{Image FOUND // Pinned HERE}
Month: February 2018 (page 1 of 1)
There is a different pace to Sunday mornings. We are usually up early and out the door, rain or shine. There is a different feel to Sundays. You know the weekend is wrapping up, there are things to prep for Monday, there are last minute chores to be done. It has a flow all its own.
This morning, we opted for a quiet Sunday morning. Mr. Michie made coffee; I made smashed avocado toast. We lit the candles, listened to music, worked on the crossword. The Sunday before going back to work after a school break, to me, is always filled with a tinge of sadness. For I am selfish with my time with him. I like moving to our own pace, I like not having rules to our days.
Tomorrow is back to work for him and a mini adventure for me. Here’s to Sunday, may we pack it full of life before the sun sets.
We are a house that rises early. I have always been and I think will continue to be, a night owl. But, I’ve come to love getting up in the early hours of the morning. I think I crave that quiet time, just as much as my 2am writing sessions.
So, in this house of early risers, we aim to have breakfast together before we head out the door to start our day. We normally make toast or have some yogurt with fresh fruit; we work on the crossword together, sometimes there is music, sometimes it is just quiet and there is always a candle lit.
I’ve come to cherish our morning routine. However, one thing I do love about school breaks is a mini break in the routine and a chance to do something on a weekday when everyone else is at work. We awoke early this morning but stayed bundled up in bed for a while longer before we braved going out. It was a balmy 24ºF when we headed out together. We went to the woods. The ponds were completely iced over, the birds were singing and flittering from one bough to another. There was ice on the ground and the bit of snow that had fallen late last night had hardened.
After a good run and a bit of a workout using the park benches, we headed to one of our favourite joints to grab breakfast. Outside of the weekend, we never get to go there. It was quiet, just one other table eating breakfast. We sat in the window so we could feel the sunshine on our faces.
We ordered coffee, worked on the crossword and decided to order some breakfast. I deviated from my normal choice of smashed avocado, feta and chilli on toast, to the rosemary roasted ham on toast, topped with fried eggs. It was bliss. It was a well deserved breakfast after such a cold run; it was luxuriously enjoyed as there were no time constraints and even better there were no dishes to do when we were done.
This was a perfect start to our week off.
P.S. We’re having a blast watching the Olympics. I read the lovely Tieghan’s blog of Half Baked Harvest and we were jumping up and down when her brother Red took the Gold in snowboarding! His first Olympics and he goes home with the Gold! Just INCREDIBLE! ♥
I am excited about two things today. First, it is FRIDAY!! I’ve been waiting for Friday to come around, since I went to bed on Sunday night. Secondly, today is the beginning of the Winter Olympics and I can’t wait to watch the opening ceremony tonight with Mr. Michie. I think it will most definitely involve a bowl of popcorn and a couple of hot chocolates.
I LOVE the Winter Olympics. If watching it doesn’t make you want to throw on your ice skates or shoot down a hill in skis, then nothing will. I have a couple of people I’m rooting for, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for them. I truly just want everyone to do well and no one to suffer any serious injuries or setbacks.
Bring in the torch, because I’m ready to watch them light the fire and get this wonderful show on the road!
{Vintage image of Peggy Fleming ice skating HERE // Pinned HERE}
Now this looks like a woman you could pull up a chair next to, pour a glass of lemonade and just sit back to listen to all the delicious stories she could tell.
One of my favourite stocking stuffers this year was a gift from my Mom. It came in the form of a paperback book. It was this year’s edition of the The Old Farmer’s Almanac. I LOVE the Almanac. I find it a fascinating piece of living history and I can’t wait to read whatever tidbit they have listed for the current date.
As I flipped the pages open, on this frosty morning, to the month of February, I saw that today in 1867, Laura Ingalls Wilder was born. I was a big fan of the Little House books growing up. I dreamed of living in a little cabin in the woods, driving in the covered wagon to the store where I could get a peppermint stick and helping Ma bake bread in our little home. I wanted a prairie bonnet so badly, so I could look like her. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s writing, conjured up a lot for my imagination and I have always adored Garth Williams’ illustrations. There is something so very comforting about his work. He was the illustrator for some of my most beloved childhood stories.
I was also a big fan of the TV show and used to watch it over my bowl of cereal in the morning. Who didn’t want to be “Half-Pint”?
I love the cowboy hats they are wearing in this photograph of Laura and her husband Almanzo. Don’t you just know that Anne Shirley would be going crazy for those puffed sleeves!
I know that her stories were embellished, that not everything was at it appears and some people are hung up on that. But that is the mark of a good storyteller, these weren’t true biographies, they were her stories and they filled my head with all kinds of wonderful things.
She is a woman I would have been intrigued to meet. She was a true pioneer woman, a lady of great endurance and a woman of strong faith. Happy Birthday Laura Ingalls Wilder, you little prairie girl.
{Photograph of Laura in her rocking chair found HERE // Photograph of Laura and Almanzo Wilder found HERE}
Yesterday, seemed to be a really Monday kind of a Monday. In reaching out to people I love yesterday in their little far flung corners of the world, everyone seemed to be having, “one of those days!” Some were having worse days than others.
Mine, might have tumbled over a bit into today as I woke up thinking that today was Wednesday. Wishful thinking, I guess.
But, it snowed for a little bit this morning. I got to watch the ducks swim around the non-frozen part of the pond while on my run. There are fresh out of the oven buttermilk rolls cooling on the counter and roasted red pepper and tomato soup bubbling away on the stove for dinner tonight. All in all today’s been a pretty good day!
So, just a reminder to us all, in case you had the Monday that I did yesterday; in our own way, in our own time; we are KILLING IT, each and every day!
{Illustration found HERE // Pinned HERE}
I’ve tried to come here half a dozen times this week, with no luck. I’m hoping we’ve turned the page on all of our January craziness. It’s rare that I wish away time, but here’s hoping February brings with it a chance to breath.
I know the British don’t celebrate Groundhog Day, but I still like to feel that what Phil has to say, applies to this little island as well. He saw his shadow this morning, so it’s six more weeks of winter. The weather report says that snow is a possibility for us next Friday. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they’re right. I couldn’t think of a better way to go into a weekend than surrounded by a winter wonderland.
Here’s to the beginning of this weekend, long may it last!