Country Mouse Monday: Making merry

One of the greatest things about living on our little farmlet is showing up places with things that we grew, with a "hostess gift" of something from our garden. All summer long, we arrive with flowers or jam or peppers or tomatoes, and sometimes honey. 

We show up with something we made.

Even if it's just cilantro we picked fresh before leaving the house, which we didn't exactly *make* ourselves -- the soil did that, and the sun, and the water, and the plant itself -- still there's this great feeling of satisfaction.

Sometimes I think that sharing what we've grown is even better than eating it ourselves. It's more precious, somehow, in the giving.

And winter's no different.

Well, OK, winter's a lot different. We don't have anywhere near the bounty, obviously, but there's still growing happening. Best of all: 

There's still making.

This may be one of the reasons why I love Christmas so much, besides watching Love Actually and Babe and Elf. It's such a season of Making, whether it's baking or sewing or wrapping. Or, in my case recently, melting.

With all of the beeswax I've been saving from honey harvests past, it's been great fun making lip balm and hand salve, holiday songs streaming from the Pandora station on my phone as I mix up fragrant batches of melted goop.

Some is for presents, some will be stock for an experiment in selling, maybe via Etsy, we shall see. I'm not so worried about that part. Instead I keep my focus on creating, on using my two hands to produce something concrete, something real.

What matters is the making.

I am wishing you so much love and happiness and deep satisfaction this holiday season, with lots and lots of opportunities to make something, anything, whatever gives you joy. Make merry!

And especially I wish you that feeling, my favorite, of handing a loved one a little parcel and saying these words, "I made you this." 

XX