Upon First Waking

In the winter, it can be hard to drag myself out of bed. The cozy warmth a safe haven on the most frigid of days. During these cold, dark months I have a morning routine that begins with my alarm which plays this song. I then blindly snake one arm out from under the covers to switch on the tree candles and after my eyes adjust, the tree lights, followed by a crackling fireplace on my tv. The last step is to turn on my current favorite playlist…but not too loud please. Since my mood is often influenced by the music I play, this step is important. This routine creates a gentle, happy start to my days. 

 That tree you see in the photograph is not a Christmas tree although you could be mistaken for thinking it was. It is in fact, a “cozy season” tree thus making it legal to have up from approximately Nov 1st until whenever the heck I take it down. I don’t make the rules. The weather does. I am more than happy to use the excuse to create my own warmth. 

 I love mornings. I also love autumn and winter but I know there are plenty of people who do not. I am a big fan of finding ways to love every season, both meteorologically and metaphorically. Add in all the extra little moments of joy you can. I know from experience that building rituals into my life gives me something to look forward to during the mundane, difficult, overwhelming or difficult seasons. I suspect there is a long winter ahead for me and I am fortifying my spirit with all the little things that add warmth to my days. I hope you can find some of those for yourself as well.

Thanksgiving- But Not Quite

Although we aren’t technically celebrating Thankgiving in our house until Friday, I still spent most of the day in here. I am forever thankful for this kitchen and count my blessings every day for it. I still walk in here and can’t believe it’s mine. 

But today, as I always do on Thanksgiving, I thought a lot about all the celebrations that came before it. The holidays spent cooking in a nonfunctioning kitchen with ancient tile counters, peeling permanently dirty linoleum floors, a terrible layout, little workspace and homemade plywood cabinets. But also surrounded by good food, people and laughter.

While this Thanksgiving the kitchen might look prettier and be considerably easier to cook in, the others were no less valuable. So whether you are working in a space that is your dream come true, a shambles or somewhere in between, I hope you are surrounded by people you love. And just for fun, here’s a look back at where we started and then how we made do for many years until we were finally able to renovate.