Tag: minimalism

Summer Walks, Slugs and Sprinkles

Just sharing a quick update as I worry my posts have become a bit repetitive of late, though I still want to document this period of our lives and to remind myself that there’s much to be grateful for.

HimalayanHoneysuckle

Our daily walks have often been the highlight of my day since lockdown began. Being confined to a five mile radius has enoucouraged us to explore the local area more thoroughly than we would have when we were more likely to go to a park or drive to a forest or beach. We recently stumbled across a network of hidden lanes and have spent the last week exploring them. On one of our walks we spotted one of my husband’s favourite plants, Himalayan Honeysuckle, growing wild and I couldn’t resist taking a cutting for our garden along with a handful of Honesty seed pods.

Walks

We’ve been growing pea shoots on the kitchen window sill for a quick-growing and tasty addition to salads and stir-fries. Unfortunately, cool weather and rain has encouraged an army of slugs and snails to invade the garden, and they’ve been devouring my squash and courgette plants one by one. However, the brassica bed is doing well, and I spotted the first head of broccoli developing.

Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve celebrated both my husband and father-in-law’s birthdays. Ordinarily, I would take my husband out to dinner but as that wasn’t possible this year, instead we treated ourselves to takeaway from one of our favourite Japanese restaurants, which was delicious. We also had socially distanced coffee and birthday cake in the garden with the in-laws – though my mother-in-law went a bit overboard with the sprinkles!

Sprinkles

We’ve had intermittent sunshine and showers here, but hoping now that travel restrictions are being relaxed, we’ll be able to have a few summer adventures soon whatever the weather. Take care and have a lovely week. X

Making Friends

It feels like life is on hold as the lockdown continues in our country, yet the last few months have been a whirlwind for us since our daughter was born, and our once quiet, peaceful home is now more lively and full than ever.

It’s been a huge transition for us, but wanted to share a little update on how our cat Mara is adjusting. We adopted Mara four and a half years ago, and it’s honestly hard to remember life before she joined our family because so many of our decisions and daily routines revolve around her. We’re very much “til death do us part” pet owners and re-homing Mara was never an option we were willing to consider when I found out I was pregnant. Fortunately, Mara has a gentle temperament and she’s much more likely to flee to a safe, quiet location than to scratch or bite.

Mara’s a creature of habit and routine, most of which were thrown into chaos and disorder by the arrival of our baby daughter. I did worry that Mara thought she’d been replaced at first but my husband and I are very conscious of making sure Mara gets some time and attention every day to play with her, brush her, pet and cuddle her, giving her a few extra treats (including the cat-grass we grow, much to my father-in-law’s amusement) and encouraging her to sit on our laps when we’re not holding the baby.

We were initially worried that Mara might climb into the bedside crib with our daughter, but she usually gives it a wide berth due to the unpredictable and noisy occupant. We’re lucky that our daughter generally sleeps well, and Mara still chooses to sleep at the bottom of our bed most nights.

So far introductions have all been supervised, and most of their interactions have been limited to Mara peering into the crib when the wee one is sleeping, and giving her a tentative sniff when we hold them close enough to see each other. For her part, our daughter isn’t quite sure what to make of Mara either, but usually studies the feline member of our family with a combination of wide eyes and furrowed brows. Little by little, they’re becoming more confident and curious about one another, and I’m hopeful that they’ll become friends as time goes by. Hope everyone is safe and well, have a lovely week. X

Easter Greetings

Easter

Easter weekend coincided with spring sunshine and warmth this year, and normally we’d be heading out for day-trips or visiting family, but with the country still in lockdown we’ve spent most of the weekend at home, savouring the simple pleasures and little luxuries of hot cross buns and cherry blossom tea in the garden.

This isn’t how I expected to spend my maternity leave, and although I’d planned to join the bookbug sessions at our library and the local baby sensory group, I’m quite content to potter around the house and garden with the wee one. I feel very fortunate to be able to stay at home with my daughter when so many others are risking their health at work during the pandemic. My husband had only just returned to work after a month off on paternity leave before the lockdown began and he’s been working from home since, but it’s been lovely having him around to help out and enjoying more time together.

Playtime

Luckily, our little daughter is too young to understand what’s going on and it’s easy to entertain her at home. We’ve been filling our days with tummy-time, singing nursery rhymes and reading picture books, pulling faces at each other, and she’s been rewarding us with lots of smiles. Now nine weeks old, our baby is so alert, her blue eyes wide open observing the world around her.

We’ve also been venturing out most days for our government-approved walk around the neighbourhood for some gentle exercise, zig-zagging across the street to avoid others we encounter, and spotting all the rainbows in the windows and decorating the streets for the NHS staff and other key workers still working hard.

