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The Australian Little Raven is very well adapted to the presence of humans in cities, but shy out in the wild. They often come in pairs in summertime and groups through the winter, one first checking out the terrain before the others approach. Even then one will probably remain high in a tree while the others forage.
I found the Soul Food Cafe and Heather Blakey in 2000 after the death of my son. Writing and artwork was my salvation. It kept me going through those dark times. I have made many lifelong friends met in the cafe. I may not be as frequent a visitor as I once was, but being amongst the ravens in the cafe is where I belong.
The Raven in the Rose Garden and Four Ravens are my primary blogs and you can find some of my early work on at the Soul Food Cafe.
I sit here in the garden, in the autumn sunlight.
I tend to my roses.
Symbols of lives, lived yet not lived
their blooms, the beautiful memories
their thorns, the harsh reality that life will
never be the same. The pain that life brings.
New growth springs from the fertile soil
that has been toiled with love.
Love for the tiny lives that they have come
to symbolise.
The roses are sturdy, yet fragile.
They are beautiful, but they have an
ugly side.
The thorns that prick,
cause pain and cause the heart to bleed.
A heart that is already pained and
bleeding from its loss.
The Rose, the keeper of memories and
the keeper of pain.
I see a woman walking towards me
she pauses at this rose and that
she carefully lifts the blooms
and breathes in their delicate perfume.
She is a young woman, aged beyond her years.
There is a sadness about her
It can be seen in her eyes - windows to her soul,
that cannot hide her pain.
When I gaze at her I try not to stare
I wish I could ease the pain how?
you might ask.
That woman I see before me is me.
She carries the burden of lives lost
I long to hold her close and kiss away the tears.
I loved Christmas as a child – going into town to see the Christmas decorations and the window displays at Myer. Leaving biscuits and a can of beer out for Santa on Christmas Eve. Waking up too early and being sent back to bed. Opening presents, playing with toys, spending time with family and friends.
As I got older Christmas began to lose its sparkle. Then I had Troy – I had a child to share the magic of Christmas with.
Christmas is a family time; to spend with loved ones, to reflect on the year that has passed and to be thankful for what we have. It is also a time to remember those who are no longer with us. To ponder the memories we have.
So if I shed a tear this Christmas, or I get a little sad – I’m just remembering what may have been – the empty stockings on the mantle, empty chairs at the table and those who are no longer here to share the Christmas cheer.
Manhole Cover
(For Alex)
Part of me
to the core
it covers
compresses
suppresses
all that
bubbles
beneath
the surface
it contains
all the grief
and sorrow
laughter
and joy
fear
and loathing
love
and joy
part of me
to the core
the cover
is all that
you see.
© Megan Warren
19th February 2006
The origin of the Advent Calendar can be traced back to the 19th. Century. The first styles came from the protestant area. So religious families made a chalk line for every day in December until Christmas Eve.
The first known Advent Calendar which was made by handwork is from the year 1851.
Other early styles were the Adventclock or the Adventcandle - a candle for each of the 24 days until Christmas, like todays Advent wreath. So in religious families little pictures were hang up on the wall - one for each day in December. An other tradition was to paint chalk strokes on the door, one per day until Christmas Eve.
In 1902 a Christian Bookshop in Hamburg published a Christmas Clock which was very similar to that published 1922 by the St. Johannis printing company. (Dominik Wunderlin, lic.phil. Swizzerland). The Austrian (NÖ) Landesmuseum is giving the year 1903 as the year of the first printed Advent Calendar. In 1904 an Advent Calendar was inserted in the newspaper "Neues Tagblatt Stuttgart" as a gift for their readers.
In contrast to the above Esther Gajek says that the first printed speciem was made in 1908 by a Swabian parishioner, Gerhard Lang (born 1881 in Maulbronn, Germany -died in 1974).
When he was a child his mother made him an Advent Calendar with 24 "Wibbele" (little candies) which were sticked on a cardboard.
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