Christmas is a wonderful time of year. The Christmas card exchanges are one activity to share with others. Some people send photo Christmas cards. Other people write up many cards for those on their address list. Still others write up a letter to share with those far and wide. Even more send a previously prepared email or put a message on their Facebook page to bring Christmas blessings to anyone they have ever met.
Activities
There are many things to celebrate and activities to do and to be caught up into this time of year. On one hand, we want our children to have many enjoyable experiences. On the other hand, we want them to be able to take time to really enjoy the activities we participate in. Certainly, we do not want for them to be overwhelmed with the busyness. That being said, we find it important to pick and choose what activities we do.
I have never been all about Santa. We take our kiddos to see Santa at the same mall every year. Many Christmas movies that we watch are about him or have him in it. I am not against the idea of Santa. Christmas is about so much more. In our family we celebrate Jesus’ birth. We exchange gifts to remember that Jesus is the best gift that we have ever received. Also, to celebrate a time of giving and wonder.
A Christmas Card for family
Sending and giving a Christmas card is a kind gesture during Christmas. I incorporated this idea of a Christmas card into an activity that we do as a family during the month of December. I go to the store and either purchase 5 individual cards or a pack of Christmas cards. Beginning on December 1st and going until December 31st we do a card for each family member. At the beginning of the month, or, really, at the end of November, I have each family member choose which card they like best. Then I put their name on the top of the outside of the Christmas card. Every evening we go around and say something positive about each person.
For example, there is a card for my husband. When we get to his card, we each say something that we love about him. That includes something we like about his character, or it could mean something that we saw him doing that is positive. For example, something he might have done that day. Then there is a card for each of my children and one for me, as well. We do the same for each card and recipient. Then, at the end of December I hand each card to its owner, or addressee.
Kind words from family members is such a great gift. This is especially true for the people in my life who have a love language of words of affirmation. (If you are unfamiliar with ‘love language,’ I encourage you to familiarize yourself with “The 5 Love Languages,” by Gary Chapman).
“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13, NLT)
The Squarshy hat pattern, by Alaina Andersen, was just what I was looking for. Specifically, I wanted a hat pattern that was knit with a bulky weight yarn (#5). Also, I was looking for something that was simple but not just basic and plain. The Squarshy hat pattern fit the bill. It is enjoyable to knit. The pattern is adjustable to make a larger or smaller sized hat.
Pom pom or Not
The designer of the Squarshy hat pattern has an optional pom pom. She suggests a pom pom for the top. I do not really care for them, so I did not add any to the hats I made. That is certainly an option, and gives the project a bit of a different look. You could make one out of the same yarn as the hat. Another idea is to use a coordinating yarn or contrasting yarn to stand out. Still another option would be to purchase a pom pom. There are several to choose from, including removable ones. They are helpful when washing the hat. Just detach the pom pom, wash the hat, then reattach after the hat is cleaned.
This hat pattern looks great in a variety of color ways of yarn. For example, solid and speckled yarns show off the detail of the slipped stitches. A lightly variegated yarn is good, too. However, yarns with narrow or wide stripes, or even a pattern are not the best. The hat looks fine, if that is your preference. The detail of the slipped stitches, though, gets lost in the color changes and mosaics of the yarn.
BIG TWIST ARCADE YARN TURQUOISE BROWN MULTII LOVE THIS CHUNKY YARN PAINTED CANYON
Pattern itself
As with almost all of the patterns that I knit, the Squarshy hat pattern can be found on Ravelry. This is a free pattern, as of the moment of writing this post. It is designed by Alaina Anderson. While I really like this pattern, I do not care for the unnecessary cursing. They are mixed in throughout the pattern, in the designer’s notes. There is not too much cursing, but it is still unnecessary and makes the designer seem very immature.
“What do people really get for all their hard work? I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:9-13, NLT)
If your kiddo does not care for tuna, tuna melts are probably not the right meal for you. My boys like it how I make it, most of the time. Tuna salad can be made several ways, with many different combinations of ingredients. I have been making and eating tuna salad for many years and came to a ratio of ingredients that I enjoy most.
