Midwinter 2018

On Friday 21 December

it was the Winter Soltice, also known as Midwinter.

The next day was a full moon although the sky was not clear enough for me to see it.

It's also the time of the year when candlelight brings in a warming cosy atmosphere

and there is a wish to decorate with delicate seasonal things.

This tiny crystal snowflake is perfect!

This festive red candle represents the return of light which has just begun

with each day increasing by a few seconds!

The reflection can be seen in my window against the night sky!

The same window in the daytime brings in softness created by the winter's sky.

There have been rainy days and sunny ones and even snow flurries which didn't settle for long.

A few leaves hang on and make pretty silhouettes against the sky.

Like fingers which hold

fuzzy balls against the sky

touching tenderness.

Whenever the weather is dry and not too blustery, I go walking to be

amazed by nature in this wintry season.

These catkins tell me that spring will follow in good time.

I take one of the dried hydrangea flowers from my plant on the balcony.

It remains beautiful even as in this state of maturity.

Now we're leading up to Christmas which can be a little overwhelming

with the stores pushing us to buy and then buy some more

with lights that are a little over the top and a bit too bright!

I do love to keep things rather simple and really liked this elegant balsam wood

hanging decoration with a shiny crystal ball.

The night sky shows up the details the best.

I saw them at the Christmas Market in Lucerne when I visited at the beginning of  December.

You can see it here

A Christmas tree bauble speaks of Christmas which will be in two days' time.

It's a time when families like to be all together.

This year, I made a Christmas garland to hang up in my living room!

It looks very festive!

You can see them better here.

The different patterns have been collected over time from different sources.

The four blue snowflakes on the bottom row are a smaller version of the one here:

Anabelia Craft Design

The yellow stars are from here:

Cherry Heart

Remember,

whatever this present moment holds for you, embrace it,

enjoy it or learn from it.

As often as you can, keep smiling - it can make someone's day

and it embellishes our whole attitude to life

and the world around us!

***

Note:

Please click on each photo to enlarge them so they fill the screen!

The Return of Light

Whatever you seek

Is already within you

Waiting to wake up.

***

The winter solstice, which was on December 21st,

marks the shortest day of the year and the official beginning of winter.

But from this time on, we shall be getting a little more daylight each day until the month of June.

In different countries all over the world,

there are different ways of celebrating the return of light.

Just one of them is from Persia which I find very lovely.

In keeping with ancient tradition, Persians celebrate Shab-e-Yalda

to honour the victory of Mithra, the Sun God,

 who symbolizes light, goodness and strength.

Shab-e Yalda is still celebrated by Iranians all over the world today.

Friends and families unite to feast and read poetry, especially the Sufi poet, Hafiz.

Fires are burnt all night to defeat the darkness.

With the return to light, after the winter solstice,

transformation occurs and goodness triumphs.

***

"Awake my dear.

Be kind to your sleeping heart.

Take it out into the vast fields of Light

and let it breathe."

Hafiz.

***

Links for you to follow if you wish to know more:

Shab-e Yalda

Poet Hafiz

Poet Rumi

Heartfelt Wishes

There are personal wishes

and universal wishes.

I sat down the other day to see if what I really desired at this time of the year

was anything to do with the usual stressful ambiance of the Christmas season

which seems to be happening  around me, but not within me.

Oh yes,

I love creating decorations with crochet and hook

a few bells 

a candle or two

and beautiful music,

but more than any material gift

I desire the presence of peace and harmony.

On a universal level, like most people, I would like world peace

that no one should suffer from hunger 

and that we would all take responsibility for climate change.

One of the things that we can all do

is to focus on abundance instead of lack

for it leads us to the path of contentment.

What are the most important things for you during this month of December?

Have you tried making a list of your most heartfelt wishes?

Scene & Story: November 2017

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Dear Friends,

How have you all been this year?

Have you embraced the unexpected?

Have you got out of your comfort zone at least once?

What have you understood about life?

What have you learnt?

Do you sometimes ask yourself where you're going? I do.

Am I going where I need to go or am I struggling against the natural flow because I wanted things to be different than they were? Life is not always smooth. Situations are not always ideal.

Each new day brings us life experiences from which we can learn. It is our choice to accept the things that come our way, or not. Sometimes, we're allowed to say "No" when things have gone too far in the wrong direction.

