When winter first started it felt a little awkward. We had to give ourselves the grace to just sit on the couch and watch embarrassing amounts of Netflix. When you’re constantly pushing yourself to work harder and you’re stretched pretty thing, it feels weird going to back to normal and having time to just be.

After Christmas, Chris had elective sinus surgery to help him breathe better. After a few weeks of recovery they realized his sinus cavities were full of infection. Fast forward five antibiotics and a month later and he’s finally feeling better. During the Infection of 2017, I caught and then shared with Lincoln a respiratory virus that each gave us two rounds of steroids and antibiotics. We had awful, dry coughs that kept everyone up for most of the night. So we really didn’t have the energy to try to write anything halfway coherent for the blog, thus our silence. We are finally on the mend, but a little antsy.

We have spent a lot of time this winter analyzing what it is we should be doing this coming summer. We have been listening to the Farmer to Farmer podcast and this is been very influential in shaping our ideas for this coming year. We have purchased perennials to make some more long-term investments in our farm and are considering some equipment that would save us DAYS worth of time. All the plant orders have been submitted and all the seeds are sitting in their packets waiting to be sown.

The days are slowly getting longer and we’re feeling rested and ready to dive back in. Thus, the ants in the pants feeling. So here are some things I have been doing as we are in the “not-quite-spring-but-still-winter” time that have helped me feel less antsy:

1. Reading for at least a half hour before bed each night. Getting off my phone and away from the noise of the internet has been really healthy for me.
2. Sneaking Sweet Pea into the house. Sweet Pea is our mama cat. All of our cats are outdoor cats and when we got them, we were adamant that they remain outdoors. I was even hesitant to name them, but of course, we did. And of course, I fell stupidly in love with them. And of course, I hold them like small babies. So of course, I’m going to sneak Sweet Pea in the house as I work hunched over a laptop.  She’s the only one who gets to come in because she’s the most civilized of the bunch. She goes right to a little rug I put out and naps while I work. Glancing over and seeing her little tummy rise and fall as she purrs during her catnaps brings weird comfort knowing I’m not so alone. Chris kindly smiled at me when he discovered what I was doing and didn’t say anything.
3. A basil plant. I bought a basil plant after seeing my mother-in-law had one and decided having fresh basil on hand would be a totally boss idea. And it is. It smells so good and the ritual of watering it each day and placing it on the kitchen window sill has provided routine and comfort.
4. Watercolor Painting. A few years ago, I took a class and then made Chris drive to Dick Blick with me so I could buy a crazy amount of supplies. I made one painting (that hangs above Lincoln’s bed) and then never touched any of my expensive supplies again. Until recently. I’m not making anything great or making anything in general. Just making shapes and feeling paint beneath my brush and playing with art for the sole purpose of just playing has proved to be not a waste of time, but something that has been missing since we moved out to the farm.
5. Eating crazy amounts of our home-grown popcorn.

What are some of the things you do in the “In Between Time”? What small things become special to you?

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