Cold and Frosty

Hello Lovelies,

This week we have enjoyed a break form the grey, wet and windy weather we had last week. The high pressure has led to freezing nights and sunny days. It feels so perfectly seasonal and is certainly conducive to a nice afternoon drive with mum to take in the wintry beauty....

On Wednesday we ended up in a coffee shop with a view. This place was packed when we arrived but as lunch time was coming to an end it looked like this by the time we were leaving. 

 I love a room with a distant view.

Now we are 4 weeks since the shortest day there's that bit more light to enjoy those views. Driving home from work just after 4pm still looks rather evening like, pretty though.....

                              Bare tree silhouettes are another highlight of winter to me. 

As the month goes on I'm continuing my decluttering mission. I think I'm up to 5 bags of donations to charity so far. I'm trying to have a low spend January as I feel it fits in with my Simplicity goal this year. Less stuff means more space and less chaos. 

As you can see I have made a few considered Charity shop purchases though. I've started to write a list of things I'm wanting to find that I keep in my handbag. Otherwise it's easy to be overwhelmed or distracted by things you don't really need and just pick up because they are cheap.  

My current list includes a zipped top (as a certain puppy tends to destroy zips given half a chance) and a scarf with autumnal colours. 

I have to admit red shoes were not on my list, but last summer I did think I would like another option to open toe sandals sometimes. It seemed sensible to pick these up as they should hopefully fill that gap in my summer wardrobe.

I've had a go at modelling my purchases for you...Hi :0)

Not bad for a total of £6.50 I thought. And more importantly by not buying new I've reduced my environmental impact and donated to good causes. As Katy says "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without"

This morning was another frosty start. The primulas by my front door don't seem to mind. Aren't these simple flowers gorgeous. A real spring  favourite of mine. 

 

I'm not wishing winter away yet though, well not days like these. The frost and sunshine were beautiful today. 

Stunning ice crystals.

 

Crunchy grass underfoot...and no mud! 

This is a treasured spot of mine. It looked quite magical today.

Here is the same spot in May. Oh my, all that colour! 

For now I'm happy taking in winter's subtle palette, hard edges  and deep shadows.

The first bunch of daffodils opening on my kitchen windowsill is bringing a burst of cheery colour and a hint of the wonders of spring to come. 

What a precious Saturday. It feels so good to be back blogging again, celebrating the good things and reminding myself how much I have to be thankful for.

I hope you are getting the chance to slow down and appreciate the simple things in life lovelies. Thank you so much for reading my ramblings and for your kind comments.

Jacquie x

Short days and Twinkly Lights

Hello Lovelies, 

I do hope you have had a good week with not too many worries and lots of happy moments. We have started to receive a few Christmas cards. They are all really nice but this one stood out to me as I adore all the detail and humour

It's sold in support of the British Hedgehog preservation society too....perfect.

 We haven't had any more snow or much frost this week. It's been largely grey and often rainy. Nevertheless I've been doing well with my walking and haven't missed a day. This weeks walks range from 1 to 6 miles. Yesterday I did 4 miles on a lovely sunny afternoon.

It's all local paths I'm very familiar with but the light changes with the seasons and when the trees loose their leaves.

The cold weather encourages the birds to come straight down for the food I leave too. This always makes me smile.

As of today I have 46 miles left to reach my 800 outdoor miles goal for 2021. It's not the 1000 miles I easily reached last year but I'm still counting it as a win. 

 Life is much busier this year.

 I'm very happy youngest is now working from home for a while as I'm not that keen on driving after sunset on unlit roads these days. Plus taking him to work and fetching him home every day was costing a small fortune in petrol and eating even more into my outdoor time.

Though I must add I'm super proud of the way he has quickly adapted to the world of work.

Yesterday was Christmas jumper day in the UK, did you join in? These days it's Christmas jumper day for the whole month of December for me. We have 3 jumpers the boys had for wearing at school on Christmas jumper days. They still try and squeeze in them if one is required for work but I wear them daily as they are a nice loose fit on me and so cosy 😊

I think it's fair to say I'm not into fashion and  there's no fast fashion in this house. The boys even buy second hand clothing on occasion, frequenting vintage and retro shops. Something I never did in my late teens, early twenties

By 3pm yesterday the moon was clearly visible, as the sun, which never got very far above the horizon, was rapidly descending.

