Blog Archives

Simply..minimal....

30/12/2022

The house lurches at this time of year from minimal to maximal! I absolutely love this look but it only lasted an hour or so as I fixed the mirror to the wall (it has rested against the wall for a long, long time)...

As I prepare for visitors and Hogmanay it now holds a pannetone, wine, raspberry liqueur, bread, biscuits, lettuce, cheese, garlic and herbs,, candles, matches, candlesticks, tea towels, a grater and a lemon squeezer.

Are you ready for 2023?

Maybe my word for 2023 could be minimal.

22 Comments

Simply..magical?

28/12/2022

6 Comments

I hope you found and/or created some Christmas magic.

My most beautiful moment was having a much loved new baby girl placed gently into my arms. Peace and Joy.

What was yours?

6 Comments

Simply have....

22/12/2022

10 Comments

..a magical time this Christmas

There is still magic. Yov have to be alert for it, or create it yourself! (How will you do that I wonder?)

Till next week..

10 Comments

Simply..unable....

21/12/2022

6 Comments

..to persuade my phone to speak to my laptop at the moment, so no photographs of the beautiful bowl with Love & Laughter and Family & Friends written on it in gold (Thank you M!), of marzipaan stuffed dates in a little french cheese box which nake a nice gift, of my small growing tree with the red berry lights...

My had is so full of so many things I want to say, but for now I will simply say sorry!

6 Comments

Simply..party hat....

20/12/2022

10 Comments

..alternatives. I found these charming headdresses at Edinburgh Christmas Market many years ago. A circlet of starry tinsel also makes a lovely party hat, and a wreath of ivy for the men and boys goes down well!

10 Comments

Simply..

19/12/2022

7 Comments

Still enjoying keeping it simple

Did anyone else hear the first episode today of a programme called Living With The News (BBC Sounds Radio 4 at 13.45 every day this week).

Fascinating on a subject which I think about a lot. The Attention Economy - I knew it existed but didn't know it had a name...

7 Comments

Simply..my favourite....

18/12/2022

5 Comments

..Christmas ornament. Do you have a favourite? Which one would you choose if you could only keep one?

5 Comments

Simply..evidence....

17/12/2022

7 Comments

I only had two visitors last nigt although it looks as if I had a party!

The postman ccalled with some Christmas cards.

And that looks like a bare foot!

Yes, a crazy woman in the snow (I blame Wim Hof).

At least one red squirrel passed this way..

The crunchy topping prevents the smaller creatures from leaving tracks but this looks like a seagull.

It's raining now so all this will soon be gone. It was fun while it lasted.

7 Comments

Simply..six o'clock this morning....

16/12/2022

4 Comments

Simply..so very cold....

15/12/2022

14 Comments

..so very beautiful.

14 Comments

Simply..a thrifty tip....

14/12/2022

2 Comments

There is usually some scented wax left in a tin candle after it will no longer light, and placed on top of the woodburner or a radiator it will still give off a gentle aroma for many hours.

This one is very Christmassy. (Thank you L.)

2 Comments

Simply..packets of love....

13/12/2022

9 Comments

I know some people have their reasons for not sending Christmas cards, but it is a small joy I am not willing to give up. I love them - choosing them, writitng them, receiving them - little packets of love and kind wishes, updates and staying in touch even if only at this one time in the year. Tiny gifts are sometimes enclosed - seeds perhaps (thank you L!) or a sachet of a bedtime tea to a friend who is having trouble sleeping, or a few glittery stars, just for fun. Sometime just saying you are remembered, I think of you.

I clear off the table, scour he house for pens which still have ink in them, find the address book and stamps and put on some Christmas music and another log on the fire. I pour a glass of wine or make a mug of hot chocolate and avoid thinking of the postal strike - they will all reach their destinations eventually I am sure!

9 Comments

Simply..a bit much?

12/12/2022

16 Comments

When it all gets a bit too blingy and shouty for me..

it's nice to come home to my own simpler version.

So far I am enjoying a very minimal look..but that may change.

Have you put up decorations yet?

16 Comments

Simply..city buzz....

11/12/2022

6 Comments

..and music everywhere!I In the streets, shopping malls and department stores pople were singing and making music.

Not to mention jumping through hoops of fire.

