Ready for 2024

 The New Year is knocking at the door, the rollover from one year to the next imminent.

Our festive decorations are still up, I like to keep them up till Twelfth Night, as Epiphany is an important time.

TIME & clocks feature prominently in our home - a reminder of the passing of time in our lives & how things move on .. 

The handbeaded South African ornaments a reminder that my heritage spans several countries & continents; their simplicity reminds us that life can be simple too & that we all bring different life experiences to the table, our roots hold different things ... 

Festive snow & warmth from the reds, golds & greens. The handmade (by me) foraged front door swag a sign of my connection to nature. Cookie cutters in the bowl in the kitchen window are always used as baking is part of our lives ... 

Our clocks mark the time with their steady tick-tock, all having their own sound & beat. They remind me that TIME is different for each of us. It is also the one thing that we cannot buy, store or know how much we have.

I wish you & yours a blessed & peaceful 2024. Send out ripples of kindness in your world.

Dee 🥳🎉🥂

Enter 2024 with Intention

We stand at the cusp of another new year. The time between this year & the next is good to ... 

Reflect on the year we are leaving in 2023 

What did I do well? What challenges did I overcome? What lessons did I learn? What brought joy to my life? What is on my 'must do better' list? What were the highlights? What do I want to leave behind? What drains my energy? What things am I most proud of? 

Do not move from one year to the next without letting go of things which no longer serve you. 

Let go of old fears, habits, clothes, labels, tasks which no longer resonate with you. 

Do a digital declutter - inbox newsletters that no longer serve you, delete old emails, files & photos - back up the rest.

Do a physical declutter - clothes, shoes, post, books, magazines, bedding etc Organise the space & time 

This makes space for new intentions. 

What feelings, situations, people am I making space for & welcoming in? These provide a sense of direction through flexibility & adaptability. What are my priorities & motivation? 

Set intentions: I intend to improve my life  ... 

Physical - improved sleep, better food choices, self-care, health benefits of small changes

Emotional - saying NO without guilt, saying yes to people who value you, not being a listening post 

Financial - effective money management & savings 

Social - quality time with my tribe - people who make me feel valued & seen, 

Spiritual - time in nature & spaces that give me peace, deep conversations  

Personal - more time reading, hobbies, perfecting skills, more family time 

What are my visions for 2024? 

More time? To do what? Set an intention of how I would use that time. What I don't want life to look like? What quotes that inspire me?  

WORDs to inspire 2024 -  I AM words to inspire & provokes change?

This time is also just a good time to ... 

Thank you for stopping by & spending time with me. What I AM words would you use to describe yourself? It is quite hard to think of but please share ... 

Dee 🥂🎉🗓️

PEACE on the last Sunday of Advent

 I send PEACE to all on the last Sunday of Advent. It is needed in the world where there is so much dissent. 

The four Advent candles burn together, having been lit progressively over the last month, each burning down more than the next one lit ... 

HOPE

LOVE

JOY

PEACE 

We need love, hope  & peace to bring joy in to our spaces. 

Four important messages to take forward to Christmas day with you. Make peace with the things that trouble you, speak with kindness to create a ripple in the world. It needs more of that ... 

Dee  🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

Essential festive baking for little hands …

Festive baking has been a part of my life forever. I used to bake at my grandmother & mother’s knee & it always sets the scene that Christmas is near..

My Godsons baked alongside my daughters Baking & carried on the tradition for years until well into their teens. We always made an evening of it & the baking was decided by what they enjoyed. 

Little one baked with me last year - biscuits for little hands & it was a good session so I was delighted that he could join me again. 

This year, gingerbread biscuit mixture & little one decided to use the little stocking / boot & a little gingerbread cutter. 

The springerle (embossed) rolling pin is popular & it adds a lovely pattern to the shapes.

While they baked, we decided to treat the others to some cheese straws. 

A roll of puff pastry & some grated cheese was all we needed. The ready rolled pastry had a shake of sweet paprika with grated Red Leicester cheese on half the pastry. It was folded over & then rolled to seal the cheese in to the pastry. 

Little lad cut it into strips with a blunt knife, brushed with an egg wash then baked at 220 for about 10 min. 

They puffed up nicely & as soon as they were cool enough to handle, they were eagerly eaten by all. 

