On capturing light, infusing honey and an impulse cast-on

This last week, my sage plant started showing signs of flowering, so it was time to harvest. Some was dried, some made into syrup, some was added to honey for infusing.

These days, whenever we get a sunny day, and I find sunlight warming a slim rectangle on the floor, I sit there and light bathe for a few minutes. In summer, the sun will be unbearable, but it's winter still, and it's oh, so sweet now.

As I'm sitting on my floor, the sun caressing my eyelashes and warming my body, I can't help but imagine the new season drawing near. The buzzing. The fragrances. The colours. The promise of the warmth, the glow, the renewed light. It's in the air. And captured in my jar of sage infused honey.

Did you know you could trap sunlight in honey jars? Mix honey and sunlight, and what you get is magical rays of sweet happiness.

What I am making

This week, I should have worked on my newly cast on green jumper, but it didn't speak to me. Instead, I took one of the crazy balls I made with fingering weight yarn scraps and some recently recovered yarn from a scarf I never wore and cast on a Traveller shawl by Andrea Mowry. The construction was new and fun and because I used a heavy DK and made a smaller size, if knit up quickly, and it was very satisfying to finish.

Book of the week

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The book of the week is honeybee themed, of course : )

In “The Secret Life of Bees”, young Lily Owens escapes her abusive father and sets out on an adventure with her housekeeper and friend, Rosaleen, to find out who her mother was. This coming-of-age novel is set in South Carolina in the 1960s. The two main characters find refuge with three beekeeping sisters, August, June, and May, who teach Lily about beekeeping and living, about love, forgiveness, and the power of female community.

Reading the book feels sweet and cosy, yet sometimes scary. Kind of like being near a beehive. But once you learn how to be around the bees, you will also want to move in with the beekeeper sisters.

I leave you with a couple of quotes.

“I hadn't been out to the hives before, so to start off she gave me a lesson in what she called 'bee yard etiquette'. She reminded me that the world was really one bee yard, and the same rules work fine in both places. Don't be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you. Still, don't be an idiot; wear long sleeves and pants. Don't swat. Don't even think about swatting. If you feel angry, whistle. Anger agitates while whistling melts a bee's temper. Act like you know what you're doing, even if you don't. Above all, send the bees love. Every little thing wants to be loved.”

“Every human being on the face of the earth has a steel plate in his head, but if you lie down now and then and get still as you can, it will slide open like elevator doors, letting in all the secret thoughts that have been standing around so patiently, pushing the button for a ride to the top. The real troubles in life happen when those hidden doors stay closed for too long.”

May your days be filled with mindful moments. Until next time, be present.

Sky