Attic24

Wintry Springtime

Last week was the second half of our stay-at-home Easter holiday and honestly it's been the nicest time. I can't get over the difference in the general ambience of the house when the Little People are home and on holiday as opposed to home but home schooling. The reality is that they're spending the vast majority of the time in their bedrooms absorbed in their own pursuits whether it's school work or leisure time, but somehow the air feels lighter around here when it's the latter. I am definitely waaaaaaay more relaxed when we are officially in holiday mode that's for sure.

The week was lazy and we did very little of note other than our usual local pottering. We had a cold, breezy walk at Bolton Abbey one morning, ending with hot take-out drinks slurped in the car because it was just too chilly to actually sit outside. We had a trip to a nearby retail park to visit a DIY chain store for the first time in over a year, and my goodness it felt strange. I had almost forgotten what real out-and-about shopping feels like. The purpose of the trip was to purchase a tin of paint so that Little Lady could create one sage green wall in her all-white bedroom. She had a very clear idea about what she wanted and picked a particular shade of green from the two thousand shades that you can get specially mixed up by the magic paint-mixer machine. She was so sure about it we didn't bother with a tester or anything sensible like that, and fortunately it was a resounding success. She is now on a mission to amass a collection of houseplants for her bedroom, and I must say I'm really enjoying watching her find her own style and recognising so, so much of my younger self in her. 

One of the things I managed to do last week was to pop into Coopers Café (where I have my studio) to collect my mail. I've not been there since October, and I'd been meaning to go and collect a couple of packages that I knew were waiting for me as well as the monthly crochet magazines that get sent there. Of course the café is closed because of this never ending lockdown situation so it was a bit strange being there when it was so quiet and calm. I've not been able to use my studio since the first lockdown in March 2020, and I've really, really missed my precious space.

Anyhow, one of the packages was from a lovely lady who lives fairly local to me and reads my blog. As well as some beautiful and very thoughtful gifts, she had packaged me up a stack of old magazines to read and I was so happy to receive them. As you know I adore magazines and even better when they are passed on once they've been read so that the pleasure can be spread a little further. Do you know this magazine, "the simple things"? I've come across if before but it's not one that I've ever bought myself - oh, I've clearly been missing out! What an absolute delight this magazine is! You can take a little peek inside some previous issues online to get a feel for the content ((here)) - the photography and styling is stunning, and I really love the overall message which promotes slow living and celebrating life's simple pleasures. 

I spent some blissful hours across a few afternoons snuggled up with the kitty, drinking in the articles, recipes, musings, photographs and seasonal feel good in these pages and I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. If you are reading this Rosie, thank you SO MUCH for this gift which really did make me very happy. And....I've still got three magazines left to read, which I'm saving for this coming weekend, I can't wait (they are summer issues, my fave). Magazine heaven.

We continued to walk in the woods pretty much every day, and I was happy to see that the willow Huntress was wearing a new skirt. She's been looking a little unkempt over the winter with most of her bottom half missing, so Anna must've been called in to restore her dignity. Actually, as I was looking up Anna's website just now, I decided to write her a quick email telling her how much happiness her willow sculptures bring to my daily woodland walking experience. I think it's a wonderful thing to practice gratitude, but even better to express that gratitude to the people that contribute to the goodness of our days.

The woodland is very slowly beginning to wake after it's winter sleep and every day I search for signs of green things happening. 

The wild garlic carpet continues to grow, and I continue to observe it and love it just a bit more every day. That vibrant green is really uplifting when everything else around it is still so brown. I finally managed to collect some to bring home and cook with this week and made some pesto and also some soup which were both really good. I'll share my recipes here on my blog in the next day or so as I like to have a record of these things for future me, I know I'll be glad of it next year when wild garlic season comes round again.

It's been a cold start to April here in Atticland with temperatures remaining firmly in the single digits and falling to below freezing at night. On the positive side we've been treated to many bright clear days and I've really appreciated the undiluted amount of sunlight that has filtered through to my brain. I've spent quite a bit of time outdoors either walking, sitting and chatting with friends or pottering in my front gardening and I feel so good for it - I'm definitely happier outdoors than in at the moment.

On Sunday we woke up to an unexpected winter white out, and the shock was real. It's not unheard of for us to have a final snowy surprise around Easter time (my very first Easter here was spent making a snowman instead of the easter egg hunt I'd planned) but it was still a shock to the system. Every year I tell myself that the Spring Equinox does not actually mean spring weather for us here in the north of England so that I don't expect anything warm and springlike until May rolls around.

At around 8.30 I took myself off for a morning stroll through the park, just to experience the uniqueness of April Snow.

It really was beautiful out there.

The sky was an incredible, intense shade of blue, and the treetops looked gorgeous with their dusting of powdery snow.

The poor flowers though, oh my goodness, they looked so forlorn. The blackthorn blossom that I've been admiring in the meadow was literally encapsulated in ice.

Every time I walk in the winter meadow I think of my blanket and try and remember what the colours of summer look like. Some days, the meadow is so far from summery that I have trouble believing that the flowers will ever return. The buttercups should start to bloom golden at the end of May which is only six weeks away from now......nature honestly blows my mind sometimes.

Monday was the last day of the holidays for us here, and on Tuesday the two Littlest Peeps were finally back to school.

Yaaaayyyyy-hahahaaaahhhhhaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trying not to cheer too loudly when they are in ear shot, but you know it feels like so bloomin' long since we had any sort of normal school routine around here (Little B has only been in school for two weeks since the start of the year). For the first time in an age I set my alarm for a 6am wake-up on Tuesday, my goodness, that was a shock to the system. But it felt good, like a bit of a reset and I felt ready to embrace this new season of routine.

After a leisurely coffee and some quiet time to slowly come around to the day, I was out the door and into the park by 7:04 for my brisk wake-up walk. I recently listened to a podcast called "just one thing" with Michael Mosley which sets out to explore ways in which you can easily improve your health and wellbeing by adopting small daily habits. Episode two was all about the benefits of taking an early morning walk (I'm waaay ahead of the game there Michael), with the idea that getting out into the daylight within 2 hours of waking can have a very positive effect on our bodies. It strengthens our natural circadian rhythm (or something like that), and helps us to sleep well at night as well as boosting our mood. 

Well I can certainly say that this routine of taking a brisk 10-15 minute walk at around 7am feels marvellous and I am all for it. Having said that, I'm not one hundred percent sure if I would feel the same doing it in the rain....hmmm, most likely not. As I mentioned earlier, although the weather recently has mainly been blinkin' freezing, the crisp dry air and bright sunshine has made it feel very energising.

