Tuesday's Tonic

One of the members of our team here at Figg Street Co. recently asked me what aspects of preparing for Christmas have the most meaning for me, and what I find the most fun. I love going out to a Christmas tree farm and cutting down a real Christmas tree. We did this as a family growing up and continue the tradition today (not every year, mind you). There's something special about a real tree, not to mention the smell is so divine....

A simple walk outside at this time of year can feel magical. Walking downtown along the shopfronts and cafés can make us feel part of our community. There are the decorations, music and creativity on display in so many forms.

Talking a walk through one of the parks, along the canal, river or lake, or in the woods makes us take in the time of year it is. As the leaves fall and the flowers fade, evergreen plants and trees really sing. It's their time to receive our attention and shine.

Natural elements are so inspiring, creatives often use them in making holiday items. Pine boughs, acorns, walnuts and woodland creatures appear on cards, gift wrap, as ornaments or printed onto fabric. You'll find appetizers, cookies and cakes shaped into their likeness: penguins made of black olives, carrot and cream cheese, shortbread cut out like reindeer, and bûche de noël, sometimes even with a meringue mushroom or two.

  

 

   

Would you say you're a kid at heart? Do you have young children? Or perhaps grandchildren or other little ones in your life? One of the fun things leading up to the holidays in childhood is making paper crafts. Of course, people of all ages can have fun with this!

Pull out some paper, glue and scissors, find some clear tabletop space and you're ready to go! Are there particular paper decorations that appeal to you? Maybe you've seen some beautiful decorative papers, but you don't know what to do with them. Consider using them to make holiday ornaments that you can enjoy all season long and bring back year after year!

  

There's something romantic about this time of year. Perhaps it's the earlier, darker evenings. The sound and scent of fallen leaves crushing underfoot on our walk. Looking up to the sky at night and seeing stars. Candlelight.

Yes, an autumn evening grows round and full when we turn on some jazz and light a few candles. It feels timeless. Our connection to lighting a flame goes way back, it runs deep. Perhaps this is why it's so grounding, calming, and mesmerizing to watch a candle flicker.

Tealights and tapers create a lovely atmosphere at the table. Equally enjoyable are several surrounding your bathtub. Who wouldn't love a candlelit soak on a dark November night? It's a relaxing and restorative ritual.

This can swell into an entire home spa event when you treat yourself to cleansing balm, exfoliant, a clay mask, essential oils and a luxurious body lotion. Play some soothing music, warm your towel and have a sumptuous experience that will surely lull you to sleep afterward.

Do you have a partner? Are you familiar with the 5 Love Languages? If so, consider running a bath surrounded by candles for your loved one. Several love languages can be satisfied with such a gesture: acts of service, quality time (if you stick around), physical touch (offer them a scalp massage), or gifts (present them with scented bath products). You might even be able to please the words of affirmation person by sharing your reason for preparing the bath and writing them a little note.... and placing it on their towel to discover afterward.

Some creatives incorporate candles into their routine. They may light one before they start writing or brainstorming ideas. Doing many things by candlelight can be centering. Even taking a few minutes to observe a flickering flame and take in a few deep breaths.

The sound of a manual typewriter in use is one of its appeals for many aficionados. Up until the 1980s, when personal computers made their way into offices and homes, typewriters were the prevalent tool of formal communication for around a hundred years.

Since typewriters have been around so long, they commonly pop up in films and become associated with cultural icons, such as Snoopy of Peanuts fame. Several celebrities are famous for their continued use of these machines (Woody Allen), and even their collections (Tom Hanks). Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam uses vintage typewriters to record lyrics. The sound of a typewriter has inspired musicians, composers, and tv productions. A few include Yann Tiersen, Dolly Parton (the beginning of '9 to 5'), and the title sequence to Murder, She Wrote.

Speaking of mysteries, did you know typewritten documents can be used as evidence in court? Forensic examiners can trace back to particular models, sometimes even to specific inks and ribbons. Each typewriter has its own equivalent of a fingerprint.

So why might you want to use a typewriter today, given the advances in technology? Some say the exposure of the manual typewriter's mechanisms are appealing. There's more of a direct connection. It's tactile. And private. Others love the clacking sound of the keys. The resulting hardcopy product is treasured more than an email or text message. It also encourages you to be on top of your spelling and grammar. And perhaps one of the most popular reasons we've heard is that it enables focus; there's no online distractions (incidentally, this is also why many people prefer handwriting to typing).

