ellenmillion

(I wrote this last year, but it all still applies in spades.)

Solstice matters a lot when you get close to the poles. Today, we will have less than four hours of sunlight, with the sweet promise of lengthening days from here. We live on the north side of a hill, so although we have daylight, the sun will not strike my house until mid-February.

I'll see it in the trees first, traces of gold on the tallest branches of the birches.

Days later, it will creep down the trunks, teasing at spring long before there is a hint of warmth in the air.

And when it hits the windows at last, there is this feeling of euphoria and peace that only someone starved for sun can know.

Light is important.

My wish to you, this season of giving, is the return of your light.

Whatever you are celebrating this year, whichever hemisphere you live in, light is likely to play an important role in your festivities. Whether it's faith, or hope, or illumination, or inspiration, may you have light, chasing the darkness from your life. May you have the warmth it brings, and the clarity you need. Let it overfill your cup and light the way for others.

I love and admire you all very much, and when things are darkest, I remember to look up and see all of you shining around me. You inspire me to better things and braver goals. You are beautiful and strong, even when you forget it.

Happy solstice. <3

Happy solstice! It really matters up here - we're down to less than 4 hours of sun (and functionally NONE on this side of the hill), and I am more than ready to get some more of that back.

I feel back on the horse, health-wise, but as many times as that's gone quickly sideways on me this fall, I'm making sure to stay hydrated and rested.

I have been working on artwork I can't share yet, for 78Tarot, and the perk for the subscription Kickstarter. But here's a piece leftover from Inktober. This is the last one, I think:


(Original available, $15 includes US shipping) on hold

This weekend I redid some of the bathroom work we did over the week - we'd accidentally buried some electricity for the lights behind finish work, and it needed to be dug out. And after Guppy got up from her nap on Saturday, I impulsively said, 'It's time to give away some things!' and we spent about three hours doing a MASSIVE room purge. She was remarkably compliant with the idea that we were giving away piles of her toys to 'girls who don't have any' and we also took the opportunity to put up some of the toys she either didn't play with yet or didn't play... er... correctly with. Puzzles, for example, were all dismantled into pieces and carried around in tote bags with crayons, cards, stamps, play jewelry, lincoln logs, and Duplos. We sorted bags and bags and bags of these miscellaneous things, and put up all the Lincoln logs and Duplos, sorted the stamps into their boxes (put up), put all the art supplies together (left down), separated out the cards (also left down, and not sorted into their games - it's just a giant stack of playing and flash cards), and her room looks marvelously clean and uncluttered. Her training potty was given away, and her diaper genie and the stroller and booster seat and all the things she doesn't use anymore. The basement looks better, too. It was followed by a necessary flurry of vacuuming, and everything is much less 'I've been busy lying on the couch praying for death' and more 'a house I wouldn't be ashamed to show people'.

I have two more gifts I'd like to get mailed (already late, of course) before the season is officially over, and a few small family things to wrap. Otherwise, I'm ready for Christmas to be here! It's supposed to get COLD over the next few days (-30!), and I'm actually really excited for that, too. As soon as Guppy is up from her nap (soon!), we'll be going outside to stock up on wood inside and I'll start a fire.

I still need to do my November roundup! This may be the lastest monthly wrapup I've ever done... but I was sick most of that month, so it probably won't be worth the wait. :P