The Quiet Month: Easing into 2026

 

The first full week of January is over. We enjoyed our lazy week trip to Mexico so very much, but now that I'm home again, I feel as though I've lost that enjoyable week "between the years" where life is slow and undemanding. So I've taken this past week to not tackle anything beyond the necessary. 

We went out for coffee with friends one morning, I've made pots of warming soup for these rainy days, read a few books, and slowly put away the Christmas decorations. There have been a few Christmas cookies to enjoy - chocolates, rum balls, and cookies. It's been lovely. Before leaving on our trip I put the leftovers into the freezer. I made a turkey pot pie with a puff pastry topping that went down well. Some vegetable soup. 

I find almost all seasons enjoyable. January is a good month to hunker at home and address domestic issues such as cleaning out the kitchen cupboards. 

Now it's time to think about the year ahead. I don't make resolutions, preferring to address issues as they arise. That said, by the end of 2026 I want to see my book published, some quilts made, and a good garden grown. 

The world has always been an uncertain place, but it seems to me that these days are filled with more tension and fear. The world is at the mercy of greedy and power-hungry men who care nothing for ordinary people and are only eager to build empires and amass wealth at whatever cost. I am reminded of the words Lucy heard in C. S. Lewis' The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, "Courage, dear heart," And the words to Joshua in the Bible, "Be strong and courageous." Certainly strength and courage are needed to face these days. Courage to find joy in the ordinary events of daily life. Here are three things that I rely on to bring joy in my life. 

One: Looking for beauty

"There is, I have found, at least one good or lovely thing in each day. Everyone has sorrow, endures difficult times, but loveliness abides if we look for it." Glady Taber

The slant of light when the sun shines is elusive and makes me smile just to see it. My house is looking a bit bare these days as I've put away the Christmas things and haven't yet felt the urge to replace the usual accessories. As I said, it's been lazy week at home! The spareness of mantels and tables is quite restful, but I'll soon be polishing and puttering to arrange things once again. 

Two: Embracing the Season

Here on our island in the Pacific Ocean winters are mild and temperatures rarely fall below freezing. I always hope for a bit of snow because I love to watch it fall and transform the world. There's been none yet, but I continue to hope. Meanwhile, in my garden the Hellebores bloom. One plant, more sheltered than the others has bloomed continuously since the beginning of December. I ventured out to see the others and found Fire and Ice buds forming in great abundance. As well, Snowdrops nod their pretty white heads here and there. 

Another way to embrace the season is with warming mugs or cups of tea and a nibble on leftover Christmas cookies. Shortbread lasts a lovely long time in the freezer and is just the thing for an afternoon pick-me-up. 

Three: Reading

A few months ago I read Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill, "a year of reading from her personal library." Inspired, I have pulled out a few books from my own library, some of which I have not yet read. Here's a partial list:

The Battle of the Queens by Jean Plaidy

The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus

The School-Marm Tree by Howard O'Hagan

The Room on Rue Amelie by Kirstin Harmel

Eyes Wide Open by Steve DeWitt

Deceptive Devotion by Iona Wishaw

Rewriting Adam by Connie Inglis

On Moonberry Lake by Holly Varni

The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

The Stubborn Light of Things by Melissa Harrison

I've also been eyeing my collection of Jane Austen books for a re-read. While on vacation I read The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D. E. Stevenson and found these words

"Books are people," smiled Miss Marks. "In every book worth reading, the author is there to meet you, to establish contact with you. He takes you into his confidence and reveals his thoughts to you." 

"Happy New Year to all of us, all over this turning earth. And may we make it a year of loving-kindness and gentle hearts." 

Gladys Taber

 

Lazy Week in Mexico

 

A brilliantly coloured Hooded Oriole sat just outside our breakfast table one morning

For several years the topic of a winter vacation in the sun has come up in our family. Our three children remember going to the beach during the holiday season when we lived in Ecuador. Last year we decided that 2025 was the year to go. I booked tickets in February so the anticipation was long. 

One of our daughters is a teacher and calls the week between Christmas and New Year's (or the start of school) "Lazy Week." We dubbed our holiday Lazy Week in Mexico, and what a fun time we had. 

