Winter

on finding warmth

my new woodfire heater

Winter is nearly halfway through! It feels hard to believe that the season is slipping past so quickly. For years, I have hated winter. My fingers and toes go white with cold (thanks Raynaud’s Phenomenon), I tug on jumpers and thick socks and turn the heater up.

For a few years after my mum died, I took the family up to Cairns for a week during the winter school holidays. It was enough to warm out bones. Stepping out into the soft tropical air fragrant with frangipanis, my body softened, unaware of how tightly it had been holding itself.

When COVID hit, that stopped. As the days darkened to grey, I cranked up the heaters. I knitted scarves and beanies and fingerless gloves. I made warm soups and slow cooked dinners. We turned inward like the way I changed my furniture arrangement with the seasons. Couch and arm chairs facing inward in winter, and outward in summer. Those three years there was a lot of inward facing.

This year, my hubby and I took an out-of-school holiday trip to Darwin for five days. It was wonderful and while we were there, my sons were messaging me about how cold it was back home. I arrived home with the warmth inside me.

This week in Melbourne, where we would historically have our coldest day of the year, we had a day of seventeen degrees (not quite the hottest July Melbourne day on record which was 23.3 on 18 July 2013).

Last Friday, in what seemed like a moment of irony during the last week with the warmer days, our wood fire heater was installed. It’s been a long time coming. I grew up with a pot belly stove, then in my first house I had a small open fire and I have wanted one here for the last 21 years.

Last Thursday was the last day that I turned on the heater. I’ve discovered that the house now retains its warmth from the previous day then slowly warms with the winter sunshine coming through the windows until I light the fire in the late afternoon—pop, crackle, twists of flame—the house warms quickly.

Other things

• I’m looking forward to providing a creative space for others at Retreat with Me. Bookings close in a week, so if you’re thinking about coming along, don’t wait too long

• I finished reading Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Then at my gym assessment with a new instructor, he was telling about all things horse and I realised how much I’d picked up about horses in the book. I love synchronicity, and love how books teach us unexpected things

• I attended Mark Brandi’s book launch this week for his fourth book Southern Aurora and caught up with some writing friends and met new ones. I love book launches for things like this. Even though I’m in the middle of reading two books (Inconceivable:Heartbreak, bad dates and finding solo motherhood by Alexandra Collier and [audiobook] Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty) I couldn’t help myself and have started reading it. As usual, Mark’s stories grip you from the first page.

• Yoga. How good is it?! Am I just going for the shavasana? Headspace reckon that it’s good for me, so maybe I am. But I’ve been making it a regular part of my week (twice a week!) and I’ve started seeing some results.

• Tiredness. The CPAP contraption has medicalised bedtime for me and I’ve never been as tired as I am even though my Fitbit app is telling me that I’m getting better sleep. I remain in continual pursuit of better sleep and am not giving up on it yet.

• Katherine Collette’s newsletter Highbrow, Lowbrow, Mediumbrow is, as usual, funny and smart, something I regard highly.

• I recently did a three week ‘Heal + Create’ writing retreat with Julia Cameron. Gosh, she’s good! Still! After all these years. She’s got another one coming up in October with Ann Lamont. While you could attend in person if you were in the US, it will be live and recorded so you can take part in it virtually (which is how I took part in the recent one).

Lastly, welcome and thank you!

I have a bunch of new subscribers this week and if that’s you, welcome! I get so excited when I see an email that I have a new subscriber. I also love hearing from you, whether it is in the comments below or in an email. It’s good to know when something resonates.

I was particularly heartened by a message from one who chose to take out a paid subscription: Hi Meg, I don't expect anything for free so I pay for several author substack subscriptions. All creatives should be paid for their work.” Thank you to that delightful person with your delightful message. It truly made my day.

If you know someone who might like my newsletter that is about whatever I’m thinking about, please send it their way.

Until next time, stay warm x Meg