Tea @ Dawn's ~ Birthdays, Bluebirds & Sweet Winter Blessings

Hello my friends, and Happy Sunday! Thank you so much for joining me today - may I offer you a freshly brewed cup of hot tea?

On this breezy - and strangely balmy - January day, I'm pouring a tasty new brew called, "Winter Wake Up Tea." It was a gift from my brother, and I must say - it's delicious!

(Truth be told, since caffeine and spice are things I have to be careful about - I cut my tea with a little plain black decaf and an extra large splash of lowfat milk!)

So I have to tell you, our Tea today is extra special because January 12th just so happens to be ... National Hot Tea Day! Yes, it's a real holiday ... or at least it has been since 2016. #whoknew 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Also happening today, rather serendipitously, is a day-long Jane Austen "extravaganza" airing on my local PBS station! So if you'd care to join me while I put on the kettle, I have this playing on the kitchen tv ...

I'm sure many of you can name that beloved movie on sight - it's one of my all-time favorites! You might recall from my last post there's a whole bunch of fun programming coming up this year, and something I'm really looking forward to is "Sanditon," a new Masterpiece series that premieres tonight at 9 p.m. (An air-time which is sadly after my bedtime so I'll be catching each episode a day (or two) after its first airing.)

Anyhoo.

May I offer you a little something sweet to go along with our tea? How about a thick slice of birthday cake?

Yep, on this lovely day honoring hot tea AND Jane Austen, I'm also celebrating ... my 51st birthday! :-) 

First of all, I can hardly believe I just typed that number - because wow, I am now decidedly "in my 50s." (And holy crow, how did that even happen? No, honestly. Wasn't I JUST in my 30s?)

Anyways - today I'm raising my glass, er mug, to a brand new year - and a new profile pic! ;-) Had to snap a selfie yesterday because I had just gotten home from the hairdresser and my hair never has a better moment than in that first hour after leaving the salon. Soon thereafter it's back to unruly curls and cowlicks, lol.

Hair issues aside, I'm giving sincere thanks today for so many things - most of all the gifts of Life, Love and Wonderful Friendships. I'd like to say thanks to all of YOU for the kindness and encouragement you've all shown me through the years. For helping me make this a happy and homey little corner of the web. How I have loved keeping this blog going for the past 13 (almost 14) years!

But before I get too far off-topic let's discuss the pretty cake I'm right now setting out on my favorite Irish china plates ...

"Penuche" Cake is a specialty of my mum's. We're blessed to have her as the Family Baker of All Birthday Cakes and though we all have our favorites, she always asks what cake we'd like this year. I usually request Penuche Cake, and since we had a good bit leftover, I'd love to offer you a slice - it goes wonderfully with a hot cup of tea! (As you can see from my first photo - it had disappeared before I got that final shot!)

If you're interested in the recipe - check out this birthday post from 2016. I've posted the frosting recipe in the comments.

And if I may revel in my birthday joy a moment or two longer, here is the card the boys made me ...

Pretty sure I need to have this framed ... I love all those colors!

✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨

Ok, now that we have our tea and cake, let's settle in and have a nice little chat. I thought I'd share some of the things I've been thinking about and noticing these past couple of weeks. As you all know, I assign each week of the year a seasonal "theme," and right around my birthday I like to contemplate "winter comforts and joys." Because it's mid-January and we've just finished Christmas and now the long winter looms ahead - so I like to brainstorm the ways we might celebrate the season rather than bemoaning it as too cold or dark or dreary. Not that it isn't some or all of those things at one time or another - but I'd rather focus on the blessings of the season rather than the burdens, if you know what I mean. :-) 

In my Deep Winter bullet journal then, I have a whole page devoted to these kinds of thoughts ...

I take such comfort from the simplest traditions and rituals - little things like saying "rabbit rabbit"on the first of the month, and creating a new planner at the start of the year. Hosting a New Year's roast lunch for my family and watching for the Bluebirds to return, as they usually do, right about this time of the year ...

