#wintersolstice — Public Fediverse posts

"UNDER PRESSURE." Victorian illustration for a short story I wrote. Watercolor, 2021. #art #arting #artist #artists #artisticlicense #makingart #painting #watercolor #watercolorpainting #youngpeople #youngfriends #friends #friendship #holiday #holidays #christmas #hanukkah #newyearsever #newyear2021 #streamers #snow #snowfall #winter #wintersolstice #solstice #pennsylvania #pennsylvaniawinter #virtual #virtualparty #virtualparties

"UNDER PRESSURE." Victorian illustration for a short story I wrote. Watercolor, 2021. #art #arting #artist #artists #artisticlicense #makingart #painting #watercolor #watercolorpainting #youngpeople #youngfriends #friends #friendship #holiday #holidays #christmas #hanukkah #newyearsever #newyear2021 #streamers #snow #snowfall #winter #wintersolstice #solstice #pennsylvania #pennsylvaniawinter #virtual #virtualparty #virtualparties

"UNDER PRESSURE." Victorian illustration for a short story I wrote. Watercolor, 2021. #art #arting #artist #artists #artisticlicense #makingart #painting #watercolor #watercolorpainting #youngpeople #youngfriends #friends #friendship #holiday #holidays #christmas #hanukkah #newyearsever #newyear2021 #streamers #snow #snowfall #winter #wintersolstice #solstice #pennsylvania #pennsylvaniawinter #virtual #virtualparty #virtualparties

"UNDER PRESSURE." Victorian illustration for a short story I wrote. Watercolor, 2021. #art #arting #artist #artists #artisticlicense #makingart #painting #watercolor #watercolorpainting #youngpeople #youngfriends #friends #friendship #holiday #holidays #christmas #hanukkah #newyearsever #newyear2021 #streamers #snow #snowfall #winter #wintersolstice #solstice #pennsylvania #pennsylvaniawinter #virtual #virtualparty #virtualparties

"UNDER PRESSURE." Victorian illustration for a short story I wrote. Watercolor, 2021. #art #arting #artist #artists #artisticlicense #makingart #painting #watercolor #watercolorpainting #youngpeople #youngfriends #friends #friendship #holiday #holidays #christmas #hanukkah #newyearsever #newyear2021 #streamers #snow #snowfall #winter #wintersolstice #solstice #pennsylvania #pennsylvaniawinter #virtual #virtualparty #virtualparties

A Portrait of my Father-in-law and late Mother-in-law, Bruce and Jo Ann, painted six years ago. Watercolor. #art #artwork #painting #watercolor #watercolorpainting #watercolors #arting #artist #artists #housepaint #suits #suit #formal #party #holiday #holidayparty #chritmasparty #christmastime #christmas #holidays #wintersolstice #solstice #boxingday #Hanukkah #Kwanzaa #celebrate #celebrating #Celebration #happy #happyhappyjoyjoy #covid #COVID19 #covicpanic #covidoutbreak #covidfears

My friend, Ellen, painted as Lucy, with the rest of our gang for Christmas. Watercolor, 1989. #art #artwork #painting #watercolor #watercolorpainting #watercolors #arting #artist #artists #housepaint #suits #suit #formal #party #holiday #holidayparty #chritmasparty #christmastime #christmas #holidays #wintersolstice #solstice #boxingday #Hanukkah #Kwanzaa #celebrate #celebrating #Celebration #happy #happyhappyjoyjoy #covid #COVID19 #covicpanic #covidoutbreak #covidfears

A big plus to being married is having wonderful in-laws to gift my art to every Christmas. Three Impatiens Paintings. #art #artwork #painting #watercolor #watercolorpainting #watercolors #arting #artist #artists #housepaint #suits #suit #formal #party #holiday #holidayparty #chritmasparty #christmastime #christmas #holidays #wintersolstice #solstice #boxingday #Hanukkah #Kwanzaa #celebrate #celebrating #Celebration #happy #happyhappyjoyjoy #covid #COVID19 #covicpanic #covidoutbreak #covidfear

