{"id":1842,"date":"2017-12-02T17:30:49","date_gmt":"2017-12-02T22:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vg-ford.com\/?p=1842"},"modified":"2017-12-02T17:30:49","modified_gmt":"2017-12-02T22:30:49","slug":"advent-december-2-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/?p=1842","title":{"rendered":"(advent) December 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday, December 2<\/p>\n

The snow from the night before had continued, a light but steady fall of flakes that looked as if it might never end. Luckily for Molly and Schrodinger, they had a Jeep with winter tires on it, and were used to driving. \u201cI doubt we\u2019ll get a lot of people today, though,\u201d Molly said, as she parked the Jeep in the predawn gloom.<\/p>\n

If it wasn\u2019t the Cove, I\u2019d agree with you,<\/em> Schrodinger said, hopping out into the snow. People will just pull out the snowmobiles or the sleighs and do what they need to do.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>\u201cTrue,\u201d Molly said. She admired the front door of CrossWinds Books, which had its customary holly and poinsettia wreath already up. The leaves, flowers, and berries glowed against the dark wood. \u201cAt the very least, we\u2019ll see the kids. Zoey and Gideon stayed with Lily and Kaylee last night, and Corrinne is bringing them over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes. We need to talk to you guys.<\/em><\/p>\n

The seven had asked to meet with Molly, her husband Drew, and Aunt Margie this morning, but would only say that it was in reference to the Advent plans they had. Molly wondered what they were planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, they should be here fairly soon,\u201d Molly said, turning off the alarm. She and Schrodinger were actually running a bit late, due to the snow, but she wasn\u2019t worried. There were plenty of scones and bread already made.<\/p>\n

The store opened at eight. By nine, everyone they were expecting had gathered in the tea room: Molly, her husband Drew, Schrodinger, Lily, Kaylee, Gideon, Zoey, Jack, and Aurora. Aunt Margie, the owner of the bookstore, was there too, along with Lily and Kaylee\u2019s parents Nathan and Corrinne, Gideon\u2019s mother Kiaya, and Zoey\u2019s father Peter.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, guys, give,\u201d Drew said, rubbing his sleepy eyes. \u201cWhat are you plotting?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe aren\u2019t exactly plotting,\u201d Gideon said seriously. \u201cPlotting implies that we are going behind someone\u2019s back, and we aren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kiaya shook her head. \u201cI know, buddy, I know. What are you planning?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAn Advent adventure,\u201d Lily said, and the others nodded. \u201cHere\u2019s what we want to do.\u201d She opened the notebook she was holding.<\/p>\n

What followed impressed Molly. They had taken their memories of the Advent calendar and the Advent castle and created a plan to help around the Cove for the entire season. To their credit, there were also days of rest scheduled in, but Molly foresaw a busy December.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you guys sure you can do this?\u201d Peter asked. \u201cThis is pretty ambitious.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how are you going to pay for your materials?\u201d Corrinne added. \u201cSome of this will need some serious supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Molly watched the children closely, but they didn\u2019t seem worried.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were hoping we could use the tea room as our home base,\u201d Lily said, as her compatriots nodded. \u201cAnd most of the stuff we want to do is using things we already have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a ton of wrapping paper, for example,\u201d Kaylee added eagerly. \u201cWe can use it to make decorations. And popcorn and cranberries aren\u2019t very expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

