Celebrating January

As I did this time last year, I am trying my very best to embrace and celebrate the month of January. It can feel like a long, dark month during which all we seem to do is recover from the excesses of December, both physically and financially, and that seems like a waste of a month to me.

The more I think about it, the more I have come to treasure and relish January as a time stay at home, stay local, savour small pleasures, work quietly through to-do lists and make plans for the year ahead. Last year I had a lot of fun finding one good thing a day to celebrate throughout the month but this year, now that I am at work every day, that's just not achievable. Some days this week have been so full to the brim that I can barely tell you what month it is, never mind what was good about it. But I still like the principle. 

So, here are some things that have brought me happiness this January:

:: The shapes of the bare trees against in the sky, even in the mist.

:: Bunches of daffodils on sale everywhere, especially these pale ones. They seem like the right shade of yellow for January somehow.

:: Buying oranges for marmalade.

:: Starting new books. (Also - note the cough syrup. January is also, sadly a month of germs and illness.)

:: Favourite winter woolens, old ones, new ones and handmade ones.

:: Making things for the house.

:: Green shoots, inside and out.

:: Working on old WIPS, like never-ending blankets.

:: Planning new WIPS, like warm pink mittens.

There is one thing I haven't managed to do so much this month and that is get outside. The best days, the really ice-cold, crystal clear ones, have sadly fallen on week days when all I can do is look longingly at the sky from the window. and make sure I really take in the sunsets as I leave work in the afternoons (and isn't it getting lighter and lighter each day? I can really feel the difference.) Sometimes the weekends are just so full. Never mind, there will be lots more opportunities for walks before this winter is over. 

I hope January is being kind to you.

Winter Survival Guide

Thank you so much for all your kind words and good wishes for our new house. It's really generous and lovely of you and I do appreciate it. So far, progress on the house has mainly consisted of standing around in the house talking to each other, to electricians, to plumbers and to builders, all while wearing our thickest coats. We've yet to actually take our coats off in the house but today the boiler was switched on and we have heat! Yes, heat! From the radiators! A miracle. It feels wrong to be so cold inside a house. Outside, yes. But indoors? Wrong.

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Anyway. I was going to call this post "January Survival Guide" but I thought that seemed pretty pointless, given that we're now in February. So a winter survival guide it is, which as you can guess is basically a chance for me to show you my last three photos from my January challenge as it would really annoy me if I showed you only twenty eight and not the full thirty one. I am tidy like that. And thank you for being so nice before and saying you weren't bored. I wasn't fishing for compliments, honest.

Here are the last three days, three photos of good things about January: 

29/31: Winter maths: a glass of red + fire = cosy.

30/31: Bringing some seasonal greenery from the garden (ok, Mum's garden) into the house.

31/31: There was an hour more daylight on this day than there was a month ago. And that is worth celebrating. 

And I do declare that the secret to getting through - no, enjoying - winter are the following ingredients:

Nice food. (January is so not the month for punitive health kicks, I've decided.)

Beautiful skies - notice the colour and light whenever you see it.

Comfort and cosiness indoors.

Fresh air and exercise outdoors.

And colour.

Truly, for the first time, I am learning to love these slow winter months. Usually, about now, I'm buying daffodils and tulips and sniffing the air for the signs of spring. But it's a long way off yet and I'm enjoying the extra minutes of daylight each day, the time to read and craft (there's been a lot of that lately - I've got a lot to show you!) and bake and think. And look at paint charts.

Embracing January

A photo a day throughout January, to celebrate all that is good about this time of year.

22/31: Buying Seville oranges to make marmalade. 

23/31: An ice cold, bone dry, blue sky winter day when the grass is crunchy underfoot and the frozen puddles crack when you walk on them. This is a photo of Chichester Cathedral taken on my phone that day.

