A few weeks ago, I signed up for an art class that a friend had advertised… she was running it on a Tuesday night in a local gallery/social hub, Smithdown Social Arts Hub. It’s a short course, involving using inks, pastels, pens, paint, it was free to attend…. and it intrigued me. I draw and I have painted for fun, but I’ve never been brave … Continue reading Creating Flow… finding craft hygge in a circle.
I wrote on Tuesday of finding a dream that I’ve been incubating for a while being made clear to me on holiday at Glastonbury, of all places. I wrote of my vision for women’s circles across the land, groups of friends, relations, people with shared interests, gathering and getting together to share wisdom, hopes and dreams and to support each other in what is, undeniably, … Continue reading Serendipity, Synchronicity, Godincidence or An Idea Whose Time Has Come: Creating Sanctuary
I love driving: it’s a very useful skill, and I have been fortunate enough not to be without a car since I passed my test in the first year at college. Since 1987, then. And, for the most part, the cars I’ve had have been well-loved, cared for and kept until really their usefulness is outweighed by the cost of keeping them on the road. … Continue reading Creating Sanctuary: A Mobile Oasis in the Car
Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent and, for the first time in a few years, I decided to take action for Lent. My relationship to organised religion is a bit mixed: I am a baptised and confirmed Christian, but I struggle with the history and, sometimes, the attitudes of formal religious bodies. I also can’t and don’t condemn many people who choose … Continue reading Creating Sanctuary: Lenten Hygge
How are your anxiety levels? Mine are quite high, with issue layered upon issue and no control over any of them. What power do I really have over Covid, Ukraine, familial choices, local or national politics and more besides? And I’m a news hound. I read a daily newspaper online (or sometimes two), we have a news channel on as the default background noise at … Continue reading Creating Sanctuary: Take a News Fast now and then.
I’m so pleased that February has been a lot brighter and less wintry than it could have been here in the UK. SAD, winter sadness, has been a real part of my life for the last 10 years and every winter I have to build in the actions that I know will help me to keep just off the bottom of the bottomless pit. Hygge … Continue reading An A to Z of Happiness Health Hacks.
This weekend has been a lovely weekend, spent getting my house clean (again), watching good TV programmes (The White Queen with my Daughter and Dopesick with the Husband… has anybody else seen that one? It’s gobsmacking.) and travelling to and from Nottingham, where the Daughter is at university while listening to wall to wall football match commentary or Taylor Swift, depending on who’s in charge. … Continue reading Sanctuary: The Feeling of Being Protected and Comforted
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 Presence or Retreat: Mindful Christmas Day 21
How to Hygge the British Way 