My walk takes me up the hill, down through the park, then a short stretch along the canal before the steep hill climb back to home. I deliberately walk at a fast pace to get my circulation going and warm my muscles up because I do a short 20 minute workout as soon as I get back home. I really do love the way it makes me feel to do this and can highly recommend it. 

Longer daylight hours have opened up the possibility for evening walks again, and last week I took a few evening strolls with Little Lady.

We mainly like to head through the woods then a slog up to the top of the huge grassy hill where we can catch the very last rays of sunshine. The above photo was taken at 7:46pm, such beautiful, golden glowy light at that time of day which really lifts the spirits.

Two other things of note last week - number one, I had my first covid vaccination on Friday which was something of a relief. I faired pretty well afterwards with just a bit of a headache and the overwhelming desire to lay down and sleep at a moments notice but other than that (and a very, very sore arm) I was fine. I know I'm really looking forward to the time when all this is behind us and life begins to return to some sort of normal again. I'm so tired of covid-19 taking up valuable brain space. 

Number two, I started my new blanket, oh, happy day! I will definitely be sharing it with you once it's well under way, but in the meantime, I figured you might enjoy a little bit of a teaser re the inspiration behind the colours. 

Greenery and pinecones, bright berries, orange slices and spices, also mulled wine and gingerbread cookies (why didn't I have those to hand when I needed them?) Winter solstice vibes and festive flavours - a celebration of the Yuletide season. Can't wait to show you more!

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Springlike

Gosh, it's been the most beautiful day here today, a truly wonderful, glorious, springlike day full of warmth and full blown sunshine. It was forecast to be this way, but here in England you can never ever rely on the forecast as our weather is notoriously unpredictable. I slept in this morning after a very restless night, so my early morning wake-up-walk didn't happen until 8.20am. That's OK though, we're on holidays so I'm making the most of being able to go with the flow. 

It was stunning out there this morning and I was so content to be strolling through the park with the sun on my face and a coffee in hand.

I took a little walk around the edge of the meadow which was still wet with morning dew.

Although we're still a few months away from buttercup season, there is hawthorn blackthorn** blossom in the hedgerows to enjoy right now. I drank in the fresh air and sunshine, absorbing it right down into my soul.

** thank you to those who corrected my mistake, I always get those two muddled up!

I don't know what it is about the meadow, but even without all the beauty of the wild flowers and tall grasses it still has a magical appeal. I find that by the time I've walked around the perimeter and arrive back at the little wooden gate, I feel calm and restored somehow. It's a really beautiful feeling, and was needed today.

By the time I got home I realised I was running late, so I had to rush to get ready to meet my friend for our weekly park walk at 9.15. Actually, we really didn't do much walking - we got into the park with our lattés and walked as far as the very first wooden bench, and there we sat for over an hour having a jolly good catch up. 

Pretty much as soon as I got home, J was reaching a lull in his work day and was ready for our daily walk - you can see how I easily manage to knock fifteen thousand steps a day out the park, can't you?! Today was Little B's first day of freedom after his self isolation period, so we were able to take him with us today. He was really glad of the fresh air I think, and to be outside finally after his very cooped-up existence of late.

And pause......so grateful for finding my home in this little town.

I made myself a cold coffee when I got home from walking, do you ever drink cold coffee? It was like an iced latté I guess, but without the ice. Last year in lockdown I treated myself to a good milk frother (it's the Lavazza A Moda Mia one, it gets rave reviews and I would definitely give it five stars). It's hands down the very best purchase I made in lockdown and I can't tell you how much I love it. It really does elevate the whole home coffee experience to something special. Anyhow, it has three settings, one for a super thick frothy cappuccino, one for a velvety smooth foamed latté, and a third one which makes the latté style milk but keeps it cold. It's surprisingly good to drink a cold coffee on a warm day I have to say. I should maybe have put it in a fancy glass and drunk it through a straw, but I didn't happen to have either of those things to hand. Hmmm....now I want to go off and search online for a fancy cold coffee glass. I'll resist for now, but know that I'll be shooting off as soon as I've finished this blog to go virtual glass shopping.

The warm weather meant that for the first time this year I could hang the bedding out on the line to dry. Oh, the JOY!! Such happy feelings as I pegged out my duvet cover, pillowcases and sheet, because I know that tonight I've got the super-charged pleasure of getting into a sun-dried clean bed. I can hardly wait.

I had five things on my to-do list today, and I managed to tick three of them off so I'm calling it a win.

1. go to post office to send a bar of chocolate to my Dad ✓
2. sow sweet pea seeds
3. Buy and plant new flowers to replace deceased cyclamen and half-dead winter cherry
4. cut grass in front garden ✓
5. retrieve Easter Box from Attic eaves and decorate dining room mantel ✓

I bought my Dad a bar of the Lime and Sea Salt dark chocolate for him to try as he loves dark chocolate and I was telling him about my fave ChocAffair bar last time I  saw him. I hope he likes it.

Sweet peas - gah, I just clean forgot about them. I must try and find some compost tomorrow.

New flowers - I did try, but honestly I couldn't find anything suitable. There's a huge shortage of small, cheap flowering things right now, I'd thought I'd at least be able to lay my hands on some primulas but I couldn't find a single one. Might have to drag J to a garden centre, ooo, now that sounds like it could be A Plan.

Cut the grass....that was a tick.

Our front garden is tiny and very unkempt  and although I do have plans to spruce it up a bit this year, firstly I figured a bit of a trim would help a lot. Because the grassy patch in question is so small, I'm easily able do the grass cutting with hand sheers. It's surprisingly satisfying actually, and wasn't too much effort. I took the opportunity to also tidy up some of the few perennial plants we've got growing, and sweep the steps and little pathway. A little TLC goes a long way when you have a miniature sized garden.

The last thing on my list was retrieving the Easter guff from the attic eaves and arranging it just so. Tick!

This mantel had been standing bare since Christmas as I hadn't bothered to put back all the objects that got cleared from it in December. It's had some cards on it at various times (Little B's Birthday, then J's birthday, then Mothers Day), and my jug of bare twigs has remained in place. So it was a breeze to prettify it for Easter and I had a fine old time doing it.

I was especially happy to be reunited with my cute little chicklets and the weeny Easter Rabbit, they did really make me smile.

(chicklet post/pattern HERE, rabbit post/pattern HERE)

Little B was with me when I was unpacking and starting to faff my mantel, but he is at an age where he finds this kind of thing insanely boring. I've long given up on the idea that I decorate for the Little People, nah, of course I don't!! It's all for me, me, me!! Ha, well that's absolutely fine by me, I'm more than happy to indulge myself. 

