NOVEMBER - Transitioning to Winter

It’s November—our transition into winter. Bare tree limbs shiver in stiff winds. Wayward leaves scurry across the chilly ground, and clouds gather in gray skies. Inside, people search closets and drawers for wool and flannel clothing, and warm shoes and boots.

It’s the time when everyone dashes outside to get their homes battened down and ready for the first snows to fly. The bushes and trees have been trimmed, and perennial plants are leveled to the ground for a spring rebirth. Leaves from trees, now drab brown, wet, or maybe crispy and dry, have been raked or swept up in lawn mowers. In our small development here in Central Pennsylvania, when one mower roared to life, another followed shortly, and the race was on to see which house finished first.

November brings back many memories from childhood in Northeastern Pennsylvania. I remember school days when we watched out the windows in our classrooms to look for the first snowflakes. For farm kids, snow meant outside fun as we rode sleds, shovels or saucers down a slippery slope. There were outside chores, too. Clearing snow from the front porch, sidewalk, back steps and entrance were unspoken activities after every storm. Almost daily, we hauled stacks of wood from outside into our cellar to dry and feed our hungry, wood-fired furnace.                                     

I loved our cellar furnace. The light sweet smoky smell of wood still reminds me of a toasty warmed-by- air ducts ending at metal floor registers above. In high school and before bedtime, I would find a register, grab a blanket and wrap it tent-like around me to trap the heat while I did my homework.

And I’ll never forget the tasty winter foods of November. Falling temperatures brought warmer hearty dishes to our table—roasts, ham, meatloaf, stuffed cabbage, and stews, to name a few. Delicious scents from homemade soups like chicken noodle, beet, creamy potato, or vegetable beef wafted through the rooms. Hot chocolate, cider, tea, and coffee made winter meals even more savory and inviting. Thanksgiving was a feast. If we didn’t have a turkey, we enjoyed a chicken or roast. Mother froze or canned every imaginable vegetable, so cranberries were our only purchased item for the holidays.

As the eleventh month of the year, November can rightfully boast it’s the transition from fall to winter. It also announces we are approaching the end of the year. For children who love and wait for winter, it's so much more as they ask the curious and often blissful question swirling in their heads and hearts—will it snow today?  

JUNE ~ The Pianist

(Book 1 of the Musical Christmas Series)
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DECEMBER ~ LAST BUT NOT LEAST

 

What does December mean to you? For me, the month inspires a flurry of activity. December is the start of the Christmas season as well as the winter solstice. In northern states, it’s a time for outdoor snowy sports like skiing, sledding, ice skating, snowmobiling, and snowman building.

Inside, the wonderful smells of hearty meals cooking on the stove top or in the oven permeate the air. Recipes for cookies and wonderful holiday desserts emerge from hiding, whether in a cookbook or scrap of paper stuffed in a drawer or cupboard. What about fruitcake?  Ho, ho, ho. Bake it with a lot of nuts and soak it in rum, and I’m a fan.

Most of all, December brings us thoughts of Christmas with its holiday music, glowing candles, twinkling lights, colorful decorations, poinsettias, wreaths and trees, and air-filled Santas rocking in the neighbor’s front yard.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is receiving Christmas cards, now a dying practice. My husband and I send out about sixty cards each year. We enjoying hearing from friends and family and learning about their various activities throughout the year. What do I like the least about the holiday? Luckily I can easily dispense with Elf on the Shelf and all the Ugly Sweater parties.

Despite the hustle and bustle of December, we all need to remember the true meaning of Christmas. For Christians, it’s the joyous celebration of the birth of the Christ child. Also, it’s all about what you give and not what you get. It’s the season of peace, hope, love…and magic. 

FOR A HEARWARMING HOLIDAY READ

THE MUSICAL CHRISTMAS SERIES

JUNE ~ THE PIANIST

ADLENE ~ THE VIOLINIST

LUCY ~ THE CLARINETIST 

LINK for Judy Ann's Amazon Author Page 

Can Spring Be Near?

 March has arrived. Is it too early to hope that spring is here in Pennsylvania?

This winter, we northern folks have struggled with snowfall after snowfall. Our roads are lined with gray, dismal snowbanks, and most of our yards have a stack planted within view, the result of clearing our walks and driveways.

Last night, our first thunderous spring rain arrived. It pounded down in waves, soaking the yards and washing away some of our snow.

With warmer daytime temperatures inching upward, we now hear the gurgle and drip of water from our gutters. A layer of snow slides off the house and garage roofs making a plopping sound heard indoors. At long last, small patches of grass and earth peek through the lawns. Pussy willow is struggling to emerge. Who would have thought that the smell of mud and wet dried leaves would cause such a joyful reaction when we take a jaunt to the mailbox?

   Coming Soon!

Birds have become more lively and vocal. If your timing is right, you can now catch a chorus of bird songs coming from the trees in the backyard. When I filled the bird feeder the other day, being careful to walk in small patches where the snow had melted, a lively chickadee in the cedar tree scolded me for not working fast enough. Four-legged wildlife is making its appearance, too. Gray squirrels and rabbits are exploring the yards.

Now is the time to listen for the first flock of Canada geese to wing their way northward, confident that spring is on its way. Let’s hope for their sake and ours—they are right. 

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Ho, Ho, Ho! No Gifts - No Snow

If you don’t have all your shopping done yet, you better hurry. This year, since our children are grown, married, and far away, we’ve all decided to skip gift-giving and just buy for the one-year-old grandson in Alaska. When I mentioned the idea of not gift-giving this year, I could hear the collective sighs of my daughter-in-law and son in Texas and daughter-in-law and son in Alaska. Trying to purchase the perfect present for adults, and then having to ship them out is a nightmare. So we’ve all decided to Skype together as usual and see what each family bought our first grandchild.

Little Alaskan Harvey will be bringing in a haul this year. And to be honest, I had a fun-filled time searching and buying toys again. For the larger, more bulky ones, Amazon with its shipping was perfect. My son, Jeff, in Anchorage is receiving Harvey’s haul and wrapping them for us.

Although my husband, Scott, and I will be celebrating alone, we will do our usual enjoyable celebration of the holiday in Florida with NO SNOW. Instead of going out—and there are spectacular restaurants in New Smyrna Beach—we cook a full Christmas meal together. This year we’ll do our usual crab legs and crab cake Christmas Eve dinner with all the fixings. And on Christmas day, we’ve decided upon ham and all its complimentary dishes. And yes, I also bake cookies, if just half a batch of various kinds. The smell of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven is one of the most glorious holiday smells I know.

What am I working on now? I’m working on a historical romantic mystery with a setting involving the early logging industry in the 1800s in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, when white pine was king of the forest. I pulled the manuscript back from my editor to try to rewrite and trim it a bit, so real edits will begin in January. The working title is called, “Willie, My Love.” The heroine, Wilhelmina Wydcliffe, is a feisty logger’s daughter, and the hero is a handsome, Chesapeake Bay sea captain named Jonathan Wain.

This year was a good one, even though there were some difficulties with health that had to be overcome. I hope the year ahead proves to be a splendid one—for us and our family, friends, neighbors, and associates.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and Happy New Year!  
May the sleigh bells ring, the children sing…and everything be merry and bright.