Advent

As many of you may remember, Laura and embarked upon this year with a noble plan to keep and chronicle “all the golden hours” in this space. Inspiration was running high, and the warmth of your fellowship here through the 2016 Advent and Christmas season fueled our ambition to keep watching for glimpses of a…

“I’ve known thin places all my life, but I didn’t have the language for them until I took a trip to Ireland a few years back… Thin places are transparent places or moments, set apart by the quality of the sunlight in them, or the shadows, or the silence, or the sounds—see how many variations…

  “Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report written on birds that he’d had three months to write, which was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to…

We always love to hear from readers, and this little note is no exception: “I was catching up on Golden Hours today and I was inspired by Lanier writing about her mom having tea with her and her sister everyday. So I had tea with the girls when they got home from school. It was…

You must remember, garden catalogues are as big liars as house agents. ~Rumer Godden, China Court My relationship with gardening has been a tumultuous affair from day one, fraught with all the heights and depths of a grande amour. Mainly self-taught, my earliest attempts were characterized by rapturous perusals of garden catalogues, advertising such wonders…

  Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return. You know it’s time for a change when your kid corrects you. It was during family dinnertime, when I was waxing sarcastic about a woman we know who posted on social media daily photos of sunsets and rainbows and dolphins, along with encouraging (but…

I confess, I’ve never hit a cynical patch where Valentine’s is concerned. I’ve always loved it. And with all the rancor in the world of late, the celebration of a day devoted exclusively to love seems more endearing—and more needful—than ever. I didn’t have a Valentine until I was 24, the year Philip and I…

Dear Lanier, It was terribly clever of you to type up an agenda for our little writers’ luncheon yesterday. Without it, I fear we would have held court for even longer than the three hours we occupied our corner of the café. (Although it wasn’t so much our corner, was it? Seeing as despite the…

Every afternoon at precisely four o’clock my mother’s teakettle let off a piercing shriek. It wasn’t just background noise, or an auditory adjective amid the jostle of supper preparations. It was a signal, a summons. And my sister and I knew exactly what it meant: it was time to lay aside whatever we were working…

  “There is nothing that makes me happier than sitting around the dinner table and talking until the candles are burned down.” ~ Madeleine L’Engle, A Circle of Quiet As you’ve likely gathered, the content in this small corner of the web is unapologetically old-fashioned. A new-fashioned concept—at least to those of us outside Scandinavia—is…

A proper piece of poetry should stand on its own—no poem worth its salt should require a backstory. But I don’t claim to be a poet, so here it is: I am reeling from a recent rejection. I talk a big talk about dusting myself off and try, try, trying again. And again. About how the…

Laura and I have been blessed and delighted by the warm comments, notes, messages and feedback we’ve received over this dear little Golden Hours venture. What started as a fun challenge between two friends has become a sweet community of kindred spirits. What’s more, we’ve been encouraged. Quite simply, you have put us in courage–which…

We have a give-away winner! Misty Krasawski, a pristine copy of Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking On Water is headed your way! Thanks to all of you for your comments, encouragements, warm wishes–and for helping spread the word about Golden Hours. Lanier and I have loved working on Golden Hours–from Advent to Epiphany–and we toasted GH last…

It’s the glad New Year, and folks are rethinking and regrouping and re-everything-ing. I promised a post on how to re-enchant your life. Alas, I’m not going to be able to deliver. But we are offering another book give-away! (See details at the end of this post.) So I sat down to write this and…

I’m an absolute stickler about keeping the full Twelve Days of Christmas; it’s just too great and grand a feast to confine to a few days—even a full week. I’ve waited all year for this: I’m not going to be cheated out of a single second if I can help it. That’s just the thing,…

Laura’s disclaimer: I feel like a hypocrite posting this today, of all days–as we undecorated our tree and laid her to rest in the woods, next to the previous years’ Fraser fir carcasses. (RIP Gloria and Holly and Ivy and Carol…) Actually, my sweet husband tackled the project while I slept in (I haven’t been feeling well…

I wrote this piece five years ago, but I’m re-posting it tonight for anyone who might be struggling to find hope for the New Year. Blessings, friends, and every good gift in 2017… In the twelve years that Philip and I have been married, there are only two New Years Eves we’ve spent at home….

For me, Christmas week is all about alternating between ‘pajama days’ and days with family and friends. After a full year–and a busy season of preparation for the year’s crown of Christmastide–a goodly dose of indolence and enjoyment during these blessed Twelve Days is a gift I’ve learned to give myself. I especially love this…