While I'm pondering on this mantel and the decorative possibilities, just scroll up a bit and have a look at my crochet heart garland....I made this so long ago it was actually pre-blog, can you believe that? It was only just pre-blog mind you, I made it in late Feb 2008 and I started my blog about three weeks later. 

I still love it, but it's looking a little bit faded and worn now and I'm thinking about making a new garland for here - maybe a string of slightly smaller hearts? Let me know what you think.

Being that it's Easter week I have of course got mini eggs in the house - Easter is simply not complete without them. Mini eggs, hot cross buns and Easter biscuits are the three things that make Easter for me, way more than the big giant commercial chocolate eggs that seem to be the norm these days. Having said that, I know that the Little People are definitely expecting a large boxed chocolate offering, so it's just as well that I've already managed to purchase those and get them squirrelled away. I'm actually really looking forward to Easter weekend - we've got nothing planned at all, but I still think it should feel a bit special somehow. I may even have mini eggs for breakfast, just because I can.

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Routine Feels Good

Following on from yesterdays chat about my new-found Springtime lockdown routine, today followed a similar pattern and I felt really good about making it happen. I didn't manage to get out quite so early this morning as I didn't set an alarm and woke naturally at 6.30. But I tell you, it felt wonderful to wake up and know that I already had a plan in place, and that there was no need to ponder on things. I can't tell you what a difference it made, it was quite remarkable how much more settled I felt when I woke up. I was striding out the door at 7.20, and it was a truly beautiful day to be out and about. 

I appreciate the feeling of stillness that hangs in the air this early in the morning, there is something very calming and tranquil about the day being still in it's early waking hours.

It must've rained in the night as everything was damp this morning and the hedges were still holding onto the raindrops.

I love to see the signs of spring slowly appearing and the fresh zing of newly unfurled leaves never fails to make me happy. It's a magical time of year and I can see why so many people are spring lovers. 

J and I set out to walk early again this morning, around 8.45 I think it was when we left the house. The sunshine was glorious, and it was just about warm enough to ditch the coat and manage with a warm hoodie. It felt so good after many months of woolly layers and wellie boots.

We walked home through town so that we could pick up our coffee, and on a whim I stopped to buy a loaf of bread from the veggie stall on the market. I figured that fresh crusty bread would go well with my homemade soup for lunch so I bought a brown sourdough loaf made here in Skipton by a local chef who started up his own micro bakery last year. It's hands down the best sourdough I've ever tasted, the flavour is so so so good. Of course it really didn't help me with my quest to kick the toast and sugar cravings to the curb, but that's a burden I'm willing to deal with. Everything in moderation.

It was a happy delivery day here today as not one but two parcels arrived in the post this morning. I bought myself a new dress (this one) from one of my favourite clothing companies, it's a really soft cotton material and I can't wait to wear it on days when it's warm enough for bare legs and flip flops.

I also purchased some of my most favourite chocolate (again, NOT helping with the clean eating mission, but I ordered it at the weekend when I was in full self indulgence mode). Lime and Sea Salt dark chocolate, honestly the flavour combos in this chocolate are like heaven to me.

Hmmm....I'm seeing a seasalty theme appearing here......guess I must really be missing the sea?!

This afternoon I felt the pull to crochet and it felt really good to sit for a few hours to quietly work with hook and yarn. Do you like the look of the yarn? Isn't it a feast?! This is a brand new product from Stylecraft and I've been lucky enough to get my hands on all of the colours available - there are 38 in total. This is a DK weight organic cotton which comes in 50g balls, and I absolutely love it. It's soft and smooth with a matt finish (it's not a mercerised yarn) and it's a delight to crochet with. I was worried that my hands might not like it as cotton doesn't have any elasticity and can quite often be tough to work with. But I haven't had any difficulty with this yarn and I think it's going to become a firm favourite. 

I spent the whole afternoon lost in the bliss of these soft, spring like colours, crocheting up a pile of flowers and leaves. It's been ages since I felt inspired to dive into some decorative making, and it felt so good! Happy, happy me!!

So I have a bare twiggy branch that is waiting for Spring to arrive - tomorrow I'll show you when these flowers find their twiggy place. See you then xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

  

 

First Day of Spring

Well winter is now officially behind us and today is the Spring Equinox which is when day and night are of equal length. I am very much in the astronomical camp when it comes to the changing seasons (more about that here) and I enjoy celebrating the equinoxes and solstices each year. They seem to me like a really good opportunity to pause and take stock, a gentle quarterly review if you like. We are now into my favourite quarter by far as our days lengthen and we start jaunting through to the Summer Solstice in June. I love these months very, very much.

The weather today has been very un-spring-like (often the case on the Spring Equinox), but I thought you might still like to see how my hill view looked today. It was dull, murky, still and cold. But hey, no rain, so I'm thankful for that at least.

Being Saturday, J and I set off into town this morning for our weekly market and local food shop. It's less than ten minutes walk to the main high street so it's no hardship and I really look forward to it. Once we've gathered in our produce (fruit, veggies, cheese, meat and bread), we pick up a takeout coffee to drink sitting beside the canal. In our non-lockdown life we would visit our favourite little café and cosy up inside with our drinks, but right now we are making the best of our al fresco experience. It's cold though I have to admit.

I thought I would share my market haul with you today - everything goes straight into my canvas shoppers and often times we don't even bother with paper bags. Tilly was very eager to inspect the goods, she is always right there waiting for us when we come home.

The above selection is a typical weeks fruit and veg for us, although we usually end up needing to buy more fruit towards the end of the week. Isn't it so pleasing to look at? So satisfying to see it all laid out!

I love buying, cooking and eating fresh ingredients, it gives me a lot of pleasure to feed myself and my family in this way.

We also buy eggs from the veg stall and they are always these snowy white ones which have the most gorgeous, rich orange yolks. 

Ah Tilly, you are such a crazy little kitty! 

I made myself a late breakfast once I'd packed away all the food, then decided the time was right for some Equinox faffery on the mantel. Time to pack away Winter and welcome in the Spring.

I was a little sad to say goodbye to my Winter TreePeep, I've loved having her on my mantel. I can't remember if I've showed you my TreePeeps before? They're painted by my super-talented Instagram friend Lynn (@silverypaws) and so far I've collected Autumn, Winter and Christmas. Lynn is painting me a Spring TreePeep this week so I'm VERY excited for that (you can see some of her Spring peeps here), I'll be sure to show you when she arrives in the Attic. If you'd like to give a TreePeep a home, do get in touch with Lynn via her Instagram.

