I’ve been a little quiet……………I know! And usually when I’m quiet that means I’m up to something, or I’m getting into trouble! Or BOTH! 😆
All is well, I’ve just been a very busy little bee! I’ve been working hard, and when I’ve not been working I’ve been having little mini adventures and spending time with friends and gardening. It’s that lovely time of year when those little bulbs you forgot you planted in October make an appearance to remind you of a gardening afternoon well spent in Autumn and the marvels of mother nature.
I’ve been getting out in the Spring sunshine as we’ve had quite a lot of it……………….and I’ve had a birthday……………one more year makes me 54! One year older and one year wiser! 😂
I’ve broken up for the 2 week Easter holidays this last weekend, and of course I have a little adventure planned for just one week…………get me out of here!! I have a good feeling about this one, so sit tight…………more adventure tales from abroad coming your way in a few weeks.
But mainly over the last few weeks I’ve been ‘Hyggeing’ my life and my space, because I needed to, much to everyone else’s annoyance! I’ve had lots of time to think and reflect, both on my little trip to Copenhagen and afterwards, and we all know I like to think. And I’ve been thinking about happiness and happy spaces and adding some Hygge to my life. Because the world is a funny old place at the moment and it could make you quite sad. But whilst the news makes me feel a twinge of sadness, and probably anxious too………………..I’m generally quite happy and positive, but so many people aren’t. So here’s a couple of tips about my thoughts on happiness which you can take or leave.
About this Hygge then! I’ve been uncluttering my home, and got myself into a heap of trouble. I’ve done this partly because clutter drives me nuts and partly because I’m planning on retiring and spending less time here in the UK and I just needed a good old sort out! I like minimal, calm, uncluttered spaces……………….the trouble is that everyone else is a bit of a hoarder. I’m also a bit of a doer, not a procrastinator, so I’ve uncluttered everyone else’s space for them too! 🤣
I’d been reading a book about Hygge after my Copenhagen trip, and came across another book about the ‘Art of Swedish Death Cleaning’. Panic not, I’m not planning on going anywhere just yet, but you never know do you! It was quite an interesting read about cleansing your life of all that crap you hold onto and decluttering……………and the nice happy feeling you have when you’ve done it. I can only liken it to that feeling I get when I’ve cleaned the bathrooms! 😍 Or is that just me! 🤭
I was going to Hygge the bedroom first, followed by the office/study and then move onto my big boy’s room now he’s moved out………………….and I wasn’t doing it in one month, two months, or three…………….I was doing it immediately! Which is very like me…………..idea, followed very quickly by action, and plan as you go! And this is where it can go a bit wrong. I saw a perfect window of opportunity! The youngest and Dad off skiing for a week, followed by the eldest and Dad on a mountaineering and ice climbing course for a week…………………that equates to two perfect weeks to get creative, busy and de-clutter……………..hence only the time for mini adventures, because I also had t fit in a full time job!
I’d already bought some gorgeous fabric………………….all hand embroidered, neutral oatmeal coloured, with pretty ferns to bring a soft, calm and natural feeling to the bedroom………………all ‘hygge’. So out came my sewing machine and I got to work on two pairs of curtains and a roman blind for the bedroom.
I really enjoyed making these as I love creating and interior design. I’m a bit of a perfectionist though and the blind drove me crazy. I like the gap around the edge of the blind to be even all the way around the edge (the perfectionist in me)……………….and it’s only when you are making a roman blind that you realise your windows are not quite as square as you thought they were! 😂
There was a bit of swearing, readjusting and getting up and down stepladders but I got there eventually…………………but it did take quite a lot of after work and weekend stitching, as I like all my hems and seams to be hand stitched on the reverse, not machine stitched, as I don’t like to see machine stitching on the right side of the fabric. Anyway they are finished now and I’m quite pleased with them!
I framed my linocut print which I made the other month and put it up on the wall!