During Covid, I held a virtual Christmas gathering by painting all my distant friends partying in my Victorian home. Here are my husband and myself, as the hosts. #art #artwork #painting #watercolor #watercolorpainting #watercolors #arting #artist #artists #housepaint #suits #suit #formal #party #holiday #holidayparty #chritmasparty #christmastime #christmas #holidays #wintersolstice #solstice #boxingday #Hanukkah #Kwanzaa #celebrate #celebrating #Celebration #happy #happyhappyjoyjoy #covid

Embracing the In-Between: The Power of Seasonal Pauses

There are moments each year when the world seems to hold its breath. Not quite the season we’re leaving, not yet the one we’re entering. A soft in‑between. A hinge. A threshold. A pause.

This pause is subtle. It’s the way the light shifts — not dramatically, but with a quiet insistence that something is changing. It’s the way the air feels different on the skin, carrying a new texture, a new temperature, a new intention. It’s the way the body senses a turning before the mind has language for it. In these in‑between days, nature loosens her grip.

The trees stop striving upward and begin listening downward. The soil exhales. The wind rearranges itself. Even the birds seem to linger a little longer on the branch, as if deciding which direction to take next.

We, too, are invited into this pause.

The pause between seasons is a reminder that transitions aren’t meant to be rushed. They are meant to be felt. This is the space where we gather ourselves — the pieces we’ve scattered, the lessons we’ve lived, the parts of us that grew quietly while we weren’t paying attention.

It’s a moment to ask gentle questions: 
What am I carrying that no longer fits the season ahead?
What wants to be softened? 
What wants to be tended? 
What wants to be released?

In this sacred pause, the body becomes a listening place. The nervous system loosens. The breath deepens. The mind stops reaching for answers and instead leans into awareness. We remember that change doesn’t happen in the moment of arrival — it happens in the space just before.

This is the wisdom of the in‑between: life is not a series of clean beginnings and endings. It is a continuous unfolding, a slow turning, a rhythm that asks us to trust the spaces where nothing seems to be happening.

But something is happening. 
Integration. 
Reorientation. 
Recalibration. 
A quiet gathering of strength for whatever comes next.

When we honor the pause between seasons, we honor our own becoming. We step into the next chapter not by force, but by attunement — aligned with the deeper pace of the world around us.

Allow yourself time today to pause and listen. Listen to the pause in the breath between the inhale and the exhale. Listen to your body as it whispers what it needs. Listen to the earth beneath you- steady, patient, unhurried, let the small moment of stillness be a reminder that you don’t have to rush your way into the next season of your life. You can arrive slowly with presence, with softness, and with trust in the quiet wisdom that’s already guiding you.

Try a one-minute grounding pause to help you soften, settle, and come back to yourself with gentle cues to release your shoulders. Feel your weight supported and find one steady point in your body. This quick reset helps you remember that you are here and you are safe. You can begin again at any time.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0HUwHKkhD0LeO2c78Dfvq8?si=DqRSKHK-SMifM_DNi1t9iQ

Enjoying a winter hike near Penn State with college friend, Parri. 1973. #hiking #hike #hiker #hikers #walking #walks #trail #trails #winter #wintersolstice #friend #friends #friendship #college #collegedays #pennstate #maleprivilege #machoentitlement #straightmaleprivilege #bigotry #blm #blacklivesmatter #civilrights #equalrights #equality #vintage #twentiethcentury #1970s #1970sfashion #1970sfashions #woods #woodland #woodlands #forest #forests

The attic of my childhood home was the first interior I designed. My color palette hasn't changed much. 1973. #interior #interiors #interiordesign #interiordesigns #interiordesigner #interiordecoration #interiordecorations #interiordecorating #interiordecorator #1970s #twentiethcentury #1970sfashion #fashion #vintagefashion #vintageclothing #doubledaybookclub #christmas #wintersolstice #christmaseve #holiday #holidays #friends #goodfriends #childhoodfriends #streisand #artwork

