As soon as things get dark and gloomy - when the clocks "fall back" an hour in the autumn and the days get shorter - I start counting down to the Winter Solstice.
It's a little happy holiday I hold dear, all to myself.
The Winter Solstice is literally a celebration of the imminent return of the sun, which we can all agree is pretty great. And the best part? No shopping required.
I cherish "The shortest day/longest night of the year" because I know from this day forward that things will get lighter, brighter - and I just feel like I can breathe a bit freer knowing those long, dark nights are numbered.
Do you celebrate the Solstice? Or mark it in any way?
The Shortest Day, by Susan Cooper
And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us—listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome, Yule!
And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us—listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome, Yule!
The 2023 Winter Solstice is Dec. 21 at 10:27 p.m. Eastern time. I'll likely be in bed. Asleep. So I'm a bit early in my own celebrations, but it's a happy enough event that I'll keep it with me all day.
And while I try to keep this festive feeling going, we awoke to this:
YIKES!!
(I thought this watercolor was perfect -it captured things perfectly at 6:45am)
Ivy has been coming in at night - and last evening she came right up on the back stoop when the dogs were done with their night time business, and came in like she owned the place. That's great!
Lola was tucked in downstairs and the door at the top of the stairs was closed to keep them separated.
Somehow that door didn't latch just right. This morning Lola was able to push it open, crept into the bedroom and attacked Ivy who was minding her own business, sleeping on a corner of the bed.
It was horrific - waking up to that cacophony.
And to those who say to just "Lock them in a room and they'll eventually figure it out." I don't think so! This has been going on for months now. Ivy doesn't deserve this.
Not only is Lola old and set in her ways, but she is mean and predatory. There was no reason to jump up on a bed full of sleeping pets and people and attack.
And yet, on her own she is so sweet - I mean - this?
Sweet girl????
When squishy envelopes containing Y2K fabric arrive in the mail!
Thank you to Sue and her quilty friend for saving the 2000 fabric during a de-stash and sending it just for me! Lol!
The last couple of sentences of her letter state that she recalled I said I thought I used up all that I had, and she couldn't let that happen! Lol!
I sliced this one up skinny and I'm using it in my current pineapple block project. Perfect!
We'll get it all sewn up someday!
One in, one out as I stepped outside to take a Winter Solstice morning photo -
Yes, it works to have only one out at a time, because if you let them both out they are gone for 6 to 8 hours. LOL.
And here comes the sun -
Yesterday's desk day didn't give me much time to play in the fabric - but I'm nearly ready for tomorrow's Part Five release of Indigo Way. Are you?
I received an email back letting me know that my visa for New Zealand has been approved. One more check mark in the done column.
Today is a mixed bag of tricks. The Hubster has already fixed the door latch to the basement so Lola can't be stealth and deadly anymore. I've got some desk work, hopefully time to sew, and groceries need to be seen to at some point today or tomorrow.
What's for dinner? I DON'T KNOW! (Will think of something.) Does anyone else's mornings start out by worrying what to cook for dinner? After 42 years I'm so done with it.
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
While winter is the time when nature takes a well-deserved nap, we can find beauty in the stillness of the world.
My Yule Log may be propane powered, but I am celebrating the return of light!
Happy Winter Solstice, everyone!
52 comments:
Happy winter solstice!
That's funny about thinking of supper --- we have a dr appointment for my husband this afternoon -- it is about 30 miles away and on our way back, I was thinking it would be nice to stop and pick up take out at our favorite restaurant -- we used to have one near us, but it closed after Covid - so this one is a little way away - and if we are going close by - we should stop!!
The longest day of the year calls for soup! I found a new one the other day called Egg Roll Soup maybe you want to give it a look.
I too start my morning planning dinner. When I ask my husband for suggestions his comment is “I’m eating breakfast. I’ll think about dinner at dinner time.” Big help he is!
I agree Bonnie. I am over the dinner decisions
I spent one winter driving a 2 hour commute- both ways- I’m a rural area and marked my progress on the way home by the Christmas lights on the houses. I so welcomed the Winter Solstice! I make a special meal of white—chicken of some sort, potatoes, cauliflower and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Happy Winter Solstice!