We used icing tubes in white, read, green & blue to decorate the cooled little boot shape biscuits.  They looked lovely & were boxed up to go home with the little lad & his sister. 

It is good to encourage the next generation to take up baking & to enjoy it. Hopefully it will be part of the traditions they enjoy for years. 

The lifelong teacher in me  knows that baking is more than just baking - it uses a wide range of skills in that simple activity. This year, at 3.5 years old, the little lad needed no help with rolling, cutting, putting it on the baking tray all spaced out. Last year he needed more help - so this year shows progression in his skills & ability as he is making independent choices about the cutters used, counting to make sure there is enough (1:1 correlation is a vital early maths skill). The social  interaction is so important for language development & he was using both small & large motor skills in rolling & cutting.  His creativity was evident in icing choices he made while decorating the biscuits - choices made with little input from adults gives children confidence to try new things. Most impressive was how absorbed he was in the activity - a good 30-50 minute concentration is impressive & that is an essential development to prepare them for school.  

It is important to appreciate how simple tasks develop so many skills. 

Are you baking? What is in your tins? Tell all .. 

Thank you for stopping by, 

Dee 🧈👩‍🍳👨‍🍳🥠⏲️

A Winter Solstice simmer pot ...

 A simmer pot is a ritual that uses natural winter / yule ingredients in a pot of boiling water to scent the house with fragrances that remind you of winter & the festive season. 

Last year I did this simmer pot with sliced oranges, cloves, cinnamon, sprigs of rosemary & sage, star anise, nutmeg & a splash of vanilla. 

This year I had no oranges so I used sliced lemons, fresh sprigs of rosemary (for protection) & sage, some cranberries (for positivity), cloves, star anise (for healing) mace (nutmeg), juniper berries and a cinnamon stick (for success), covered in water & brought gently to the simmer. 

The smell was so welcoming & reminescent of Christmas as it wafted through the house as my friends arrived for supper.  Cloves, mace & star anise epitomise the smells of winter ... 

Simmer pots bring in the magic of woodlands, of fir forests, of the magic of the season without any chemicals or additives in your environment & that is surely a good thing. While it is simmering away, it is a reflective time to relax in to the busyness of the season, to set  your priorities. 

My mission before next December is to find one of those gorgeous glass pots that can be put on the hob with the boiling bits because they look the part. Any suggestions please?  

Thank you for stopping by, leave a comment so I know you have visited, 

Dee 🎄🌲

Celebrating the Winter Solstice

Our Winter Solstice is officially at 03:27 on the 22nd December 2023 when our sun is at its lowest point.  We will have just 7 hours & 42 minutes of sunlight in London. The solstice starts the astronomical winter on the 21st or 22nd of December (the dates change). There is a always a confusion between astronomical & the meteorological winter (1st December - 28th February) 

Solstice means "the sun stood still" from Solstitium in Latin & it seems so on the Winter Solstice which marks our shortest day & longest night of the year.   Our light slowly returns at 4 minutes a day from this midwinters day. 

This is how I marked some previous ones 

2011 solstice 

2012 solstice 

2013 solstice 

2014 solstice 

2017 solstice 

2018 solstice 

2020 solstice 

2022 solstice simmer pot 

It is the time where I bring in more fresh greens like Holly & Ivy, our traditional ones celebrated in the Carol. 

Midwinter was a time when our agrarian ancestors would huddle close to the fire,  observing the changes in nature & conserving food & energy for the long days. Their lives were punctuated by the seasons for survival. A poor, icy winter was fatal to many. 

Candle light brightens up the dark days so I make sure to light a few more to bring in the light. Mid winter is also a time to rest, become more reflective, & to listen more - the silence speaks to those who hear it ... 

Do you pause to reflect on our changing seasons? It is hard to take a step back in Midwinter because it is overtaken by the frenetic pace of the festive season. However, take a few minutes to just be still & reflect on all that is good in your life ... 

Thank you for your visit, 

Dee 🌲🕯️🪴

Sew this is Christmas (trees)

It has been a few years since I managed to fit in the beautiful trees at the National Trust property near us.  One of their previous years they did the 1940's mansion 

This year the theme was All that Glitters / what is precious to you 

This maids room would have had a tiny bed, which according to the info board, would have been up in the day & only made up  (late) at night. The tree was creatively done with handsewn items relating to this. TIME was the most precious thing when you worked as a servant, the moments you could snatch to breathe without demands, the precious time you could get to your family .... 