Aren't they gorgeous? They visited our feeders for all of five minutes one day last week ...

Birdwatching is fun all year long, but there is something extra wonderful about winter birdwatching. When it's hard to get outside in nature (due to severe cold or stormy weather) it's easy enough to sit ourselves beside a window and watch the comings and goings of the local wildlife ...

And as winter rambles on, we get to know the "regulars" - the Finches, Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Titmice etc. - while also looking forward to the more seasonal visitors. There are Bluebirds in mid-winter, and then roundabouts February we'll start hearing (and hopefully seeing!) the resident Barred Owl. One day near spring we'll hear the familiar "squeaky wheel" of the Red-winged Blackbird returning and then before we know it, come April or May, a flash of orange will announce the Orioles are passing through ...

I also take joy in observing and exploring nature phenomena ... like the January thaw which we are enjoying today (it's 70°!) and all the monthly moons and the folklore attached to them. For instance, the Pink Moon in April really does look pink - like an Easter egg! And the Sap Moon brings on sugaring season, while the Harvest Moon is always huge and as orange as a pumpkin ...

But how about January's full moon?

Here is the best shot I could get of the Full Wolf Moon as it rose over our woods Friday night. But did we howl at it? Why, you betcha we did! 

And here are the notes I scribbled in my seasonal journal - ideas for celebrating this moon, this week, and this time of year, with my family ...

And per family tradition, we read this book EVERY year as we celebrate the Full Wolf Moon:

The Story of the Kind Wolf is hard to find but if you do find a copy - grab it! 

We also baked some fun "Wolf Paw Cookies" on Friday afternoon ...

I got the idea for these on Pinterest, and they are basically a sugar cookie with Ghirardelli melting wafers and chocolate chips arranged to create the look of a paw. I'm not sure how well they achieve this, but needless to say they were a hit with my kids! (We left the candies off some of the cookies for those among us who are tragically unable to eat chocolate - the plain ones we called, Full Moon Cookies.)

So a book, a cookie, a moon view and a howl - all easy things to do, all sweet traditions to keep.

I've been doing these kinds of things since my children were tiny and it just never gets old, at least not for me! Obviously as the young ones get older their participation in and enjoyment of each "tradition" changes a little. But I still involve everyone who's home - Bookworm is away visiting friends right now, but Crackerjack is home on winter break and though he didn't howl or read the book with us - he happily partook of the cookies and he did watch the moon rise alongside us. 

I like to think these pastimes create lasting memories as well as a subtle yet meaningful awareness of the turn of the year. I hope most of all it adds a happy kind of glue to the days of our year - the ones that seem to go by too fast, while my boys quickly grow into young men.

I love doing for my family but there are also things that bring me personal comfort and joy, in the deepest days of winter ...

Favorite magazines ... with such lovely, wintry covers.

My favorite weekly "paper" - how I love Maria Shriver's writing! It arrives in my inbox early each Sunday morning, and I try to carve out time each week to savor her words and explore her links.

My planner basket ... helping me feel a little more in control of my time and my responsibilities ...

... and the miracle of the sunrise, which blesses us every day without fail. :-)

I stopped the car while driving Earlybird to school the other morning, just to snap a pic and absorb this peaceful moment. And I must confess, I was not at that moment feeling very peaceful, because it was not an easy ride that particular morning. EB was balking at going to school (kind of a new and challenging thing) and I was a jumble of over-caffeinated, over-tired nerves ...

Will he get out of the car this morning? Will he calm down and relax? Will I get a call from the school nurse today?

But the sunrise was still glorious as it is most days, and that golden orb rode silently alongside us, so I chatted with EB about what a really nice day it could and would be. He calmed - I calmed - and the eventual drop-off went about as well as it could. #phew

More comforts and joys ...

These guys - 'nuff said.

Keeping in touch with family and friends is important to me, though I wish I was a more timely correspondent! But how I love organizing a little correspondence basket - a place to stash stationary and stamps, a thick address book and the bundles of letters and notes in want of a reply.

I love to take pleasure in the little things but ...

