Wednesday, November 14, 2018

November Is A Good Month

But going by so very quickly that I'm almost panicking.

Today is Wednesday, mid-week already.  Zoom, half another week gone.  Right along with half of the month, too.

I don't know how it can be possible, but this time of year goes by faster for me than busy summer time.  With our earlier than usual cold weather and a snow cover on the ground, I feel farther into the winter season than perhaps we actually are.  But then again, Thanksgiving is next week.  Yikes.

With the onset of temperatures hovering near the zero mark and our blanket of snow, the poultry isn't interested in leaving the confines of their shelters.

"Snow?  You expect us to walk on bare feet in the snow??"

The chickens are showing their displeasure by refusing to lay eggs.  Well, they're still laying but two or three a day from a dozen birds?!  Come on, girls, I've got Christmas baking coming up shortly, and I'm gonna need a plentiful supply of eggs.

The mundane, but important, everyday tasks can keep me busy throughout the whole day, and I have to make a conscious effort to take/make the time to do the things my creativity and imagination yearn for.


Between a couple of hours last night and a short time this morning weaving in yarn ends, I've finished the latest pair of socks for my daughter.  Now on to another pair for my husband to add to the two pair I've already knit for him.  No doubt about it, knitting socks has become an addiction for me, especially when those near and dear are so appreciative of having them. 

I'm thinking of making up the doughs for various Christmas cookies and stashing it in the freezer in anticipation of baking the cookies closer to holiday time.  Can't say I thoroughly enjoy that part (the mixing of the dough) of making cookies, but forming the already mixed dough and baking and the wonderful aroma the house gets filled with while seeing the different colorful varieties pile up on the kitchen table and counters . . . that's the fun part for me.

I realize many people don't like, even dread, the gray, cold, monochromatic, dark month of November, but I've always been fond of it.  It gives me a warm, fuzzy, hibernation-is-coming feeling and signals the true end of our busiest outdoor season.  It brings the anticipation of the holidays, and the (yearned for) approach of the slower winter months ahead.  

November is a good month.

21 comments:

DFW said...

November has always been one of my favorite months too. Temps actually start to act a little fallish here in the deep south. A cold front is coming in tonight. It's currently grey & raining. I've got 7 pints of venison in the pressure canner & getting ready to bind a quilt that will be given as a wedding present this weekend. I love indoor activities especially when nasty outside. I don't feel so guilty. Highs in the low 60s for the next few days. Enjoy your sock making!

Mama Pea said...

DFW - What a wonderful, enticing, hygge-like picture you painted in your comment. Love it, love it, love it! :o]

Michelle said...

Lovely header photo! Our fall is beautiful, but worrisome with the lack of moisture. May get a little today, but so far it's just gray; can't tell how much is overcast and how much is "smokecast."

Mama Pea said...

Michelle - Thanks! I took the picture of the deer while we were on a walk in the woods a couple of years ago. They certainly weren't too afraid of us!

You've had your share of smoke in the atmosphere this year! Hoping you get the moisture needed.

Lynne said...

This month has gone by too fast. You think you've got all this time to get prepared for thanksgiving and xmas , but you don't. It seems to go by so fast the older I get. ugh! The socks came out nice I feel they're addictive too Right now I'm knitting my great grandson a hat for xmas . One of his gifts anyways. That is a great way to prepare the dough ahead of time.

Mama Pea said...

Lynne - I've often wished our Thanksgiving was in October as it is for our Canadian friends over the border. Two months between Thanksgiving and Christmas would be much better, I think. Just cannot believe November is half over already.

Rain said...

Hi Mama Pea :)) Is that you and Chicken Mama in the new Blogger profile photo you gorgeous thang? :)) So pretty! :))

Oh November, how I love and hate thee....I do like the snow lighting up the world though. But the quick days make me so tired. I almost wrote "ever so tired"...oh the drama lol! But I guess my body is telling me I need to slow down so I'm definitely listening!

But as Christmas approaches, it's kind of exciting! It's the deep freeze months that are the hardest on me, but I'm going to try my best to keep busy and Hygge throughout them!! I actually thought about studying some real estate law during the long months of January through March, just to get the up and up before starting the home search. It may be too much for my brain though! ;)

Great idea to prepare and freeze cookie dough. I never thought about that but I may do the same thing. I'm scaling down the holidays this year though, which is kind of sad, but you know, the biggest gift Alex and I can give each other is a new home!! :)

Beautiful deer photo!

Mama Pea said...

Rain - Yep, that is me and Chicken Mama in the profile pic. She put that up without me knowing it, the little sneaker. She must have been a bit less than one year old in the picture.

