There is so much to do and read about in February...
St. Brigid's Day is today, February 1st. Celebrate by reading this beautiful book and making a St. Brigid cross!
St. Brigid was a contemporary of St. Patrick. She founded a monastery in Kildare in the 6th century. It is said that she converted her father to Christianity while making a cross from rushes. In those early Christian times the farmers adopted the custom of making these same crosses at the beginning of spring to protect their holding, placing the St. Brigid's Crosses in prominent positions in their houses and buildings.The tradition of making St. Brigid's Crosses on St. Brigid's Feast Day continues to the present day.
You can try your hand at making a St. Brigid cross, like this one, by going here.
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Ground Hog Day (February 2) Find my past posts, HERE for this day of Candlewax and Hedgehogs!
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Come, winter, have another flight.
If Candlemas brings cold and rain,
Go, winter, and come not again.
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Chinese New Year "Year of the Snake" (February 10, 2013) "Gong Xi Fa Ca!" - this is the traditional Chinese New Year greeting that means “wishing you prosperity” in Mandarin. I remember making Chinese paper lanterns in first grade! You can see a tutorial for fun Chinese New Year crafts, here.
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Valentine's Day (February 14) - read my past posts here. Of course, I'll be blogging about Valentine's Day as it draws near, but in the meantime, look for Robert Sabuda's book, Saint Valentine.
International Book Giving Day (February 14) I hope you can join me in donating some books - you can Give-a-book, Leave-a-book, or Donate-a-book. Easy-peasy. Go here for more details. (If you're a blogger, you can join their BlogHop on the 21st.) And there's more - go HERE to download free bookplates!
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President's Day (February 17) There are quite a few beautiful books available about Presidents Washington and Lincoln. You can find my book recommendations here.
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| fun resource page |
Favorite February Meal: this Winter Minestrone from Barefoot Contessa (found on Pinterest of course). This stew is amazing. I made a few changes - halved the recipe, substituted orzo as the pasta, and used Trader Joe's mirepoix, instead of chopping all those veggies. And I left out the last three ingredients (spinach, white wine, and pesto).
A New Tea for February: Thanks to a tip from artist Jeri Landers at her teatime interview today with Valerie Greeley, over at Acornmoon, I've discovered the most amazing tea - it comes with a little figurine in the box! I sent some to my mom for a Valentine's Day teatime with her grandchildren (and of course, ordered a box for myself!) Find it here. More: You can also send cute free Ecards from their site.
My February Read: I'm getting lost in the nicely done biography about the incredible Julia Child - Dearie, by Bob Spitz...
p. 40: "And no one's childhood was more satisfying than Julia's. There was a house full of love, a community full of promise...While Julia was still very young, her mother spent long lazy afternoons reading her stories. There was a small, wooden bookcase in the corner of Julia's bedroom crammed with well-thumbed volumes of children's favorites, among them: Freckles, by E. Boyd Smith, Mother Carey's Chickens by Kate Douglas Wiggin, the Beatrix Potter classics, Tales of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Mr Toad, Alice Caldwell's Mrs Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch, and of course, the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Julia would curl up on the living room couch, listening raptly, while Caro [her mother] delivered the narrative in a variety of stagy voices until, at some point each afternoon, the child would drift off to sleep."
I can't wait to take a jaunt over to Pasadena (her birthplace and old stomping grounds) and see her family home...
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| as it looked then - source |
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This is a great resource! I have a few of the books you listed and plan to use them :)
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