17 Comments

I feel like we've been sunset-less here in Lion's Head, Ontario for the last month! The clouds have been big-bellied with snow (or the threat of). However, I find that I am more productive than ever as I'm not pawing at the windows to get outside (like in the summer months). I'm still outside as much as possible but it's easier to be inside at 4:30pm when it's ink black outside. I'm sure you've read My Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell. I loved her embrace of the dark and light (and the Lego, Danishes and hygge in between!). Looking forward to your annual book round-up, Laura!

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I know what you mean! I haven't read that book, actually--will have to check it out.

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I have to fully review my 2024 stack but I'm going to prematurely say that Living Danishly was my fave book of the year! I'll be doing a round-up post of my year of reading in two weeks so stay tuned for the official reveal!

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Thank you for sharing your light with us and welcoming us into your space.

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Thank you for reading! It brings me a lot of joy to share the light.🕯️

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I desire more rituals, thank you so much for sharing yours <3

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Ahh, you're welcome! I love sharing rituals, it sort of helps me keep with them and reminds me how much I cherish them.

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I love this and your love of December! Every single picture hear is glorious. Thank you for the winter positivity as always - there’s not enough of it! Winter gets a bad rap - there is a lot worth celebrating! I’m so pleased to hear the space changing to a monthly newsletter has given you! Xxx

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Thank you, Martha! Winter totally gets a bad rap, and I do get why people don't like it, but there is just so much to love about it and so many gifts. 💙

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Your writing, the December serving—I cried from beginning to end. What an abundant pantry you have. What a feast of roots and seeds. You are so dear.

(I am very ill: living with a degenerative disease. I am riding an intense flare. My mind is dull and depleted, and my word retriever is sluggish. I wish I could be more eloquent. Despite these weights, I am here to say, I hope you live forever, because you are such a north star... a pale and powerful Polaris.)

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Aw, thank you so much for these sweet and generous words. It seems to me like your word retriever has found the perfect words! I'm so touched by them, and so glad these words moved you and maybe brought a little bit of ease or sweetness. Wishing you some moments of winter tenderness and quiet. 💜

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"The things I hold sacred do not lose their sacredness because I’m tired or sick or worrying over a deadline. They don’t lose their sacredness even as the horrors of the world rise and rise and rise." -- those lines hit me hard. I'm saving them, and if you don't mind I'll print them out and hang it somewhere I see it often. Very powerful words.

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Ah, I'm so moved that these words resonated. Please use them in any way that would bring you joy or respite. Wishing you light and sweetness this winter. 💛

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This hit me like a ton of bricks: "I am here to sing—despite, inside, with, against, alongside. I am here to sing even though I am also sad and sometimes grumpy. I am here to sing even though I am also scared, and stressed about work, and overwhelmed. I am here to sing even though my days are not perfect, and sometimes I am lonely, and sometimes I have meltdowns. The things I hold sacred do not lose their sacredness because I’m tired or sick or worrying over a deadline. They don’t lose their sacredness even as the horrors of the world rise and rise and rise. Every December I get to live through is another gentle lesson in inviting the sacred in: the mundane, tarnished, weary, muddled, beautiful sacred."

So, so grateful for you and your words, Laura -- my friend of joy in the darkness.

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I'm so grateful for you too, Sarah. And so glad this bit of writing resonated. And "my friend of joy in the darkness" is maybe my favorite thing anyone has ever called me. 💛

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You have taught me so much about embracing this season. I'm so glad to be in the darkness with you.

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I am so glad to be in the darkness with you!!

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