Cozy

Cozy Nights

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cozyI love this illustration. It’s from the children’s book The Snatchabook, by Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty, published in 2013.

It capturesĀ those magical possibilities that always delighted me as a child, when I’d imagine little homes in the woods where all the animals lived, snug and secure. In my mind’s eye there were tiny, warm beds covered in puffy patchwork quilts, and Mama animals of all sorts reading their babies bedtime stories in their cozy little rooms.

I’m ordering the book for my granddaughter, for when she’s older. Maybe her imagination will be sparked, too.

SnitzelAnother favorite – Mr. Snitzel’s Cookies by Jane Flory, for its magical elements of a never-ending supply of baking ingredients for cookies, cakes, and other delights, all earned from the simple act of being kind and offering a meal and a warm bed to a stranger in need.

November days like today – a little raw, gray, and rainy – bring out these nostalgic memories. I happen to enjoy this kind of day…much easier for me to get cozy in it, than in the blazing (though still beautiful) sun of summer. šŸ™‚

How about you? Any favorite books from your childhood that sparked your imagination?

Pumpkin Stand

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imageIt’s that time of year again…pumpkin stand time! I love seeing places like the one pictured as I drive back and forth to workĀ – regular homes in the country – who put out their surplus of pumpkins for sale to anyone who wants to stop and put their money in the bucket.

It’s all done through an honor system, which I love as well. I’ve lived in or near the country all my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for all the glamour, shopping, and entertainments more metropolitan areas can offer. I’m definitely a Country Mouse! šŸ™‚country mouse

Old Kitchen Nostalgia

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imagesGTMBP5VTI enjoy home improvement shows. I particularly like those where renovations happen to bring a “bargain” purchase up toĀ modern speed…but my “weirdness” comes in during the first look at the “before” aspects of the homes.

renovation101216dIt almost always makes me feel a little twinge of poignancy. A pang. A bittersweet sense, of nostalgia for those times and places gone by.52ebec5f697ab040980006d1__w_540_s_fit_

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Beautiful 1950s kitchen

I can’t help envisioning, sometimes – especially with the kitchens – the happy times, theĀ meals cooked and eaten by countless people, the gatherings enjoyed, and holidays and birthday celebrated.Ā It can be places fromĀ times long before I was born; it doesn’t matter.

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Kitchen from around the time I was born in the 1960s

The room(s) that hosted thoseĀ eventsĀ is being cleared out, emptied, stripped down. That wallpaper or those cabinets and countertopsĀ so lovingly selected in 1957 orĀ 1963, or 1990Ā are nothing more, now, then a mark of a bygone era, andĀ the people who chose them and lived there have moved on, literally or figuratively, to greener pastures.

It makes me kind of…sad.

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peeking into a lit window at a cozy scene

Perhaps my feeling is connected to the game my mother and I would play (and that I still do sometimesĀ even now, I confess) when we’d be driving somewhere, especially at night, and I could glimpse through some open shades or curtains a lit room or two in a home as we passed by. I was always fascinated by that, imagining the people who lived there by having that quick look. What were they like? What were their hopes, dreams? Were they happy or in the grip of a tragic or challenging circumstance? That “What if?” game led to me writing novels, I’m sure – but it’s also part and parcel of what niggles at me during those home improvement shows.

I’m pretty sure that makes me weird (so if you’re akin to this, or even understand what I’m talking about here, please chime in through the comments, so I know I’m not alone, LOL)!

Do YOU ever get a bittersweet sense of poignancy about something that doesn’t have personal meaning to you?

A Peaceful Scene

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1617677-bigthumbnailThis illustration makes me happy, so I thought I’d share it with you.

I think it’s beautiful on so many levels: the natural setting, the red barn, the deer, the stream, the tree with a few ruddy leaves clinging to its branches, and the cozy home with fireplace smoke spiraling up, and theĀ windows lit so warmly from within.

But I think my favorite part of this is the way the light from the windows and the setting sun spills out onto the trail of footprints through the snow, gilding the whole area with a rosy glow.

It’s peaceful and lovely…and somewhere I wish I could be right about now! So I will visit there in my imagination. ā¤

 

Blustery!

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imageThis picture was taken yesterday afternoon at my house, looking out of the dining room window.Ā  It was a blustery, windy afternoon, and my Thanksgiving flag was flapping crazily .

Blustery.

I love that word, whether it’s applied to late autumn, winter, or spring. It implies the kind of outside atmosphere that inspires my imagination and makes me think of being warm and snug in the house, with a steaming cup of tea, or a fragrant supper bubbling on the stove.

Nice and cozy (which is another word I love, but I’ll save that for another blog post)! šŸ™‚

Do you like these kinds of days?