I think we're all a little tired during the month of November. The shortened days, added darkness and change of seasons signals our bodies to sleep more, take better care of ourselves.

These winter months, before your Big Move, will be a good time for you to concentrate on all kinds of things pertaining to finding your own piece of land. I predict the months are gonna fly by and you'll be looking at spring time and serious real estate hunting before you know it!

tpals said...

I'm an anti-gray, cloudy weather at any time of year. I yearn for the sun.

Love the socks!

Mama Pea said...

tpals - That's a real bummer because of all the gray, un-sunny days we (all over the country) seem to be having lately. :o( Such days, if I'm home, have always energized me into doing something really productive, usually in the kitchen. With good music in the background. But then I'll admit I don't suffer even a little bit of S.A.D. And I do feel badly for those that do.

Sending wishes for lots of clear, sun-filled days for you this winter!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Our chickens are not laying even one egg right now. I'm about to put in their heat lamp, but we'll see. I'm getting a lot cleaned right now, and it's a grand feeling. It's freezing outside here today.

Katie C. said...

I woke up to the first snow of the season here in northern Virginia. It’s only supposed to be a dusting but it’s still coming down ...

I still have one Christmas scarf to finish knitting and two others to weave in ends and one to fringe and and .... eek!

Mama Pea said...

Kristina - Some good house cleaning is on my list, too, but I'm currently putting the time in on going through my desk files and tossing lots out, thinning them down. I woke up from a dream about cleaning kitchen cabinets, though, so I'm thinking I neeeed to get on that soon!

Katie C. - Snowing in northern Virginia! Hooray for the start of your winter! Sounds to me like you're way ahead on your Christmas gift preparations. It's not even Thanksgiving yet!

Athanasia said...

The deer photo is lovely. We see a lot of that on our property. Neither my husband or my boys are deer hunters...we just watch them. I think November is great as nothing growing, nothing needing picking, processing etc. A month of rest, or at least 3 weeks. Yes, Thanksgiving in October would give a less rushed feeling for the Christmas countdown.

wyomingheart said...

Well, what a precious photo of you and your baby! Seems as though I, like you, look forward to those slower paced days and snuggle weather. I do so much love the afternoon coffee that we hardly ever have in the summer, and of course I do a lot more crafts during those snow spells... Seems like time is flying for sure... it is a gray windy day here in the south, and I am getting more couch time than usual...not complaining for sure!...lol...

wisps of words said...

I agree, November is a good month! For all those reasons you stated. Who doesn't like to be cozy? And colder and darker times, are times for cozy.

Even when _you_ are not doing, doing, doing out doors, you are contemplating doing, doing, doing indoors!!!!! Mama Pea, you make me exhausted, just reading your blog!!!! -gigggggles-

Just keep making time for your fun stuff!!!!!!! Gotta' do that!!!

Fun stuff hugs...
✨✨✨✨

Mama Pea said...

Athanasia - Reports are that our local deer population is down right now, but we see plenty of them almost daily. Even after the hunting season has been in full swing for over a week now, we are seeing them regularly. When we went for a walk today, we saw lots and lots of tracks in the snow.

wyomingheart - Thank you! She was such an easy baby. She started sleeping through the nights at 3 weeks of age! Rarely cried and always happy or calmly watching what was going on around her.

Take advantage of that couch time. I've done a lot of sorting of "stuff" today at the kitchen table, but am going to get my couch time in tonight!

wisps of words - Can you believe Thanksgiving is next week already? Although, I am ahead of schedule in planning for Christmas this year. And that's a good feeling. You've said you've insisted your Christmases be "cut back" and made less hectic. Today I went through records I had kept of Christmases past and realize that I have been sensible enough to not do all I used to do. See? There may be hope for me yet!

Susan said...

I love the fall and, yes, even winter, but this season has brought such a propensity for grey, cloudy skies that I am not as happy as I normally am. I love those socks! I find that I am not satisfied unless I have a pair on the needles at all time. It helps assuage the guilt of a giant bin of sock yarn in the stash... This month has sped by and I would rather it slowed down so I could get all of that down time we hear about, LOL!

Mama Pea said...

Susan - Oh, same here with the gray days after gray days. And it seems this has been going on for months! You have a giant bin of sock yarn? Uh-oh, I don't have that much. I'd better buy more, right? Truth to tell, I'm thinking any amount of "down time" is going to have to come at the beginning of the new year. :o\

needs you deserve said...
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sherry said...

This month is going fast. It has been gray here also. I love you socks, your so gifted. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.