Category Archives: Education

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

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It rained today. Not that that really matters, except that I was getting used to the pretty view of the deep snow from my window. I am thankful for the warmer weather. It means I don’t have to go out to break ice and give fresh water several times a day to the animals. It has been exceptionally snowy early here, and as much as I complained, it was quite festive… as long as I didn’t have to drive in it. And when we were driving, he white snow covered pine trees along the country roads had us singing “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”… which had me musing… I wonder what the background of the carol was? Did he really walk around in a winter wonderland? Let’s refresh:

Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin’,
In the lane, snow is glistenin’
A beautiful sight,
We’re happy tonight,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

Gone away is the bluebird,
Here to stay is a new bird,
He sings a love song,
As we go along,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown
He’ll say: Are you married?
We’ll say: No man,
But you can do the job
When you’re in town.

Later on, we’ll conspire,
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid,
The plans that we’ve made,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman,
And pretend that he’s a circus clown
We’ll have lots of fun with mister snowman,
Until the other kiddies knock him down.

When it snows, ain’t it thrillin’,
Though your nose gets a chillin’
We’ll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

Walking in a winter wonderland,
Walking in a winter wonderland.

The first lyrics were written by Felix Bernard Smith and Richard Bernhard in 1934. Originally it was just a romantic ditty about a young couple out on a romantic winter’s walk. It merged into Christmas-hood later with remakes from the likes of Guy Lombardo, Perry Como and even Elvis. You’ll notice some versions changed Parson Brown to “circus clown” to make the romantic version a little more child friendly. The one above includes both. All in all, just a fun song.

However… the original Mr. Smith didn’t actually get to go a walkin’ in the winter wonderland because he was recouping from another bout of tuberculosis in a hospital Sanitarium. As he stared out the window, dreaming of seeing his beloved wife, Jane, the kids frolicking around in the snow reminded him of his childhood days in Pennsylvania… and the song was born.

It’s actually sad to think about this poor guy suffering with coughing fits, hacking up a lung, with little hope of full recovery dreaming of a white Christmas at home with his new bride. The powers that be say that’s what the reference to the blue bird is… happiness gone and a new bird… sadness, has come to roost. Still, that’s speculative.

Whatever you choose to see in this little song, and even if the rain begins to take away all the pretty snow, I hope you’ll look out the window once and awhile and dream of days gone by and your true love. And be thankful we have modern medicine treatments! Be blessed!

A 6 Week Look at Advent: FREE!

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Greetings! Welcome back! Well… I hinted at it on my socials, but likely didn’t promote it as well as I should… but we have an exciting few weeks coming! It’s time for another collection of blogs centered around a single topic!! Yes, we are going to spend the next few weeks with a “theme”. We’re going to dive in together to another Advent Season with a slightly angled series of posts. Honestly, a purely selfish move on my part: one because I’m finding posts hard these days and need direction, and two, because we’re going to run the series in our small group and thought, “Hey, I’m doing the prep work anyway, why not follow the theme?”

So here we go! Now, you will know that mittonmusings.com has done several Advent posts in the past (go ahead, search ’em up if you wish!) and I promise not to deviate from the style you know and love from me, but hold on to your hats as we dive in to a little study together. As I said, I take no credit. Since you know I am {ahem} frugal, I needed to find the cheapest study to plan from. And free is the cheapest, so it’s the one I searched for and found. However, I don’t want to be accused of not giving credit, so I’m going to link the full online book HERE so that I can give the credit where credit is do. Of course, it will be my own musings about what I learn, so take what you will from it all! Happy studying!

Now. Normally, I would not be thinking about Christmas yet. Good grief, we’ve just had a time change, leaves are still on the ground, and we’ve barely hit November… but I’m taking the bull by the horns and jumping in early. So, let’s prepare for the Christmas season together, shall we?!

As many of you know, creatures are my thing. They have been for years and years. I am sure my mother went out of her mind every time I brought home another “pet”. The newly hatched ducklings I brought home from school for the weekend (without her permission), the injured birds and frog collections every summer. The caterpillars I tried to raise into moths. The ant farm in my top dresser drawer (which was just a pickle jar where I threw random ants in in hopes they would survive). Then came the various aquariums. Cats were also on the list. Then as my own family grew, we started with the attempts at breeding show cats (it didn’t work). Then the youngest became quite successful at her side hustle breeding domestic rats. (Yes, they are a thing, yes people keep rats as pets, yes, we did well at it). And now, here we are at Itsnottafarm with a flock of chickens and the hopes of pet goats.

Along the way, I’ve learned a little about genetics. Genealogies are important when you are breeding livestock… or show quality pets. Colour links, pedigrees, family trees, behaviour, “stock”. Now that we’re out here among the farmers, I see auctions and cow shows and goat shows and qualities of eggs and meat and all that agricultural stuff. Believe me, it’s a whole other world with its own learning curve!

This little guy looks just like his dad!

And then, of course, I am at the age where my own brood is growing. Our grand baby is going to be one year old soon! Time flies! That, too, is a whole other world — when your kids have kids. Or start talking at you late at night about their worlds. About real world issues and family dynamics and friends and parties and “adulting”. In some sense, I’m not ready for it. Yet, time has a way of thrusting such things upon you, and you get pushed into it ready or not.

