Monthly Musings - Winter Respite

This isn't a photo of my cat, Merida, but there's a resemblance. I wish I had a window like this - doesn't it look inviting and cozy? It's kind of what I'm looking for in a cozy spot to get a little me-time in the winter, which is the subject of the month's Monthly Musings. It's been a minute since I participated, but I'm going to do a quick run-down of the questions for this month's Monthly Musings about looking after ourselves during the winter season. Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good Better Best co-host this monthly sharing of tips, tricks, and conversation starters. 

1. What do you do to stay warm in Winter?

Mostly I stay inside these days. I almost always wear a flannel or sweater inside, and at work I have a small space heater in my office to take the chill off. I'm really glad my car has heated seats too!

2. Favorite wintertime activity?

I do enjoy winter walks and birdwatching, but haven't been able to do much of either this year. I'm much more likely to watch TV during the winter. I guess my favorite seasonal thing is watching hockey, whether it's on TV or going to a game. We have tickets to the upcoming Stadium Series game in Columbus and I'm really excited about that!

3. Any different beauty routines in Winter?

I do a lot more moisturizing during the winter. A night cream for my face, and I make liberal use of hand cream, body lotion, lip balm, and even moisturizer for my feet! I wish I had a good solution to combat static electricity in my hair though.

4. Skating, sledding or skiing?

Oh goodness, my skating and sledding days are far behind me! I only went downhill skiing a couple of times in my youth and truly hated it. I used to like skating but haven't had skates for years and years and it probably wouldn't go well if I tried it again. I wouldn't mind sledding though! Also, I'd be game to try cross-country skiing. 

5. Favorite winter recipes?

Chili is a favorite during the fall and winter. For winter get-togethers like New Years or SuperBowl, my family always likes this Ham and Swiss Dip Bread Bowl recipe shared at my old Homeschool Coffee Break blog.

6. Favorite Winter hot beverage?

Coffee, as always!

7. Best Winter memories?

I have lots of great memories of sledding and skating when I was a kid. We went sledding several times a week throughout the winter whenever there was enough snow on the ground. We skated on the lagoon at one of the city parks, and there were usually a couple of small bonfires around to get warmed up a bit. A lot of years my dad made our backyard into a skating rink so we could skate any time we wanted. One year my brother and I did our darndest to build our own igloo in our backyard, but we were pretty young and had no idea what we were doing! Not like today when you can pull up a video tutorial on your phone and at least have a method to try! 

A more recent favorite winter memory is going to a winter cabin at Deep Creek with the family. We just holed up in the cabin and played games, read, and visited.

8. Coldest day that you remember?

Well, I spent one year at college in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and it can get pretty cold there! I don't remember the actual temperatures but it wasn't uncommon for it to be twenty below during the day.

It was about ten years ago that we had a really cold snap in Maryland, and our pipes froze and burst and boy was that a mess! It was so cold that the insurance companies and water damage cleanup companies were having trouble keeping up, since so many people had the same problem.

It's easier to remember when we got lots of snow than it is to remember when it was the coldest!

9. How are you practicing self-care this Winter?

I'm trying to do a better job of getting better sleep, and eating well. And I'm giving myself permission to take it easy and do a little bit of hibernating on a very small scale. My Word of the Year is Practice, and that includes practicing disciplines for my health and well-being, and disciplines for getting stuff done without panic and overwhelm. I consider that self-care, I think - breaking up projects into manageable chunks and being good about maintaining order helps me feel more at peace.

10. Flannel sheets . . . yes or no?

Definitely yes! I love them in the winter!

The following photos are my cat, Merida. Figured I needed to include her!

How do you practice self-care during the winter? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm linking up with Monthly Musings hosted by Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good Better Best.

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 ©2006-2025 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

 

Wednesday Hodgepodge - It's The Little Things

A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1.  What was your after school routine like when you were a kid?

 

I'm not sure of my age, but I do remember my brother and I watching sitcom reruns when we got home from school until it was time for dinner. Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch were our favorites. We tried to keep quiet inside because my dad worked a very early morning shift so he was almost always having a nap during that time of day.