Most of all this. THIS is my favorite kind of comfort and joy.

I had just come home from that tense drive with EB and was working in the kitchen - half paying attention to the Today show as I got my own "today" going - when an  interview with a panel of older women who were all reinventing their careers caught my attention. They were all lovely women and the segment was certainly inspiring - but I paused to consider the fact that while I too am "getting older," as a full-time, homeschooling mom, I haven't had an actual "career" to speak of in nearly 25 years. 

And then my littlest guy wandered into the kitchen, fresh from his bed, still clad in his footies and all sleepy-eyed he said, "Mama, I need a hug."

Which of course was a need easily, and joyfully, met by this mama.

And that my friends, is one of the sweetest and most rewarding perks of my decades-long "profession" - the comfort and joy of being there for my kids when they need me. It's a blessing to be sure, and I don't take it for granted, not for one little minute. I am grateful I can be here - for their sakes as well as my own - and that I can devote my time and my energy to the business - and art - of keeping family and home.

✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨✨🌸💛☕️❄️✨

A final thought before I go -

Every day is a gift and every new year a blessing! And while  January is still fresh and new, I find myself looking forward to making some fun wintry memories ... and of course, sharing more cups of winter's tea with you all! 

As always, I thank you for joining me here today, and I wish you all a lovely week ahead. I'll be back with a fresh pot of Tea a little later this month, but you can always find me on Instagram and Facebook in between posts. 

Take care of yourselves and your loved ones, my friends ... I'll see you here again sometime soon!

Did you enter my giveaway? Well, you've got mail!

Or you will ... if you'd like to send me your address! :)

So this is a little surprise from me to you ... for anyone who entered my "blogiversary giveaway" (and there were 80 of you in all!)  ... I'd love to send you a little snail mail, celebrating the new season ahead. This will just be a simple newsletter I print out here at home, with some thoughts and plans for the days ahead. I'm thinking of things like ...

♥ herb garden plans

♥ Little Women (on Masterpiece this May)

♥ spring self-care tips

♥ a favorite spring recipe

♥ a walk in the spring woods

I had mentioned in my original blogiversary post that 12 readers would be selected to receive my "Spring News" but as I went to publish this post I thought ... why not share it with everyone?

SO here's what to do:

If you are one of the 80 folks who commented on this post here or over at my Facebook page or Instagram account, please send me your snail mail address at your earliest convenience, by emailing me at:

drhanigan AT gmail DOT com

(I promise I won't do anything with your address except place it in my home management binder, behind the blogging tab for personal correspondence purposes only. I would never share it with anyone else ... aside from maybe my husband, lol.)

And if you are not interested in the mail ... well that's fine, too!

I will plan to mail out these newsy little newsletters around May 1st. Sometime after that I will make them available here on my blog as a PDF. I just think that snail mail is so fun ... a rare and old-fashioned treat for those of us who still love the look and feel of paper in our hands. :) 

So! I hope to hear from you and thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of this lovely spring day ... rainy and cool though it may be, here in New England!

See you here again sometime soon ...

Organizing the Nest Survey, Part 10 ~ Correspondence

Happy Wednesday, my friends ~ hope your week's going well!

So at last we have my final "organizing" survey, and my subject today is correspondence ~ written communication with friends, family and acquaintances through both traditional and more newfangled methods. :)

So without further ado, here are my questions!

1. Where do you keep your incoming/outgoing mail?

2. Where/how do you store your address book?

3. Where do you store your "mail" materials? (Greeting cards, note paper & envelopes, stamps, etc.)

4. Do you still hand write letters and snail mail greeting cards or do you primarily utilize e-mail (or social media) for these things?

5. Do you schedule time for keeping up with correspondence?

 ***

Now if you'd like to revisit previous survey comments (to read through or add your own), please click on the following links:

1. to-do lists (daily and someday)

2. family food

3. calendars

4. file folders and paper management

5. family finances

6. homeschooling

7. seasonal planning

8. arts, crafts & hobbies

9. reading materials

(Remember - each time you comment your name is entered in the contest!

