Beating Old Man Winter: Part 1

It's the end of January, and even though today is unseasonably warm and balmy, we undoubtedly still have a few weeks left of cold and ice. For any one that lives where winter means snow and cold, it can seem to last forever. And if you are one of many that suffer from SAD it can seem like a cold grey tunnel with no end.

Years ago I decided that I was going to look to winter and celebrate it, sort of the old saying "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.". I try to focus on the things that can only be enjoyed during this time of year. Cozy evenings at home with family, scented candles flickering in the dimness, the beauty of each unique snowflake, cuddling with a fleece throw while sipping hot cocoa and reading, sledding parties, spending an afternoon working on creative pursuits (as opposed to working on the lawn or garden!).

Now, in anticipation of the days ahead, I am very selective when I decorate for Christmas. No snow men or snow flakes. I don't want to be sick of looking at them by the time New Year's rolls around. So when the Christmas decorations are safely back in the crawl space, then my pudgy little pink cheeked friends can come out to grace our home. This year I purchased the above pictured snowflakes on clearance at my local Michael's. On MLK Jr. Day, Princess and I made our coffee filter snowflakes to hang in the dining room. I also put up some snow flake window clings.

This is one side of our table runner. I love this print, with all of the animals out on a snowy evening. I love clear, full mooned nights in the winter. The silvery light of the moon reflected on the snow is absolutely breath taking!

This is the other side of the same runner. I bought the felt snow flake place mat at Big Lots, again on clearance. You can't tell in the pic, but there is a small jar candle in the middle snow man.

The kitchen menu planner got a winter refashion.

The kiddo's chore chart looks like it was designed by jack Frost himself!

This is a Charles Wysocki wall hanging that was given to us years ago. It's hanging in the master bedroom. I love this scene. I can just imagine a cozy kitchen filled with the aroma of fresh baked sugar cookies and hot cocoa, with little ones milling about as they take a break from their sledding. 

Something else that I think is helping me this year is the fact that I have been exercising since the beginning of the month. No, it wasn't part of a New Year's resolution, but rather because I have the sneaking suspicion that I have arthritis in my joints and was aching more than usual. So I dug out my Leslie Sansone 1 Mile Walk and went to work. Within a week my joints hardly ached, and in another couple of days the pain in my knee stopped. 
My other motivation was to help me build up stamina so that this summer I don't need to have too much help from my hubby in the garden. Now is a great time to get ready for all of the shoveling, hoeing and weed pulling! 

Well, I'm going to wrap up this part of Beating Old Man Winter. The Internet at home isn't working for some reason, and I've done all that I know to do, so I am currently sitting at our local golden Arches to get this written!

Many Blessings,
Kelly