Friday

A friend from my high school days came for a visit this weekend…

Back in the day, Victoria and I shared a locker, worked on plays together, and sang duets in the hallways after late night rehearsals when everyone else had gone home. It was a sad day for me when she left Yorktown High School to go back to her beloved Waldorf school. She knew back then that she wanted to be a Waldorf teacher, and that’s exactly what she is today.

She speaks so passionately and eloquently about the beautiful, organic way she teaches her students, it makes me sad to have never had that kind of educational experience myself. From our conversations I got the sense that the marking of time and the observance of cycles is an important part of a Waldorf education. I heard her casually mention terms I’d only ever read before, like Michaelmas and winter solstice. One of the first things she asked me when she walked into my house was, “Where’s all your advent stuff?!”

Ummm…in a box buried under other boxes deep in the bowels of my basement maybe?

OK, so we’re not entirely ready for Christmas, but we did go to my husband’s early music ensemble Christmas concert…

The photo reminds me of an article I forwarded to my very tall husband this weekend. It summarizes the finding of researchers at Konkuk University in Korea, who conclude that for a woman, the greater the height differential with her husband, the happier she is in her marriage. The effect, however, entirely dissipates after 18 years of marriage, which is exactly how long we’ve been married. But hey! This shortie is still happy after 18 years of marriage with her giant of a husband!

After the concert, my friend and I stayed up late into the night, chatting and folding and glueing stars together from special kite paper she brought, because that’s the kind of thing that happens when you hang with a Waldorf teacher!

Saturday

My friend Katherine came over for lunch and we played with our food!

Peeling a massive Korean pear in one piece…

Did you know there’s a little bunny inside every peanut?

And a star in every apple?

Katherine left with a gift from Victoria:

A gift for Katherine!

Victoria and I made a quick trip to Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall…

Sunday

I found some pictures on my camera that I didn’t recognize. My early-rising son had captured this gorgeous sunrise.

The gift that keeps on giving:

We made Waldorfy North Stars in Sunday School

My children and I sang in the choir for the candlelight Lessons and Carols service, which means that the Christmas season is now officially upon us.

For the first year ever, we, or rather I‘ve decided to have a real live tree that we can plant after Christmas. We got it at this magical place just down the road from where we live:

Behold our adorable chubby little Baby Blue Colorado Spruce:

O, Christmas tree!

Now if only we could get motivated to actually decorate it!