Warm & Inviting

I sit here at my beautiful oak dining table writing this blog post in my pijamas. As I look out the window I can see the frost has arrived. The old pine trees watching over my house stand in a thick layer of fog.

Last night I plugged in the traditional winter lights. It was lovely and cozy to walk downstairs and wake up to the warmth of these lights in the window. I have always admired Sweden for embracing candles and lights in the window. When I drive the dark roads to town, I can see the lights in other people's houses. It's incredibly warm and inviting.

Yesterday afternoon, I experienced the most beautiful light. The sun is already setting at 3pm now and it's pitch black by 4pm. All day feels like a constant beautiful sunset since it's much lower in the sky now. This makes work days challenging as I usually get started around 11am. I find myself ready for dinner at 4pm and wanting to climb into bed at 8pm. It's a hard to be productive at this time of year. This is certainly the sleepy time of year and I'm learning to be graceful with that.

When the sun is out during these short hours of the day, it's so warm, golden and beautiful. The way the light hits the barn makes everything feel like I'm in some romantic movie.

I felt a new energy come into me yesterday, one where I felt I was breaking and light was coming out of me from the cracks. A version of myself that I know to be true. That's always been there. I feel like I'm becoming calmer and more self-compassionate with each passing day. Every day I'm more curious about myself and the world around me. This new perspective brings wonder and magic back into my day.

Yesterday, was a frosty afternoon as the sun was setting and Leiana came out to join me. I wanted to capture a beautiful photo of us together but she was not really interested. She doesn't like to be held for too long. Eventually she will communicate her boundary with me. She is a blessing and a daily reminder that it's important to ask for your needs to be met. And to find ways to meet them yourself if they can't be met by others.

In the evening, I cooked myself a lovely winter stew. I started it Sunday evening so Monday evening all the flavours were there. It was so warm and comforting. The whole house smelled like a warm hug.