at the top of the stairs.
Batman added battery operated lights to our annual peace wreath. He makes one each year and it’s my favorite bit of holiday decorating. You can see our twig pile in the background, where we toss downed branches from windy nights. We’ll set it ablaze on the solstice.
This afternoon I pulled out the box of December goodies, made special by sentiment.
My Mumsie stitched this for me when I was a young mom, inspired by an illustration by Trina Schart Hyman, one of my favorite artists. Trina won a Caldecott Medal and lived about an hour south of us, just over the border in New Hampshire. Her attention to detail in nature, while creating magical pictures for kids books still enchants me. My Mumsie’s work has a few moth holes in it, but that makes it all the more dear to me. On the left, you can see her tiny stitches…including French knots for the holly berries,
Dearest readers…first off, I would like to thank you for your kind comments on my last post. I love to read your thoughts and I appreciate the links you share here. Virtual hugs all around. :-)
Advent season is full of tradition and religious significance for many. I am delighted to use advent with a lower case “a”, meaning a “coming into being or use”. And I love to use this season to welcome LIGHT, LOVE and HOPE into the darkest days of the year. For me, anticipating the solstice brings the magic into these December days. So, I have been poking around for kindred spirits. Erin Boyle, of Reading My Tea Leaves, has a beautifully simple aesthetic. She has been writing a bit about keeping things gentle and easy for the holiday season. This post about a children’s book advent calendar is beautiful, with lots of helpful links included. I love, love, love that she encourages the maker to include books from the library in the mix. I also found a link to artist Anna Brones via Erin. Anna has offered an online 24 Days of Making, Doing and Being…Digital Advent Calendar 2022. I checked it out and signed up (for $10.00) right away. The lovey part is, if you sign up after December 1st (which I did), Anna provides access to the archives of days you missed. Anna’s daily email has become something I look forward to with delight.
(Spoiler alert for Lindsey and Gretta!) Batman and I have been putting together little waxed paper bags of goodies for Maggie and Flora. We will number them and send them off so that our two oldest grandkids will have something special to open each morning as the days get darker and darker. What fun its been to collect things and package them up for the girls. xo
So, I guess I’m inviting you, dearest ones, to join me in embracing the season of light. Maybe you celebrate Christmas, maybe it’s Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa or the Solstice, or you’ve already enjoyed Diwali. However you celebrate, friends, please…open the doors wide. Make room for advent season…the coming into being of light and love and hope.