Tuna, in waterMayonnaiseDill
Base
The base of most-if not all- tuna salad mixtures is tuna and mayonnaise. Of course, I like to use real mayonnaise, not miracle whip. I like to add some dill to mine and sometimes celery salt. For this recipe, feel free to make the tuna salad how you like it or try something new.
Tuna salad on hot dog rolls.Tuna salad on hot dog rolls, with cheese.
Bread
There are many options for the bread, too. For example, try sliced, French, bagel, English muffin, hot dog bun, hamburger roll and even tortilla. Though, if using a tortilla, you may want to cook this on the stove-top, like a quesadilla. We typically like to use hamburger buns.
Baking
I cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, and if I am using the tray for the toaster oven I cover that with foil. Then place the bun, outsides down on top. I put a tablespoon or two onto the bottom half of the bun, then put a slice or two of cheese on top of the tuna. My kiddo is picky about cheese, so, of course. Therefore, I only use Cooper Sharp American for my family’s melts. However, sometimes I put swiss cheese on mine. Then I bake the melts in the preheated oven, or toaster oven, until the bun is golden brown and the cheese is melted over top of the tuna.
TUNA MELT SERVED WITH BROCCOLI.
We like to serve this with chips, celery, carrots, other fresh vegetables or steamed vegetables. Tell me what you put in your tuna salad and what you serve it on. Also, the recipe is written for 2 servings, double ingredients for more. They can be as filled as you would like.
A thankful pumpkin is something that my family works on during the month of November. November in Pennsylvania is filled with many things “Fall.” One of those things includes “peeping” the changing colors of leaves on trees. That means, if you live or travel near deciduous trees, admiring the beauty of the flora kaleidoscope. Mountain areas and state forests are popular places for that.
Tastes to be Thankful for
Another November Fall thing is the many tastes. Popular ones include apple cider and pumpkin spice. Other favorite flavors are caramel apple and candy apple. Then there is homemade pumpkin pie or homemade apple pie. Fall certainly has some comforting flavors and scents.
Thanksgiving
Near the end of the month we celebrate the holiday, Thanksgiving. Besides football, a big parade, turkey and pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful. Really, we should be thankful always. However, Thanksgiving is when we are reminded of this.
We encourage our boys to be grateful and show appreciation when someone does something for them. They are reminded to “say thank you” when given a gift. What a blessing it is when they don’t need to be reminded to be thankful. That seems to happen more often than not.
Thankful Pumpkin
For our family, the whole month of November is also a time for the ‘Thankful pumpkin.’ Beginning in 2018, we have enjoyed this activity. Every night after dinner we go around the table and say one thing that we are thankful for from that day. We encourage the boys to say something different every night. With a fine sharpie, I write what each person says. It reminds us how truly blessed we are.
This month-long activity is simple to do and gets kids to realize there is so much to appreciate every day. Additionally, the supplies needed for this activity are minimal. I use a fine tip sharpie marker to write on the pumpkin. For the pumpkin, I purchase a 6-8 inch foam craft pumpkin. Near the end of October they can be found in many craft stores. Also, foam craft pumpkins can be found in many stores that have Fall decorations.
I hope you enjoy this activity. Also, I hope we can look back over the years and realize how very blessed we are.
“Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.”(1 Timothy 4:4-5, NLT)
Pine Grove Furnace State Park is filled with much to explore. For instance, hiking and water fun abounds. Also, there is lots of history throughout the Park. We were not seeking out the historical interests while we were there. Instead, my husband and I wanted to go on a nice outdoor nature walk. After hearing many positive things about the various trails, we wanted to check it out. Some of my friends had visited a week or two prior and saw many wild orchids. They would have been fabulous to see. However, later I found out that I was not at the right spot to find them. Also, I had missed the prime moment to see the orchids and the flowers were fading.
