It has been two weeks since Sam came home and we have been busy, busy, busy. So much walking, baking, crafting, laughing, puzzle-making, talking!
I usually do not bake much – primarily because I know I will eat most of it myself. It being Christmas time, however, I have felt free to bake my little heart out. I made this copycat Starbucks gingerbread loaf, which was wonderful – moist, not too sweet (except for the inch of cream cheese frosting and candied orange!), and nicely spiced. I have had these Swedish visiting cake bars in my Pinterest “Treats” board for ages and finally made them. They are basically a thin layer of yellow cake with a layer of sugary, meringue-y sliced almonds on top. They were a big hit with the gang here.
In the way of crafting, Sam and I made these cinnamon ornaments and these paper bag snowflakes (that I have hung on our front door – so little effort for such a big wow factor). I dried some oranges to make ornaments and garlands, and dried some pineapple, oranges, and apples to give as gifts.
Work is getting very busy for me, so I’ve started skipping my morning walk and logging on to my computer at 7 each morning. I’ve been working 9-hour days, and hopefully that will be enough to keep my head above water during this busy season (which will last until mid-February). Sam and I have been taking a quick one lap around the block (about .9 mile) at lunchtime and at least another two miles in the evening. Our evening walks have been a lot of fun – we walk in our own neighborhood, but have also walked in other neighborhoods in town to look at Christmas lights.
I have a suet bird feeder outside the dining room window where I work. I keep my camera handy in case there are visitors, who tend to be a different crowd than the birds who hit up the seed feeder.
Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice, a day that is near and dear to my heart. After tomorrow the days will start getting longer again, and even though we only gain around 90 seconds to 2 minutes a day, it still makes me very, very happy. I don’t do anything special to celebrate Solstice, but I wrap myself in the lovely, warm knowledge that although winter is just beginning, the sun will help me through.
2020’s Winter Solstice is a special one: we will get to experience the “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn, something that hasn’t happened to this degree in 800 years (NASA article explaining it here). Now, I must admit that I don’t usually pay very much attention to the positions of Jupiter and Saturn in the night sky, so I don’t know if I will notice anything different, but I will be out star-watching tomorrow evening if we have clear skies, if only to tell my grandchildren I witnessed “The Great Conjunction of 2020.”
This year’s Winter Solstice seems especially poignant to me. Not only will it mark the return of the light in a literal sense, but in a year that has held such darkness in the form of COVID-19, unhinged politics and conspiracy theories, it feels like we are gradually emerging into the light.
Love,
Michelle xoxo