Nectar & Light

 

our world seems to be blanketed in grey wool... we have been keeping the fireplace aglow and staying close to home as we are expecting another snow storm in the coming days.  today the paths are covered in diamond ice... i want to bake, i want us to burrow ourselves under pounds of blankets on the couch and watch "frosty the snowman", i need to start a thick, rich beef stew - i need to keep the fireplace aglow.

thank you for your feedback regarding our solstice tree.  we found a four-foot potted colorado spruce.  she is a delicate little beauty.  the man at the greenhouse told us we could move it to our un-insulated side porch and it should survive so that we can plant it in the spring.

wishing you all a lovely holiday and safe travels... see you in the new year friends.

xoox~jla

p.s. one of my favorite solstice gifts from one of my favorite people - thank you my love - i can stop looking at them.

 

i have been buried.  and i am finally breathing again - it feels good.  aside from the handmade gifts and all the baking i promised i would do this year {and is done!} i volunteered to help with a project at the girls' school that pretty much took over my life for a week.  it feels good to breath.  hanukkah began last friday evening and we have been lighting the candles and reciting prayers... and waiting for thursday night when den is home to exchange gifts and enjoy a feast of brisket and latkes.  one gift they were allowed to open already is the casa cabana from kidsonroof my sweet friend gave the girls.  i don't think i have ever seen them all jump so high at the same time as the little house was coming together.  they are already working hard on wall murals inside their little play house and want to sleep in it at night... best. gift. ever.

on another note, my plan to purchase a potted evergreen to plant in the coming weeks was foiled by the blizzard that swept his angry arm across the plains last week.  so now i am torn - do i still buy a potted evergreen and keep it inside through the winter and use it for mulch in the spring?  a small cut tree that would meet the same fate?  or do i buy a sugar dusted green that we keep in the basement during the year?  i am leaning towards the first two... for us, this is about winter and replenishing the earth which the mulch would do... any thoughts?

xoox~jla

 

we are home again today.  i am sitting in the dining room, sipping my cappuccino and watching the neighborhood attempt to unbury itself from several feet of snow.  the wind has other plans.  he is gusting with icy force down the street and making the efforts of those attempting to clear their sidewalks nearly impossible.  i think i shall stay put for a while and let that mighty wind have his moment.  and sweet ludwig - the neighbor dogs are body surfing through the snow and he is snoring in front of the fire.  we knew quite early last night that it would be another snow day and we decided to celebrate accordingly.  peanut butter and oatmeal balls spiked with chocolate chips and rolled in cinnamon sugar - happy snow day treats...

~ 1 c. honey

~ 1 c. peanut butter

~ 1 1/8 c. non-fat dry milk

~ 1 c. oatmeal

~ 1/2 c. chocolate chips

~ 1/4 c. sugar

~ 1 T cinnamon

mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.  in another bowl beat the remaining ingredients together.  roll into small balls in your hand then toss into the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  you can put them in the fridge to set up for a few hours - but we like them soft and tasting like cookie dough.

xoox~jla 

 

today we in held captive by wintery winds, marshmallow mounds of snow, a roaring fire and a holiday tune or two.  we started the day with chocolate chip pancakes and we are in need of a hot cocoa break soon.  i hope you are having an equally lovely day.  some things i am loving right now...

~ the creative commons;

~ obsessed with these oil paintings by carly waito {via d*s};

~ finally picked up a copy of the satorialist - i can. not. put it. down;

~ on my wishlist;

~ i am traveling to both stockholm and burgundy, france {with a two day layover in paris} to shoot polaroid weddings this summer - i am thinking this might be in order;

~ i would love to spend a long afternoon in front of the fire with this and a cappuccino;

~ i am happy to report that i finally found the perfect polaroid bag.  a hands free messenger, it fits my sx70 and 680 beautifully - with tons of roomy exterior pockets to slide in just shot polas - i heart it.  big time.

~ and i am honored to be sharing again at habit - quite a party over there this month...

xoox~jla

here we are again.  the holiday season.  it has been a strange time of year for me for the last few years.  something has felt like it was missing.  my husband and i both grew up celebrating both hanukkah and christmas {in a very secular way}.  when we had adie we honored both holidays as we did as children - but something felt off.  we decided that if we were going to raise the children jewish, then we really had no place for christmas in our home - secular or not.  so we donated our tree and most of our decorations to goodwill and spent the last few years honoring hanukkah in a very traditional way.  again, something did not feel right.

i was raised in a home where everyday was a celebration - and if it had a name - then all the better.  as such, the winter solstice was a special night - the house glowed by fire and candlelight, my mother always made a special dinner that would rival the most lavish christmas spread.  we sat around the dining table and spoke of the science of the season - with a globe and a flashlight, of the wonder that was winter - and that it was as important to honor the ancient spirits as it is the new.  that is something i reconnected strongly with while living alone in italy about ten years ago - the nature based side of my faith.  life has overwhelmed me in the sense that i have not found the time - or to be truthful - the thought - of maintaing those connections.  but something deep within me has shifted in the last few months.  those bindings that the earth and the heavens cast upon my soul have never broken - they have been there awaiting the time when i was clear-headed enough to feel the sweet tug once again.  honoring the earth, the spirit {the goddess, the god - whatever you name that energy} is all that more important to me now as i watch my daughters grow and marvel at the world around them.

so this week, i decorated the house.  it may seem like such a trivial thing - but such things hold great power.  there are sprigs of sugar-coated evergreen, pine cones, crystals, candles and faerie lights - frosted snowflakes, crystal icicles and white doves.  and in the coming weeks we will be bringing home a potted evergreen.  we will collect bounty on our evening walks and we will cover our tree with our treasures and in homemade garland and ornaments - all honoring the season.  and we will be digging a hole in the backyard and covering it with leaves and mulch - and as our gift to the earth for blessing us with a year of wonder, we shall plant that tree just after the solstice.  something has shifted in me already - a sense of peace and enlightenment that all is right once again.

however you celebrate this time of year, i encourage you to embrace it fiercely.  whatever your believes - religious or not - this is a time of wonder - the earth is sleeping and we should honor her efforts.  for soon she will awaken anew in a burst of life - and for that, we should all be thankful.

xoox~jla