And I re-potted some of my orchids and purchased a couple more plants. I love, love, love plants. In fact I had a little giggle to myself when Copenhagen Mette wrote a review of me on Airbnb as this reviewing thing works both ways now. I love a plant, and while staying at Mette’s I thought I’d take care of the plants too! Which did not go un-noticed!🤣
I took the old curtains and bedding to the charity shop and purchased some lovely pink linen bedding and a lovely green velvet bedspread. Final touch was a sheepskin cushion and a little sheepskin rug for the side of the bed. These wooden floors are ok but I do like to step out of bed onto something warm, soft and fluffy in a morning so this little rug does the trick perfectly on the ‘hygge’ front.
Lighting is important too………………so I added some nice bedside lighting, and a gorgeous hand woven rattan light shade hand made in Bali. This makes a really nice pattern on the ceiling when it’s lit.
The only problem is that at this point no-one else has any idea what I’m doing. I’d saved up my pennies over a few months to make my purchases but because I’d exhausted my little home improvement budget it did not stretch to an electrician. “No problem”, I thought! I’ll just watch a video on You Tube, I know where the fuse box is………….I’m sure I can change and rewire a couple of light fittings myself!😦Now this is where my able assistant comes in………………………..Brian Bucket!
Now Brian Bucket is my amazing 85 year old Dad! Who, on learning that his only child is going to tamper with the household electrics was not too happy! The fortunate thing is Brian Bucket is very handy…………………he was a maintenance engineer for the National Health Service (NHS) for many years. Everyone in the NHS knows him as ‘Brian Bucket’, they gave him that title………………..and that is because wherever Brian went………….the bucket went too! Brian has no time for modern fancy tool bags from the big brands which weigh too much and mean you have to carry all your tools everywhere! In Brian’s opinion, they are completely unnecessary, you just take the tools you need for the job in your trusty bucket!😆
So he said, “Stop right there! Don’t touch anything! I’m coming to supervise!” Now I adore my Dad! He retired 20 years ago but he still misses work, his colleagues and just the feeling of being useful and helping. So there he was, one hour later, dressed for the occasion in his NHS uniform 😂😍 which he still dons at any available opportunity, even though it’s now a bit threadbare, with his trusty bucket in hand! ❤️
The deal was he was going to sit, drink tea, eat biscuits and impart his wisdom and I was going to do the climbing up the ladders and do the doing. I only had to shout at him a couple of times when I caught him half way up the ladder (he can’t help himself), but all in all we were a super team and I am very pleased with my decluttered, hygged bedroom and new light fittings!
Whist looking for bedroom lighting, I spotted a big orange and beige drum shade to add a pop of colour to the sitting room………..a bargain…………………..”Oh that will look perfect with my Moroccan rug”, I thought. So that found a new home too and that was the next little bit of lighting DIY done.
Next room ……………………. the big boy’s room. He’s been gone 5 years now and it was still a shrine to all things Alex, hot chicks and gaming. The curtains had gone with him and it was looking tired and untidy. He has no plans to come back so with his permission that’s had a little spruce up too. It’s now a guest room, but also his room when he comes home to visit……………………….so I could not go too pink and floral in here.
I found some fabulous fabric for curtains and it was so cheap! So another pair of curtains were made, another plant purchased, a nice rug, some lights, cushions, the bedding I managed to get in my rucksack from Copenhagen and I am all hygged in here too…………….even retaining space for his precious guitars!
Last but not least the office/study! Which is where I came unstuck! 😂 We all have that one room where the hoarders of the house cram those things that might come in useful at some future, undetermined date! And this is the room! It had some old pine furniture in there, an old book case, rickety computer desk and loads of what I would term ‘crap’! I decided the best thing was to empty the entire room into the family bathroom that no-one really uses, as they use the en-suite. From there I could sort it out. It’s not until you start emptying a room like this that you realise just how much ‘crap’ it’s been possible to get in one room and what a big job it’s going to be. A few trips to the British Heart Foundation Charity shop and I did not seem to have made much headway.
