2009

The Doldrums…

…are where I have been, but am glad to be leaving behind me,
like this pale grey mist that passed through our woods a few weeks ago…
mistywoods
…and I feel life and liveliness returning, like the blackbirds that
come to visit our quiet fields…

As I listen to their chatter and watch them circle and swirl and glide
to the ground, I welcome their action in the stillness of the Winter.
They are my dark snowflakes, as we are in the midst of yet
another Winter without the gift of Snow.

My mom and I have found a good rhythm of walks and movies
and tasks and conversations….and visits to her dear home on the water
every few weeks.
I saw a yellow crocus in the lawn today and noticed that the daffodils
are several inches out of the earth. I know that lovely, austere Winter and I will
soon be parting…and it is such a wrench. Do you feel the same I wonder?


Through a fortuitous mistake on the part of British Country Living, I received two
January issues. This cover brings me so much pleasure, I have been keeping it out
for the past few weeks so my eyes can continually light upon it and its pale
browns and blues and whites….the colors of Winter for me.

The inside is so gorgeous that I take little peeks and then set it aside for the
perfect time when I can truly savor it…tho’ I must give in soon, before
the season it is rich with has gone!

I would love to give my extra copy to one of my dear readers, and
ask only that you leave me a comment and tell me how your
Winter has been thus far and what you have found to
appreciate in it.


I am so looking forward to reading your comments this week and will
draw a name from the list on the 21st and announce the recipient on Sunday,
a week from today. I am going to be posting more often here, for
I realize how important it is to me…this small community of kindred
spirits.

I hope that when you wander this way in the future you will more often
find a little something in the box in the hedgerow.

 

Yes he did!

recycledpaperjoy
He used the most recycled paper possible for the inaugural invitations and I am so proud. And I didn’t have to pester him to do so….for I actually wrote many imaginary emails in my mind to our future president about how important it would be to use recycled and tree-free papers during his administration. But I never actually wrote those emails and it looks as tho’ they weren’t necessary.

The paper for the invitations is the same paper (tho’ I use a different texture) that I use for my Little Letter Paper, Bookish Missives, and all the Christmas cards. It is a lovely paper. And 100% post-consumer recycled…meaning it is made entirely from paper we have used and then put in the recycling bins and sent on its way. Such a difference from much paper made these days from virgin timber…even rainforest wood.

My eyes were really opened to this facet of using trees for paper when a man came in my booth at a show a few years ago. He told me he was a printer who printed things like the inserts that you find with a bottle of aspirin. He told me that to save a few pennies per insert, he had begun getting a paper that was made in South America from rain forest wood. He painted an ugly picture of the forest being slashed and the trees floated down the river to a paper plant where the paper was made and then shipped by boat to the US. There is so much wrong with this. Yet, he continued to buy this paper. But I want you to know that there are so many other options.


The first idea is simply to use less paper….hold off on printing things from the computer unless it is really necessary, use all of the paper you have before buying more, etc. And when it is time to buy more paper, look for 100% post-consumer or tree-free papers. I hope that they are available at the stores where most people buy paper….but I must admit that I don’t know as I don’t shop there. You can buy them in reasonably small quantities directly from Neenah.com or go to Greenlinepaper.com. If you need strictly utilitarian paper and few dented corners don’t matter to you, in the spirit of using what one has, I am hoping to offer packets of good paper that I couldn’t use for my offerings, sometime later this winter. And do write if you ever need any guidance, for I am happy to share what I have learned and discovered over the years.

Just do what you are able. I truly believe that every little bit can help.

Enjoy the day tomorrow…in honor of our new president we are eating all “circular” food tomorrow (the closest I could get to the letter “o” without resorting to doughnuts!). Pancakes with blueberries and raspberries for breakfast, pizza later on and a bundt cake for a sweet.