Welcome February

Hello Lovelies, thank you so much for the welcome back 💓

Here's my third blog post of 2023! long may the inspiration continue. Compared to all the scrolling of Instagram it does feel like a return to gentler times. I have a huge nostalgia for my early blogging days, when the boys were all at primary school....and I wasn't so grey! 

At the beginning of the week my Amaryllis (a Christmas gift from my sister in law) really put on a spurt of growth. The lengthening days and milder temperatures must be working their magic. I was thrilled to see what looked like a second stem appearing too.

 I'm not sure why ( in a house with very few windowsills) I never thought to put plants in this landing window before. I love having my rescued orchids here and they seem very happy. This scene makes me smile. Even when the main lights are off, and the little battery sensor light illuminates the scene.

 On Wednesday we welcomed February (two words which are not spelled how you would presume!). The weather continued to be mild. As you can see on our weather monitor below, there's not much difference between the outside and inside temperatures here. That's because the sensor is in our conservatory. Gosh it's been a no go zone this winter! Every year it's pretty useless in very cold weather, but this year it's been worse as I turned down the underfloor heating due to the rising electricity costs. It faces north and at one point was so cold and damp mould was appearing everywhere. So depressing.  

It's still structurally sound and the rules around this sort of addition to houses has changed in the years since it was constructed.  We are now allowed to fit it with a well insulated solid roof ( previously it had to be glazed) ....so that's what we are organising for spring. In an ideal world I would prefer a completely new extension but funds are limited and this will hopefully be a good compromise.  It's also less wasteful and uses less resources,  so fits in with my simpler, sustainable goals. Well that's what I'm focusing on 😊.

I'm still enjoying noticing the beauty of bare branched trees like this magnificent oak.

But I'm also thankful for some green in the garden from these pots which have looked cheery all winter 👏

This is the first year I've removed the old leaves from my Hellebores and they do look better for it.

Even if you do still have to lift up the flowers to see their beauty fully.

In the little woodland there are Cyclamen and snowdrops appearing.

 

That wonky dolls house is a bug hotel 🥰

Tomorrow it's exactly a year since we welcomed this boy into our home. He's turned out to be a typical comfort seeking whippet and we indulge him....well he doesn't have much built in padding 

He's so funny, pulling all the sofa blankets and cushions into a big heap then flopping down in his homemade "nest". We then usually cover him up as well if it's chilly. I think he approves 💙

This week it's actually been mild enough for him to go out without a coat and today we noticed daffodil leaves beginning to appear.

While we were out walking (despite the grey) a load of washing pretty much dried on the line. Woohoo, I do love some clean bedding that smells of fresh air. A simple pleasure for sure.

 

Whilst I was out in the garden I noticed so many buds on my Daphne. 

And the first brave primulas beginning to flower.

I also noted the sad scene of my broken bird bath, a victim of those hard frosts. 

 

Never mind, I'll keep a look out for a second-hand one, or something else to be a feature here. Thinking about it, now my apple tree has grown I'm not sure anything is needed 🤔. We have a pond the birds use. I must remember my simplicity goal.

Ending on a happier note, today I noticed my Amaryllis has THREE stems. WOW! That's certainly a first for me 😍🌺  

I do hope your February has got off to a good start and you enjoyed my everyday seasonal moments. 

Jacquie x

Cold and Frosty

Hello Lovelies,

This week we have enjoyed a break form the grey, wet and windy weather we had last week. The high pressure has led to freezing nights and sunny days. It feels so perfectly seasonal and is certainly conducive to a nice afternoon drive with mum to take in the wintry beauty....

On Wednesday we ended up in a coffee shop with a view. This place was packed when we arrived but as lunch time was coming to an end it looked like this by the time we were leaving. 

 I love a room with a distant view.

Now we are 4 weeks since the shortest day there's that bit more light to enjoy those views. Driving home from work just after 4pm still looks rather evening like, pretty though.....

                              Bare tree silhouettes are another highlight of winter to me. 

As the month goes on I'm continuing my decluttering mission. I think I'm up to 5 bags of donations to charity so far. I'm trying to have a low spend January as I feel it fits in with my Simplicity goal this year. Less stuff means more space and less chaos. 

As you can see I have made a few considered Charity shop purchases though. I've started to write a list of things I'm wanting to find that I keep in my handbag. Otherwise it's easy to be overwhelmed or distracted by things you don't really need and just pick up because they are cheap.  

My current list includes a zipped top (as a certain puppy tends to destroy zips given half a chance) and a scarf with autumnal colours. 

I have to admit red shoes were not on my list, but last summer I did think I would like another option to open toe sandals sometimes. It seemed sensible to pick these up as they should hopefully fill that gap in my summer wardrobe.

I've had a go at modelling my purchases for you...Hi :0)

Not bad for a total of £6.50 I thought. And more importantly by not buying new I've reduced my environmental impact and donated to good causes. As Katy says "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without"

This morning was another frosty start. The primulas by my front door don't seem to mind. Aren't these simple flowers gorgeous. A real spring  favourite of mine. 

 

I'm not wishing winter away yet though, well not days like these. The frost and sunshine were beautiful today. 

Stunning ice crystals.

 

Crunchy grass underfoot...and no mud! 

This is a treasured spot of mine. It looked quite magical today.

Here is the same spot in May. Oh my, all that colour! 

For now I'm happy taking in winter's subtle palette, hard edges  and deep shadows.

