It's not your typical Sunday. First of all, we're just a handful of days before Christmas and for me, that's a big deal, especially since nothing about the week ahead is going to be normal. So a double whammy of crazy. Then, too, there is still a wintry dusting of snow on the ground...
But it wont last. We're told that Wednesday will set records in terms of warmth. At the same time, a plunge into Arctic territory will follow, so that by next weekend we'll be colder than cold. Wild weather, though surely of a peaceful kind, for which we are grateful.
Breakfast? That's sweet.
And then the kids come. They're not here for dinner today and so they asked for a farmhouse play date during the day. Of course!
They had just run an errand with mom to a bakery and each was allowed to bring over a treat. Sparrow picked a cupcake...
Snowdrop chose the baguette.
There was a mix of play and books and fruits and the usual preferred pasta lunches. A happy day, with lots of imaginative story telling. At times quiet...
At times a bit on the wild side.
(timed release)
They leave in the afternoon. The house grows still.
Maybe too still. Ed and I talk each other into a walk in our local park. On the way, we pass a field of sandhill cranes. You can't easily snap a good photo -- their pale colors blend with those of the harvested cornfield. Still, they are beautiful to behold and we pause to take a good look.
At home again I automatically light my candle. It's hard to think of a winter evening without it. Tonight I reach for Havikko Home, described here in this way: it’s a
bold blend of lingonberries and birch, with notes of frozen
lingonberries, balsam fir, cinnamon, clove, cedarwood, and white birch.
The name "Haavikko Home" was inspired by Teresa's Finnish grandmother's
last name. (Made in Wisconsin!)
Talk about evocative! I'm not sure what frozen lingonberries smell like, but the effect is one of winter baking in a cabin up north. Wild woods, peaceful cabin, with, what the heck -- a pot full of bubbling ligonberries being transformed into jam.
Winter never felt so cozy, or smelled this good!
