Winter Garden

But not my garden, sadly. We spent Sunday afternoon at Harlow Carr, a beautiful RHS area of landscaped gardens, open spaces and woodland. It's near Harrogate, about 45 minutes from us in West Leeds and it really is pretty amazing, if gardening and plants are your thing.* You see, Bella and Angus are not great walkers. They moan and drag their feet and need constant distraction. The pleasure of being outside in the fresh air and getting some exercise is meaningless to them. They need to look for things, climb on things and feel that there is some purpose to it all. Harlow Carr is great for this as children can follows trails around the grounds, collecting clues and learning about things like the tree alphabet, while running around, following assault courses and exploring huge tree houses with rope bridges. It's absolutely brilliant, it really is, and the grown ups get to walk and chat and take lots of photos.

Many of my blogging friends take part in monthly garden moodboards, where you take a few cuttings from your garden each month and then arrange and photograph them, thereby keeping a visual journal of the annual cycle of your garden. I think it's a wonderful idea (and may join in next year) but have not taken park yet because, to be honest, right now our garden is brown. Brown with a bit of green, a touch of grey, and three sad looking cyclamens in the pots on the front door step. If I did a moodboard right now, you'd be forgiven for thinking it looked like a piece of army camouflage. 

Harlow Carr was bursting with colour. There were flowers, and when there weren't flowers, there were berries, and when there were no berries, there were plants with hot pink stalks. And when there was no colour, there was structure, shape and interest. Always there was something interesting to look at, or walk through, or touch. It got me thinking about our garden, and how I could plant more intelligently to produce colour throughout the coldest, darkest months. And now I wish wholeheartedly that I'd taken note of some of the names of the plants I photographed, so that I could replicate this use of colour in December. If anyone has any ideas or recommendations for plants that provide colour throughout the winter months, (and which are also quite easy to care for!) I'd be most grateful.

****************************************************

*It's also not free, but our friends have a membership card and so we only had to pay for one of us to go in, the rest were included in their card. And no, we didn't go into Betty's, but doesn't it look inviting all lit up like that?

Christmas Senses

Touching: sticky glace cherries.

and the fake but still quite prickly branches of our Christmas tree.

Reading: Nigella Christmas because, well, I like it, and I read it every year. My copy falls open on certain pages now (Christmas cake, gingerbread) and flicking through this book has become one of my own little traditions. I'm also enjoying David Sedaris's excellent Santaland Diaries.

Smelling: Mulled wine, simmering in the pan. Then drinking it throughout the afternoon. I love how Christmas makes daytime drinking acceptable.

Listening: to a lot of Christmas music. We had the whole of one of those Now That's What I Call Christmas albums playing while we decorated the tree. John shuddered and retreated to another room while Bella and I sang along loudly. I can't sing but festive pop music makes me happy.

Tasting: mince pies. The kids and I made 48 of these mini star-topped ones and quite a lot more larger (but less photogenic) ones. Then we made jam tarts when we'd run out of mincemeat. We used this recipe for the pastry and Aldi mincemeat. They are really tasty and very moreish. So far, everything Christmassy I've bought from Aldi has been really good.

I also enjoyed hanging my favourite Cath Kidston baubles on the tree...

and lamented the fact that the kids broke one for the second year in a row. This is a Christmas tradition I want to stop right now.

We've been admiring our beautiful new advent calendar (it's so pretty - thank you Jooles!) all week and enjoying popping a couple of silver chocolate coins in the pockets each night. Sometimes we forget and one of us races down first thing in the morning, so that they are there ready for the children. Bella and Angus know perfectly well that we put the coins in there but we all maintain this pretence that they magically appear overnight. The hall was the only place where I could find room to hang this calendar but I love how it looks against the stairs.

This time last week, I feared that my Christmas mojo had well and truly upped and left me. We'd been away for the weekend and came home late to a cold, dark house; the advent calenders were not up, the house was a tip and nothing was done. Instagram and blogland was full of image after image of perfect handmade advent calenders consisting of hand-wrapped gifts hung from evergreen boughs, minimally and elegantly done, tastefully decorated trees, shining baubles...I felt unprepared and inadequate. But I feel more festive today. Much happier.

It's been a weekend of quiet activity and spending time with friends, things that restore my humour and make me feel peaceful. Yesterday we dragged the tree from the loft and the children and I decorated it. We baked (a little shouty and stressful at times but we pulled it back round and are now calling A Success), we shopped and cooked and ate. We did the traditional furniture shuffle to make room for the tree. Does anyone else have to do this? Who really has a home large enough to just be able to put something the size of an armchair slap bang in the middle of their hall, or any other room? You can see here how I have squashed everything into a corner so that the tree can take centre stage in front of the window.

And today I sat in my dressing gown until half past ten, drinking tea and writing Christmas cards. I do them all except the one to John's parents, where I give him the card and pen, stand over him while I wait for him to write it, take it from him and then carry on with my list. Is it always the women in a family who write the Christmas cards I wonder? I don't mind all that much, if I'm honest, I like to receive them so it seems only fair that I send some. Then we had a really lovely afternoon at Harlow Carr with some friends and their son, exploring the grounds and doing nice festive things like following the Christmas Trail and decorating gingerbread men. 

A long post - sorry! I am very behind with blog reading and visiting but will endeavour to catch up over the next few days. And thank you for your comments, each and every one of them gladdens my heart, and also - hello new followers and readers, it is lovely to have you here.

Cinnamon

Subtitle: Fairy lights and cake do a happy woman make.

The weather today has been vile. We were woken this morning at 5 am by the sound of wind blowing and something hitting our roof. I feared broken tiles and expected to come down to a scene of devastation but thankfully everything is standing. Battered by high winds, but standing. This morning's gales and driving rain has now been replaced by freezing temperatures, a biting wind and the occasional shower of sleet. It's time to get cosy.