24/31: Wearing my new handmade scarf to London and feeling simultaneously snug and smug. When I first wear something I've made I feel like telling everyone I see: "Look, do you like my scarf? What do you think of it? I made it! Yes, I made it. Myself! " Luckily I don't do that. 

25/31: The weak, watery, winter light breaking through the clouds on a Sunday afternoon walk.

26/31: Making marmalade. It took ages to set but filled the kitchen with warm, orange-scented steam as it got dark outside.

27/31: Bare branches. I never tire of these, they're just so beautiful. It sounds daft, but I notice the trees more, not less, when they are without their leaves.

28/31: A lunch of tomato soup (not yet in the bowl), bread and cheese, eaten indoors with all the lights on while it rained outside.

Are you bored of this yet? I hope not, I'm enjoying it! Only three more days to go which is good as I don't think I could sustain this kind of challenge for longer than a month.

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Still no snow here, despite many a weather forecaster teasing us with pictures of snow clouds over Hampshire. Enjoy your weekends. 

Embracing January

I am continuing with my mission to find one good thing a day to celebrate throughout the month of January. It's still going well, I'm not struggling yet. My (self imposed) rules are that it has to be specific to winter, or as much as it can be, and have happened on that day. Otherwise it's cheating. I'm doing to the same on Instagram if any of you are on there. So, here is my third week.

15/31: Bulbs. So green, teasing us with their promise of spring. (The beautiful Hornsea bird was a Christmas present. I like how he perches there next to the plant pot.)

16/31: I put the blanket on our bed again. So cosy in a bitterly cold week.

17/31: Hot chocolate. Really, it's small mug of hot chocolate with a lot of marshmallows. I like it when they melt and go all gooey.

18/31: The beautiful browns, greys and purples you see in the English countryside in winter.

19/31: Winter woollens, and buying luscious new yarn to make more woolly winter accessories. I've started a shawl. Yarn this fancy seemed to call for a shawl. 

20/31: The most breathtaking sunrise. I have not tinkered with this photo in any way, these are the actual, glorious colours that I woke to on the morning of the 20th. I always think that the sunrises and sunsets we see in the winter months are our reward for living with the short, dark days. 

21/31: There's still some Christmas cake left! We've eaten my dad's and now we're on to mine. I don't like marzipan or fondant icing so keep mine plain, and I also leave out the nuts and put in five times as many glace cherries as the recipe calls for. I love cherries in fruit cake, they're so sweet and sticky when you bite into them.

Thank you for all your comments lately. I do so value your interest, support and friendship, and am very consicous that I've not been able to visit many of your blogs lately. I loved hearing your feelings and thoughts about walking (and replied to a few - some really good points and issues cropped up), and you were very kind about my scarf. It's been very cold here on the south coast all week, with some days barely getting above freezing, We've not had any snow though. I am resigned to the fact that, since we now live so near the sea, snow seems to be a once a decade occurrence, much to my disappointment. 

How about you - are you still coping with winter? Any snow in your neck of the woods? Stay warm this weekend. 

Embracing January

Oh, wow, you lovely lot - thank you for your generous words about my blanket. When I saw it through your eyes I loved it a little bit more. I think we just need a break, blanket and I, and will be fine once we've spent some time apart. 

I am still remembering to notice and photograph one good thing a day about January and so far am finding there is much to celebrate. My photographs seem to involve either being outside buffeted by the wind or inside hiding from it. Well, that's January for you.

8/31: Empty, blustery beaches and the beautiful feeling of openness and space. Blue skies have been seldom in this wet and windy month and they are always a cause for a mini, silent celebration in my book.

9/31: A cup of tea and a new book. I'm one chapter in. So far so good. Do you like my new mug? It was a Christmas present from John. 

10/31: The beach, again, but on a more overcast day. Big winds and spray coming off the waves, the upside to the end of a January gale. It's so invigorating to be by the water in (mildly - I don't want to get swept away!) stormy weather. This beach is usually quite calm and so it was exciting to see some surf. There was even one lone surfer in the water! I hope none of you have been badly affected by the crazy wind, rain and snow we've had this week.

