I live, I love, I craft, I am me...: Hygge

Showing posts with label Hygge. Show all posts

02/11/2020

Listing somewhat

Morning!

Another driech and damp day - to look through the window is to see a pale grey nothing with dank and dripping trees.

Our weekend of high winds and heavy rain has stripped nearly every leaf from the trees taking all autumnal colour, leaving skeletal branches and twigs scratching at the nothing-sky. I have had to postpone today's work as it was outside and reschedule for a hopefully drier Wednesday.

So it means I will have to make my own colour and cheer today. I've written myself a list whilst drinking cinnamon coffee.... it goes a bit like this.....

look after the incontinent fire (yes you read correctly, an oxymoron that - incontinent fire.... )
mend palazzo pants, co-op bag, finish XXXX's dress, finish journal cover
find brooch clasps
fold up halloween bunting (only if dry) ✅
varnish tall pot
finish autumnal door wreath
finish sorting out yarn spaghetti
front window troughs
find mini frames
Sort out November's words etc ✅
Wash dog bed (in the washing machine right now)✅

Some of my list is easily do-able with very little effort giving me the satisfaction of a ✅ where as others require a little more application...... so, I shall finish my coffee first then work my way through. Am I the only one to add things to a list just so I can ✅ them off ??!

So, what's on your Monday to-do list?

How are you going to make your day full of colour?

Do you write lists and more to the point do you actually complete them? (I never do - coz I always add more as I go along!)

And talking of lists, here is the Words for November 2020

Houseplant/s
Ring/s
Harbour
Window
Sky
My own choice
We will show and share our stories - Friday November 27th.

Thank you everyone who joined - those who posted their photos and shared their stories - thank you for letting us into your lives and your corner of the world. Thank you to those who popped in and said hi and commented - your comments are always a delight and most welcome.

We all need contact and conversation at the best of times and let's face it - this is not particularly the best of years, however, we can make the best of what we have and not let ourselves be squashed by all the rubbish that is out there. We can all make a difference even if it is only for ourselves, our families or our immediate surrounds, if we all do that - then the world will be a better place.

Have yourselves a good (and positive) Monday (with just a little bit of sunshine on the side please!)

Ah delightful - the rain is thundering down again and lashing against the windows - the new troughs won't need watering then will they (see a positive for everything :D )

22/09/2020

Mabon

Today is autumn equinox - Mabon in the old ways - where the heady days of summer officially turn into the more mellow ones of autumn.

It is a time of rest and celebration after the harvest and look back over the year. A good time to complete projects and clear away anything no longer needed - making space for reflection and peace during winter.

It is also a good time to plant bulbs and make plans and to gently celebrate being outside with walking and by baking using some of nature's wild abundance. So far jams and fruit cakes have been made, picked sloes are in the freezer, awaiting the next free day I have, to be made into sloe and apple jam and grapes (in the greenhouse) waiting to be picked, washed and made into grape jelly (a pale and crisp clear jam - perfect on toast).

Branches of variegated holly, leycesteria formosa - weighed down by berries, cotoneaster, fronds of grasses and ferns have been picked and fill my favourite hawthorn jug.

The neighbouring hens have suddenly produced a flush of autumnal eggs and a tray appeared at our back door - cucumbers, pumpkins, spaghetti squash and tomatoes are on the cusp of being ready - so yes - it is definitely harvest time.

Later, I will make a Mabon cake - a bit like a large scone scored into eight sections and when Himself and I are home later tonight after work, we'll break it open and have it with blackberry jam and look back and look forward.

There is, despite what is going on, good things which have happened and good things still to come. The trick is to notice them, enjoy them and celebrate those precious moments.

Blessings Be xxxxxxxxxxx

11/02/2020

Lagom Hygge

Another wild day outside, curtains of hail or rain rush by at breakneck speed, crashing into buildings and cars, leaving wet and white sheets of icy pellets. The wind, compliant, throws bedraggled leaves into the air, pulling woolly hats off and tugging at coats and scarves.

A day for inside.

So - I have reached for some comfort crafting - colourful and soft.

I have little monsters in mind ....

I've been comfort baking - peanut and oat crunchies - still soft and warm from the oven, cooling on the rack for this afternoon's knit and natter.

Talking of knit and natter - I must really complete this final mitten, but....

I suspect I will play with colourful fleece instead,

... chat and eat more than I should!

**later**

Now, the day ends - as it began - with squally sharp showers reeking havoc with folk scuttling along the pavement trying to get home before the next onslaught.

