A real tree

Gosh, it's all gone a bit twinkly round here.  Over the weekend, multi-coloured fairy lights have appeared in the gardens and around the houses of many of our neighbours.  Flashing lights, icicles, reindeer and sleighs, snowmen - they're all out in force.  In comparison, our house stands out in all it's unlit glory.  We've always known we were different ;-)

We did haul the boxes of Christmas decorations out of the loft yesterday and unpacked the tree.  Within a minute it had shed so many bits of greenery that we had to take serious stock of the problem.  It seemed to illustrate the 'love-hate' view I have of Christmas; there are many aspects of Christmas I love but so much has been spoilt by the rampant consumerism that seems to take over that there are times I struggle with it.  The idea of enjoying a simple Christmas seem completely out of synch with life today.  Well, I can't remember how or why we've made do with an artificial tree for so many years but seeing it in such a sorry state demanded action.  'We're getting a real tree this year' I announced.  N did a happy dance in the middle of the lounge floor and grinned like a little boy - it's made his Christmas!

So today we went to select our tree.  We did the usual thing of trying a few out for shape and size before we made our decision.  It got 'wrapped' and thankfully fitted very neatly into the car.  Back home we had some fun finding the appropriate container to stand it in and inevitably there was yet more furniture moving involved.  But we're there and the tree is now standing proudly in the hall.  The smell of pine is glorious.  

Today N has fitted a bedside shelf and a aerial socket in the guest room, and I have made a fitted sheet for the bed (from an old flat sheet).  There seems to be a never-ending list of things to do at the moment and while that keeps us busy (and we certainly prefer that to being bored) just occasionally we'd quite like to put our feet up for a few minutes!  

In pieces

Many years ago - possibly 30 years ago, good grief - I began a quilt.  It was a grandmother's flower garden quilt, using the English piecing method (over papers).  The quilt was entirely hand stitched.  

Over the years I added another round, then some some more to link the flowers together.  Then more hexagons to go all around the edge, and finally a dark border to set the quilt off.  There was no planning and no real colour scheme.  It was made from 2 1/2" hexagons, all over papers and all hand-stitched.  When I came to take the papers out, just three or four years ago, I found bits of newsletters from my children's primary school! 

This quilt top has seen three house moves.  It has been packed up from one attic and moved on to the next.  Each time I think, 'I really should do something about that' but the thought of quilting it has always put me off.

On this move, the quilt top ended up in the 'sewing room'.  It's sat there for a few weeks, brooding.  Last week I took it out, photographed it . . . .  and took it to pieces.

The truth was, I don't like it.  I have felt compelled to carry it around with me, all these years, because I knew how much work had gone into it.  Hours and hours and hours of laborious hand-stitching.  It became a burden, something I felt obliged to complete.  Funnily enough, once I had made the decision to undo it all, I felt liberated - it wasn't a burden any longer.  There is a fair amount of fabric in the dark brown border, sizeable yardage so I know that will be used.  The 'flowers' could, I suppose, be used for pot holders or place mats, maybe I'll feel inspired to make them into something.  The pink and brown hexagons will most likely be unpicked completely and I could get triangles or squares out of them.  Whatever I decide to do, I am so glad, so relieved to see the back of that quilt top.  

So now I only have one quilt top to make up, and I am happy with that.

I think perhaps there's a lesson to be learned here.  It's not always easy to let go of something, especially something that a lot of time or energy has been invested in, but clinging on to it just for the sake of it isn't necessarily the right thing.  Sometimes we need to let go.



Time out this weekend for family stuff - 'life' does have a habit of barging in - but it meant spending a few hours, quite unexpectedly, with my children, just we three.  It was precious. 

Parcels and new toys

Well, I think it's safe to say that winter is here.  We're in low single figures (celcius temperatures, that is) all through the day, layering the clothing, long woolly socks and yes, I am wearing my fingerless gloves to keep my mitts warm.  Fashion doesn't really come into it at all!

Lemons were on offer at Aldi yesterday, so we bought some to freeze -  we haven't tried this before.  I zested them first and froze that separately, then cut each in half and froze them on a tray.  Obviously the juice expands and creates an interesting effect.

We had a visit from a very good friend today, and she and I had a much-appreciated girlie chat about this and that.  N has spent some time starting to sort out the shed, or 'The Pavillion', as it has now been dubbed, and I suspect a run to the tip will soon be required.  I have pottered around in the sewing room, ticking two jobs off the list, and adding four or five more.  That's not how it's supposed to work at all!  I'm in need of more shelving and some is earmarked for future use but at present it is still required in the hall cupboard.  We have to wait until N is able to dismantle the wooden single bedframe, strip out said cupboard, fit it out with new shelving to free up the current arrangement which can then go into the sewing room.  Are you following this so far? ;-)  It will happen.  Sometime.

We had parcels in the post today.  Quite big parcels.  A double bed for the new room and a de-humidifier.

A bit bare at present, and very high!

First, the bed.  Having searched the internet, and the major bedding stores, we finally found exactly what we were looking for, in our budget, at a local shop in town.  It is a family run Island business, the delivery charge was far and away the lowest we have encountered, and the husband and wife team who delivered the bed not only brought it into the room, they then proceeded to fit it together and take all the packaging away.  N and I have been really impressed with the service from start to finish and are pleased to have been able to keep our custom local.  We can't always but we are glad when we can.

