January. A deep rest has settled over the land. I have been slowly weaning myself off of Christmas. The cookie tins are empty and decorations were packed a way, bit by bit, room by room throughout the week. Christmas music no longer plays from the record player but instead soft hymns or maybe a little bit of country during those moments we feel wistful for summer.

There are no more pairings of red and green around the house. Sure, winter has it’s own beauty, but the rooms look bare and coffee doesn’t taste as good when it’s not in the Christmas mugs I’ve used every December since I was a little girl. Oh well. It takes some getting used to. I’m being sentimental, and I’ve already had my yearly allotted cry to Guy Lombardo’s Auld Lang Syne. Now it’s time to delight in winter. To rest. To gather strength for the fresh year ahead.

January is a lovely month to set about tasks that have gone to the wayside during the harvest and holidays. Already Mom and I have accomplished so much in the kitchen. The week between Christmas and New Years I canned cranberry juice and applesauce, and last week we canned broth and the tomatoes that have been sitting in our freezer since harvest. Getting both the bones and the tomatoes out of the freezer created so much more space and better organization.

Now we are able to get our latest bulk order of flours frozen (to kill off any eggs) before putting them in storage to rotate through our working pantry. Tinctures and fire ciders need strained and bottled, herbal tea blends mixed, and pork fat rendered into lard. I’m also working toward getting a good amount of “meal starters” prepped and in the freezer. Not necessarily freezer meals entirely, but items that will save a great deal of time in preparation— sourdough tortillas, uncooked biscuits, bagels, pizza crusts (some parbaked, others just dough), breadcrumbs, hashbrowns, etc. If there’s something you’ve found useful to keep on hand in the freezer, do let me know in the comments below. I really like feeling “prepared” in this way.

I love decorating and can typically work with most spaces to add a bit of cuteness, but winter is when I feel most confused in my efforts. I’m not a minimalist when it comes to decor, so winter’s bareness is hard on me. I like busy and color! But there are no flowers to bring in from the garden and Christmas’ greenery has long been composted. I’m still trying to add a few touches here and there— a white string of lights remains around our living room window, and Mom and I spent some time cutting paper snowflakes to tape to the windows as well.

A string of dried oranges leftover from Christmas is strung across the kitchen windows, and I left the mandarines in wooden bowls around the house that I displayed at Christmastime. Along with blue striped pottery and sunshine-yellow beeswax candles, we have a rich winter color palette to tide us over. In February I’ll probably purchase carnations and make a pink and red heart garland.

I am resting and reading and tending to home. Trying to keep a cheerful heart amidst the gray gloom that covers the land. To everything there is a season…and this is the one for deep, settled rest.

Be well my friends,

Kaetlyn ❤️