Advent 4

The final week...Granny has arrived from France, the shopping done, tree decorated, all manner of secret preparations are going on, hat knitting is progressing and large quantities of chocolate truffles have been mixed and rolled. The 'creche' is now set up, added to and rearranged every now and then, this year with a few woodland visitors...

And today, the shortest day, the longest night, the tilt of the year. It started for me with a rose pink lunar eclipse on my early morning way to L'Arche. Then, as the sun dipped back down behind the snow covered mountains, as rosy as the moon, four tiny deer stepped out onto the road and slowly made their way across before pausing to look at me and then amble off. A special, time-stopping moment.

And in the midst of it all, I'm aware of my own longing to stop awhile, to linger...but it's coming soon. In the meantime, we are all trying to stay well - don't we all get a bit run down just about now? So here's my simple 'staying well drink' which I concocted when trying to redeem the taste of some worthy but not very tasty teabags.


Staying Well Tea:


Place one lemon and green tea bag in a large mug, add 15-20 drops echinacea tincture, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of ginger or a grating of fresh ginger and a teaspoon of honey. Fill three quarters with boiling water, allow to steep, then top up with orange or apple juice.


One a day, with a vitamin C and zinc supplement seems to do the trick! Hope it fortifies you to enjoy these days, and yes, they will be getting longer -starting tomorrow!