I was in John Lewis yesterday morning, looking for ramen bowls and a new pair of jeans, and I kept seeing Christmas products everywhere - glassware and plates and whatnot - all heavily discounted. I experienced a brief moment of confusion as Christmas seemed to me to be so long ago that I couldn't quite grasp why there were £1 baubles everywhere. And then I remembered, it was only a month ago, but January is so long that time does funny things.
We broke up close to Christmas last year, which was tiring, but it did mean we had lots of time at home before we went back on January 6th and this was a glorious rest. I always look forward to the days between Christmas and New Year: the lack of structure, the long walks, the jigsaws, all the leftovers to eat up. This year was just as nice. The house takes on a higgledy-piggledy feel, with piles of gifts to put away and decorations to take down.
After New Year it is always time for the decorations to come down and, every year, I experience a combination of missing all the clutter and sparkle, with relief that the house can breathe again.
I received some lovely new books for Christmas, all of which are now on my bedside table. I like a combination of books to pick up and put down, as well as novels to read cover to cover.
I also bought myself this almanac by Lia Leendertz. I was given one for 2024 and really enjoyed dipping in and out of it throughout the year: it is full of information like the moon schedule, tide times and movements in the night sky, but also lots of lovely ideas for how to celebrate the seasons, what to plant when, how to bring the outside in, recipes to try etc. Just a lovely way to live in the present and not always be racing on the the next holiday or event.
One idea I loved was kind of a modern day nature table - a shelf or arrangement that changes each month, marking what is happening outside during that time of year.
I marked my first day back at work in January by baking a sourdough. It seemed like a positive and fresh way to start the year.
All the hard work with a sourdough loaf happens in the days before - the feeding, mixing, folding and proving - so that on the day you want to bake, all you need to do is put the loaf in the oven, then skip off to work feeling accomplished.
So far, January has been a month of frosty mornings and pretty skies, for the most part.
Wildlife activity in the garden has been keeping us entertained. Since Ziggy died, the local squirrels are so bold in the back garden. It's like they know.
I am well aware the bird table is not for the squirrels but I find their antics quite entertaining if I'm honest. I may look for a hanging bird feeder too though - we need to give the smaller birds a chance.
January has also brought a lot of soup. John has made so far cream of celeriac, lentil and tomato, and leek and potato. He makes them at the weekend and we have them for lunches during the week. I am enjoying his soup phase very much.
January has also been a month of walk,s whenever and wherever possible, and this has been a bit of mental health saviour for me.
We have walked on the beach
and through the muddiest puddles
and under beautiful blue skies
and up big hills on the South Downs
and even walked on hills dusted with snow.
The walk was so slippery, through a combination of mud and melting snow, that you had to go quite slowly, but the views were absolutely worth it.
This month also brought my annual meet up with my friend Debora in London.
This year we met at Coal Drops Yard, near Kings Cross.
It was a bitterly cold, sunny day and we had a lot of fun exploring the shops and had a delicious lunch in restaurant called Arabica which had wonderfully retro decor.
We went here as it was opposite the restaurant to watch an exhibition/video (art installation?) about the history of the runway, It was really well done.
However the highlight for me was finally getting to visit Sostrene Grene, the cheap and cheerful Danish homewares chain.
I bought various useful bits and bobs including candles, tea towels, birthday cards, spray cleaning bottles, and some really pretty jam jars.
I was after some of these cut-glass style jars as I thought they would be really pretty for marmalade, and they were.
And then of course there was marmalade cake.
Overall I like January. It gets a bad rap. It's a month for quiet, for retreating inwards, but also for planning what is to come in the rest of the year. Trips are being researched, tickets booked, plans for decorating or DIY on the house discussed. Like activity in the garden, it's all happening quietly in the background.
