Now that the holiday season is coming to a close, and the old year drawing to an end, I find myself longing for quiet days that involve zero fuss. After spending the chilly days putting my house in order, and clearing out old files and clutter from my office, it’s heavenly to settle down by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa and a book by whatever author I’m involved with at the moment (current obsession: the Isabel Dalhousie series by Scots author Alexander McCall Smith).
Since dairy and I are no longer very good friends, I make my evening beverage with almond milk and Green & Black’s organic hot chocolate mix, plus a half-teaspoon or so of almond extract swirled into the mug.
When bedtime rolls around, I fill a hot water bottle with steamy water and slip it under the covers toward the foot of the bed”something I remember my Grandmother doing for me on snowy winter nights when I was a child. I rediscovered this simplest of all pleasures a few years ago when I came across my dusty hot water bottle in a box of attic treasures. It’s amazing how comforting and delightful it is to snuggle into bed with something toasty to wrap my feet around, especially when frost coats the windows, and the wind is whistling through the bare branches of the trees outside. I make a mental note to try and remember this: that wonderful things don’t have to be fancy, or expensive, or complicated. Sometimes something simple really is all that our souls need.
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