A forecast of snow by midweek (fingers crossed).
A walk and cup of tea with a dear one.
Muffins from my Christmas-present cookbook.

I find that
in January's darkness
it helps
to make note of the things
(every few days)
that I am excited about.
Small things,
simple things,
but little pleasures just the same
that are points of light
in this
(at times)
bleak midwinter.

A winter wander.

We arrived just at sunset
and as usual,
it was the purple shadows
and coppery gilding
that I loved the best.

----

I hadn't even thought about it,
but when I examined last year's booklist
at this beginning of 2011
I realized that I had read
exactly 52 books
in 52 weeks
in 2010.
An accomplishment,
I think!

Here are a few of my favorites from the list:

-The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
-The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen
-The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw
-Of Bees & Mist by Erik Setiawan
-A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé
-Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
-The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale
-A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman
-Provenance by Laney Salisbury & Aly Sujo
-The Final Forest by William Dietrich

The last three are non-fiction; all 10 were very much enjoyed and thus highly recommended.

Over the holiday I woke up one morning
to a picture in the paper
of Trumpeter swans.
Apparently,
they spend several migratory months during the winter
in and around the farm fields up north of my home.
So we got in the car and drove,
hoping we'd be lucky to at least catch a glimpse
of these beautiful birds.
We first spotted a group of 10 or so,
and turned up a hill to get closer.
When we came over the rise,
to our amazement we found
a field on the other side
full
of what seemed like 100 swans.
They rooted peacefully
in the field before us,
even as a looming storm
crested over them
in waves of rain and hailstones.

These photographs do no do them justice.

A few small bits of what my Christmas looked like.

I was feeling sad
that the whole lovely thing was coming to an end,
and my Mum reminded me
that the holidays
are the blossom of the year,
and that you can't love something only when it blooms;
a reminder to me
that it is good to tend the year
lovingly and mindfully
until it's time for it to bloom again.

(She is a wise woman, my mother).

Here's to a wonderful 2011!

----

The shop is again open for business.

I thought I'd share
the holiday card I made
for 2010.
I love sending real mail,
and in their shiny gold envelopes,
I picture these guys
winging their way
to family and friends.

Around the wreath are my favorite words
from a beautiful old carol,
The Holly & The Ivy:

O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the organ
Sweet singing of the choir.

----

And so with this I wish you
joy
& warmth
in this last month of the year
and look forward to seeing
what the next year
will bring.

It was good to go away,
& good to come back.
I think I will wait to share vacation photos
until the New Year.

The Christmas deer
(a new purchase
for this year's celebration)
and twinkle lights
(encircling our windowsill plants)
are two of my favorite holiday decorations.
I bought a second stag
as a present for a friend
so that their mantle,
like ours,
will bear an emblem
of what I see
as powerful grace
& sincere good fortune
in the heart of wintertime.

What are your favorite holiday decorations?

Heading off on a last-minute vacation with the boy.
It's been quite the whirlwind around here the past few weeks!
So many changes,
so many decisions to be made,
but as the new year fast approaches
it is just a reminder
to pause.
I enjoy making intentions
(I never call them "resolutions")
for each new year in January,
and my mindset in this recent busyness
has made me aware
of things I'd like to work on
in 2011.

I'll be back in this space on the 20th.
Until then, I wish you a warm and happy week.

----

Bloom Magazine
Selvidge Magazine

Shades of rose in December.

----

Preparing for a short winter's night sleep:
I will be closing up the shop for the holidays tomorrow evening.

Part of my plan to make many of the gifts I'm giving this year.
Block printed linen with hand-carved stamps,
sewn, stuffed, and finished off with a rustic twine loop.
Fun to work on, and I am thinking they will be fun to give.

Inspired this season by old-fashioned carols,
bits of nature brought indoors,
& the the quietness of trees under snow

----

Come Darkness (MAV has outdone herself this year) &
Elisabelle's recent posts (here and here and here) of snow in Paris.

I am so enjoying these depictions of Winter,
a beautiful, too-often-maligned season.

The last of the snow photos.

I know a lot of people complain about the snow--
the hassle of it all, and whatnot (in Seattle, at least).
But each year I hope we have a white Christmas,
and this year is no exception.
I love the way it changes the light
and the color of the sky.
As a child, I remember
priding myself
on the fact that I could tell
when I woke in the morning
if it had snowed in the night
before I even looked out the window,
just by the way
the light
spilling into my room
was different from what it had been before.

----

Small Hands by Caroline Gaedechens
Letterpress Reindeer by EasyKeeper

On one of the many walks I took last week,
we waded out through a field of white
(so unusual for Seattle in November)
and chanced upon
a flock of geese.
They were on both sides of us,
in front of us and behind,
and their coarse calls
sounded so loud in the stillness
and came so fast
that it all ceased to be
the sound of many geese
and became instead
one sound that was ringing
all around;
melodic
and monumental,
it did not seem
at all to be
from anything ordinary
or mundane.

----

A Happy December to you--I do so love this time of year!