I’d sort of run out of time and the main house bathroom looked like this on their return!🤣🤣 To say I was in trouble was understatement of the year! I promised It would be sorted by the weekend.
So I had a little trip to IKEA, which we all know is my favourite shop…………………I’m being sarcastic……………….I get lost and can’t find all the ‘bits’ I need. Anyway…….floor to ceiling storage units were purchased…………….the less said about the self assembly the better!😂🤭
Piles and piles of ‘crap’ have gone to the charity shop, to friends or in the bin! Everything is all nice and tidy and ‘hidden’ in my new white, glossy units and I have much, much less than I had before. The computer is on a nice little desk, I’ve welcomed another fluffy sheepskin rug, and into my life I brought ‘Roger’, the rubber plant, who looks very happy in his pink pot in the office.
So that’s why I’ve been quiet! I’ve been busy! I’ve got this Hygge and Swedish death cleaning down to a fine art. I’m all decluttered upstairs and it does make you feel so much calmer, happier and with a smug sense of achievement! But I’ve been banned from starting the downstairs just yet! But watch this space………………………I just need a small window of opportunity to open up and a few more months to squirrel away some savings and secret bargain purchases!🤭
So about this ‘happiness’ then! I’ve been thinking a little bit about this. Why are so many people in the Western world so unhappy? And what makes you happy! I find it quite sad and alarming that a lot of the younger generation are so sad and not happy. One of my own has his ups and downs and I’m always ready to catch him when he falls, so I’ve been thinking about it. I’m not saying you have to be happy all the time, I’m not happy all the time, I don’t think anyone is, and sometimes it’s medical, like in his case, and I get that and understand it. I’m just talking here about general every day happiness for everyone.
There’s that age old saying isn’t there that “Less is More”…………………..and in a way that’s so true. After decluttering I have so much less than I had before…………but I’m happier. Life is a lot less cluttered.
I sort of decided that it might be because we live in a world where everything can be bought, or at least people think it can, and the focus is on ‘more’ not ‘less’. In a world of social media everyone is comparing themselves to the ‘ideal’ ………………… whatever that is…………………….and often these ‘ideals’ are unrealistic, unattainable ideals, and then people feel sad when they can’t achieve them.
However, happiness comes from within, it can’t be bought………………….and I think it’s only when you get older and wiser that you realise this.
And there are so many women in particular………………..partly due to social media, TV, and advertising, who are not happy with how they look and don’t think they are enough as they are. I’m fortunate to have been brought up to always believe I’m enough. If someone doesn’t think you are enough, then how they act towards you is more likely to be a reflection of themselves and not of you. Remember that! Mum was laughing the other day. There was a feature on the radio and people were phoning in to reveal the best piece of advice their mother ever gave to them. Mum said to me, “What is the best piece of advice I’ve ever given you?” She thought it was hilariously funny when I said “Don’t ever pluck your eyebrows!” 😂 But I was being serious.
I was always terrified of plucking them as she told me they would grow big and bushy if I did!🤣 But now I’m so glad I didn’t. They are a sort of natural colour which matches my hair, neither fat nor thin, natural shaped and I made friends with my eyebrows many years ago.
So many people now feel the need to do things cosmetically, either eyebrows, inject things into their face, or other parts of their body, for wrinkles, etc. etc. the list is endless. And that’s fine if you are doing it for you! It’s also fine if it makes you you happy! But not if you are doing it to try and achieve an unachievable, unsustainable ideal, to please someone else, or if it does not make you happy………………………because surprise, surprise……………….beauty comes from within and you are enough as you are.
Take for instance this picture of me below which I have no issues posting! It’s not my greatest! 😆How many times have you looked at a photograph of yourself and pulled it apart. Well don’t!! You know that gorgeous sunrise or sunset you took a photograph of that just didn’t look the same as it did in real life……………….well that’s because things are always so much more beautiful in real life, including you! Because beauty is not about how you look, it comes from inside, it’s about your smile, your wrinkles, your bushy eyebrows, your personality………………..not just what you see on the photograph…………that’s just an image.
