When Christmas becomes a hazy memory and the lull of the new year has officially worn off- you know its February.
January bills paid (almost) and the bank account is hung over. Its the time you look to sorting paperwork, updating records and getting more or less used to writing ‘2016’!
I spent the last few weeks just trying to get back into some sort of order and routine, following a short visit to London in the New Year. When we got back there was a sense of newness in the air- a peace, a calm, a new start. A welcome and beautiful feeling.
Health & Diet
I’m not one for diets, but having a healthy diet is important. Getting back into ‘healthy fruits and veg’ is bound to be hard after all the comforting stodge Christmas and New Year had to offer. That’s when my sister gave me the idea of the super-simple smoothie which even someone as restless and preoccupied as myself can benefit from!
It works with anything you have around at the time, you just need a good blender to whizz it all together for you. It takes minutes and proved to be an easy way to get about 3+ portions of your 5-a-day in without having to chomp your way though the (cold and uninviting) fruit 😉
I use 1x Banana, 2x satsumas, 1x pear, 1x apple, grated carrot, chopped spinach, half cucumber, berries, a splash of any fruit juice – in any combination! There, easy and delicious.
Books, Books, Books
I love popping to the local library with the kids when I get the chance. Over the last couple of weeks they’ve have had a small sale on books; some going for as cheap as 10 pence! Well, you can imagine how happy that would make a bibliophile like myself…….
Esther’s inheritance is a gem I picked up at the sale, never having read anything by Sandor Marai previously. The Sunday Telegraph likened the ‘rediscovery’ of Marai in these works as finding an Old master painting in the attic. I would have to agree; there is an air of timeless elegance about his work, this in particular. A short read and a book I thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to discovering and reading more of his work in the year ahead.
Personal Endeavours…
My Family Tree
The journal in the picture above is the very same I had featured in a much earlier post about my crafty & cultural experiences around Scotland during a short trip here in 2013. I absolutely love this journal and have been using it to map out my family tree- a wonderful project I’m working on with my dear Granny and Grandad whenever I get the chance to visit them (they are in London, of course); they definitely love being involved and me being the data freak that I am, is savouring every detail.
I have been looking to load my information into a suitable software program, as the vastness and complexity of the information requires much careful management. So I’ll keep on the look-out for that. Its an amazing project to be working on and one that I hope will expand into a sort of resource for the family and my future generations!
Knitted Shawl
I spent so long on crochet projects recently that I was worried I would lose the skill to knit (gasp)! I started myself on a simple knitted shawl and ‘phew’ I was knitting again.
Its a plain shawl with a simple (knit-purl)* stitch format. Putting to good use the cream woolly balls my mum had left stashed away amongst her belongings. I think a repetitive pattern such as this is a good way to practice and tidy up your hand and again its a fun thing to do when you’re watching the telly or sitting with the kids while they play. And if I can get it finished before winter is out, I’ll have a snuggly shawl to wrap up in during those cold, stormy, Scottish evenings.
Sabeena
BlanketsNBabies 