Despite a week of sickness, we had some fun times in February.
Read
It was the first month in a while that I’m happy with all the reading I did. I listened to two novellas by Claire Keegan: Small Things Like These (2021) and Foster (2010). They are quiet, unsettling stories that take place in Ireland; their genius is in all the things left unsaid. Of course I loved the Irish audiobook narrator, and the covers are lovely. (A neat thing about Small Things is that the protagonist has the same job as Andrew but in the 1980s.)
I finished listening to Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories, which I enjoyed even if I sometimes lost track of the plot while doing my household chores.
While I’m talking about audiobooks, I also listened to Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up (primarily while shoveling snow). Although I told Andrew quite a bit about it, I can’t wait to talk it over with someone else who’s read it — in fact there’s enough fodder for many conversations.
I read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse probably fourteen years ago and wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of rereading it for book club, but I found myself enjoying the poetic language and it was interesting to think about the comparison to the book of Ecclesiastes. I have no plans to read more about Eastern philosophy or religions, however!
I read Richard Osman’s latest novel, We Solve Murders. While I didn’t like it as well as the Thursday Club series, no doubt I’ll read the next one.
I’d picked up Six Voices, One Story: The Heart of AmblesideOnline before, but this month I finished reading it. It’s not as cohesive as I expected, but I really liked learning more about the women behind the curriculum we use and am humbled by the work that has gone into it as a non-profit ministry. Some of the chapters will certainly bear revisiting.
I’m pleased that I remembered to write down the titles of some picture books we enjoyed recently. I recommend Counting Winter, The Five-Dog Night, Whose Prints? (a board book with cutouts), Noodles on a Bicycle, and Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening (illustrated by P.J. Lynch).
Eat
We ate lots of old favourite suppers in February. A newish recipe (second time I made it) is this spicy creamy harissa chicken served with roast sweet potatoes. We tried the blueberry breakfast cobbler from Smitten Kitchen Keepers and I would make it again for overnight company.
Andrew did some impressive cooking in February: an evening snack of pastry cream flavoured with fiori di sicilia and served with a platter of fruit for dipping and a Sunday breakfast of pannetone muffins with dried fruit macerated in coconut rum.
Do
- We took all the kids to the Second Saturday Children’s Program at the Ogdensburg History Museum, where they learned about some of the settlers who contributed to society and got to draw and paint.
- We went to a women’s hockey game at SLU; it was free and in the afternoon which is perfect for taking the kids.
- We invited a few young people from church over to play board games and taught them Masterpiece (blast from the past!) and Carcassonne.
- We did have to miss a winter festival, date night, and hockey game because of the flu. 🙁
- I took the oldest four kids to a contra dance at Pickens Hall when Andrew was sick. I’m not particularly good at it, but I’m loving contra dancing more and more and feel good about taking the kids since they aren’t in any sports. I wish there were more opportunities around here! (We have learned three folk dances at home though.)
- On the last day of the month we went to a board game night at church. This was such a nice low-key social event since everyone simply brought games and snacks to the church basement and we spent a few hours playing and eating and visiting with one another.
Watch
Andrew and I watched the three-part BBC Death Comes to Pemberley and thought it was quite good. (I know I read the book years ago, but really had no recollection of it…)
Listen
Spotify recommended this catchy song by a Scottish band called Tide Lines and I need to hear more!
Meditate
“When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,
his heart rages against the Lord.” – Proverbs 19:3