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Simply..fit for Christmas....

16/12/2018

14 Comments

 
I'm going to avoid the slippery slopes this year - both actual and metaphorical. The road outside is so icy this  morning - like glass! - that I will stay home again though I'll take a walk to the shore, the grassy path will be safer I hope.

The other slippery slope is the one that finds me eating as if it is Christmas Day from about mid-December. Some people start sooner - as soon as late October when the Christmassy treats start appearing in the shops often at half price to tempt us further!  Of course you eat them before Christmas and then buy more at full price.

I'm not falling for it.

A couple of months of indulgence then a hard time in January trying to lose the weight and regain the hard-won fitness I achieved through the year?  No thanks.

So here's my strategy.

Starting today I will get fit for Christmas. I will drink more water, move more and indulge less for the next 7 days. Then I will feast for 3 days (and by feast I don't mean stuff myself!), live super-healthy for another 5, feast for 2 then get active and eat wisely for all of January because i have a very special plan for February and I want to be fit enough to enjoy it to the full..

Fit for Christmas starts today.  In my head I am already there, in reality I am still in my cosy dressing gown at 10.30am by the woodstove writing this - but I am drinking a big glass of water...and have put the FitBit on charge.

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A slow thaw
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The shore path is flooded
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Blue skies and some sunshine

9pm and feeling good!

Went for a walk, drank lots of water, ate lightly but well, stacked wood and did some housework. I think I did about 5000 steps but the FitBit stopped and went back to zero as it wasn't charged up enough. About 4500 steps more than usual though. Will do 15 mins of Louise Parker's exercises (really hard!) then have a hot bath and hopefully a good sleep.

I'm going to enjoy this.

I think.

Well, I enjoyed it today.


NB  Even more folks have said Hello in Friday's comments - what fun it's been.
14 Comments

Simply..say hello!

14/12/2018

69 Comments

 

A welcome gift fot this would-be minimalist and blogger would be a comment from you!

No ethical dilemmas, wrapping paper, queues at the Post Office. Wholly environmentally friendly, free, easy (I hope) and very very warmly received.

Say hello and tell me where you are from?

Your comments make my day.

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69 Comments

Simply..gifts for minimalists....

13/12/2018

10 Comments

 
..or would-be minimalists!

Flowers, wine, food, lunch or dinner out with you, theatre tickets, concert tickets, vouchers for any of the preceding, days out at a quieter time of the year, music or books of their choice (Amazon Wish List is very useful here!) a donation to their favourite charity (my favourite gift to both give and receive) with a tiny token something...part of trying to live more simply.

It can be really awkward to go against the trend and say you don't want anything for Christmas or to 'make demands' by asking for certain types of things. Only you can assess how to approach the subject, if at all! Also it's a bit late for this year. It might be best broached in late autumn when it's likely to be less emotionally loaded. and the presents are less likely to be already purchased!

Sometimes you just try to be gracious.

My Uncle John at the bottom of the amusing invitation he composed for  his 90th birthday party and ceilidh wrote 'For God's sake no presents!'

 Bigger donations and smaller gifts is the trend in our family.

Being together is the real gift and the most fun if you are as lucky as I am with lovely friends and family.


10 Comments

Simply..it's the leftovers....

11/12/2018

15 Comments

 
..that are my downfall!

Christmas lunch for the book group was fun, with readings before and berween courses on the theme of the solstice.

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15 Comments

Simply..the real spirit of Christmas....

9/12/2018

18 Comments

 
..is the generosity and talent of all the hospital staff and friends who for 40 years have been holding a beautiful carol service to raise funds for the care of children with cancer and their families.

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An uplifting annual event I wouldn't miss - meeting up with old friends, staying over with my friends who sing in the choir and joining in singing all the old favourites. It is the only time in the year that I actually sing come to think of it...

Do you sing in or attend a carol service?

Friends from York have just been to a Scandinavian Sankta Lucia service in York Minster which they said was wonderful.

i did once go to Stockholm for Sankta Lucia Dag - a magical memory.

i love these winter celebrations.
18 Comments

Simply..what is it with Christmas lights?

8/12/2018

11 Comments

 

We can send spaceships to Mars but we can't have Christmas lights that last from one year to the next!!
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Plugged in. switched on - nothing. I summoned all my patience and read the instructions for changing the bulbs - they assumed that some were working so didn't quite make sense..
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Brought them downstairs and put on some music expecting this to be a long process, plugged in, switched on and Lo!
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Are your lights working?
11 Comments

Simply..Ikea....

1/12/2018

6 Comments

 
..early on a weekday morning when it is very very quiet is really nice.

I couldn't resist this light.

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6 Comments

Simply..knowing....

30/11/2018

8 Comments

 

I am reading a bit most days of A Year To Clear by Stephanie Bennet Vogt and finding it often chimes with what I am thinking about or doing. (Although that could be, as with horoscopes, just because most of what she talks about is relevant to most people much of the time!)

