cheer

My favorite time of day now is dusk. With a cup of tea or a glass of wine, a lit candle, in the quiet.

A few days ago, I came upon my copy of Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews and, well, the saying everything old is new again applies here. There is value in forgetting things sometimes. Arranged by season with key words and phrases for meditation or prayer and activities as well, it is a gem of a little book. In the Celtic tradition, Samhain (Sow'en) isn't just one day -- a/k/a All Soul's Day, Dia de los Muertos, Halloween -- it's the entire season of November through January. The winter quarter of Samhain is a time of personal introspection, contemplation on the season, and remembrance of ancestors, loved ones, and "the elders of spiritual traditions whose footsteps have kept the pathways open." That feels good to me because I wasn't able to really let go of that connection with my loved ones at Samhain. Everywhere I look, I see something that reminds me of someone I love.

The black linen, nine snowflakes crocheted by my mom, and white pompom trim are coming together for a simple little sewing project. That she made nine snowflakes is key. I never truly appreciated them until I laid them on the black, it was very exciting.

The paper whites are shooting up. Soon. I read somewhere that winter squash stores well on top of the kitchen cupboards and so far, it's true. I like the way it looks, too.  No snowflake curtain yet, it'll get hung in January this year. For now we'll just have plain and simple cheer.

Thanks for visiting and happy weekending. Cheer. xo