And yes, no knitting done but plenty of playing (carding) of fleece making it fluffy and ready to create little monsters :)

A day of Lagom Hygge and it felt good :)

05/02/2020

Simple pleasures

Outside, despite the initial clear pink and blue skies with the sunrise, a soft mist has descended, fading edges and flattening detail. Trees have become ghostly silhouettes and the sky a washed out pale grey as the mist drifts around, filling the space with a translucent glaze.

The air has a definite sharp nip to it but it has a fresh spring feel to it ... and the birds seem to agree, the garden is full of bird song - lovely.

Inside, I am procrastinating whilst drinking coffee - not a bad way to start the morning. The air is filled with the scent of the hyacinths. The aroma seems to travel around the room - not filling it with the heady perfume like lilies do - more of a gentle ribbon of sweet scent drifting around filling the space with fragrance.

Enough now, coffee done, things to do, people to meet up with, places to go - have a lovely Wednesday xx

22/01/2020

Ta da!

Yesterday's knit and natter was a pleasant catch up, a bit of crafting and lots of talking,

I suspect that (sshhhh don't let the secret out) the get together should be renamed ...

Chatter and Nibble (oh and bring knitting if you fancy!)

I did start (between chatting and nibbling) a cover for my wooden stool

Which, after everyone went home, I continued a little longer,

finishing it off in the evening after we'd eaten.

Quite like the end result.

Happy.

Was also quite happy with the cake,

A moist and succulent ginger cake,

my only comment?

Needed a lot more ginger, so when I make it again

I will 'up the heat'.

Right, if you excuse me, I have a friend about to land

and we are off walking and sketching,

hope you have a lovely

Wednesday xxxx

21/01/2020

In which I natter on tea, cake and paint

Thank you for your 'sympathetic' comments - whether for me or for the Cupboard Inspector, some of them (Jayne and Threads Through my Life you are both incorrigible) very amusing ..... pfft!!!

Any hoo my own personal adventures with white paint continues ....

The dresser now gently beams out a reflective glow even in the dim early morning light, already brightening the room.

A small multi-painted many-coloured stool - one we have had for ages (so long I can't even remember how it became part of the family) has quietly stood in a dark corner - that too has had a lick of white (needs a final coat today) and suddenly it wants a cushion in grey and cream to sit on it - I shall oblige.... just need to find something suitable in my wool stash.

It is amazing what a coat of paint can do - not just to a piece of furniture or a room

but to me too.

Ah - the kettle has just boiled, time for a mug of tea and a bit of baking (feeling a bit hygge today). Our knit and natter group are popping round this afternoon so I think may make scones or lemon pound cake or ... I know! A ginger cake - not made one of those for a rather shamefully long time :)

It is amazing how spirits can be revived with a mug of tea, thoughts of ginger cake and a bit of paint - I have been so fed up with this dreary January - hope your Tuesday is feeling more positive filled with cake, tea and yarny friends :)

13/01/2020

White

Finding the low light levels quite suppressing and typically here in the north grey skies seem to be dominating.

So been looking at the smaller things that reflect light.

And giving others a coat of paint to help improve that light quality I am craving.

Inspired by Scandinavian colours and lifestyle....

watch this space :)

How are you coping with the driech greyness at the moment? or are you blessed with blue skies?

Go on - tell me coz I love to hear what you are up to!

speak soon x

11/02/2018

A Hygge-licious sort of day

Sitting on the settee, the fire quietly crackling away, half completed mug of tea next to me.

Actually, we are all sitting here, contentedly allowing Sunday to slide by. Eldest is frowning with concentration as he types out a report on the causes of animal extinction in the UK, Youngest is surfing the web looking at cars and motor bikes, Himself is doing something similar - occasionally they share their latest find and compare vehicle laden anecdotes with each other.

We are still on our new style of eating and Himself and I agree that we feel so much better for being on it. Not that we were particularly unhealthy before (at least I don't think we were) but omitting purchased breads, reducing salt and animal fats and trying to have as near as every meal cooked from scratch is paying off. I still bake for the boys - they would 'wither away' and wonder what the world had become without biscuits and cake. So - no - we are not 100% virtuous and I don't pretend to be.

Today's lunch was a thick and warming soup we affectionately call 'Skye Soup' with hunks of soda bread. It is good watching three hungry menfolk wolfing down bowls of steaming soup.