Once Winter had been collected and stored away, I gave the mantel a good clean and changed over my candelabra. As always, it was really nice to unpack the new seasons decorations and remember what I had collected - do you know I had actually forgotten all about the Spring garland that I made last year? It was a delight to see it again! You can read all about the making of it in this post, and I wrote up the patterns for the flowers if you would like to create your own.

You can also see the Spring cross stitch canvas I made last year from Cotton & Twine. I really enjoyed stitching all those beautiful bluebells, it was my lockdown project at the start of Covid almost a year ago. I've just started stitching the Summer design so that it'll be ready for June, I'll show you that once I've made a bit more progress.

Loving the look of my Spring mantel, most especially the garland. So pretty! By the way, can you see the bare twigs up there on the right hand side? I'm going to crochet some blossom flowers to decorate them this week, and I am really crazy excited for that to happen. I've not done any crochet at all since finishing my Meadow Blanket last month (my hands really needed a rest) so I'm more than ready to have my hook back in my hand again.

I bought myself a new scented candle this week as I've been without one on my mantel since the mulled wine binge over Christmas. I opted for "Quiescent" from the Botanical Candle Co (you may remember me going on about their "Late Summer" candle that I obsessed over last year)

Would you care to know how this one smells? Here's the official blurb....

"Eucalyptus is uplifting, cleansing and fresh whilst the floral notes of lavender soften this scent and provides a sense of calm. Frankincense delivers a resinous base note that's grounding, complex and earthy. Overall, Quiescent is comforting, pure and luxurious."

It is a delight I can tell you, well anything with eucalyptus in immediately gets my vote to be honest. It's the perfect winter/spring scent I think, and yes I would agree that it is cleansing, fresh and calm. Just the thing for pandemic lockdown life.

Spring may be here but it's still fire lighting weather in Atticland with single digit temperatures. At the weekends I light the fire in the mid afternoon as J and I are usually spending time together in our main living room. I just can't get enough of the cosy vibes at the moment, I guess winter comforts are still needed for a while longer until the weather begins to do it's Spring thing. 

Before I go, I wanted to say a huge big thank you to those of you who have clicked on my little "buy me a coffee" button just lately. I have been so humbled and deeply touched by the kindness that has come my way and have felt overwhelmed with gratitude. I appreciate you all so much, and I'm really happy to be back here in my patch having a chat with you. Your comments on my last couple of posts have been incredibly heart warming, so thank you for the hot milky coffees and for your kind words and all that you do to make me feel cherished.

A few days ago I was reading back through my Blogtober archives and remembering how much fun it was to create a daily blog for a while, and I've decided that for the remainder of March I'm going to be here every single day to chat to you. Blogtober had such a cute ring to it, but I'm thinking Blarch doesn't sound quite so appealing?! Haha, well we don't have to name this thing do we, but I hope you'll enjoy a daily dose of Attic life during the next eleven days. 

Happy Spring (or Autumn if you're down on t'other side of the planet), I hope today has been a good one. See you tomorrow!

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ps my lovely friend Christine (she who knits alllllll the socks) has decided to join in with my Blarch adventure, so you're very welcome to pop on over to Winwick and enjoy her daily words and photos x

 

 

 

Last Day of Winter

One of things about taking a blog break is that it disrupts the continuity of my own personal story, and I've come to realise that I really regret when there are missing segments. For example, there are some fabulous holidays I've taken in the past which I never got around to documenting here and that means there are valuable memoires missing. You see, although I dearly love that you are here with me (and apparently you enjoy my words and photos), I mainly write my blog for myself. It's the best memory-keeping tool I  can think of, a truly priceless archive of my life that means the word to me. 

So although January and February aren't ever my best months, I think they still deserve their moment and I feel bad that this winter went by with nothing to show for it here. Well, there was the Meadow Blanket of course, but you know what I mean - the snapshots of everyday life are missing. So as today is the final day of winter before the Spring Equinox tomorrow, I thought it'd be a good opportunity to have a little winter catch up.

Before we head into that, I want to tell you a bit about the above photo. The print is by an artist called Jessica Boehman who lives and works in New York. I fell in love with this illustration years ago when I saw it on Facebook and it stayed lodged in my mind ever since. Sadly the image was being used on social media without any credit to Jessica, and it took me a long while to track her down as the artist. But eventually at the end of last year I did, and I was able to buy the print which I am really happy about. I found Jessica's Facebook page, and wanted to share something she wrote back in November which had a profound affect on the way I feel about the Winter Season.....

"It's mid-November, my favorite season, the time I was born. The nights are getting longer. I find I look forward to the months of the long nights, because they offer up their many gifts: a chance to rest, long, blue nights to take comfort with lovers, your children, or loved ones, wrapped tightly under blankets, and the quiet time needed for the mind to spark and grow. Turning inward, my mind lights up. I light a candle and read or draw, allowing myself to spend time in other worlds. It's a time for growing stronger. I think we could all use a healthy and restful hibernation from the ravages of this past year. Wishing you all a happy dark season, and wishing you health and safety as we continue to weather this storm together. May we come out of it kinder, stronger, and more willing to help each other in a time of need. This is my birthday wish for the world."

After reading Jessica's words I suddenly had the realisation that the winter season can be a positive time for hibernation and healing, and that we can indeed look forward to a "happy dark season". I tried SO HARD to take this onboard, and to find the joy in the dark, short days but of course it's not possible to make yourself feel happy, no matter how much you may wish for it. Having said that, I did take great comfort from this picture, so that even on days when I just wanted to stay in bed I was able to view it as being restorative and cosy rather than a failed day of doing nothing. 

One of the ways I embrace the seasons is by decorating my mantel and if you've been visiting with me a while then you will of course know all about this. My mantel was bare for a little while once Christmas was packed away, but soon enough I felt the pull to decorate for the Winter season. It's all quite minimal really, and yet I still get a huge amount of pleasure from unpacking these treasured things from previous years. The two stitched hoops were from previous Craftpod subscription boxes, and if you like the looks of them then you can now buy them as individual projects from the Craftpod Etsy shop ((here))

The Winter cross stitch canvas was from a Cotton & Twine subscription box last year (sadly no longer available)

The crochet garland was from a few years ago and I still love it, although I think next winter I'd like to crochet a nature inspired garland of leaves and berries.

The crochet robin was made from a pattern by Little Conkers ((here)).

I've enjoyed my mantel and fireplace enormously over the past two months, and have spent many hours sat on the floor right there by the fireside. It's one of my favourite places to be when all is quiet in the late afternoons.

As tomorrow is the first day of Spring, it'll be all change on my mantel this weekend, so I'm glad I've had a chance to share the winter version with you before it gets packed away for another year.

