Over the summer I did a “Summer Interlude” series where I talked about things I was reading and beautiful things I encountered. Over the winter break, I have compiled just one “Winterlude” post where I do a bit of both. I hope you enjoy a cozy little change in topic for my last post of 2025.
Winter Roses
The Nutcracker… Twice
The snowflake dance is always one of my favorite numbers.
This Christmas season, I indulged my love of ballet (and for The Nutcracker in particular) two times! Ballet has touched my heart so deeply in the past year. It was nothing short of a delight to round out the year by seeing such gorgeous performances nearly back to back.
Sunsets
We have a favorite place to go to see the sunset. I’m sure you can see why. We are lucky to live in southern California!
Books with My Kids
Time at home and away from work means lots of reading with my sweet children. Here are some of our recent favorite titles to read together:
Finding Winnie by Lindsay Mattick & Sophie Blackall - This is a true story! The illustrations are adorable, the writing is quite funny, and it is touching. And, if you don’t already know what the story is really about, you will be pleasantly (maybe tearfully) surprised about halfway through.
The Invisible Dog by Dick King-Smith - When I taught 2nd grade literature, I always looked forward to teaching Babe. I love Dick King-Smith. Happily, he has many titles to enjoy, such as The Stray, Pigs Might Fly, The Golden Goose, and… this one! The Invisible Dog is short and sweet.
The Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen - I found this one because Chris Van Dusen did the illustrations for the Mercy Watson books by Kate DiCamillo, which we love. As it turns out, he is quite the storyteller (and poet) himself! My children adore this funny story.
The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl - After our recent obsession with The Twits, I knew I had to share this funny story with my kids, too. My oldest son has appropriated the book and will not allow anyone else to read it.
Christmas at the Mission
My family attended a beautiful Christmas tree lighting at a California mission near where we live. The mission was decked out in holiday splendor, and there was a nativity scene placed within the ruins of the old church. The dramatic lighting and the ancient walls made the scene shockingly lifelike. The picture I took (see below) does not really do it justice, but take a look anyway.
My children got to drink hot chocolate, watch a puppet show, and meet Santa. My two-year-old son bravely marched right up to Santa, and before that jolly old elf could say any words at all, little man shouted, “I WANNA DUCKY AND A TRAIN!” Without the slightest pause, St. Nick responded, “No problem!” What a guy.
Willa Cather
This winter break, I am reading Death Comes for the Archbishop and part two of Don Quixote.
I have long been a devoted fan of Willa Cather’s, and last week, I happened upon Death Comes for the Archbishop, which I’ve never read. Naturally, I had to snap it up. I love Cather’s way with characterization, but even more than that, her way with nature. Although the desert setting of the novel is necessarily harsh, and she holds nothing back on that front, she also presents it in a way that is unmistakably beautiful. So few people have the patience for what makes a desert beautiful, but Willa Cather does. When I read her descriptions of the desert, I am transported back to my childhood of desert camping, where I learned to admire a kind of purple dawn I’ve yet to see anywhere else.
Anza Borrego. I have very clear memories of scrambling up these peaks with bare hands and knees, heedless of scrapes.
Percy the Corn Snake
This winter break, I added a corn snake to my classroom menagerie, and he has been staying at my house until we go back. My three-year-old daughter is head over heels for him, and she can hold him safely all by herself. His name is Percy, since he is bright red and very fancy. If you get the reference, I am glad.
Winter Walks
We moved in August, and our new home is near a trail that runs along a creek. I grew up walking that trail to get to school, and I am so pleased to share its treasures with my children now. There are always little bursts of color there, no matter the season.
Pour Over Coffee
My husband wakes up early every morning, turns on the heater, and prepares fresh pour over coffee. That is the smell I wake up to every morning. He will even bring it to me while I am still in bed. He has been doing this ever since we were married, but when my California-born toes are freezing cold on those 50-degree winter mornings, that hot coffee made with love feels about one thousand times more wonderful.
Food Ornaments
The first Christmas after we were married, my husband and I inexplicably bought about fifteen food-shaped ornaments for our first Christmas tree. Since then, one of our traditions has been to buy a new food-shaped ornament each year. I love looking back at the ornaments from previous years, which we’ve tried to thematically match to the years we’ve had. When I was pregnant with my first child, for example, we thought he looked like a peanut in his first ultrasound. So, we called him peanut during my entire pregnancy and bought a peanut-shaped ornament that year. Sometimes, though, the ornament is just pretty… Like this custard.
Amaryllis
To me, nothing says winter quite like amaryllis bulbs in the window. Their bright red beauty always makes me stop and stare.
When we can’t tend roses, we can tend amaryllis, can’t we? :)
That’s all for 2025, folks. I hope this holiday season finds you cozily ensconced with the people you love most.
See you back here in 2026 with more classroom-related content!