This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission of any sale made at no extra cost to you.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a common ailment for many people this time of year. I used to mildly suffer but have recently learned to appreciate – and even love! – these cold winter months. For me, it’s all in the mindset. For ten months of the year, farming is my primary focus and I work hard. Winter is a time for me to rest and get rejuvenated for the growing season ahead. If winter is necessary for the natural world to thrive, I’d say it’s equally important for me!
My little list of things to prioritize this winter:
+ creativity projects (cross stitch, junk journaling, etc.)
+ lots and lots of reading
+ going to bed early
+ puttering around my home, decluttering and organizing and decorating
+ taking vitamin D supplementation (so important!)
+ daily walks
Need a little motivation to enjoy these January days?
Check out my January little things bingo board!
Hoping to document 52 weeks of good things!
Five Good Things…
- Burning a candle in the early morning. // Scent of the week: White Pear & Apple
- A new compost bin. // My husband helped me construct a third compost “bin” out of pallets. I now can start a three-bin system – one to build, one to turn, and one to finish off before using in the garden – and I’m so excited. Squirreling away all the things to build up my new pile!
- Returning to healthy eating. // We feasted like kings during Christmastide and I’m ready to take a break from the treats.
- A DIY reading journal. // In 2025, I thought it would be a fun challenge to seek out new ways of making do. (The idea would be that I saw/wanted this item, but I did this instead.) So for my first week, I made a reading journal! My Youtube feed has been full of lovely ladies setting up new reading journals and I was thiiis close to buying this or this. BUT! In a burst of creativity, I decided I still had enough supplies in my junk journal stash to make my own! It’s not perfect by any stretch but it will work perfectly for my needs.
- Firewood with next day delivery. // We are supposed to get snow/ice/polar vortex temperatures in the next week and one look at our woodpile had us panicking. Although we hated having to spend the money, the company was able to deliver the seasoned firewood the very next day and we’re ready for whatever winter weather comes our way.
This Week in the Liturgical Year //
January 2 was the Memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors.
To Listen: Gregory Nazianzen: Greatness in the Passive Voice from the Way of the Fathers podcast as well as St. Basil the Great—On the Right Use of Greek Literature
To Read: Basil, Gregory, and the Holy Spirit
To Add to the Library: On Christian Doctrine and Practice and On the Holy Spirit
To Bake: Vasilopita (Vasilopitta, honoring Saint Basil, is a Greek New Year’s custom.)
Frugal Accomplishments //
- stocked up on coffee during a sale at the grocery store
- listed a few books on Pango
- gave myself a little hair trim
Reading //
- The Rules of Discernment: A Practical Guide – Rule 4 from Megan Hjelmstad at Spiritual Direction
- Goodness, Like Truth and Beauty, is a Powerful Thing from Father John P. Cush at National Catholic Register
- Life in the Cyborg Age: A Conversation with Josh Pauling from Aaron Weinacht at Front Porch Republic // “Do we want to become the type of people who push a button to listen to Bach, who have a chatbot write them a poem, who have an image generator paint them a picture? Or do we want to become the type of people who can play Bach on the piano (or maybe even be the next Bach!), who can revel in writing a poem, who can create art with their own hands? Learning entails risk, challenge, strain, difficulty, and it is through such things that you build wisdom, virtue, and patience—that you become a better you.”
- The Measured Morning from Grandma Donna // “This sounds like a lot of effort to keep our usage down, but once we have it figured out and let go of things little by little we will get a routine and it will simply be just the way we live as those before us did…People live much differently today than when I first started housekeeping. We were brainwashed we needed these things that cost us so much today to purchase, to use, to upkeep and to and needed attachments and filters. And then there is the cost to run them whatever that thing may be.”
New Additions to The List //
- The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
- Ingrained: The Making of a Craftsman by Callum Robinson
- A History of the Church in 100 Objects by Mike Aquilina
- Are We All Cyborgs Now?: Reclaiming Our Humanity from the Machine by Robin Phillips and Joshua Pauling
Watching/Listening //
- Lessons 3-6 of the Introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas course from Aquinas 101 at the Thomistic Institute
- What Makes Buildings Beautiful (And Why Beauty Does Matter) from The Aesthetic City
Loving //
- this slow cooker meal plan // This will be helpful as I get out of the holiday fog and back to regular meal planning.
- 2025 Art Book Reading Challenge! from Rebecca at A Humble Place // Fun!
- Welcome to 2025! Encourage one another from Annabel at The Bluebirds are Nesting on the Farm // I love the memories about her mom! Inspiring.
from the archives…
WEEK ONE 2024 // The Beauty of Hope
