A Crystalline January

"Your holiday guests have departed and the house at last, is still.  A piano sonata is gently tinkling from the stereo and the fragrance of flowers fills the air.  A fire simmers in the grate... You wander upstairs to draw a soothing scented bath.  A thick towel hangs from the hook next to your soft new robe.  A glass of wine awaits...  At last, the time is nigh for the lady of the house to have her due rest".

~

I wrote those words for an ad I embellished a few years ago.  I like to re-read them on January 1st to remind myself that there is life after the holidays.  And many embellished things to look forward to.

Instead of taking my little Christmas tree down completely, I followed advice from my friend Kay and kept the tree up but only with the white fairy lights on it.  It looks charming and so I spread the word throughout the house that I'm creating a beacon for when the light has a mind to return on its own.  I kept the white tapers on the mantle and strung mini-lights across the hutch's top shelf.  Three stems of white lilies, when opened, will fill the house with the promise of spring.  The frost outside colludes with what is taking place indoors - I want everything to be crystalline.

Even in bleak winter, nature can be breathtakingly beautiful with elements of wonderment not to be missed.  And although January is a wonderful month for hibernating there are still those of us who must brave the elements to get to work each day.  Returning to an incandescent home with whispers of silvery frost can be energizing and may even help with seasonal moods.   With that in mind, I tossed a cream wool throw on my couch for coziness as well as for Netflix-binging and laid out an old tole tray on the kitchen table, chock-full of teas, tea cups and saucers, all nestled on a snowy cloth.  I fluffed my bed after adding an extra layer and splayed white votives about my bedroom like candy. My private rebellion against the dark unforgiving sky above.  Even the bathroom shower curtain got a reboot with the addition of plush coordinating towels I forgot I had, found in the recess of the linen closet when I went on a search and destroy for the humidifier.  Christmas is over but my home is ready for winter, come what may.