January Days

It's still cold here.  I am itching to paint my kitchen, but with the temperature seemingly at a permanent double digit below zero that isn't going to happen any time soon.  I have a lot of restless energy:  I want to DO stuff, but I don't know what. I start a craft, then I want to start another one.  I look in design catalogues and want to get rid of everything I have and start over. Yesterday I moved a bunch of things around in the living room and then moved it all back at the end of the day.  It wasn't a total waste of time though:  I did get the curtains hemmed that have been puddling on the floor for a year and a half.
I went through my 'Pretty' cupboard:  this is the one I keep all my flowery, china, vintage things in.  Well, what I can fit anyway.

I took everything out and cleaned the shelves, then put half of it back.  It was getting so crowded in there and slightly precarious to try and remove anything.  Today I'm packing up the rest and it can go into a holding zone in the basement.  Maybe in a few months I will switch the dishes around, or if I find I don't miss what I packed up they can be re-homed.
 
I like how it looks now; much easier to see everything:

Can you see that cute little face up at the top?  I just love her and the little chicken at her feet.  I got her at the church bazaar for 50 cents.  Look at her little red shoes!

It occurred to me yesterday, as I was about to throw out a bag of highly scented Earl Grey tea, that some little sachets for my cupboard might be nice.  (This tea has 'natural' flavour, which gives me a headache.)

I dug into my stash of vintage hankies: so many choices it was hard!

I picked three of the smallest with pretty edgings.  I put a couple of tablespoons of tea in the centre of each and tied them with organza ribbons.

Don't they look so pretty?

I am in love!  I will definitely make some more of these.

For my tea this morning I felt like making a little something extra.  I tried the Welsh Cakes from Jane Brocket's Vintage Cakes.  As I sorted my kitchen last week I found a ton of mixed peel:  who knows what I had planned to make with all that.  I used some of that instead of raisins for the Welsh Cakes.  I did quite like them:  I would say they are a cross between a North American pancake and a baking powder biscuit.  They don't take long to make at all which is nice.

The rest of my day will be more of the same as before:  a little sorting here, a little organizing there.  I have to say though that I am noticing the impact of all that purging I did last year.  No cupboard or closet has overwhelmed me so far, and it's quite nice to just dust and rearrange most of the contents.  I am finding a few things to pass along or throw away, but not heaps and heaps.  It's a nice feeling.

 Libby has January figured out:  she moves from one sunny spot to another sleep: wandering into the kitchen occasionally to see if there are any treats.  What a life!