Poppy has been trying to drag me into the garden store this week. We have had little flurries overhead all week and she has become very invested in the Christmas trees smells there. As everyone should be. We will be on our daily walk and all of a sudden her nose is in a pile of birch logs and pine needles, tail wagging behind her. Her new harness came today, an aurora teal. The usual orange got a weird makeover and she is not up for looking like a traffic cone. Which is sad because it used to be called Poppy Orange. So here we are, leaning into my Nordic heritage out of necessity. She looks stunning actually. My little snow-eating winter-loving dog.
Winter has become so magical to me. I used to hate winter. But the verdant greens and the twinkle lights, and the warmth of a hearth. I think not having winter would make me sad. And it was not until I was around someone who actually likes winter that I understood that there are truly two sides to me. The Sicilian, and the Scandinavian. All of the winter lovers are from online, a Svalbard influencer, a lifestyle influencer from Connecticut. I have really rearranged how much I focus on the internet, because it feels weird to be so moved by this. But without these influences, I wouldn’t have the insight into this other perspective on winter. Hearing people actually say they love winter out loud is such a revelation. It has been such a gift. If you truly lean into winter. If you buy the warm mittens and hike around in the wonder of it. There’s nothing like it. Its wild to me, to have access to this new way of thinking. After learning that my grandmother was Norwegian, not my grandfather, I felt a whole new connection to Nordic everything. Just from a little branch on my family tree.
Today I am also realizing I miss my friend who moved to North Carolina. Her husband hates winter and that is the primary reason that they left. Or so it seems. And its strange how you can have someone so close just not be nearby anymore. And I’m so happy for her to be living the life she wants to create for herself. But the thing is, it doesn’t really seem like her. Unless, of course, maybe I am missing something. Which is entirely possible. And I want to see her, but I don’t want to stay at her house with her husband, who I am holding an irrational grudge against. Or its not even a grudge, but feeling like I cannot hold a conversation with him anymore, like he’s become an alien life-form. (Even though really, I’m fascinated by the idea of aliens). And she’s expecting a baby too. So despite the length of the distance, its not really the miles that make her feel far away. My goal is to get over this. Maybe it will happen during the holidays. After I binge my yearly quota of Hallmark movies. Yet another reason to love winter.
Meanwhile I am shopping the ikea website for the stools I have been meaning to get. Daydreaming about the yummy veggie meatballs they carry in the frozen foods aisle. Refreshing the Crate and Barrel website to see if the mixers are finally on sale. Bookmarking the cookie recipe I’m going to make first. Filling the fridge with butter so I won’t have to wait another second before making my first batch. Snuggling with the new guy in my life that my friend doesn’t even know about. She has always been the first to know about these developments in my life. But somehow it just feels incongruent with the excitement in hers. And I know she would say, tell me all about it! But something holds me back. The words form in my mind but don’t leave my mouth.
Cookies- Sally’s Baking Addiction- “Big Fat Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.”
Chairs- Ikea- Bergmund – Barstool with backrest- white/rommele- dark blue/white
Song- The Dixie Chicks- “Lullaby”-