Friday morning I'll go through every survey post, and jot down the name attached to each comment. ALL those names will be thrown into "a virtual hat" from which two lucky ladies will win one of these:

I'll announce the winning names on Friday, roundabouts noontime. :)

***

So my thanks again to each reader who has helped me out with this project. I'm thrilled the survey has been fun for so many of you, too ... sharing ideas is really one of the best things to come out of the blogging phenomenon, in my humble opinion.

Have a good day, everyone ... and I'll see you back here again soon!

*❤*

 What a wonderful thing is the mail, capable of conveying across continents a warm human hand-clasp.

~ Author Unknown

Rambling Thoughts on Handwriting ~ a Fond, yet Fading Art

In looking over my January notes (handwritten notes, yes!) I see that National Handwriting Day is coming up ~ it takes place on the 23rd of the month, which also happens to be John Hancock's birthday, he of bold handwriting fame. :)

Now, I've made no secret of my fondness for paper and pen, so perhaps I'm a bit biased when I say I think this article rocks:

"Mom, what was handwriting? A novelist examines what we lose as we abandon cursive for typing."

I came across it in the Sunday Boston Globe, and it really got me thinking (as the length of this post can clearly attest). I enjoyed the article so much in fact, that I've requested the discussed book, The Missing Ink: The Lost Art of Handwriting, from the library, and I'm quite eager to read it ... and, naturally, take notes. :)

I do love the written word however it is delivered - I relish reading and I am an avid (albeit amateur) journalist, in both a personal and public way. I write a (public) blog and I also keep (private) journals. I like to think my "voice" is authentic in both mediums, but there's something extra-special about the words I've written out by hand ...

"There’s nothing nicer than going back over things you’ve written in the past. Those things on paper do take you back to a particular time and a particular place where you were when you were writing this stuff. When I look at my book in print, I can’t remember where I was when I wrote anything. When I come across one of my notebooks, I can remember." ~ Author, Philip Hensher

I write all kinds of stuff in my journals and though they are intensely personal - a "brain dump" if you will, written only for myself - I do think that someday my progeny might get a kick out of what I wrote, and how I wrote it. Maybe these journals will help them know me, and life in my time, in a way they might otherwise not.

Without a doubt our society is heading away from handwriting, so I think it's important that handwriting enthusiasts keep the "art" alive in any way that we can. So I'm resolving this year to write more by hand. Now, I already write a lot for myself, so this would mean more handwritten correspondence - for example, our Christmas cards. Although I do love our cards (Shutterfly is brilliant!), and I truly appreciate the ease with which I can order, assemble and mail said cards come (busy) December - I have vowed that next year I will take the time to write something personal inside each greeting. Whether it be a handwritten signature (rather than the pre-printed variety) or a slip of paper with a brief message of holiday cheer ... it will hopefully be something that forms a deeper connection with our family and friends. Because I think when we write someone a note by hand it links its message back to us in a way that a type-font cannot ...

"Take pleasure in your own handwriting even when it’s scrappy and individual, because that’s the handwriting that your friends and loved ones will take the most pleasure in, because it’s you. Do it every day." ~ Author, Philip Hensher

Recently a friend of mine commented that she treasures anything handwritten by her late father, and it made me think of those little notes I've got stashed away that were written by my grandmother ... little post-it notes in her scratchy blue ink that say "Save for Dawn" or "Show this to Bookworm." Because she was always just that way - putting aside interesting things to share with her children and grandchildren - and great-grandchildren! Gram was a great reader and her family meant more to her than anything else. Anyone who knew her knew these things about her. And yet I particularly love those little notes because for one thing, her handwriting's like mine, (or I guess I should say, mine is like hers) and for another, it helps me remember her in a very personal way. It's a comfort even - it makes me feels like she's not so far away ...

