The First Day of Summer

Well, the good new is that summer and winter froze together last night.  That signals a very good summer, which is comforting since the weather gods are throwing a spectacle of every variety they can think of at the moment:  Sleet, rain, wind and short (very short) sunny spells. The First Day of Summer is the first day of the year, according to the old Icelandic calendar and the beginning of the month of Harpa.  The Old calendar had two seasons, summer and winter, and people would count their age in winters.  We have been giving gifts on this day for five centuries, which is a lot longer than the tradition of Christmas gifts.  This day was also a special day for courting and romance.

I am having the closest family over for dinner and I made more lip balms.  I realized that the choice of a pink with peppermint or an orange with a flowery scent wasn't really for the boys, so I made a third lipbalm with Annatto oil to give a yellow colour and used Sweet orange oil.  I also have a few junk shop finds for presents (only for those who like that kind of thing) and I made some face cream which I put into new containers which I like very much, airless pumps.  So there will be a few gifts, but nothing expensive.  

Today is also the start of Easter, so this year it gets a bit jumbled with Easter decorations.  Of course they are all about spring and summer so that's fine.  And I am most definitely putting on some white clothes and a bright lipstick to greet summer and the new month of Harpa with a smile on my face.