We took a tour to the Mayan ruins at Coba, riding bicycles through the jungle for a short distance. Those who couldn't ride were pedalled in style in a tricycle affair. The bikes were not fancy and I had to remember to use my pedals for braking as mine didn't have hand brakes. 

All 13 of us climbed the very steep and uneven stairs to the top of the Mayan pyramid. The little girls, 5 and 6, did very well. The site was closed for a few months to allow the construction of a wooden staircase over the stones. The rope handrails made us feel a bit more secure. Our guide told us that executions were performed by pushing people off the top of the pyramid. How terrible. 

And here we are, on top of the pyramid with a grand view of the jungle for miles around. A sea of green. 

Our next stop on the tour was swimming in two different cenotes. These were both underground with narrow stairs leading down to the water. How clear it was and very refreshing for swimming. Stalactites and stalagmites were all around.

The food all week was fantastic. We stayed at a resort so no one had to think about food other than what to put on one's own plate. I love Mexican food and enjoyed plenty of it. 

We celebrated New Year's Eve with a gala buffet. There were parties on the beach, sparklers, and fireworks to observe. Most of our crew were in bed long before the festivities began. 

I enjoyed watching the different bird life. This brown pelican dove into the water and frequently came up with a small fish that was devoured in one gulp. 

I didn't grow up near the ocean and when I first visited it during our early years in Ecuador, it didn't appeal to me. I felt it was too restless. It didn't take very long to learn to enjoy the waves crashing onto the shore and creeping up the sand to tickle my feet. Now, many years later, I love it, especially when the water is the warm Caribbean. 

When we lived in Ecuador vacations were almost always spent at the beach, drifting from pool to ocean and back again. This week reminded me of those days and I took a photo of our three children as I had done when they were young. They posed very nicely until the end when I just caught our youngest ready to scoop water onto her brother. A water fight ensued, with lots of laughter. 

This was a week when time felt suspended. Resort life is not real life, and we all enjoyed the break. We returned late Saturday night (early Sunday morning) and today (Monday) the grandchildren are back at school and most of the adults returned to work. Lazy Week in Mexico was a grand success.  

Happy New Year, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

 

My list is mostly complete, just a few last minute things to do. There's enough time for a quick blog post to wish you all a most Merry and Joyous Christmas. That's me in the above photo, on the right, along with my sister and brother, all of us in outfits sewn by my mother. The tree was likely cut from the forest by my father. 

While visiting the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna a few years ago, I was entranced with the paintings by Peter Bruegel the Elder. His paintings hold so many stories of everyday life at the time. I recently became acquainted with another "The Census at Bethlehem," painted in 1566, in which he sets the story of Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem in his own time. Everyone is going about their business, and the young couple do not make much of an impression. I imagine that's how it really was. I'm enjoying looking at all the details of ordinary people, such as we are, while into their midst comes the Infant Jesus. Something to ponder. 

Wishing you a most Merry and Joyous Christmas! 

I'll be taking a blog break until the new year! Thank you for your visits and comments. 

Friday Favourites: Preparations

 

It's been a week of variable weather. Mostly rain that alternated between a downpour and a drizzle. Many streams overflowed their banks, and in the Fraser Valley, where many of my extended family members live, flooding has affected many people. Last week I mentioned that my parents and siblings were coming for the weekend. In the end, my brother and his wife couldn't make it as the highways and roads were impassable and travel was curtailed to "essential only." A disappointment for us, but we still had a good time.

Butchart Gardens does a beautiful display for Christmas. We went early so it wouldn't be too dark for my parents, and saw the lights glowing in the half-light of mid-late afternoon. An enormous ornament lights up the center of the rose garden, now bereft of blooms. 

The theme is the Twelve Days of Christmas and I always enjoy seeing the Three French Hens enjoying tea and pastry with the Eiffel Tower in the background. 

Lights twinkle and glow throughout the gardens. It's always a delight to visit. How we all long for light in the darkness of winter. 

