Winter Days

Can you believe we are at the end of January? Two more months till spring, not that I'm counting!

I don't know what you all do in January but for us it's a month of cleaning up and clearing out. After we had taken down all of our Christmas items and corralled them into our back room, we then sorted through everything, including things that never made it out of storage. Two hours and several empty boxes later the task was done. We had a car load of stuff for donation and just as much that went into the trash...how did we get all that stuff?

You know it's time to sort through stuff when you have boxes that haven't been opened in over four years...I know this because we found boxes that were taped shut and dated.

I have lots of cupboards, drawers an closets to still go through but this was a great start for the new year. Getting rid of what we don't need or use has kind of been a theme in our lives in the last several months....simplify, simplify, simplify! 

Cooler indoor days means I am able to do a little more reading than during the warmer months. The Alice Water's book was a gift, as was the How Fargo of You, the others are books I've had and decided to read again. Morning and Evening is a daily devotional written by C.H. Spurgeon, and is one I use on a regular basis.

Colder weather also means lots of warm soups and stews and bread are being made in our kitchen. We haven't bought bread from the store in months because we've been making sour dough bread on a weekly basis. My husband has been a big help with this....he's got the technique down pat!

Our young son gave us a starter last fall and not only we have managed to keep it alive but we've also made some yummy bread in the process. 

We have also had the opportunity to do some *face time* with the grandchildren. I know there are down sides to technology but I am thankful to be able to *see* and talk to my grandchildren at the same time.

Thrifting and sending them the treasures I find helps me feel connected, and little treats are always fun to get in the mail.

So that's been what our winter days have been looking like.  The days have been a little slower pace than before Christmas but productive. Perhaps I shouldn't be counting down the days till spring but instead enjoy the different pace that this time of year gives us. How about you do you enjoy the winter months?