Lifelong friend Deb with my first two dogs, Iris and Winslow. Pennwood, Mifflintown. 1982. #dog #dogs #doglover #doglovers #dogphotographer #dogphotography #dogphotographers #friends #friendsship #oldfriend #oldfriends #pennwood #mifflintown #1980s #olddays #twentiethcentury #christmas #wintersolstice #solstice #yule #stluciaday #boxingday #hanakkuh #homemaking #homedecor #1970sfashion #1970sdecor #interiordecoration #interiordecorating #interiordecorator

One of the oldest known “windows”

Light opening (center of image) above the entrance to the passage at Newgrange.
For a few days around the winter solstice, a ray of light shines through this opening into the chamber at the end of the passage at sunrise.

May 2014

#Newgrange #PassageTomb #Boyne #SiAnBhru #CountyMeath #Ireland #Neolithic #Neolithicperiod #wintersolstice #sunrise #solstice #Irland #Neolithikum #Jungsteinzeit #passage #Wintersonnenwende #Sonnenaufgang #FensterFreitag

Winter Solstice 2025

Oh Friends, it has been a busy couple of weeks, but now I am happily on vacation for the next two weeks. Aaaaahhhhhh.

The busy was from many things. At work it was wrapping up the semester and trying to make sure the professors I support had all the research materials they needed while the library is closed for two weeks. This while also supporting students studying and taking final exams.

Then home to more busy. James and I helped plan our sangha’s annual tea ceremony. We did not go last year due to bad weather, so we had zero context for what we were helping with. The person doing the bulk of the planning was first out of town and then otherwise engaged, and there was much to do in a week and a half. So many Signal messages and emails and time spend on Zoom working out the details. And of course, the day of the tea ceremony the weather was terrible—first rain, then ice, then light snow and howling wind blowing the snow around. It took me extra time to bike home from work. Then James and I ate a very fast dinner before bundling up and biking very carefully with our portion of supplies to the ceremony. I am grateful we don’t have to bike far.

James and I helped set up, which was already in progress since we were late. Our role in the ceremony itself was to serve the tea and treats to sangha attendees, which involved lots of formal bowing while carrying big trays of tea-filled cups, followed by big trays filled with plates of cookies, fruit, and nuts, which also required lots of formal bowing. In addition I ended up filling the role of tea offerer—placing a cup of tea and a cookie on the altar—because the person who was going to do it lives in the burbs and didn’t come due to the icy roads The altar as on the floor instead of the usual table, and surrounded by candles and flowers. I had to bow and kneel with the offering in my hands, then set it down on the altar. I am proud to say I didn’t spill anything on the altar or on any sangha members, though I did manage to kick two of the many tea light candles on the floor later in the ceremony, making a waxy mess on the floor and on my pants leg.

Still it all came together beautifully and all the attendees gave us gracious praise. Some even stayed late afterwards to help us clean up.

We were out again Friday night, biking in the dark and on sometimes icy roads, to a Beloved Community Circle gathering across the river in St. Paul. The gathering was wonderful, as they always are. Part of our evening was spent formally watering each other’s (metaphorical) flowers. It is so easy to speak from the heart to other people about how wonderful they are and what I admire about them, it is a challenge to accept the beautiful words they say to me. But giving and receiving is part of the practice, and spending the evening with increasingly dear friends was exactly what my heart needed even though we didn’t get home until after 10 and my body was very tired.

Because James had to work at the bookstore on Sunday, the actual day of Solstice, we celebrated on Saturday. Part of the menu was crusty sourdough dinner rolls, which I had enough foresight to make the weekend before and keep them in the freezer. One less thing to do! So after a busy two weeks at work, a week and a half of tea ceremony planning and performing, and a late (for me) night with friends, I spent almost the whole day Saturday cooking.

