The dog days of winter are now upon us. As we begin to dismantle the tree, take down the ornaments and un-deck our halls we're left with dust, too many pine needles and a bare, almost solemn feeling. It's cold outside, blustery cold. The trees are bare. The ground is bare. And there's really nothing exceptional about this time of year. We can all feel it. Our steps grow slower and heavier with each and every passing day. It's not even mid-January and we're already ready to trade in our heavy coats and boots for bathing suits and flip flops. A little snow on the ground would be a most welcome sight right now. Snow does not belong in October. It belongs here now. We need to see the big downy flakes fall from the white sky. We need to run out and catch them on our tongues and build snow men and snow forts and make snow angels. We need to bring out the sleds and thermoses filled with hot cocoa (or whatever your pleasure may be!) We need to unpeel our heavy, snow-ladden clothing in the mud room and sit in front of a warm fire places so that our little fingers and toes can start to move and come back to life!

This is my weekend to de-Christmas the house. The children will be sad to have to say goodbye to the Nutcrackers that colorfully welcome visitors on the table in the foyer. They will be sad to have to say goodbye to the ornaments on the tree, the large bowl of glass balls on the living room table, the ornaments and chains hanging from the chandeliers, as will I. I will look for ways to add some winter to our home to fill some of the voids. I will fill these voids with our large collection of pine cones that have been collected over the years by my children and me. We have pine cones of all different sizes. Some in their natural state, some we've dusted with glitter and some we've painted. I think, if we keep away from the reds and greens and Christmas-like colors, we can add some winter decor by bringing the outdoors indoors - something I love to do year round. You can enhance with bundles of twigs and sticks tied up in pretty ribbons. You can enhance with bowls of acorns, some painted, some in their natural state. You can mix the pine cones with rocks and shells. The possibilities are endless. Let's not focus on the void that's left when Christmas goes, but with filling it with other wonderful items of the season. Let's look forward not backwards. Let's move forward, not backwards!