Pram Walks

The last few weeks have been disorienting and overwhelming at times, but we’re trying to make the best of it, enjoying our time together and embracing a slower pace of life. Wishing everyone a happy Easter and a lovely week. X

Unravel and Bloom ~ Early Spring in the Garden

Daffodils

Over the last few weeks I’ve been glued to the news as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded and changed our lives beyond recognition. While we’ve been following guidance to stay at home, I’ve been grateful for our little garden, which gives us an escape whenever we start to feel a bit claustrophobic in our house.

Although our lives have been interrupted, nature and spring have carried on oblivious to the pandemic. We have a long winter here in Scotland, and I always appreciate the earliest flowers in the garden reminding us that spring and change are on the way. There were a scattering of delicate Snowdrops in January, quickly followed by the glamourous Iris Reticulata ‘Pauline’. The Tete-A-Tete Daffodils started flowering at the start of this month, and now at the end the Narcissus Apotheosis are just about to unravel and bloom.

Daffodils2

Regardless of what’s going on in our lives or the rest of the world, the birds in our garden need to be fed, the grass cut, weeds pulled and seeds sown – and these simple activities help to provide a little bit of distraction, purpose and normality in these strange and scary times. Hoping everyone reading is safe and well. X

Flowers and Hope

Daffodils

This week began with a funeral as my family gathered to say our final farewells to my nanna who passed away at the end of February. By a lovely coincidence, there were daffodils spelling the word Hope, my nanna’s name, on the grounds of the Crematorium.

My nanna turned 93 last September and I feel incredibly lucky to have had her all through my childhood and well into adulthood, but I’ll miss her and life without her will be a huge adjustment for our family. It’s particularly sad timing as she passed away before meeting our baby, her great granddaughter.

BillandHope
My grandparents on their wedding day in 1947

I’m very grateful to have such a store of memories with my nanna. I’ll remember her reading The Owl and the Pussycat to me when I was very little and reciting King John’s Christmas during Christmas dinner a couple of years ago. I’ll remember the sandwich cakes she baked for birthdays and special occasions, which were perfect every time, never burned, peaked, cracked or soggy. I’ll remember her singing songs from old musicals while she washed dishes, and her twinkling eyes and throaty chuckle as she told personal anecdotes.

When we came to clear out her house, there were only a few keepsakes I wanted, but I dug up some flowers from her garden that I hope will survive being moved to our garden and will always remind me of nanna. Have a lovely week. X

The Wait is Over… ❤

Born in 2020

February is not a month I usually look forward to as it’s often a cold and dreary end to the winter, but this year it’s been very special indeed, as we welcomed our daughter into the world.

I expected to hate being pregnant but I was lucky to have a straightforward, easy pregnancy. I had a few extra ultrasound scans, and I’ll never forget the first time we saw our baby on the screen at just 8 weeks looking like a little gingerbread man with oversized head, truncated limbs and most importantly a flickering heartbeat. I’ve felt our baby swimming around my tummy like a little mermaid, a squirming fidget tickling me from the inside, and a master of hide and seek who could be so still at times that I was scared our dream was over before it had begun.

Tiny toes
Tiny fingers

Our fair-haired, blue-eyed daughter was born on a cold and stormy Friday evening after a relatively quick 20 hour labour, and I’ll be eternally grateful to the doctors and midwives who helped deliver her safely.

It feels like we’ve waited a long time to meet our baby. Now the wait is over, my husband and I are starting to find our way as parents, we’re already seeing glimpses of our daughter’s temperament and we’re so looking forward to getting to know her properly.

Born in 2020 cards

We’ve spent the last week in a cosy, little bubble at home while Storms Ciara and Dennis raged outside, welcoming visitors who braved the winds, sleet, hail and snow to meet the newest addition to our little family, and just enjoying the novelty of it all. Have a lovely week. X

Nesting

Nesting

We’ve been in full-on nesting mode recently: my hospital bag is packed, the freezer is full of home-cooked meals to make life with a newborn easier, and we’ve been tackling a few of the DIY projects around the house that we’d been putting off.

We’ve finally redecorated the master bedroom, and I wanted to share a few before and after photos. Since my husband and I moved here three years ago, we’ve slept in the smaller bedroom and used the master bedroom as a guest room whenever parents, in-laws and friends came to visit, but we’ve now moved into the master bedroom and we’ll eventually turn the smaller room into a nursery when the wee one is old enough to sleep in their own room.

Much like the rest of the house, the bedroom was not a blank canvas, as the previous owners favoured bold, dark colours and imposing furniture. I used to think white was a cold, sterile and boring colour to paint a room, but over the years I’ve come to appreciate how warm, bright and clean it can be. The master bedroom is north-east facing, and white walls really help to maximise and reflect the natural light, though we added a feature wall because I fell in love with the woodland wallpaper from Cole and Son. We’ve also added a little deskspace in the alcove, which is ideal for working from home.

