Stream of Conscousness:    January can be a dry month, creatively. Up here in the Midwest, kissing distance to Canada, it gets cold and dark. The last few years we haven’t got much in the way of snow – ok, so I exaggerate…I’m in the TC area – but everything is hard and monochromatic. Stark.             

If you park your car outside, the engine runs rough and the seats are hard as rock for the first 15 minutes of driving. You’ve gained what my grandmother used to refer to as her “Snake Julius,” that roll of fat around your middle when there’s been too much holiday and too much food and drink. And you’re exhausted from having to behave and be your best self because of all the family. Makes me want to cry, and I tend to hibernate from all the expectations.

But it’s the little things that get us through. Like the fact that the days truly are getting longer since the Solstice. Less snow means less snow shoveling. My snowblower’s in the shop because of dirty sparks or a plugged gas line. Probably be a month before it comes back to me. So it’s just me and my shovel until then. It is cold, but then I become grateful for double-digit fahrenheit temperatures. The air is so brisk, so bracing!

Holidays? Mostly over now. So, family seen to, introvert me huddling under blankets with challenging books (Allende’s The House of Spirits) thatI need to take my time reading, and wood fires in the Jotul to stare and dream in. And then there’s the writing: novel to finish, poems to write, and all sorts of prompt groups that deserve a read, to cheer on others’ work. You all really inspire me, Just Jot January Group and others!

There’s also the little thing of steering my focus back on rebalancing and refilling the creative well. So: a library afternoon workshop on printmaking; poetry readings in the smaller bookshops; streaming movies in the night hours; venturing out to wander the Cities’ art museums; bundling up to hike alone or in groups, grippers firmly strapped on for the slippery spots; online classes and lectures where I can choose to be passive…or not; a glass of wine and a rare soup recipe in the dark corner of a small local restaurant, allowing for great eavesdropping and people watching; chatting with the checkout person at a sleepy shop or off-hours at the local grocery store. You get where I’m going: It’s the little things.     

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2025)

January 11 – SoCS: It’s the little things. Use it any way you’d like. Have fun! https://lindaghill.com/2025/01/10/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2025-daily-prompt-for-jan-11th/