Now, I hope I don't sound preachy - I know that technology appeals to many folks as strongly as pen and paper do to me. And I'll confess, I find myself conflicted at times. Like any (relatively) modern mother I have a lot on my plate and I'm too often pressed for time. So the need to be "quick and efficient" is always present. (Annnd that's a whole other post.) But combine my love for all things handwritten with my general discomfort/inexperience with technology (not to mention my resistance to change) and it's no wonder I stick with my "old school" preferences. I know a lot of people are like me to some degree, and yet many folks just naturally gravitate towards technology.

My husband, for instance, is something of a "technerd," if I may use that term loosely and with a bit of cheek. ;) Bill understands computers, and technology in general, in a way I could never hope to; this has made him more successful in his career, and it brings him enjoyment as well. So it's no surprise he uses his iPhone for everything and then some: schedules, reminders, correspondence, shopping lists, travel plans, etc. ... all things I prefer to write out by hand. But we are equally competent in, and satisfied with, our organizational method. For the most part. :)

So I save some of Bill's emails (the ones of a more intimate nature), in a special "inbox" folder - alongside any links and cute emails the boys send me. Just as I save every card my dear ones have given me in a bedroom drawer. Preferences aside - penned or typed -communication is what's important. Love is love, however it's expressed. ❤

OK, enough of my rambling! Today dear readers, I'm curious ~ how much do you write by hand these days, and what areas of your life have you turned over to technology?

Shopping lists?

Thank you notes?

Casual correspondence?

Holiday cards?

Journaling?

Recipes?

*

And if you homeschool, do you teach your children cursive? Do they practice penmanship in any formal way? And if your kids are in school, did/do they learn cursive at some point?

Please leave a comment below if you have thoughts on the subject, as well as the time to share them! Generations ago - if I were a professional and this was say, a newspaper column - I'd wait for your responses to be mailed in. It's nice that in this setting we can share thoughts immediately - much more does get done with technology, it's hard not to recognize that. It is a changing and ever-progressing world, but like the old saying goes, why throw out the baby with the bathwater?

"We maintain a mixed relationship with food. Sometimes we go out, sometimes we call in for a delivery, and sometimes, like on Christmas Day, we start from scratch preparing food for people that we love. Why can’t handwriting be like that?" ~ Philip Henshaw

P.S. I'm organzing my "correspondence drawer" this weekend - an annual January task - and I will be happy to share it all with you once I'm done. :)

Well my friends, as always, I thank you for stopping by today, and wish you all a happy day!

See you here again sometime soon ...

❤

Holiday Greetings!

Of all kinds, shapes and sizes ...

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is receiving all those wonderful holiday cards. Hearing from family and friends - and seeing how the kids are all growing! - is such a joy. I try to find a fun way to display the cards every year, so that we can keep these beautiful greetings in "heart & mind" every day. This year I just used Earlybird's cork board wall and clear pushpins, and when I ran out of cork I just used bits of tape to hold up the "overflow" (but don't tell Bill, lol).

What do you do with your Christmas cards? Do you display them in some way? How do you store them when the holidays are over? I have a big tin in which I keep our Christmas greetings from year to year, but I was thinking it might be nice to make up little albums for each year's cards, photos and notes ...

A nice winter project, perhaps?

:)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, my friends ... I will try to stop in one more time before Christmas!

Holiday Blessings to you and yours ...

*❤*

How Many Tools Do You Use?

When it comes to managing your time, household and family?

You all know it's no secret I love planners. I'm forever talking about them, tweaking them ... tempting myself with new ones. And I'm always curious about other people's planners - specifically, what they look like, and how they use them. And this is what I've been thinking about recently ... about the tools I use and the methods I follow. My "domestic management system" if you will. :)

{tools + methods = system}

But most of all, I'm thinking about how I can simplify it all!

It would be super convenient to have ONE THING that manages EVERYTHING, but I just can't make that happen. That "thing," whatever shape it took, would just be too big and unwieldly. That said, I feel like I may have too many tools currently in use.

I'm wondering then, as my title suggest, how many tools do you use? What do you use to keep up with - and track of - your domestic duties?

