January's departure caught me unaware. I woke up this morning and realized it's FEBRUARY. I've back-dated this post so that it will show up in my January archives.....a girl has to stay organized! And that is what I did a lot of this month--organized and decluttered my desk once I finished catching up on my photo albums for last year. I started the month, though, going into town to look for marked-down Christmas items and found this bird's nest. I decorated my Christmas tree this past Christmas with birds and things from nature and I had thought it would be nice to include a bird's nest, so when I found this at half-price, you can imagine my excitement. I promptly added to my tree since we were leaving it up until after 12th Night. . . .
This is how it looked on the 2nd....no snow. Gabriel was enjoying his romp off-leash outside the fenced-in garden. You can see the sun setting between the trees behind him. . . .
On the 3rd I hosted the Tasha Tudor Potluck for the Maryland Chapter of the Tasha Tudor Museum Society. . . .
One of my sons and daughter-in-loves took me to Cafe Anglais Tea Room in town as part of my Christmas present. I loved the murals painted on the walls. . . .
On the 11th we were invited by friends to a jazz concert at a fine arts museum in a town about 30 minutes from us. Afterward they invited us and several more friends to a spaghetti supper at their house for the pianist who was from their church. We also toured the museum. These are the swans on the small lake you can see in the distance. . . .
Because of the extreme cold we've had a lot of birds visit Poetry's and Gabriel's entertainment center. You can see Gabriel's reflection in the window as they both watch intently for the next visitor. . . .
There is a Vintage/Repurposed shop--Chartreuse & Company-- just south of town that opens its door once a month. I'd seen this kitchen cabinet (on the left) the month before but didn't buy it because I didn't have room for it in Hannah's kitchen. I kept thinking about it and decided to go back for it and use it elsewhere, but as you see, I made room for it! Hannah is very happy to have the added counter space and shelves to hold all her crockery. . . .
Once I felt I'd done enough decluttering I finally started my learning-to-draw project. I wrote about it here. . . .
We had bouts of snow throughout the month. . . .
Gabriel really loved his romp in the wintry wonderland. . . .
And, of course, I can't leave out my little Olivia June. She's very quick on her knees now! She was fascinated by her granddaddy's iPad, and chases after Gabriel now. . . .
Windchill factors have hovered near 0° these last days of January. We wished we could bring the deer inside. . . .
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Take Joy!
Hi Cathy,
ReplyDeleteJanuary did WOOOOSH by didn't ? But you had much to fill it with and much joy!
I always enjoy my visits here!! So many lovely pictures and thoughts!
Have a WONDERFUL and JOYOUS week!!
Many many Blessings and warmth, Linnie
I'm glad to hear it's not just me that January got away from!
DeleteNice recap of the fleeting month of January ... how did it vanish so quickly?! Olivia June is darling; I was just reminiscing about when our Lauren was little and I had imagined I'd have plenty of time for little-girl fun with her. Now she is 9 and those times were actually few and far between. I know you know you must make the most of this precious time with her. I enjoy getting a glimpse of your very productive lifestyle; kudos on decluttering, organizing, and prioritizing your artistic talents.
ReplyDeleteGetting organized is not only helping me find things, but time! I love to plan. But this year, I want to make sure I do more than just plan!
DeleteCathy, I love how you recap your blessings of the month! I feel like everyone else, January has flown by. You always take beautiful photos and particularly darling photos of Olivia June--She is growing up so fast. I'm glad you are able to see her frequently. ♥
ReplyDeleteI love how you call my outs and abouts blessings! ☺ They certainly are.
DeleteYes I'm trying to figure out how January flew by so quickly! Your little Olivia June looks delightful! She is learning about all kinds of things as she is mobile now. I'm glad your organizing is going well. Have a nice week! Happy February.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention that I also went through some of my bookshelves and was able to fill several boxes with books I don't want any longer. That freed up space to organize what was left into categories better and not crowd everything. I also found some books I'd forgotten about.
DeleteHi Cathy,
DeleteI agree, I just don't know where January went and I am fearful the same thing will happen with February! LOL! I love all your pictures. When you put them the way you did you look like you had a wonderful month!