This winter the weather has actually been fantastic, as it's been the coldest season we've had in quite a few years. I'm not bothered by the cold weather at all, and I LOVE when we have ice, frost and snow in the depths of winter. What I'm not keen on is the damp, grey, drizzly, dank parts of winter, those days can just go away for ever and ever as far as I'm concerned. So yeah, the weeks we had in January and February when the temperatures sat below freezing, I was actually pretty delighted by it.

I loved that even with our very shortened days, the start and end of each day often delivered the most beautiful skies.

I loved seeing my hill view coated in a layer of white ice....

...and I love love LOVED visiting the meadow in the crisp early mornings to see the magic of winter. 

On the morning when these photos were taken it was 9am, just as the sun was rising behind the hills.

It was also a very chilly -5 degrees, oh-so-cold, but my goodness it was incredibly beautiful out there.

During these weeks when the temperature stayed below zero, the canal stayed frozen. It looks beautiful don't you think? It was a little bit treacherous on the footpaths but as we were in lockdown and home schooling, we often didn't leave the house for days on end when the ice was very bad. 

This winter also brought us quite a bit of snow, and I think this year we had four separate snow falls.

I always went out to walk in it, there is something compelling about a snow-filled landscape and I had some fun walks with the Little People. It was actually Little Lady who built the snowman (the twiggy arms were my addition), it was a very spur of the moment playful streak which I hadn't been expecting from my mature teen!

The snowy part of this winter was really wonderful actually, and looking back at these photos has reminded me how much I appreciate the four distinct seasons that we get to experience here in my corner of the world.

I've been so thankful for the clear, bright, blue-sky days of winter, oh deep joy right down to my soul when the sky is that colour!! We haven't had all that many clear days, but you can be sure I've made the most of them when they've been gifted to us.

Our daily walking has happened in all weathers and has become a permanent fixture in our days since lockdown started almost a year ago. This routine has made a huge difference to my wellbeing - we walk for just over an hour each day (about 5 km), around the neighbourhood and through the woods and I absolutely love it. The best kind of self care I'd say.

On the home front, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, life has been slow and uneventful. Aside from crocheting my beloved Meadow Blanket, I haven't felt especially creative to be honest. But really that's OK - it's absolutely OK to have quiet times when life is slow and there isn't much doing. This past week I've felt an uprising of inspiration and I've begun working creatively again, so I figure the rest must have done me good. 

Spending extended time within the four walls of home hasn't always been easy this winter, but I really have tried to make the best of it. I learnt to recognise when I needed to retreat to my bedroom and close the door, and I learnt to make the very most of the rare times when our one downstairs living room was quiet except for me and the cat. 

Daffodils have been a constant on my table this winter, a weekly essential purchase along with the groceries. At just £1 a bunch, they are such a bargain, and I love watching those tight buds slowly open in the warmth of home.

And there we have it, a mini round up of my slow winter days. Nothing terribly exciting, although we did have the drama of a broken finger a few weeks ago, thanks to the Big Teen falling off his mountain bike in spectacular fashion. I'm not going to show you photos of that mess though, even though it's still an ongoing drama. He goes back to see the plastic surgeon on Monday I think. But yeah, broken bones aside, all has been low key and quiet. 

I'm looking forward to stepping gently into the next season now, I really am ready for the change.

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New Year Beginnings

Hello, and a very, very Happy New Year to you! *** Today (Monday) is the last day of our holidays before Little B returns to school in the morning and honestly I'm wishing that the relaxed pace of the holidays could continue for just a little bit longer. I don't feel ready to be dashing out the door at 8.30 in the morning, and yet I know that once I'm actually out there I'll love it, I always do.    *** edit to add :: since writing this earlier today, we have just found out that a full lockdown starts tomorrow, so back to home schooling for us. No dashing out the door for the foreseeable future - I really don't know whether to be glad or sad?! 

I de-Christmased the house on new years eve, it's the earliest I've ever done it but the time felt right. I needed to bring some clear breathing space back into our living room, and as I've still got twinkly lights and candles it doesn't feel too sparse or gloomy. As predicted, my hyacinth bloomed for the turn of the year and it is currently looking so fresh and pretty. I love the simplicity of it so much and it seems I'm craving the pared back look right now as I haven't wanted to faff either of my mantels just yet. Well, I stuck some dried eucalyptus into a bottle, but that doesn't really count as full faffery I don't think.

I've got an organza bag of wintery decorations ready and waiting to come out to play (including my winter balls garland), but I'm not quite ready to go there yet. Soon though.

We don't usually celebrate New Year in any major way, but that doesn't mean to say it isn't a day to be enjoyed to the full. We opened a bottle of champagne in the late afternoon, a very generous Christmas gift from my Big Teen who amazingly is now old enough to purchase (and drink) alcoholic beverages. Woah, that really gave me such a huge surge of Mumsy feels on Christmas morning I can tell you. I totally forget that he is now eighteen. Eighteen........but how?????????!

For the first time in aaaaaages, I decided not to bother getting dressed on New Years Day. It really has been a long while since I enjoyed a full pyjama day and it was all kinds of fabulous. I dug out some super-cosy fleecy pyjamas that are years old, pulled on some woolly socks and felt ridiculously snug and contented all day. I did manage to cook a full roast beef dinner mind you (popped a pinny on top of the pj's and all was good) so it wasn't all idle loafing, but mostly you could find me in various positions very close to the warmth of the fire. It was such a good day.

Over the festive period I enjoyed some really lovely sweet treats (most of my modest gifts were of the edible/drinkable variety this year which I was very, very happy with). Take the above offering - a salted caramel and dark chocolate acorn, wow, these were insanely good I can tell you. Mouthfuls of pure luxury!

All my festive chocolate has been consumed now, and the gold carat gin and sparkly champagne has become just a delicious Christmas memory. I am ready to embrace clean eating again, and to leave the sugar and alcohol behind for a while. It really does feel good I have to say. The past few days I've gone back to making oat pancakes for breakfast (recipe on my blog here) and I have love love loved eating them. So good.

I've ordered a new recipe book which should arrive tomorrow (it's this one) and I'm excited to try out some new family meals. Yesterday I sat down and menu-planned for the week ahead which is something I've slipped out of doing in the past month - January is such a good month for resetting all sorts of little routines and habits don't you think?

We took a walk into town on Saturday morning to get stocked up on fresh fruit and veggies from the market and I am so grateful that we get to do this on a regular basis. There is something really satisfying about returning home with bags full of fresh produce, knowing that we have supported a number of great local businesses (butcher, baker, deli, plus fruit/veg and cheese from the market).  This routine is something we started in the summer when our first lockdown ended and our little shops and market re-opened and I'm happy to say we are still enjoying it.

