Beauty of Winter in the Mountains

The river is so quiet right now, and it's incredibly peaceful here in the morning, especially with the fresh snow. The world seems to slow down when it snows like this, and everything gets quiet. I'm thinking about going for a swim, but honestly, I'm a little nervous because it's really cold out here. I will share the video end of this article.

Good morning, everyone! Welcome back to another video from my cozy little spot in the mountains. We've been getting so much snow lately, and this time of year always brings the heaviest snowfalls. There's something so comforting about being in a warm house, sipping on tea, and looking out at the snowy, cold landscape.

Embracing Winter's Peaceful Moments in the Mountains

I love waking up in the dark and turning on the lights to see the fresh snow that fell the night before. These weeks have been so peaceful, with nothing urgent to do, and I've found myself moving slower, taking in the quiet moments. Winter teaches us to slow down and be patient. As much as I love the snow, I can't wait for warmer, sunny days, but for now, I'm just trying to appreciate where I am and what I have in this moment.

It's around 5:00 a.m. right now, and I've been waking up early like this for the past few months. There's something magical about the winter nights—the stars are so bright, and the world feels enchanted, especially when it's snowing outside. It's so quiet, and I really love that.

There's nothing better in life than a warm fire and a hot cup of tea on a cold morning like this. It's about -5°F right now, but the other night, it got down to -20°F, which was so cold. But there's something indescribable about taking a deep breath of cold air—it feels like it cleanses your lungs from the inside out.

It's been an interesting few weeks here in the mountains. We had a crazy freeze where it got down to -20°F, which is the coldest I've ever experienced. All our pipes froze, even though I spent a lot of time in the fall wrapping them up with heat tape. Surviving winter is all about staying on top of things, especially in the kitchen. For me, that means always having something fermenting, soaking, or prepping.

At this point in the year, we're limiting trips to town because the roads are covered in ice and snow. It took us almost two hours to get to town the other day, which meant four hours of driving total. So, it's really important for me to stay on top of making sourdough and bread because bread and soup have been our go-to meals this winter. I probably make soup three times a week, and on the other days, we're eating leftover soup. It's the easiest and most nourishing thing, and soup ingredients like carrots, onions, potatoes, and garlic last a long time in the fridge and pantry.

In this valley, there are so many apple farmers, and a friend of mine gave me some apples a couple of weeks ago. I was going to make apple butter but decided instead to press them into cider. Fresh-pressed apple cider is my favorite taste of all time—it's like drinking candy. If you've ever had fresh apple cider, you know what I'm talking about. It's seriously so good.

I made a loaf of bread earlier, and we had it tonight with a white bean and mushroom stew. I also heated up some of the apple cider with cinnamon and orange, and it was the best thing ever.

So, instead of buying new clothes this year, my plan is to sew all the clothes I need. Right now, I'm working on some pieces for spring when the weather starts to warm up. Last week, I made a long-sleeved dress and an apron, and this week, I'm going to make a short-sleeved dress that's a little bit shorter, just below the knee. I also want to try adding buttons to a dress, so I searched on Pinterest for some inspiration and found exactly what I was imagining.

I want all these dresses to look old-timey, like something you might find in your grandma's closet. I was really excited to start this project because I found some fabric at the store the other day and fell in love with it. It's 100% cotton, and it was on sale for only $5 a yard. I bought four yards, so I only spent $20 on the fabric for this dress. The dress I'm trying to copy from Pinterest was listed at $245, even on sale, so if I can make a similar dress, I'll be very proud of myself.

It was snowing so much this week, and I can't explain how cozy it was to work on this sewing project in my little art studio while watching the snowfall outside. Watching snowfall in general is just so peaceful, and having projects like these keeps me inspired during these very cold winter months.

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So, I had to redo the top part of the dress because it didn't fit right, but I finally finished it, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. This afternoon, a couple of friends are coming over for coffee, so I decided to make a cinnamon roll star bread. I had this dough fermenting all night, and now I'm shaping it into the star. I've been trying to think of different things to make using limited ingredients since not much is in season and it's not easy to go to town.

This bread turned out really yummy, and I'll leave the recipe in the description if you want to try making it. I'm also surprised by how much the bread rose, considering I used 100% home-milled flour. When I first got my mill, I wasn't sure what to make with the flour because it's pretty dense whole wheat, and most recipes call for all-purpose flour. But you can make your own all-purpose flour, and it works really well. A lot of people don't realize how versatile a mill can be.

Since we don't have running water in the house right now, I'm refilling big containers and pots with water, warming them up on the stove, and then using them to wash dishes. I'll put soap in one pot for scrubbing and use another pot for rinsing. I ran out of all-purpose flour a few days ago, and I won't be going to town for another week, so I'm making my own all-purpose flour by milling wheat berries and sifting out the bran. I sifted the flour twice to get something close to all-purpose flour, and it works well for baked goods.

Right now, I'm making a batch of kombucha. I've been trying to grow this scoby stronger and get back into the habit of making kombucha because it's so nice to have a cold, fermented drink in the fridge. It just makes life better, honestly.

This is the time of year when I start to feel a little stir-crazy, and I'm so grateful for planning a couple of trips in February. It feels like I'm counting down the days until I leave. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, and I love the winter and snow, but living in such a small space makes me feel a little claustrophobic, and I just need to get out of here soon.

Tonight, I'm making a soup that my grandma taught me, and it's so yummy. The recipe is in my latest cookbook if you want to try it. I also made the best batch of focaccia bread I've ever made. I added a lot of water to the dough, about 90% hydration, and left it in the fridge for 24 hours to proof. I love this kind of bread, and I love Italian food in general. My partner, Logan, is Italian, and I'm always trying to convince him to move to Italy with me. I want to live in a place where people appreciate food as much as I do, but it would be hard to leave my family behind.

This is the bread I made yesterday, and now I'm shaping it into sourdough donuts. As much as I love living in the middle of nowhere, I'm starting to seriously consider moving closer to a city and opening a bakery. I've been thinking about this idea for almost a year, and the fact that I'm still inspired by it means I should probably just go for it. The only thing holding me back is the initial money investment and the idea of taking out a loan, which scares me.

A week later, and I'm bottling up the kombucha for its second ferment. I'm adding some of the apple cider I pressed to make apple kombucha. I'll leave it on the table for its secondary ferment for around two to three days, and I'm really hoping it doesn't explode on me. It's happened before, and once, a cider exploded so badly that my brothers. Watch on Youtube My Life in Mountain on this Winter.