As I shared last month, it took me awhile to get into the holiday spirit this year. As the decorations waited in our basement I tried to sneak in little holiday goodies- special movies, some glittery pinecones- whenever I felt up to it. Then one day, a week before Christmas, Cory offered to go get a tree. And then, with a tree in the house, I had this wonderful desire for Lights. With each light strand & decoration hung, I felt a bit more thankfulness and a little less sadness. Not that decorating a house for the holidays will completely resolve everything- only time & grace are suitable for that- but it definitely helped.
We're enjoying the tree and lights still. While I'm ready to give our needle-shedding tree back to the woods, I want to hold onto the lights a bit longer. They're a lovely soft glow against the backdrop of these grey snowy days. A reminder to me of the light and warmth that is due to return in just a few more months. They're a bit magical too- and who couldn't use a little more of that?
Wishing you a magical start to this new year.
How is your holiday season moving along? Our is getting there, little by little. Since large windows of time are a rarity, I'm trying to find small chunks during the day to wrap a present or do a little bit of sewing. As we continue to settle into this house, the kids are getting better at occupying themselves here and there again. But it never hurts to have an activity (or three) in my back pocket- to get a little extra time to finish a seam or address a few more holiday cards. And these activities aren't just busy activities! The products have been fun to incorporate into our home, and can easily help with gift-giving too.
Did December hit you unawares? It did me, which is funny for two reasons. For one, I have this little blog that I've been planning holiday crafts for. And secondly- and most funnily of all- my birthday is December 2nd. So if there's anyone who can usually smell December a week away, it's me. But I wasn't ready for December this year. And then when it came, I sank into a bout of the winter blues. As someone who loves keeping busy, I don't usually make time for the blues- but I haven't been able to shake these off. While I love Christmas, the busy year we've just had- selling houses, buying a house, moving an hour away, miscarriages, leaving our community- has just caught up with me. So I'm creating this list of ways to get into the season for myself, but I'm posting it because maybe someone you know- or maybe you too?- might be having a hard time reconciling the losses the year has held with the glitter of the season. Which is always hard, but especially so when we have little ones looking to us for the glitter and magic.
It's funny to me, with all the old homes we've lived in that this is our first house with a fireplace! It's something that I've always wanted, I'm a bit smitten with mantles. They're so homey and a great place for collections, for little treasures to gather together and find a home. My favorite collections are those that only stay with us for a season. They're fun to hunt & find, get returned to the outdoors when we're through, and a great reminder of the simple gifts we're surrounded by in these woods.
This is our first fall in the woods. While I've always enjoyed fall in the city, it didn't hold this much color. One of my favorite colors right now is yellow, and we've been immersed in it this fall. Yellow on the trees, on the grounds... large piles of bright yellow goodness to pile up & jump into. But, in the words of Frost, "nothing gold can stay." So how to best preserve these leaves to stay with us a little bit longer? With a little glycerin & paint, we've found a way. And we sewed with them too! But more on that later.
