Posts Tagged ‘winter’
Welcoming the Darkness
It’s so easy to complain about the lack of light this time of year, particularly after we have set our clocks back and the afternoon succumbs to darkness even earlier. Yet with that darkness comes a beautiful quietness and stillness that’s hard to find at other times of year.
The Scandinavian way to enjoy this is to bring in lots of candlelight. I’ve been lighting candles both in the morning and the afternoon, a way to welcome the darkness instead of falling prey to it. In Finnish, “kaamos” is the world that refers to the time of year when the sun doesn’t even rise, yet there is still a magical lightness that covers the winter landscape. It doesn’t matter if you live in a place of pure winter darkness or not, candles and a pot of tea or a cup of coffee always help.
So in the coming weeks, invite a friend over and have fika by candlelight. (Here’s a recipe for sourdough cardamom buns, if you are in the mood for a little baking)
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A couple of Scandinavian classics featured in the papercut above: the Kivi candleholders from Iittala and a teapot and mug in the Unikko design from Marimekko. Kivi means “stone” in Finnish, and the candleholder is a gentle nod to the fact that so much of Scandinavian design is influenced by nature. The Marimekko Unniko design dates back all the way to 1964, when the company’s founder Armi Ratia declared that the company would never print a flower pattern again. Designer Maija Isola thought otherwise, and came up with this iconic poppy print that is still used today, over half a century later.
Friday Photo: The Good Life
Sometimes cold mountain air does more for a creative work brainstorm than a desk could ever do. Well, all of the time actually.
That Kind of Weekend
The beauty of Oregon is salt air one day and snowflakes on a cross country ski trail the next.
Friday Photo: Snowshoeing Galore
Friday Photo: Portland In the Tetons
I love this photo for a lot of reasons:
- The Innate thermos has hot cider in it.
- That’s my favorite PDX bike sticker.
- This hike was fantastic.
Yurt Life
This week’s office looks a little something like this…
Plenty of good stuff going on right now. Em and I are officially on board at BETA, finalizing 2011 contracts at Under Solen, getting to work with cool groups like 5 Gyres and iLCP, and as usual, lots of coffee.
All in all lots of things to be thankful for this week.
Snowshoeing Mt. Rainier
Fresh snow crunches under your feet. Along the trail, paw prints of a small forest creature lead the way. The sun shines. You take a break to drink tea from your thermos and slice of a piece of brie cheese that’s your one gourmet indulgence in the backcountry. You continue along, excited about the prospect of an evening in front of a warm stove in a cozy ski hut. You contemplate to yourself how a winter trip doesn’t get much better than this.
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Earlier this winter I was craving some snow time, and decided to check out the Mount Tahoma Trails Association hut-to-hut ski trail system, a collection of groomed trails used by the Forest Service in the summer and snowshoers and cross country skiers in the winter. A common obstacle to pursuing winter backcountry adventures is of course that it’s cold and gets dark early, not the optimal tent conditions for most. Fortunately the MTTA maintains several different backcountry accommodations, including a yurt, all complete with propane stoves, sleeping pads and complete kitchens. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it ‘glamping,’ but high end backcountry digs is certainly a fitting definition.
Friday Photo: Utah Post-Ski
An unplanned New Year’s resolution (unplanned because it happened organically in the last few weeks) has been to learn how to ski. And what better place for your first turns than Utah? A beautiful day at Snow Basin – after a couple hours of low visibility and icy snow straight in the face – with a gorgeous drive into Salt Lake was an excellent introduction to my first time skiing in Utah. And winter sunsets are always a wonderful thing.
Friday Photo: Winter Tree
While the rest of the world is experiencing extremely low temperatures and plenty of snow and wintry weather, I’m stuck in dreary drizzle. Which means I’m longing for genuine winter. I love the lines of this tree; the way the white snow lays on the dark green and creates an interesting perspective of shade. A simple photo that says a lot.
Here’s to some snow…
