Getting through January

One of the author's Christmas projects was to make this quilt featuring International Harvester™ tractors. (Submitted image)

Country Notebook

By Rogene "Jeannie" McPherson

Journal columnist

Once again my calendar says it is January. Every January changes my social life for at least 30 days.  It’s happened again this new year of 2026. The number of flu cases rise.

Just this week several individuals I know have been in life-threatening situations because of the flu. Call me a chicken, but I have not left the property for two weeks avoiding door handles loaded with invisible germs.  My grand-dog is having an extended stay as I don’t want to go to the city to return him to his rightful family.

My typical pattern is to have a cough that sounds like it is dislodging my lungs. If I was into playing God, I would predict the cause of my demise stated on the death certificate will be pneumonia.

One might suggest my lack of submitting a new column for the Journal is for health reasons. Sorry to disappoint, but my motivation is elsewhere. At this point my health is good and my physical motivation high.

Told myself this morning, I cannot go to the woods to work until a story is sent to Roger Sims.

Now almost two weeks into January, I will confess my tardiness.  Writing became secondary.

January is not just for avoiding the flu, but also to get organized for the year. Tax preparation has begun as well as sorting through fabric, deciding what to give and what to keep. Some of the fabric will go to a nursing home in Olathe where a group of residents make quilts for their fall sale. With contributions from others, it has become lucrative enough to buy batting for their quilts and other crafts.

Once the sewing bug (a good germ) enters your blood, sewing can be a life-long activity. In 2024, I made a log cabin patterned quilt for my daughter-law using the fabric from her husband’s nursery more than 30 years ago. This past Christmas, for this same son, I used International Harvester™ fabric (as in tractors) for a quilt. Two down, 10 to go, so that every family member eventually has an heirloom quilt.

Other projects are in the works.  Baby quilts will be given to the  Linn County Health Department to name just one beneficiary of my ability to sew. It’s makes me feel good when the excess I have can be used for meeting the needs of others. Suffice it to say, it’s a real problem when I have to move fabric out of closets and off beds when guests visit.

My meals also tell an interesting story as I have not been in a grocery store for a month nor used pick-up. The pantry, refrigerator and freezer are so poorly stocked, I can no longer camouflage the crumbs and other inedible particles found in the bottom of containers.

Let’s use this morning’s breakfast as an example of creativity.  I don’t make pancakes, but instead use pancake flour to make a cake-like quick bread. Using the contents of the pantry and refrigerator, I stirred together one box of pancake mix, a can of pumpkin and canned milk, four eggs soon to go out of date, and the remnants of rhubarb-cherry jam I am famous for.

This concoction was baked in a large cake pan and when served was topped with butter for a somewhat healthy meal. I believe pumpkin makes up for some of the carbs and cholesterol in the mix and eggs. Just kidding, but pumpkin should be used year-round. Ten breakfasts are now available.

Something else that runs through my blood are the many stories told by those using alternatives in the '30s.  I’m just using what I have, even if recently out-dated and as a result will have cleaner appliances and cupboards. 

It struck me this morning that I am the last generation to hear, “Don’t throw that away as you may need it someday.” Frankly, I fear for those who haven’t figured out the creativity available in our homes. It’s becoming a game and I think I’m winning – especially when I figure out how to use the housecleaning products I’ve accumulated.

Rogene “Jeannie” McPherson, from the Centerville area, is a regular contributor to the Linn County Journal. Her latest book Posts from the Country, Adventures in Rural Living is available online at Amazon.com, Thriftbooks.com, and Barnesandnoble.com.