House of Yule

Silent Night, Holy Night. All is Calm, All is Bright. There is a cottage in my heart that contains the embers of people, places, animals, experiences, ideas and things I love. It keeps me warm in the dark seasons. I call it my heart-home. If I know you and we've shared time together, you are in there, mingling with cats and cheese; living a life you didn't know you had. Thank you for your friendship and light and love. My Christmas wish (or whatever you're celebrating on these long winter nights) is that your heart-home is brilliantly lit, that more kindling is added so that you feel the warmth and love you deserve. I feel honored that so many have reached out in appreciation of this project. It has been so fun to share it with you. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night

There are families of quail that come to my feeder. They make me laugh and give me joy. This My cute 15 year old neighbor calls quail "borbs," Birds that are orbs. Seems fitting. In winter, birds puff their feathers out to create an air cushion that traps heat. It's how, even at our subfreezing temps, birds can thrive. Another Tomte has found his way into paint. This is how I feel about snow, too. They say you paint yourself, so perhaps my true self is a tiny ancient bearded fae who knows the secret language of all the creeping and flying things, rejoices in snow and warm rice pudding with butter. This also seems fitting.

There's a large park in Gothenburg called Slottskogen--The castle forest. It houses many Scandinavian breeds of animals including moose, geese and ducks, seals, sheep and goats. I have no idea what his actual name is, but this is who we called Sir Stinky/Captain Stinks-Alot. The goatiest smelling goat I have ever met. But we were freinds and so here he is being led away from a hearty lunch of the Julbock, the Scandinavian Christmas goat. Goats have been part of the yule time celebrations since forever in Sweden. They've morphed over the years, like most of our traditions. There are seveal theories surrounding the yule goat. The ancient god Thor had a chariot pulled by a set of goats. Another theory is that this practice is based in Indo-European harvest traditions, where the last sheaf of grain bundled during the harvest was thought to contain the spirit of the harvest and was saved for Yule celebrations—many early European customs included harvest gods that looked like go...

Today is Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. The shortest day and the longest night. We keep the fires in the icicle lanterns burning through the night. These long lights were the birth of storytelling. Long before I could tap a button and publish a page, people gathered in the firelight to exchange stories. Every culture on earth has their fireside stories. How we make sense of the world is contained in that heritage. The Raven Story is a Creation Story. A transformation story. "Transformation stories require a really good storyteller." In the 1990s the TV show Northern Exposure featured the Raven Story as part of its Solstice celebration. I think watching this episode is a fantastic way to celebrate this season. From Northern Exposure, Marilyn Whirlwind explains the Raven Story: A long time ago, the raven looked down from the sky and saw that the people of the world were living in darkness. The ball of light was kept hidden by a selfish, old chief. So, the ...

In the US it is National Day of Caroling. What is your favorite carol? The carol In the Bleak Midwinter is probably mine, because it is tranquil. When I returned from living in Australia for a couple years, people commented that I'd come home without an accent. However, when I started singing with a group of Americans, my voice was wholly Australian. It was a strange feeling. I think singing together unites us in ways we don't really understand. It's why there are hymns, carols, love ballads and war songs. We unite in song. When my cats were neutered, they had to wear cones. At the time I was planning the images to correspond with certain days. An angel choir, but with nimbi rather than a halo, and the cats in the corner with their cones trying hard to be like the angels.

It's national day of Hard Candy! This is Lala, keeper of the Candy Cane Forest. He's a very old soul but still has all of his teeth. They rest in a glass by his bed at night. My little cat has taken to him. Can you find him in the paintig?

It is the fourth Sunday of Advent as well as the first day of Hanukkah. I just learned about the celebration of Hanukkah, so I am eager to share. Hanukkah is the Jewish celebration of light. When warriors recaptured the temple in Jerusalem in 164 bce and sought to relight the menorah, they only found enough lamp oil for one day. However the menorah stayed lit for 8 days, until more ceremonial oil was available. The nine candle menorah is ceremonial. There are also 7 candle menorahs but they are representative of the menorah in the old temple and my understanding is they're not ceramonial. The center candle is the 'helper', used to light the other candles. The first candle is placed on the right; each additional candle is placed from right to left. However, they're lit from left to right. The title of my piece: There is Room at My Table refers to my feeling that no matter your religious belief, there is room for you here. There are so many people I love from all ove...

It is literally the National Day of Ugly Sweaters. I hope if you have one, you wear it proudly today. I'll do my best, but I relegated my actual ugly sweater to line the cat bed. Here is a painting of two best friends wearing their ugliest of sweaters, all in good fun.