Most of our time was spent at home, visiting accompanied by warming food and lots of laughter. We worked on the puzzle above, then Tim and I finished it a couple of days ago. Such a lovely wintry garden. Mine looks nothing like it.

They left on Sunday and the house settled down to its quiet routines for a day or two. There was always something to do - a bit of shopping, baking, a few projects to finish, and plenty of time in the evenings to read and enjoy candlelight and firelight. 

One of my favourite parts of having people over for dinner is setting the table. I like to do it early in the day so I'm not rushed. Sometimes I have a plan in mind, other times I just do what feels right at the time. Yesterday, friends came over and my table setting was very much a "whatever." Plates on bare wood with a red runner down the center. I went outside to cut cedar and holly, and rinsed the cedar in vinegar water before placing it on the table. It gets rid of any bugs that might be lurking. I added candles in various holders and then a few shiny baubles. Add red napkins and I was done. 

We had a good time together, laughing and chatting. The "meal" was easy - it was an "apero dinatoire" but we sat together at the table rather than balancing plates on laps. Appetizers for dinner. 

I made a wreath arrangement of cheeses, vegetables, and salami on the large board Tim made me a couple of years ago. 

Tonight more friends are coming for dinner. This will be a full meal. The napkins are ironed and I placed them in fun napkin rings brought from Ecuador many years ago. They are made of clay and well resined to withstand moisture. 

As this little angel seems to say, "Joy to the World," I'll wish you a Merry Christmas. I may post once early next week, but we will see. 

I've always believed that anticipation plays a great role in special events, adding to the satisfaction and contentment felt afterwards. May you find loveliness in the preparations ahead. Take time for a cup of tea and a cookie. Read a book. Enjoy the moments. 

Friday Favourites: Lights in the Darkness

 

When I awake early, I get out of bed, put on my cozy robe, and pad quietly downstairs. I turn on a few lights, sometimes light a candle, and read in my chair until I hear my husband stirring. The house is quiet and I rather enjoy the solitude. The heat from the candles makes the German pyramid blades go round and round while the carved deer and trees spin in unison. The longest night of the year is approaching, and soon the earth will tilt once more to the light. 

December offers a banquet for the senses, and many chances 

to lose oneself in the plain deliciousness of life - 

all the sights and smells of the season, from wood fires to baking. 

Diane Ackerman

The Christmas decorating is mostly complete. I like things quite simple and pull out my red bits and pieces to mix with white ones. Lights and a bit of greenery add life. 

This has been a busy week. A few appointments, including a much-needed hair cut. It's wonderful how good I feel walking out of the hair salon with shiny, bouncy hair. I feel like I walk a bit straighter. 

The beaded pearl garland goes onto the dining room chandelier in the same fashion every year. A hand-blown glass ornament hangs from the center, and rustic metal stars hang on the garland. I sometimes think I could adapt things a little, but am happy with the way I've done it for years, so why change? I've read about the Ralph Lauren look being in vogue this year and have no desire to embrace it. 

Our natural Christmas tree is not a fashion plate but looks so pretty with the lights and ornaments collected over the years. 

I've been readying the house for guests. My siblings and their spouses, plus my parents, are coming over for the weekend. Beds are made, bathrooms cleaned, and food prepared. We will have an early Christmas celebration together. I wonder sometimes how many more years we will gather like this, and I treasure the times we are together. 

  

This is the irrational season

When love blooms bright and wild

Had Mary been filled with reason

There'd have been no room for the Child

Madeleine L'Engle

After Annunciation

We've had so much rain in the past few days. On the mainland roads were closed due to flooding and Vancouver was cut off from the rest of the province. Here it wasn't so bad, but I went into the garden to cut some herbs and sank deep into the mud softened by all the water. The red poinsettia leaves add some brightness to the gloom outside the window.

One day I did some shopping in Sidney-by-the-Sea, a small village about 20 minutes away. The lighted streets and shops were so pretty, and I especially liked this small passageway hung with glittery snowflakes that shone against the dark sky. 

I read an interesting question on Instagram this week and sadly didn't note the account. Here's the question: If you could spend Christmas in any book setting, where would it be?

