January

So, with the arrival of the New Year, I wish I could say that I’ve been productive and that I’ve been making tons of progress on my needle felting, and have completely reorganized my house, cleaned it from top to bottom, and lost 10 pounds. That would be a lie. I’ve been shuffling around (ok, maybe wallowing a bit), reading a lot of books, stepping over a lot of toys (see below), and generally neglecting anything that may be labeled as productive.

I have been baking a lot of bread from this book. (Maybe that’s why I haven’t lost 10 lbs!) Amazing. I know I’m late to jump on the bandwagon of no-knead bread. I got this book from the library and it was all so straightforward and delicious looking, that I dove right in. Normally at this time of year, I really miss the farmers market, because they have the best crusty, artisanal type bread. But this bread I made tastes exactly like it! Woo! Now I have to move beyond the basic recipe and try the others, which all look amazing.

Speaking of the farmer’s market…I’ve been looking toward spring today, thinking about our garden, picking seeds to order. I cannot wait until this winter is over.  We’ve been trapped in this house, endlessly sick, dwelling amongst clutter and mess. Blah! Once Christmas was over, I begrudgingly packed up our decorations, and braced myself for bleak January, always a month to muddle through for me. Now more than ever it always proves to be a bummer, with sick kids, stuck inside, growing antsier by the minute. If I were a more positive person, I’d tackle January with gusto; a new year, a fresh start, yeah, yeah. But I never really feel that way until spring. SO, today, as I dream of puttering in the warm sun, and poking a pea into the ground, I feel hopeful, and dare I say, a bit more cheerful than in past weeks.