Wow, we are already through the first month of this new year! I don't know about you, but it seemed to fly by in the most pleasant way for us. The days and weeks were both deliciously slow and productive - a good mix of time to think and time to do. Our days had the pleasant hum of familiar routines - daily tasks, bending our heads over school books, delicious smells coming from baked goods, yummy dinners, journaling, writing letters, canning, and daily walks to the mailbox. I have greatly enjoyed our routine and daily happenings this month and relishing in the normality that doing the same simple tasks day after day brings to my life.
Wintertime in our little farming community is the social time of the year. The fields are put to rest under their blankets of snow, farm machinery is parked, cattle are brought close to the home place, and people finally have time to visit with each other. Spring work and harvest time are almost impossible to make visiting happen as there is so much to do and very long work days. So we have enjoyed many guests during this month in the darkness of our wintertime evenings. Fires crackle in the fireplace and candles burn to bring warmth while good food is baked and simmered and we crowd a few extra plates around our table to welcome friends into our home. We have so enjoyed the richness of fellowship with some of our closest friends here this month and it has made this month even sweeter.
We purchased the children roller skates as we have a large basement room that is perfect for skating. We thought it would be a great way to burn off some energy on those days when it doesn't get warm enough to play outside. It was quite comical to see them learn how to skate with arms and legs flailing everywhere. They took to it quickly though and now it is a favorite afternoon activity. I loved skating as a child and I love watching them enjoy it as well. On the days that it has been warm enough for them to play outside, building forts has become their new hobby. They drag boards and anything they can find and "build" a fort by bushes or fencing.
Many mornings have seen me working on some project, like the photo above, while I help with school. Sometimes it's making bread dough or mixing up some baked goods in between answering questions or listening to reading or spelling.
We enjoyed poring over our mail order catalogs on slower evenings and putting together our orders for things we needed. As convenient as internet ordering has become, there is just nothing like looking through a magazine and filling out a paper order form, writing a check and putting a stamp on it and walking to the mailbox to send it off. It's like Christmas all over again when the boxes come full of all the goodies you ordered. It was a mix of needs and a few pleasantries for the winter evenings. I bought a brush since mine broke months ago and I had been using my daughter's, a book to read about the Underground Railroad and slavery called A Lantern in the Window, a farm themed word search book because we all love sitting around the table in the evenings circling words, mittens for a child who lost theirs, underwear for a child who had outgrown theirs, hair pins, batteries, envelopes, a muffin tin (I haven't had one in over a year since mine bit the dust and I hadn't replaced it yet,) and a 9x13 pan since all the non-stick was peeling on mine and it was rusting.
I greatly enjoyed cooking and baking out of my pantry this month, and enjoying all the things I've preserved this year. There is just nothing quite like opening a jar of jam you made to slather on some fresh bread, or opening a can of fruit to pair with a meal as an easy side, or opening a can of canned meat to whip up a quick meal with. What luxurious delight!
Our seeds arrived this month as well and it feels really amazing to have them lined out for the next growing season. We have been planning and dreaming in the quiet evenings over tea and conversation. We still have seed potatoes to buy which we will get from friends who run a potato farm and I still want to put in an order for flower seeds as I fully intend to have flower beds full of flowers this year. :)
I enjoyed writing many letters this month and putting together little meaningful gifts for friends. I hosted a birthday brunch for a dear friend with fresh baked cinnamon rolls and piping hot coffee and homemade fruit cocktail from fruit I had canned. It was a delightful morning with a few ladies and I think it did all our hearts good.
This month is now over and I feel so contended and happy as I close the door on the first month of the year. It was a good month full of good things. I hope that wherever you are, you had a good month, too. I hope you enjoyed the comfort and peace of home, that you reached out to others in whatever way you could, that you took time to feed your soul and learn something new, that you enjoyed rest and good food, and that you feel just as much excitement in your spirit as I do at starting a fresh new month!