Winter Joy

Many people say they don't like the winter; it makes them sad, they have to stay indoors or wear a bulky coat just to go to the car, and of course there's the snow and ice to deal with. I admit to feeling all those things about the cold season occasionally but other times I find good things about the season. Here are a few:

The first few sips of my morning brew taste and feel so much more comforting on a very cold morning before the heat comes up.

The night sky is clearer and the stars seem so much brighter on a crisp cold night.

The sounds of nature are different when all is dormant and frozen. Tree branches creak as they rub together, the wind whistles through the leafless trees, less birds twitter and chirp, and there is a special kind of hush over all when a storm is imminent.

The daylight begins to last longer after the winter solstice and by mid January it is quite noticeable.

Bare tree branches silhouetted against the moon's milky light remind me of lamp light glowing through black lace.

I can see the bones of the landscape and am surprised by things like old house foundations in the woods that are hidden by underbrush in the warmer growing season.

Finally, the smell of cooking food is very comforting when I come in the house from the cold, especially homemade soup which I have simmering on the stove.

I hope you have your own list of joys  to help you through the cold months.

Here's Dot!

Recently I was shopping in Kohl's with my older daughter and a lady walked up to me and told me I look like her friend Dot. But I don't have a cane & Dot uses a cane so she knew it wasn't her, but I have a twin! I have a friendly face. And she walked away. Good to know....

And that is how my alternate persona “Dot” was born.  Dot has many adventures, usually with my daughter.  Odd things seem to happen to us when we go out together. Shortly after the above episode we went to a concert my niece was in.  As we stood talking to my brother in the lobby after the concert the son of my high school band director rushed over, and smiling, introduced himself saying, “Do you remember me?  I’m Dave.” Giving me no time to answer, he shook my hand and turned to my brother, extending his hand.  My brother took the offered hand and said, “I’m Dave,” (because he is).  With that, the man walked away as quickly as he had approached and disappeared into the crowd.  It was a curious encounter which my daughter and I decided was a Dot thing.

A few weeks later we were again out shopping on a Saturday morning and decided to stop into the pizzeria next to Home Goods and order subs to bring home for lunch.  We walked in and ordered and took a seat in a booth near the register.  We watched as they worked and it appeared they were getting ready for an offsite catering job as well as making food for customers who came in.  After about 15 minutes all the employees began loading their catering van, carrying trays of food out the front door, passing us each time.  It seemed as if they forgot about our subs.  We watched with amusement for a few minutes and then I caught the owner’s eye as he hurried back inside for more of the food to load.  Realizing why we were still there, he asked one of the employees to give us our sandwiches and ring us up. We laughed once we were in the car chalking the experience up to another Dot adventure.

Just this past weekend I ventured out to our local Shop Rite along with most of the town it seems to replace the leftover holiday food with so called normal food since it was the end of the holiday break and life would be returning to normal on Monday. As I traversed the very crowded aisles and tried to look for the items I wanted I first did laps around the produce department because it seemed as if there was an odd traffic pattern of shoppers and carts happening and I kept missing my turn at the items I wanted so had to keep looping around. It was dizzying going in circles and trying to stop in front of the lettuce, peppers, and bananas. Once out of the traffic flow there I was able to make my way through the store.  Until I got to the aisle with coffee on one side and canned fruit on the other with several of those cardboard displays of featured items in the aisle.  As I inched my way along trying to find canned peaches while avoiding the other shoppers and go around the displays the wheel of my cart caught the corner of one and down it went, canisters of coffee skittering across the floor.  A very kind woman helped me right the display and pick up the canisters, several of which were lodged under my cart, and place them on the cardboard tower.  We then each continued our perusal of the goods and another shopper, new to our aisle, said as she walked by, “they have too many of these displays in the way,” I agreed and caught the eye of my helper and we both chuckled.  Another Dot adventure for the record!