I've been paying attention to my instincts lately and found what she has to say about 'inner knowing' quite interesting. She also calls it intuition or sixth sense and says this about deciding whether or not to do something...

If it feels right do it.
If it doesn't feel right don't do it.
If you don't know wait until you know.

and
You can decide not to decide.


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Let the fun begin!
8 Comments

Simply..thinking ahead....

18/11/2018

6 Comments

 
..to Christmas!  Once the weather turns cold I don't mind beginning to plan.

From FlyLady I learned how helpful it can be to start thinking about it all in advance and doing some things in plenty of of time to make the holiday relaxing and fun with no last minute rushing around.

I start with a list in my notebook and have my calendar to hand -

Advent calendar - needed first. Along with the spare cards I put it in a more accessible place last year, separate from the main decorations boxes which are in a cupboard under the eaves.
Travel- dates need to be confirmed
Cards and stamps - I need more cards and like time to find ones I love
Decorations  - culled last year, but lights will need checked in good time
Gifts - write the list
Wrapping paper - check if I need more, and look for some I really like while out and about
Food, baking ingredients - two main menus to plan and a little batch baking now to put in the freezer will be good
Clothes - will I have something new?
Guest room - check the warm bed linen is ready and bring out the thick blankets from the linen cupboard and have an extra heater on hand in case....and I need a new lamp.

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6 Comments

Simply..doing nothing....

5/1/2018

14 Comments

 

Definitely not my style. I find it difficult to do nothing. I'm a doer, and if I'm not doing I'm planning some doing!

I complain a lot about the rain here in the west of Scotland but feeling tired after the festive season I used the excuse of a few days of lashing rain to just stay home and stay in and do very little. Often when life seemed a bit hard I would say 'Sometimes you just have to plod.' and that always worked for me, but this time I did not even plod. I kept the fire going, cooked just a little, watched The Miniaturist and Little Women on iPlayer (both very good), read a lot, and slept quite a bit.

It's been surprisingly restorative.

And about 8 hours without email, at first annoying, seemed strangely peaceful!


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Gently gathering up the Christmas decorations...

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Including all the crystals which flew off the tree in the high winds (next year will attach them to a string).

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Do you ever get tired enough (and lucky enough) to do nothing for a bit?
14 Comments

Simply and gently....

3/1/2018

12 Comments

 
..easing myself into 2018.

A quote from Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth -

The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure.

I'm changing that to a gentle yes....I'm feeling more fragile than hearty at present and gentle spans the gap between fragile and hearty.

Would your word substitute by chance?

I will miss my Christmas lights.

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12 Comments

Simply..impulse buys....

30/12/2017

16 Comments

 
 at the supermarket today..

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A set of storage drawers for the studio for £23. I never can resist a rainbow.
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And a  GIANT pineapple.

I did enjoy a tour of a Swiss town's lights by Swissrose and a tour of the advent windows in Saltaire by Viv.

About to finish the address book :-)
16 Comments

Simply.. before the year is out....

28/12/2017

19 Comments

 

Before this year is out I will.....

How would you finish this sentence?

(Keep it simple. There are only three days left! I am going to fill in the new address book which has been sitting around for about a year....)

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The Christmas tree sparkled in the sunshine today!
19 Comments

Simply..the feasting and the fasting....

22/12/2017

14 Comments

 
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Two recipes which  I made the day before made a lovely lunch for friends. This aubergine and parmesan bake and Nigella's passion fruit ice cream cake....Yum
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Then the fasting next day with apple carrot and spinach juice for two meals (and the leftovers for the third!)

Works for me.
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Setting the scene is the most fun bit for me (though I am beginning to quite like cooking..) I borrowed the tablecloth and brought out all the old favourites..
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and lots of candles!

Have you set the scene? Or do you enjoy the cooking more?
14 Comments

Simply..Christmas greetings....

15/12/2017

12 Comments

 
I love this sculpture at Oran Mor (where we watched the play the other night).  It's as if the angels were playing hoop-la!

It is my Christmas card to you to simply wish you all a  truly happy time over the holiday season, wherever you are and however you spend it.

I leave it with you for a few days while I catch up with myself....


12 Comments

Simply..smaller gifts....

5/12/2017

4 Comments

 

..bigger donations. This has been the trend in our family in recent years.

I like it.

Arianna Huffington talks here about taking some time to disconnect from the world in order  to connect with yourself, so that you can explore your values and know what you want to do.

I think that can apply to Christmas. Who needs the frantic stressful excess and commerce-driven experience that the media would have us believe is what Christmas is about?  We do have a choice and we can choose to switch off both literally and metaphorically to all of that, and create our own meaningful and spiritual experiences,  around this wonderful midwinter festival


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Connecting with distant friends as I start to write the cards this evening.


NB I apologise if my replies to your comments are sometimes out of sync with the comment. I blame the system (but it might be me)!
4 Comments

Simply..Christmas cards...

