My list of wintery wonderful.

And just like that the warm, sparkly days are over and the cold weather has moved in.

I know lots of people who love freezing cold days.
They love dressing up in tights and jackets and boots.
They love snuggling inside and doing wintry things.

I do not!

I feel trapped by wintry days.
Grey days make me grumpy.
I need sunshine and warmth for inspiration.
I like hanging the laundry outside, pottering in the garden and having picnics.
I like sun dresses and summer fruits and sandals.

The only thing I like about winter is soup.
I love soup.
Oh and I also love watching my gang wearing the woollies I have knitted for them too.

But that's not really enough is it?

Winters are long and cold in these parts.

So I am wracking my brains trying to come up with a happy winter list.
A list of things to get me through the cold months ahead.
A way to forget the funk and remember the fabulous.

So here it is.

MY LIST OF WINTER WONDERFUL!

(yes, I know it's not officially winter but it may as well be.)

Keep the house looking lovely. As clean as possible and fresh.
Change the bed linen often.
Keep jars of fresh flowers around the house.
Keep going with the painting and decorating.
Play music and dance about the house.
Buy a new front door.

Walk/run often.
Get outside whenever we can.
Rug up and do the farm stuff.
Light bonfires.
Explore the bush.

Spend time with my boy and my girls together and alone.
Find and buy some fun tights.
Make some plans for a road trip.
Go out.
Make arrangements with good people.
Make and have handy a stash of scarves/hats/leg-warmers/gloves to brighten up an outfit and keep cozy.
Always have something to look forward to.

Menu plan and menu shop.
Eat from the kitchen garden as often as possible.
Take spirulina and vitamin B.
Eat seeds and honey and legumes and farmer Bren's bread.
Experiment with lots of different types of soup and hope my kids wanna play too.
Buy a new bottle of Kahlua.

Build up my yarn stash.
Make, make, make.
Buy some oils and candles for bath time.
Write some patterns out and have them tested.
Stay inspired.
Have a project or two on hand all the time.

And spend lots of time with this kiddo.
See the world through her four year old eyes.
Play with her.
Be present and patient.

So that's it - My List Of Winter Wonderful.

Do you have any suggestions for getting through the chilly months ahead?
What do you like to do when the days get short and cccccccold?
Are you a hot or a cold weather person?
If it's warm where you are, can I come and visit?

Have fun out there and stay warm.

Bye. xx

Pretty spots.

Strange old day. Unsettled feeling in my tummy. Can't seem to stick to a task. Feeling overwhelmed by the never-ending kid's craft area declutter. Missing my boy and my big girl who have been in Melbourne since yesterday. Can't think of what to make for dinner.

So I'm focusing on the smaller details. The details of my day today. There's so much to love when you look at the small stuff. It goes along with my theory that home magazines barely ever show you the entire room, they focus on pretty spots.

So here are some pretty spots that I'm loving from my day today;

I'm loving my wool basket and my growing pile of grannies.
I'm loving my little jug collection on the windowsill in the kitchen.
I'm loving capturing little moments in time on instagram.
I'm loving baking bread.
I'm loving that no TV or movies during the week make us be more creative, read more, play more and be less lazy.
I'm loving reading all about baking bread in River Cottage Handbook No.3 Bread by Daniel Stevens.
I'm loving that my girls are big enough to be great company for brunch out at Breakfast and Beer.
I'm loving playing the records of my childhood.
I'm loving the spontaneous dancing in the lounge room.
I'm loving it when the girls get lost in a game that goes on and on and on.
I'm loving the sunshine drying my washing.
I'm completely overwhelmed by Pip's post. Wow! And I'm in such ridiculously ace company.
I'm loving the kitchen garden.
I'm loving blue things.
I'm loving the hula hoop craze.
I'm loving fetta and rocket on everything for every meal.
I'm loving the thought of Emily coming to visit early in the new year.
I'm loving pretty pyrex.
I'm loving the lighter feeling I get every time I come back from dumping a load in the op/shop pile.
I'm looking forward to cider-o'clock.
I'm loving that my farmer boy and my big girl will be back before bed time.

Ahhhhhh that's better.

I hope there are just so many pretty spots in your day today too. Care to share a few?

xx

My happy list.

I'm struggling today.

The crazy rains of the past few weeks have made such a mess of our farm and our plans for this season. At the moment it looks like we might not be able to plant a vegie crop this year, our orchards that a week ago were laden with gorgeous looking fruit, have been horribly mutilated by the warm wet, fungal loving tropical conditions and garlic beds that should be drying out and feeling the warmth of summer are instead sitting in water. Our driveway and various other farm structures have been washed down the creek and just when we thought we'd had it all, the locusts have been flying in this morning and making them selves at home.

I feel guilty for feeling bad though. There are so many out there so worse off than me. So many that make my list seem insignificant.

So I'm not going to give into it today.

Instead I'm going to write my happy list. No order. Just a ramble of things as they come to me.

If this is something you feel like doing too, let me know so I can come and visit.

Ok, here goes:

Indi at home today, my gorgeous farmer boy, olive dip on toast, cherries, knitting, friends who get it, Jazzy graduating from reading recovery, colouring books that entertain and challenge, Ravelry, embroidered table cloths, Pepper's imagination, Jazzy's princessy dress sense, how fast my new iPhone is, warm baths, fun packages in the mail, stripey socks, less than a week until school holidays, baking a cake for the boys' lunch, coffee, hand painted yarn, Indi feeling better, Jazzy's dancing, family, health, love, a whole tub of textas that work, inspiration, my girls, Friday Night Lights season 4, Indi's duck eggs business, blog comments, Emily's car park, Hairspray, my little shop, broad beans, a warm dry house, opportunities, licorice, my kids' art work, wooden buttons, Liam's latest idea - crispy beer battered locusts...

I could keep on going, it has really made me feel better to focus on the good instead of the crapola but the boys are coming in for lunch.

Have a happy day!

See ya!