We’ve had the first snow storm of the winter. In two days, we got about 12″ / 30 cm. It’s SO pretty with the trees loaded up with snow! And the sun is also trying to get out.
It’s going to be a great day, even if the town still hasn’t plowed the sidewalks. Then again, after two days of shoveling the driveway, I’m not in urgent need of a walk. 🙂
First, here’s the obligatory seasonal self-promo tidbit:
This year I tried a different approach to the holidays sales: the earlier you shop, the bigger your discount. Shoppers have just today and tomorrow left to save 25% on orders of $29 value!
Starting the day after tomorrow, December 01, shoppers can receive 15 % off their orders (same $29 minimum).
Click here to shop: Playfully Grownup Home on Etsy!
Remember, the December sale runs only through December 10, and I’ll close the shop for the season at 9 p.m. EST on Wednesday, December 11, 2019.
That’s so soon, yikes!
In my personal life, too, things are a bit busy, so the Thanksgiving break was very welcome. Each year, never mind how early I try to start my Christmas prep, December always sneaks up on me. 🙂
Although perhaps I shouldn’t say “always”, for I do have a rather respectable start already. It’s just that the staff at the Finnish post office threw everyone a curveball this November and went on strike. Even having my cards and packages wrapped and ready doesn’t guarantee that they’ll make it there this year; they might arrive as late as early January 2020.
Fortunately almost everyone is now online or has a phone with texting, so I can at least send holiday wishes electronically, although the packages cannot be helped.
For Thanksgiving – which for us this year was a delightful friendsgiving – I refreshed my rose hip bouquet and added red apples into the bowl as well. Husband made spiced, mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potato this year, and it was good. We might adopt it as a staple.
And even if there’s less light, November definitely has its share of natural beauty, especially around sunset.
I just love the moment when everything looks blue (sininen hetki in Finnish, literally ‘blue moment’).
How was your November?
Spring is my absolute favorite time of the year, but fall does have its share of beauty besides the colors. The other day I gathered a few rose hips for a bouquet from some wild rose trimmings.
And just for a little more color and volume, I added one sprig. Understated but nice. 🙂
This October, I’ve continued the gift bag project I started last month. In addition to roughly book-sized baggies I’ve tried a larger size for sweaters or other clothes. My thinking is that they could also be used as off-season storage bags or organizers for travel wear, for instance, and not just gift bags.
Personally I’ve really come to like stuffing my underwear and socks into small fabric bags when packing for a trip; they’re so much easier to handle in a larger bunch. Confinement into a baggie also prevents them from being scattered all over in the luggage should the ride be bumpy.
Here are three of the small prototypes:
October is undeniably a fall month here in New England. It’s time to start putting the garden to bed, although every year I am re-astonished of how long the growing season continues. Husband and I’ve enjoyed the season. We visited a farmstand to get some bulk supplies…
…and pickled our own cukes:
Although early October was cloudy, we have also had sunny days. The bees are still out, but chipmunks seem to have retired for their winter hibernation.
And Thursday is Halloween! Are you ready for trick-or-treaters?
I’m both amazed and delighted over how long wild flowers blossom around here:
Granted, they’re not terribly flashy like cultivated ones, but they do give bees and other pollinators sustenance long into the fall season and provide splashes of color, too. (We keep our yard purposely toxin-free for the bees.)
Christian Spencer has photographed hummingbirds in Brazil’s Itatiaia National Park for years. He’s concentrated on the way light diffracts through the birds’ wings and breaks into a rainbow. The photos are GORGEOUS – here’s just one example:
Christian Spencer
Wow – the skill it takes to capture the hummingbirds just so!
Found via Colossal. Visit Spencer’s website for more.
Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.
Today’s the autumnal equinox here on the northern hemisphere, and it’s starting to show:
This year looks perhaps – it’s a little too early to tell for sure yet – to be especially vibrant.
I just love fall colors; don’t you?
While looking through my photos for the last snowfalls in recent years, I ran into this striking April sunset from a few years ago:
The little pond is just down the street from us. I quite like living in the woods! 🙂
This winter hasn’t been at all bad, weather- and snow-wise. Nevertheless, I notice myself yearning for warmer temperatures and especially AN END TO THE BLASTED SNOW:
The view above is from yesterday. It started snowing in the morning and continued through afternoon. Bleah. Ohwell; I dare say it’ll end soon enough. In fact, don’t you say in English that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb?
This February had loads of paperwork, as usual. Fortunately for me, Valentine’s Day came right after I finished my taxes. Time for yummy loot!
We usually buy Valentine’s Day candy only after it has gone on sale, so, perfect timing.
What differs from previous years is that I got my tax stuff figured out by mid-month. I’m very pleased by the achievement and have made copious notes to make the process as fast in the future. (I hope!)
Weatherwise, this February was oddly low-snow. We did get a number snowfalls, but they were relatively few and far between. In the very beginning of the month, we had a load of light, fluffy snow, with sun and high winds the following day. The powdery snow fell off the trees in huge, gorgeous, transparent curtains, almost like mist.
My photo doesn’t do it justice at all; it was magnificent!
Towards the mid-month, we had another layer. Afterwards, in the wee hours of the morning, the neighborhood turkeys apparently had places to be:
So many different paths all over! There’s also at least one set of fox tracks there. And speaking of foxes, one Saturday, a bright and glorious morning, one came round to check around the bird feeder in our neighbor’s back yard.
It seems that spring is early this year – and you get no complaints from me. Although I could do with less pollen this early in the year…
Sadly, the latter half of February brought two deaths in Husband’s extended family, which cast a pall on otherwise sunny days.
I hope your year is still off to a good start.