3/12/2017

15 Comments

 
Sometimes it seems everything has become an 'issue' or an ethical dilemma, but my position on Christmas cards has not changed since I wrote about them here, and here.

I love Christmas cards, the choosing, the giving and the receiving!

I know where the ones left over from last year are, but am trying to remember where I put the ones I bought recently...somewhere logical and safe of course, but where?

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15 Comments

Simply..giving at Christmas....

2/12/2017

8 Comments

 
 ..though I received far more than I gave at this year's Glasgow Hospitals' Christmas Carol Concert. It raises funds for Clic Sargent who look after children with cancer and their families, and the choir, conductor and the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra and special guest give their services for free.
 
 A meal out, the excellent concert, and drinks till 3am with the friends who sing in the choir made a wonderful start to the season!

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Scottish pianist Steven Osborne played Beethoven, Brahms and Oscar Petersen. I love his website and blog and his playing was superb, but joining in with the traditional carols -In The Bleak Midwinter being my favourite - and listening to children sing always brings a lump to the throat. So beautiful.

This is what I want Christmas to be about this year - the nicest traditions, generous giving, and the company of all the people I love best.

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The planning starts now.

How do you want your Christmas to be? And how can you make it happen?
8 Comments

Simply..too soon....

31/10/2017

10 Comments

 
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...but I have to say that on a grey wet day I did find the twinkly lights quite delightful!

www.xmasclock.com/  :-)

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10 Comments

Simply..breathe....

27/12/2016

8 Comments

 

The rest of the house is still in full fig for Christmas, but in the kitchen I just needed a breathing space....
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Aaaah....yes.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. I will be back next year..
8 Comments

Simply Santa....

23/12/2016

15 Comments

 

A bit late for this year perhaps, but here is a nice solution to the How to tell them about Santa question. (This is not my idea and I am sorry I cannot credit it, but I don't remember where I read it.)

When you sense the time is right you take your child to a coffee shop perhaps - somewhere 'grown up' and just with you, if you can. You say you have noticed how much they have grown up this past year, and you have often noticed how kind they can be, so  you think perhaps they are old enough now to learn how to become a Santa.

You describe Santa's job - surprising people with thoughtful gifts and making them happy - and you suggest they give it a trial this Christmas by choosing someone (perhaps a neighbour, or a younger sibling?) figuring out what they might want or need, and getting it to them for Christmas without them knowing who sent it.

The example given was a solitary woman who spoke to no-one and was seen lifting in her morning milk from her doorstep in bare feet. The child had to guess what size slippers etc etc and deliver them without being seen on Christmas Eve.  The writer descibed the look of delight on his child's face when seeing the woman come to her door wearing the slippers as 'unforgettable' and I can believe it.  Whether apocryphal or not, the story appeals as an approach to 'telling the truth' about Father Christmas that may have a lot of mileage in it. It could be seen as a kind of right of passage, which would surely encourage thoughtfulness and unselfishness...

It would certainly be nicer than my experience when my naughty cousin told me 'the truth' in bed on Christmas Eve!

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There are quite a few posts about children's Christmas books under Simply Christmas. Here is one with further links within if by chance you have any time to browse!
15 Comments

Simply..fairytale....

10/12/2016

5 Comments

 

Waddeson Manor (2011)

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5 Comments

Simply..patiently waiting....

8/12/2016

8 Comments

 
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8 Comments

A Simple Christmas....

7/12/2016

9 Comments

 
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A Simple Christmas and a quiet one.

I've been browsing my own Simply Christmas posts and getting tearful.

Someone (it may have been a child) said 'Tears let the sad out' and it's true.

I will post the simplest of posts this season - maybe just photographs - or little references to happy Christmases past like this one.

Some lovely things are planned, and I have friends and family to share them with, and I know you will understand if I go a bit quiet for a while....love to you all from my hearth to yours. Enjoy all the preparations, hug your loved ones and if you are grieving a loss too, I hope you also have the comfort of good friends and good memories.





9 Comments

Simply..till next time....

10/1/2016

18 Comments

 
We changed the Swedish Christmas candles in the apex window of the roof back to the moon today, and I'm tempted to have this for summer nights....
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..and the tree is back in its corner in the garden. My favourite ornament is wrapped in tissue in the box with the Christmas fairy
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and I've managed to reduce it all to two boxes!
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I will always love Christmas. I don't think I will sign up to this all the same (but it did make me laugh!)

Have you got Christmas 2015 all tucked away in some far corner cupboard?
18 Comments
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    Simple
    Simply Beautiful
    Simply Bin It
    Simply Chill
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Do A Good Deed
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    Simply Live
    Simply Low Maintenance
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    Simply Paint
    Simply Routine
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    An artist seeking a simpler life - (but not too simple!)

    All words and images copyright Freda Waldapfel 2010 - 2020

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