Plant Life on our hike
Jack-in-the-pulpit leavesJack-in-the-pulpit flowerTrunk of uprooted treeCreek at Pine Grove Furnace
Ferns on forest floorFalse Solomon’s SealDame’s Rocket (phlox)Small spring along the trail
Mountain laurel, full sun, by creekMountain laurel, drier area, part shadeCloser view of Mountain laurel, drier area, part shadeFern
Hidden in Plain Sight
The trail led us past Toms Run and Mountain Creek. As we followed the water, the rocks above caught our eyes. They are uniquely striped, which made them interesting to investigate. Therefore, while admiring the rocks, we had to take some pictures. At the moment, we completely missed the snake. However, looking closely at the second picture, the snake is basking on a rock in the middle of the picture. We didn’t notice it until we were looking through our pictures later.
“O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small. See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea. They all depend on you to give them food as they need it. When you supply it, they gather it. You open your hand to feed them, and they are richly satisfied. But if you turn away from them, they panic. When you take away their breath, they die and turn again to dust. When you give them your breath, life is created, and you renew the face of the earth.” (Psalm 104:24-30, NLT)
Kitamu cup cozy pattern is a fun project to do when I need a break from a larger project, like a blanket. I was looking for something to make as gifts for my kids’ teachers, or to compliment a gift. As I was searching for ideas I kept seeing cup cozies and thought they were a great idea. The cozy could be given with a gift card to a local coffee shop. Another idea is with a special whole bean or ground bag of coffee. I put one on a ‘to go’ cup. Then I filled the cup with chocolate and other small gifts. I found this pattern as a free download on Ravelry.com.
SUPPLIES NEEDED: WORSTED WEIGHT YARN, 4-5 US6 DOUBLE POINTED NEEDLES, A ROW COUNTERAND THE KITAMU PATTERN.
The Kitamu pattern has texture and depth. That gave it the more cushioned hold I wanted to provide. Also, it insulates hands from being too hot from the contents of the cup it was cozying. This pattern also gives some stretch while still ‘cozying’ the cup to not fall off. For instance, it ‘cozies’ when the cup is not being held, but rather sitting freely on a desk or table.
Gifting Ideas
When I was ready to gift them I purchased some disposable ‘to go’ cups with lids and filled them with wrapped candy, lip balm and some fun socks. I found out if the teacher preferred coffee or tea. If the preference was coffee, I gave a bag of coffee from a local coffee shop. If they preferred tea or other beverage, I gave a gift card to a local coffee shop (as they also sold tea and other beverages). All of that was tucked into a basket with some other useful items, like notebooks, pens and decorative binder clips. To finish off each basket, my kiddos colored or drew a picture for their teachers and placed that into the basket.
CAST ON TO 3 US6 DOUBLE POINTED NEEDLES
Caron Simply Soft yarn
To make the Kitamu Cup Cozy, I used size US 6 double pointed knitting needles. With the size US6 needles, I like Caron Simply Soft yarn. This project works with a variety of colors. The pattern suggests worsted weight yarn, and Caron Simply Soft is a lighter worsted weight yarn that works well. A thicker or heavier yarn on size US 6 needles is sometimes more difficult for me to manage and fatigues/aches my hands. I like the softness and shine of Caron Simply Soft yarn, though perhaps a thicker yarn would last longer and is more durable. Caron Simply Soft works well for this item and pattern, and is 100% acrylic. For a cup cozy an acrylic yarn is excellent, as it is easily washable for all of those coffee or tea trips, bumps and spills.
This pattern is good to practice working in the round and introduces a possibly new skill of K1IRB (Knit 1 stitch in the row below). I turned to YouTube for a video on how to do that, and picked it up rather quickly. The designer wrote the pattern in 2 sizes – large and small – though the small works best for my needs.
I did not try this pattern in any other yarn or needle size, but think it could be adjusted for a bulkier yarn with a slightly larger needle. Using cotton yarn might be another option, as it is also washable and provides some insulation and durability.
“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17, NLT)
“Hope Unfolding,” by Becky Thompson, is an inspiring book written to Moms. It helps moms to know they are not alone in their every day struggles. Also, to have hope in God and to know their worth is in who God says they are. Becky Thompson lives in Oklahoma, is the mother of 3 kids and wife of a volunteer firefighter, town mayor and welder. Her life was not turning out how she imagined it should. Instead, she was living out God’s plan for her life, which was the better plan.
