Quick Bits ❄️ #024
"It was a diamond winter day in February—clear, cold, hard, brilliant." -L.M. Montgomery · The Golden Road
Dear Reader,
Brighter days are coming! The days have been slowly getting longer, even if they temperature has stayed quite settled in the teens and lower. February was definitely a month to cozy in for the duration! {More on that below}. But we also did manage to have some fun, with a trip to NYC to see THE Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) on Broadway in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Spring is ahead and St. Padraig’s Day is quickly approaching. I’ll be sure to link my recipe for Irish Soda Bread below, so that you can have time to prepare for the festivities. Where as February leaves me meh, March (despite mud season) begins to breath life into everything. As much as I love winter, I can’t deny the slight “Spring” in my step at the extra sunlight and warmer days.
The chickens and ducks are feeling Spring! If you saw my note you know that our ducks started laying. We are now in a bit of a duck egg landslide! Not only do we have more chicken eggs than we can use (it goes in waves), but we now have more duck eggs too! If you’re local to me and looking for eggs let me know!
Until we meet again, Go with God!
Jessica
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Quick Bits 💌 #024
The past 15 years have found me with a Lenten practice of some sort. Nothing as extreme as giving up chocolate, but something that forces me to be more mindful. I shared in my notes that I’ve hidden FB and IG on my phone. I use them both for work, so a complete removal is unrealistic, but hiding them and only allowing access through my laptop has given me the pause necessary and that I was hoping for.
I spent February rereading the Little House on the Prairie books. What started as a reread of The Long Winter (apropos) and Farmer Boy (also apropos - we live in New York), culminated in a complete reread of the series. This winter has felt like a long winter, because it has been. It's the first WINTER we've had in quite a few years, particularly the extend periods of zero degree temperatures.
I know others think I'm crazy, but I LOVE winter. I love the frigid cold. I love the snow. I love the dark evenings. I love the coziness of blankets and books, tea and hot chocolate. Maybe part of the reason why I love it all is because of these books?!
For me, this isn't some glorification of the hardness of those old winters, both on the prairie and in Malone, NY (I live a few hours south of Malone): It was and is a kind of comradeship. It's an understanding of how life was, while also encouragement that we can see hard things through.
Growing up, and even now, we weren't afforded the privilege of watching winter from the coziness of inside. There was snow and ice to deal with, wood to bring in, animals to feed and water (always frozen), but there was, and is, always warmth and goodness to come back to.My St. Padraig’s Day Irish Soda Bread recipe!
Currently Reading, Listening, Watching 📚
🕮 Wintering by Katherine May
📺 All Creatures Great and Small on PBS
Quotable Quotes 💬
“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder
Recent Writings & Recommendations 🖋️
For whatever reason I seemed to have been more prolific in my writing this month. You can find all of my recent recommendations and writings HERE , but here’s a special few:
MH Eaton has had some lovely weekly posts for Lent
Melissa | Slow Living Magazine has joined Substack, so be sure to go and give her a cheery welcome!
Someone who has been repeatedly knocking my socks off is Jess Sowards
An Ash(less) Wednesday
·This past Wednesday, we spent the day in Manhattan. Last June, I had purchased tickets to see Tom Felton (of Draco Malfoy notoriety) in HP and The Cursed Child, completely unaware that it was Ash Wednesday. I will say it was quite pleasant to meander the streets of Midtown and see the occasional smudged cross on people’s foreheads.
Raising Warriors
·Growing up our school mascot was a warrior, but there was no such discussion as to what a warrior was, what the character traits of a warrior should be. We are now raising our children in the same town that we grew up in, and they, like us, are warriors.
This article is written by Jessica M. White: Wife. Mom of 5. Seeker of God’s Truth and Beauty. Drinker of ink, baker of chocolate chip cookies, lover of words and learning.
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