New month, new page.

I’m back bullet journalling (minimalistically) in a Clever Fox dotted notebook in grey, so I really do turn over the page and start a new Dailies list for the month. Along with a new menu planning page and monthly budget, although that last one strictly starts on payday, which is the 8th.

And for September I’ve started a new page especially for the September Small Things challenge: a month of gratitude expressed for the small things in life that easily get ignored. Like a clean, white, blank planner page, a cup of tea, an act of kindness in a supermarket line. Small things, but they make life better and happier for all concerned.

Gratitude is such a life-altering attitude. I hope that when I reach old age and am staring the inevitable in the eye, I can do what Oliver Sacks did and exclaim “I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and travelled and thought and written. I have had an intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.“

I’m sat busy at my desk at the moment, but I have two books waiting for me at home. I follow the principle of never being without a non-fiction book to improve myself or a fiction book to improve myself even more.

My current fiction book is Fairy Tale by Stephen King. I’m about 20% through it, and (spoiler) the old man hasn’t died yet. I’ve enjoyed it so far, but I’m thinking I’ve barely touched the actual plot.

And my non-fiction book, which I have yet to even start, is Gratitude by Oliver Sacks. It’s a book of four essays he wrote when he knew he was dying, a short and quick read. Perhaps because my parents are getting older, perhaps because the seasons are changing, I seem to have intimations of mortality crossing my path a fair bit at the moment. I think I paused in Church on Sunday at last long enough to look around and see how many of the top generation who were the runners and the powerhouses and the people who kept the wheels oiled when we first started at the church 30 years ago have gone. There are empty spaces where familiar faces sat. As a contemporary put it “We have lost so many of the elder Saints in the church”.

I’m grateful we ever had the Saints, of course I am, but it’s a bit of a memento mori to realise that far from being the youth in Church I’m fast approaching top of the heap and may possibly have to start acting like an Elder myself (you know, all that setting a good example, acceptinf responsibility, learning to delegate) Still. It’s September, a bright Autumn day for a woman in the Autumn of her life. Very apt. Harvest time. And you never gather in a full harvest without doing any work.

How about you? What are your small things for September? If you share on Facebook or Instagram and know me there, tag me in or use the hashtags #septembersmallthings or #smallthings. I love seeing what small pleasures other people have.

How to Hygge the British Way is my gift to the world. I don’t get paid for writing it, I’m not in it for the kudos, financial rewards, to become an influencer, work with brands or otherwise make any money from the blog. That’s why there are no ads, and any products I mention and recommend have either been gifted to me or bought by me with my everyday wages or donations from supporters. Every book I review has been bought and read by me, unless stated otherwise.

I do get a couple of pennies each time someone buys from the Amazon links on my page, as an Amazon Affiliate, but otherwise if you’d like to support me, I like to give something back in return. That’s why I write books. It always feels good if you get a book back in return for some money. You can find a full list of my books at my Author’s Page on Amazon, but especially recommended for this time of year are:

Cosy Happy Hygge: Setting up a rhythm to life and rituals to enjoy it to make for a more balanced life that handles waves and storms better. Lent is a season of rituals and resets. The book has small and easy ways to make your life flow with grace and happiness, which lead to more hygge.

Happier: Probably my most personal book, it’s the story of how I used hygge and the little things in life to help boost my happiness. I still go back and reread to remind myself what I need to do to be a happy human. And it’s always the little things.

Is it too early to think ahead? My Christmas books are always available: Have Yourself a Happy Hygge Christmas is a good place to start, on how to make the season cosier, happier. Celebrating a Contagious Christmas was written during covid year, but has useful advice on celebrating when times are hard anyway and Enjoying a Self-Care Christmas is a short e-book on keeping Christmas simpler, easier and better for you, your waistline and your budget. It even includes 25+ suggestions for self-care activities over Christmas, as simple as sipping tea, keeping a list journal or lighting a candle. Bigger is not always better for Christmas.

I’m currently working on two book projects: I have a hankering to rewrite 50 Ways to Hygge the British Way, so it’s not available at the moment, but even dearer to my heart and my next stated aim is to finish and publish my next book, Simple Plus Cosy = Hygge. It will be about homemaking and how the home we create shapes the hygge we have. Hopefully it will be finished by the end of summer/autumn/winter.

If you’d like to support me, but don’t want to buy a book, I have a Paypal.Me account as Hygge Jem. Every little helps, so even a few pence goes towards the books, goods and courses I use and recommend on the site. I’m grateful for every little bit that brings me closer to my dream of full-time writing, and I know I couldn’t still be writing if it weren’t for the support of many readers and friends out there. Thank you all for every little bit of support, emotional, physical and financial, you give me.

If you’ve enjoyed this article, don’t forget to share it or save it so others can enjoy reading, thinking about and living hygge as well.

The photo between post and promotions is by Arno Smit on Unsplash. I wish I had a garden shed like this one! I chose it because I love the colours of the windowframes, the tantalisingly inviting open door and the comfy chair within. Perfect spot for a cup of tea and a good book. And the header today is my planner page, clean, white and ready for the month ahead.