Long winter months

[IrishGoddess]

What are some of the projects or hobbies that you all work on when the winter weather hits? I know that may sound like a stupid question but I guess I was just curious and am kind of looking for something new to occupy our time with. I am new to the idea of self-sufficent life style and would like to get myself and my children away from the idiot box a more often and do some things that might be more benificial for us. Thanks for any input you may have.

[rockymtngirl]

Family games, craft projects, reading. My kids are grown but in the winter I tend to do more cooking, planning for next year/goals. You could introduce them to
a new craft - latch hook is pretty easy, model building (formal or with popsicle sticks)
There is a great book called "Let's Make a Memory" - I highly recommend for smaller kids. Not sure if it is still in print or you might find one on Amazon.
If your kids like certain activites (one loves to read the other is your artist), find things that fit their talents. My youngest was always the organizer so she loved helping me re-organize recipes or sort papers or the like. Oldest was my artist so she preferred crafty stuff, paints, etc. Middle was an intellect so he preferred reading.

Hope that helps you get some ideas!

RMG

[pinetreefarm]

Since this is the first year I am not homeschooling, I thought the long winter months in northern Minnesota might drag so........I ordered 2 on line college courses to take....plus have piles of wool to spin.....plus have books upon books to read. Therefore I now feel positively overwhelmed . lol In any case thankfully the election is over so peace again reigns.

Perhaps I shall start watching the idiot box instead. :D

Pine

[flatwater]

I go to the lions den aka pappa's work shop. I build walking sticks that are matched to shed antlers. I like to read world war11 history. Work on my gourds. Sharpen all my chisals , knifes etc: I create yard sculptures using old garden tools and this year I will be doing some experiments with papercrete.
Flatwater

[MYellowRose]

Crocheting, and reading in the past. This winter I'm going to try my hand at quilting and scrapbooking. Also have several Monopoly and Monopoly knock-offs that I can teach the girls to play.

[walls0stone]

finnish a few books, play with the kids and try to push this new business forward.

[madmac]

wallsOstone. I am getting ready to build my first walking stick. Don't even know what kind of wood it is. I just want to see if I can expand my wood skills a bit. Got several ideas already in the making so will see were it goes. I would love to see one of yours for sure. Deer antler is a nice touch.

[flatwater]

madMac , I think you got wallsOstone mixed up with me. If you pm me with an e-mail address I'll send you some picks.
Flatwater

[madmac]

Thanks flatwater, you are right. I am gonna blame this mixup on old age, LOL PM sent

[WileyCoyote]

I love winter. Always have. Is there anything better than getting the seed catalogs in December, and buying your flats and grow lights and starting your indoor starts, watching the green come out when everything outside is black and brown and sleeping in its winter doze? The kids and I used to sit around the table with the catalogs, comparing prices and quantities, and talking about what we would grow - and NEVER grow! LOL

I haven't quilted in over 30 years, but I have one started and ready to work on.

Right now I am working with the Drama Club at the high school, helping with makeup and costumes.

My kids all tried to learn art from bored art teachers at school, but couldn't get it right. So every Saturday we would group around the TV, turn on the PBS, and watch "Bad Bob". I don't remember his last name, but he taught my children to free themselves from common misconceptions about art and to make "happy little trees", mountains, waterfalls, streams. He is gone now but his lessons are on video in craft stores. My children still paint and know how to make something 'look right'. Long happy Saturdays spent working on our art was a game of learning, not mindless lessons.

I would teach the kids to cook and bake, too. Thanksgiving and Christmas to us was all about the food. They learned how to use wine, chocolate, and spices to change or alter common foods. My daughter makes twice-baked potatoes with cinnamon that will knock your sox off!

Suppertime was always the time when we would play scrabble, uno, spades, hearts, and trivial pursuit. We helped the kids with spelling, numbers and math, history and geography... but mostly we had fun in learning how to win and lose and compete. The dishes would be cleared away and washed eventually - but the kids would forget about dessert as they slapped down the cards or scored a triple word play!

Our local TV station tried to get kids interested in weather. We got their CD and built our own weather station; barometer, thermometer, anamometer. We learned to predict weather far more accurately that the weatherguessers!

With our kids, it was all about encouraging them to think in new ways, learn to use old things in new ways, and to be creative and colorful and to dream while the world outsde was sleeping.

[Shamrock1121]

What! No bakers? :o Winter is a great time to learn how to make yeast breads, or improve your skills. It's normally a win/win situation - food for consumption and warmth of the "hearth".

Winter is the best time to knit/crochet an afghan. Keeps you warm while working on it ;). I've been knitting or crocheting small lap robes for nursing homes with the odds and ends of yarn in my stash, and yarn found at thrift stores.

I also make stocking caps and mittens to give to different elementary schools for needy kids. I normally make those in the warm months to have them ready this time of the year.

I'm also a big reader.

Winter is a good time to work on genealogy, or do video/audio taped reminiscence interviews with the "elders" in the family.

-Karen

[bee_pipes]

... win/win situation - food for consumption and warmth of the "hearth"...


When we cook soups or other foods that require a long simmer time to reduce, the humidity and heat generally warm the house without the wood stove.