God has a plan for our lives, who we are in him. Becky Thompson writes, …”beyond having hope that tomorrow could be different, we need to know that there is purpose in where we are standing today,” and, “We must become rooted in the Truth of who God is calling us to be by hearing and believing the Truth of who He says that we already are.” We have to trust in who He says we are.
It is important to recognize that, “No matter how overlooked or forgotten you believe you are what you are doing in this season of your life has significance…this time is not simply a waiting period until you get to whatever comes next…this season is a significant part of your story.” God can and does use us where we are, in all of life’s seasons and stages.
Hope Unfolding when life is tough
We all have troubles in life, and the Bible tells us that is part of life. We pray and ask God to meet us in our situation and help us in it. “Even if He does not…(do whatever it is to help what we are struggling with)…He is still worthy; He is still good…when I called God good, I found peace. Because the truth is, He is good. Even when bad things happen, God is still good.” Becky Thompson points the reader to hope in God and in His goodness.
Loneliness in Motherhood
Becky Thompson empathizes with moms who feel lonely in the middle of their busy lives. “…surrounded by dozens of people, I realized that true loneliness doesn’t only come from being by yourself. There is another type of being loneliness that comes from not being known. A loneliness that takes place when others see you, but they don’t see you.” “I was surrounded by the people who love me the most…and…I felt all alone.”
Giving ourselves grace
Becky Thompson writes, “We have to stop thinking that anything less than perfect is failure. We have to choose grace for ourselves and our abilities. Because the minute we decide we’re going to stop being defined by what we don’t get done and instead take pride in what we are able to achieve, grace lets truth win and unnecessary shame gives way to hope.” The phrase, “…shame gives way to hope..” catches my attention. As a mom it is easy to compare aspects of my life to other moms. We are imperfect human beings. This is something that we have to remember, especially as moms. “We can easily fall victim to the lie that we aren’t good enough when we use another woman’s successes to measure our own.”
“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Mickey Mouse was a favorite of one of my sons. For instance, when he was two, he enjoyed watching Mickey Mouse clubhouse, Mickey Mouse Funhouse and Mickey and the Roadster Racers. Anytime it was his turn to pick something for he and his brothers to watch, his choice was sure to be one of those. With that in mind, I gathered ideas for his third birthday party.
Planning
Pinterest was my go-to for finding party ideas. I started there and adapted suggestions to suit my own needs. That made it more personal to my son. Also, it allowed me to include what I thought worked for my capabilities. I wanted it to be fun for everyone, including myself. I have found that when I plan so much for birthday parties I get too stressed out. Less activities are best. Too many and not all of them will get done. Have some activities to keep them active and involved, but give plenty of time for the kids to just play, too.
Mickey Mouse invitation
I found a free printable template invitation at DolanPedia. All of the people that were coming to the party were family or close friends. That made it simple to take a picture of the invite and send texts to people on the guest list.
Mickey Mouse attire
To go along with the theme, I purchased new Mickey Mouse T-shirts for my family to wear. At first I wanted my boys to have matching shirts. However, I was unable to find all of their sizes in the same shirt. So, I decided that all different shirts was more fun, anyway. They went along with each boys’ character and personality.
My husband and I found some Mickey Mouse shirts, too. Another option for attire, of course, is to purchase Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse headband ears. Although I thought about that idea, I decided against them. The headbands would not stay on my kiddos’ heads very long. They would just be a photo prop for us.
Mickey Mouse-inspired Decorations
Mickey Mouse decorations add to the fun. I don’t like to go overboard with decorations, but to have enough to support the theme. Here are just some of the decorations I used. I went with the black, red and yellow color scheme to match Mickey Mouse’s colors. I bought red and black paper fans at Hobby lobby. The paper fans were attached to tables, the siding of our house and railings on our deck. I purchased the yellow and red pom pom garland from Hobby Lobby, too.
FOOD TABLEFOOD TABLE
I bought black and red table covers from Hobby Lobby. The black I used for the gift, food and drink tables. The red covers were used for seating tables.
We surprised the birthday boy with this fun Mickey Mouse balloon. It lasts for a while and can be re-inflated. However, this balloon does not stand up to wrestling with a 3-year old. The 3-year old wins. This balloon was purchased from Amazon, but they don’t have the same one at this time. However, this balloon is very similar.
