Well, the shortest day of the year is nearly here. Two more days, a looong night, and then the days get gradually longer by seconds gained daily. It's a long haul, isn't it, waiting on a truly longer day? They eventually arrive, but it takes forever. Woke up craving that universal language of love, fried potatoes. You make fried potatoes, and you're a hero. Throw in some hard-boiled eggs, top all of it with a fake béchamel sauce or gravy, and you have a really good meal. The sheen on the potatoes is butter. Mmmmm.
It's pouring rain this morning. I am hoping the rain moves out and skies clear so that I can get a glimpse of the full "cold moon" tonight. Technically, it was full last night/this morning, but thanks to the rainy skies, we can't see it. The weather forecast shows mostly clear by 7 p.m., so fingers crossed!
The solstice is a turning point for me. It's when I get the signal/all-clear to break out the murder mysteries- books and shows/movies- and the Constant Comment spicy, warming tea, and any and every cookie under the sun, moon and stars to go with the tea. It signals the warm-ish day every now and then, when the cookies get to be too much, and I look at my husband and say "let's go for a run" and we go wide open until our lungs hurt from the cold.
The solstice also reminds me that spring is coming. I don't like spring. Around here you can get tornados, destructive straight-line winds, hail, hard freezes in very late April, snow off and on regularly, and watery, thin sunlight that never feels warm and shows the grit and the dirt on all your windows. That's probably not what you expected when I mentioned spring, but there you have it.
It's my least favorite season of all, but to get to summer and gardens and flowers and tomatoes, you have to walk through that less-than-impressive corridor of that dreaded season. I generally spend it looking through seed catalogs and plotting out the summer scary movies list that we sink our teeth into (lol, vampire pun intended) when the heat of the summer sets in for a few sizzling weeks.
The night sky is beautiful this time of year when you can see it. It's sharper than the softer summer night sky, and believe me - I know. For over twenty years, I've been up before the sun and spent time under the darkened skies, making sure to look up daily if weather permits, and to study the color of the sky and stars. In case you are wondering, the best skies are rich navy and the stars look nearly yellow in their brilliance. Ever seen a yellow diamond? Think pale, yellow diamond only a hundred times more beautiful. It's an honor to witness so many stars in a lifetime.
Before all of that, though, we still have Christmas shopping to do. I cannot believe it's less than a week away. I'm reviewing our flower set-up for one of the giant zinnia patches. I think this year, rather than growing a veg in the area next to it, I'm going to opt for cutting gold sunflowers. We grew a few last year, and they were stunning. They held up well in the wind, and when the sun hits them, they glow like you would not believe. That's something to look forward to, for sure.
If you don't want a depressing experience, stay out of the stores. Christmas stuff is on sale, and Valentine's Day is already on the shelves. I just ignore the hearts for now. I like Valentine's Day, but not yet, please.
Love to you on this rainy, muddy day. I'm heading to the kitchen to pour myself another cup of Peppermint Bark coffee. Below is a picture of part of my little home office, as you can see, it's lit up with tiny fairy lights. They wrap all around the quilt display and, paired with a small lamp I bought just for its tacky country farm scenes, it's nice this time of year. But once this winter solstice passes, I'll be laying in wait for that first truly warm day of the year. I'll open wide the two big windows in my office, dissipating that feeling of suffocation that really hits hard in the winter months. Coconut scented lotion, freezing cold drinks and iced oatmeal cookies will be here before you know it. My body, heart and mind will be ready.
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