Marmalade and frosts

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. 

Small pleasures of Christmas

Throughout advent this year, I have tried to focus on finding and celebrating my own small pleasures of Christmas. Some might be shared by lots of you, some are probably specific to me and my family. It varies every year.

 

I have always loved Christmas but it can be a tricky time and I think I feel this more as I, and the children, get older. As parent to an eighteen (!) and fifteen year old, the magic of small children and Father Christmas is lessened and our traditions are different. That's not to say that the magic of Christmas is gone, but it is different. (And we all know that the "magic" of Christmas is down to the invisible labour of mostly women planning, thinking, shopping, wrapping, preparing, organising and juggling.*) What we all want and need from Christmas is different. The anticipation is lovely but the pressure is huge. The juggle between prioritising rest while seeing all the friends and family you want to see, the push and pull of self care versus a busy calendar, is always a challenge. It is always an especially hectic time of year for us with six Christmas birthdays, one of which is Bella's. And so this year I have enjoyed noticing our rituals and traditions as I find them grounding. I have deliberately sought the comfort of repetition and the familiarity of nostalgia, especially when life is so very busy (and sometimes stressful, especially in a classroom at end of term before Christmas).

I visited a Winter Fair with my mum, sister, nieces and Bella. I bought Christmas presents and just enjoyed the beautiful atmosphere and displays.

I hung the same advent calendar I have been hanging for years, and I fill it with chocolates each night for the kids. This is a tradition I don't think I could ever stop doing. I felt nostalgic for the cardboard advent calendars of my childhood, the sort with pictures behind the doors, and ordered myself one with a whippet on it.

I got our the nativity scene. There are so many memories in this! The kids loved playing with the figures when they were little and I used to find Sylvanian Family mice and Playmobil Santas mixed in with Mary and Joseph.

The Christmas reading pile was put into place. This is one of my favourite things about Christmas. 

I treated myself to  a new Christmas book, to add to the others on the shelf. 

And enjoyed listening to others on Audible while waiting to pick up Bella from work. (Although since taking this photo, Bella has passed her driving test so can now get herself everywhere, and even pick me up from my work Christmas party, as she did on Friday night.)

I had a very festive day in London for my book group's annual Christmas meet up. We had a delicious, long lunch at the Wolseley and then wandered around the shops, looking at the beautiful window displays. 

I wrote some Christmas cards. Less and less each year, but I still like to write them when I have time.

I received some truly lovely ones in return, including this inspired mini-advent calendar and a beautiful hand-painted one. So clever!

I also continued with my tradition of turning last year's Christmas cards into this year's gift tags. I remember my mum doing this when we were little. I use a 3 inch hole punch I bought from either Hobbycraft or Amazon, I can't remember, to get a perfect circle shape, then a normal hole punch to make a small hole for the thread.

I love doing this. It gives me double the enjoyment of last year's cards. 

We hung the same decorations on the tree, an eclectic mixture of old and new, handmade and shop-bought. 

Plus a new one.

I spent a delightful morning with my mum and sister making a wreath. I have chosen to hang it on the inside because the weekend we made it, it was exceptionally windy and stormy, and I didn't want it to fly off down the street! 

It was fun making the new front door Christmassy. I found these old stars I made a few years ago from paper bags glued together and I like the way they catch the light.

Angus and I watched The Box of Delights, as we do every year. This year it's been on BBC4 so you can find it on BBC iPlayer. 

We had a lovely flying visit to Yorkshire to see our friends in Holmfirth and plan next year's holiday. Festive and something to look forward to in the new year!

I attempted some crafting, with mixed success. I saved up loads of tomato puree tubes, opened them out and washed them for their shiny gold interior.

I've seen lots of ideas online for turning them into garlands and tree decorations.

Cutting out the shapes was easy but it was hard to add any detail. I tried pens and pencil but they didn't really show up. I probably need something harder or sharper.

I meant to string them all up with gold wire, but they kept breaking when I tried to poke a little hole through the top, and I didn't have any wire....so I made some stars from an old book instead.

Now it is the Christmas holidays. I have wrapped my presents (last night, in front of Die Hard 2), and cleaned the house. I  am going to pick up the turkey later then ice my Christmas cake. Tonight we pick up my mother in law from the airport then tomorrow I need to do lots of cooking, including roasting our turkey crown and ham, peeling and roasting enough potatoes for thirteen, and making a Yule Log. We are going to my sister's for Christmas Day but we all bring a different element of the meal. I have to bring roast potatoes, gravy and the Christmas pudding. Then we heat everything up and eat together. It works well as she has the space to seat lots of people but not the workload of having to cook absolutely everything. I still order us a turkey crown and ham as I love the leftovers and will make lots of lunches and dinners from them during the week after Christmas. 

I can feel myself starting to relax. Yesterday I made a batch of mince pies (this recipe) while listening to this wonderful podcast. Then my friend Charlotte came over for lunch and we had a lovely time catching up. After she left, I popped out for a quick solo walk as - for once - the sun was shining and I wanted to feel the cold air and winter sun on my face. I felt more peaceful in that moment than I have in weeks. I miss our dog walks a lot and I have resolved to get out for as many walks as possible over the holidays.

I wish you all a very merry Christmas. I hope the festive seasons brings you what you need. Thank you for being here and reading and leaving comments, I appreciate it. 

*Just to be clear - I am not making a comment on my own situation here. John shares a great deal of the mental and physical work involved in family life, but I see a big imbalance in so many of my friends' relationships.