Every morning while I'm drinking my coffee, I'm thinking "What's in the freezer I can make for supper...that's quick and easy!" Tonight it's breakfast for dinner - waffles and sausage links.
I am fortunate to have a hubby who cooks; I almost always end up helping with the side dishes. We've been doing this since the kids left. But I'm the one who decides what we're having, so I love it when he says "let's order____ in tonight"!
I am tired of cooking, and especially thinking about what to cook. I am retired from my job, but not from ‘what should we have for dinner?’
The Winter Solstice does remind me that the days will now start getting longer. Something to look forward to.
Have a great sewing day, everyone!
So you are done with cooking after 45 years?! Just wait until you get to 62 years! I’m so DONE with it but now find I need to do 2 Christmas dinners. And that means making ham for Christmas and tamales for the next night (which will be our Christmas this year).
Whats for supper? is right up there with Are we there yet? After 33 years of marriage and Suppers, I am finally the last one home at the end of the day, so hubby now contends with Whats for Supper :)
Yes, the dinner dilemma will never end! I am also happy to see more daylight each day. Happy Winter Solstice to everyone!
Yes. Yes, I’m ready for part 5 of Indigo Way due entirely to my friend Christine. This is the first time I’ve done a project with an “accountability partner” and so far we’re both right on track!
Yeah!
GREAT PHOTOS today... and the cat fight! wow! old and ornery>>>> sounds like me!! no, not all that territorial... and for once i have no "advice" or opinions to hel you solve this one! except to keep that door closed... what an adrenaline rush to be wakened by a cat fight... i, too, look forward to the winter soltice, a great harbinger of spring coming.... xo xo to all... Cats in Carlsbad CA
I wonder how many of us hear the response "food" when we ask for a dinner suggestion ? Perhaps it has to do with that X-Y chromosome thing.
Best Christmas and New Years wishes to all the quilters out there.
I'm so done with dinner decisions too! Barb has a fun idea to make a special meal of white on the day of Winter Solstice. Love your description of having your own Winter Solstice holiday, Bonnie. Last week I overheard my husband explaining to our granddaughter how the days would start to get longer. :-)
No, I'm not quite ready for part 5 yet (still on part 4), but that's ok because I'll get caught up. It's always exciting to see what the next part is.
I have solved the "what's for dinner" problem..... I handed the task over to my husband! He has been deciding what to have, cooks, and sometimes cleans up after! As a stay at home Mom and wife, I had taken care of most household tasks for 50 years, and decided I wanted a break! Fortunately, he is a good cook, and even hunts down recipies for new items to add to the mix! I am truly blessed!
Susan
I don't do anything special on Winter Solstice, but I do a little happy dance knowing that the days are going to get longer starting tomorrow! YAY!!!
even though I cook for one, I always cook big and immediately put 2 meals in the freezer so many days, I don't have to think, just pull out a yogurt container and have dinner. my freezer is full of yogurt containers with masking tape labels. tonight will be broccoli soup or eggplant mozzarella.
Like you, Bonnie, I Look forward to this day, thinking it will all be brighter with those few more minutes of sun each day. I love to watch the progression of the sun across the sky and mark where it sets. New home this year, facing west, so sunsets are a big deal.
Rosa Taylor
Cat fights are the worst to wake up to. Fiancé and I are trying to get our 3 cats to play nice together. So far, just hissing and hiding under furniture. High hopes for the future.
Yes, I often wake up wondering "what's for dinner". Tonight, I am trying a new recipe I found on Pinterest for baked pork tenderloin. Looking forward to Indigo Way Clue 5. I am saving the clues and hope to begin cutting and sewing after the holidays. Trying to finish up Christmas gifts. Thanks for all you do for this group. Look forward to your daily posts.
My husband does the cooking so I am lucky! But a good meal on a cold dark day is chili and cornbread!