There are still other more ambitious improvements and renovations we haven’t got around to yet (like adding a downstairs bathroom and extending the kitchen) but they aren’t urgent, and as always I’m grateful to call this house home.

ColleaguesGifts

I feel like I haven’t really stopped since starting maternity leave as the last few weeks have been full of midwife appointments, antenatal classes and catch ups with family and friends. We’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of our families, friends and colleagues, and I had the loveliest send-off from work, but now enjoying being able to put my feet up for a little while. Have a lovely week. X

Walking with Dinosaurs

LostWorlds

Of all the nocturnal light shows competing for visitors across the country, the Giant Lanterns of China at Edinburgh Zoo is definitely worth wrapping up and venturing out on a winter evening to see. This was our third time visiting the Giant Lanterns of China, and while previous years have focused on Chinese Astrology and Scottish and Chinese Myths and Legends, this year the theme was on the Lost Worlds of the Prehistoric Eras and was probably the best yet.

Wrapped up in boots and winter coats, with cold hands curled around cups of hot chocolate, we enjoyed wandering (or in my case waddling!) around the displays and learning about the different prehistoric eras from the infamous Jurassic era all the way up to the marsupial and ice ages. I’m always impressed by the scale and details of the lanterns with their feathers, spines, teeth, eyes, expressions and shading.

I have mixed feelings about zoos, but this event always reminds me of the valuable conservation work that Edinburgh Zoo does, as well as raising awareness that we must all do whatever we can to prevent other endangered species from extinction in our lifetimes. Have a lovely week. X

EndangeredSpecies

Festive Tidings

Festive Tidings

The last fortnight has passed in a blur of good times with good people, and I can hardly believe that we’re already packing away the Christmas decorations for another year and preparing to return to work tomorrow.

Christmas morning began with a visit to the in-law’s home, chatting and exchanging gifts while nibbling mince pies and Christmas cake. Like us, they’ve have a tough year, losing two relatives and then their cat just shy of her 22nd birthday, but we’re all relieved to put 2019 behind us and hoping 2020 will be better.

Christmas morning tea

Our Christmas lunch was quieter than usual, as it was just me, my husband and parents. I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve spent Christmas without my nanna, but she wasn’t well enough to join us, so after lunch the four of us visited her at the care home to spend some time with her and help her to open presents.

Afterwards, we had a supper of cheese and biscuits, and settled down to play a board game with my parents. Our Christmas bore little resemblance to the rambunctious gatherings that are so ubiquitous on TV at this time of year, but it was calm, cosy and intimate.

Over the festive break we also managed to squeeze in catch-ups with extended family, friends from Dublin and London, and a trip to the cinema to watch the new Star Wars film.

Cosy evenings

This week we’ve had a few days to ourselves at home and we’ve enjoyed watching the BBC adaptation of His Dark Materials, tackling a 1000 piece jigsaw together, toasting marshmallows, reading and working our way through leftover Christmas cake, chocolates, cheese and crackers.

It’s been a busy break filled with family and friends, but now looking forward to the peaceful midwinter days of January and all the promise of a new year ahead of us. Have a lovely week. X

2009 – 2019 Reflections

2009-2019 Mara

We’ve reached the end of another year and a whole decade to boot, and I’ve been reflecting on how much my life has changed in that time:

  • Ten years ago, I moved to Glasgow;
  • Eight years ago, I passed my driving test and returned to university to study a post-graduate qualification that led to my current career;
  • Six years ago, my then boyfriend and I moved in together, and got engaged shortly after;
  • Four years ago, we were married and adopted our cat, Mara;
  • Three years ago, we bought our house, and I started this blog.
  • In the last ten years, I’ve traveled to Budapest, Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Dublin, Iceland (twice!), Japan, New York and Oslo as well as various places around Great Britain.

2009-2019 Travel
Fulfilling childhood dreams of travelling to Japan and New York

It helps to have a bit of perspective because 2019 has been one of the most challenging years I’ve faced in a long time. We’ve mourned the passing of two of my husband’s relatives, and helped my nanna move into a care home. A member of my family was admitted to hospital three times and spent six months as an in-patient, and there’s a question mark over my own health after I temporarily lost vision in my left eye.

2019 highlights

It hasn’t all been bad news though, we’ve enjoyed the RSNO performing the music of Harry Potter, supported our local team at a rugby match, visited the Giant Lanterns of China at Edinburgh Zoo and the Enchanted Forest in Pitlochry to list just a few of the most memorable moments. We’ve both changed jobs, with my husband returning to the NHS after a stint in the private sector and self-employment, and I returned to the front lines of social services after a secondment in a finance driven role. The biggest change is still on the horizon, and all being well, we’ll meet our baby in just a few weeks.

I don’t have any grand plans or ambitions for the next decade and I can’t imagine what 2020 will hold, yet I hope I’ll continue to love, learn, travel and practice gratitude whatever happens. Wishing everyone a very happy New Year. X