“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it” ~ Edith Wharton
Darkness comes earlier and earlier as we roll toward the winter solstice (which occurs next month, by the way) and once the time change happens this weekend, it will be dark even sooner. The time for coziness and hygge is at hand. This year I’m doing my best to make it all about the light – and that begins with a single candle.
Candles are my companions in our little attic loft space, and they are the main components of the transition to the coming winter. With the air conditioner out of the window, the room is brighter, and with the multitude of votives, there are little lights and little sources of warmth scattered throughout.
In one of the first winters I spent at the Boston condo, I discovered the power of candlelight, and candle warmth. The bedroom was always on the cooler side of things – the base-board heaters warmed the front room more than they did the back, and while I prefer a cool room for sleeping, some nights it got a little too cool, made worse by the bay window that drew in the drafts. On a whim, I bought a bulk pack of tea lights and lit about twenty of them in the bedroom. Entranced by the light, I was also pleasantly surprised by how much heat they gave off, as if a little fireplace had been lit in front of the bay window. Since then, I’ve remembered the power of that candlelight.