Regards,
Pat

[swampyankee]

I'll be in the woods hunting till the man tells me to stop. After that, making that walking stick sounds like it might be fun thing to do. after I tune up the bow, I might just try that ;)

[bookwormom]

winter here is for outside projects that are just too much to handle in the heat of summer. we are planning to clear some more land, cut some trees, lay up a retaining wall for one more terrace garden. since the days are short and with our daylight savings time here it is now dark at five the evenings are a bit longer.
Our kids are all out of the house. We used to live in snow country when they were kids and up to their young adult hood. I still hear the yelling when they used an inflatable boat to slide down the hill behind the house. there were always boots, coats, mittens, socks drying by the stove. Hot cider, we had so many apple trees, all the females were knitting, we played some games, but our kids were/are passionate about music and folks asked me if it did not get on my nerves to have them play one thing or the other all the time. No it did not. shoveling snow got too much. we wound up shoveling an area out by the road to park the car and just make a shovel width track back to the house, and out to the barn. This time of year I love snow. The joy wears thin when it is the first of May and it is snowing. Being snowed in is nice if you can stay home and bake, knit, read, have fun with the kids. we used to love cross country skiing. we brought our skis when we moved here, I guess I'll look at them nostalgically once in a while.

[humbug]

I try to get out as much as I can in the winter. I go and cut wood in the snow (no I am not nuts) and go exploring in the snow. My friends and I still sled..we really are just kids at heart still.
Inside projects include baking, quilting, reading and catching up on indoor cleaning, including cleaning closets and cabinets.
I rarely watch tv, which many people find hard to understand. In the evening when I am home I either read or get online for awhile.

[MHinFox]

Hunting is so fun during cold/winter weather. Also as mentioned above SEED Catlogs and dreaming up new plans for growing new things. Then the seed flats and prepping green houses for late winter/early spring use. I am like above statement seeing the first green growth of the year really pleases me. Get on computer more during winter and reading more. LOL one of my problems is I think of things to change...like where I have fences or what part of my land will I do what with. ...LOL this time I decided where I had many of my fruit trees and archery target area needs to be where I will put my underground house now...ok did think about it before trees put in but now have re-thought it!...Not smart sometimes but lots of fun scheming about it all.

[leera]

We have no kids,so it's just hubby and me,the dog,the cat.....

If I had my choice I'd stay home and hibernate all winter......we really do live in the wrong state I think.

I dispise snow,and shoveling,and being cold......

I have no problem keeping busy though.Quilting,sewing projects,learning new things,I have tons of books that some day I'll get around to reading them all.

On our days off work hubby we like to watch movies,sometimes we go out,but more often we just sit at home and have movie night,he picks a movie or two,I make popcorn or some other treat,and we cuddle on the couch.

Our days off lately have been filled with helping out a friend,and volunteering at the church,so we really don't have a lot of free time to try and fill. :)

[sethwyo]

Reload ammunition. Read books. Make clothes. If the wind isnt blowing i like to go walking.

[RenieB]

Keep the wood stove going and reading some books I haven't had time to read. Hope to get some knitting done but my shoulder is bothering me so can't do too much. Cooking some nice stews on real cold days.

RenieB

[Montanaflat]

Hi Irishgoddess. :) I'm Irish too.
We usually learn something new every year but this year we are going to finish up some "undone" projects around the place ie.. put in our wood cook stove (can't wait) that has been in the garage for X # of years (still in the crate.) once that is done I have some sewing, quilting and needlepoint that I would like to finish. We just had our first grandchild so I will be busy working on little clothes. It has been a long time since I've sewn anything that small.
Learning a new skill is great to do for the winter. There is a lot of things out there that don't take a lot of $ to do.

[zbery1]

I love the long winter months, it's a good thing since I'm in Alaska! I Read, write, quilt (just simple tied quilts), draw plans for what I plan to do when summer comes, catch up on mending and repairs and of course poor over the seed catalogs and plan the garden. Cooking and baking all those things you have no time for in the summer makes everyone happy.
Something I've been saving up material for is making rag rugs, perhaps I will get to that this winter!

Here's wishing a great winter!

[IrishGoddess]

Wow, you all have some wonderful plans. I think I might try and learn something new this winter. I think I will try my hand at making a quilt. I have a sewing machine but honestly have never used it so this would probably be a good time to start. The hand sewing thing might be a little tough on my paws. I have talked to the kids and have come to the conclusion that I am on my own. I forget what its like to have a teenaged life. ::)
It is funny I don't have more ideas on my own because I lived in Alaska, 16 years and in Wisconsin for 8 now so it isn't like I have never had to deal with the long winters but I guess I have always just planted myself in front of the tv with out a thought and time would go by so quickly and before you know it, days, weeks and months have passed and I would wonder why there wasn't time to get things accomplished. ::)
Thanks so much for all of your input. You are all are so amazing and I am learning so much from you.

[Bootz]

I'm learning to draw Celtic knotwork and spirals, and other geometric art. I usually draw in a composition notebook with graph paper pages.

Sometimes I use black pen and ink patterns, to make up different shades of grey to fill in the designs and other times I use colored pencils.

Google "zentangles" and "mandalas" for some ideas.

Learning to draw borders is a great way to doodle. Everything from vines and flowers to quilting border patterns.

And study some color theory and composition to make your designs really pop.

[pcrowder]

Knitting socks and balaclavas, trying to finish quilting or tieing the 3 trunkloads of quilt tops, plus piecing the 1000s of quilt squares I have. And, I'll be getting ready for my youngest son's wedding in the spring, so I will be making lots of embroidered pillowcases, hot pads, placemats, etc for my "soon to be daughter's" hope chest! ;D And, trying to get a wedding quilt done for them - THAT will be the first priority!