The Polar Intuit of northwest Greenland, the northernmost people, call February ‘seqinniaq’, “the month when the sun appears. ―
Yes, February brings lengthening days and in Pittsburgh, we will gain an additional 66 minutes of daylight this month! Woot! If that does not lighten one’s spirit, I don’t know what will!
So what do I want to accomplish this month? Or what do I want to try? I have a few ideas that have been rattling around my head… some for a very long time. Maybe this is the month to set them loose and see where they go!
Of course, there will be February Stitching. I am really enjoying this addition to my morning routine. It is quiet, inspiring, and after the long days of January… it very much feels like a ritual now. I begin thinking about what I might stitch each day as I brew my coffee.
February circles
There is one other new-ish thing I have added to my year… a reimagined gratitude journal. I have tried and failed so many times at a “gratitude list” journal. But this year, I wanted some of my time to be focused on gratitude and late last year I had a bit of a gratitude epiphany. I wondered if having a bit of a gratitude conversation with myself… not a list, but something more thought-provoking… and yes, self-conversational… that’s a thing, at least for me! Anyways, my hope is that I will be able to go back and read my conversations on bleak days where gratitude seems impossible… and find a bit of gratitude from the past to hold on to! I began quietly in January… I wrote just eleven entries but those eleven conversations… well, they were powerful… thought provoking… and they have lingered with me well past the writing! I hope that February builds on those eleven days and takes off in a good way!.
Finally… this month I want to spend some time de-cluttering/re-organizing my kitchen cupboards. We have limited space in the kitchen and a few… several… most cupboards that have things in them that are never, ever used. Those things need to find new homes and usher in a reclamation/reorganization of space. But… I have been thinking about this for a long time and this month I am going to implement my ideas! And maybe I will no longer have to lug things up and down from the basement!
A small list… a small(ish) month… but these are big intentions!
What about you? What do you hope February holds?
I believe February was the month my mom disliked the most, so I always think of her often. I kind of like it and find it a nice short month. That stitching is divine!!
Your February is looking good Kat! Your stitching is so beautiful and I love those February circles (outlined in a Valentine color). Organizing and de-cluttering is BIG on my list come retirement!!
Your stitching is BEAUTIFUL!
I like the gratitude journal–maybe this will work better than what you’ve tried before?
I think this might be the year for a garage sale with the things I need to get decluttered.
Sounds like a refreshing outlook on February! And I think 11 entries/conversations is a number I’d be quite pleased with. The trouble for me with ‘every days’ is that it *can* become a demanding to-do…and so it becomes ineffective. (I’d rather have 11 authentic conversations than 31 ‘checked off the list’ entries.)
That kitchen project is going to feel GOOD! I did a re-org in the fall when I realized that we’d moved in 5/22…unpacked/shoved things away…and I never ‘refined.’ It was so refreshing to ditch extraneous kitchen crap and used the space efficiently. I hope you enjoy the ‘cleanse’!
You have the best ideas for your stitching and I always look forward to seeing them! Here’s to colorful “paramecium” in February. I did a huge purge when we moved out of the MD house and back to NJ. It felt great and I even had space to store my air fryer.
I have been so happy to see the sun the past several days, so that description of the term for February is apt! I’m also inspired by your plans to declutter — I have to do that very badly in some of my kitchen cupboards!
When I was working I really disliked February. It was still cold, I was still scraping the car from ice most mornings, it was still dark when I took the dog out, I was so done with Winter. Now I am retired I notice the extra daylight and the small subtle changes that show it’s very nearly Spring. Plans for this month include getting ready for Spring gardening, moving on a few projects, seeing family over the half term break and gearing up for coming out of the seasons dark. Love your stitching circles.
It sounds like a lot of good, February energy you’ve got going on, Kat! Good luck with your gratitude journal/project. I have tried gratitude journaling so many times over the years — and failed each time. It’s not because of a lack of gratitude (which I feel and express often), but because the journaling OF it . . . feels so forced to me. I’ll look forward to hearing about your experience! XO
I hope your gratitude journaling continues in a way that works for you. I’ve been writing down 5 things every morning while my coffee brews for several years now. I call it a gratitude list but it’s really more of a highlight reel of the previous day. I’m grateful for the highlights so it works! My cabinets . . . oh yeah. Maybe you will inspire me to tackle them!
Your February goals – intentions sound energizing. A gratitude conversation sounds like an interesting idea. Your stitching is inspiring. It’s so pretty. Once I tackle an organizing project, I am happy to work on it. I bet you will really enjoy a refresh in your kitchen. How does that stuff constantly accumulate?