{ A Blessings Jar and the snow has melted }

I strive for a simple life, one where there is not too much confusion around me, too many materialistic things, and more homey, cozy and homemade.  Those little touches that some people call gaudy or old fashioned, are exactly what my soul is attracted to.  I've said many times before that I think I was born not only in the wrong country but in the completely wrong era, and as the years go by, I am more and more convinced of that.

Every day, I try to do something that keeps that thought in the front of my mind.  It doesn't really matter what it is, it could be baking bread, making a crochet doily, using a meat grinder just like the one my great grandmother used to have, or even hanging clothes out to dry.

I'm actually going to be talking about this a little more in an upcoming post, about how I am ready to take back my life from the modernized world we live in.

The snow came on strong, dropped us down to 20 degrees, and just as quick, made it's escape like a thief in the night.  Woke up this morning to melted snow and sunny skies, with 50 degree weather.  It's enough to leave a person completely perplexed, and it's no wonder people are sick left, right and center.

I took full advantage of the warm weather to hang out my kitchen towels and cleaning cloths to dry.  It doesn't dry as fast as it would on a summer day, and it does take pretty much all day, but it does the job and it saves on electricity when I don't need to run dryer.

I then turned my attention to the house.  For the first time today, in quite a while, I was able to be home all day long, I didn't have to take anyone anywhere, I didn't have to do any schooling with Nick, I just had the whole day to do with as I pleased or needed.

As a homemaker, the main thing on my mind is a clean and tidy home, so I got cracking with that and then sat down for a few minutes to put together a Blessings Jar.

This is in no way anything new, I have heard of these for many years, matter of fact when my stepmom was visiting over the summer, she talked about her own blessings jar and how much she enjoyed it.  I told her I would make one for myself, and then totally forgot about it.

Not a problem though because you really want to start at the beginning of the year, so I was right on time....almost.....we won't talk about the fact that it's the 4th of January and not the 1st.  Shhhh!!!

I've seen some exquisite jars, and the more I looked online for ideas the more overwhelmed I felt.  I was starting to have visions of all these materials that I would need and intricate designs and it had to be just right.  Then I reminded myself, once again, that I'm striving for simple and the point of the blessings jar is not to give attention to the prettiness of it, but rather to the inside contents and to God.

That was all that I needed.  I grabbed my lace and ribbons and with a quick spot of hot glue here and there, it was done.   I stood back and looked at it and the word that came to mind was "SIMPLE".

There, I had achieved what I set out to do :)

Now comes the fun part.

“Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings see what God hath done!”

Throughout the year, anytime you recognize a blessing, write it on a piece of paper, fold it and pop it in the Blessings Jar.  On New Year's Eve, pour them all out and read through them.

We often forget about the blessings we have during the year, so being able to see them all in writing will surely strengthen your faith. 

Speaking of jars, I have also used an old jar that I had laying around, one that I couldn't use because I lost the lid a few years back, and turned it into a Kleenex jar.  I can never find Kleenex boxes that I like, so this will do and I think it looks much prettier than a cardboard box sitting on the table, don't you think?

After chores were done, I sat down for a bit with my current read and some of my absolute fave cookies, Biscoff.

And while I was sat enjoying my cookies and the book, the UPS man arrived with a new book for review. How cute is this cover?



I am now off with hubby to fetch our girl from work, and then it's back home, shower and into my warm bed, as always to watch some telly or read, seems to be my normal nightly routine.

Oh before I forget though, I made a chocolate cake but it's been sitting and cooling.  I'll have to frost it when I get back home.....and then of course that calls for a hot cup of milky tea and a slice of cake. 

Now that is the perfect ending to my week :)