** As we enter this New Year, I’m sure many of us have goals and lists of things we want to accomplish, take this above message with you. I feel it is important to celebrate the little things, not just the big accomplishments. Because the big things are only achieved by all the little things adding up along the way! Be proud of all your victories, be they big or small!
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The house got a quick “spit and a polish” yesterday. Things were put away and tidied up. Christmas is still up and will remain that way until the weekend. We always keep things up till after Epiphany. To be honest, I normally keep them up a bit longer. But not this year, I will have to be good and put everything away till next Christmas as we have some New Year’s work to be done in the cottage. That’s what happens when a pipe bursts! Luckily the damage appears minimal, but we’ll have to wait and see.
We didn’t sleep a wink last night with “Storm Eleanor”. We had wind gusts of over 70mph. We watched things fly by from our window. I saw a neighbours gutter get ripped off and fly down the street. Garbage cans were rolling down the road like they were in some kind of race and the wind was so hard, it sounded like someone was punching down the door. But our little cottage held her own.
Today was back to school day. I don’t think I was ready. I never am. So here’s to a short work week and here’s to the weekend, may it arrive quicker than I can blink!
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I absolutely adore the films that British Pathé produced. It is incredible to think that this footage still exists and beyond that has been saved and digitised. They are films that are a real piece of their time. You just can’t help, but to love them.
We did not wake up to Swedish saffron buns this morning as we are a house where everyone has a cold. But we did the next best thing; we feasted on buttery toast, hot tea and the candles were lit.
I have long been in love with this special feast day of St. Lucy. I have spoken about it a few times here in the past, usually in a Halloween related post. But, I was a very lucky girl one Christmas and Santa brought me Kirsten, the Swedish American Girl doll. I loved her so.
One year for Halloween I dressed up just like her St. Lucia outfit. My Mom braided my hair and put it up in loops held in place with red satin ribbons. She pulled out one of her Christmas wreaths and tied red satin bows in it and nestled battery operated candles in the branches. I wore a long white tunic with a huge red satin sash tied in a big bow. Only I would dress up as something Christmas related for Halloween.
Identically dressed, Kirsten and I went trick-or-treating together that year. My next door neighbour who was Swedish, got the biggest surprise when he opened his door to us. He was delighted! I will never forget the look on his face and the memories that that brought back for him. G. was a great story teller.
I hope someone brightens your path today and brings happiness and light to it on this wonderful feast day of St. Lucia. ♥
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December is almost here. I’m elated to decorate our little cottage for the holidays, but at the same time, I feel that it is all happening so fast. I just want to slow down and enjoy the season we are coming in to. A large majority of stores have had their Christmas decorations out since the first of November. And although this is one of my favourite times of year, I want to savour it and not have it go by in a swirling rainbow blur.
I worked on taking all of our fall decorations down yesterday in preparation for Christmas decorating. I always bring our leftover pumpkins and gourds to the woods. This morning I headed into the woods on my run, which was really more of a swift walk at that point, because my pockets and hands were laden down with mini pumpkins.
I slowly moved off the path, after picking a good spot and nestled a few of them on a moss covered tree stump. I’ll keep my eye on them as I cut through the woods in the morning on my next couple of runs to see who has been feasting on them. Usually they are gobbled up by the muntjacs, squirrels and birds.
After leaving my little offering to the woods, I made my way back on to the main path, but not before a muntjac crossed in front of me a little ways further up. Maybe she was watching me? I hope she headed that way after I cleared out, she would have had quite a feast this morning if she did.
This morning, there was magic in the air. I could feel it. The world was iced in a hoar frost. The sun was rising and it was warm when it fell on my face. The sky was crystal clear and a robin egg blue hue. I saw a bit of a rainbow, a muntjac nibbling acorns in the woods and one of my favourite four-legged buddies was waiting at their gate for me, for my good morning “hello” and kisses.
I couldn’t ask for a better way to start my day then surrounded by the beauty of the world at my feet. And I’m thankful and blessed that I’ve been given the eyes to see it. There is beauty everywhere, sometimes we might have to look a little harder for it, but it is there nonetheless.
It was overcast when I headed out for my run this morning. The clouds were low and the way they wove into one another made me think of snow clouds. As I made my way onto the woodland trails, I started to see glimmers here and there of the sun trying to peek out.
When I came out onto the main path, the sun suddenly burst through the clouds. The wind picked up and forced the tree branches to sway and so many leaves that had been holding on with all their might, started to fall. Some came down quickly, some spun around and around in a dizzying circle and some slowly drifted. It was like leaf snow the way they all floated down and came to rest on the ground around me and it made me smile.
We had our first hoar frost of the season this week. It was beautiful! The grass looked like sugared sticks of spearmint. The ducks were huddled together in the middle of the pond with the heron walking amongst them. Little wrens hopped around the edges where ice had formed and dipped their beaks in and out of the water, slowly drinking.
Today I worked on making my first batch of gingerbread of the season. Just gingerbread rounds, no fancy shapes this time, it won’t be long though before I pull out my special gingerbread lady cookie cutter. Tomorrow I’ll ice them while I work on making the rest of a meal we are putting together for a friend.
I might have snuck a cookie while putting the last batch on the cooling rack. There just wasn’t room for all of them, I figured my eating one was just making space!
The evenings are coming quicker, soon it will start getting dark not long after 3pm. I don’t mind this time of year. I light my candles, I put my music on. I try to absorb as much from each season as I can.
My Mom introduced me to Kyle Pederson a few years ago and this particular album is one I can’t get enough of. I’ve been listening to it non stop today. Below is one of my favourites on the album as well as one of my most favourite carols, Lo, How A Rose.
I hope you’re having a lovely Wednesday wherever you may be today and that you find beauty in the little things.
“Come on, girls! Gladys, hold on to that drink tightly now, we don’t want to lose a drop!”
Here’s to the weekend, long may it last!
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Whoopee! In what has felt like one of the longest and busiest weeks ever, we finally made it to Friday. We’re crawling to the finish line, but we’re gonna get there!
This weekend brings with it the beginning of our school fall break and we couldn’t be more excited than to have a bit of time to catch our breaths and move to our own pace. We’ve got a lot of things planned. So, here’s to adventures!
{Image: Philippe Halsman, Jump Series}