 

2. January 26 is National Green Juice Day (I guess it's true everything really does have its day). Do you juice, as in make your own in an attempt to get healthy? Do you do the green juices? What's your favorite kind of juice (home blended or store bought, either one)?

 

I do not make my own juice. A few years ago, I did make my own smoothies for awhile - and many of them were green! - but I didn't stick with it. I liked the green smoothies made with things like kale and swiss chard, just not for breakfast. Also, at one point I had some kale fresh from a friend's garden and when I was washing it I found a very fat green worm and it was the EXACT same color as the kale. That was the end of me making my own smoothies, honestly, because it horrified me that it would have been so easy for me to miss that worm and it would have gone in the blender . . . 😱 I'm gagging now just remembering that. I still ordered the green smoothies at Panera sometimes, but haven't done that in awhile. My favorite juices at the moment are the Bolthouse Farms smoothies. The Berry Boost and Blue Goodness especially, and all the breakfast and protein smoothies are so good. I haven't tried the green ones though, and I didn't care for the ginger/carrot/turmeric combo.

 

 3. What's something trivial about which you have a strong opinion?

Styrofoam cups for hot drinks. I hate them with a passion. I can tolerate a milkshake or other cold drink in styrofoam cup, like at a fast food place, but coffee should NEVER EVER be in a styrofoam cup. Years ago when I was in charge of procuring coffee and supplies for our church, I said a hard No to styrofoam cups and to powdered creamer as being way too cringey. Powdered creamer is something else I have a strong opinion on. Although those are coffee-related opinions, and coffee is not trivial to me. 

 

4. What do you need more of in your life? Less of?

 At first I was going to say more time, but what I really need more of is discipline in how I use my time. I need less . . . clutter. If I used my time better, I could probably do something about it. 

5.  Give us three adjectives to describe your January.

 

 Cold. Incomplete. Quiet.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I volunteered to provide short articles for our 55+ group's monthly newsletter, so I'm going through some of my blog archives for suitable material. I guess this is one way to keep making use of all the writing I did over at Homeschool Coffee Break! The Lunar New Year is this week, and Groundhog Day/Candlemas is on Sunday, so I'll pass over these articles in favor of something related to Valentine's Day to submit for the February newsletter. But since I reviewed them, I figured I'd share them here if anyone is interested in these random thoughts.

Chinese New Year (this was written for the Year of the Dragon, but it's now the Year of the Snake)

 

A Groundhog Day Look at Light and Shadow

What are the little things going on in your world these days? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

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 ©2006-2025 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Everyday Images #54

Welcome to another installment of my challenge and reminder to myself to take photos somewhat regularly. I'm not a photographer, but I enjoy taking everyday photos of things I find interesting or want to remember later, and I find that I notice interesting things when I'm intentionally watching for them. Having some prompts that are open to interpretation has helped me pay a little more attention to what's around me. Every two weeks I have a few words and phrases that I'm focusing on, and I try to find opportunities to take pictures of these things each week.

January Prompts - Everyday Images #54

~~~~~

blanket

moon

square

logo

at home (monthly)

on my plate (quarterly)

~~~~~

blanket - the Santa blanket stays out all winter. It's a good cozy one. But I laughed a little at this photo because it does look a lot like Santa is sitting in my chair!

moon - not a good quality photo, but there's the moon!

square - I kept thinking I should take a picture of the town square, but also kept forgetting. So here I am putting together the post and realizing I have no photo for this prompt. The solution is right here on my keyboard. And so is a crumb, I think . . . 

logo - Columbus Blue Jackets

at home (monthly)

on my plate (quarterly) - I also kept forgetting to take a photo of dinner so I'll have to do much better on this prompt next quarter! We had Chicken Florentine just over a week ago and I had taken a photo so this will have to do.

And a few bonus photos:

I don't know what was going on with me, but I just didn't get photos these past couple of weeks. Or at least none that were good enough for me to keep.

