Christmas at the Scully-Ashtons' House

Greetings and the best of the season to you Adele,
I find that Christmas brings back so many memories from my childhood and talismans from the past. Objects, colours, music and smells trigger a nostalgia for days gone by and people from another time of my life.

Leslie brought this little decorative, ceramic house into our home at least 15 years ago. At first I thought it was rather kitchy (and it is) but now it gives me great joy to light a candle it every day in the dark early hours of the morning and bring light, warmth and joy to our kitchen table. New traditions can be developed and old ones left behind.

One tradition that fell off of sleigh of this Christmas season was our Advent calendar. That is another daily ceremony that we held in our house since our kids were very little. It was a simple set of 25 small, brown envelops mounted on black foam core in the shape of a Christmas tree. Each envelop had a number on the back for the day of the month and a colourful seasonal picture on the front. The envelops would be flipped each day as they were used until Christmas, slowly decorating the Advent calendar tree. Everyday the kids would come down early and open the envelop for that day and pull out a clue for finding a treat. Leslie or I would write hilariously bad short poems, puns or cryptic clues to guide Myrna and Dashiell to a little chocolate or treat. This year they both decided that they didn't need to do the Advent calendar, they had grown out of it. I know that I was far more saddened by the passage of this Christmas tradition then they were.

One tradition that still carries on at this time of year is decorating a tree with ornaments from years gone by. The Christmas albums get put into rotation (Charlie Brown's Christmas tops my list of favourites) and we pull out the boxes of old decorations and remind ourselves of when each little shiny bobble entered the fray. 

We are not a religious family, so the little figures from various commercial portrayals of Christmas stories are also a part of our seasonal regalia. The "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" animation from 1964 sparks great sentiment in me. So the little narrator snow man figure with the voice of Burl Ives really brings me back to my childhood. He sits beside the tree as a guardian of the past.

Topping our tree this year is Bumble, the misunderstood, abominable snowman from the same Rudolph animation. Look at that toothy smile. He just needed some help (and a good dentist) to be the best that he could be.

 

A much less known Christmas animation (for good reason) "A Year Without Santa" made in 1974 by the same animation production company features Frost Miser and Heat Miser.  Mr Frost wants a cold snowy Christmas and the misanthropic Heat Miser figure wants to have a green Christmas. They sit on the ledge above our tree battling over a cold or a warm season. Heat Miser seems to be at work this year and I must admit the lack of snow and prevalence of green is making me feel a little less of the Christmas season.

If you haven't seen this hilarious film, here is a brief clip with full musical and dance production in animated form.

Finishing off my walk down memory lane and the path of Christmases gone by is a little decoration that we put on our tree every year. It is a diminutive pair of suede, slip on shoes that Myrna wore her very first Christmas 22 years ago. How the time does fly.

Thanks for taking this little nostalgic journey with me as I shared our Christmas past, present and look towards the future.

I wish you and yours a memorable and loving Christmas.

I look forward to celebrating with you sometime over the holidays with cup of warm tea.

Hugs,

John

Butterflies in flight

Hi again Adele,

This wall of colourful flying butterflies was created by students at the Hamilton Hebrew Academy for a project I did with them in 2014.  The butterflies commemorate the way our spirits can soar and be free and light, overcoming difficulties.  I hope they brighten your day and this season (when we don't see butterflies fluttering on flowers).  Love, Ellen

White Peacock Angel

Hi Adele --

here is the peacock angel again, to bring you light and joy during this holiday season.

Feathers of joy
fanfares in the snowy air
light and love surround us.

love, Ellen

ah the things you can do with pencil crayons and time

Hi Adele,
My friend Jessica gave me some adult-colouring-book-animal-postcards. I don't tend to do things halfway so I've coloured a lot of them. Just sharing this little bit of creativity and colour with you today.

Thinking of you,

Nicole

Feast of Lights -- some light during Hanukkah

Hi Adele,

I am doing a reading today at the Westdale Library in Hamilton from my y/a novel "Feast of Lights," set during Hanukkah (today is the 5th of the 8 days; this year Chanukah was Dec. 6-13).  Here is a short section -- hope it brings you some light.  Ruth, age 91, is great-grandmother to Sarah, age 12.  The picture shows my great-grandmother's menorah, which I have and light today. We used it for the cover of the book. It is the 7th day -- one more night, and candle, to come.

