some of it in the air but by the time it reached the ground it was just water along with the rest of the rain.

After three days of straight knitting I'm taking a break tonight, lol, only to start a new project tomorrow I'm sure. This is that time of year. I just don't have the time to knit everything I want to for the holidays and for gifts. One thing for sure though is that this year I am going to knit some tree ornaments and stockings. I decided that those items are on the top of my priority list this season.

Early bedtime tonight and perhaps snow in the morning. Who knows...these forecasts aren't always accurate, are they? It will come eventually. We can all feel it in the air, very cold air these days I might add, haha. Yes, I've been wrapping myself in hand knitted bliss when I go out. I still haven't determined what is the maximum number of knitted items one can fashionably pull off wearing at once, especially when they don't match.

Here's to a good night sleep with no dreams of mitten thumbs...oh, and a few pictures tomorrow. I promise.