Word of the Day -- Hygge

 I'll admit I'm a fan of this word.  I didn't know what it was, or what it meant until this year, but there is something very satisfying about both it's sound and it's meaning:

Hygge -- a cozy quality that makes a person feel content and comfortable.

While not winter-specific, many of the elements of chilly weather — like hot tea, a fuzzy blanket, sitting around a crackling fire with friends — evoke hygge. Pronounced HOO-gah, this Danish word means coziness and creating a sense of being in the moment. It comes from the Old Norwegian word for “wellbeing.” As the winter holidays approach, Danes love embracing hygge with plenty of candles and mulled wine. You can create hygge alone or with a group, so bring forth the comfy slippers and mugs of hot cocoa and bask in the relaxing atmosphere while watching the snowfall from a comfy chair. (courtesy of merriam-webster and word genius).

As for my hygge, it is curled up on the futon with coffee in the morning before sunrise with my wife, my cat and my dog.  We turn on some small twinkle lights we have on the wall and more often than not in winter, a fire in the wood stove and it's the most content I feel all day.