Winter Light

There is something particularly beautiful about light in the late fall or early winter.  Sunrises and sunsets are so stunning.  When I go out in the morning to pick up the paper, the sky in the east is pink and glorious.

In the afternoon as I was reading on the weekend the light started to change around 3:30.  It was time to put on the lights and start the rest of the evening.  Time to cook the wonderful soups and stews of the winter.

Part of the pleasure of eating Thanksgiving at home was having a few days of wonderful food, easily assembled.  This left more time for reading and other fun.  And, Sunday, I made chili to get us through the rest of the coming week.

This winter light is one of the reasons that the lights of Christmas are so great because as the days gets shorter, the nights get brighter.

Thanksgiving

This past Thanksgiving was a time for gratitude and rest.  I had four days off and spent nearly the entire time at home.  I read, cooked, ate and read some more.  I realized that I had not spent that much time at home since December of last year. 

When I got up this morning I thought that I would be refreshed but I still wanted more time at home--more time doing the things that I love.

I read several books over this break.  Two of them had a strong sense of place.  The Third Eye by Andrew Seewald and Jacqueline Seewald is set in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.  It is a coming-of-age story and a mystery but it includes some of the folklore and practices of that really unusual and special area.  I think that it is now called the Pinelands and there was a story about a beetle infestation in the New York Times this morning. 

The second book was The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstol.  This is written by a Norwegian and takes place in Minnesota near the shores of Lake Superior.  The land is described well as is a culture of people who seem to mostly come from Norway and maybe Sweden, so a pretty homogeneous culture.  There was a stillness and rawness to the place that also made it seem very foreign even though it is set in the United States.

Why?

My favorite book in 2013 (so far) was The Consolations of the Forest by Sylvain Tesson.  Tesson moves to a cabin in the Taiga by Lake Baikul for six months.  He brings food, books and vodka to live during this period.  He has a satellite phone but is largely without connection to the outside world.

During this six-month period, he reads, writes, chops wood, fishes and cooks his dinners.  And, thinks and lives with each day bringing its own harmony and unexpected challenges.

Living like this, in a cabin preferably in a snowy area is a dream of mine.  It is a chance to leave one's everyday life and live a more connected (not electronically) and meaningful life. When I mentioned this to my husband, he asked why I could not do that at home.  Is it the place that makes it possible or is it the determination of the person to make it possible.

So, here I am in the suburbs of New Jersey, trying to live this experiment.  How do I bring the inside in, rejoice in nature and accept the beauty and chaos of life. Our house backs on to a yard but with large and beautiful trees and typically suburban animal life.

Here is where I will have my consolations and find the beauty in life--in my home, my backyard, my family and myself.