The time for pastels and colors will come - so refreshing after the clarity and relatively blank palette of January...
...but January is where we still are - in the depths of quiet winter.
It's
cold outside and we are, now, mostly house bound - only darting out to
jump into the pre-warmed car to go to school or taking ages to bundle up
just so that a mad dash can be made to the mailbox or to feed the feral
cat who has adopted us and lives in our barns or to do the all
important chicken chores. (Boy, are the girls tired of being cooped
up....!!!) I, personally, am resisting any kind of longing for spring because it's
still a fair way off and, instead of digging in to garden dreams, I am
snuggling into the warmth of making home inside - exploring new recipes
in the kitchen - reading a lot - and rejoicing in the pretty snow, the bare, sparkling branches and the
tastefully jewelled skies that I see
outside my windows. How long I can hold out against the yearning for the feel of a
balmy breeze again is anybody's guess.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Money
was really, very tight for Christmas this year and so I asked Tom,
instead, if he would give me a concession as a gift. I asked for him to
finally allow me to paint the bricks on the fireplace in the family room
(without, then, asking me to concede to moving the hedge of lilacs in
front of our house down toward the road... the fine print is important!
;-)) With trepidation and in desperation, he agreed! Then, in shock, he
watched as, with three weeks to go till Christmas, I tore the room
apart and began painting. Thankfully, it was an even easier project than
anticipated!
What
we've started to observe, since the deed was done, is that, nowadays,
everyone can usually be found in the family room. Of course,
the warmth of the wood stove has always been a draw but, now, we just all want
to be in there - all of the time - all of us (including dogs and rabbit) - morning, noon and night.
I
think that some other time, I'll post 'before and after' pictures of the
room. Anyway, the project is only partly done. A new mantelpiece will
come eventually and I still have cushions to sew... Right now, I just
want to share the warmth at night and the quiet, wintry stillness in the
morning - our life, right now!
Did anyone else feel like this new year, they were really turning over a fresh page?
...still in the quiet womb of new beginnings....
"May you be blessed with warmth in your home,
Love in your heart,
Peace in your soul
and joy in your life!"
xo