We're allowed to take a pause and look within to be able to make the right choices. We can recognize that they are not always the same choices as others. That's quite alright. We are allowed to be different.

So towards the end of November, I look back at my own year and ask myself these very questions. It's also the perfect time to get out my coloured cards and rubber stamps and my address book and prettiest postage stamps and write to family and friends. A lighted candle brings in the right sort of mood and sets the tone.

So wherever you are, whatever your life experience right now, just know that it's where you are meant to be. How do you know that? Well, because that's where you are!

May we find the courage to face the difficult moments and the generosity in our hearts to be there for others when they need a helping hand. 

Keeping in touch with others, but also with ourselves.

My very warmest winter wishes!

Sandra

*********************************************************************************

I'm linking up with  Scene & Story hosted by Sarah and Lee

The Little Things Around Us

Beauty is all around us to awaken all our senses

but how often do we think about the beauty of all the little everyday things?

We sometimes just take them for granted, or don't even notice them.

A simple needle and thread which is taken out and used

Do we really see it?

We may appreciate how useful it is and even look at it

differently one day and see how aesthetically lovely it can be in its simple way.

Matches are in most households

I keep this little decorative box in my living-room,

always on hand to light a candle.

There are so many useful little tools in my kitchen area.

One of my favourites is this small ginger-root grater.

I use ginger a lot, both in my cooking and in warming winter drinks.

Another little item in constant daily use is my individual herb tea filter.

It's great for making just one big mug of delicious peppermint or lemon verbena.

The humble pencil sharpener

I just love using pencils, especially freshly sharpened ones.

How pretty the little curls of pencil shavings appear.

I can hardly bear to throw them away and have been known to keep some

in a small glass bowl on my desk just to look at their shapes and texture

and see how they catch the light!

"Great oaks from little acorns grow"

I love to collect these in the autumn

and keep them in a small pottery bowl to enjoy them each time I pass by.

There are other little things which are so important, like exchanging a smile with someone

sitting next to us on the bus, maybe even saying a few words.

A small gesture of help, like holding a shop door for a mother 

with a pushchair

or being thankful when a younger person stands up to let me sit down

in the metro lurching dangerously forward as it sets off!

It's the little things in life which have enormous importance

They influence the way we feel.

By noticing all these things as we go about our daily life,

it adds new meaning into all we do.

Scene and Story for January 2017

How do I embrace the long month of January?

I fill it with all the things I love!

I light a candle in a pretty cut crystal candle holder.

I reread some favourite books to savour them once again

and discover new delicious details I may have missed before!

I get out my yarns and crochet hook and start creating with colour and design.

There is nothing more rewarding!

I like to feel the softness of the yarn, choose the colours by the mood I'm in.

Feel the smooth metal of the hook work its way in and out of the stitches

in a calming rhythmic manner.

Creating circular designs which have a beautiful harmonious feel to them

Mandalas too are full of flowing harmony.

Snip the yarn, sew in the loose ends.

What shall I make?

It doesn't matter for now.

Just create and sigh a sigh of contentment.

The pleasure is in the doing as much as in the foreseeable end product.

January can be a tad grey and windy and cold and wet or snowy,

but all these things are a perfect excuse to do everything I love doing!

Even photography is possible indoors

and although it can be more of a challenge, because of poor lighting,

it's time to get out that wide open prime lens and play with distance and angle.

So dear January

Do your best with wind and snow

I am snug at home!

***

Joining Sarah at Paisley Rain Boots and Lee at Sea Blue Lens

for Scene & Story every month.

Ding Dong Merrily on High

This is the week before Christmas

when the frenzy in the air is very tangible.

Sometimes, it's just good to find a quiet place to sit

and take the time to breathe...

maybe light a candle

a red one is so festive.

The presents are wrapped and the bows tied

I'm so glad I did everything early.

What about my new hand and arm cast?

Red for Christmas. What else?

Just to be a little silly, I'm going to wear a tinsel bracelet

on Christmas Day!

Since there won't be a Christmas tree this year,

I've bought some cheerful fairy lights to create

several luminous and festive corners around my home.

A sparkling butterfly in memory of a sweet loved-one

departed much too early.

A bowl of Christmas baubles on a small table

This glass container, containing tinsel and shiny baubles

will have added fairy lights in red and white 

to be the centre-piece on my Christmas table

I love my living room at night

all lit up

as pretty as any Christmas tree!