Simple felt items & ribbons give this a pleasing simplicity 

The butlers / housekeepers space would have been a hive of activity with hand machines repairing items. Familiar things on the table like the darning mushrooms, a well stocked sewing box & threads ... 

Green & whites are always elegant together but as you get closer, you see they are made from sewing related items ... 

I love sewing & making things by hand & there was a section in the "under the stairs" part of the house (servants) with a tree dedicated to various sewing things. The ladies maid / dresser / maids would have had to turn their hands to most things, including sewing, mending & making outfits. 

The other downstairs room where they would have had their meals & time to do some hobbies at the table - knitting, sewing, music, reading, painting ... 

I love the garland by the mirror with little outfits hanging on it, so sweet 

Doilies, clothes & crochet items imaginatively displayed, some in embroidery hoops, others with ribbons sewn on ... 

Beautifully made items for this tree ... 

This is some of the tree decorations about the house that took my fancy. The legion of volunteers spend months on the planning about the mansion, a theme decided in January already then everyone sets to work on the various things. It is a wonderful place to visit each year as it gets one in the Christmas spirit .... 

The upstairs trees were very grand - all gold, sparkly & opulent; they were meant to be impressive, to make guests feel that they had arrived somewhere special. A great contrast between upstairs & downstairs ... 

Thank you for stopping by & spending some of your time here. I hope you have enjoyed this visit with me, your visits are always appreciated. 

Dee 🌲🪡🧵🎄

Winter Mindfulness

Darker days can bring about low seratin levels, especially for those of us who grew up in bright climates. 

How to raise your positive levels in winter as the days shorten?  

These are some of the things I do to keep positive - 

Get out in nature - I love the changing seasons & how different it all looks as the leaves cloak themselves in their autumn colours, the sound of the crunchy leaves underfoot. I collect a few conkers, acorns, twigs & leaves for a vase at home.  

I love looking at tree shapes once they have shed their leaves - the structures are so interesting, I need to spend more time learning how to draw a proper tree. Perhaps that is something for this winter. Any tips? 

I love it when snow changes the look & sound of the familiar - the quietness that comes with it - the pureness, the crisp air. The same is true for Autumn mists that swirl around us, making everything mysterious, half hidden from sight, discombobulated images ... 

With colder days, I find myself at home more & it is a wonderful opportunity to spend time sewing or crafting. Last year, I made some Xmas decorations from fabrics I already had & had a lovely time just adding hand stitching details. They were well received as gifts & I think I will do something similar again to pop in to the Xmas cards I send. 

I am minded to make some little Xmas bunting for the conservatory sideboard. I made some mini coronation bunting & am inspired to do some festive ones.  It has to compliment the china that goes up each year so I am already jotting down some ideas which brings me to the next one .... 

Writing, journaling, arranging thoughts - I always keep a travel journal on my trips because it focuses the mind on what you have seen, experienced, eaten, heard,  enjoyed or even found challenging.  I love returning to the journals much later on & reading through it with fresh eyes, away from that moment en route when I penned those thoughts. It is a bit of hindsight but it means you return to that moment again .... 

I always have several notebooks at hand - one for creative ideas that I jot down with fabrics & drawings I might try out.  I also do a Zen Creative retreat online several times a year when artists generously share their time & skills. I keep these as notes to refer to the techniques again. It has helped my creative process no end ... 

These creative challenges are so important to our brains - it keeps it sharp, it keeps it busy, it gives it new skills to get to grips with.  I still find I have to refer to the internet or my many books for some of the sewing stitches because they are not second nature but that is how we learn.  

I also spend a lot of my time reading, researching things I want to know more about. I came back from my Spanish Civil War trip with a list of names I found interesting; artists whose work I encountered in the Reina Sofia art gallery in Madrid that I did not know, photographers who were out in the thick of things documenting the war - people like Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, Chim (David Seymour) & the story of their negatives being told in The Mexican Suitcase 

Looking out at the bare bones of the winter garden helps me to plan some changes for Spring & Summer. I love our hedges & layers of green shrubs but there are gaps too that need addressing. It is an opportunity to see which plants can be reshaped too - planning through photos …

What things do you do over the long Winter months to keep yourself going with the days are short & the nights long? 

Thank you for your company, it is always appreciated, 

Dee  ☔️🪡🕯️