Soon Daylight Savings Time will slide into Standard Dark Time, and night will close in earlier and earlier. It’s doom, gloom, and depression time. But what if it weren’t? What if it were Flannel, Fleece and I’m-Effing-Grateful-for-Flu-Shots time? What if it were Early-to-Bed-With-a-Book time? Cozy Comforter Time? Soft Socks Time? Red Wine and Soup Time? Candle Light and Twinkle Lights Time? What if it were Cincinnati Chili Time? Build a Fire Time?  Turn Off The TV Time? What if were Soul-Searching Time? The Dark Time, Inner Time, Spirit Time. The Winter Wow Time.

I have an old photo of my father with some fellow sailors taken at a nightclub in Honolulu during World War II. They’re accompanied by a couple of glamorous looking women (neither of whom were my school-marm mom back in Kentucky, needless to say). As a young girl, I was fascinated by what seemed to me the mystery of that scene and the aura of the era. It’s no surprise, then, that Five Decembers, a noir crime novel set in Hawaii, Hong Kong and Tokyo during the WWII, grabbed my attention. I hope it lives up to the great reviews.

I’m susceptible to the hype around skin care products. If something promises to renew, tighten, lighten, and erase lines, I’m on the alert. The thing is—I don’t think many of these products deliver much. I suspect lard liberally applied could moisturize as well as the $150 must-have serum on Instagram, but the latest “miracle” product to catch my attention is Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting exfoliating liquid. I ordered a cheap travel size to try it out, so we’ll see. Do any of you have favorite skin-care products you swear by?

I confess a weakness for cashmere, but I don’t love the price. Before the pandemic, I snagged two cashmere sweaters on sale for $25 each at TJ Maxx, but I don’t stumble on finds like that very often. That’s why I jumped on a tip from my NYC friend about the $75 cashmere sweaters (for men and women) that he orders from Naadam. The company works directly with herders in the Gobi Desert and by cutting out the middlemen can keep their prices low, cashmerely speaking. They come in one basic style and a range of ho-hum colors, but since I stick to boring oversized black and oatmeal, that’s not an issue for me.

The YouTube videos that artist Danny Gregory (who only started drawing in his late 30s) makes under his Sketchbook Skool umbrella are mini creative pep talks. They include topics like getting started keeping a sketchbook, how it can change your life, cool tools for sketching and more. They’re very short, but just listening to someone talk about making art with so much enthusiasm inspires me to stop procrastinating. I never feel better than when I’m writing and drawing in my journal. And anyone can do it!