Category: Essays & Reflections

• What Settles: Ringing in the New Year in Colorado

  

  A calm New Year in Colorado, shaped by warmth, kindness, and cozy moments—proof that renewal isn’t about weather, but how a place makes you feel.

  mariemondemm

  January 2, 2026

  Essays & Reflections, Lifestyle, Personal Reflection, Seasonal Living, Travel & Place, Winter Rituals

  Colorado Winter, Cozy Travel, Gaylord Rockies, Gezellig, gezelligheid, life, love, luxury-lodge, mental-health, Mountain Retreat, New Year Reflections, Seasonal Transitions, Slow Living, Thoughtful Travel, winter, writing, Year-End Reflection

• What Endures: Black Walnuts, Winter Tables, and the Things That Wait

  

  The winter season in Virginia emphasizes endurance rather than new beginnings. Black walnuts, a significant part of the landscape, symbolize patience as they wait to be used after falling in autumn. Engaging with simple tasks like cooking and walking outdoors helps anchor thoughts during these quiet months. The transition of trees teaches a valuable lesson…

  mariemondemm

  December 31, 2025

  Essays & Reflections, Food & Place, Lifestyle, Seasonal Living, Winter Rituals

  Ancestral Foods, autumn, Black Walnuts, fall, Food and Place, Grounding Rituals, mid-atlantic, nature, Seasonal Eating, Seasonal Foodways, seasons, Slow Living, Virginia Winter, winter, Winter Cooking