Golden Days of Autumn Hygge: Small actions to improve your life during Fall.

Hygge is such a simple concept, yet I think sometimes we humans really don’t like simple. We have to complicate a thing, tie it up with something else or make it a multi-sensory, multi-layered essential experience, instead of just appreciating the smallest of facts. Hygge just is, it’s not fancy or complicated or posh. It’s not about having a perfect life or house or day. … Continue reading Golden Days of Autumn Hygge: Small actions to improve your life during Fall.

Writing it Out: Hygge Journal Prompts for October and November

I keep a very slap-dash personal journal: although I dream of filling leather-bound volumes with my erudition and wisdom, mostly my journalling is a few lines here and there about what I’ve been up to, how I’m feeling or what I need to do next in life. I keep them together in their own Filofax at home, and carry a couple of pages dedicated to … Continue reading Writing it Out: Hygge Journal Prompts for October and November

Making the Place I Work a Little More Cosy: September Small Things Day 30

It’s the end of September and, barring a few days when I’ve forgotten to post my Small Things, I’ve recorded the parts of my life that make me content. Mies Van Den Rohe said “God is in the Details”, applying that to his role as an architect and wanting every little thing about his houses to be perfect. I don’t seek perfection, but I too … Continue reading Making the Place I Work a Little More Cosy: September Small Things Day 30

Merry Mabon to my Pagan Friends and Happy Michaelmas to my Christian Buddies: September Small Things Day 22

It never ceases to amaze me how many ancient feast days and festivals are echoed in or overwritten by Christian ones. Who am I kidding? The Christian church has always had a habit of looking at local customs and adopting, adapting and advancing the new, improved Christian version (not just the Christian church: all religions new to an area tend to absorb local customs and … Continue reading Merry Mabon to my Pagan Friends and Happy Michaelmas to my Christian Buddies: September Small Things Day 22

Post!!! Snail Post for Christmas is Here!!!; September Small Things Day 20

I love snail mail, or post as we call it in the UK. I love letters best of all, long, slow-moving letters from friends that undulate lazily through the meadows of news and form oxbow lakes of unrelated gossip to enjoy at leisure. I love postcards, short and sharp with the briefest of messages on that give no more than a corner of an insight … Continue reading Post!!! Snail Post for Christmas is Here!!!; September Small Things Day 20

Gold Is Found In The Edges Of Life: September Small Things Day 15

You can tell that the days are getting shorter again now. The Autumnal Equinox is only a week away, on 22nd September, and after that the days will decrease even more. We’re moving into the dark half of the year. Bring. It. On. I love the autumn and winter, especially the Ber months. It’s prime Hygge season, so why would I not? You can put … Continue reading Gold Is Found In The Edges Of Life: September Small Things Day 15

Watching as my Favourite Tree Shows Her True Colours: September Small Things Day 13.

I have never not lived in a house with a garden. I’m not even a particularly good gardener, and I’m definitely an untidy one, with piles of leaves, rampant garden shrubs and a general ability to let the place go free as long as I have a decent chair (tick: my Adirondack chair is still not blue, but it’s good for after work meditations) and … Continue reading Watching as my Favourite Tree Shows Her True Colours: September Small Things Day 13.

A Brief Pause in a Very Busy Day: September Small Things Day 12

Sunday: Day of rest. I wish. Some Sundays are quite homey and relaxed. A lie in, a short trip to buy food, perhaps a walk or watching soccer on TV, an afternoon of crafts or crochet, reading or relaxing, and then a good homecooked meal and evening in front of class telly to finish off. This Sunday was not a day of rest. We were … Continue reading A Brief Pause in a Very Busy Day: September Small Things Day 12