Category: Winter
A New Year
The new year arrives subtly. After the long holiday build-up of champagne and anticipation the calendar shift, so stark on the page, sneaks slowly into our consciousness. Like a low draft from the hem of a door; you have to get used to its breath on your skin. The change happens in almost…
January Stillness
The older I get, the deeper my love for winter grows. Bemoaned for its long nights, dull days and monotonous cold, January is often everyone’s least favorite month. There are barely any dates of note on the calendar (with the exception of today, Martin Luther King day). Compared to the pomp and celebratory splendor…
The Holidays & Why I Believe in Magic
These days I’m part of a community that largely does not celebrate the holidays or, more generally, questions the season as a cause for celebration at all. I often find myself defending my fierce love of Christmas (which was the holiday my family chose to celebrate growing up). Fumbling over words, I try to…
Handmade Valentines
This year I was inspired to make real, honest-to-goodness valentines. You know, those traditional heart-shaped treasures festooned with lace and smothered in floral and velvet. There is something about handmade valentines that strikes a forgotten chord in us, like the relighting of a candle. Once upon a time Valentine’s Day was all about the…
One a Day
A friend of my mine recently shared this inspiring ritual with me. Every February this friend gets together with a group of people and they all decide on a One a Day. Every day for the entire month of February each person in the group chooses one thing that they will do (no ifs,…