This is a special menorah, said Ruth.  I always liked watching the candles.  Sometimes I thought I could see pictures in their flames. My mother told us that her grandmother said we should always take care of it and then we would zayn mit glik -- go with good luck.

Wow! Sarah thought.  Ruth had seen things, too.  Maybe the menorah had always had the power to help people see what they needed to see.

(Ruth then sings an old Yiddish lullaby, "Raisins and almonds/everything sweet," which Sarah had heard earlier as she looked into the Hanukkah candles and saw relatives from a long-ago past.)

Everything sweet to you, Adele.
Ellen

(picture added, Dec. 20)

Hi Adele,
I got asked to write a promotional blog entry to support the recruitment of new folks to the Residency I attended in the summer. I don't think I quite did it right. This is what I sent it but a ton of it was cut out. I suppose it is not a marketing strategy to share the struggle part that comes after transformational learning, even if its true. I suppose that is why I am not a grand marketer. I took out the name of the program here and took out the names of the faculty too. 
Anyway, I share it here with you and this community.
Hugs,
Nicole


-------

“When you’re flying across the ocean, there ain’t no place to land.”

David Fougere - Singer/Songwriter

https://soundcloud.com/user601324276/flying-by-david-fougere

On the very first day, they asked us to present our projects in two minutes or less. When I heard my peers speak about their dreams I thought, holy moly, these people are rockstars! My experience at the *** Residency started with a recognition that I was in a room of cracker-jack change-makers. To be counted among their number helped me see myself differently. If my dream work meant something to these people, maybe it meant something to the world too.

I could tell you how passionate so and so is when she lectures about Jungian archetypes, or about so and so’s awkward grace when he speaks about systems mapping. I could say that so and so’s leadership dojo affected my intuition or that making a drum with so and so helped me centre myself. It would then be important to mention that so and so's artistic workshops validated my own creative practice, and that so and so’s gentle support made anything seem possible.

But really, the true story here is not of what we did but what it did to me.

One main focus of the residency was that if you want to change the world, first you must change yourself. If you want to build resilience in others, first you must build that resilience in yourself.

Do you know that part in the story The Grinch Who Stole Christmas when the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes in one day? Well it felt like at this residency that my wingspan grew three sizes all at once. I came back home and felt wider, stronger, and like the structures of my old life didn’t fit me anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGSs33DQ1F0

Many of my friends from the residency had similar awkward re-entries into their lives. I had the same conversation with several people. It went something like this:

“But Nicole, at Banff I felt like my BEST self. I don’t know how to be my best self in my regular life. Maybe it’s not possible.”

“Of course it’s possible,” I’d say reassuringly, like I knew anything about it.

“But how?” they’d ask.

That’s the million-dollar question.

When I came home the personal change cycle that began at the Residency ricocheted to all aspects of my life: job change; home change; relationship change. It was like my wingspan needed more space to stretch out and the universe conspired to clear away anything in its way.

Now I feel I am in a place of more questions about my path than answers, but as an artist I recognize that this is a very important part of a creative process. “You are transforming,” my Dad said to me recently, and it is true.

I can’t tell you the end of my story yet. Perhaps I will send in a post someday that says, ta da, the project I began at Banff is launched and successful. For today though, all I can say is that the *** Residency catalyzed a life change of volcanic proportions. I am grateful for the opportunity to really feel my full wingspan. I don’t know exactly where I’m flying to, and that’s scary, but I believe in the journey.

I am in motion.

Hi Adele
I'm in the final week of my term at York. Here's a sample bit from one of my papers. Yay, for being able to include comics in my academic work!
Hope to see you soon... maybe a coffee on the Danforth?
Lotsa love,
Martha

First Nations Connections

Hi Adele,
A few weeks back, Shelley MacDonald and I had the pleasure of heading down to Six Nations to meet with some media artists who will be working with us on a project there.

We started with breakfast at the Burger Barn. The local meeting place. I love an all day breakfast joint. The artists were really warm, welcoming and interested in being involved in our programming.

