There are times all during life when we need the inner resources to keep ourselves busy and productive all by ourselves.
~ Fred (Mister) Rogers
How are you doing with Omicron? Are you hanging in there? Self-isolating and going out only when necessary? Living with abandon?
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| New Years, 2018. Those were the good old days! More abandon then! |
Sunday morning I awoke to 6 degrees F. Although it did warm up some later in the day, I knew from the time I got up that today would be a good day to bake.
Sometimes Mary Oliver speaks to the heart better than anyone. (No. Most of the time Mary Oliver speaks to the heart better than anyone.)
I have an awkward relationship with January. It's fresh, a clean slate, time to get on the stick and do something! It's also cold, there's stuff to clean up and put away, and I just want to chill out -- without being chilled!
Truth is, my friend Kate captured my mood exactly in her January calendar offering. For that matter, she captured Lizzie's mood perfectly too!
Well, we are full into January now, with cold days here in the north and enough white stuff on the ground that Rick is into cross country ski mode. I'm into nesting mode! Santas, out. Snowfolk, in.
We've had our first real snow (not all that deep -- only about four or five inches) but it was enough to look pretty at the ditch.
Pretty cold, that is!
In a recent article in the New York Times, Julie Lasky quoted author Reid Byers on home libraries: "Entering our library should feel like easing into a hot tub, strolling into a magic store, emerging into the orchestra pit or entertain a chamber of curiosities, the club, the circus, our cabin on an outbound yacht, the house of an old friend. It is setting forth and it is coming back to center."
Happy New Year, everyone! I love going back through photo files at the end of the year and the images remind me of the highlights -- and sometimes, low lights -- of the year. Here are a few.
(A quick note -- as you know, unless you are a no-reply blogger and I don't have email contact for you, I usually reply personally to your comments. If you don't hear from me for past comments, I just realize blogger turned off notifications for me! I think it's fixed!)
Until just recently, we've had no snow -- or very little. That makes walking at the ditch a little bit easier! Most of the color is gone, but with the beautiful sunsets and a few spots of bright, it's still lovely in it's own way.
In times gone by when the whole of the family was together for Christmas Eve, Rick would prepare a roast and traditional dinner similar to one he enjoyed at his grandparents' as a child. But in recent years, we've been on our own for Christmas Eve so it was time for a new tradition! We would make something new. This could be risky business but also, very fun! Last year it was a Quebecois Tourtierre. This year it was the Feast of Seven Fishes Pie.
I have to admit, this has been an odd Christmas season for me. It seemed to creep up and then bam! It was here and I wasn't ready! Cards went out late, I couldn't get my baking mode on, I didn't feel all that satisfied with most of the presents I found (and I still haven't finished shopping for when we celebrate with the kids). It was just odd.
From Christmases long past...
... when we went to bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads...
We've been Covid-careful this year, not attending Southern Exposure workshops in person. But Jan and I decided a winter walkthrough at Christmas would be safe, mostly outdoors and easy to distance. So, off we went to see what S.E. was doing for the holidays this year.
When I had my mortgage paying party, we gathered in a private room here. That was over a year ago. Now it has been converted into a "Santa's Workshop."
My house is a 1960s ranch, about 1,250 square feet. The living room is long and and the far end serves as the dining room. Between the two spaces, there are four trees. I love trees.
Do you rotate art in your home during the holidays? I do. Well, at least some of it! In the case of my hallway, the Paris wall comes down and the holiday wall comes up! Most of this year's wall features the work of Muppet master Caroll Spinney, along with a special piece by a good friend. (Cue the music!)
The centerpiece of the wall this year is a costume design for The Ghost of Christmas Present, done by the late Gretel Geist Rutledge. Gretel was a mainstay of the Michigan State Theatre department during my time there as an undergrad and until her retirement, probably about ten years ago. She went on to pursue her art in a variety of ways. After her death, her family allowed friends to choose from her many costume renderings. This watercolor holds pride of place.
I've started bringing out the fa la la, getting the house decorated for the season. It's a time I always enjoy and yet for some reason, this year I am a little slower, perhaps a bit more deliberate. And maybe that is a good thing. (Cue the music!)
We've had a little snow -- and then it goes. I'm OK with that. I dream of a White Christmas often -- but I'm not that big on the days before and after!
I haven't been to a Cork Poppers gathering since Rick and I hosted in July and it was so good to see my fellow vino tipplers! Our theme of the day was "Wines from Anywhere but the U.S." and our food theme was Appetizers and Desserts.
Works for me! Here are our totally non-professional reviews of five wines. What can I say -- we know what we like, and what we don't! And we don't hold back!
Tradition.
I love that word. It brings to mind memories of times past and
occasions and activities that were so special, unique, or fun that they
became incorporated into our souls and repeated over and over again. (Cue the music!)
No season seems to echo the thought of tradition more to me than the winter holidays.
November wasn't another banner month for reading but everything I read was worth the time.
I still love a four-day weekend now as much as I did when I was working. It's a different vibe, time to relax -- or work your tail off -- or see people you love. And mine was splendid.
While I don't start decking the halls till Thanksgiving, my official start to the holiday season is the annual Northville greens market, which I always attend with my friend, Jan, like THIS LAST VISIT in 2019.)
We missed it last year for Covid reasons, but this year we ventured out to do our traditional day -- the market, shopping at our favorite store (Gardenviews), lunch at a favorite restaurant and then a stop at Trader Joe's!
If you are living in one of the countries celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope yours is a happy one.
And if you're not, remember --
Any day is a good day to find something for which to be grateful.
I had the most delightful experience recently, which I mentioned in an earlier post. I was invited to a master's class in theatre design at Michigan State University to share some of "my story" and my commitment to the arts. The assignment for the students was to listen carefully under the hypothetical idea that I was a wealthy major donor funding a re-do of a grim auditorium lobby. Their assignment was to design the lobby and a gown for the grand opening, that reflected what I shared in class.
Among the thoughts I included in that talk were little obscure facts about me -- love for history and art as well as theatre, a passion for bright colors, bad feet (no heels, please!), the integration of community and university and some of my favorite things.
A number of you have asked if I have any of the items I sell at Mistletoe Market available for online sales and the answer is now -- Yes!
Our Mistletoe Market was a great success, for both me and the other six vendors. I think we all came home energized, tired, and with new friendships, and you can't beat that!
I have come to terms with the fact that I probably won't reach my book goal (or page goal) this year. While some months have been filled with books, September and October were marginal at best and November doesn't look much more promising. But most of what I read was very enjoyable.
Apart from Thanksgiving in the U.S., can anyone really pin much reliability on November? To me, it is a busy month and it's over before I know it, leaving me even more harried before the December holiday season. It could be sunny and 60. It could be snowy. Mostly it is just drab.
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| Pumpkins on the china cabinet |
I haven't shared much home dec these days because for the most part, I haven't had a lot of clear surfaces to photograph! But some of the photos here are from this year's decor, most of which got up late!
We can't say we've had a dull October. After coming home from the lake, we had a day or two at home before Rick took off on his bike for Oberlin and the day after, I met him on the way. You know the rest -- the Oberlin visit and Jeff's wedding. Two days later we were headed to metro Detroit to spend four days toddler sitting.