And some of us have money put aside as well,<\/em> Schrodinger said. Mostly, we\u2019re looking at going around and helping where we are needed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s an excellent idea,\u201d Molly said. \u201cI know I\u2019d be willing to pay you guys to help me with the bake sale, for example. And I can probably donate some supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we can too,\u201d Drew said thoughtfully. \u201cMac was talking about getting rid of some of the older decorations, and maybe you could use them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Gideon said eagerly. \u201cWe were going to look to see if we could find some that weren\u2019t being used.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can surely use help too,\u201d Aunt Margie added. \u201cAnd I\u2019m very impressed that you all came up with this yourselves. I was hoping you would help decorate upstairs for Santa again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course!<\/em> Jack wagged his tail eagerly. And the good news about the Cove is that it\u2019s easily navigated. We don\u2019t need someone to take us to most places.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And we\u2019ll keep everyone safe,<\/em> Aurora added. This is going to be so much fun!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I don\u2019t see any problems, as long you don\u2019t neglect your homework and chores,\u201d Corrinne said. \u201cIt sounds like a lot of fun!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYay!\u201d Kaylee said, throwing herself into her mother\u2019s arms. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to start!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what\u2019s on your list today?\u201d Corrinne asked, smoothing her younger daughter\u2019s flyaway bangs down fondly.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelping Aunt Margie decorate for Santa!\u201d Lily said. \u201cHe\u2019s coming next Saturday, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course he is. And I have supplies for you,\u201d Aunt Margie said. \u201cRuth and I cleaned out her craft closet, and she found a bunch of things she\u2019d forgotten she had. Want to come up and see?\u201d<\/p>\n

<><><\/p>\n

Every year, Aunt Margie transformed the upper room of CrossWinds Books into a winter wonderland. The main points of the room remained the same, of course: book cases marching around the edges, and the center dotted with groups of easy chairs and small tables. But there were some large tables set against the right-hand side of the room, covered with all sorts of craft supplies. And next to the big fireplace was the great wooden chair that seemed to appear by magic the first of December.<\/p>\n

Molly had told Schrodinger that the chair had belonged to her grandfather, and had been in the Barrett family for generations. The wood glowed darkly, reflecting the white lights from the Christmas tree on the other side of the fireplace. That was where Santa would sit when he came to hear everyone\u2019s requests for Christmas.<\/p>\n

Across the great stone fireplace were hung stockings, each with an employee\u2019s name. Schrodinger had one, for which he was very proud. Aunt Margie would make sure the stockings were filled on Christmas Eve with all sorts of lovely little things for each of her staff, and gave them out on Boxing Day (the store being closed for Christmas Day, of course).<\/p>\n

Aunt Margie led them over to the tables. \u201cRuth said she didn\u2019t want to see any of it after Christmas is over,\u201d she said, grinning at them. \u201cSo whatever you don\u2019t use to decorate here can be used elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d Lily said, her eyes huge. \u201cShe had all this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has even more, which is why she doesn\u2019t want it back.\u201d Aunt Margie chuckled. \u201cYou guys can decorate this room, the downstairs, and, of course, the mail box.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is it, Aunt Margie?\u201d Zoey asked, looking around the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t been delivered yet,\u201d Aunt Margie told her. \u201cI\u2019m expecting it later today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every year, a large blue mailbox was set up in the upper room at the bookstore, and it only collected letters to Santa. Aunt Margie never said where she got it, but Schrodinger was firmly convinced it was delivered from the North Pole especially. Aunt Margie seemed to have a very good relationship with Santa, and the CrossCat didn\u2019t doubt for an instant that the Jolly Old Elf wouldn\u2019t supply something like that to his old friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll leave you to this, then,\u201d Aunt Margie said. \u201cWhen the mailbox gets here, I\u2019ll be out to show them where it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seven of them stood looking at the tables. \u201cWell, I think the first thing we should do is go through it all,\u201d Gideon said finally. \u201cLet\u2019s see what we have before we make any plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSounds good to me,\u201d Lily said. She still had her notebook and pen in her hand. \u201cI\u2019ll keep notes, if you guys want to sort it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides the mounds and mounds of wrapping paper that Aunt Margie always seemed to have on hand, there were skeins and skeins of wool and cotton embroidery floss, some with metallic threads shot through them; two big jars of buttons; a bag of small crocheted stockings and mittens that looked as if they might have been made to hang on a miniature Christmas tree; several containers of beads that sparkled and flashed, although not a one had any batteries or anything like that; and rolls and rolls of ribbon. And that was just the beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, we have enough to decorate all sorts of things here,\u201d Zoey said, looking at all the treasure. \u201cWhat should we do for the bookstore?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAunt Margie really likes snowflakes, remember?\u201d Kaylee said, and her sister nodded. \u201cAnd there\u2019s that whole bag of sparkly sequins we found. Those would be amazing on snowflakes!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the bag of snow!\u201d Gideon said. \u201cI bet we could do an entire winter scene in the window downstairs!\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, and I bet if you ask Molly nicely, she might be able to give you a cookie jar or two that look like houses to put in it,<\/em> Schrodinger added. And I know we have a Christmas tree somewhere.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 DC was putting up a small tree in the window,<\/em> Jack said. Maybe we should check that out.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the end, Jack, Kaylee, Gideon, and Schrodinger went back downstairs to see what DC had already done, while Zoey, Lily, and Aurora started sorting wrapping paper for snowflakes. Schrodinger led the way down the stairs, and found the clerk behind her counter, giving change to one of the high school students.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can I help you folks?\u201d she said, turning her smile on them. Schrodinger adored DC. She was constantly in a good mood, and he was privately convinced that she was the one who really ran the store.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to decorate, and we wanted to see what you had done already,\u201d Kaylee said. \u201cSo we could help!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found snow,\u201d Gideon said. \u201cAnd some very sparkly beads. We thought we\u2019d do a winter wonderland.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I like that idea!\u201d DC agreed. \u201cLet\u2019s go see what we have to work with!\u201d<\/p>\n

