There’s a week still left in February, but today is Pancake Tuesday. I no longer need to race home desperately wondering how on Earth I am going to mix, toss and serve enough pancakes to keep the kids happy, because it turns out that my Daughter is a much better pancake maker than I ever was. Sarah, you are an absolute star, because I know … Continue reading Late February Sunshine has me hoping: Spring is Coming!
I’m glad to be in February. For one of the shortest months, it seems to always have an extraordinary amount crammed into it. It doesn’t help that both my parents and two of my own children managed to fit their birthdays into the month! But it’s the month when I look around and think hopeful thoughts. We’ve been through the worst of the winter (and … Continue reading Blessed Imbolc: Merry Candlemas: Happy Groundhog Day!
When I was a little girl, there was a TV series on in the afternoons called Farmhouse Kitchen. It ran from 1970 to 1990, and was on at 2.30 in the afternoon, so watching it probably meant I was off sick from school. I think, as long as we weren’t vomiting and really nauseous, it was a way to keep us quiet. I used to … Continue reading Book Friday: Home Cooked by Kate Humble (Recipes from the Farm)
What are your Winter Joys? In the Hygge Nook, we’ve had a few posts about Winter, especially this post-Christmas period of it, being hard on the happiness factor. And I’m quite honest that I have found it harder to be happy in January and February rather than during November and December in my past. But I do know that I have parts of Winter that … Continue reading Book Friday: The Happiness Year by Tara Ward (How to find Joy in Every Season)
This year so far has been a weird mix of bright sunshine and dark rain clouds, physically and metaphorically. I either feel light and airy, or weighed down by stresses so heavy I don’t know how to get out from under them. I know sometimes the weather has the guiding hand in my emotions, but at other times the warmth is there regardless of the … Continue reading A Winter Wellness List
Well, there goes Christmas until next December. And here comes my darkest time of year. When I was supply teaching and mothering at home, January and February were my months of low, slow living. The bright lights were down, the children back at school. There wasn’t enough light in the day to do anything much and I basically squared my shoulders and set off to … Continue reading Wintering
When I wrote the other day of Advent Calendars, it set me off thinking. What was Advent like when I was small? To be honest, I think Advent was something we celebrated more at school and not particularly at home. I seem to remember painting at least one Christmas scene to be covered over by numbered paper and revealed in order. I do know that … Continue reading 24 Small Squares for Advent: Christmas Hygge Through Christmas Hiraeth Day 2
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.
How to Hygge the British Way 