Hi there,
This week I finished all my holiday shopping (except for stocking stuffers, which Kyle and I usually do as a date night in the few days before Christmas)... I’m rather glad to get that festive monkey off my back. And even though our family has long appreciated taking things slowly and gradually during Advent, we really are this year. Our tree is still adorned with nothing but lights, the house has exterior lights and a few boughs of greenery on the inside but that’s it, and we’ve yet to watch any holiday movies. All the music has been decidedly Advent-centric, meals have been simple, and our focus has been the Sacraments and prayer. In many ways it’s because our schedule has been really full1, but still, it’s been really, really good so far. Not perfect, because it never is. But good.
Plus, Tate comes home from college this next week! 🙌 This makes me six kinds of happy.
Tomorrow a group of menfolk from our parish are coming over to help Kyle re-side the house, and I’ll provide copious amounts of pizza and beer in generous thanks (which, of course, doesn’t say thanks nearly enough). I can’t wait to see the house finally stripped of the 60s-era siding that was slapped on to the original 90-year-old frame... It’s been nine years2 in the making!
5 Quick Things ☕️
1. New episode of A Drink With a Friend! In this one I’m chatting with Annelise Roberts, a wife and mom of six kids whom she homeschools while raising animals on their homestead in North Carolina. She shares with me a beloved childhood book (that’s very fitting for her life right now), as well as one of the most mind-blowing works of fiction from C.S. Lewis.
2. I remember with great affection when my kids were younger and we’d go on nature walks in Oregon where we lived, noticing the different trees, the sound of running water, the volcanic rock beds, the way snow feels. On our school year around the world, we spent much, much time in the natural world, too, snorkeling and hiking, noticing flora and fauna and how they differed on different continents… I miss those days. I thought of these memories as I read Ryan B. Anderson’s recent delightful essay on how to raise young conservationists: “You walk slow through a park and name what is there like a prayer: oak, milkweed, monarch, salamander, ash, track, fern. You stop and try to remember the ordinary miracles, the kind adults forget to see because we are trained to keep moving. …They learn that water is not just what comes out of a faucet, but what runs downhill, fills rivers, breeds trout, carries canoes. They learn that food tastes of soil, sun, rain, and work.”
3. Yesterday I recorded an upcoming episode for another podcast (I’ll share it in next week’s newsletter), but in the chat I was reminded of one of my favorite seasonal podcasts: Hark!, a show that unpacks the history behind the most beloved Christmas carols. In the past I’ve especially enjoyed the episodes for O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Carol of the Bells—I’m looking forward to their new episodes the rest of this season.
4. For years now I’ve admired my friend Autumn Kern’s bold move to embrace what she calls Mother Academia, and she’s recently declared 2026 the year of “feminine soulcraft”—I love this. “This year, we’ll embark on a journey to study the feminine soul by reading nine novels, memorising six poems, keeping narration and commonplace notebooks, and joining six discussion calls with the cohort over three terms.” If you miss the life of the mind, studying, and/or the lovely camaraderie of university life yet it is entirely out of reach for you in your season of life, I highly encourage you to join her. You won’t be disappointed.
5. And finally, keeping up with my newfound fascination with the Tasting History channel, here’s that history of and instructions for making real Victorian sugarplums you never asked for. You’re welcome.
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📚
The Reed of God, by Caryll Houselander (my personal Advent read this year—it’s a re-read for me, but it’s been a long while and boy is it good)
Your Favorites From My Gift Guide 🎁
Continuing on with my peak behind what you’re loving the most from this year’s gift guide:
Quotable 💬
“For nine months Christ grew in His Mother’s body. By His own will she formed Him from herself, from the simplicity of her daily life. She had nothing to give Him but herself. He asked for nothing else.”
- Caryll Houselander
What’s your favorite holiday drink this time of year? 🥃
This question embodies perfectly why I only ask multiple-choice questions in these polls, because otherwise you would have each given me a backstory as to why such-and-such is your choice, but with this special ingredient or that secret recipe, or how what you’d actually pick isn’t listed as an option at all... I get it.
For me this year, I’m going with doctored coffee: my current love is a simple breve latte with a half-shot of mint from my neighborhood café. It’s *chef’s kiss*.
Hot chocolate: 28%
Doctored coffee: 19.2%
Eggnog: 18.7%
Flavored tea: 15.3%
Apple cider: 10.4%
Wassail: 8.3%
Find next week’s poll here.
Quick Links 🔗
Question(s) For You to Ponder… 🤔
What are you learning about yourself this holiday season?
Have a great weekend,
- Tsh
p.s. - New movie idea.
Alas, life as a household with adolescents who have their own work, school, and social calendars.
When we bought the house, which was crazy… In many ways it feels like we just started the renovation project, but in reality, it’s the longest we’ve ever lived anywhere by a long shot.
Thanks for the tip on the Hark podcast--I'm really looking forward to listening to this! Hearing the backstories makes hymns and carols so much richer!
I have to say -- this poll makes me cringe every year. So many songs I can't stand for one reason or another. 😆