Take in February with the senses

hoping you find something sweet in the midst

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Last year I wrote things I loved about the kids onto paper hearts, everyday of the month. This year, I tried, but I stopped. The cat ripped them up. I got distracted and it felt like a push. I love creating traditions, but if there’s resistance in me, I know I’m doing it out of guilt. So, I decided my husband and I will give them each a small stack of handwritten love notes on Valentine’s Day, along with tins of jelly bellies and some cuddly stuffies (yes, I even got a bear for my 10 year old Teddy, because softness). This is me, being soft with myself. What about you?

This month, I’ve been loving these little treasures. I hope you find something you love, too.

Sound:

My recording of the rushing stream in the forest. Includes a cute little voice asking for a fern frond.

---

This ethereal and cozy 2024 album from Katherine Priddy. I feel soothed, joyful and a bit like an Irish nymph when I hear her sing here.

---

Taste:

If you haven’t tried Hu chocolate. Go buy yourself the Salty Dark. It feels like I’m eating a good for you treat, so I eat the whole thing, every time. I consider dark chocolate a kind of medicine when I have my period, because a women needs one good thing during this period (that’s a good one). In Canada you can find it at Whole Foods. If organic chocolate that has a minuscule ingredient list (cacao, unrefined coconut sugar, cocoa butter, sea salt) and actually tastes GOOD isn’t for you, then you won’t want to pay $9 a bar anyway.

---

Sight:

I’m knee deep in this book, The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhom. It’s a thrilling historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who investigates a shocking murder that unhinges her small community. I’m already dreading it’s ending. It has everything I want in historical fiction: apothecaries, mystery, a story rooted in real history, stews and hunks of bread, midwives, stupid old men who try to crush women, and yes, unfortunately, murder.

These images fit for mid February:

Photo by Taisiia Stupak

Photo by Jeff Finley

Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash

Photo by Denis Agati on Unsplash

Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich

Touch:

Keep practicing softness. It’s a shield, a revelation, a surprise, a sword during these times of upheaval. Find a vessel to take you there: a soft person, a warm creature, a texture in nature, a song or movie that allows release. Let these things lead you toward the softness inside. It is my magic wand, my prayer answered, when softness becomes alive in me. Do not underestimate the power of it, especially now.