Doll Can Create

Mid-November arrives with a hush. It’s an in-between place. The last of autumn clings to the trees. Winter begins whispering at the windowpanes. It’s a time of year that nudges us toward warmth, slowness, and deeper paying attention.

This morning, I let myself lean into that quiet. Instead of rushing headlong into tasks and screens and lists, I savoured the beginning of the day. A soft shawl was wrapped around my shoulders. My favourite mug warmed my hands. The gentle light of a late-fall morning became my companion.

Beside me:
my journal,
my calendar,
and my knitting—
a little trio that reminds me how I want to live my life.

I opened my journal first. I let my thoughts spill out like a slow river. I noted what I’m grateful for, what’s weighing on me, and what I hope to make space for. Then my calendar, where I gently sorted the “must-dos” from the “can-waits.” And finally, my knitting is always there to steady my heart. It slows my pace. It reminds me that life is built one mindful stitch at a time.

There’s such wisdom in a slower rhythm, the kind our grandmothers understood without ever naming it. Living the 100-Mile Life has taught me to tend what is close. I have learned to care for what is mine to care for. I choose local and meaningful over hurried and distracted.

How often do we push ourselves through busyness simply because we’re used to it? Thoughtful Thursdays are my reminder that I don’t have to live that way. I can choose calm. I can choose to start slowly. I can choose to savour these mid-November days as they are—quiet, honest, and full of small, holy pauses.

As I knitted those first few stitches this morning, I felt it again:
A gentle invitation emerged. It urged me to live more intentionally, more locally, and more lovingly.

Here’s to Thoughtful Thursdays. These are little pockets of calm carved out in the middle of our week. During these moments, we return to ourselves and our values. This happens one small choice at a time.

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Join the conversation:

Take a moment today to check in with yourself. Brew something warm, wrap up in something handmade, and ask:
What can rest today? And what deserves my gentle attention?

Share your own Thoughtful Thursday moments in the comments—I’d love to hear how you’re slowing down this season.

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