Seasonal transition

In 2007 Jenny Wonderling taught me an exercise to beat writers block. You open a book, flip to a chapter, read the first sentence and take it in your own direction. Jenny owns Nectar, a store in High Falls that is truly an experience for the senses. I worked there for a summer after college and I like to stop in a few times a year to see what's going on. Nectar, like the Hudson Valley, has especially vibrant and alluring seasonal changes.

Nectar carries home decor, art, jewelry, candles, statuary, children's items, furniture, bath and body gifts, architectural elements, and more. Goods come from all over the world as well as from right here in the Hudson Valley. Many items are fair trade or support women's cooperatives. You'll find beaded sandals, scarves, Buddha statues, and incense. A tall wood cabinet is filled with brass jewelry and pieces embedded with semi-precious stones like turquoise and chalcedony.

A candle burns in the corner and light streams through the front windows, casting shadows of the words of inspiration painted on the glass. Visitors enter to the sounds of world music and are offered a cup of tea, a featured flavor from the store's selection of loose teas. Nectar's collection includes Earl Grey and Vanilla Chai, and the curious may be drawn to flavors like Kaapstad, Kyoto, Queen Nefertiti, and Marry Me Again, blended by local company Tay Tea in Andes, New York.

Last year at Nectar I picked up a book by local author Jeff Davis: The Journey from the Center to the Page: Yoga Philosophies and Practices as Muse For Authentic Writing which instantly became one of my favorites. One might think that there is writing and then there is life, but it's funny how writing exercises can be applied to the rest of life, too. You can take something that came from someplace else, be it a sentence, a photo, a candle, a container of tea, or a statue, and send it in your own direction.


Nectar: www.shopnectar.com

The Journey from The Center to the Page: www.trackingwondor.com