Oh, thank God it’s January! I loved the holidays, but January has always been my month to rest. I enjoy getting my winter pantry in order and getting into some serious homemaking. Maybe I will start a sewing project.

When we homeschooled, the months of January, February and March were our best months for serious study. Our children were always so excited over the holidays from October to December. Then January, the holidays were over and we could really get deep into school studies. Of course, we homeschooled through the holidays but it was very distracting, although fun. But when January came, the kids were more settled in. My home would be very quiet after the holidays until about April, when the children would be thinking about summer vacation. But the cold days of January kept them in and quiet and concentrating. We would read books together and I loved it.

Now here it is January, and I hope to get my notebook out and write down some plans for some happy homemaking ideas.

January is a good time to start tomato and pepper plants inside and to be ready to plant in the spring. We are getting seed catalogs in the mail at least once a week. The old time housewives would start planning their gardens on paper in January. I know I want to grow valerian and feverfew again. We used to start our tomato seeds in egg cartons with nail holes in the bottom for drainage. These plantngs are fun for the children to watch grow. And let then try all different kinds of seeds.

It’s a good month for making soups and stews and homemade breads. A time to relax with craft projects. It’s a time to dream and do fun things with the children at home. Jim used to do the jigsaw puzzles in the winter.

All too soon, the spring will come and all of the activity will start again, and we will be glad for that season in our families lives, too. But for now, it is January. Let’s savor it and stir it slowly. As nature takes its rest and the ground is asleep under the snow, let’s us rest, too.

This morning, I am cooking up hamburger and ground turkey, together with onions and peppers, and bits of celery and garlic. I will use some of it for a vegetable soup for today, and then freeze the rest in baggies to make winter casseroles and soups. I will get out my favorite pan with the red lid and cook away.