Can you see the canal is frozen in the above photo? We've had such cold, cold temperatures here this past week and our boiler is still messing us about so it's been a bit tough on the home front. Some days it has worked fine (oh, deep joy) and other days (like today) we managed a few hours of heat before it packed in. We are still waiting on an engineer, they tell us it'll most likely be into next week before they can come out as they are so busy. All the layers are needed I can tell you. Today I'm wearing a sports bra, a vest, a long sleeve t-shirt, a thick hoodie, an oversized fleecy pyjama top, plus woolly socks and mitts, oh and a scarf too. And I have two crochet blankets wrapped around me and a hot water bottle. At least we are still able to shower (our electric shower is separate to the central heating) and we have our beloved fire so it's not too dire, we are managing OK for the time being.

Just after Christmas, our local area moved into a higher tier of Covid restrictions which meant that cafés and restaurants were forced to close. I am more than happy (delighted in fact) to support my local indie coffee shop which has stayed open to offer takeaways. Hot milky coffee and woolly layers have been making these freezing cold mornings at home feel special, and I am thankful for this luxury.

However, everything is about to change yet again as the whole of the UK moves into another full lockdown as from tomorrow. We will be back to home schooling, only going out for essential food supplies and for exercise. It's such a strange time, and yet oddly I feel comforted by the idea of simply staying at home. Staying home I can do, and I am determined to make the most of the coming days of slow living and simple comforts.

On Saturday soon after we came home from the market, the weather suddenly changed from icy to snowy with absolutely no warning. As far as I know we weren't expecting snow, so it caught us all by surprise. We watched as the flurries grew heavier and heavier and within an hour there were a couple of inches of perfect soft, powdery snow covering everything.

On the spur of the moment we decided to head out and enjoy the wintry whiteness, J and I, plus Little B and Little Lady.

We haven't been able to take this walk across the fields in a long while because the mud has been next level, so it was really enjoyable to be able to stride out across familiar footpaths frozen hard and covered in a layer of snow.

So different from our many summer walks across here!

It was absolutely beautiful....

....everything so still, quiet and tranquil.

This road looked like something out of a fairy tale, the scene looking like it was straight from Narnia. It was magical I thought.

In complete contrast to all the wintry whiteness outside our door right now, I am currently immersed in all things summery and floral. The Meadow Blanket CAL begins on Friday 8th and I am absolutely delighting in the total escapism of it......all the warm, sunny vibes are flowing here! I'm working with J making the stitch charts and printables this week, as well as the very full photo-heavy tutorial which will be released here on Friday. I am SO excited to take off on this journey across the meadow with you, it couldn't be happening at a better time. Slow, rhythmic, colourful hooky stripes are the very best kind of therapy when all is topsy turvy in the world.

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Twixmas

I think twixmas is an absolutely magical word and it perfectly seems to fit these delicious, relaxed days that sit between Christmas and New Year. The word originates from the old English word 'betwixt' which means 'between', so it makes perfect sense and well, I just love it. 

I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas and enjoyed some time to just be content in the moment. We had a really lovey day here in the Attic, in fact I can't remember a more laid back and relaxed Christmas. The Little Peeps were a delight and seemed super-happy with their smelly and edible gifts which magically appeared in their stockings, as well as the ££'s which landed in each of their pockets. As is our tradition they got to open their pyjama gifts on Christmas Eve, and although there wasn't the same level of excitement as when they were very small Little Peeps, it was still a lovely moment.  

J and I went out for a brisk walk on Christmas morning before coming home and enjoying a champagne breakfast with warm pastries (alllllllll my danish pastry fantasies came true, it was heavenly!). We ate our main meal around 2.30pm, and it was just the most lovely, relaxing day from start to finish. 

On Sunday evening Storm Bella raged through our little town and we could hear the wind whistling down the chimney and the rain battering against the windows. In the dark of the night we had no idea that the rain had turned to icy snow, so it was a real surprise to wake up on Monday morning to a snowy white view out across the hilltops. Although we had very little laid on the ground down in the town, it still felt beautifully wintry.

I love love love when the seasons deliver a dose of correct and appropriate weather, and this felt absolutely perfect for Twixmas. 

J and I have walked every day this past week, wrapping up in warm layers and enjoying the fact that the very muddy paths have been frozen and hard under foot.

We walked at Bolton Abbey one morning (with the Little People in tow), but mostly it's just been the two of us tramping around our very familiar woodland route as we've been doing most days since March.

Sometimes I just can't get over how much happiness seems to enter into my soul when I am out walking, I love it so, so much. Even when our lives are so restricted and we are walking the exact same route day after day after day I never get tired of it. It's such a beautiful way to observe the slowly changing seasons throughout the year and never fails to lift my spirits.

Yesterday morning we dragged Little B from his nest and walked through the park to the farm shop. He's been thoroughly enjoying his lazy pyjama lifestyle this holiday and we've mostly let him do as he pleases, but I do believe in the good of getting children away from their screens and out into the fresh air from time to time.

It was a cold, icy walk, but the farm shop was quiet so we decided to stop for a bit and treat ourselves to a late breakfast in the café there. Little B was delighted with his eggs and bacon on toast and agreed that it was worth putting his shoes on for. I have to say, I agreed with him.

Late yesterday afternoon, Little Lady asked me if I fancied heading out for a quick walk as the weather was too good to stay indoors. I was delighted with the offer to be out and about in the beautiful wintry landscape for a second time in one day, and we were very soon wrapped up and out the door.

It was around 3.30pm when we climbed up to the top of the hill, and the late afternoon sky was breath taking. We timed it perfectly to catch the very last rays of the sun before it disappeared behind the hill, and despite the very, very muddy slip-sliding that we had to do to get up there, it was amazing. 

Tomorrow we will be heading into a more restrictive time as lockdown measures tighten up a notch, but thank goodness we will still be able to get out and enjoy the local countryside. I am so thankful for where we live, I appreciate it every single day.

I think that as tomorrow is the very last day of 2020 I am going to pack up Christmas a little earlier than usual and clear the way for a fresh start to the new year. I am really enjoying my festive blooms though, so I'll keep them going for as long as they last, but.........I am already looking forward to replacing them with some early sweet narcissus which is a little tradition of mine. Little daffies are always the first fresh flowers to come into the house at the start of a new year and I look forward to them very much. I've already seen them in the supermarket ready and waiting - my fingers honestly twitched when I spotted them today, no joke. But I'll wait just a little bit longer, it is still 2020 after all.

