The Ritual Master Hello friends, how are you doing this November ? I often hear November is a difficult month, most people have a hard time with the days getting shorter, the cold taking its permanent place for winter and a general atmosphere of complaint at the office or among friends.
If you were in search of something to lift your mood, then welcome. Because this little reader here has a great time in November. Remember we are getting ready for Christmas, so even if it’s not here just yet, you have the prospect of celebration and fairy lights ahead.
Then there is the beauty of those cosy evenings reading by candlelight, while a nice meal is cooking and perfuming the whole house with its wonderful aromas. Because let’s face it, there’s nothing else to do, so you have the perfect excuse to cuddle up on the couch and read or watch a cosy movie.
There are many ways to enjoy November, so here are some of my suggestions…
Gratitude Journal
Just when you feel like nothing is going your way, is when you need to take up the practice of a gratitude journal. It’s easy to do it when all is sunny and perfect, but the real purpose of this practice is to get you to focus your attention on the good stuff when you’re feeling down.
So choose a nice notebook, or maybe just an old glass jar that you fill with little pieces of paper, either way, write it down. Ideally, three things you are grateful for this day. And maybe invent a gratitude ritual on New Year’s Eve, when you open the jar or the notebook and read back all that was good this past year, so that you can move into the new one with a light heart and grateful soul.
Books
My reading mood has fluctuated greatly these last few weeks, to say the least. I have many reading goals that seem unattainable at the moment, so while browsing through my bookshelves, I decided to opt for some classics to ensure my satisfaction…
I have not yet found an Agatha Christie that I didn’t like, and this one was sitting on my shelves for 10 years, waiting. It’s a good thing I jot down when and where I get my books, this way when I finally get to read them, I can connect to that moment. La plume empoisonnée or The poisoned feather, is the French translation for The moving finger, published in 1942. Two siblings moving to a little village in Devon, receiving anonymous letters, it sounds perfect for my cosy early evenings.
This next selection I know nothing about, but I have a good feeling. My intimidating Brontë Sisters anthology is a volume I regularly come back to, whenever I want a nice classic to travel with. My note on the day I bought it seems strange, I have no recollection of thinking it, and still, it makes sense. Thinking of my father and his collections, I bought an anthology of novels I thought should be in my home, just as he bought for many years entire collections of classics or modern classics, thinking any home should have them in its library. This time I’m chosing Charlotte Brontë’s novel The Professor, and I have high hopes for a good excuse to make myself a nice cup of tea and ignore everything and everyone…
And then there is this beautiful edition of Thomas Hardy’s A pair of blue eyes, a purchase I made solely for the beauty of the cover, but I think it will suit my November mood just fine. It seems appropriate to read a Hardy novel after I made a video of Victorian poetry. The story continues…And with an epigraph like this, I think I found my tea to go along perfectly…
Shakespeare – Hamlet, Act I, Scene 3
“A violet in the youth of primy nature
Forward, not permanent, sweet not lasting
The perfume and suppliance of a minute
No more.”
Violet Oolong Tea
You already know my passion for Oolong tea, and I have recently found a flavoured Oolong for special occasions. The violet is an acquired taste, but since living in France, I have learned to enjoy the Toulouse violet in many different forms. This tea is an elegant invitation to a moment of self-indulgence. The oolong is a discreet background, leaving the front of the stage to the strong personality of the violet, that shows remarkable self-restraint. It is not overpowering, just the right dose of refinement. A tea that transforms an ordinary afternoon into a moment of pure delight.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 20
My memories of November evenings as a child often depict the record player my parents used to plug in on special nights. I remember some records of children’s stories, some of traditional caroling, a few of old tangos, but the one that was most worn out was Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 20, my mother’s favourite. Since classics are front and center this month, I thought I should give myself a treat and listen to this special concert, that brings back so many memories of cosy evenings. Just like olfactory memory, I believe musical memories can instantly transport you to a moment in time, with all the emotions and intense feelings revived in an instant. This concerto makes me feel like a happy child again.
Yummy Soup
And since cold weather rhymes with hot soup, I thought I should share one of my favourite autumn recipes : sweet potato and pear soup. Easy to make yet so satisfying, this creamy concoction is just what you need to forget the damp cold outside and have one more thing to add to your gratitude journal. The full recipe is in the Recipes menu, as always.
I hope my November enthusiasm has been contagious, and that I managed to rehabilitate the reputation of this underrated month of the year. Our December meeting will have a different format, I’m keeping it a secret for the time being, but be sure to follow me on social media for the big reveal…
Until next time, enjoy your reading, and your rituals !
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