February 5, 2026 -
February is cold.
Cold but bright. It’s pink,
white, and red and sweet! The days are
getting longer and the sun is setting later.
February leaves much of the holiday stress behind. At work, frantic storms of last minute
deadlines were potholes to dodge following December and January and for Doug and I, there
were no winter breaks. There was little time to catch our breath before the
next storms arrived. We enjoyed little
time to linger. Exhaustion. And then an unexpected trip to Florida to check
on my parents turned into a blessing of answered prayers with time to sit and
wait, to pray, and not do much of anything else. To catch late night meals, to enjoy Taco Bell and DQ all
in the same night with my mom, the queen of healthy and frugal eating. (She nearly croaked when she saw the price of
two small blizzards. She had never had
one!) Time to talk and reminisce. Time to read and look at old recipes. Time to reassess how quickly life can change
in a single moment and then be so very grateful that it didn’t. Time presented itself to refocus. A gift…
Florida was a delightful distraction of lush green and flowers blooming. I enjoyed a day trip with my brother and his wife to the lovely and tiny Astor, Florida on the St. John’s River where I saw real Florida, old Florida, my Florida.
I saw vivid green lily pads and beautiful old
houseboats docked for so long that there were large house plants
sitting outside their spaces. I enjoyed
the graceful sandhill cranes who visit my parents each day where my dad feeds
them dried corn and they get so excited that they dance.
Florida is an oasis for me.
It is home, forever my home. But I
am ever so slowly starting after 45+ years of living in Missouri, to really
appreciate the gifts Missouri has for me.
And so, I want to enjoy February in Missouri with all of its snow, cold, wind, and moments to linger.
While in Florida I missed below 0 windchills and a snowstorm but it was still good to get back home, to get back to my beautiful home and the peeps who live there with me. A home which is just about to be completed following a raging fire, now years behind us but never for one second forgotten. Years have passed and so many life changes have happened since the thing that divided our lives intp before and after, but Doug and I get to still wake up together. We are blessed. We are so blessed to get to go forward into happily ever after.
I have tried to take the last few weeks to do some of the
things that bring me so much peace. I’m
a weird one. I’m not out there shopping
and watching ball games. I’m not after
fancy restaurants or vacations to far away places. For me, peace is right at home in the very
place that was nearly taken from me doing things that I was afraid I may never
want to do again.
For February, I have finally started decorating with my
heart again. I’m not a huge
decorator. I tend to lean towards the
minimalist side of things but have learned that decorating even a few smalls spaces brings
joy, either to the person decorating or to anyone else who comes to your
space. I love our local thrift store and I found this heart in hand plate, a very perfect addition to my February dining table. I switched out my candle holders from
December and January’s gold to black.
Anyone who knows me knows I do love some black! I left the red berries in the white vase from
December and added a black and white porcelain bowl that I also got second
hand. It was the very inspiration for our new home. That very first piece would be a
vision of what home might look like again.
It spoke to me and so I bought it, when I didn’t even have a real home to
take it to. It is black and white. Shiny porcelain but practical in use. Simple but luxurious. Pretty much all descriptions for me,
actually. lol
This month I have continued baking bread with freshly milled
flour. I mixed up no knead dough for
loaves #6 and #7 and they are chilling in the fridge. One for us, one for a friend.
I made a batch of yogurt and strained it thick and
lovely. I made granola, this time adding coconut and bright red cranberries.
Breakfasts have either been toast with homemade bread & jam or homemade yogurt
with this perfect batch of homemade granola.
I made to the YMCA once this week to run a little, to walk a
little. It felt good! It brightened my spirits for days and I plan
to go again soon.
At work, I took breakfasts and lunches packed from home,
enjoyed bright and sweet juicy oranges and a few treats of spicy red hot
candies to feed my sweet tooth.
I have cooked two suppers this work week, Shells & Sauce and
also a super frugal hearty meal of Crockpot Chicken Noodles. (Recipe coming soon.) I made a perfect batch of lightly sweetened
cornbread muffins from scratch. No box of Jiffy mix required! The two of us have enjoyed leftovers all week
from these two hearty meals. Mmmmm. Cooking at home feels so good!
I have wintersown seeds for onions for this season’s onion
powder, cabbage for hopefully some sauerkraut, and have shuffled my seed packets over and over like I’m counting my money as I plan my 2026 garden.
Citrus is ready for harvest in Florida and I actually have
my very own huge lemon ready for picking in my barely heated Missouri sunroom. I named this little lemon tree, “Uno”. She gives me exactly one huge lemon each
year! So far, I haven’t had the heart to
pick her lemon. Seeing this bright
yellow orb ripened in the depts of a Missouri winter reminds me that a Florida girl can still spread joy in Missouri!
I finished reading book #2 for 2026. I’m now reading a book my mom suggested and
which she says is her favorite book ever, “Wrapped in Rain” by Charles
Martin.
Spring is just around the corner but for now, I plan to
enjoy February and all it has to offer.
Oh February, pink and white, and red and sweet. Your snows are melting and the cold is
lifting. Your sun casts long shadows in early evenings as we finally can arrive home before complete darkness outside. I am so thankful that I get to
enjoy the blessings of February and all of the things I can fit into embracing
it!
If you are reading this today, please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you and know how you are finding joy this February.
Enjoy!
Gina
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