The Farmer’s Almanac has predicted a “cold and snowy” winter for the Midwest, and so far, the predictions are spot on. This weekend the expected overnight temperatures are 4 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr!
From the basement (or is cellar a better word for a room you can’t fully stand up in, that sports a dirt floor, and several trees are support beams holding up the house? No kidding.) I hear the busy chatter of a local crew installing a new furnace…I’m so grateful that it will be in place to keep this 161-year-old farmhouse toasty before the winds howl and the snow piles up around the doors. And while the new furnace and a cozy fire are perfect for these shivery December days, they’re not all that will take the chill out of a month that can be bitterly cold. Both homes and hearts can be warmed by the glow of the holiday season.
December can be a lively month; there are school concerts, university exams, cookie swaps, and visits with friends & family. Then there’s cleaning, cooking, baking, decorating, and as the calendar fills up, I find it can be easy to forget what the season is all about. Soon I start to notice that holiday “hurry-up” feeling begin to creep up on me (come on, the date never changes, why am I not prepared?)
It’s then I know that I need to stop and “pull focus” as it’s said. Many times I’ll step outside, close my eyes, and take a deep breath of the frosty air. Then, if my timing is just right, I’ll catch the faint sound of church bells. In the icy winter air, their melody travels with ease across the several miles from the town square where they can be found. Soon their lingering echos help me to remember that this is a time for home & heart. A time for all that is good.
When the kids were small, I began to feel we really needed to revel in these winter days…they were flying by too quickly in what was often a frenzied flurry, then suddenly, it was a new year. One day I began jotting down what I thought were just fun (yes, even silly) ways to treasure wintering in this old farmhouse. Less stress, more joy!
Years later, when each December begins to jingle in, I go back to that list, and so for this month’s post, I thought I’d share it with all of you. And please, give us your ideas for how you spend these days…we’d love to hear them!
Winter Joys:
-Put up the tree early, play music, and sing…no one cares if we’re off key!
-Be an elf…deliver secret goodies to friends & neighbors (knock & run!)
-Slip on a favorite apron, turn up the holiday music, and bake oodles of cookies (dancing in the kitchen is optional, but a whole lotta fun!) Tucked into tins, on vintage plates, or in cheery bags, cookies are just right for friends who drop in, the school bus driver, or the mailman (or mail-lady in our case…have I told you her name is Betsy Ross? How cute is that?!)
-Be a kid again…make snowmen and snow angels, then come inside for a mug of hot cocoa, eggnog, or spiced cider.
-Enjoy a movie marathon (best if you stay in your jammies all day.)
-Whip up home-baked dog and kitty treats, fill bird feeders to overflowing.
-Sit by the fire or candlelight and watch the snow fall, read, knit, crochet, dream.
-Bundle up and walk around the town square to see the merry shop windows.
-Invite your girlfriends over for potluck lunch and catch-up. Send them home with a gift from the heart – jars of pickles, jams, home-baked goodies. All you have to do is tie on a bow.
-Write letters…in cursive!
And most of all…have fun, hold hands, laugh, make memories.
As I try to keep the month from becoming a farmhouse frenzy, I decorate in simple ways that are important to me…a wooden bowl with cinnamon sticks, pine cones, and berries,
and a centerpiece of cranberries, orange slices, and greenery.
This Santa and elf were painted on a pair of rescued chair legs,
and I can’t resist lots of gingerbread ornaments!
There will always be decorations made by once little hands, and it wouldn’t be Christmas if we didn’t have a search for the hidden pickle ornament (always tricky to find, there’s an extra gift for whoever spots it first!)
What am I asking Santa for?
Well, if there’s no room in my stocking for that aqua ’57 Nomad on my wish-list, how about this red truck? Sigh…a farmgirl can dream!
And so, amid swirling snowflakes and secret surprises, sweet homecomings and family traditions…this is a magical time when all hearts turn to thoughts of home and those we love. It’s been said we’re never too old or too young to store up memories, so let’s make this Christmas one to remember…bake cookies, make snow angels, laugh, take pictures, all the while remembering to share what we have with a glad heart.
To my dear Farmgirl friends across the miles…I wish you a very Merry Christmas.
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