The first bunch of daffodils opening on my kitchen windowsill is bringing a burst of cheery colour and a hint of the wonders of spring to come. 

What a precious Saturday. It feels so good to be back blogging again, celebrating the good things and reminding myself how much I have to be thankful for.

I hope you are getting the chance to slow down and appreciate the simple things in life lovelies. Thank you so much for reading my ramblings and for your kind comments.

Jacquie x

My word for 2023

 Hello Lovelies,

Happy New Year! Maybe I'm a little late to say that but I hope not. I've been slowly easing myself into 2023 and not rushing into any resolutions or commitments. The Christmas decorations are all back in the loft now but I enjoyed them while they were here. We had a relatively quiet festive season , though we did host a Christmas eve family get together. Now my mum in law is not with us the wider family seem to be  drifting apart somewhat. It's a shame but I know things cannot remain the same indefinitely.

Between Christmas and new year I enjoyed some crafting with the cards we received. I found a tutorial HERE on how to turn them into little gift boxes and got quite addicted to this simple, meditative process.

In the end I made enough to construct a reusable advent calendar. I LOVE the fact that this is all recycled stuff (except the numbers which were from my old card making stash) . The backing is a cardboard box painted red and I made it with a flap to aid safe storage. It should last several years and is easy to refill with whatever chocolate or small gift you fancy.

So what IS your word of 2023 Jacquie? It's SIMPLICITY.

To me that means many things. Keeping life simple, noticing small things that can bring gratitude. Also  avoiding waste and therefore reducing our costs, not to mention helping with sustainability.

I'm really proud that we have managed to almost halve our Electricity consumption in comparison to this time last year. With energy costs soaring I made many small changes that obviously have added up. The ones I can think of at the moment are....

Getting a few of these motion sensor nightlights. They give enough light to illuminate a room you are briefly using (say to let the dog out or go to the bathroom in the night) without turning on the mains lights. 

Ditching the dishwasher. I know many sources say that dishwashers are the most economical way of washing up but I'm personally not convinced. We have an efficient combi boiler and are not on a water meter so I feel one or two bowls of hot water must cost me less than hours of running a dishwasher, which has to heat up the dishes to dry them and well as the water to wash them.

I'm also TRYING to avoid using my main oven too often. The slow cooker is great for jacket potatoes...

And I bought a mini oven which I love. It heats up almost instantly and is great when one pizza or some garlic bread is needed. It also bakes cakes and copes with a lasagne. Mine is THIS one.

Other things I've done is to replace a very old freezer. Be more intentional about TV viewing and put the satellite box to sleep when it's not being used. Nag to family to turn off computers when they are not in use and I iron less. We are doing less well with reducing gas consumption as I hate being cold and I'm drying clothes on airers indoors rather than using my tumble drier so that needs the radiators to be on for a few hours. Despite this I have managed to bring it down a bit and installing  a log burner is my main goal for this summer.

I realise a lot of these actions have involved a cost and consuming resources. I'm fortunate to be in a position to afford  some new things to try and keep my bills down. Obviously it hasn't made the bills lower but has kept them from doubling! 

 

Simplicity to me also means owning less. We are a family of five adults and a medium sized dog in a three bed semi. It's cosy! It's less than ideal when middle son's girlfriend comes to stay. She is lovely and very welcome but it does mean juggling.

Youngest son and myself are missing from this image.

This week I've been having a sort out in our bedroom. I've already taken one huge bag of things to the charity shop and it's interesting to note many of the things were charity shop purchases in the first place, some with the tags still on.

There's still more work to do in here but the top of our wardrobes and these shelves are looking better. 

I like following Courtney on Instagram for minimalist inspiration. While I'm not trying to achieve a truly minimalist lifestyle I don't like  feeling overwhelmed by stuff. Also, I attended a former work colleague's funeral a few months ago and her two rooms filled with unused craft  materials were mentioned more than once. While I'm not ill I am beginning to feel the future is not promised (I'm 57 this year)  and I don't want my family to have tons of stuff to sort through should anything happen to me.

Another  thing I'm currently very grateful for is a simple job. As you may or may not know I gave up my nursing career in 2020. It wasn't the end to over 30 years in the NHS that I had hoped for but it was necessary for my mental health to leave.

 Once I began to feel better I got myself the least stressful job I could think of...housekeeping. I thought it would probably be a stepping stone to other employment but at the moment I'm  more than happy to keep doing this role indefinitely (health allowing). Frankly it's a revelation to me that a job can take only your time and not your peace of mind. What it lacks in excitement it makes up for in peace and convenience. I certainly don't miss rush hour traffic, parking battles and long shifts. 

Obviously it pays less than my previous job but I'd rather try and cut back on expenses than increase my stress. Fortunately I'm not the major breadwinner in the household so it is possible.

 

So, my aim for 2023 is to TRY and keep my life simple. As much as a second dog appeals some days I know it's not the right time at the moment. I'm also resisting the urge to book any holidays as I want to keep as many options open as possible. I want to try and get back into more crafts now Lando is less demanding, and to use things from my stash rather than buying anything new.

I'm unsubscribing from all those marketing e.mails you end up with after Christmas and only making considered charity shop purchases from my list of things I'm on the look out for. 

So, if you want to find me in 2023 I'll hopefully be home, walking my dog locally, having a small trip out with mum or a couple of miles down the road doing my "retirement job."  

Gosh, that would have sounded very dull to my younger self but at this stage in my life it sounds great. 

I do hope you are managing to find the right fit for your circumstances lovelies.

Jacquie x