As you know, James is the cook in the house and he does all the cooking all year except for Winter Solstice. This tradition began over 30 years ago because James with his retail career, was never able to get the Solstice off—too close to Christmas. So I make a sometimes rather elaborate menu, and do all the cooking and have dinner ready when James gets home from work. All these years later, his schedule is much different, but we keep the tradition of me planning and cooking a special meal.

This year’s menu was holiday roast stuffed with roasted golden beet, carrot, and parsnip; wild rice “un-stuffing,” aloo bonda also know as mashed potato fritters (from Vegan Richa cookbook), spicy cranberry chutney, and crusty sourdough rolls. For dessert we had salted date caramel chocolate pie with whipped coconut cream on top. The pie did not set up like it was supposed to and didn’t hold form when removed from the pie plate, but it was delicious all the same. The whole meal was delicious. All the flavors went together beautifully.

Sunday we ate leftovers, and I was able to fully enjoy the meal since I wasn’t tired out from all the things. Tonight is leftovers again. Then the roast will be gone and everything else will get incorporated into other meals.

And now, rest. Though we are in the midst of having our bathroom remodeled. We are converting from a tub with shower to a shower stall that has grab bars. Some days James’s MS leaves him feeling unbalanced and nervous about stepping over the high side of a bathtub. We are also having the old, worn out vinyl floor tiled to match the shower, getting a new toilet that fits our tiny space, and a new sink that also fits the space better.

It was supposed to be done by now, but the city took a long time to issue permits, delaying the start of the work, and then after the new plumbing was done, it took the city inspector a week to come out and give the ok. At the end of last week they did the prep work for tiling. I think that bit is done, but I’m not completely certain since I don’t know what done looks like in this case. All I know is that half my living room is taped off with boxes of tile and other supplies piled up, and I have to walk downstairs every time I need to use the bathroom. The novelty and adventure of this whole project has quickly disappeared, and with Christmas this week, I’m not certain what the work schedule is going to be.

So what do I do for an hour and half this morning? Start back to work on my attic remodel project! I’m still ripping out the old, gross carpet, pulling carpet tape off the under-floor, and cleaning up and moving things around as I go. You may recall I am turning this into a fiber arts room for sewing, weaving, spinning, and knitting. However, it has years of accumulated junk and chaos, some of which I have already disposed of, some of which—like the bins that currently hold my fabric and yarn stash—are getting shuffled around as I work. I would pile them in my living room except I can’t because of all the bathroom remodel stuff.

But now, after this is posted, I plan on some tea and garden dreaming. It’s time to start figuring out what I’m going to grow next year. To get my garden inspiration going, as if I really needed it, I listened to the first Plant Circle Gathering while working in the attic. The Plant Circle is part of a new project by Robin Wall Kimmerer called Plant Baby Plant. It is intended to be the antithesis of drill baby drill. I love their tagline: Raise a garden and raise a ruckus. Yesterday was the first plant circle and when their website officially launched. Be sure to check it out and get inspired!

Something else to inspire you, a photo essay of the anti-ICE march that took place Saturday in Minneapolis. I wanted to go, but just couldn’t fit it in and cook too. Thankfully, thousands of other people were able to turn out.

Happy Solstice!

#atticCarpetProject #bathroomRemodel #BelovedCommunityCircle #ICE #PlantBabyPlant #sangha #teaCeremony #WinterSolstice

Another Gorgeous Sunrise on Fifth Street. #nature #natureswonders #sunrise #sunset #sunrises #fifthstreet #lewistown #sky #skywatching #skywatcher #skywatchers #pink #inthepink #jettrail #jettrails #colorful #autumnsky #wintersolstice #solstice #wintertime #cold #frigid #freeze

Today is the 4th Sunday in #Advent.
The last night of #Chanukah.
And the #WinterSolstice.

How lovely to have so many ways at once to acknowledge light, miracles, and hope.

