Winter Solstice

... is my second favorite celebration of the year, after Thanksgiving. Today was Woodland walk and quiet rituals with our Woodland walking friends, candle dipping at Bianca's, making dinner, eating dinner and cleaning up after dinner by candlelight, white bean soup with winter vegetables, late bedtimes, sweet, sleepy kids, finishing our holiday cards after kids were asleep. What's not to love?

Here are a few unrelated pictures of the kids at our neighborhood nature spot that we call the secret garden, during the cold spell we had a few weeks ago.

The Season

As we are fast approaching the darkest day of the year, the kids are finding ways to liven things up for themselves, as you can see from pictures below. There is much to report, but I just don't have it in me to report it all. I have to go to bed and hopefully will have a few minutes to read my book - The Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. It is also the season to cuddle up and get lost in a book, isn't it? Lucy's reading on her own the Fairy Realm series by Emily Rodda. I'm reading Tiger Rising to her. Lucy and I share a profound admiration for the work of this author, Kate Dicamillo. (We've only read one other of her books - Because of Winn Dixie - and it was so lovely and moving - definitely an appealing writer for emotional, sensitive types like me and Lucy...). Jasper's book pick of the moment is Zen Shorts (and I'm not kidding, he picks this one out from a big stack as "the" book to read for bedtime and at other times), along with a version of the Nutcracker Grandma Gloria and Pop Pop just got him - this one by Susan Jeffers is the one he chose and frequently is found carefully studying. Rob is loving Secret Life of Bees, and soon to get back to Botany of Desire by one of his favorite authors, Michael Pollan. I'm afraid Lucy is getting a lot more reading done these days than Rob or I are... Hmmm... But even a page or two here or there is nice.