Oh and it snowed for at least four minutes in Byers Road!

6 Comments

Simply..the spirit....

10/12/2022

2 Comments

..of Christmas. Every year these people, working as they are under great pressure, find time to sing in the Glasgow Hospitals Christmas Concert to raise funds for Young Lives vs Cancer. They rehearse from October.

I always consider it to be the real start of Christmas. It is absolutely beautiful.

2 Comments

Sinply..elemental beauty....

8/12/2022

4 Comments

Without

and within.

The moonlight on the frosty ground in the night has been so bright, and the warmth from the stove so comforting. I hope you are cosy.

I am listening to The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Her desctiptions of deep cold in Alaska and it's physical and psychological effects are riveting.

4 Comments

Simply..pretty certain....

7/12/2022

4 Comments

..that my friend's little dog Alvi will continue to be cheerful and amusing company on our shore walks.

4 Comments

Simply..uncertainty....

6/12/2022

10 Comments

..is what we are all having to deal with, isn't it? I am, like you, naking all these plans for events which might not happen!

Friends and family are affected by Covid (still arounnd), jury duty, rail strikes, cancelled flights, changed or even cancelled appointments, sudden hospitalisations, and sheer exhaustion coping with it all.

Here on the blog I am focussing on the certainties and the small beautiful things which are happening around me

I am pretty certain that this extravagant bunch of gypsophila will delight me every day for the rest of December and maybe beyond.

And that sunlight on cold water will continue to mesmerise,

and that the birch against the blue sky will look amazing for a while yet.

and that there will be blue skies!

What things can you be certain of?

10 Comments

Simply..multipurpose....

5/12/2022

4 Comments

Repurpose, re-use... a bit of glinty tinsel and a few lights and we have changed season. It is frosty and beautifully starry tonight and I could hear the owls when I went out to take the photograph. It's beginning to feel a little like Christmas! Love it.

4 Comments

Simply..delicious....

4/12/2022

11 Comments

A bruschetta breakfast I like to have on a Sunday morning..

Rub a slice of bread on both sides with a garlic clove, cut out a circle from the bread. Fry in a generous amount of good olive oil (careful not to burn it like me!), turn and drop in an egg. Sprinkle with plenty of rock salt and enjoy with a cup of strong tea.

I get this nice Polish bread from the supermarket.

11 Comments

Simply..happy....

3/12/2022

5 Comments

Today I heard someone say 'Happiness is a defiant thing. It takes courage to be happy'.

I think I agree.

Do you?

5 Comments

Simply..lists....

2/12/2022

9 Comments

..of lists! I love lists. I found myself making a list of the lists I need the other day! One for cards, one for presents, one for food shopping, one for shopping when I am in town, one for when I am in the city, one for online shopping, one for meals stocked in the freezer (sardine and lemoon terrine next)...

The optician's window display made me smile.

9 Comments

Simply..suspending judgement....

1/12/2022

8 Comments

We judge each other all the time. It's what we do, and necessary for survival, but we are often expected to express an opinion when, it seems to me, we are in no position to judge and social media encourages us to be simplistic (thumbs up/thumbs down) on even complex issues.

Try, just for a day suspending judgement. Just let things be. Give yourself a break from it, from turning everything into an ethical dilemma for example. Or from judging yourself, perhaps harshly, as well as others. When I tried this I was quite shocked at how many of my thoughts were very judgemental indeed!

After a few hours of not judging I felt very free and relaxed, and since my private judgemental thoughts rarely if ever make any diffference in the real world it seemed like a very good idea to try it out more often.

What do you think?

I got the Christmas box out from under the eaves to retrieve the Advent calendar..

8 Comments

Simply..minimal....

Simply..magical?

Simply have....

Simply..unable....

Simply..party hat....

Simply..

Simply..my favourite....

Simply..evidence....

Simply..six o'clock this morning....

Simply..so very cold....

Simply..a thrifty tip....

Simply..packets of love....

Simply..a bit much?

Simply..city buzz....

Simply..the spirit....

Sinply..elemental beauty....

Simply..pretty certain....

Simply..uncertainty....

Simply..multipurpose....

Simply..delicious....

Simply..happy....

Simply..lists....

Simply..suspending judgement....

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