The Christmas elves are already in place in the entrance.

They have been a tradition for more than twenty years.

The homemade truffles will have to wait for the New Year

before I make them again.

I was just able to finish crocheting the front door wreath

on the last day of November.

That was lucky!

I am unable to make my usual Christmas crochet gifts and decorations this year,

but fortunately I have some snowflakes left over from previous years.

As soon as the afternoon light starts to fade

those little lights come on.

Scintillating evenings just for me and a good book!

Those little bells again, just because they're so joyful!

and the sweet sound of children's voices.

Please click below on the name of the Christmas Carol:

Ding Dong Merrily on High

It just goes to show that we can still create a festive feeling with very little

and with just a bit of imagination!

I wish you all a very heartwarming and beautiful time with your families.

Sometimes, not all members of a family can get together, but we can phone and

exchange emails and have special thoughts for all those who have

other obligations or cannot be with us.

In the meantime, whatever you do, and whoever you're with, 

may you have a joyful heart to share!

I'll be taking a blog break over the holiday period until sometime in January.

Be well

Be happy

Remember to smile

to someone who may need it!

Snug at Home in December

During the month of December, it's so nice to enjoy time at home.

Taking the time to notice the play of light and shadows in the entrance of my apartment.

Noticing the colour of the wood on my chair and the butterfly cushion.

Moving in closer, to see the Chinese lanterns that I love to keep in a vase at this time of the year.

The little dove wall hanging given to me by a good friend

and the tiny doll in a rocking chair given to me some years' ago

by a charming American lady called Belle, who used to paint

dolls' faces and dress the dolls.

When I made my bed in the morning sunlight, I enjoyed bathing

in that gentle light and was reminded of the book

that I want to finish reading during the holiday period.

Since Christmas is coming, it's the perfect time to get out my blue Mason Cash

mixing bowl and make some cookie dough for gingerbread men.

I froze most of the dough to bake these cookies fresh just before Christmas

... but I had to bake a few to taste, just to make sure they were spicy enough!

The pretty tea-cloth is a gift from my son who bought it when he visited

Windsor Castle recently!

I hadn't made rum balls for a few years, so decided it was time to make them again.

They're also in the freezer!

Then I made some chocolate truffles.

Oh my! They were too good to keep out, so I ate two and froze the others! 

I also made two other kinds of cookie dough that I've been making since my children were small.

Everything will be baked at the last minute so that it's extra fresh.

My little branch elves have found a special place on my small round table.

I bought them years ago in a craft market and they come out every year

to warm themselves by candlelight.

December is also the month for crocheting decorations.

This year, I found some glitter yarn in different colours and decided to make trees.

I like to try out different patterns and also use old favourites like the snowflakes

in this posting from 2012.

I love the atmosphere of lighted candles, the smell of baking, 

the inevitable mess of strewn yarns and my crochet hooks -

 it reminds me of when my children were little and I was always so busy

 preparing decorations and gifts and making our home inviting and full of 

the delicious aromas of baking!

The heartbeat of my neighbourhood

With all these inside activities, it good to remember to get out at different moments

during the day.

Sometimes, when I notice a special lighting outside, I like to take my camera

and catch a sunset.

From my local park, I can see the tip of the faraway mountains

 and connect with the neighbourhood in which I am living.

When I look at my street already in darkness, I see how all the buildings have joined up

as one connected scene, how the lights have come on in certain homes

and how friendly it all feels.

Although I have no close friends in the area, in this evening lighting, 

I feel a oneness with all I see

and how the rays of the setting sun bring us all together.

I return home to my small, snug apartment and feel contentment.

The lights on the small, real Christmas tree bring joy and warmth to this hanging heart.

I also think of those who once shared my life and are no longer there.

Remembering them brings them close again.

The heart is in their memory.

As we come to the end of this year, it is good to remember how we can become

more conscious and aware human beings.

Each one of us can do our part to protect our planet for future generations.

The tiny fir tree decorated for Christmas is watered regularly

and I will plant it outside so that it can grow bigger.

Forests and all trees are the lungs of the Earth

We need them to survive and they slow down global warming.

They need protecting.

Why not plant a tree in memory of a loved one today?

Wherever you are, whatever your circumstances,

may this holiday period be gentle to you.

For those who celebrate Christmas, may it be meaningful and joyful.

I am taking a blog break, probably until some time in January.

In the meantime,

take care!