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In Our Winter 2017 Issue

By Stephanie Schuckers Burdo / Photography By | Last Updated November 15, 2017
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Ice Wine on Ice

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

As the north winds blow lake effect storms over Western New York, most of us spend our daylight hours indoors. No more hanging out with the neighbors as we tend our yards and gardens or going for walks along the beach. The shorter days, inclement weather and fewer commitments take hold, and our sense of space, family and community change accordingly.

Several years ago, faced with an empty nest, I traded a big house and most of my furniture and possessions for a small apartment. While it’s the perfect size for me, it doesn’t lend itself well to multiple visitors. So, in planning her Christmas homecoming this year, my London-based daughter has requested that we find a house, perhaps a vacation rental, where we can invite family and friends to come and stay, to prepare meals, sit around the table, play cards, and wake up with breakfast and coffee, together.

My most cherished memories are of holidays, home and family in winter—candles flickering, logs crackling in the fireplace, my father playing piano after a long day at work—later my children making their own music, the aroma of a roast for dinner, or eggs and pancakes for a large family breakfast wafting from the kitchen. These recollections are accompanied by a feeling, not only of nostalgia and peace, but also of safety, contentment and joy—within these moments, all was well. I imagine the warm house and company a cocoon of protection against the cold as well as the chaos and pressures of life outside.

While I write this letter, I think about all of those who have recently lost their homes and livelihoods due to natural and man-influenced disasters—hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and fires. Suddenly, my sense of home seems overly simple and shallow.

And then I realize that while I associate that feeling of safety and intimacy with a particular space, it is really community that gives it substance and security—family, friends, church, neighbors, co-workers and schoolmates—those who surround, support and encourage each other on a daily basis. I have a new appreciation for people coming together to share chores, meals, stories, laughter and tears in a space, however temporary, that becomes a home.

What does home mean to you?

Wishing you simple pleasures and a place to call home this season,

Stephanie

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Japanese Gardens: Winter Landscapes for Mind, Body and Soul

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