The de-humidifier resulted from a fair bit of research, and we feel it could be money well-spent.  We have had it running this evening and have been amazed at the amount of water collected in just a short time, and the drop in humidity in the various rooms; we've been able to measure the levels with an electronic reader we acquired a few years ago.  There is a long way to go but early signs are that this should prove to be a sensible purchase, and if it helps keep N's asthma in check then it will be very worthwhile.


Apart from all this, there are one or two other things on our mind at present.  Things that deserves time and, I hope, wisdom.  It's one of those times in life when it is so important to be careful, thoughtful and, above all, kind.  Those involved deserve nothing less.

Getting colder

We're fitting comfortably back into our quiet, simple life here.  Washing on the line (it does come in cold but at least it's had a good flap around in the fresh air), knitting (another pair of fingerless gloves), cooking (salmon cakes with chips, all homemade and very delicious) and two or three DIY jobs and general sorting out and tidying up tasks tackled to boot.  Every little job done has a purpose in the bigger picture, and gives us a feeling of satisfaction - that we have been able to do these things ourselves, and that it brings a little more order.  There are many things we have little or no control over, and often we just have to go with the flow and see where we end up, but we are happy to take responsibility for as much as we can.

It was certainly cold today.  N is really struggling with the colder temperatures this year and it seems to be aggravating his asthma, which is a little worrying.  Consequently we are using our heating sensibly and wisely.  If we are cold, the heating will go on.  We don't run it all day, not do we have the thermostat set too high (being in an over-warm house is just as uncomfortable as being cold).  We read the meters so we have a good idea of our consumption.  This is the first winter in this house and we are learning what is needed to make it comfortable in the colder months.  The property was empty for several months before we bought it and there were one or two signs of damp.  Added to that the fact that we had a lot of plastering done during the renovation, and it is likely that there is still some residual dampness in the fabric.  The heating will help tackle this but we will keep an eye on things as we don't want damp to become a problem.  

Whilst we were in Manchester, we were treated to a private wildlife show from the lounge window.  A grey squirrel burying nuts in the back lawn:

Compared to our little red squirrels here on the Island, these greys seem so much bigger

and a family of jays also visiting for nuts and seeds.  We don't get to see these lovely birds very often as they are quite elusive so it was quite a treat to see them so close.

 We also spotted a bullfinch and a nuthatch, too brief for a photo but a pleasure to see nevertheless.

December

A wintery feel to the start of the month - cold and windy but thankfully dry.  I can't believe we're almost at the end of the year, where have these last few months gone to?

Garden photo update for December:

Well over 30 garlic now

The spinach in the raised bed did really well to begin with and now seems to have stopped making any further progress.  We've not tried an autumn planting before and we had intended to get a hooped cover for the seedlings but for various reasons never got round to it.  I have a feeling that it's probably now too cold for much more growth.  We'll see how things go.

A lot of lawn and some unimaginative planting.  Hopefully we will have done some work, front and back, by Spring next year.

Outside the back door, all looks much the same . . .

. . . but on closer inspection I noticed these shoots popping through the ground.  I suspect bulbs of some sort but as we didn't plant this area, it's going to be something of a surprise  to see what these actually are.

It was good to visit 'up north' with family, and the wedding was pretty spectacular!  We were really pleased to spend time with some relatives we wanted to re-engage with, and others to get to know better.  Much chatting and discussing (football results, wedding fashions . . . !!)  

We were ready to return home, though.  The big city sights and experiences are OK but we found ourselves missing our little bit of quiet simplicity.  And there is still work to be done, the little homely touches that will make it our own.  So while it was good to see everyone and be part of the celebrations, it was also good to be back.  Today we began the process of cozying our nest, just little bits and pieces to begin with, but I am in need of some kind of order and routine, however vague that may be.  Washing, mending, knitting, decluttering a pile of paperwork - it all helped us slow down and consider what we are doing, and what needs to be done in the days and weeks ahead.

And we found the Christmas decorations - well, it is December!

And now for a short break

It's seems to be all go at the moment, just when we could really do with staying put.  A few days away for a family wedding, a chance to catch up with those we only see very occasionally, and maybe a bit of shopping for fabric, if I'm very lucky!  

On our return we will hopefully begin to resume some kind of order and routine.  We just need to establish ourselves in this place, to make it our home, not just the house we live in.  And we will.  

Wondering what to do, and another wedding cushion

Now that we have called time on the renovating (and again I say, phew!!) we find ourselves at a bit of a loss as to know what to do next.  It's an odd feeling, having had work stretching ahead for what seems to have been such a long time - six months in all - to now not have anything immediate and pressing lined up.  We've put a few bits and pieces away (paintbrushes, cleaning cloths, dust sheets and so on) and had a bit of a mooch around (if it would stop raining so heavily and persistently we could actually get outside) but really we seem to be in a 'what do we do now?' sort of state.  It's a bit weird.  Having sought out a simpler lifestyle, we allowed it to become rather more complicated, and I think we just need to take some time to find our way back again.

Ideas to start with

From the back

When all else fails, I've always found chocolate and sewing - either, or, or both, preferably - seem to help in these situations.  So I have sewed (and eaten chocolate) and have finished the wedding cushion with a day to spare.  It's going to be a little awkward to take on the train and Underground along with the other bags but no doubt we'll manage somehow.

Changing the subject completely.  All the little dark blobs in the photo above are birds.  Almost everyday, from our back doorstep, we see the flock in this tree, chattering incessantly.  I want to discover what sort of tree it is (my knowledge of trees is poorly lacking) and also identify the birds that use it as a roost.  I may ask N if he can get a closer shot using the more powerful zoom on his camera.