Daily Habits

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about daily habits. I wish I’d stuck to my daily yoga, and I kick myself for not spending more time cooking from scratch in the kitchen. Small things I surely should be able to fit in to my day. But, a few daily habits have managed to stick. Black coffee for starters (there was that one time I had a nutribullet instead but is was scary green and had no caffeine.)

With Rolo’s reproachful eyes, there’s no skipping the routine of a daily dog walk. The forest feels different every time. Even when it starts as a chore, once I’m standing under the sway of those tall trunks, navigating fallen branches and searching for badly thrown balls, it can’t fail to improve my mood.

I’ve also been sticking to a daily diet of at least 25 pages a day. I’ve taken to the habit easily, steadily consuming some great books. Reading Lolita in Tehran was a surprise find in Oxfam and an unexpectedly compelling read. Look out for it; seriously good. The Orenda was equal parts brutal and beautiful, one of those books that leaves you a little wrung out at the end.

Right now I’m reading See You Tomorrow, but cheating on it with the odd chapter of Rebecca (because this weather), The Zombie Survival Guide (essential reading, of course) and Children’s Speech Sound Disorders (for the day job).

In our days of speedy information, eyes flicking over the tl;dr summaries of endless useful articles, it feels an expansive luxury to spend time with a book, to listen to just one story. This year I’ve challenged my die-hard digital-age brother to read a real book. He often has to bear me harping on about the beauty of books. I think there’s something special about holding bound paper in hand, carrying it around with you everyday, spilling coffee on it, breaking its spine or bending a corner to save that thought.

Meanwhile, Brother has inadvertently set me the challenge of knitting with cobweb lace weight yarn, thanks to a beautiful silk bundle of the stuff he gifted at Christmas. I’ve found a pattern that suits itself to TV-watching attention levels so here’s hoping I can squeeze in another daily habit.

A Spruce Up

As January closed, I started noticing peeks of spring out and about. Underfoot, the nibs of early bluebells and daffodils in such abundance it’s almost old news. Our own garden remains in wintry disarray, while I cling on to the excuse that the winter wildlife need some weedy cover.

Indoors, I could no longer cling on to the small fur tree that held it’s fairy lights long in to last week, but equally couldn’t say goodbye to the hygge goodness that comes from a string of lights. So, they remain, with some new greenery around.

Ever since listening to Igor and Judith at last year’s Blogtacular, I’ve been wanting to bring more plants into the house. Things have improved since the days of one lovely weeping fig languishing in the corner, but there’s still plenty more room for new plants. I’ll be joining the Urban Jungle Bloggers community this year and I’m looking forward to filling a little more of every day with greenery.

Meanwhile, you may have noticed some sprucing up on my blog home. Thanks to the efforts of the brilliant Alec Rust, Rusty Rambles has had a new lick of paint for the year ahead. I’m excited to have a bright new canvas to share some of this year’s adventures.

Alphabet16

It’s that time of year when I get all overexcited about the promise of a new set of twelve months. Setting grand plans in midwinter feels weird, but my inner procrastinator enjoys writing down plans that can still be put off for a good few months yet. So, true to long-held (three year) tradition, Tom and I scribbled down some alphabetised plans for 2016, freely pinching each other’s ideas as we went.

You’ll spot that Tom’s approach to paperwork is far neater than mine (and he has better handwriting; the woes of being a teacher’s wife.) We’re both trying to make food a bigger part of our days, and improve our practical skills (Tom’s C is for chainsaw!) Meanwhile, I’ve left D blank. I don’t think we should rescue a dog for the second year running… So, all other ‘D’ ideas gratefully received! Here’s to another year of challenge and adventure.

PS – You can view last year’s alphabet list here. I’d love to hear your own ideas over on Twitter or Instagram.

Life Offscreen

Last week had me gathering, pressing, pinning and posting autumn packages to some of my favourite bloggers around the country. I’ve been lingering on walks, noticing small details, things to gather and post to friends. I defy anyone to suggest that brown paper packages tied up with string aren’t among their most favourite of things.

It started with a conversation about the perfect wild restoration of time spent in nature. Ever since Kate and I stumbled upon our shared passion for the outdoors her podcasts have been a regular listen, full of creativity and yarn indulgence. When she suggested we share some seasonal adventuresome ideas I was quick to agree. Add to that my love of pencil and paper and we simply had to involve the post office in our plans.

So began The Life Offscreen Project: a simple action that we hope will cause a ripple effect reminder to get outside and off our screens. The idea is really simple:

Send a snail mail reminder to a friend to get out and enjoy some seasonal adventure.
Use your mail as a prompt to notice the little things, to gather and share some outdoor inspiration.

Over the coming weeks you’ll notice other bloggers joining in and little pieces of mail being shared that we hope inspires others to live life on the wilder side. You don’t have to sign up and no one is going to hold you accountable. This is your moment to share and discover. If you have taken part in the project though, we would love to hear from you!

To start you off, we’ve gathered some of our other freedom-seeking friends and created a Pinterest board with plenty of inspiration for a Life Offscreen.

See you on Instagram? #lifeoffscreen.

No Idle Hands

Tom’s grandad always loved to see people busy with their hands. A prolific and talented cross-stitcher himself, he often used to extol the virtues of ‘no idle hands’. Not only was I born to a crafty family, I also appear to have married in to one. Tom’s mum is a stitcher of many things, whilst Tom himself is rarely far from a pencil or craft knife.

I’ve always preferred textile to paper, doubting my artistic ability after plenty of dispiriting childhood moments when the picture in my head would refuse to translate itself on to paper. So, at the beginning of the year when I swore to try a new craft, it seemed natural to pick up some cross stitch. This little amber bee has taken me quite some time. I’m not sure I have the patience for counting squares and fiddling with different shades of thread, but I’m pleased with how it’s looking so I shall bloody-well persevere until it’s done!

I’ve also been overcoming my fear of drawing, thanks to Jennie Maizel’s Sketchbook Club. The project has just enough structure and freedom to make it all seem ‘doable’, with my added delight in now being a frequenter of the local art shop. My grama has always been the one buying the art supplies. Her house is full of beautiful big canvases she’s painted over the years. So, I’m sure she too would be an appreciator of ‘no idle hands’.