The soup is so named for a couple of reasons. We've been up to Skye on holiday and discovered and visited the Isle of Skye Bakery in Portree. The food there is to die for, home made, rustic, filling and very very tasty. The following year, when a dear friend went up to Skye, she was clutching a list of places to visit which we'd pressed into her hands, of which this bakery was fairly near the top!

So she did, and like us found the food to be filling and wholesome and ordered a take-away of a thick and warming butternut and lentil soup. We both did a little internet delving and found a version which we think is as near as the original Skye Bakery recipe - hence the name 'Skye Soup'.

The recipe I use is HERE - the only difference is I usually add a red pepper but today it was a glossy yellow one :)

The soda bread - now a staple which I bake every second or third day - comes from HERE and is as simple as simple can be. My only addition is a generous tablespoon of chia seeds for good measure.

As for the baking for the boys? Well seeing the oven was hot for the bread, seemed a waste not to utilise that heat and baked a batch of the all essential bird buns and a pile of peanut butter cookies - which I am still experimenting with. The original recipe is far too sweet for us so I have reduced the sugar by more than half and added loads of oaty goodness! I will bake them again (all in the name of science of course) and shall share the recipe once I get the proportions correct :) In the mean time the boys are happily eating the results of the test kitchen baking :D

Any hoo, Sunday has turned from a snowy cold day to a crisply cold evening. I'll have to return to the kitchen shortly to start the evening meal. Eldest has requested a frittata and roast veg before he sets off back to uni. Just need to finish my mug of tea and chatting with you first - what a good way to end the weekend :)

04/12/2017

Christmas Books - the alternative advent 4

The Icelandic folk have a beautiful tradition of giving a book on chrimbly eve and then spend that time quietly reading in front of the fire in companionable silence - that to me sounds like the perfect way to spend an evening.

This tradition is called jolabokaflod which literally means festive book flood. I only learnt of it earlier this year and wondered if it could be something I could introduce into our family, then as usual, promptly forgot about it.

Now, writing this post I have remembered it - so, I think, this year, I would really like to introduce this gentle art of giving.

(image from the jolabokaflod website)

And you?

Do you bring in new traditions,

or stick to the old ones?

So continues my alternative Julie's Scrapbook Advent Calender 2018!

You can join in too - just pop over to her page HERE for the list and instructions

as well as finding other bloggers taking part.

01/03/2017

The music and magic of knit and natter

There is something satisfying about the sound of the gentle clack of knitting needles as they provide the background rhythm to our conversation. The rasp of the tapestry thread as it pulls through the canvas.

Even quieter is the fluid swish of the crochet hook, which requires you to listen very carefully, providing a graceful base note.

Tuesday is our knit and natter day, where we meet and chat and although I suspect we craft less and chat more. It is not so much the creating of wips but more the creating and strengthening of bonds.
We swap stories, we sympathise and we interject our 'two pence worth'. It is our way of keeping connected not only with each other and our lives but keeping us connected with the greater world.

We hear of village news..... did you hear so-in-so's funeral was last week?, we share family anecdotes ..... The fish tank has settled down and the new blue light at night looks good, we keep each other up to date with local politics ..... that ridiculous ruling the council was trying to slip in has been dropped! ... and so on.

In between the weaving of conversations and the looping of yarn, we drink tea or coffee, hot lemon water and hot chocolate accompanied by frequently passed around treats. Each week we celebrate a goodly selection of calorific naughties, essential and forbidden in the same breath! Fruit and nutty crunchy oat biscuits, chocolate coated digestives, heart shaped lemon shortbread, freshly made still slightly warm biscuits, fruit cake, lemon drizzle, Viennese whirls, wicked millionaire shortbread ... the list goes on, the selection only limited by our own imagination.

Some weeks we resort to hastily purchased treats in the haze of a busy day and others we are swamped by frenzied baking which produces tasty delights, demoting the knitting and crochet to forgotten wips on our laps as we chat and chew and connect.

We are an eclectic mix, students, housewives, retired, grannies, mothers, self employed. We are who we are and we should be proud of the magic we can weave, our knitting pins and our crochet hooks are our wands and the yarn is the spell. I look forward to our circle of friendship and the magic we bind.

Now, much later, in the evening quiet of my home, I pick up my hook to continue the undulating pattern of my blanket. I am on my last row. Time to think of a border, time to think of a new project. My blanket on my lap has been privy to many conversations and is already a guardian of memories and secrets. Soon it will be ready to keep us warm and cozy.