So this a photograph of the working me, at work after a reasonably stressful day. You can see my 54 year old, unplucked eyebrows. 😆 When you get to 54 you are more bothered about the hairs growing out of your chin than your eyebrows, believe me! Which by the way, I will allow you to pluck! The body at 54 is an amazing thing and each week I look forward with eager anticipation to see what I am going to grow and sprout next and from where!😂
I have white bits all over my black jacket…………….that’s because I have just had a tussle and altercation with an overfull shredding machine in the server room. My hair is curly, unruly and all over the place. It has a life of its own and is different every day, there’s not a lot I can do about it! I’ve not got much make-up on because unless I’m out on the razzle dazzle I can take it or leave it, you get me as I am! Yes, I like lipstick and a bit of mascara, but a bit of mascara is all you will see on this photograph. When I do put my makeup on, it takes me all of 5 minutes to apply it, I’m definitely in the less is more camp on this front! But deep down I am a bit of a girlie girl, absolutely! I love to get dressed up, I do own lovely dresses, but I like playing out in my playing out clothes equally as much.
If you zoom in I have wrinkles! Particularly around my eyes……………………but I’m quite happy with them. I have no intention of injecting Botox or fillers into my face as every line tells a story of my life and a different adventure ………………….. and my face also allows me to smile my smile, scowl, wrinkle my forehead in disapproval, show my excitement or otherwise. I have one of those very expressive faces…………………..you know exactly what I’m thinking……………I feel everything and my face says it all! Anyone who has ever met me will tell you that, you get it exactly as it is, you’ll never have to second guess my thoughts!😂
So that’s me…………….barefaced, no filter, wrinkles, eyebrows, covered in shredding paper and happy that I’m enough.
So my little tip to you is less is more…………………..declutter……………….and remember that you are enough and real beauty and happiness comes from within………………it can’t be bought.
Just a couple of days now until I leave on my little adventure, so that has given me just enough time to have a good old catch up with my boys over the last couple of days. My little mini-me works shifts, so despite the fact he lives at home, I don’t see him that often. Yesterday he had a day off and the sun was shining so I dragged him up a local mountain, Kinder Scout, for some fresh air! It was hard work getting him up! 😂 But we put the world to rights and I proved to him that cheese and pickle sandwiches on sourdough taste much better at the top of a mountain.
Then on Sunday I went to see my big boy. He’s a three hour drive away……….but sometimes you just need to invite yourself and make that drive. He’s been working so very, very hard over the last few months and I’ve not seen him really. He’s not the greatest communicator. They tell you they are ok but as a Mum sometimes you can tell they are bit tired and under the weather, and those one word affirmations are not enough. You feel the need to visit, see them in the flesh, give them a big hug, feed them, take them a little food parcel and make sure they are definitely ok.
So 6 hours was spent driving there and back in the car to see him for 3 hours………………but it was worth it…………..he got fed, we had a good catch up, and I got to give lots of hugs and give him that once over inspection that only a Mum can give! 😆
There is just one more exciting discovery I need to tell you about before I go! Whilst shopping for the aforementioned little food parcel I discovered this!
OMG!!!!! I cannot tell you how good this is. Britain’s favourite posh food store has brought out a new chocolate bar. Dark chocolate is my favourite chocolate and I love nuts! So imagine chunky, melt in the mouth, dark chocolate with no shortage of hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios all through the chocolate. It is divine.😍 Now, ignore the 3 red warnings on the front for fat, saturated fat and sugar……………….it’s green for salt which I’m taking as a positive! And it’s almost Easter when you can eat as much chocolate as you want and it does not count!
So that’s been the last few weeks………………….normal adventures will resume shortly and be reported on in due course!😂
But for now I’ve worn myself out decluttering so this weekend I’m just doing a triathlon!🤣🤣
