Shadows of a year, 10 days 'til Christmas

"Shadows from the light of a star," 5 x 10 watercolor

Where there is light, there will be shadows.
Or, no shadows, no darkness, no light.
Contrasts, opposites, create life. Sorry-happiness, tragedy-triumph. Failure-success. Trials-peace. The list goes on.
Read Thomas Merton, Richard Rohr, King David, and others...coming out of depths of despair, of illness, of injustice, of judgment, of racism, of  hatred, of condemnation, of hypocrisy, of selfishness, of fear and death, comes maturity, wisdom, survival, and eventual peace, for those who survive.
Or, as Jill Castilla, President and CEO of Citizens Bank told my students in the Twitter for Media Class, in the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Central Oklahoma students this fall, “You go through trials, and they’re preparing you for something greater.”
As the stars align in this month's star journey toward Christmas, the traditional, but not factual symbol of the birth of Jesus, those lessons come into focus. Out of poverty, into trial, into fear and death, came a joy and peace the world celebrates, if it certainly not always remembers or practices.
"And Jesus Wept." No wonder. They forget the star.
So, today's watercolor.

Cabins are in my stars, stories-- only11 days 'til Christmas

"My Cabin," 5 x 7 watercolor card

As this year's star journey continues toward Christmas, my thoughts turn again to one of my most iconic symbols, a cabin, usually in the mountains.
Those who know me well have seen me write and paint about them many times. No wonder one of my earliest cards this year was of another cabin, in the mountains where all the stars shine brightly, all full of dreams, wishes, warmth, memories and more.
If you wish, here are three links, stories, paintings and photos of cabins in my life and their influence. 

Our cabin

Earliest article comes from just over a decade ago, when this blog was new, "Where's Your Cabin?" 
The others, five years later, shows a painting and photo of our cabin when we were growing up in New Mexico. "My stars," that's a long time ago!

• 2009-- Where's Your Cabin?
• 2014-- And Where Is Your Cabin?
• 2014--The Cabin Season Nears

Today  I started wondering about that old interjection, "My Stars!" As with any cabin, there has to be a story behind it, and in fact there are several.
While it's now mostly an American expression, considered archaic, grandmotherly and Southern, it has historic English roots.
Here's what I found:

• It likely arose from a reference to the British Order of the Garter, founded in 1311, the highest award that the English King or Queen can give a knight, with a medal worn in the shape of a star, not something that holds up an article of clothing.
• The phrase probably started as "Oh, my stars and garters," an exclamation referring to any royal honors and awards, and perhaps to any high honors.  
• The phrase morphed into others, like "Bless my stars," and "Thank my lucky stars" in the 1600's, probably  referring to serious beliefs that certain  stars influence our well being and rule our fate, still alive in astrology today.
• Then in 1593, without the reference to garters, "My stars" was so common, it went in print when  Christopher Marlowe used it in the play The troublesome raigne and lamentable death of Edward the second.

My stars, that's more than you wanted to know about a phrase and my cabins!

Star Dust--12 days til Christmas

"We are stardust," 5 x 7 watercolor card

We are not alone. Isn't that the real lesson behind the story of the star leading people to Jesus at his birth?
For Christians, it should be. For those who are not, the deeper meaning should be more scientific, but still truth.
Star-dust--we, and all creation are stardust... composed of the scientific matter of the expanding universe.
Why wonder that we are  composed spiritually of creation, that humans gaze at stars, that we are drawn to stars, journeying as they journey? Science hasn't abolished or negated their wonder, their magic. Gaze only at the believers in astrology, or in other religions. 
This season commemorates a star, its journey, and a journey it beckoned humans to follow, 2,000 years ago, and since. 
For those who believe in an omniscient, omnipotent, and especially omnipresent deity, that means God is in and of humans and all creation. 
All is sacred, all is God. Wasn't that what Jesus really meant when he said,  "I am with you." 
We are stars, we are a star journey.
"Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at the stars because we are human?" 
--Neil Gaiman, Stardust
"The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself."
--Carl Sagan

Season of enchantment

"Snow at Santuario," 8 x 10 watercolor 

"Land of Enchantment" is an old slogan for New Mexico, and the older I get, the more I'm aware.
One of the places of power on earth is the Santuario de Chimayo, the little church with the miraculous holy dirt, a focus of pilgrims and sick who believe.
I find the entire place healing, even though it's becoming more "touristified" every year, as more and more people discover this remote gem in Northern New Mexico.
It's no accident that I have a small antique bottle filed with some of that sanctified dirt  in front of me.
So here is a vision of the magic and enchantment.

Blue Norther on the horizon

"Blue" Norther on the horizon, 5 x 7 watercolor

"Nothing between us and the North Pole but a barb wire fence, and two strands of that are down."
So was our joke a few years ago as a "blue norther" swept through rural Oklahoma, plunging temperatures into the teens in a matter of minutes, with a biting wind chill to boot.
If you live any time on the Great Plains, you have experienced a blue norther sometime in your life.
Most memorable for me was several years ago, driving on a clear day through the Texas Panhandle toward New Mexico.
But up ahead, I could see this dark wedge against the northwest sky. Almost within sight of Amarillo, the ragged dark gray edge of clouds, ahead of dark blue gray on the horizon angled toward me.
 In a few minutes, I was pelted with sleet and freezing rain, and Interstate traffic slowed to a crawl. I saw jackknifed trucks within a mile or so. Instead of making it to Santa Fe by nightfall, I stopped, ate, watched the weather get worse outside. I managed to get to Tucumcari for the night.
Blue Norther? I looked it up. It's a  a fast-moving cold front that causes temperatures to drop dramatically and quickly. Common characteristics are a dark blue-black sky, strong winds, and temperatures than can drop 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit in a few minutes.
Ironically, they are commonly associated with the Texas Panhandle, and are sometimes called Texas Northers, though they occur elsewhere on the Great Plains.

The Texas State Historical Association reports that  the term "Blue Norther" has at least three attributions:
"The term refers, some say, to a norther that sweeps 'out of the Panhandle under a blue-black sky'—that is, to a cold front named for the appearance of its leading edge. Another account states that the term refers to the appearance of the sky after the front has blown through, as the mid-nineteenth-century variant 'blew-tailed norther' illustrates. Yet another derives the term from the fact that one supposedly turns blue from the cold brought by the front."

The National Weather Service in Amarillo notes that Blue Northers can catch people off guard. Temperatures can drop as much as 40 to 60 degrees within hours. Many times the temps will be unseasonably mild before hand, but they can happen anytime from late fall to late winter.

One of the most historic blue northers occurred Nov. 11, 1911. Some say it was among the most sudden and dangerous cold blasts in American history.

Cities in the Midwest experienced record highs in the 70's and 80's. By evening, temps in these same cities would drop into the single-digits, recording their record lowest temperatures.

In early afternoon,  the blue norther  blanketed cities like Kansas City and St. Louis will dark blue skies and low clouds.  By late afternoon, thunderstorms and hail began, and the temp began to drop. In Columbia, Mo., in one hour it fell from 82 to 38. By evening, driving rain, sleet, hail, and tornadoes gave way to snow and temps reached single digits. 
(Most of this is from an online web site.)
Speaking of blue, I use more blue colors in painting than any other. This one, is all with Ultramarine, and a little umber. It fits the subject.