For many years, winter and I were not friends.
I would get terrible winter blues and struggled with the cold.
It made me cranky.
Our windy old Victorian was so architecturally interesting and so, so terribly drafty and miserable.
It was built in 1905, and remodeled many times. The last time, right before we bought it, some genius put the bathroom right by the back door, so all was OK unless anyone opened or closed the door at any point – then the bathroom became frigid for 4 hours and there was nothing you could do about it.
And a cold tush is enough to make anyone grumpy.
I was so Waldorfy then you guys – my kids wore woolen hats and long underwear all day … and I knew the cold and dark were getting to me every minute, but I always got through it until one day when the snow would thaw and I’d spot green again.
Eventually we moved, and I started to notice right away that first winter that I didn’t want to hit things anymore, and it was like the beginning of something.
And then around that time I started learning about hygge.
If you aren’t familiar with the idea of hygge, my favorite definition is from hyggehouse.com:
“The Danish word hygge (pronounced hue-gah) is a feeling or mood that comes from taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary everyday things simply extraordinary; whether it’s making coffee a verb by lingering over a cup, to a cosy evening in with friends to lighting a candle with every meal … Words like cosiness, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, fellowship, simpleness and living well are often used to describe the idea of Hygge.”
Cosiness.
Security.
Familiarity.
Comfort.
Reassurance.
Fellowship.
Simpleness.
Living well.
Sounds pretty good, right?
***
Things are different now, friends. Sure – winter days are still hard some times, but I know what to do. We make cocoa and pull out library books and we turn on all the twinkle lights.
That reminds me – a few things that make me feel all hygge-ish:
- Baking bread. I’ve recently learned to use the dough function on our bread maker, and pretty much every day I make some kind of warm, fresh bread.
- Rice pudding. My Swedish aunt used to make rice pudding and it makes me feel so cozy. It’s perfect for breakfast, lunch, snacks and right before bedtime. I’m mastering it in my Instant Pot.
- My tea collection. My tea collection is a little out of control. I love our happy little tea kettle, and my favorite varieties for winter at Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Vanilla and Republic of Tea Vanilla Almond (they have a decaf version too).
- Beeswax candles. No scent except melting beeswax. Bright. Warm.
- Battery lights – you can put these in any window, any little table, any little holder and you don’t have to worry about the cat lighting himself on fire.
- Twinkle lights everywhere.
- Warm socks.
- Cozy blankets.
- Good books.
- Chocolate.
- Cats.
- My people.
The End.
Oh – except two quick book resources for you if you want to learn more:
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Such a lovely post, Kara, and I LOVED your essay on Simple Homeschool. It’s been my most frustrating experience with homeschooling…the sense that I’ve never got the “feel” of it just right. But you’ve given me the sense that I can still do it, it’s not impossible! Thank you 🙂 And I quickly added your bread maker to my wishlist…I hope it’s not too late for my husband or mother to buy it for Christmas! ♡
I wonder how I can find a way to do summer hygge. We are heading into our southern Australian summer which is so long and hot and we all get a little crazy stuck inside trying to escape the heat. Not exactly looking for cosy – candles and using the oven will just add to the heat – but would love to create a sense of comfort in our home.
Gulp. Christmas Day forecast now out – 100 degrees. Send summer hygge now please.
Okay, darling! I requested your bread maker for Christmas and my sweet husband made all my freshly baked bread dreams come true 🙂 Do you have a favorite recipe y’all have been using?! Thanks so much for this lovely post and for the bread maker rec! xo Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
“I was so Waldorfy then you guys – my kids wore woolen hats and long underwear all day …” I laughed so hard. It was awesome. After I recovered, I read it to my husband, explained the joke to him and it was STILL funny.
Also, you make rice pudding in your instapot? How is this magic obtained! Do you have a favorite recipe? I have one but didn’t even know you could do that. Sweet!
Andrea, I would go outside and have a water fight, then if you are still hot and sticky go in and sit on front of the air conditioner or fan for a couple of minutes! Or make ice cold lemonade, popsicles, or iced tea. Try to get your kids out early, before 8 am or so, before the day gets too hot. I’m not sure if the heat kin Australia is humid or dry heat, but I lived in Malaysia for a while, and the early morning hours were heavenly before the hot muggy air descended each day.
Maybe take field trips to places that you know have good air conditioning.
I do think hygge and homeschool are synonymous, I’d we create it that way. Love the post, thanks for stopping by!
Teresa