Common Hours

Candles on, list away

The last ritual of the day: lights down, candles on the window table, and the morning’s list folded into the back of the book.

Lit candles and a vase of lilies and autumn flowers on a table beside a window in the evening.

The flowers change with the week. The candles do not; they are the same three, burnt down to different heights.

The ritual

TakesFive minutes
NeedsThree candles, matches, the day book
WhenAfter the washing-up

How it goes

  1. Switch off the overhead light first.
  2. Light the candles from left to right.
  3. Read the morning’s three lines, tick what happened, and fold the page.

Ticking the list is not a score. Most evenings one of the three is left, and it moves quietly to tomorrow.

Kept with: ,