1.
Cold air, the lightness of a chickadee landing on my wrist as I filled the feeder, fire warm, coffee dark, cat winding around my feet earlier as I got out of bed, dizzy from too few hours but excited at the arrival, after midnight, of Angie and Karna, a flurry of texts from ferry, from the long highway (“Just by Trout Lake.” “Foggy.”), blue sky, the scent of coming snow. Stitch, sew the rivers you saw from the plane as you approached Edmonton, stitch the red lines to keep you safe.
2.
Sweet lute, Ronn McFarlane playing 17th c. airs from the Wemyss manuscript, the simple elegant notes just right in the morning light, though not the one I am longing for as the old year approaches its welcome end, not “Lady Lie Near Me”, the one I was thinking of last night as I waited for their headlights to appear on our dark driveway.
3.
Take out the old. Take out the recycling boxes and fill the trunk. Take out the ashes of the fires, the news of the virus on every page, the empty bags. And while you’re out in the cold morning, deliver these to friends.
...Theresa Kishkan 
Those bags look enticing – my guess is delicious homemade treats. I’m remembering your descriptions of the ice cream you made in the summer. Glad you had a visit to the Edmonton family and your daughter is with you now, at Xmas. May your celebrations be merry and bright, as I’m sure they will be.
I can’t tell you what’s in them until after Saturday! But homemade yes and maybe a bit too rustic (one of the things). I am hopeful about the merry and bright, much more hopeful than last year when we were on our own and felt very far away from everything we loved (except each other), one of us with a paralyzed foot I wish you all the best, too, Beth.
Wishing you, John, and all your loved ones a beautiful Christmas season. And perhaps, more importantly, may the coming year bring us those, “happy golden days of yore.” Let your heart be light.
https://www.dianeschuller.com/2021/12/24/have-yourself-a-merry/
All good wishes to your household, Diane, with thanks for your generous comments and gorgeous photographs this past year.
Maybe you need a little diagram for your loyal readers, like the pamphlets one finds in boxes of chocolates, so that we can all learn what was actually IN all your delectable and festive packets and bags, after the holidays, once their real-life recipients have opened and enjoyed them. Hahaha
[…] few people asked me what was in the parcels I referred to in a post from just before Christmas Day. Because some of my friends and family members read this blog and […]