The Days Are Getting Shorter

 7 Happy Rituals for the Shorter Days of Winter

by Christine Kane Each year, when we turn the clocks back, I am torn.

On the one hand, I'm elated to get some extra sleep and "gain" an hour. On the other hand, it's a little sad to know that winter is coming, and the days are getting shorter.

A few years ago, I noticed that I was rolling with the change of season much more gracefully - and without the same dread I had often felt. It was around that time I learned to create rituals in my days. Seasons, after all, show us what our lives are meant to be: dark times, light times, expansion, contraction, and of course... change!

If you are experiencing anxiety or sadness as winter approaches and the days get shorter, I invite you to try one or two of these rituals. Maybe you'll start to look forward to the earlier evenings as you see the mystery and magic of this beautiful season...

1 - Create a Glow

The great thing about darker evenings is that they allow for the perfect candle lighting ritual. Create a sacred space in your home and light candles at dusk or when you get home from work.

Some of my favorite candles are antique medicine bottles I've picked up at various antique stores over the years. I fill them with candle oil and wicks. The glass reflects the flame for even more glow! I'm always on the look out for simple candles and holders.

2 - Start a Gratitude Journal

It's the season of Thanksgiving, so why not begin the habit of gratitude now, rather than waiting til the end of the month?

Get a beautiful journal and commit to completing your day with gratitude. Start with a list of five things. Write in as much detail as you can.

We live in such lavish abundance, yet it's so easy to speed through the days without noticing. A gratitude journal will change your life!

3 - Feed the Birds

Wake up to bird song!

One of my favorite rituals is to make sure that the bird feeders are chock full of the best seed possible. Our feeders always have visitors, so we keep a guide to birds near our back door so we can grab it any time we spot a new species. We have regular visits from nuthatches, chickadees, flickers, titmouse, all kinds of woodpeckers, Carolina wrens, bluejays - we've even seen rare birds, like the hooded warbler. Spend some blissful time witnessing the pure joy of our feathered friends! (A great resource for bird-feeders is Wild Birds Unlimited.)

4 - Catch Up on Movies

Winter is a great time to catch up on those movies you missed in the theaters. I keep a list in my iPhone, and any time someone recommends a movie, I take note. That way, when I get to the video store, I have a reference. You can also get great television show season re-runs on Netflix.

5 - Morning Work-Outs

When the clocks turn back, the mornings get lighter. Why not take advantage and wake up earlier to hit the gym? Start a fitness ritual. Exercise has been proven - over and over again! - to remedy everything from disease to depression. Hire a trainer for a month and learn some new exercises! The fitness habit will lift your mood like nothing else!

6 - Complete a Project

Remember that idea you had for a scrapbook? Or that language learning series you've been meaning to plunge into? Well, now's the time!

Winter is a perfect time to learn a new craft, create something meaningful, and get lost in the joy of a new project. Winter is also the time to go inward and lose yourself in creating. What have you been meaning to create?

7 - Get Out!

Any dog will tell you: Winter is a fabulous time to hike! It's cold. It's crisp. You bundle up in layers of polar fleece. And you get to experience the hidden treasures of a season that most people avoid.

Make it a point to find some trails or paths near your home. Then, commit to bundling up and spending time outdoors each weekend. There's rarely anyone else out - so you get to have acres and acres to yourself. (Though you might bump into me and my dog! It's our favorite hiking season!)

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Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 12,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.

Tea Tuesday

I'm getting the Thanksgiving decorations out.

This is the teapot I use during November.

I love the oak leaves and acorns around the lid.

 

 I'm having a cup of Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea today while I go over some museum notes.

The *new* (remodeled and in a new space) China gallery is now open and that means I need to rethink my food and feast tour. I've found that it doesn't matter whether I'm giving a tour to adults or to children, if I can tell them a good story they'll remember the piece I'm talking about or will at least remember their trip to the museum!