3 Good Things, Monday!

1. My art open house (drop in by appointment) is going well! Have sold a few pieces so far (all Reiki-infused and inspired), and more appointments scheduled prior to December 24th. In the photo I've attached, you'll see one of my paintings in the background behind all the text of the book cover for my new novel (see number 2 below). :-)

2. I am on track for publishing my second novel (Otter Coast, a medical marijuana mystery!) on the Winter Solstice. A funny day perhaps in light of the timing with holiday sales (it is not in time for people to order paper copies for Christmas and have them arrive, but e-books will be in time); it feels right, so I'm going for it. Also, as you'll see from the photo of the book cover design in progress, we have lots of Lorem Ipsum text to be replaced. I love Lorem Ipsum text, makes me feel like clean dishes, clean sheets, new opportunities. :-)

3. I'm getting closer to solving some work-related architecture and engineering design challenges which are always intriguing to me. Although I can't talk about work-work, I can say that in novel number 1 (The Erenwine Agenda---a love story that centers on fracking---which I am ALSO reissuing on the Solstice, in my given name, Maia Chowdhury) and in novel number 2, there is lots of workplace drama of the highest caliber! 🙂

Now, back to said Day Job. 🙂

#3GoodThings @3goodthings

#Architect #ArtForSale #CreativeWriting #DayJob #Desi #EcoFiction #Fracking #HolidaySale #HydraulicFracturing #IndieAuthor #IndiePublisher #IndependentPublisher #LoremIpsum #MixedDesi #MedicalMarijuana #Mystery #Publishing #Reiki #SmallPress #Solstice #VisionaryEcoFiction #VisionaryFiction #WinterSolstice #WomenInArchitecture #WomenInSTEAM #WomenInSTEM #Writer #Writing

Three Good Things: The Ecofiction Writer Edition
Epic book day: got novel #1 (The Erenwine Agenda, fracking focus) layout output done for new edition to be published with my new name change (going back to my given name, Maia Chowdhury).
Did the “accept all changes” on novel #2 (Otter Coast, medical marijuana focus) and stripped the Word document of macros, ready for book layout. Pub date for Otter Coast: Dec 21!
And just picked up the printed first draft of novel #3 (Rail, high speed logistics focus)- super rough, finishing the first pass during Nanowrimo.
As I went to Staples to pick up the print I thought “I am a writer!” It only took me 3 novels to say so to myself (it’s in my bio and LinkedIn but to say it and mean it to myself is another thing).
Does that qualify as 3 Good Things? I think it does.
#AmWriting #Architect #BIPOC #BIPOCWriters #ClimateChange #ClimateChangeFiction #Desi #EcoFiction #FictionWriter #Fracking #IndieAuthor #IndependentPublisher #Marijuana #MedicalMarijuana #MixedDesi #MixedRace #Nanowrimo #Publishing #Rail #WinterSolstice #VisionaryEcoFiction #VisionaryFiction #WomenWriters #Writer #Writing
#3GoodThings #ThreeGoodThings @3goodthings

Three Good Things: The Ecofiction Writer Edition
Epic book day: got novel #1 (The Erenwine Agenda, fracking focus) layout output done for new edition to be published with my new name change (going back to my given name, Maia Chowdhury).
Did the “accept all changes” on novel #2 (Otter Coast, medical marijuana focus) and stripped the Word document of macros, ready for book layout. Pub date for Otter Coast: Dec 21!
And just picked up the printed first draft of novel #3 (Rail, high speed logistics focus)- super rough, finishing the first pass during Nanowrimo.
As I went to Staples to pick up the print I thought “I am a writer!” It only took me 3 novels to say so to myself (it’s in my bio and LinkedIn but to say it and mean it to myself is another thing).
Does that qualify as 3 Good Things? I think it does.
#AmWriting #Architect #BIPOC #BIPOCWriters #ClimateChange #ClimateChangeFiction #Desi #EcoFiction #FictionWriter #Fracking #IndieAuthor #IndependentPublisher #Marijuana #MedicalMarijuana #MixedDesi #MixedRace #Nanowrimo #Publishing #Rail #WinterSolstice #VisionaryEcoFiction #VisionaryFiction #WomenWriters #Writer #Writing
#3GoodThings #ThreeGoodThings @3goodthings

