Today is the winter solstice, the longest night of the year. This morning the sun rose at 8:43am, and it will set this afternoon at 2:46pm. We won't see any of that, though, because the sun's entire path across the sky is obscured by clouds. Today feels dark and closed-in, and I've felt an overwhelming tiredness that...
candles
Happiness Project: Building Community Through Winter Traditions
This month in my happiness project I'm focusing on building traditions and community for our family. Last week I wrote about forgoing Christmas gifts in order to donate money to organizations that help to build the kind of world we want to live in. This whole month, though, I've been working on surrounding ourselves with friends and loved ones to help...
Winter in Sweden: the Basics
It's time to talk about winter in Sweden. A while back I wrote about summer in Sweden, essentially saying that it's like heaven. And winter? Well, winter can feel like the opposite; or if not quite like hell, then rather like a long, slow slog uphill through waist-deep snow in the dark with clouds covering...