Take Peace,
Suzanne
Hi Suzanne, If I didn't take photos all month long and then Blog about them I'd have no idea what I did all month!
DeleteYou're right, Cathy. For a "regular" [31 day] month, January managed to zip by this year. OK by me, since it knocks off a big old chunk of Winter. The groundhog will - hopefully - not see his shadow tomorrow, and we'll get an early Spring. For a change. Each year, I get more and more antsy for crocuses and green patches in the melting snow and robins. And then forsythia and daffodils and everything else that Spring brings. We haven't had a ton of snow so far, but it has been very very cold. And we're actually set to get between 8-12" tomorrow. Glad I don't have to truck out every day anymore. Or be sure I hear the weather and traffic reports. I made sure I was fully-stocked up at home so if we do get a storm I can happily hibernate for a while without running out of anything critical. Gee, I wish we had a tea place around here somewhere. That sounds like so much fun - visiting an authentic English tearoom. I should do some research. Maybe there IS one - that I've just never heard anything about. My mom loved tea. Had it every afternoon about 4 pm, after she'd got supper started and could sit down for a minute. She liked Red Rose and Salada [do they even make them anymore?] and later on Twinings Earl Grey. I'm hooked on Earl Grey now myself. Love citrusy bergamot - what a scent. After I grew up I was invited home for Sunday night supper most weeks and Mom & I always had tea [Dad would still have his coffee]. Olivia is cuter than ever, needless to say. And getting into everything. Little kids are so much fun at this age. Makes it harder for the grownups in their lives of course, you have to be watching every second. But still a lot of fun. Is she talking at all yet? First babies are notorious for being early talkers. They don't have older siblings to interpret for them like middle and lastborn kids. My mom said I started jabbering when I was about 8 months, not that they had any idea of what I was saying. And my niece was the same. Yackety yack. Then her brother came along and barely said a syllable until he was two years old. But he started speaking in sentences so it balanced out well. LOL. OK I'm jabbering now I can see. So take care and talk to you soon.
ReplyDeleteJanet, we shall see today about the Groundhog! We've hardly had any snow this winter so far compared to last year, but we've had the colder than usual temperatures, too. Now that I don't have to be out and about in it, I don't mind so much. However, my Tasha Tudor gathering may have to be postponed this Thursday because the forecast is for a mix or snow and rain. I remember years ago having to change events I planned for my women's group at church--that was such a difficult thing--making that decision and then letting everyone know in time, and that was before e-mail. Olivia has started "talking" and I can tell when she's hungry because she says "mum, mum, mum, mum" and she says something that sounds like "da, da, da, da". She's at the stage of separation anxiety, though, and was not as happy go lucky as usual last week to be left with us (Ken always comes along to babysit). Once we distracted her, she was OK.
DeleteOh Cathy such lovely photo's, the Wintery scene is so pretty.
ReplyDeleteYour Tasha Tudor meeting table is lovely, you do keep busy.
Another lovely post.
Sorry I am a little late at seeing it we lost the internet for a couple of days.
Fondly Michelle
Thank you, Michelle. I looked at your new post briefly and will go back to read it more thoroughly later today. Right now i'm working on this month's Tasha Tudor gathering. We're going to make Valentines a la Tasha Tudor-style.
DeleteI loved the pictures of Olivia and Gabriel. He looks as if he loves the snow! How is his eating and his gurgling tummy? Sarah x
ReplyDeleteGabriel does love the snow. He'll rub his face in it, then comes in the house with globs of it clinging to the hair on his feet, leaving a trail of melting snow on my wood floors! As for his tummy. I've been giving him a packet of Fortiflora (a digestive aid) every evening. You sprinkle it over his food. I've also found a canned food he likes. The only time there is a problem now is if he doesn't eat on time. That happens if we have to leave before he's ready to eat, or if he gets too excited with other people in the house or we've taken him with us to babysit and he doesn't eat before we leave the house. When that happens I give him a Peptobismal tablet broken up into a ball of cheese and after a few hours he's fine and will eat. How is Tavi doing? Does he have tummy problems like Daisy did?
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