This is again one of those winter traditions to gather the light and gather the people. Bring nature indoors and rejoice together. We decorate our trees with shiny things that relect light, sometimes with momentos that remind us of people or places we've loved. It's a very very old custom. This year is the first year since 2015 we will decorate a tree with the ornaments of our lives; things we curated in our travels, as gifts from loved ones, and even home crafted. I took the protective tissue paper off a little resin goldfinch, Washington State's bird, a gift from my now late mother. She was reminding me of home when she sent it to me more than a decade ago. Other people don't keep ornaments as keepsakes. I have friends who make a different tree happen every year. It is their joy to shop or make new ornaments. The trees usually end up themed, on year it was peacock feathers and Pierrot dolls. Larger than life and full of glitter. So fun. Do what brings you joy. An...

In Australia, Santa shows up to the Christmas party on the beach, sometimes with a surfboard, wearing board shorts, tropical shirts and a sun hat. It"s usually hot and the bbqs are blazing. My mom was Australian. Some people say his cart is pulled by kangaroos but I can't imagine how bumpy that ride would be. I've heard all the stories. Because I'd been good, I got vegemite in my stocking...

It was the middle of January 1998. I'd arrived in Naryan Mar a week after Russian Orthodox Christmas. Tatiana Ivanovna's potted amarilys bulb on the kitchen windowsill had a short green shoot, but that was all. The window was frosted over between the panes of storm glass making it impossible to see out (the view outside was a single streetlight in a courtyard, but I didn't know that for months). When I arrived it was well below freezing. A freak wind and cold storm had delayed my arrival by several days. Negative 50 is the same in ferinheit or celcius--Very Very cold! Naryan Mar is above the arctic line which means there are days when the sun never comes over the horizon. Today is the beginningn of that absence. It will reemerge after 16 days, but only just above the horizon, just peeking, rolling across the horizon for about half an hour. so when I got there in January we only had about 3 hours of daylight. Quite a rapid gain in light (they lost almost 19 minutes of day...

Probably the biggest Yuletide tradition in Sweden is the Sant Lucia procession. The always beautiful Lucia in her crown of candles leads a long line of handmaids carrying candles or lanterns, stars, gingerbread folks and even tomtar. Lucia was a saint in syracuse around the 4th cantury who gave up a high ranking wedding to serve the christians escaping persecution. She brought food by candlelight to the refugees and wore a crown of candles on her head so she could keep her hands free to bring more food. And of course she had cats. In Sweden, one of the best christmas treats is Lussekatt (lucy's cat), an S shaped saffron bun (cat shaped) with raisin eyes. Meet Pip and Squeak. We adopted these kittens around the same time as the conception of this project. They found their ways as quickly into my paintings as they did into our hearts. I hope my Swedish friends will forgive me for incorporating them into this most important of julfirande but it was just so fun to paint!

Today is National Gingerbread House Day. I cant think lf a better way to celebrate than by bringing me all your gingerbread houses and eating them with me! No? Anyone else love gingerbread? One of my personal traditions is to make gingerbread cake and serve pieces of it the next day in a bowl of milk. I learned this from my best friend in high school. Well, if you're in the area come by at 7 tonight for gingerbread cake and milk. Nothing fancy, just warm cake. Can you find the little salty licorice cat?

Tomtar, the Swedish equivelent of elves or gnomes of the Nordic countries. Several of them seem to have stowed away in my paint tubes, brushes and pencils when we moved from Sweden and are now revealing themselves as I work on this project! (the truth is, as of 15:05 Mountain time/22:05 Greenwich Meantime I still have 2 completely blank canvases, one with a line drawing and one that is just a scant underpainting. I really need some cheering on as we round into the next week! maybe tomtarna will visit and help out). These little guys are helping light the advent candle, or one of them is. These are the folk who Swedes leave treats out for on Christmas Eve. Their favorite is rice pudding with a little dab of butter. I'll get some ready and see if they can help me paint! Tomte= One tomte. Tomten=the tomte. Tomtar= more than one tomte. Tomtarna= the more than one tomte https://youtu.be/NzDpa1HaDak

This is for all the folks out there who can't find their joy in winter, are going through difficult times, are worried for the future. Those who are swallowed by the darkness. But in the mean time, life is precious and intricate. You are part of a complex web of light and love. Know you are loved. Know that you matter. The light will come again. And for you who are going about joyfully, please don't forget to reach out, check in and share your light.

It's been a beautiful winter in Utah so far, with quite a bit of snow. There's so much delight in my Pacific Northwest heart for snowy winters. It was such a delicacy growing up! MY cute neighbor boys also love the snow. They build the funniest snow people and animals, sometimes even in my yard! I love it! Some of my favorite snow memories: The first time it snowed at my house outside Seattle Washington was a Thanksgiving day. No school. My sisters and I played outside the entire day. We made gloves out of socks and plastic bags but froze anyway. We made the biggest snowman possible with the half inch (1cm) of snow we got. "An absloute morphadite." Absolute giddy joy. Driving into Portland Oregon during a major blizzard that shut the city down for three days before Christmas. So few cars on the road, people skiing and walking through town. Time spent with sisters, cooking, eating, laughing. Quietness and stillness. In winter, snow allows us to embrace the warmest p...

Today is national day for socks so put on your favorite pair! Everybodys favorite gift, right?