Mickey Mouse themed party food
For the birthday party we were having family and friends attend. Therefore we needed to have enough food for about 30 people. After brainstorming what foods to feed that many people paired with ideas to go with the Mickey Mouse theme, I came up with a variety of foods. I found this food label template on Pinterest.
I downloaded the template to my computer and downloaded the above font from youreverydayfamily.com. The menu I decided on is as follows:
Mickey’s Hot Diggity Dog Bar
At the end of the show, Mickey and his friends do the hot dog dance
Hot dogs; buns; chili; ketchup; mustard; baked beans; relish; shredded cheddar cheese; anything to put on a hot dog
Pluto’s Tasty Treats
Pluto gets special snacks
Ice cream and cake or cupcakes; anything sweet
Donald’s Not-so Gooey Fish and other snacks
Donald likes to fish for gooey fish
Goldfish; pretzels; chips; anything snacky
Daisy’s Garden Fruit Salad
Minnie and Daisy spend time in the garden
berry salad (strawberries cut up; blueberries; raspberries) or Melons cut up (watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe) or buy pre-cut fresh fruit
Goofy’s Refreshing Drinks
Goofy is fun and fresh
lemonade; water; juice boxes; gatorade
Minnie’s Bow Tie Pasta Salad
Minnie loves her bows
Italian pasta salad with Bow tie pasta instead of rotini
Other ideas for food include vegetables along with the fruit for Daisy’s garden. Any other appropriate drinks are options. And anything else you can come up with.
Mickey Mouse activities
On the show Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, each episode is focused on a problem that Mickey and his friends to solve. Toodles (a Mickey-head-shaped tool box) is there to help them solve each problem. Toodles has three tools and the mystery mousekatool, a surprise tool that will help them solve the problem. I wanted to incorporate this into the party. So, I came up with a problem, how they could solve it and what tools they would need to solve it.
The Problem and how it was solved
Toodles’ tools for the party were:
A parachute
A stroller
A pair of scissors
The mystery mousekatool
I found the Toodles template on Pinterest and photos of the tools on clip art or something similar.
First problem and tool
“Mickey and his pals are missing from the party. Daisy and Minnie wanted to go to work in the garden. The rest of the pals wanted to help, too.” (we walked to the garden to see if we could find Mickey and his pals.)
(Prior to the party I had put the 6 Pals into a container with small holes in it. Then I strung yarn through the holes to ‘trap’ the Pals inside)
“Oh no! They are caught in a spider’s web. How can we help to get them out? Is there a tool that we can use?”
“Oh, Toodles” (We got Toodles out and looked at the tools that might help this problem).
“Is there a tool that we can use to get the friends out of the spider’s web?”
(We decided on the scissors to cut the web and release the friends.)
The birthday boy successfully cut Mickey Mouse and his friends free, with a little help from his big brothers, of course.
Second problem and tool
“Very good-now they are free. Minnie notices some dirt on her shoe and on Goofy’s hat. She tries to wipe it off, but sees it is on all of the pals. What can you use to bounce the dirt off them, so they can look their best for the party?”
“Oh, Toodles” (We got Toodles out and looked at the tools that might help this problem).
(We decided that the parachute would help get dirt off the pals.)
They had a lot of fun throwing the stuffies into the air with the parachute. However, instead of cleaning any dirt off of the pals, the might have added some dirt when the pals fell off the parachute.
third problem and tool
“Now, we have 2 tools left and have to find a way to get all of the friends to the party. “
“Oh, Toodles” (We got Toodles out and looked at the tools that might help this problem). “Do we have a tool that can help get all of the friends from the garden to the party? We have a stroller and they mystery mousekatool.”
(We decided to use the stroller. Therefore, we put the pals into the stroller and the birthday boy pushed it from the garden to the deck, where tables were set up.)
fourth problem and tool
“All of the friends are at the party, but there is still the mystery mousekatool. This is a special tool that Mickey is bringing to help at the party. Can the birthday boy see what the mystery mousekatool is?”
“Oh, Toodles!”
