One more sleep…
{Ralph Hulett (1915-1974), is an artist mainly known for his work at Disney, but he also did a number of Christmas card designs as well as commercial work for major agencies, such as Swiss-Air and NBC. The “Christmas Mouse” above is from a card design created in the 1960s}
Today, marks the “winter solstice”. Today, also marks the “great conjunction” where Saturn and Jupiter will appear to be the closest they have been together from our vantage point since the middle ages. I think there is something auspicious in that.
Now, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the rain and overcast sky blows out to sea later and we have a chance of spotting the planets tonight, aligned close enough to kiss.
There is magic in the air today, you can feel it humming.
{Interior illustration from The Shortest Day, by Susan Cooper, illustration by Carson Ellis // Image taken from an article on the Art of The Picture Book Blog // Carson Ellis website HERE}
Hello, December. We’re ready for the frost that you bring and the bite in the air that chills are cheeks. We’re ready for quiet moments as evening closes in, cups of cocoa in hand while we stare at the Christmas tree lights and let our souls take a slow deep breath.
We’re ready for cold hikes through the nature reserve and the smell of fresh pine in the air. We’re ready for iced gingerbread and frosted sugar cookies cut out into holidays shapes and stored in tins at the ready to be devoured next to a hot cup of tea. We’re ready for Christmas music to be playing nonstop, working on jigsaw puzzles and for stealing kisses under the mistletoe hung above our bedroom door.
We’re ready for sparkle and glitter and the possibility of snow. But, most of all, I think we’re ready for this season to work it’s restorative magic in the quiet moments, that we find peace and a collective calm, as this has been a year that has ploughed forward almost unceasingly in a whirlwind.
Welcome, December, fill our hearts with good cheer.
{Josef Lada, from the 1953 Czech collection Detem HERE // Pinned HERE}
“If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.”
Victoria Erickson
Welcome, Autumn! We’re ready for the enchantment that you bring.
{Image: Dawn Cooper // Pinned HERE // Quote: Victoria Erickson}
As if the world has been holding its breath, the clocks began again, the spell is broken and another school year comes rushing at us. I’m never ready, but this year in particular, I’m finding it harder.
The house has had a nice rhythm. All the work has gotten done, all the meetings have been had, scrabble has been endlessly played in the backgrounds and afternoon breaks with bowls of yoghurt topped with heaps of fresh summer berries and homemade peanut butter granola have been feasted on with the windows open wide and the breeze blowing the curtains.
We’ve celebrated holidays, anniversaries and birthdays over this time period. We’ve lingered over our cups of coffee and our daily crossword puzzle in the morning, while music transported us somewhere else. There has been a steadiness in the haze that has been happening all around us. We’ve known for a long time what we wanted and the Covid lockdown has only clarified that even further.
We enter this new school year with an even deeper dedication of making more of our dreams written on paper come to life.
{Cinderella by Nadezhda Illarionova // Pinned HERE}
Well, hello July! We’re ready for school to finish for the summer this month and to have a chance to catch our breath. We’re ready to keep our 70s music groove rolling as we dance in the kitchen with evening closing in. We’re ready for more sunny days and early morning walks when the rest of the world is still sleeping.
We’re ready for afternoons spent on the couch with the windows open wide, letting the ocean breeze drift in and a good book in hand. We’re ready for more dinners by candlelight, setting up the projector to watch old movies and have our annual Christmas in July party. We’re ready for chances to go hiking nearby and cooling off in the water on hot summer days.
We’re ready to feast on ham sandwiches with heirloom tomatoes on homemade bread for lunch time with glasses of sweet tea by our side. We’re ready for ice cream for dinner and the taste of salt air on our lips. We’re ready for summer and the freedom it promises to bring.
{Julie Blues Marvelous New Swim Cap, Janet Hill Studio // Pinned HERE}
🌷HAPPY SPRING!🌷
*I know within the UK, the vernal equinox does not happen until tomorrow, so we stand on the cusp of it, but it will occur not long before midnight EST in the US. So “Welcome, Spring!” for all of our family and friends in that part of the globe.
