A Crunchy Life - December 2023 Newsletter

Think of this as a letter from a friend with a deeper look into this month's post. I share more thoughts and resources for tapping into a simple, intentional life filled with Earth-based practices.

Dec 13, 2023

Hello friends!

The December blog post is up and it is all about how dark times can provide opportunities to find a way to wholeness, transformation, and continuous renewal.

When I speak of dark times, I don’t mean sad and gloomy. They certainly can be. But I am speaking about the dark times that follow us through the seasons and through the spiral of one’s life. These dark times are seasonal and transformative. Without them I wouldn’t change and grow.

Seasonally, it is a dark time right now, a time of shorter day light, a time of cold temperatures, a time to go slower, go smaller, reflect more, plant seeds for new ideas and actions for when daylight is longer in spring.

Within the spiral of my life I can see many dark times that I have already moved through — times that were transformative. My dear friend, a young adult fiction writer, calls them pivotal moments. These pivotal moments were times I entered the unknown. Times of the unknown are also dark times. During these types of dark times, it is important to go slower, go smaller, reflect more, be open to possibilities and ideas, see what arises and inspires.

This year on January 1st, as I entered retirement, I crossed a threshold into the unknown. I’ve spent the year releasing what I was carrying, and I have begun to renew. It’s not a one time process. It’s continuous. Shed and grow anew. I’m going for the gold — something bright, valuable, and beautiful on the other side of the darkness.

This blog post talks about how I am using my hand, head, and heart to prepare the way for wholeness and continuous renewal.

Here is what I am exploring this month.

Hand: Winter Holiday Season. We have transitioned from the orange celebrations to red ones - amping up energy, light, beauty, and joy. The winter holiday season begins for us on December 1st and lasts until January 6th. During this time we thread together the traditions of our German, Irish, and Kaschubian ancestors to create our way through the season.

We break the month of December down into its four different weeks and focus on different things each week.

The first week in December, is the week we make the our Advent Wreath. Our Advent wreath is a bit different this year. We have a one-year old Maine Coon kitten, June, who sees her job as knocking things off of their locations. Greenery is a toy to be hauled off the table and played with, and twinkle lights and small candles are to be chewed. (During November it was the little pumpkins that were batted off the table and could be found in odd locations throughout the house). Consequently, we are reimagining our entire indoor holiday vibe this year. Our Advent wreath looks like this, items June, so far, is not at all interested in:

*Advent Wreath 2023* - items June, so far, is not at all interested in

One thing that has not changed is our Advent verse. Fred Woodchomp, our house elf, takes care of posting the chalkboard drawing of our advent verse each Sunday.

*Advent Verse Week One Chalkboard Drawing 2023 by our house elf, Fred Woodchomp*

We have a different verse for each week and each week we add elements from the week’s verse to our advent wreath. This week we are adding stones and crystals. By the fourth week all elements (stones, crystals, plants, animals, humans) are included and the wreath becomes a representation of our amazing Earth home and the web of life.

Week 2: We decorate the house: wreaths are placed on the windows, garland around the door and fence, put up the Christmas Tree, make the wreath for the front door, and hang the mistletoe. Week 2’s verse is: The Light of Love. The second light of Advent is the light of plants. Plants that reach up to the sun, and in the breezes dance.

Week 3: We bake cookies and other sweets. This year I have a wonderful cookbook that we will be delving into for Advent treats: Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas by Anja Dunk. It was a gift last Christmas from my dear husband and I am so excited to get baking! Week 3’s verse is: The Light of Joy. The third light of Advent is the light of animals. It shines in the greatest, it shines in the least.

Week 4: We hang the Christmas stockings on December 20th and celebrate all of our female ancestors in what we call Mother’s Night. We bake cookies that we baked in our families as kids or cookies that are from where our families are from. We create an ancestor altar, leave cookies as an offering to our female ancestors. We light a candle and incense and welcome ancestors using their full names and speaking to them with an ancestor prayer. Its a beautiful way for us to welcome our families into our holiday. Week 4’s verse is: The Light of Peace. The third light of Advent is the light of humankind. The light of love, the light of thought, to give and understand.

book page on brown wooden table — Photo by Olena Bohovyk on Unsplash

Head: Stories. The Legend of the Christmas Rose, the Legend of the Poinsettia, the Santa Lucia story, Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree, the story of Grýla and her sons, stories of Gwiôzdór and Gwiazdka, the Tomten, and of course, the St. Nicholas stories are all read together throughout this month. It’s not simply the reading of the stories that matters; its taking the time to sit down together, listen to the stories, and then talk with each other.

After reading the St. Nicholas stories, our children place their shoes out on December 5th, St. Nicholas Eve, in the hopes that St. Nicholas will visit. Yes, they still do this at age 18 and age 15. St. Nicholas leaves the following in their shoes:

Clementine/Orange - reminder of the warmth and joy felt when the sun shines on everyone, and to be like the sun by giving love to everyone.
Walnut - a reminder about the importance of listening to and learning from one’s elders.
Gold chocolate coins - reminder of the coins that St. Nicholas gave to those in need.
Candy canes - a sweet treat that is a reminder of the staff St. Nicholas carried.
One special gift.

Heart: As mentioned in the blog post, for us, Solstice is a time of awareness of the rhythms of the natural world and how we are a part of all of that wonderful magic.

We decorate our favorite outside tree with edible treats for our wild animal friends. Ideas for decorating the tree:

Homemade popcorn and fresh cranberries garland.
Sliced oranges, apples, pears, carrots or parsnips hung on strings.
Cookie cutter bird seed feeders.
Orange birdseed ornaments.
Pinecone bird feeder with peanut butter or lard and bird seed.

We make fire bundles with dried rosemary, dried orange peel, and cinnamon sticks for our fires throughout the winter.

To make a fire bundle, you will need:

Scissors
Natural twine
Dried Rosemary leaf (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Dried Orange peel (Citrus x sinensis)
Cinnamon sticks (Cinnamomum verum)

I like to bundle them with the rosemary, then the cinnamon stick, and then the orange peel on top. Using twine, gently wrap and tie the bundle to secure the bunch. Be sure to wrap the bundle several times, crossing at least twice front and back, before knotting.

Warm, comforting foods are prepared for dinner. If all goes as planned, my evening will culminate with a long milk and herb bath I blended just for Winter Solstice.

To make:

1 cup baking soda
1 cup epsom salt
1 cup coconut milk powder
1 cup Himalayan pink sea salt
1 - 2 tablespoons dried Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia)
1 - 2 tablespoons dried Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)
1 - 2 tablespoons dried Juniper Berry (Juniperus spp.)
1 - 2 tablespoons dried Cedar leaf (Juniperus virginiana)

Option: I like to add a few drops of essential oils to the mix - 5 Lavandula angustifolia (lavender), 2 Boswellia carterii (frankincense), 1 Rosa damascena (rose).

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Then, store in a glass container with a well sealed lid. To use: Add about 1 cup (depending on the size of your tub and how much water you are using in your bath) of the mixture to the bath tub while the water is running and the tub is filling.

We will read the story, Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven and make Solstice bread or Yule bread to enjoy by the fire. A wonderful description of Yule Bread and a recipe for it can be found at the Cailleach’s Herbarium. Scott beautifully expresses how to create ritual tied to the land where one is and tied to one’s ancestors. The bread is wonderful, too!

Last night the New Moon arrived so today’s poem is from Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantactions, collected in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland by Alexander Carmichael, page 284.

Beauteous fair one of grace