So many possibilities. Would I like to spend Christmas at Green Gables with Anne and her ilk, or in the Scotland of Rosamunde Pilcher's Winter Solstice? Then there's Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder's By the Shores of Silver Lake? So many possibilities! It's fun to dream a little. 

A Christmas Parade

 

On Sunday evening the rain let up for a few hours, a welcome change from the constant dreary weather we're experiencing. Such good timing for it was the Sidney Sparkle Parade! We joined the crowds lining the streets to watch the Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band, colourful lighted vehicles, an Irish Dancing group, line-dancers, miniature ponies and more. 

Some of the floats were very creatively decorated. The crowd waved and called out Merry Christmas in response to the same greeting from the riders on the floats. It all felt very festive and a wee bit cold. 

There's something about marching bands that arouses emotion. I often feel tears prick my eyes when the music passes me and I see everyone playing together in stirring rhythm. I feel the same when I see vehicles pull over for emergency vehicles. Perhaps it's the pulling together part that affects me. 

There was a double decker bus typical of our transit system. Smiling faces of children and families looked out from the windows. 

Several old classic cars took part and this one had the Grinch at the wheel. He didn't seem too grouchy, and waved with a friendly hand at the crowd. 

Here at home preparations are happening slowly but surely. Today I baked shortbread and chocolate cherry cookies. And made bread dough which is slowly rising in the fridge until tomorrow. The tree is up and in the evening we sit and enjoy the soft lights while we read. It is evocative of the following words from Thomas de Quincey:

"Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend 

a wintry fireside; candles at four o'clock, warm hearthrugs, 

tea, shutters closed...whilst the wind and rain are 

raging audibly without."

Friday Post: Baking, Books, and Other Lovely Things

 

A few minutes ago my husband said, "Just think, in 20 days, Christmas Day will be almost done."

Yikes! I don't want to think about that. This is such a special time of year and rushing it along does me no good at all. This week I've finished sewing two nightgowns for my little grandgirlies. I've begun baking - Rugelach and Peppermint Bars are in the freezer. Marshmallows are simple to make and taste better than store-bought. 

Decorating is beginning. We will put our tree up next week, but for now the tiny lights draped along the mantels and the piano brighten up the dark days and evenings we've experienced. Oh, the rain! Dark and dreary day after day. Today the drizzle let up and the sky brightened. Glorious! 

One Hellebore is blooming already, much earlier than usual. And see the sunlight creating shadows? I was happy to go outdoors with my camera for a short while. 

Christmas reading is underway. I've asked myself if I really want to read Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher again this year. The answer was quick to come - of course! Here are a few others I'm enjoying just now:

Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater

Let it Snow by Nancy Thayer (a sweet romance)

Rumpole at Christmas by John Mortimer 

(just purchased at a used bookstore)

Letters to Father Christmas 

by J. R. R. Tolkien

(new-to-me and barely begun)

There's a link to Christmas reading at the top of my home page, a list compiled a few years ago that likely needs some revision. I also have a collection of December issues of Country Living UK, and Victoria magazine that are fun to peruse. 

Sadly, one recent book didn't live up to my expectations. A Christmas Witness by Charles Todd was disappointing. Inspector Ian Rutledge is a wonderful character, and I've enjoyed the other books in the series, but this one left me feeling flat. Too much repetition and little action. 

I've been painting a little bit each evening on the Advent Calendar created by Harriet de Winton on YouTube. In the morning I open the video to see what picture will be painted and I anticipate it throughout the day until evening when I sit down and paint. I also open the Jacquie Lawson digital Advent Calendar in the mornings. A fun little treat to look forward to. 

Tomorrow we will be celebrating two grandchild birthdays, our eldest and our youngest, born 10 years apart. We celebrate midway between the two dates. For dinner I'm making grain bowls with brown rice and a variety of toppings - shredded chicken in barbecue sauce, roasted butternut squash, sauteed brussels sprouts, roasted beets, lightly pickled red cabbage, sliced spinach, and a dressing of some sort. It's a meal that everyone can tailor to their own liking. 

As the second Sunday of Advent approaches, I wish you all the peace of God.