Thank goodness for fairy lights and cake. On Tuesday, I went to the post office to collect a parcel - a set of lights very kindly sent to me by Cable and Cotton, in Cinnamon. They are just lovely. I think it was luck that I received this particular set, but the colours are very me. You all know I love Cable and Cotton - we have a set I bought a couple of years ago in Devon hanging in our lounge and another in Bella's bedroom. I think their mix and match approach to colour is inspired, and that their lights look as good lit as unlit.

I couldn't think where to hang them at first and spent a happy time wandering around the house with them, draping them here and there over headboards, banisters and mantles. I decided in the end to display them in a glass globe-style vase which I half filled with baubles, then then piled in the lights. This works well as the lights reflect off the shiny surfaces of the baubles and vase, creating the impression that there are more in there than there really are.

But the lights had to go somewhere where we spend a lot of time, where they could be appreciated: the dining room. We have a sideboard in this room which is more dumping ground than display space, and usually holds the radio, a laptop or two, sticker books, clutter and anything that you don't know where to put. You can see a horrible photo of it below.

I decided to make it pretty and festive and added candles and some favourite Christmas decorations, things I never tire of looking at. It says to me "Christmas is coming" in a slightly camp and not very minimalist way, which makes me very happy indeed.

And, to be honest, when I hear the word "cinnamon", straight away I think "bake". I can't help it, it's like a reflex. 

Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, allspice - they appear so often in recipes at this time of year. I think I used most of those spices in my Christmas cakes. 

So, in honour of my new lights, and to chase away that rainy day, cooped up feeling, I made Gooey Cinnamon Squares from Deb Perelman's The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. Don't be deceived by the photo - I know it just looks like a brown square, but this is a moist, sticky, crunchy-on-top piece of sweet cinnamon heaven. 

I've mainly tried the baking recipes from this book and have made this one about seven times. I feel like the book was worth buying for this recipe alone.*

And now it's dark so early, we can see how pretty the lights look in the evenings.

*There are many links to this recipe available online if you type "Gooey Cinnamon Squares" into a search engine but they are all the US version, ie. cups and ounces. If you want a UK version (in grams) I guess you have to buy the book.

Christmas Gifts: Treat-Filled Jars

Oh my, this last week has been busy. Yesterday and today were busy. Tomorrow, and the day after that, and every day now until we break up for the Christmas holidays on Friday 20th December, will be the same. I've given in to it. Life is full and rich and I wouldn't have it any other way, but I am starting to get the feeling that I'm living in an anxiety dream and I've gone to the supermarket in my underwear. I've still got lots of Christmas presents to make...seven in fact. I am worrying that they will not be done. I have a birthday party to plan from scratch and carry out, cakes, balloons and party bags and all the other things. Christmas cards to write, presents still to buy. It's time to write a Really Good List.

So today, in a free half hour between coming back from the post office and going to help in school for the afternoon, I made these little gifts. You might think it a silly use of my time but activity like this relaxes me. Other might meditate, but I put the kettle on, turn on the radio and make something. It was a pleasing task in that it required very little time or skill, but looks pretty and festive, and cost very little - about £1 per jar I would guess.

You need:

Jam jars - the sort that contain pesto are just the right shape and size.

Small plastic deer, one for each jar. I bought these.

Ribbon - any colours but I opted to match the sweets.

Sweets to fill the jars.

I chose to spray my jar lids white as I had some white spray paint in the garage left over from various crafty things last summer. I then glued the deer to the lids with a glue gun as I didn't think PVA glue would secure them well enough, then filled the jar with sweets, tied a ribbon around it and called it an emergency Christmas present. 

I filled three jars with red, white and green jelly beans. I bought a huge box a few weeks ago, ate all the pink, orange and yellow sweets and saved the rest for these jars. I used marshmallows and chocolate coins for the others. 

I especially love the look of the shiny wrapped coins.

It was good to spend a moment doing this. A small job done. I haven't even had time to bring the Christmas boxes down from the loft yet - the only Christmas decorating I've done is hang the advent calendar. I'll make a start this week. How about you? Have you started to decorate you home yet? Are you busy too? This time of year - it's crazy but I do love it.

Winter Beach

There is something about the beach when it's cold. I love to be by the sea whatever the weather or season, but when it's cold and bright - and often much less busy - it's particularly beautiful. 

We spent the weekend back home on the south coast to celebrate my mum's birthday. A big number, although she wasn't keen on us constantly mentioning it. She didn't want a big party or a fancy meal, just all the family together. We went for a walk on the beach on Saturday morning. It was perfect - the weather was cold but the sun shone and the sea was a flat calm, there was hardly a breath of wind. It clouded over after a while, creating that strange and dramatic light that comes with dark clouds and bright, low sunshine. I was happy snapping away - it's not a particularly beautiful stretch of coastline, but it's mine and I love it. After our walk we had hot chocolate and cake at the beach hut and Bella and Angus ran around with their cousins, building sandcastles and playing football. It was really nice. Then we had a big, long lunch at my parent's house, with my sisters and I, partners, children. The house was noisy and full, and family and neighbours dropped in throughout the afternoon. It was a lot of driving for one weekend - ten hours in the car in total - but worth it to be there with everyone.

*****************************************************

Thank you so much for your comments on yesterday's post. It was so comforting to know that I am not alone in my desire for a little luxury, a little something extra. No-one's life or home is perfect, we are all juggling this and that, choosing between A and B, and just doing the best we can. I forget that sometimes. And thank you for your concern and kind words about the job situation, it's tough out there! But there are a few things in the pipeline, nothing definite but very promising so we are hopeful. Skint, but hopeful.