Monday, February 9, 2026

winter home economics


This is "me" still attempting to maintain some sort of walking schedule on the slippery snowy ice! One gingerly placed foot at a time and plenty of warm clothes.

Arising... with shining being a bonus.
This morning I got out of bed earlier than my usual 6:15 or so. I read once if you are rested and awake why not just get up. Though it was still dark outside, in the early morning sky I observe twinkly stars and the planet Venus, a tiny spot residing beside the waning moon. The snow on the ground gives off that faint magical glow. 

I am perking my coffee these mornings in a *Presto percolator. The main reason I purchased this percolator is because I like hot coffee; percolators seem to do a much better job of not only brewing it hotter, but keeping the coffee hot until it is unplugged. But then I am by no means a coffee connoisseur. I simply enjoy my morning coffee hot and strong.

I stir the hot coals in the wood stove and carefully lay on a small log to get the fire aroused. I will light a few candles until it is time to switch on the table side light in order to read the Word. Then I begin to stretch, those "old-fashioned" stretches that can't be beat for waking up the joints and muscles.

Home tending...I make a home and I tend it too.
Laundry is always on the Monday list, more than likely because I  happen to do less laundering over the weekends.
I decided it was time to go through both freezers that are in the house and get a perfect inventory of what foods are in the freezers and what foods need to be eaten sooner than later, or even thrown out if they have reached that point of no return. This did not take as long as I anticipated,  probably due to the cold frozen food on my hands and the annoying alarm on the freezer. But my frozen foods are now organized and my menu planning for this week and even into the weeks ahead are tentatively planned.

Cooking and Preparing...getting a start on some food prep for the week and managing my ferments.
*1/2 chicken boiled,  for chicken and dumplings along with the chicken bone broth that was in the freezer
*Sausage browned, for pizza and I also found frozen homemade  pizza dough that was pulled out to thaw in refrigerator.
*Dried lima beans to soak. I like to keep beans or a dish containing beans in the refrigerator every week. 
*Cabbage made into sauerkraut.
*A batch of water kefir was made.

And now a poem from Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, 
                                     Songs of A Housewife.
                       
                                                  Winter Sun.

There's not much of it- that may be
Why it is welcome, since it's rare;
And why it seems a bar of gold, 
Lying across the table there.

Over my kitchen pots and pans
It trails its shiny finger-tips.
Spills over in the living-room,
And in my hands, like honey, drips.

A Winter sun, like memory,
Brings back the thought of Summer haze.
Remembrance of the birds and flowers,
The ecstasy of August days.

A handful of such sun would seem
All that the Heavens can afford,
In Winter-time. Consider me
Most grateful for small favors, Lord!
                                                                        January 5, 1925

If the name Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings rings a bell, she is the authoress of 
 The Yearling and Cross Creek, both well-known novels.

A footnote: At least two blogs I enjoy reading are no longer available, as in removed. Some of the wording suggests it might not come from the blogger? This makes me sad. If you are one of those bloggers, please know I will miss you greatly.



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winter home economics

This is "me" still attempting to maintain some sort of walking schedule on the slippery snowy ice! One gingerly placed foot at a t...