Winters On It’s Way…apparently?

   Well I don’t know about you, but my heating bill has been considerably lower these past few months than in previous Winter’s and it’s not because I have signed up to some amazing fixed-rate deal with British Gas or have packed up and taken myself abroad as the rich and famous tend to do come January… No, it’s because Winter has disappeared, vanished…not a sign of it, no glimmer of the white stuff, no sign of pretty icicles hanging from frosted windows, no icing-sugar dusted village scenes, no mirror glass frozen lakes and not a snow ball fight in sight! So where has Winter gone? Why has she done so and will she ever return?

I love our seasons, it’s part of our ‘Britishness’. We all enjoy a glass of Pimms and lighting up the old barbie the minute the sun makes an appearance, surely that is the first real sign of Summer and who can resist an excuse to tuck into a bowl of steaming stew and dumplings when the temperatures drop and Autumn arrives with her changing colours. Seasons are what get us excited, get us through, anticipating what the next few months will bring, hope, joy, sorrow…Mother Nature at her finest. So why has Winter decided to leave the show? We miss her and want her back in all her glory.

I’m no expert when it comes to climate control, I will leave that explanation for the Global Warming pundits, but I do know that we are all responsible for playing our part and that the Earth is getting hotter with each year that passes. I am however a keen gardener, having had my Grandmother and Mother’s green-fingered knowledge passed down to me and so do know that it just isn’t right to see a daffodil, with it’s yellow beauty swaying at me in early January! I look around my garden and everywhere there are signs of Spring putting on her show…Cherry blossom on trees, buds bursting into bloom, bees and butterflies happily doing their thing. My garden and its micro-ecosystem are very much confused!

However, as much as I am missing the cold snap, I am relishing in the delights the milder weather has to bring. My washing is outside drying nicely on the line, my Jack Russell is bathing in a sun spot and enjoying the warmth on her coat and I am cooking our Sunday roast with the back door ajar! So embrace what nature is offering us at this moment in time, as I hear that next week things are about to change and snow is on it’s way… Winter, as we know it, will finally put in her long awaited appearance!

…And if you were bought a calendar for Christmas, use it, as how else would you know what time of year it was? Certainly you couldn’t tell by looking outside your window.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Beginnings

 

I’ve had a fairly good Christmas, but if I’m honest, I love my daily and weekly routines. As a creature of habit, I enjoy the simple comfort of daily patterns, but now I feel a little bit lost and a little bit out of sorts. My eating habits have gone from pre Christmas low-cal nothingness, to complete indulgence and gluttony; surrounded by too much of everything. Of course it’s hard to resist, too easy to fill our boots and bellies and why not? Christmas comes but once a year!

Now the season of goodwill is almost over, it’s time to look to new beginnings, to somehow regulate ourselves and manage our day to day living just that bit better. It’s essential to get the balance right, so that we sleep well at night, go to work much happier and feel a sense of wellbeing that we call contentment.

With this in mind, I would like to share with you the everyday things that make me smile and the unusual that inspire me. Creativity, positive thoughts, good food; the simple pleasures that make life more meaningful and our hearts happy. Here’s to my new adventure with you.  

2016=New Beginnings.