I came across a lovely old-fashioned term this week. Hallowtide. Isn’t that a nice one? It comes from theOld English word halig, meaning saint, and the word tide, meaning time or season. So it is the season of the saints. Traditionally, it refers to the first few days of November, I’d like to stretch it a little to connect up Remembrance day, too. This is a reflective, remembering season. I used a prayer by Walter Brueggemann yesterday day in church that held something of the flavour of this season.
God of our mothers and fathers long gone and treasured
God of our grandchildren yet to be and awaited.
God of our years, our days, and even of this moment.
I’m finding that this season of the saints is full of that kind of looking back to those who came before and looking forward to those whose stories are just beginning.
Perhaps that’s inevitable in our home because today is Blue’s birthday today – 6 years old and with a jack o’lantern smile.
6 years old already. And also feeling like he’s only just beginning. The days he’s living now will be some of his earliest clear memories. That’s amazing – and humbling – to think about. This are vital, unfolding days.
Beangirl and I were out buying him a birthday present on Saturday afternoon. Plum was there, too, but he was snoozing so it felt like one-on-one time with my daughter. She’s recently found out that one of her best friends is moving away, and she wanted to talk about it. She also wanted to talk about our family’s future. The Spouse has finished his PhD and is looking for the next step. Beangirl wanted to know what that would be. Specifically, she wants to know where it would be. I just had to tell her that I don’t know. I told her that we would let her know when there was any news. That she would know in enough time to get a little used to the idea of moving if we need to. That we’ll be together. We talked a little about different families, and then about what it was like when I was little. And when Granny was little. And when… well, we imagined pretty far back which felt like a pretty good way of coping with our own unknown future.
I wish that I could magically unfold the path, open the door for her and see the future bright and clear. But it doesn’t work that way, does it?
Instead, I do the work I can. Pray about it. Pray for my kids. Pray with my kids. And bake cookies.
We’re calling these ones Open Sesame Cookies
This are basically my go-to cookies, based on a ratio rather than a recipe. That said, Alice Hart suggests sesame biscuits made with tahini in her book, Friends at My Table, and so I’ve added that to the equation. I like black sesame seeds as they look great, though I had to work to convince the kids that they weren’t onion seeds. Small problems for pretty cookies.
Ingredients:
100g butter
100g white sugar
50g brown sugar
1 egg
8 tbsp tahini
1 tsp vanilla
200g flour (or 150g flour and 2 big handfuls of rolled oats)
1 tsp baking powder
30g black sesame seeds (or white if you can’t find them)
30g sugar
How to:
Place pizza stone in the over and preheat over to 375º. Or prepare 2 cookie sheets with non-stick baking paper.
Mix the seeds and the 30g of sugar together in a cereal bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy. Add the egg, then stir in your tahini gradually. Add vanilla and salt.
Sift together your dry ingredients and then stir everything together.
Wet your hands and form the dough into small balls. Roll them in the seeds and sugar mixture. Place on your hot pizza stone or cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes. They will flatten as they bake. Then cool on racks. Enjoy.
