Slow Days: Following Winter's Lead

One day recently, Grace was home from school with the sniffles. I cancelled my plans of a play date with a friend and with wet weather forecast, was secretly glad of an excuse to hang out at home all day, pottering, enjoying time with my girls and resting.

We slept in and then lingered in our pyjamas longer than usual, without the call of the school bell to drag us out of the house. A few ABC2 shows were watched while I popped dinner into the slow cooker. The heater was on to keep us warm and toasty and the majority of our day was spent in our family room while the rain fell gently outside pretty much all day long.  Grace and Sophie played dolls and doctors, dressed Barbies and did endless craft.  I put on a pot of soup, made a dent in the washing pile (rotating item after item in front of the heater to dry them) and come the end of the day, even managed to flick through a few magazines.

Similarly, a few Saturdays ago it bucketed down all afternoon.  While the girls had some post-lunch quiet time in their rooms, Paul tinkered in his shed (his plans to mow the lawn hampered by the rain) and I drank cuppa after cuppa as I worked on my ideas for a new blog header, perched right by the fire, cosy and comfortable. Usually such a 'frivolous' afternoon would leave me feeling guilty about everything else I was neglecting, but on this particular wet Saturday, I did so happily.

A while back after reading a past issue of Good magazine, I jotted down a paragraph from an article written by Rebekah White.  She said,

"Turns out, winter's the perfect time to rediscover the joys of doing less.  As the days ebb, the evenings darken and the weather closes in, the body naturally gravitates towards a slower pace.  It's a welcome change from summer's high energy, activity-packed months, a time for inner restoration and, whether you are outdoors or in, for enrichment of a quieter kind."

At this time of year, I am happy to indulge my hermit-like tendencies... to take days slowly, do odd jobs here and there and to not be afraid of spending a lazy afternoon relaxing.  Listening when my body tells me it needs some chill out time rather than a day of tackling an endless to-do list is something I've learnt to embrace during the cold winter months.

How about you?  Do you too crave simple days when the temperature drops?

Back After An Online Break

A month ago, I decided I needed some time out from the online world... it felt as though I was juggling one too many things and so I cut out my use of technology and social media pretty much altogether.  A handful of minor health issues one after another left me needing some time away and space to take things easy... I stopped writing blog posts or reading other favourite blog reads.  Weeks passed without me logging into Instagram or sharing photos of my own. Emails were checked on the weekend only and left sitting unanswered in my inbox.  My laptop remained shut and I didn't go near the iPad for weeks. Photos taken were few and far between (especially when our camera decided to play up).

My self-imposed hiatus was so refreshing.  I focused on myself and my little family, on restful days and simple pleasures.  And while there were no pretty photos to browse through and no inspiring words to soak up, there were other benefits to be gained from my screen free break... disappearing for a little spell filled my days with so much more in so many ways.

With June on our doorstep, I'm looking forward to finishing off the first half of this year in a more balanced way... and hopefully continuing to do so over the coming months, focusing on what really matters in our days and what really matters to me...    

Putting Aside Procrastination

Whenever I feel overwhelmed or swamped by endless 'to-dos', unable to fathom how I will ever catch up or get on top of things again, I reach for my trusty notebook, filled with jottings and ideas. It is here that I make a huge list of all the things currently bothering me and all the things I feel I need to do. Just writing them down and visually venting seems to clear some head space in a way and allows me to step back and look realistically at all that has been on my mind, items which seem more achievable somehow when they are put onto paper.

Over the past few weeks, I've looked over that list, prioritized and re-assessed and done my best to stop procrastinating and actually make things happen.  One by one, I've been tackling areas of our home life that have been bugging me. I've done my best to fight the 'can't be bothereds', to muster up some energy and have been reminding myself over and over that things won't get done by themselves. Our linen cupboard has finally been restored to an acceptable state, the boxes and boxes of unwanted household items I've been holding onto (as well as some pieces of my Dad's I had yet to 'deal with') have been sorted through and moved on. The formal dining table which had become a 'craft area' has been cleared and restored to its former neat and tidy (albeit unused) state, (that was after I had removed the glitter-glue off the umpteen surfaces Sophie had decided to decorate) and our pantry has been organised and re-stocked.

And while my long term list still has oodles on it, my washing basket is overflowing and keeping our house clean is still a constant battle, seeing items slowly being crossed off has been very satisfying indeed. Just a fifteen minute block of time here and there each day has made a huge difference to getting things done.

In prioritizing what I've needed to do, I've also placed importance on carving out small blocks of time for creative projects. I've always fallen into the trap of thinking I had too much to-do to 'allow' myself the pleasure of some time for crafting, telling myself such luxuries could wait until the house was in order. However, the order I strive for is something I will probably never fully achieve, there will always be something else I 'should be doing' and consciously making time for creativity is in fact something that deserves to be part of my days and weeks.

A line I came across as I was recently re-reading Amanda Soule Blake's "The Creative Family" summed up my thoughts...

'Don't slip into the habit of relegating your creative projects for "after everything else is done" ... "Everything else" is never done.  Crafting needs to be as important a part of your life as anything else you consider a necessity.  There is time for creating; you just need to make it a priority for you.'