Three Good Things: The Ecofiction Writer Edition
Epic book day: got novel #1 (The Erenwine Agenda, fracking focus) layout output done for new edition to be published with my new name change (going back to my given name, Maia Chowdhury).
Did the “accept all changes” on novel #2 (Otter Coast, medical marijuana focus) and stripped the Word document of macros, ready for book layout. Pub date for Otter Coast: Dec 21!
And just picked up the printed first draft of novel #3 (Rail, high speed logistics focus)- super rough, finishing the first pass during Nanowrimo.
As I went to Staples to pick up the print I thought “I am a writer!” It only took me 3 novels to say so to myself (it’s in my bio and LinkedIn but to say it and mean it to myself is another thing).
Does that qualify as 3 Good Things? I think it does.
#AmWriting #Architect #BIPOC #BIPOCWriters #ClimateChange #ClimateChangeFiction #Desi #EcoFiction #FictionWriter #Fracking #IndieAuthor #IndependentPublisher #Marijuana #MedicalMarijuana #MixedDesi #MixedRace #Nanowrimo #Publishing #Rail #WinterSolstice #VisionaryEcoFiction #VisionaryFiction #WomenWriters #Writer #Writing
#3GoodThings #ThreeGoodThings @3goodthings

Three Good Things: The Ecofiction Writer Edition
Epic book day: got novel #1 (The Erenwine Agenda, fracking focus) layout output done for new edition to be published with my new name change (going back to my given name, Maia Chowdhury).
Did the “accept all changes” on novel #2 (Otter Coast, medical marijuana focus) and stripped the Word document of macros, ready for book layout. Pub date for Otter Coast: Dec 21!
And just picked up the printed first draft of novel #3 (Rail, high speed logistics focus)- super rough, finishing the first pass during Nanowrimo.
As I went to Staples to pick up the print I thought “I am a writer!” It only took me 3 novels to say so to myself (it’s in my bio and LinkedIn but to say it and mean it to myself is another thing).
Does that qualify as 3 Good Things? I think it does.
#AmWriting #Architect #BIPOC #BIPOCWriters #ClimateChange #ClimateChangeFiction #Desi #EcoFiction #FictionWriter #Fracking #IndieAuthor #IndependentPublisher #Marijuana #MedicalMarijuana #MixedDesi #MixedRace #Nanowrimo #Publishing #Rail #WinterSolstice #VisionaryEcoFiction #VisionaryFiction #WomenWriters #Writer #Writing
#3GoodThings #ThreeGoodThings @3goodthings

Three Good Things: The Ecofiction Writer Edition
Epic book day: got novel #1 (The Erenwine Agenda, fracking focus) layout output done for new edition to be published with my new name change (going back to my given name, Maia Chowdhury).
Did the “accept all changes” on novel #2 (Otter Coast, medical marijuana focus) and stripped the Word document of macros, ready for book layout. Pub date for Otter Coast: Dec 21!
And just picked up the printed first draft of novel #3 (Rail, high speed logistics focus)- super rough, finishing the first pass during Nanowrimo.
As I went to Staples to pick up the print I thought “I am a writer!” It only took me 3 novels to say so to myself (it’s in my bio and LinkedIn but to say it and mean it to myself is another thing).
Does that qualify as 3 Good Things? I think it does.
#AmWriting #Architect #BIPOC #BIPOCWriters #ClimateChange #ClimateChangeFiction #Desi #EcoFiction #FictionWriter #Fracking #IndieAuthor #IndependentPublisher #Marijuana #MedicalMarijuana #MixedDesi #MixedRace #Nanowrimo #Publishing #Rail #WinterSolstice #VisionaryEcoFiction #VisionaryFiction #WomenWriters #Writer #Writing
#3GoodThings #ThreeGoodThings @3goodthings