WAITING FOR BABY JESUS

My mother made the Nativity set in her ceramics class more than twenty years ago, so it's one of my treasures.  I have Magi and camels, too, but I need such a large space to display them all, and by the time Epiphany comes, Christmas is over.  Facebook friends suggested placing the Magi and camels elsewhere in the house and slowly moving them closer to the Nativity figures.  The figures are breakable, so I'd have to think of places to put the future visitors that would be safe.  I broke the fingers off the shepherd with his hand extended, but I mended the break, and I'm grateful the fix has held together for years.  One of the camels is sitting down, but I could move him along in his lazy position.

Since churches are having Lessons and Carols services, here is my pre-Christmas carol, a lovely version of  "The Wexford Carol" with Yo Yo Ma and Alison Krauss.
 

IT'S STILL CHRISTMAS - 8

Not eight ladies dancing maids a-milking, but six ladies all in a row.  My grandmother, Aimée, is in the center with her five daughters, from left to right, Eva, May (Aimée), Gladys, Irma, and Pearl (my mother).  Eva and Irma lived in Reno, Nevada, so they must have come to New Orleans for a visit.  My mother and my Aunt May look so young.  My grandmother always looked old to me, I'm sad to say, probably even before she  was old.  She dressed in the old-fashioned way with long dresses, lisle stockings, and sensible, lace-up shoes. 

The young lady pictured above is ready to dance.  My granddaughter was three or four years old in the picture and wears one of her costumes for her dancing school recital.  I sat through the recitals for my sister, my daughter, and my granddaughter.  As a child, I enjoyed my sister's dance recitals, but, as an adult, the recitals with performances by many youngsters seemed endless.  My sister was a talented dancer and danced through high school, but my daughter and granddaughter took dance lessons for only a few years.  Thank heaven for small mercies.

I'm running out of material for the twelve days of Christmas, with still more days to fill.  I should have stuck with the song.

UPDATE: My grandparents had seven children in all, five daughters and two sons. 

MY MOTHER'S MARY

The statue of the Virgin Mary pictured above was amongst my mother's few possessions when she died in the nursing home some years ago. The slender, elongated, and perfectly symmetrical figure has an Art Deco look about it. A friend gave the statue to her, and my mother whispered to me that it may be worth a good deal of money. I think not, but the Mary figure is a keepsake and, in appearance, is more interesting than most devotional statues of Jesus and the saints.

A gold sticker on the bottom of the statue reads:

RELIGIOUS FIGURE
Sculptor A. Santini
MADE IN ITALY

After Googling around a bit, I found the website Amilcare Santini.

In 1958 with his son Nedo, 23 years old, he decided to begin the production of statues in imitation alabaster and, some months later, the production of statue in alabaster powder and oxolyte under the name of ISAC DI SANTINI NEDO (INDUSTRIA STATUE ARTISTICHE CECINESI) in a small plant in Cecina, Via della Madonna n°12.

My statue is a little over 10" tall and may be made of bonded or imitation alabaster.

Mary’s Song of Praise

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

(Luke 1: 46-55)