Five Things That Help Me Embrace Winter

The winter is not an easy season for everyone but it is a beautiful season. Five things that make the winter more beautiful. Recently I was interviewed by Jeanne Oliver about wintering and it got me thinking. There is an art to wintering and like all art it beckons you to embrace it.

Accepting the darkness

I accept that there will be less light and more dark. After December 21 I start noticing that the days are getting slightly longer. Instead of dreading the darkness I have been embracing sweet lighting. Think lamps, candles, string lights, mini lights. I have string lights in my trees out doors, battery operated candles that come on in my home studio at five o'clock, and I intentionally light some beeswax candles because I love the smell. I remember that in summer I barely get to enjoy this kind of light because I am often in bed just after dark.

Winter cooking

Think squash, mashed potatoes, oven roasts and chai tea. There are foods that are meant for winter. Soups and stews and cozy meals of Mac and cheese or Shepards pie. In summer I never crave mashed potatoes. In fact I do not want to turn on my oven. In winter it adds heat to the house.

Layering

Dressing in winter is so fun because layering lets you make great outfits, a shirt, a sweater, a scarf. This year I have been wearing knee socks when I wear wide leg pants and it is just so cozy. I love the feeling of bringing different outfits together and find dressing more fun in the winter. And boots, well that's another thing altogether.  

Transformation

Some mornings I wake up and the landscape is transformed with this magic white and sometimes sparkly coating and it is a reminder of what is possible, and how beauty is sometimes a sudden and profound change.

Making

Winter is made for the Makers.Yes it is the time to lift your hands to the power of creating. Winter is the perfect time to stay in and make. You need no excuses to be alone in your studio. In fact it is expected that you will get out your wool and gather your supplies around you and sit in the stillness as the snow falls around you. It is time to bring your ideas to life.

These are just some of the ways I embrace the winter. Mind you I don't always find it easy. I know that it is sometimes icy and hard to walk, and that driving can be difficult. On those days, when I can,  I accept the limitations that are put upon me and I stay put. 

I hope your winter is going well and that snow flakes land gently on your face as you look up to the sky.