A January Daybook

Sit for a spell

and remember why today

joyful or bittersweet,

is more alive

than any other day.

Paola Merrill – The Cottage Fairy Companion

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Hello Friend,

So happy to see you on this wintry day, please come in and sit by the fire. These chairs are positioned perfectly to take in the winter wonderland out there. Isn’t it magical? Like living in a snow globe.

Let’s see, I still have the fragrant White Christmas tea that was gifted to me. I think you’ll enjoy it: white tea with vanilla and almond flavours.

And here are some of the peppernuts Mom made over Christmas. They’re little, so take more than one. If you’re not familiar with peppernuts, you might want to check them out here. I’ve discovered that there are many variations of the Peppernut recipe. Ours are crunchy on the outside but soft inside. For my friends outside of Canada who cannot get Rogers Golden Syrup, apparently there’s something similar called Lyle’s Golden Syrup in the US. I believe it might be called light treacle in the UK. Elsewhere, the suggestion is to use some kind of cane syrup. And here’s something interesting … you can actually buy it on Amazon, but it’s costly!

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Outside my window …

The days are really lovely, sunrises especially. Lately, the sunrises have been my favourite colour of pink – what I call sky blue pink. Against the white fluffiness of the trees, it’s almost too much to take in. Photos don’t do it justice but I can’t help taking them anyway.

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I am wearing …

Black pants, peach coloured top, the grandmother/granddaughter necklace Sweet Thing gave me for Christmas, and my rose gold bracelet with the grandchildren charms.

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Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed.

Mary Oliver

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This week I learned …

That there’s a difference between hoar frost and rime frost. I’d never heard of rime frost before. Had you? Apparently, that’s what we experienced this week. For one thing, hoar frost develops under clear skies and rime frost is the result of low clouds and foggy conditions. It’s heavier and looks more like droplets. Hoar frost is feather-like and easily blown away. Rime frost lasts longer.

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It was a fairy world I looked out upon. During the night, the frost had cast its spell over the woods and glades of the New Forest. This morning, every branch and twig bore a pearly burden of hoar-frost.

Flora Thompson, The Peverel Papers, January 1921 – from Nature Writing for Every Day of the Year

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I am wondering …

How are you wintering? Does it hang heavy over you like a weighted blanket? Or, can you look past what might seem dark and dreary, look smaller, look closer, and see the tiniest of miracles? I remember when a young friend came to stay with us for awhile. She was from the southern US and didn’t often see snow. She was in awe when she could actually see each individual snowflake as it landed on her dark jacket. One tiny miracle after another, each one evoking wonder.

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I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

G.K. Chesterton

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New in my library …

A couple of beautiful books I couldn’t resist:

A Fine Romance, Falling in Love with the English Countryside by Susan Branch – why have I never heard of this book before? It’s Susan’s beautifully handwritten (!!) journal of the two months she and her husband spent wandering England in 2012. It includes photos & quotes, recipes & travel tips, and, of course, the Susan Branch artwork we’ve all come to love. I’m taking my time leafing through it. It’s a book to savour.

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Time is such a funny thing; one minute it’s forever & the next, it’s gone.

Susan Branch – A Fine Romance

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The other book, Nature Writing for Every Day of the Year, edited by Jane McMorland Hunter, is meant to be read slowly. As in, a whole year. From the back cover: Enjoy a whole year of the very finest nature writing with one carefully selected piece for each day, spanning the centuries … Encompassing fact and fiction, essays, field guides, letters and diaries, it’s the perfect way to help your mind escape into the world of nature every day.

It is a restful pause in every day.

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In the sewing room …

It’s a bit of an untidy mess. But, a new blanket is shaping up for a grandboy soon to turn five. Imagine fabrics in solid reds and print reds – red being his favourite colour – with lots of trucks and cars and working vehicles thrown in, and even a couple of cows. Little Munch loves cows.

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I am listening to …

The Kanneh-Mason family. I recently happened upon them in a playlist on Spotify, and then looked them up. They are seven siblings from Nottingham, England, ranging in age from 26-13. They all play either cello, violin, or piano, or a combination, and are all accomplished solo and concert musicians. Their mother has written an award-winning book, House of Music – Raising the Kanneh-Masons. She must be quite the woman…

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Closing Notes …

Thank you for stopping in on this January day and listening to me ramble. Stay safe out there, and see you next time.