As the nights grow longer and darker, I’ve started embracing the dimmer lights. After dinner, most of the main lighting in the house is off and replaced by table and floor lamps and candles.

We’re leaning into the coziness, slowing down as the land around us begins to settle into late fall. Yet even in the slow coziness, much has been happening.

My great uncle and aunt from Arizona visited! It was so lovely to see them again. There was a lot of laughter and amazing food (courtesy of my grandmother!) My uncle helped my grandfather spread more gravel on their driveway, and Michael was thrilled by the machinery he got to watch and climb on.

Michael is soaking up whatever time outside he can get before the sun sets. My mother got sidewalk chalk and bubbling color tablets, and the two of them had a grand time over the weekend.

Despite the slowing of the world around them, our pomegranate trees are producing like crazy. We picked as many as we could, and they’re waiting in the garage for when we have time to seed and juice them. Homemade pomegranate jelly is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten: we’re running low and I hope I can get a few half pints put away before the end of the year.

As an aside, we accidentally grew a pumpkin. I tossed our old pumpkins out in the weeds last year, thinking they’d decompose and be eaten by critters. Two of them did: apparently the third decided to take root. My dad found this green beauty growing happily among the star thistles about two weeks ago.

Michael also helped me make Jake’s birthday cake. He is determined to taste every step of the baking process no matter what the contents of the bowl are: flour and baking soda, raw eggs, vanilla extract…etc. It’s been an interesting learning curve. He’s also gotten quite adept at pouring and stirring. He loves the concept of cracking eggs…not so much the actual process.

I’ve been working away with my needles in my spare moments. Tis the season of gift knitting, so I won’t be posting most of what I’ve been working on to keep them surprises for their intended recipients. However, I did make this little hat for Michael to keep his head warm on his outdoor excursions. The contrasting color is my own hand-spun yarn. I even cast on a hat for myself that will match. It’s so satisfying to knit with yarn I’ve made myself, and I love these colors so much.

I’ve also been spinning more, both on my wheel and on my Turkish spindle. I told one of my dearest friends (the one who taught me to spin last January!) that I feel like this Turkish spindle is my magic wand: it’s almost like it chose me like the wand chooses the wizard. I love how it moves, I love how lightweight it is; I love the small bee motifs on the arms. It’s been an absolute delight to use.

I found a new fiber shop that I’m obsessed with: Inglenook Fibers. My Orthodox friends may know of Holy Nativity Convent in Massachusetts: I often buy candles and icons from them. They’re connected! Mother Macrina is one of the skillful artists behind these beautiful colors, and another sister helps her with the different processes of preparing the fiber. I’ll be supporting them every chance I get.

I love these chilly days, and I especially love these slow and cozy evenings. I’ve taken to having a cup of tea and sitting and knitting or spinning until bedtime. I usually listen to a podcast or an audiobook, or read, or sit and chat with my husband. Once Michael is asleep, once the dishes are done, once the day’s clutter has been put away, I sit and delight in the things that bring me joy and fill my cup.

It’s a cozy ritual I’ve come to cherish. Even on the worst days, I find comfort in the familiar scent of lemon balm tea and the quiet cadence of my spinning wheel or knitting needles.

I recently listened to a vlog by The Last Homely House on YouTube, where she mentioned an old adage her grandmother used to say: Get out of your head, and into your hands. I find that to be my remedy for many things: anxiety, fatigue, irritation; grumpiness. Once I get out of my head and into my hands, my body relaxes and my cup begins to fill again.

So if the cold and dark are encroaching on your cozy rituals, I encourage you to join me: get out of your head and into your hands.