After getting to know each other a bit and setting out the nature of our project goals and the timing we travelled to one of the artist's home building project.

She and her husband are building an Earth Ship style house out of mostly recycled materials, including tires. It will be an off the grid building with solar energy, grey water recycling and lots of space for the community to come and meet. Members of the community have been coming to help out and build the dream. It is such an inspiring venture. 

We also visited the ceramic studio of one of the local artists, Steven Smith. His work is so beautiful and each piece tells a story.

We ended our day as it began, back at the Burger Barn to debrief on the visit and make more plans for the next steps. The skies were darkening and threatening snow.

 

But inside it was warm and cozy and I got to try one of the local culinary delights: a deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was really delicious and I took some home to the family to try.

As we headed home, there was some light in the west to offer us hope for the next day and the partnership we are embarking on and to guide us home. There is always some light, even under a roiling sky.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Good wishes and hugs,

John

the day after the garage sale hello

 Hi Adele,
 Nicole and I talked of many things in that short visit and today I was drawn to stuff that reminded me of our conversation.

We talked about “Decisions”... how while making them there is this, wrestling that goes on between your brain and your gut instinct.

And today leafing through the newspaper I found this

We talked about people and missing the group and friendships and hurt.

And today I was reminded of this piece of my writing, of not so long ago

Praying for courage to be me.

To live in harmony with different parts of myself.

Who have I become?

Hurt hurts

Hurts magnify

Magnify weakness

Weakness celebrates

Celebrates doubt

Doubt taints

Taints judgement

Judgement erodes

Erodes self

Self stresses

Stresses pressure

Pressure multiplies

Multiplies turmoil

Turmoil arrests

Arrests suppress

Suppress hurt

Hurt hurts

When will hurt heal?

Who am I becoming?

Hurts heal

Heal deep

Deep truths

Truths trigger

Trigger Love

Love unconditional

Unconditional giving

Giving Taking

Taking returning

Returning circles

Circles enable

Enable freedom

Freedom encircles

Encircles hurts

Hurts heal

We talked about finding work that pays $$$ and we wholeheartedly agreed that “purpose” had a far greater pull… I told her about this book, ‘The Fall of Freddie the Leaf’. Every Fall since they were little, I read it with my boys [now 18 and 15]… They humor me and I love it! It talks of many things, this time, most important for me is - trusting the unknown.

And today, I picked up the book and had such a fun time recording it on Garage band. All the time thinking of John Scully's detailed instructions at the Media literacy PDs. I want to work on it some more before I send it out.

I told Nicole about my sister who understands “restlessness” and how she invited me to breathe- just breathe - naming what I feel - then sending it out into the universe while thinking of other people feeling the same way.
Nicole gifted me this card

And today this card has found its place in my home.

We talked about how people say the weirdest things, that can knock the wind out of you in the moment. Yet, if you are willing to be aware, you realize, something within needs care. Questions led to more questions and we agreed that sometimes people, they just ask questions that are flawed. 

And today my Yoga instructor shared this quote 

Was today an example of synchronicity or was it God ordained?

garage sale hello

Hello again Adele!

Greetings from Melanie, Erica and Nicole!

Nicole has been doing a give away/garage sale today to clear out her old apartment of extra stuff.
Both Erica and Melanie dropped by at the exact moment that the first snow fall of the year occurred. We tried to take a photo of it outside but it had already past. So fleeting!
Erica took away with her Nicole's old 8 pound weights. And right this very second, as Nicole is typing on the computer, Melanie is sifting through the piles of things looking for treasures. She is going to take away some board games, Martini glasses and Nicole's old favourite bamboo and cloth lamp. Melanie says she takes up the challenge of trying to use all three at the same time. We spoke of you together and wanted to send you our love.

OX 

Melanie, Nicole and Erica  

walking in full colour

Dear Adele,
Cass hosted another arts and crafts evening. Many worthy shoes were painted. Mine are the multicoloured ones and Cass's are the red and yellow ones. I thought it might be fun to wear them while teaching.

We share with you this little spark of creativity today Adele. 

We honour the power of women gathering and creating together.

much love,

Nicole (and Cass too)