December, I love you.

The snow came and that was all it took for me to get over that final hump and embrace the coming of winter. The transition into the dark season presents a challenge for me each year - I get tired, I get blue, and I feel claustrophobic as things move indoors. December is new, but there is already so much to love:

• Last night we slept in our brand new bed for the first time. We have been sleeping on a crappy old mattress forever with its attendant hip pain and back pain and sliding helplessly into the middle. Actually, I don't think I've ever slept on a really nice bed - from crappy futons to various hand-me-downs. Our new bed is like being massaged all night by angels.
• The theme for the end of this year does seem to be all about comfort. It was a new strategy to manage the bumpy transition from summer to fall to winter to find things that would make the winter seem wonderfully comfortable. In addition to the bed, I got new pajamas, a new robe, and flannel sheets. The cashmere scarf is on its way so that coupled with my favorite down coat it will make me feel like I never got out of bed on those cold winter mornings when I'm scraping the windshield.
• Did I mention the snow? The snow and the sauna at the YMCA almost make me grateful for the cold instead of walking around as miserable as a wet cat.
• The beautiful, compostable swag made of winter greens and heather on my door and the amaryllis and paper white bulbs on my table remind me that the winter doesn't have to mean the end of my gardening spirit entirely. Thank you, Mother Earth Gardens.
• There's nothing like brunch to get you moving on snowy, cold Sundays. My favorite places include: Birchwood Cafe, Bon Vie Cafe, and Turtle Bread Company (hooray they are opening a new location just across the river from us!).
• Winter cooking is catching my fancy - sweet potato pie, pot roast, sausage and cabbage, oatmeal with dried cherries, and soups and stews of many kinds. As my grandma used to say, "It sticks to your ribs."

I'm hoping December continues to be a lovely as the first few days have been. I'm looking forward to time off at the end of the month - quiet time for myself and noisier cozier time with the kids. I hope yours is lovely, too!