November :: The Nesting Month

Perhaps you're like me and feeling the need to feather your nest this month. Here in Maine, the trees are nearly stripped of their leaves and the branches rest against the pearly skies. Evening arrives at about 440pm and drapes itself on us and it will only arrive earlier and earlier as we approach the winter solstice. The garden needs putting to bed, the blue pots need to emptied and cleaned and put away until spring. This weekend, I tell myself, we'll do just that, and then I can give in to the pull to come in, to feather, to make home, homier.



I am feeling the sewing machine calling me and I have a stack of projects lined up. We might be refreshing some more spaces and continue improving and adjusting our rooms to suit changing needs. Olivia's room needs some attention. She has one of the few closets this old house has, but it's one not even as deep as a coat hanger and so it's fairly useless. Plus, in her small room, it eats up an entire corner with not very practical storage, so we want to tear that out. She wants simple color on the walls, a new desk, a bit of reorganization. So that's one project I'm looking forward to. I'll probably use the sewing machine for that project as well, as one of her requests is new curtains. That daughter of mine knows how to send shivers of joy up her designing mama's spine, that's certain.

Semi-major projects aside, I'll begin a bit of seasonal decorating towards November's end. The pottery will come out, to be filled with paperwhite bulbs. Forcing paperwhites is one of my very favorite late autumn to winter things. Nesting to me doesn't just mean cozy blankets on the arm of the couch, it also means sprucing up the house, polishing old silver, canning some cranberry jelly and apple butter and baking extra for the freezer. Cookbooks and cookie planning will begin, lists will be made.



Feathering the nest in November also means that treasures will be searched for, put away in some hidden corner of the house, sealed away with a wish, a secret to be discovered at solstice. Little surprises, gifts, wishes, hopes, all tucked in--a drawer here, under the bed there, put away for now. I can always feel the house warm to the bits of joy and goodness, trusted as it is with these treasures, the guardian of our dreams.



Simple nesting joys about in November. If you are a tea collector like I am, try a new kind every day, make a list of the ones you like best and make sure to share those with a friend. Seek out a local farm for some raw milk and make cheese. Try a new bread or soup recipe. Gather collections and display them in new ways. Make a scrap quilt with that ever-growing fabric stash. Sew up new stockings or a tree skirt. Buy a fragrant nut oil and refresh your wooden spoons, cutting boards and salad bowls. Get out a little leftover paint and touch up the woodwork. Force some paperwhites, hyacinth and amaryllis. Get out that old china and use it. Keep notes, snap photos, make and collect little secrets for your loved ones, thinking of them always. Keep it simple, be thoughtful, be thankful. It's November. Enjoy feathering your nest.