One of the stories I came across is about Oolong tea. The name Oolong dates back to before the Ming Dynasty when it was still an unnamed bush. One day when the bush was in full blossom a tea planter picked some of its leaves and tried making a tea with them. He drank some and also offered it to his neighbors. His neighbors were particularly delighted with the tea, so the tea planter invited them to name the tea. One morning at dawn, a tea picker saw a black snake silently coiled around a branch of the unnamed bush. When the tea picker drew near, it slid away. Remembering the snake and thinking that it was attracted by the delicious aroma of the tea leaves, the neighbors called the tea Wu-long. "Wu" means black and "Long" means dragon or snake. (In Chinese the same word is used for dragons and snakes.) The name, black dragon tea, has been used ever since, by growers and connoisseurs alike.

That's just one of the stories. I have so many to choose from!

There are many tea parties in blogland.

For tea cups on parade, please visit Teacup Tuesday and the hostesses Martha and Terri.

Wishing you well, a JOY filled day, and a wonderful cup of tea.

"Teatime is by its very nature a combination of small luxuries arranged in social symmetry. And although tea for one is certainly a fine thing, the addition of a circle of dear friends to share it with ensures the whole is larger than its parts." ~Author Unknown

Hooking At Thanksgiving

I get several emails daily from various yarn companies.

They are all into their holiday mode sending out 12 Days of Holiday cheer!

I thought I'd share a few of them with you.

All of these were made from the Sugar 'N Cream cotton yarn by Lily.

You can go here to see some more patterns.

Red Heart is in the middle of their 12 Days of Christmas

and Caron has just started theirs. I'm a bit partial to Caron.

I think they do a wonderful job each year picking out new projects for the holidays.

With only 48 days left until Christmas, I'm thinking I'm so far behind I should start on next years crocheting!

Mary is our lovely hostess for Mosaic Monday.
Be sure to visit. Each Mosaic is different. Each has its own story to tell.

Wishing you well and a JOY filled week.

Consumer Report

I try to stay positive, especially here at Twisty Lane, but I just have to share two very different consumer stories.

You may remember that my washing machine quit several weeks ago.

My first Maytag washer lasted 20 years. The second lasted 5 years.

When was the last time you saw the Maytag Man on television?

Guess there is a reason!

Having the washer fixed (the transmission) would have cost almost as much as a new washer.

(Image found on Google images)

So, we did our research and went to Lowes to buy a new washing machine.

The day it was delivered a huge Lowes truck pulled up out side the house and two large gentlemen got out, came in the house, looked to see where the machine would go and announced, "we can't get it up the stairs and no one told us we would have to take the old machine away".

Huh?????

So after some mumble and grumbling, we had them take the washer back to Lowes.

Ptuiii.

To make a long story short, we bought our new washer at Home Depot, where they contract the delivery  to a *professional* delivery service in their shiny, clean huge pickup truck and trailer.

There was no problem about taking the old machine away and taking the new one upstairs.

Amazing.

Gold Stars for Home Depot!

So, I have mellowed in my dismay with Lowes and will go back in again, but I will only buy what I can get in my car and install myself!

***

The second story is: I ordered from Victorian Trading Company and two of the items arrived broken. 

No problem. They couldn't have been nicer. They emailed a return postage label, off it went, the credits were made, and a new item arrived in the mail yesterday -- not broken. 

YeeHaw!

Victorian Trading Company you rock!

I promise, I won't make a habit of reporting on consumer issues!!!!!!!!!!

Hope your weekend is lovely.

I am sunburned from watching a baseball game yesterday and don't mind at all.

It was a beautiful day.

Camera Critters

It's Saturday and that means Critter Day!

After Mr. Dragon and yours truly visited the Dinosaurs at the Houston Zoo,

we shared a drink and sat watching for any action on the pond.
It was late in the afternoon and everything was quiet.

No kids running around.

I saw the egret fly into the tree and thought it was probably too far away to get a good shot.

I took several shots and when I uploaded the images when I got home I found this one.

I didn't see the second egret when I took the shot.

Surprise!

Did you know that a group of turtles is called a bale?

I had to google!

Here's a bale of turtles on a very small island in the pond.

Camera Critters is hosted each Saturday by the lovely Misty.

Have a wonderful weekend.

We have a college baseball barbecue today!

YeeHaw!