We did get to another hockey game last week, which was another win for the Blue Jackets.

Hopefully I'll have more photos to share next time around!

I am sharing my photos every other Tuesday, along with my prompts for the next two weeks. You can use all or some of the prompts for your own photo posts, or none of the prompts and just link up a post featuring your photos. Simple rules: Your posts must be family-friendly; the photos must be your own; and the post must be mostly photos. If you do share I'd appreciate a mention and link to A Fresh Cup of Coffee on your post.

Everyday Images will continue in 2025, every other Tuesday, and the link-up is open for two weeks. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

January/February Prompts - Everyday Images #55

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shadows

fortune

selfie (quarterly)

pink

sweet

hot and/or cold

~~~~~

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2025 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human.  https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation.  We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Share Four Somethings - January 2025

It's time for a new year of the Share Four Somethings link-up. Each month we're each invited to share things in these categories: Some Things I Loved, Some Things I Learned, Some Things That Went Well, and Some Thing I Let Go Of. I usually like to include a little bit of a bonus: Some Things I  Read and a little of What's Coming Up Soon. So let's get started with a look back at January!

Some Things I Loved:

Following a fun Christmas season spent with the family in Maryland, I loved putting my gifts to use, whether they were primarily practical like the charcuterie boards I received, or more for fun like the "neon" sign and a new Super Scrabble game. (My daughter-in-law found everyone in the family a "thrift store gift" that she spent only a couple dollars on. All were very fun and were great finds. The Super Scrabble game was my thrift store gift.)

I think I can honestly say I loved the snow, but to be clear, I did NOT love the days that it was super cold! I do love a fresh snowfall and how sparkly and magical and clean it makes everything look for a day or two. 

Some Things I Learned:

I found a couple of new recipes to try, and I started learning how to put together a charcuterie or grazing board. This was the first one I did, and I kept it very simple because I needed to transport it from our house over to the church for a football watch party. I think I told the story in at least one previous post about how an autocorrected text message led our family referring to any tray of appetizers or cheese and crackers as Homeless Trays. I think this particular Homeless Tray turned out really well!

I learned some names and stats related to Ohio State football, and I guess I'm learning to be a Buckeyes fan. The Homeless Trays were for the Cotton Bowl watch party we had at church, and we're now interested enough that my husband and I made sure to watch the National Championship game and cheer enthusiastically for the Buckeyes.

Some Things That Went Well:

I'm happy with a lot of little victories and outcomes recently. Appreciating little things is important! I had a doctor's appointment and all the test results were good news. I managed to get the follow-up specialist appointments booked, which is a relief, although I still need to get some questions answered about insurance coverage related to one of them. 

Another little thing - I finally took my Keurig to work and have been using it almost every day since, so that's a decision that went well!

Some Things I Let Go Of:

I'm still working on letting go of the clutter on my desk. It's an ongoing process and I wouldn't be surprised if I have to report letting go of a little more of it for several months running before I feel like I've conquered the problem. I also have been setting aside a collection of things I'm going to offer in the Buy Nothing group and see if they can bless someone else. 

*********************

Some Things I Read:

I finally finished Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar

I just finished up Mountain Interval by Robert Frost

Here are the books I'm currently reading:

Good Energy by Casey Means, MD with Calley Means

A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber

All of my reading news is at Just A Second if you're interested.

What's Coming Up Soon?

 We haven't even made plans for next weekend yet, so I haven't got much to share that's coming SOON, but we've got a couple things a little further out that we're looking forward to. Our son and his family are coming to visit in just over a month and we're going to the Stadium Series outdoor game between the Blue Jackets and the Redwings. At the end of March I'm going with Scioto Valley Chorus to the Regional Competition (just booked a hotel room for that), and just a couple days ago I also booked my flights to go visit my family in Manitoba at the beginning of April. 

Share something in the comments, or share four somethings with the rest of us in the link party!

This post will be linked at My Joyful Life in the Share Four Somethings link party.

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 ©2006-2025 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.