Birthday Hygge: Parent and Child

Isn’t it funny how the same dates crop up time and time again in a life? How one grandparent’s birthday becomes the anniversary of another grandparent’s death? How marriages start and businesses are created on the same day? And how often, with 365 days out of the year to choose from, children choose to be born on the same day as another relative? In my … Continue reading Birthday Hygge: Parent and Child

Christmas Hygge Through Christmas Hiraeth

Wales crashed out of the World Cup last night. I’m really sorry for that, and even sorrier that it had to be England that crashed them out. Thanks to a Great Grandmother, I am one eighth Welsh, and immensely proud of a small little nation that has such a sense of self-worth and history that it can stand against the bigger nations of the world … Continue reading Christmas Hygge Through Christmas Hiraeth

Electricity Free Evenings? No Problem.

Today’s UK news was full of the idea that, come January and February, the UK could have planned blackouts, when electricity supplies are cut to certain areas to preserve the available gas. Understandably, this sounds like a scary prospect until you sit and think about it. I think people who are into hygge are ahead of the curve on being able to handle the blackouts. … Continue reading Electricity Free Evenings? No Problem.

Frugge? Frygge? Frugal Hygge for the summer.

Hyge is a pretty frugal way of life anyway… any philosophy that places maximum emphasis on cosy, home-based, home-made and small group entertainment is not going to be one that costs masses. No expensive meals out in fancy restaurants, no need to spend on imported hothouse flowers, no big and cavernous houses. Hygge is all about the small, the intimate, the personal. In a world … Continue reading Frugge? Frygge? Frugal Hygge for the summer.

Book Friday: The Tucci Table by Stanley Tucci and Felicity Blunt

Wednesday was Not A Good Day in my house. My car broke down, just as I was setting off to visit my parents, and instead of taking Mum out for a pot of tea and (perhaps) a slice of lemon drizzle cake, I spent a wet afternoon waiting for the AA to recue me and then, in fear it might conk out again, driving my … Continue reading Book Friday: The Tucci Table by Stanley Tucci and Felicity Blunt

Happy International Day of Hygge: I hygge because I can.

Happy International Day of Hygge! 28th February (29th on a leap year) is a day of hygge around the world. And, yes, we can still celebrate and mark hygge even if the whole world outside has gone to pot and lost its mind. Indeed, it is incumbent on us to make sure that hygge goes on and remember that, although there are so many places … Continue reading Happy International Day of Hygge: I hygge because I can.

Celebration and Tradition: Mindful Christmas Day 12

December’s posts this year all share the theme of Mindful Christmas. There’ll be short posts each day encouraging us to pause and look at our celebrations in a more measured, mindful way. Every day has a concept heavily tied in to Christmas, and the plan is to look at them individually, examine what role they play in our own Christmas and, if we decide we … Continue reading Celebration and Tradition: Mindful Christmas Day 12

Creativity: Mindful Christmas Day 9

December’s posts this year all share the theme of Mindful Christmas. There’ll be short posts each day encouraging us to pause and look at our celebrations in a more measured, mindful way. Every day has a concept heavily tied in to Christmas, and the plan is to look at them individually, examine what role they play in our own Christmas and, if we decide we … Continue reading Creativity: Mindful Christmas Day 9