The birthday boy opened the mystery mousekatool box to find a number 3 candle. This was a nice segway from the activity to cake time. (Of course, when he found it there was not a bite taken out of the wax, that was after it was in his cupcake). We said “cheers” because we had used all of our mousekatools.
At the end of the party, someone played ‘the hot dog dance’ song on their phone. The kids danced the hot dog dance in their own way.
“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5, NLT)
Yes, you read that right-cabbage! This recipe for hamburger cabbage soup was a huge hit with my whole family. One day my neighbor gave me a large head of cabbage, about the size of a basketball or volleyball, and I was not sure what to make with it. Of course, there is the popular stuffed cabbage, but my picky eater has tried that before and turns his nose up at it. Then there were recipes for sautéed, roasted or fried cabbage. I did not think those would go over well, either.
Simple Ingredients
The ingredients for this soup are simple. An option for the diced tomatoes and kidney beans is to get them canned. You could alternately dice fresh tomatoes. A variety of spices and sugar, most of which you may already have in your cabinets, a bottle of tomato juice, a head of cabbage, celery and burger make up this yummy meal.
I went to my recipe books and found a recipe for burger and cabbage soup, but it still was not quite right for my family’s tastes. I changed some of the ingredients and amounts of other ingredients and came up with a meal that my kids cheer for. My oldest did not always eat soup, but is slowly accepting different kinds of soup. I usually serve this with applesauce on the side and with or without saltine crackers. The first time we had this, my kids finished their food – my oldest two even had thirds! The recipe that I use makes enough for us to have left-overs a couple of times. Instead of left-overs, sometimes we freeze it to warm up for a quick meal at a later date.
“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.” (Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT)
“The Story of a Scientist, a Cypress, and a Changing World“
Basic Books, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5416-9712-6
In the book, “In Search of The Canary Tree, the author, Lauren E. Oakes, writes about her experiences of an in-depth research study in Alaska of Callitropsis nootkatensis, Yellow-cypress or Nootka cypress. She was studying the yellow-cypress and how it is an indicator species of climate change. Nationalgeographic.com defines an indicator species as, “…an organism—bacteria, plant, or animal—that reflects the condition of the environment around it. They’re often the first in their ecosystem to be affected by a particular environmental change, such as a warming climate, pollution, human development, and other environmental degradation.
The significance of the ‘Canary’ Tree is based on “…the use of canaries in coal mines to detect carbon monoxide and other toxic gases before they hurt humans,” from 1911 to 1986 (smithsonian.com). By monitoring changes in the behavior, physiology, or number of an indicator species, scientists can monitor the health of its whole environment.” In the book, the Yellow-cypress is the indicator species that is being studied. The writer mentions not only her own findings, also those of other scientists, Native Americans that have lived in the area for generations, loggers and more people connected to this species of tree. The decline affects each group of people differently and adaptations in their lifestyles (whether they can adapt easily or not) affects the future of each group.
K-A-B
In “In Search of The Canary Tree,” the author goes on to talk about the relationship that humans have with the trees and the environment and how likely we (humans) are to do something about the changes within it. “…knowledge (K) could lead to certain attitudes (A) about environmental issues that would then spark a change in behavior (B)…K-A-B…the simple knowledge-attitudes-behavior model failed. Raising awareness didn’t do the trick. So then researchers uncovered many other contributing factors to behavioral change – such as whether people learned about an environmental impact indirectly or by experiencing it directly; whether they felt concern; whether the issue was one they felt they could address; and whether they’d developed some level of attachment to the place impacted. After all, we protect what we love,” (page 109).
Not only knowing about issues and environmental problems will cause humans to do something about the condition of world around them, as in the K-A-B model. A relationship, or connection, is also necessary for people to actually act on the issue. “Replacing ‘resource’ with ‘relationship’ would make nature and humanity a part of one another again. A relationship is so much more than a service provided or a resource to use. It is a mutual commitment to care,” (p. 156).
Final thoughts on “In Search of The Canary Tree”
The author makes a lot of great points throughout the book. She backs up her findings with the science. She writes about interviews with people that have a relationship with the trees and the natural world around them. I enjoyed reading about her experiences in the Alaskan forests and her interactions along the way throughout the duration of the book.
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. ” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NLT)