11/31: A roast chicken dinner on Sunday after a long walk in the woods, cooked by John, followed by sticky toffee pudding, also cooked by John. We are paying rent in cooking. 

12/31: The feeling of brand new pyjamas at the end of (another) cold, wet and windy day.

13/31: Hunkering down by my parent's wood burning stove and just enjoying the cosiness of it all. 

14/31: A run on Wednesday morning. It was bitingly cold but really bright and sunny and I went for my first run in months with my sister. I was surprised by how good it felt. Cold, dry weather is my favourite kind to run in, and this was exhilarating. I'd forgotten how good I feel after a run, how clear my head is. I went again this morning. Everything hurts now, that goes without saying, but in a satisfying way.

Enjoy your weekend everyone. I don't know what we have planned. Everything depends on the weather. It's very unusual to get snow this far south, and so close to the coast, but there might be sleet on Sunday apparently. I've nearly finished a scarf but I am faffing about whether it's long enough or not, and whether to add a fringe or not. It's a nice kind of dilemma to have. 

Embracing January

Back in the final days of December, in the midst of the move, I decided to find a strategy to get me through January. I do not usually enjoy this month and so in the interests of good mental health and a more positive attitude to winter, I resolved to try to embrace January and all it's associated wintryness. Every day I find one good thing to notice and celebrate. Finding good things is easy if you're looking for them. If I have my big camera, I take a photo on that. If not, I always have my phone on me. And this blog gives me somewhere to record and share my finds.

So, here are my daily doses of January goodness, from the first seven days of the month.

1/31: Eating my cranberry chutney with some post-Christmas Camembert and crusty bread, and feeling thankful for fridges full of good food that linger into the new year.

2/31:  A beautiful winter's sunrise and dry weather for moving day.

3/31: After the rain, seeing blue sky and trees reflected in the puddles.

4/31: A long, cosy, delicious lunch with my friend Abigail and her family on Sunday in Horsham. It was a bitterly cold and foggy day and we stayed inside for as long as the children would let us. I also rather liked these building facades. Horsham is very pretty.

5/31: Porridge for breakfast on a chilly, grey morning, with demerara sugar and sultanas. (This prompted a fun exchange of favourite porridge toppings on instagram. I'll list them at the bottom - there are some inspiring and delicious ideas in there.)

 6/31: A new calendar for a new year.

7/31: Working the final rows on my crocheted blanket provided not only warmth but also much needed colour on the greyest of days.

What are your strategies for coping with January, or do you enjoy this month? I'm discovering that there's a lot to love about the slower winter months if you look closely enough.

Thanks for all your good wishes for the house hunting. We've looked at eight properties this week and are going back for a second viewing on one tomorrow which looks promising. Nosing round people's houses is fascinating! My main observations so far are that people are messy, and that if you have two cats and two dogs and a guinea pig in the living room, your house will smell of animals.

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Ideas for toppings on porridge/oatmeal:

• Honey with sultanas/wheatbran/banana.
• Maple syrup and dates.
• Banana and coconut.
• Golden syrup with banana/sultanas/blueberries.
• Grated apple and Greek yogurt.
• Stewed or sliced apple and demerara sugar.
• Pears with a dusting of cinnamon.
• Peanut butter and sliced banana.
• A spoonful of mincemeat - a very Christmassy topping.
• Homemade blueberry syrup. 
• Maple syrup with cinnamon and cream. Decadent! 

Something sweet combined with something fruity seems to be the theme here. Someone also suggested grating apple and pear into the pan and cooking it with the porridge. My mum does the same with dried apricots, cranberries and other fruits in her porridge, so that they swell up as they absorb water during the cooking process. But if I had to choose one topping above all others, a generous spoonful of golden syrup would always be first. Happy porridge eating!