Some of the great, timeless pleasures of this holiday season are the lights that herald it -- twinkle lights, Edison bulbs, candles, incandescent strings. They hang from trees and houses like merry messengers of joy. I love them all. Though we've had our moments, and I wrestle with my own most years, I still think [...]
My friend Susie moves about our neighborhood like a woodland sprite, leaving handmade ornaments in her wake. They appear like magic every December, right around the time we put up our Christmas tree. I never see her coming or going, the ornaments just appear in a puff of fairy dust. This year's ornament arrived and [...]
We are clinging to Christmas for as long as it will let us…or at least until next weekend, which is the firm deadline I gave the youngest member of our household when he insisted we leave all our decorations – including the tree – up “forever.” I get a little twitchy post-New Year’s Eve although, [...]
Some gifts steal your breath and you have to look away for a moment or two to catch it back. That’s what happened to us Christmas Eve when we saw the painting our daughter Katherine had commissioned for us. The artwork, painted by the very talented Hannah Ribbens, captures a moment in which our two [...]
We lit the candle of joy yesterday and I thought about how well-timed that particular call to action can be. Sometimes, you have to look for the joy in your life even during the most festive time of the year. That's what the pink candle in the Advent wreath is all about. I had no [...]