Now whenever I have an offbeat encounter while I’m out, whether alone or with my daughter it becomes another chapter in the “Adventures of Dot”, a fictitious book.  Hmmm, maybe I should think about taking that from fictitious to real……

Comfort & Joy

Tidings of comfort and joy are words in the Christmas carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Also on this travel mug my friend gave me. When it's filled with coffee I hold comfort and joy in my hand. But it also makes me think about other things that bring me those feelings. Walking in the door at the end of the workday brings me comfort; just having a home is one of the most reassuring things in life; a place where I belong no matter what else happens in my day. Just knowing that helps get through some tough days. I can't imagine not knowing where you are going to be at the end of the day. It must be awful.

What about joy? The people in my life bring me joy. My husband and children, my coworkers and friends, my siblings and their families brighten the days. Having a good laugh over some shared silliness is such a wonderful thing to do. Joy also comes from music, a bright sunny day, and overcoming a challenge. Seeing a loved one happy is one of the greatest feelings in life. This time of the year it seems everyone is wishing each other comfort and joy; I wish that for you too.

 

My favorite Yuletide coffee cup.

Things I Miss

I'm feeling nostalgic tonight and somewhat melancholy. Christmas is fast approaching and with all there is still to be done it feels somehow wrong. I'm remembering how we used to get ready for this holiday and without those things, somehow, this year feels kind of empty. Here are some of the things I miss.

*Writing a letter to Santa. Writing that letter as a child was like putting all my wishes in one place and sending them out into the universe with the hope that one day they'd all come true.  Maybe as an adult I should still do that--hey, it couldn't hurt, right?

*Looking through the Sears toy catalog. Was there anything better than that? We used to wait for it to come out and then spend hours looking through it and marking off the things we wanted. I wish there were a catalog like that now! Just to dream about whatever strikes your fancy would be such a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

*Doing Christmas crafts. Whether it was making tree decorations out of yarn and cardboard or making tinfoil chains I loved Christmas crafts. Busy hands making what became treasured items when they survived time's ravages in retrospect was an awesome way to fill the time waiting for the big day.

*Walking uptown to do Christmas shopping. It was wonderful growing up in a small town where I could walk uptown with a friend after school to shop. The Internet and the big box stores and the mall just aren't the same. It was so much fun walking in the crisp December air and looking at everything in the shops on Spring Stree while humming along to the Christmas carols being broadcast over the stores' sound system. Such dazzling displays of items and decorations! It wa a great way to get into the holiday spirit!

These are some of the ornaments I made

When I was younger. The top two when I was perhaps 12, and the bottom one as a newlywed. I treasure them and put them on our tree every year.

Spots & Stains

Yesterday as I was cleaning and cooking in preparation for Thanksgiving I noticed how used and worn my house and appliances are; especially in the kitchen.  We've lived here nearly thirty years and of course replaced things from time to time but not for quite a few years. (Thank goodness because things are so expensive!) the linoleum is looking a little tired with a scratch or a crack in a couple spots and some staining which I think just can't be helped because of its age and amount of use. The kitchen really is the most used room in the house, the place where everyone goes for warmth, comfort, sustenance and me. Many conversations happen in the kitchen, usually in front of the stove.  My stovetop, I'm afraid, is showing its age. There are stains around the burners that just won't come off no matter how hard I scrub. I was thinking as I was cooking and cleaning that all the wear and tear are silent witness to the life we have here. There's the scratch in the floor just under the front of the fridge that happened when a jar of pickles fell and broke leaving a chunk of glass which left its damage when we moved the icebox to clean the pickley mess. The high traffick areas just never seem to look as clean as the rest of the floor even though I mop them regularly, testament to the number of times feet make contact there. The stovetop especially tells the story of family and friends being fed and cared for. Whether it's a box of macaroni and cheese, a cup of tea or a Thanksgiving feast that left a small spatter or stain there's a certain comfort I take in knowing I've loved and helped sustain the important people in my life in such a basic, beautiful way. So this Thanksgiving I give thanks for the spots and stains that are a testament to our family's love for one another.  Happy Thanksgiving!