I always wondered why I had to take on the life long job of meal preparation. On the very rare occasion I ask my husband to make dinner a pizza appears. I am so looking forward to more daylight. Happy Winter Solstice! Elaine
Happy Solstice! I mark Solstice instead of Christmas. well, Christmas happens anyway, that is when the big meal is, but Solstice is very special to me.
And the cats....what a horrible way to be woken up. That happened to my former cat who was extremely tiny (and fiesty) but was no match for my housemates boyfriends cat, who was kind of like Lola. My current cat has a local feral that comes to call. The ear splitting shrieks make me want to put her outside to sort themselves out but she is an indoor cat so not doing that. My heart breaks for feral cat but I cannot save them all.
We generally do a couple of things to celebrate the solstice. Before we send our Christmas tree into the yard for it to dry so we can burn it in the firepit in the spring, we cut a log from the end of it. We save it until the next winter solstice where it becomes our Yule Log. We don't burn softwood in the fireplace except for this one time. And we reflect on the past year and talk about our hopes for the one to come while it burns.
We also usually eat roast pork and root vegetables for dinner, but this year has been particularly hectic so we're having leftovers. And I'm with you on the dinner decision. Every morning. . . .decide what we're going to eat, pull it from the freezer to defrost. There are some days where I'm just like, I don't want to be the decider today.
Beautiful sunrise pic and such a bummer kitty pic. Dinner is planned each evening once dinner is on the table or done. Can't think about dinner in the morning-don't care then.
Happy winter’s solstice! Looking forward to longer days and a new year. 🎉
If you think about dinner in the morning there's no 4 O'clock fretting. Put some Soup in the crackpot and go sew sounds good to me. Comfort food is so yummy. Hubby asks, what's for breakfast too . We in our 48th year. Almost done with Gifts. Last one going under the needle tomorrow. Or maybe tonight. Binding one in the car this morning. Cat fight, mo fun to wake up to.
I love the solstice, too. For me, it's what the holiday is all about - the return of the light - and all the hope and joy that brings. I don't do a lot to celebrate, but I definitely do! Hapoy Solstice!!!
What to cook for supper? A question I dreaded for years - I'll cook just don't ask me to plan! Earlier this year, we tried out one of the many meal services (Home Chef in our case) and I was hooked. Every week I get fresh ingredients to prepare four meals for two people - no planning, no shopping, just grab a bag and cook.
Wondering what's for dinner must be somehow attached to one's uterus, similar to wondering if you're out of bread or if the milk carton is almost empty. I'm delighted to be single now, in my old age, but if I met a man who also planned for dinner I'd scoop him up and bring him home. It would be a plus if he also took out the garbage and fixed things around the house, but dinner planning would have to be number one on his list.
When I was in college in the 1990's, I worked as a tour guide at a historic mansion. The caretaker was a really great older fellow. He made a big show of going into mourning every year on the winter solstice, because it meant that summer was practically imminent, and he'd have to start sweltering at work out in the formal gardens. He was hilarious. I'm with you - the solstice is a reason to celebrate - but I'll never think of the solstice without remembering Bob and his mournful lamentations every December.
Barb: Yes!
i drive my family nuts with "what shall we have for dinner? what time do you want to eat? With only one left at home, I don't ask, but I still start planning over my cuppa coffee. gotta thaw something! takes time. We have 2 male rescues - after 2 years of duking it out (no blood ever, but a few bite marks), they tolerate each other, but every once in a while they make some noise. And yes, Winter Solstice is one of my most anticipated days. I love the sun!
I was in the same situation with my first cat and then a stray I took in but when my first cat got a chronic stress related disease the vet said “find another a home for the new cat”. My neighbor took him and things settled down. I sympathized with my first cat, he was so attached to us and the new cat caused a lot of jealousy. The cat fighting had lasted 10 months so I knew there was no way they would accept each other. Your situation might be different, but I do feel bad for Lola, she’s probably very attached to you
I think I may be the only one who is a little saddened by the solstice? I love our long nights, sunset at 3:54, sunrise at 7:35. I work hard and long, mostly in the garden all through our loooong days in the summer and winter is a time of rest, renewal and reading for me. I also don't get to quilt much in the summer so now is prime time in the sewing room. I will take solace in the fact the days will still be long for a while. Sigh.