Twixmas this year in our house has been very very cold, quite literally, as our boiler stopped working on Monday. Of course at this time of year it's impossible to find anyone who will come out to do boiler things, so we have had to manage without the luxury of central heating or hot water for a few days. It's been manageable - the upstairs part of the house has been baltic but thanks to our open fire we've been able to at least keep our downstairs living room warm and cosy. I absolutely hate being cold so I've been wearing lots of extra layers (even a woolly bobble hat and gloves stayed on indoors this morning as I was just too cold to take them off). Woolly socks and crochet blankets have really come into their own and I've been pretty much living under layers of yarn. I've either been on the sofa or tucked up in bed (which is where I am right now, writing to you with my laptop on my lap, a hot water bottle on my feet and my feather duvet pulled right up to my chin).

I put Big Blanket on the bed yesterday for the first time in ages as the temperature dropped to minus two last night. I haven't needed any extra layers on the bed for a long time due to being a hormonal super-heater at night, but the sight of this blanket made me so, so happy, even after all these years (I made it in 2009). And oh, the cosiness of it was an absolute joy! There is something about the weight of a large blanket which is so very comforting and reassuring, and I had the best sleep last night.

Well, I hope that you are all staying warm and cosy (or cool and chilled if you're down on the other side of the planet), and that you have been enjoying these in-betweeny twixmas days. I am sending lots of love out to you all, life feels a little bit of an uphill struggle at the moment, but taking it one day at a time is the way to go. Twenty-twenty is almost done and dusted, and doesn't that feel good?!

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December Thoughts

#1 : Pomegranates are just the most fantastical fruits, and despite the fiddlesomeness of them I can't help but love them. Thank you for the advice about the extraction process - I tried the method you recommended, cutting around the equator and banging with a wooden spoon but I just could not get it to work. No matter how hard I banged, no seeds tumbled forth, not one! I wonder whether it's because it wasn't quite as ripe as it could've been? I've got another one sat in my fruit bowl so tomorrow I'll try the cut and bang method again. I shall report back on proceedings.

#2 : I think fresh fruit has to be my all time favourite food group, trumping even chocolate or cake. I've proven to myself this year that I can very easily go days/weeks without eating refined sugar, but I would find it very, very difficult to go a day without fruit. 

#3 : I have a massive, overwhelming hankering to try my hand at colourwork knitting, more specifically I desperately want to make this hat. A month or so ago I spotted a lady at the market wearing the most stunning fairisle beanie hat and I couldn't take my eyes off it. Afterwards I had major regret and wished that I had asked her about it and found out more about the pattern. Then on Saturday when I was queueing at the market to buy cheese I happened to see her again wearing the same gorgeous hat, so I stopped to compliment her and interrogate her about it. Thankfully she was the nicest lady and told me that her Mum had knitted it for her, and she thought it had something to do with the Shetland MRI Scanner appeal. It's so brilliant to have the internet to provide hatty info when you most need it - I came home and immediately found the pattern, woohoo!!!!! It's called "Harriet's Hat" by Harriet Middleton and you can find it here . I need to learn the twisty technique for knitting with two colours in the same row, but I'm determined to give it a go. 

#4 : Beady eyes arrived in the post last week and my festive creature got stuffed and stitched and is now happily living out life on my mantel. Animal faces are extremely tricky things to get right, and I'm not too sure I achieved the elusive Cute Factor with this chappy. He looks ever so slightly vacant and bewildered. I promise to show you more just as soon as I take a few photos of him in situ.

#5 : We had our first snow on Friday, a chilly morning of dancing flakes and white dusted hilltops. It didn't last and it didn't linger, but it was fun watching it from the cosy comfort of home.

#6 : I love my fire, I love it so so so so much. I never used to like the brick fireplace and dark wooden surround but over the years it has really grown on me and I couldn't imagine it being any other way now. It really is the heart of our home.

#7 : I spend a lot of time sitting on the floor at this time of year. The kitty obviously doesn't seem to mind too much - a warm lap is good enough no matter how low to the ground it is.

#8 : It's bauble time, and once again I am swooning all over the place at the sight of these glorious colours. These are definitely my kind of Christmas colours and I doubt very much that I will ever change. Little Lady told me yesterday that in the future when she has her own place and her own tree, she will smother it in white lights and have only white, silver and glittery decorations on it. Oh dear, I was honestly lost for words after that declaration. 

#9 : Coffee, coffee, coffee!! My mornings are simply not complete without it, and I am so happy that Lockdown 2.0 has ended and my favourite cosy cafés are open once more. It's such a pleasurable, treasured part of my daily routine, a luxury that I appreciate very much.

#10 : After a fair amount of wet grey weather last week, I've been so so happy to see blue skies and sunshine during the past few days. What a treat. It has put a welcome spring back in my step as I was seriously dragging my feet last week, weighed down by the heaviness of the gloom. 

#11 : With two weeks to go until the Winter Solstice, I noticed today that the rise and set of the sun is oddly in tune with the school day. I see the first rays of sun peeking over the top of the hill just as we round the corner to come off the canal tow path in the morning. And I see the last of the sun dipping down beyond the hills as I come off the canal in the late afternoon.

#12 : I lit our Advent candle yesterday, six days late. It meant keeping a vigil until we had burned down exactly the right amount to catch up with the days. We are currently two thirds decked out for the season here - two trees are up, the wreaths are up and one of two mantels is wearing it's seasonal finery. I've still got the other mantel to do and my Advent garland to hang, but I'll be able to see to all that tomorrow when J is back to work and I have a little time on my hands to faffle it all into place. 

And that about concludes my thoughts for now. I hope you are all doing OK as we plummet through early December, and that you are thinking happy thoughts and finding some joy in this season of twinkly lights and shiny things. I shall be back here very soon to show you the Bewildered Festive Creature, I bet you really can't wait ?!

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December Begins

It's the first day of December and what a beautiful, cold, crisp bright day we've been treated to here in Atticland. We had our very first frost of the season this morning and breathing in that super-chilled air was so invigorating.

After dropping Little B at school I was meeting my friend for our weekly outdoor coffee/walk this morning. She was running late so I sat on a frosty bench beneath the above yellow-leafed tree to wait. It was a bit cold on the nether regions but I didn't mind too much....

....I had swans, ducks and pigeons for company....

....and the most fabulous feel of the early morning sun shining full force onto my face. I really am a sun worshipper, never more so that in the winter months when those warm golden beams of light feel so precious.

My friend arrived and we set off to walk along the canal to the park, via the coffee shop. Of course we did, coffee is our thing, and although we would much rather spend time in one of our favourite cosy cafés, we have come to appreciate our al fresco socially distanced meet ups this year.

