Those Winter Days of January

 I'd like to apologize to the Detroit area residents who aren't enjoying the traditional winter weather this year. I'm afraid that the snow and cold might be my fault. You see, I wished for a real snowy Michigan winter like I enjoyed as a child! We haven't seen the ground since Christmas, with frequent snow, and bitterly cold temps. I find it cozy, but it can be difficult to get around in it. You see, I don't yet have a winter worthy car to drive, so I'm forced to drive the bulky SUV, or to ride along with hubs. I miss my sporty little car, but she does not like to go out sliding around the roads. So she can sit in the garage all cozy until it warms up a bit. 

January is traditionally the Cozy Month. We tend to stay home, and pursue our home based hobbies. I'm a reader, so I've been reading and listening to audiobooks, which are well suited to my other hobby, crochet. I recently finished this denim blue blanket for use in our bedroom. I also make various types of soup, which pleases our soup loving souls. You'll see pictured below the ingredients for Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice, a vegan favorite of ours, and the finished product under that. You can find the recipe here. Also pictured is my own recipe for Cozy Chicken Soup. Sorry, I haven't written it down, but basically, you cook various veggies and potatoes in chicken broth, then add in rotisserie chicken. Thicken and season as desired. You'll also find me baking cookies. This month's choices were Tahini Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Raisin. 

I taught preschool for 15 years, and in my mind, I often channel those years, especially when it comes to decorating for holidays. Yes, I decorate my home for Valentine's Day. It's one of my favorite holidays actually, even if some people call it a made up celebration. All holidays are made up, but one dedicated specifically to love is just right for me. We'll go out to eat, I'll bake something, and we'll probably indulge in some treats, but no gifts are exchanged otherwise. 

We were called away suddenly for a death in the family, and hopped in the car for a long car ride to Florida. You know what they say, the funerals may be awful, but it sure is nice to have family together, allowing us to process our grief together. We did spend some time sightseeing around the area, as we always do. Even in Florida, it was clear that it was winter. Some trees are actually bare, and some even had fall type colors on the leaves. On our return drive north, we witnessed the effects of the big winter storm that we missed, as Kentucky was just covered in ice. The freeway was clear and dry, but I'm sure they struggled with the snow and ice, which became evident every time we had to get off the freeway. I took a lot of photos out the windows of the car, trying to capture how beautiful it was, despite the ill effects. 

And so, it's time to close with sky watching, as usual. Thank you for stopping by my Nest. In winter, of course nothing is blooming outside, so I have to turn my focus indoors. I'm not sure what spring will bring here in the new house. I did plant a few daffodils and tulips, so that will be nice. And I do have my front window boxes to plant, and I can fill container plantings. But my garden is still in the dreaming stage. I think I've said that whatever garden I come up with will be considerably smaller than we had. But I still need growing things, with the possibility of butterflies passing through. We'll see what I come up with. See you here again next month! 

The Seasons of November

 November turned out to be both fully autumn and winter here in SE Michigan. I always say that I require the full change of seasons. I don't want to live somewhere where it's eternally summer, even though I enjoy visiting places like that. I like to enjoy each season in its turn. Still, we all know that my favorite season is autumn, and I bade it a fond farewell during the first week or so of the month. It's always a bittersweet ending for me. 

I took the time to visit several parks in that time frame, plus we found several new places to visit while the weather was still pleasant. Lower Huron Metropark is the nearest, and my favorite. But I also found a new spot, Dexter Huron Metropark. We also explored nearby Huron River parks in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. All in all, it was a lovely ending to the autumn finale.

Once the colors faded completely, we drove to Florida to visit family. Autumn in Florida is delightful, but for different reasons than northern autumns. The weather was perfect, warm and not at all humid. 

But my favorite scenery there was to see how autumn can look in central Florida. There's a park in Leesburg called PEAR Park, and I find it pleasing any time of the year. But it really comes into its full beauty in the fall. Yes, in the fall! I even found fall colors there, much to my surprise. I visited right before sunset, during the golden hour, which made it even better. I'm usually the only one there,  but that's okay by me. 

When we returned home, I still had a few autumn decorations around. I generally leave them up until Thanksgiving itself, and after that, the Christmas decorations can come out. I thought my Thanksgiving apple pie was so beautiful that it deserved a photo opp. And sometimes, I just see a pleasing tableau that I think is photo worthy. 

I was gifted a video bird feeder before we moved, but saved it until now. Because our neighborhood is so new, the trees are small, and I didn't expect to see many birds yet. It took months for any of them to show up, but finally, two little bluebirds visited my feeder. I hope that we'll see more of them as the winter comes on, and there's less for them to eat out in the world. 

After we enjoyed our harvest feast, I did begin my decorating for the holidays, mostly the front porch area.  I always start with the outdoors when it comes to Christmas. 

It was certainly turning towards winter after our trip south, and today we woke up to our first batch of Michigan winter snow. I'm tickled pink, because I'm a snow lover. It was the perfect backdrop for a day of Christmas decorating. But I'll save those pix for my December post. And so the month ends with winter. 

It's been a month of sky watching here, lots of sunsets, a sunrise, and even the northern lights! 

Thanks for stopping by to see November in my Nest! I so appreciate those of you who check into my little nest. We'll see you again at the end of December.