There were two big windows in the front of the bookstore. In one, Molly had set up a tea set, with some of her prettiest tea pots and cups, full of red poinsettias and holiday greenery. They left that one alone and turned to the other one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t gotten very far,\u201d DC admitted. \u201cBut I found the tree at a garage sale this summer, and I really wanted to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tree in question was made of white ceramic, and it was nearly as tall as Schrodinger was. Colored lights were dotted all over it. DC had set it in the middle of the window. They watched as she knelt down and flipped on a switch underneath it.<\/p>\n

Lights blazed from the tree, in all shades of the rainbow. Then, as they watched, the lights began to blink on and off, and the tree itself began to rotate.<\/p>\n

Oh, that\u2019s cool! <\/em>Schrodinger said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy gran used to have one,\u201d DC said, looking fondly at the tree as it turned slowly. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t truly Christmas until she pulled this out, and she wouldn\u2019t do so until December first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gideon was studying the window and the tree. \u201cHey guys, weren\u2019t there some dolls in one of the bags upstairs?\u201d he said. \u201cWe could put presents and the dolls around the tree, and make it a really cozy scene?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like that idea!\u201d Kaylee agreed, clapping her hands together. \u201cAnd then we can use the snow elsewhere! Let\u2019s go upstairs and tell the others!\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is what they ended up doing. There had been two dolls, as Gideon had remembered: handmade dolls with molded bodies and faces, dressed in red and green pajamas, with stocking caps on their heads. Even better was the small bunk beds Zoey and Lily had found: it looked as if Ruth had been planning some sort of doll house for someone. Schrodinger found a small set of boxes that they wrapped up as presents, and Molly even donated a plate of cookies and a mug for Santa. DC helped them arrange it all in the window. Then they went outside to see it.<\/p>\n

The bunk beds were on one side of the window, with both dolls tucked in. There had been small quilt scraps they had used as blankets, and Aurora had dug out a small teddy bear for one of them. Presents were clustered around the tree on the other side, and a small crate (that Molly had also found for them) held the mug and plate of cookies with a note that said \u201cFor Santa\u201d on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love it!\u201d Aunt Margie said, when she saw it. \u201cIt\u2019s perfect!\u201d<\/p>\n

They all beamed at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just came down to tell you all that the mail box has been delivered,\u201d she continued. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see what you do with that!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saturday, December 2 The snow from the night before had continued, a light but steady fall of flakes that looked as if it might never end. Luckily for Molly and Schrodinger, they had a Jeep with winter tires on it, and were used to driving. \u201cI doubt we\u2019ll get a lot of people today, though,\u201d …<\/p>\n

>>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[61],"class_list":["post-1842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advent","tag-advent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1842"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1843,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1842\/revisions\/1843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vg-ford.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}