This was 3.20pm

And as I heard the school bell ring for the end of the day at the boys old school, the sun set at 3.30pm. 

As we are quite close to the school I have our Christmas lights on a timer so they are illuminated for both school runs. Yesterday, as I didn't have to take youngest to work, I was around to hear a little one saying this is his favourite window...Yesss....that made my day 😊

Indoors we have reached maximum Christmasification too. I love walking under this garland.

As always it's full of all my red and white makes. Like these Scotty dogs....Pattern HERE

And Lucy's snowflakes.....Pattern HERE

Today, as usual on a winter's Saturday, I did some baking. Using up some more of my mincemeat.

These days I use THIS recipe for the pastry....it works well for me. 

I've already eaten two, with some squirty cream, they were yummy! I don't feel too guilty as I tend to only eat homemade ones at home and this year, as I'm not really going visiting friends, or to cafes at the moment, I haven't had any bought ones at all.

Thank goodness I'm happy at home, now more than ever.

Wishing you a happy rest of the weekend lovelies and some quiet moments to notice the sunset and the twinkly lights next week.

Jacquie x

Inspired by Autumn

 Hello Lovelies, 

I've been on a bit of a mission to tidy up this week, putting stuff away and sorting paperwork. 

I think as the garden becomes cold and damp it feels more important to create a calm space to shelter in. Our indoor living space feels the pressure of so many adults using it. It's not toys I do battle with these days but shoes, coats, tech, and never ending laundry.

An Autumn clean, tidy and declutter seems essential for my sanity.

Yesterday I took the afternoon off and went for a walk though...another sanity essential.

It was a dull day but the seasonal colour is getting really good this week.

I couldn't stop picking up leaves.

This scene was all green a couple of weeks ago.

Now there are  fabulous shades of plum

 

and red

Along with the golds and oranges

When I got home I had a little play with all the leaves I had collected. How lovely are these shades and shapes?

The autumn scenes and leaf colours inspired me to get my yarn pegs out.

I'm still experimenting with colour combinations and thinking about what project I want to use them for, but it's great to feel inspired.

I also collected some dried grasses and seed heads while I was out. I love this simple arrangement on my mantel.

It balances well with the houseplant on the other end.

I made this mosaic for inspiration. It's a joy to capture this moment, when so many leaves are fading into a rainbow of beauty and the berries shine.

I do hope you lovelies manage to get outdoors and make the most of Autumn (or Spring) this week.

Jacquie x

Walking By The Book :: 2

Morning Lovelies,

today I've woken up full of cold and I feel generally...bleugh. ( auto correct wants to change that to Lughole...Ha ha. I feel a bit better already :0)

Another reason I am smiling despite the lurgy is I finally have a new keyboard for my ageing desktop. Hurray.  I was struggling on with the old one despite it missing half the letters as I typed. That made blogging a very long process.

Another issue I had was being unable to see thumbnails when selecting photos to add to a post. Middle son has sorted that for me. Double yay

To celebrate ( and because I don't feel like doing much else at the moment) here are a few pictures from a walk I did the other week.

I drove to the start point quiet early one sunny Wednesday morning and parked by Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, where they kindly let you park for a small offering.

After a short wander through the quiet Rose gardens I set off on this 5 mile walk. Through the neatly tended grounds.

Then along the road to find a footpath.

I loved the view of the Charnwood countryside here.

And wandering through woodland on a sunny day is always a joy.

This was the second walk I had tried from this thrifted walking guide ( the first is HERE )

It's a bit hit and miss following a guide book that is so out of date . Where stiles are described there are often gates.

Happily Blackbrook Reservoir was still a pretty landmark on the route.

Ummm, Fenney  Windmill was not looking it's best. Great to see restoration work happening though.

I love noticing the signs of the changing seasons as I walk.

And the route was not too overgrown.

This stroll down a traffic-less lane was very pleasant, though the guidebook describeed stunning views. Had I taken a wrong turn?

Hawthorn berries are always a happy September sight for me.

The route had rather too much road walking for my liking, though this part was pretty.

And here I climbed up to another described viewpoint only to find that had long since disappeared. What a shame. Maybe in winter?

There's always something to make you smile when you brave an expedition into unknown territory though :0)

 After my walk I took a few minutes to explore the Abbey gardens a little more . The roses were fabulous and the scent divine.

All in all it was a lovely way to spend a morning.
Jacquie x