Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
It is Twelfth Night, the last night of Christmas and the night before Epiphany, the festival of the Wise Men. This is the night when all the drummers show up along with a veritable cacophony of birds; a party of lords, ladies and colorful others; and quite a few cows. I'm not sure I would… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 5 January 2022
It’s been exactly one year since I started this online writing endeavor. I have written somewhere north of 300,000 words in over 220 posts. I have hundreds of regular readers between this blog and the several newsletters and aggregators who repost these essays and stories, a fact that just boggles. These are people who are… Continue reading Old and New
My writing calendar is done for 2021. I suppose I should take my own good advice and refrain from posting through the winter holidays. If for no other reason than I suspect there will be new books to read. May you have a delightful 12 Days and a joyous New Year! Much love from Eliza
The stockings are hung. There is a large balsam fir in the doorway that never gets used between the office and the dining room covered with all manner of sparkly flotsam and jetsam. It serves as a fairly decent record of where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing with much of my life. There… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 22 December
Before Pope Gregory tweaked the Julian calendar and caused a great deal of confusion, 13 December was celebrated as the winter solstice in Scandinavia. The poem by the late 16th century English writer, John Donne, “A Nocturnal upon St Lucy’s Day, Being the Shortest Day” shows that Protestant countries were still celebrating Midwinter in the… Continue reading Santa Lucia
In my part of the world, we have reached the days of earliest sunset. Night falls at 4:11pm. Tomorrow will be the same. But Friday, the sun will hover on the horizon for one more minute in the evening. The days will still be growing shorter for a couple more weeks, but that trend of… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 8 December
St Nicholas December 6th is St Nicholas' Day. Nicholas is an interesting figure, or perhaps collection of figures, as the case may be. The official Nick was a bishop of Myra. His legends claim that he was born in about 270CE to wealthy parents in Greek Lycia. While still a child, he was orphaned by… Continue reading Jolly Old Elf
I don't like Thanksgiving. I never have. I don't appreciate the the days of preparation necessary for one meal, much of which becomes an endless stream of leftovers that nobody wants to touch. I can't eat the sugary things anymore and don't want to eat a turkey. I spend far too much money to find… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 24 November
November 22nd is St Cecilia's Day. Nothing of her story bears repeating, but through it she became the patron saint of musicians. And maybe there is more in that story of a feisty Roman girl that we could find if we cleaned up all the sexual politics and grisly death. St Cecilia Playing the Harpsichord… Continue reading St Cecilia’s Day
The predicted snow arrived last night. It is mostly over now. First snow doesn't linger, though the cold still steals into the gaps around these old windows. I'm looking out on a damp grey world, more than halfway to winter sleep. But lilacs and oaks seem caught unawares, with green and yellow leaves hanging limp.… Continue reading Wednesday Word: 17 November
By My Solitary Hearth 