Kristen Ghodsee, an American ethnographer, wrote a wonderful blog post on savageminds.org about why she loves typewriters, and a few of her reasons included:

• Typewriters never crash, never need software updates, do not become obsolete every four years, and require no backing up.
• Typewriters have unlimited battery life, and never overheat.
• You can work in full sunlight, and not have to worry about the glare on your screen.
• Your eyes never hurt from staring too long at your typewriter.
• When you write on a typewriter, your friends, family, and colleagues can all hear that you're working.
• You can misspelll words and use bad grammar without your word processing program constantly judging you.

People have mixed opinions at the start of November. Some are taking a breath after Halloween, others are giddy and hear the faint sound of sleigh bells ushering them into the holiday season.

 

This time of year, when you're out for an evening walk, it's not unusual to see a few cobwebs on your neighbours' verandas. Or in their yew hedges. You might see a black cat, or hear haunted house sounds. You're bound to see many pumpkins on front steps and along walkways.

 

 

Although autumn technically starts on September 22nd, autumn colours don't make an appearance here in southern Ontario until mid-to-late October. When the trees show us that we're in the season of fruition, it's quite natural to look back and become nostalgic.

 

 

Does the autumn make you feel crafty? Maybe it's the idea of knitwear, Thanksgiving, Halloween and even the lead up to the Christmas holidays that makes us get creative and want to pull out some paper and scissors.

If you prefer to create your own designs, you can use a quality blank sheet and stamps. Either use coloured ink or colour in images with pencils, markers or watercolours. Customized papers like these make great wrapping paper or you can use them to make your own gift bags. Just add tissue and a pretty ribbon and you're set!

As a gift for yourself, use paper to cover a book or storage box. Or, insert a little whimsy into your day by lining a drawer, shelf or inside cupboard with a beautiful decorative paper to spark some joy. Use it to line or cover a tin or jar and make yourself a pen, brush, or cutlery holder - or apply the same technique to revitalize an old vase.

Since papers are lightweight, inexpensive and versatile, you can switch them up for different seasons and holidays, easily giving your space a fresh, new and festive look.

For Thanksgiving and Halloween, consider making paper leaves or other cutouts to hang. For example, bats and crows can be dangled from string in doorways, windows or from branches. Or cutout some cats, a full moon, pumpkins, etc. and tape them to your window to appear in the evening against the interior glow of light inside.

You can also use paper and a good pair of scissors to fashion yourself a Halloween costume, such as a calendar (we did this one year - affix pages to a cardboard box with head and arm-holes, and dangle a pencil from a string). Or create paper accessories, such as a mask, crown, fan, or wand-topper.

 

Well, October is upon us, and we're off to the library! This month is Canadian Library Month; a time to consider the impact our libraries have on our communities.

  

September 30th this year, us Canadians have a brand new statutory holiday - the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This, together with Yom Kippur (also known as The Day of Atonement) this month made us reflect upon the topic of forgiveness.

The Injured Party

It's no picnic in the park to be wronged by another. Worse yet is the amplification of any pain we felt at the time by replaying a narrative about it in our head. This evokes any number of negative emotions and can put us in quite a state.

Many conflate forgiveness with condoning an act. However, forgiveness is about accepting that something unpleasant has happened, not that it was okay. Rather, it's about recognizing that you'll be okay, whatever happens. It's a release from the intense energy that can sometimes be put into resisting reality. 

Forgiveness benefits you more than anyone else. You release yourself from the torment of hoping that the past was different.

It's in the past. So we let it go and free ourselves by not tainting our present and future.

Nature's a rich source of inspiration. It's ever-changing, growing, morphing, etc. There's always something showing us a new perspective, if we only stop for a moment and observe. Tomorrow - Wednesday, September 22nd - is the autumnal equinox, the first day of fall. As the hours of daylight grow fewer, several plants form seed pods and fade.

 

 

We know washi's doing... she's taping photos and momentos into her scrapbook!

Washi tape is a wonderful plant-based tape that comes in a wide variety of colours and printed designs. Since it doesn't leave a residue, you can remove it without damaging the material to which it's adhered. Anyone who's spent time trying to remove gummy adhesive from glass will appreciate this feature!