When I ask my husband what he wants for dinner, he usually says one of two things: What do you have that you want to get rid of or what are my choices? The other night, the sweetheart stopped on the way home from happy hour with his friends with two big containers of Wendy's chili. Me argue? No way. Sometimes he says he could go for Chinese food so I run almost literally next door to Green Tea and get takeout. I happen to like cooking so I don't mind catering to him. In the last week I've made him pan grilled pork chops which he loves, stuffed peppers, pot roast, meatballs and spaghetti with garlic bread. Life is good
Dinner Dilemma....I think about dinner every morning to see if I need to defrost something out of the freezer. If nothing else, I love to make casseroles and through them in the oven. my favorite. I cook, Hubs cleans so I try to make it as easy as possible. Both have slight diet restrictions so it isn't that easy. I love your black and white pineapple blocks. can hardly wait for the pattern. I am still on clue 1 for the Mystery but will get there. This is my 8th Mystery quilt. I love them all. Happy Holidays to everyone. Big warm hugs!
Mine too!
We have a 4yr old and a 1 yr old, and they do just what your kitties do. But then they have their lovey moments. I am glad they have each other. Love the sunrise, beautiful picture. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I am following along this year and teaching a friend to quilt too. Happy Solstice! Diane
Yep, we celebrate Winter Solstice. Today I am making surprise brownie cookies (the surprise is an Andes Mint). We will have soup and cornbread muffins. The watercolor pic is perfect for my ancient almost 19 yo cat and my 1 yo. The 1 yo is so chill and the cranky cat is just pure meanie cat. The vet suggested a Feliway diffuser and spray and it is working, so far.
Winter Solstice is my birthday so it’s always a celebration for me🎉
To add to the dinner agony I live miles from a store (+30 round trip) so I have to think out farther than tonight. ack!! I keep a couple pantry dinners and keep my pantry stocked. When I ask what would he like the answer is always dunno, you will think of something...lol as long as the something isn't nothing...
We also have a grouchy old lady kitty. She and our 18 month old kitten take turns starting altercations…the latest was 2:30 this morning!
I too celebrate the Winter Solstice! I hate the dark dreary nights and welcome long sunny days. Since I can't drive in the dark it takes a toll on my activities and I yearn for light.
I have an old kitty like Lola. Her name even matches: Leela. We have a new kitty who lives upstairs because Leela basically tried to kill her when she was 3 months old. We are trying to integrate them now that the kitten is older and can hold her own. But that noise...oh yeah. I know that noise at 6 am and 3 am and...
maybe there was something in the air today (if only). My five fat felines were on the warpath today also. They are old! But they were acting like young feral hormonally charged cougars. I have threatened to put them on a starvation diet if they don't start acting their age!
I am right there with you, Winter Solstice, my favorite day day of the year!!
Me too! Dinner is easy when you only have to feed yourself - no one else to please!
The dinner thing is a real pain. We don't have children, so I salute all of you Moms who had to do this for real every day. It's just my husband and me, Mom passed 18 months ago. I try to plan, and we settled on choosing two "big" meals that ensure leftovers to eat and go in the freezer. Soup is great for this! Our schedule by mid/late week becomes flexible and may involve eating out. Not always the healthiest but it's what's for dinner! Merry Christmas.
We work out meals this way: I usually cook a big meal on Friday night and a substantial meal for midday Saturday. We eat leftovers on Sunday and hubby cooks up different dishes or new dishes Mon-Thurs.
My two cats, both passed now, had been best of pals since kittenhood. Around the time they were 10, out of the blue Desi (my female) viciously attacked Butter (the male). This went on for several days and poor Butter was beside himself. It was like a strange cat had come into the house and Desi had to protect her territory. Finally, I started rubbing Desi with a blanket they used and then rubbing Butter. I did this several times a day and after a few days it worked! The fights ended and they were pals again.
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