Nativity Figure Painting

Last year I joined a nativity making group at Yahoo groups. The extent of the hobby then, was to purchase a Fontanini Rug Merchant figure to join my DiGiovanni Nativity and print out some Oriental rugs for him to sell. 

This year, I have been researching the possibility of painting the figures. The picture on the left shows how the Rug Merchant appears straight from the box. 

The picture on the right shows my painting; the rug went from pink to red, his turban went from pink to green, his vest changed from tan to light green, his pants from tan to terra cotta and the base went from tan to dark brown.

The second picture on the left shows the DiGiovanni figures that I painted, as they appear out of the box. This year, I painted Mary, Joseph and the Three Kings.
You see Mary and Joseph in their finished state to the right and the Three Kings below. Joseph got a robe in terra cotta and a cloak in brown with a dark brown base and Mary kept her pink robe and added a blue cloak with a white veil and dark brown base.
The Kings were quite fun to paint.  One got a purple cloak with a white collar and spring green robe, one got a pink cloak, dark green robe and navy pants and the third got a red cloak.  Each monarch got a base in medium brown. 

 Painting these figures makes them much easier to see against the dark stable that I have and gives them individual personalities. 

Music Monday--O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

In honor of the first week of Advent, today's Music Monday will feature the all-male group Chanticleer singing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.  The volume on this haunting piece is not very loud, but it is well worth listening to.

Happy Buy Nothing Day

Today is Buy Nothing Day.  Begun by Vancouver artist Ted Dave, buy nothing day was begun in Vancouver in 1992 and was soon promoted by Adbusters the anti-consumerist organization.

Vox Nova asserts that so-called "Black Friday" is a perverse inversion of the Christian "Good Friday" and that the secular "religion",  "Mammon" has taken over Christian holidays for its own purpose--to try to convince Christians to worship on its altar of consumerism.

This saving money that is supposed to occur en masse on this day, is, Vox Nova purports, a kind of "fast" or "vigil" of Thanksgiving--the celebration of gluttony, and, I think, for Christmas, which has become, in a secular sense, a continuation of the gluttony of "Turkey Day" writ large--a month long "feast" of  "I get what I want".

What are "the holidays" to you?  What can we as Christian people do to preserve the holy meaning of "holy days"?

7 Quick Takes Friday

1. My Thanksgiving was small and nice. I used much of my mother's silver for the first time. *That* felt weird but it was rewarding to be able to use it for my small family. I kept expecting one covered silver dish to be filled with sour kraut. Its a good thing it wasn't because no one would have eaten it!

2. I think I'm mostly over my flu. I still am very aware of the need to rest, though.

3. We are boarding the dog today in preparation for going to my bil's and sil's tomorrow. I always miss her when she's boarding at the vets. She got throughly spoiled yesterday at Thanksgiving.

4. I may put out the Advent stuff today. We'll see how I feel and how motivated I am. I don't think I'll be up to it after travelling on Sunday, and, I have *lots* of Advent stuff, so I figured I'd better start it today.

5. Won't be meeting ds's new gf this weekend. A change of plans necessitated ds going to Pittsburgh instead of her coming to visit him. But we will be meeting her eventually, I'm sure.

6. I'm growing my hair out. It's in that in between stage where it won't do anything by itself, which is the only way I will get my hair to do anything at all. I still haven't really decided what the ultimate hair style goal is either.

7. It is beautiful and sunny out which is a wonderful change. I'm going to have to make a point to get outside. I haven't really been outside much at all since I've had the flu. Wow, that's a bit anti-climactic, isn't it?!

Be Thankful

Poetry Wednesday

Among the red--
beautiful and different
lavender tomato

This poem was originally published in 2007 on my haiku blog, Karumi Garden.

The Real First Thanksgiving

Contrary to popular American myth, the first real Thanksgiving celebrated on what was to become American soil was held on September 8, 1565.  Pedro Menendez de Aviles and his Spanish landing party which included Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza, celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving in site of the native Americans of the Seloy tribe who occupied the area.  It was the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.   

Afterwards, the Spanish and Native Americans shared a meal. Exactly what they ate was unclear, but the Spanish probably made a pork and garbonzo bean stew with garlic, since that is what they brought with them on their 5 ships.  If the Seloy contributed to the meal, it could have included turkey, fish, venison, corn and tortoise.

So, the first Thanksgiving began with a Catholic Mass.  How cool is that?

Let' always be thankful. 

Hat tip to the Curt Jester and Craig Wilson of USA Today. 

Music Monday--The Prayer of the Children

Plead the Fifth is, apparently, an a capella group of young men from Wake Forrest University. The Prayer of the Children is a song my son did in a state choir he was in during high school.

I have been recently convicted of the importance of remaining "little children" spiritually. I think those who take faith away from others' even by such things as common and "harmless" as "humorous" cynicism are being spiritually abusive.

Our Lord said, let the little children come unto me and do not hinder them for such is the kingdom of God Mark 10: 14 and if anyone causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose faith, it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck. (Matthew 18:6)

Harsh words, yes.  But that is the effect, although often unintended I know, of today's world which shuts out love and snickers openly at people who are foolish enough to still believe.

God gave us children (and animals, too, I think) to show us what love is and what we should continually strive for:  Innocent love and open trust, unpolluted by daily circumstance.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.

The only real Catholic post I had this week, was a 6 minute video that takes you though the beautiful Lourdes grotto at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Last week, I posted some spiritual insights on fasting from Fr. Stephen at Glory to God for All Things.