And so, as well as slowly working on long-term spring-cleaning-type household projects, I've also been spending time at my sewing machine and delving into my box of craft supplies. Sophie's patchwork quilt is beginning to take shape, the gallery wall of family snapshots I've been planning for months is almost ready to be displayed and I am finally putting together some photo albums (something for a whole other post in itself).

Productivity for me comes in waves.  There are some seasons where simply getting through the day to day essentials requires all my time, weeks where I lack energy and motivation.  At other times, I feel a sense of urgency and a strong desire to 'deal with things'... a non-pregnancy nesting of sorts... For now, I'm going to continue to plug away at my list of projects... the key for me being to do so bit by bit and to tick things off one by one...

A New Series: The Rhythm Of Our Days

My days looked very different back when I worked full-time.  Mornings were spent sleeping in as late as I could before hurriedly scoffing down breakfast and leaving for work in a flurry.  Lunch breaks were spent supervising children in the playground or sitting in the staff room preparing lessons.  Come the afternoons, I would run errands and stop for groceries on the journey home, often playing the 'what will we have for dinner?' game come five thirty.

When Grace came along several years later, my days changed dramatically.  I had earlier starts which began with breastfeeding my bub in bed or on the couch.  Breakfast was a slow affair, on warmer days enjoyed outdoors together on our patio.  My lunch break became my 'me time' and whilst early evening was probably the most chaotic time of our day, thanks to my new habit of menu planning, it was undoubtedly more organised.

Over the years and through the seasons, each phase has come and gone and the rhythm of our days has adapted slightly.  As the weeks slip by and my girls grow at a rate much quicker than I would like, I find myself eager to remember and record how our daily life looks at each stage in a way that can be reminisced upon down the track.  As a result, over the coming months, I've decided to start a new series here called 'The Rhythm Of Our Days', documenting how certain parts of the week typically look here in our little family.

Time feels so fleeting lately and consequently, I no longer view insignificant daily happenings as mundane and repetitive but instead, see them as precious moments...

I look forward to sharing a little bit of that 'every day' magic here in this space of mine...

Easing Into Spring

Taking a step back from the computer for a few weeks at the end of August to recharge and allow myself time to pause and reflect was really beneficial.  While no monumental projects were crossed off my to-do list, I pottered, 'caught up' and took things easy. Mostly, I simply used those weeks to embrace slow days and the comforts of home and our little family.

Spring has now arrived and while we've had a few days here and there of glorious blue-skied, sunshine-filled days, here in the west, wet and blustery weather has lingered.  Bit by bit though, I'm sensing an inner change and a sense of restlessness... an eagerness to begin projects and to get out more.  However, I'm letting the seasons lead me and am easing myself into spring rather than jumping into it with over-ambitious enthusiasm.

Swirling around in my head at the moment are a whole myriad of projects I'm itching to get started on... transforming the gallery wall in our entryway from a wall of wedding day portraits to a wall of precious family snapshots... getting photos off the computer and into albums to be flicked through and reminisced upon... putting the finishing touches on our home office/guest bedroom makeover... enjoying the sunshine and the simple pleasure of pottering in the garden with the girls, adding some pops of colour to our predominately green garden... deciding upon a mama-made cake for our little one's upcoming second birthday... searching for inspiration and menu ideas for my annual Pink Ribbon Day fundraiser... dreaming of a possible family holiday involving interstate flights...

For now though, I'll follow the lead of this wintery day, make myself a cuppa and sit here by the window looking out across overcast skies,  knowing that all these projects will come about eventually as spring unfolds and my plans take shape...

Embracing Winter Reflection

During the past few wintery months, the pace of my days has slowed down a lot as I've followed the lead of this season and embraced simple days filled with pottering around the house, enjoying the comfort of heaters and ugg boots and allowing myself time for quiet reflection.  With not long left of August though, I feel the need to take things one step further in order to welcome in spring with a more energetic and motivated frame of mind...

On Monday night, as I lay awake in bed ill with a virus, I did as I always do when I get sick... fall in a heap and think about how I'm not as 'on top of things' as I'd like to be, not as healthy as I'd like to be and not getting as much achieved in each day as I'd like.  Strangely enough, only days before, I'd been reading an article about using times of sickness in a positive way to listen to our bodies and our inner wisdom which is exactly what I did...

For the next few weeks, I'll continue writing but my posting may be a bit less frequent as I focus on a few things I feel I need to sort out and tick off my to-do list as we come to the close of winter.  Removing the pressure from myself to blog as often as usual will free up time for me to complete a few projects in the coming weeks and implement a few small changes to our daily rhythm... and then hopefully, just as spring is approaching, I'll be feeling as though I'm refreshed, energetic and all set for the new season...

There are only a handful of our bright pink camellia blooms above left on our bush now -

things are looking very green but rather bare in our garden at this point in winter...

Five Minutes Peace

This week I’m joining in with the My Place & Yours theme over at Meet Me At Mike’s which is:

“Where do you retreat to for that sanity-regaining break? I am interested in what or where in your home your sanctuary is…”

I like to spend my ‘five minutes peace’ curled up on our lounge, propped up with comfy pillows with a good book or magazine and cup of tea. Our lounge is a relaxing and peaceful room overlooking our front garden. I was adamant this room was not to have a television or any other distractions as I wanted it to become more of a quiet retreat. See others’ responses to this theme here.