So. What on earth did that little rant have to do with our Advent Study? Well. Lesson one begins with the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1. A long list of names showing baby Jesus’ “pedigree” if you will. His earthly genetic make up. Proof of His existence. Our first lesson draws us to look to the past before we can look at the future. Like a good working border collie, a puppy’s history will give us a glimpse into what his future will look like. A fast runner? A smart, obedient dog from good bloodlines? A fancy rat with black eyes and a curly coat? Those genetics are the ones you want to carry on.

But here’s the kicker. Matthew includes some interesting details in baby Jesus’ genetic analysis. Our book breaks it up into: Title, descendants and structure. For time sake, we’ll simply make a few conclusions. The title of Jesus’ name, His claim as Messiah, the Chosen one, indicates that He has fulfilled the Promise of the ancient covenants. He was not just a lowly baby: He was the promised King. Then, unlike our prized pedigrees in agriculture, Jesus’ line of descendants includes a mixed bag of people. Some “black sheep”, shall we say? Respected Jewish prophets, yes, but shady characters, Gentiles and Heaven forbid, women! And what does that show us? He came at Christmas for all of us! Even if you think you don’t make the cut… you are worthy!! And His family tree is evidence of that. Finally, the structure adds an interesting twist. Did you notice it was split into 14, 14, 14 generations? No, me neither. Thanks to studying, this unique inclusion of certain name drops, helps us see how Jesus came for a purpose, and what His work was here on earth. He came to save us. The ultimate task.

So there you have it. I know we only scratched the surface, but perhaps it will spark you to further study, or simply a “muse” for the week. A glimpse into the future by looking a little bit at the past. Start that conversation about it with someone. Is it too early to talk about Christmas? The big box stores don’t think so, so why should we? Check back in with us here again, my friend (or sign up and get it in your inbox!) for next week’s look at Advent – with a twist! 🙂

The Dual Nature of Floods: Devastation and Renewal

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A few weeks ago, I told you the hubby and I were visiting Montreal, and it was hot! Forty plus Celsius. On Sunday, we went to visit a family friend (and a faithful blog reader — he’s gonna be so excited I mentioned him :)) As we were enjoying his back porch, catching up on old times, the rains finally came in. And then it came down. Torrents of water filled the old Montreal streets and quickly overwhelmed the storm drains. Our friend received a call that his church basement was quickly flooding… so we all braved the downpour and headed over. We arrived to find the afternoon’s Spanish congregation mopping frantically. Amidst attempts at shuffling the lunch potluck and emptying mop buckets back out to the street, we managed to get the flood somewhat under control. I giggled when the Spanish guys tried to Google translate messages to me from Spanish to French when we all spoke English… but we made do, and with mostly hard work and a few shop vacs, got the floors mostly back to “normal”. They have a hard road ahead dealing with the municipalities and church government to plan for future floods.

Caution: Wet floors. Yep.

To make matters worse, after that few hours of soggy labour, we returned to our rented room to find wet throw rugs and puddles in our basement abode! It wasn’t a huge disaster, and although none of our belongings were affected, our host graciously discounted our time significantly for “our troubles”. As I dotted our room with slippery footprints, and hauled towels and throw rugs into the shower stall, I mused: God is still in control, but a little rain can easily change our circumstances. We build tall buildings and establish our roots, only to have them quickly washed away in major floods and mudslides.

We’ve watched a few documentaries about flooding. The news certainly shares its moments of this or that disaster and the rescue efforts in the wake of tsunami’s and flash floods. People have been swept away so suddenly; lives lost in a blink of an eye. Others loose everything but their lives. And then the aftermath. Clean ups hundreds of times the scale of our little church basement episode. Waterborne diseases and filth and mold, mud and … well, you get the picture. Water can be so life giving on one hand; we need it for our very survival, but so devastating at the same time.

Hurricane Katrina, Texas, Western Canada: Floods create Disaster

The great internet tells me that the most horrific flood in history was the 1931 floods in Yangtze, Yellow and Huai Rivers in China. The death toll was estimated between 1 million and 4 million people. God promised He would never send another world wide flood to destroy the Earth, but 4 million people is a significant dent. Plus the after effects of disease etc. Yeah, sobering thoughts. So, can floods, like wildfires, have benefits?

Again, the internet tells me flooding can replenish our groundwaters, wetlands and transport much needed micronutrients to the soil. Dry land, when flooded, can spark new growth or animal re-population. Much like the Biblical description of flourishing trees of abundant fruit, planted near streams and overflowing riverbanks, the water source once again revitalizes life.

Alas, what do we learn, my friend? I’m about to self talk because it’s been a tough week for me. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by a “flood” of things filling my mind with doubts and sadness. So, here we go:

  1. God is still in control and we can trust His promises.
  2. Tiny floods mean we need to work together to get the job done.
  3. Sometimes the rain is needed and is refreshing.
  4. Find your security. Don’t get swept away. Be prepared, for a time of flash flood can happen quickly, and catch you by surprise.
  5. When it is all over and the dry land once again appears, it will be in a state of replenishment, and new growth will result.

I am reminded of Ezekiel’s description of the flood waters flowing from the Temple in Chapter 47: with its many trees growing along its riverbank, for it makes the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh again, and there will be swarms of living things and life abundantly wherever this water flows. Be blessed and refreshed my beloveds.