We always sit in the same place at the top of the stone steps....

....with this view out across the park. I felt truly uplifted by the weather today, particularly as yesterday was so awful. 

I had a real major mood slump yesterday, and I felt deeply gloomy all the way from my head to my toes. I just couldn't shake off the melancholy, no matter how hard I tried to dig for gratitude and thankfulness, I just felt plain fed up with pandemic life. The missed opportunities, the imbalance, the lack of social interaction, the mean squeeze of our lives into the tiniest of boring, repetitive circles. I just wanted it all gone. I wanted my old life back.

Today I have thankfully felt brighter, and I know that the sunshine and brightness of the day has helped enormously. 

Blue skies are like medicine for my poor light-deprived soul, I know this for certain. J thinks I'm absolutely "full of unicorn poop" as he said to me today when I tried to explain my feelings to him. Well that's OK, I can live with that, because I have a very strong feeling that unicorn poop might be rainbow coloured. 

I continue to try and nurture myself physically so that I can feel as strong as possible in this season that I struggle with.

Gawd, I LOVE eating breakfast so much! I usually have it mid morning, and honestly it's just so good. I make a small half-serving of milky porridge (20g of oats) and top it with as much fresh fruit as I can get away with. What you can't quite see in the above bowl is the half a sliced banana and the half a grated apple which are mixed in with the cooked oats. The fresh fruit on top is a mixture of whatever we have in the fridge, usually mango, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. And a sprinkling of seeds for good measure (I use a mix of pumpkin, sunflower, flax and chia).

Sometimes I do change it up and have a cooked breakfast - a slice of gluten free toast with a poached egg, bacon, mushrooms and tomato. I also like my oat pancakes too. I would love to know what you eat for breakfast, do tell?! Do you vary it each day or do you stick with your favourite thing?

We had our usual trip to the market on Saturday and brought home an amazing haul of the most gorgeous fruit and veg. It's pomegranate season which the Little People are very, very happy about as they love this quirky fruit. I have to admit to getting a freaky amount of satisfaction from the slow, laborious job of freeing up the little jewelled seeds for them to eat out of a bowl.

Obviously my little unicorn-poop mind is easily pleased - give me sunshine and fresh fruit, and I am delighted.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon and early evening crocheting up a bowl of animal parts, like you do. I gave in to the sudden urge to make a small festive animal, and despite the huge protest from my arthritic joints I just about managed to complete all the hooking.

I'm now waiting on the correct size beedy eyes to arrive in the post and then I'll be able to stuff, stitch and assemble all the body bits. I'll show you when it's finished.

Also, a lovely lady reminded me on Facebook yesterday that Granny Josephine has not had her moment in the spotlight yet, and to my shame I had to admit that I'd completely forgotten about her. What with all the Meadow excitement and all, and then cross stitch things and little Christmassy creature things, well, poor Granny Jo has once again been put to one side. Shame on me. I shall see to it right away, and hope to have a ta-dah moment to share very soon.

Beady eyes first though.....!

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Friday Feel-Good

Today has felt wonderful in a slow, quiet way and I've taken some time to reflect on the week and count my blessings. 

We had to go out in the car this morning to buy some more solid fuel for the fire. We support a small local business in our town and buy little and often because we don't have any space at home to store large quantities of coal and logs. So seeing as we were out and about with the wheels I suggested to J that we could perhaps keep on driving a few miles out of town and take a walk around the reservoir. I really felt like I needed a change of scenery and  there is something very soothing about walking beside still water.

It's been cold today, just a few degrees above zero. The air was unexpectedly still and the surface of the water was calm which hardly ever happens here as it's usually a very windy place. It felt exactly like winter with the blueish light and the chill in the air and I am certain that autumn has left us now.

This is such a lovely little stroll, it only takes about half an hour to walk all around the waters edge but we took some time to sit on a bench for a while, listening to the geese making their usual racket. I do like to see them flocking together on the water, but my goodness, they are huge disturbers of the peace.

I paddled in the sandy shallows for a while, wiggling my toes to send ripples out across the surface of the water which really delighted me for some obscure reason. 

It was a happy post day today as my subscription box from Cotton & Twine arrived - yay!! This months project is a very cute little framed Christmas picture, and after I mentioned yesterday about my obsession with little houses, you can imagine how much I am loving this design. I can't wait to get stitching, although hmmmm......black aida......not the easiest stitching experience. I shall be wearing my ready readers and my neck light for sure.

I realised that I never showed you the finished design from October which I finished a few weeks ago. I happened to have a red flexi-hoop in my Cupboard of Doom, so I used that to frame the finished piece instead of wrapping ribbon around a wooden hoop. I'm actually really looking forward to putting Autumn guff away very soon and decorating for the festive season....Advent arrives on Tuesday and I am excited for all the extra colour and sparkle.

My white hyacinth bloomed itself out at the start of the week, so today I purchased a replacement. I suddenly remembered that I have some real live moss growing in my front garden (I'm a Moss Mummy!!) so I gathered some to create a little mossy bed around the bulbs. I added a couple of weeny toadstools for good measure and felt so utterly delighted with the whole ensemble that I think I squeaked out loud. 

The kitty has been in a playful mood today and we had fun playing chase and other assorted games where she basically stalks me, pounces, then runs away and pretends it never happened. I do love her bold character, she is often very demanding for attention. Ooooo, looking at the above photo I just had a rush of excitement thinking that my Christmas wreath will be hanging on the wall next week, yaaayyy!!!! Very, very excited for that particular event.

It was a cold, clear, still afternoon here and the light was wonderful as we walked home from school. I am trying hard not to wish the days away but I can't help counting down to the shortest day now. Not long to go.

Remember my wall basket that I spent £6 on back last month? It's looking really lovely still, and makes me smile every single time I walk up my front steps. The little splashes of living colour against the grey of our stone wall  are a joy to me, honestly, it takes very little to keep me happy. 

Friday feel-good nearly always includes a glass of chilled fizz these days, it's become a ritual for J and I to sit down at around 4pm and enjoy a drink of prosecco together. I can't tell you how much I look forward to it  - I stay alcohol free for the rest of the week, but a little Friday tipple is just the best.

I'm looking forward to an early night tonight, in fact as soon as I've finished chatting to you I think I'm going to make myself a cup of tea and snuggle down to read for a while. I've actually been sleeping really well this week and have also done some great workouts every morning so I'm not especially tired, I'm just craving the comfort I think.

Well after writing that, I have actually started to yawn (!) so I shall bid you farewell for today and slink off to make myself cosy in my nest........byyyeeeeeeeeee!

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