 The tools I have "in play" right now are as follows:

Homekeeping Binder

Yearbook Binder

Months @ a Glance Calendar Binder

Weekly File Folders

(a MomAgenda - which is kind of on standby)

Daybook/Homekeeping Blog

Daily Chore Cards

Marketing Binder

Curriculum Binder

Clippings Journal

In-Basket

Reading Basket

Financial Drawer

Correspondence Drawer

Recipe File Drawer

Household File Drawer

*

(Am I forgetting anything? I probably am. I'm looking all around my home office right now, reminding myself what's what ...)

Now, I highlighted the "weekly file folders" in magenta because these are my favorite tools of all. (And the color matches my new banner, lol.) I'll pin most of my planning onto these folders once I figure out how.

Well friends, I'm going to end this post here because A. it's all I have time for, and B. this is more or less, step one, and, C. I'm trying to make my posts a little more manageable these days. (In other words, not so wordy!)

So have a great Wednesday night ... we're keeping things simple here on the supper front, as I just noted in my homekeeping blog. As I was cleaning out the fridge today I realized we had a LOT of leftovers to use up ... so the chicken pesto pasta will have to wait for tomorrow and tonight will be a little mix of this and that. :)

See you all again very soon!

❤

National Clean Off Your Desk Day

Did you spiff up your workspace today?

As I mentioned last week, I have a new desk arriving sometime later this month, but for now I'm still using one end of the kitchen island as my primary workspace or "desk." And since today is "National Clean Off Your Desk Day," I figured I'd tackle this "hot spot" of mine.

Because as you can see, it really needed it:

(Yikes, that's bad!)

Now I call it my "hot spot" (a la FlyLady) because it does attract clutter like crazy - but it's not usually quite so messy! But I was so busy this weekend - just so caught up in my daybook project - that I really let everything pile up ... random papers, store receipts, coupons, bills, notes, etc. etc.!

So the first thing I did was to clear EVERYTHING of this counter space ... and boy, that felt good! And it looked so nice and open, I took a good look and thought, "Well, this is how it will look once I get that desk!" (In theory anyway.) Next I scrubbed down the counterop - first with Method Lavender Cleaning Spray and then a damp, clean cloth. Once the surface was dry, I started sifting through all that stuff - sorting/tossing/and putting things back in place - a little neater than before.

Much better, I'd say!

And as you can see above, I did finally get my "daybook" spiral-bound today! First I made sure I had it all in the correct order, then I stacked the pages as neatly as I could:

Then it was off to the Copy Center at Staples where I paid five dollars and waited five minutes for a binding, and then I was out the door and on my way home with my brand new daybook!

I love how it looks beside (or on top of) my homekeeping binder!

Now, I will definitely do a thorough post on the daybook itself - and I hope to get that up by mid-week. (Maybe tomorrow before my "Teatime" post, but most likely early Wednesday.)

But before I go I want to tell you two more things ...

One, I still can't leave comments here for some odd reason, so I apologize that I have not responded to the questions and comments left over the past few days. If I can't get this issue cleared up in another day or two I will write up separate posts addressing those queries.

The other thing I wanted to mention was something I just learned today ... this week is Universal Letter-Writing Week! (Thanks to Dana at Save Snail Mail for the tip. :)) I think a week devoted to the practice of letter-writing is pretty fantastic ... I don't (hand)write my correspondence as often as I used to, but I love the whole idea and institution of letter-writing. (Especially as I absorb all these beautiful movies and tv shows set in a slower, more genteel past - aka, Little Women, Emma, Sense and Sensibility ... and Downton Abbey of course.)

I think I might add a trip to the post office this weekend to pick up some new stamps and I'll assess my correspondence needs. (I used to have a whole basket devoted to letter writing but these days it all gets stored in that wire basket you see above on my counter.) Winter is the perfect time to consider (perhaps reconsider) our correspondence habits - in fact, I have a special spot in my daybook for planning just that!

So, my friends, I'll let you go now ... our night is upon us and the boys are awaiting my attention. Thank you so much for stopping by ... have a wonderful night ... and I will see you all again very soon.

:)