Wonderful Wednesday #195

{Frosty wanders to work are a little bit of bliss}

Do you know i'm still not used to the shorter days and longer nights and how many weeks has it been...?!  This week has so far been about catching moments of light and bright in whatever capacity i can {is it too soon for fairylights?}, eating crispy kale and sprouts at every given opportunity and of taking hot and steamy eucalyptus-infused showers.  It's also been one of those seven day stints at work and this week i'm left feeling a little bit worse for wear and like i should take care of myself a little bit more this week.  I'm off today {It's Tuesday evening as i write this for tomorrow} and Wednesday this week and i'm working the late night shift on Thursday.  Today has been for hurrying and scurrying and tidying up the whirlwind of the last seven days and tomorrow is for being lazy and also for taking a bit more care of myself.  


Even though it has been a whirlwind start to the week; i'm happy to report i've still had time to count the best bits...


1.  Time.  It's precious that stuff i tell you and it's something i am forever short of; constantly chasing and generally complaining that i lose it on a regular basis! It's an overwhelming battle that i imagine i'm not the only one who faces and one of my big, big 'things' for 2018 - hells bells i've already gone there - {i say 'things' as a lose term because i don't like to call them resolutions} is to try my hardest to rekindle that 'me' and 'time' balance.  I'm convinced it's part of the reason i get myself in such a 'tizz' and a 'flap' on a regular.  Where was i?!  YES! Time lately is getting less and less and so i'm trying my hardest to really treasure those odd moments of delicious silence.  Gone are my walk to walk 'stompy full of bass and gutsiness' playlists and walk home 'thought-provoking' podcasts.  Not forever and not for always i'm sure.  But lately has felt so busy and overwhelming that i'm dedicating any quiet time to nothing but utter silence.  I try and think about nothing at all except putting one foot {or pedal!} infront of the other and breathing in.....and oooooout.  And it's been really helping.


2.  Time spent all alone.  I'm just one of those people who needs a little time away from it all - even from those i love - from time to time.  I used to feel guilty about it, that i should be spending every second of when i was at home with the Mr with him:  talking, being and spending my time.  But as much as i love sharing my forever with him, i also love my own space.  Even if that's my walk to and from work and my hour in the evening having a bath or a shower with some candles, my favourite music and just me.  It's a time i treasure and have really started to appreciate lately.  


3.  Walks in the rain. Something i highly advocate.  So long as you've nowhere to be and no-one you don't mind seeing you soggy and disheveled!!  'Lately's' weather has been so un-predictable and changeable beyond belief!   So walks in the rain have often been not so much of choice but simply also a 'getter' from A to B.  There's something about being bundled up under a floral umbrella though:  jeans tucked into boots and chin nestled into a colourful blanket scarf and wandering and noticing how different everything looks and smells in the rain.  And the smell?  Well that's the very best bit:  All smoky, damp and heavy with wet green grass and sodden leaves.  It's not quite as delicious as filling your little lungs with a frosty morning BUT you've got to take your pleasures where you can find them haven't you?!


4.  Candles in the morning.  Come this time of year you've got to get your light and your 'sunshine'  fix when and wherever you can.  My grey mornings have been cured not only by tea, sheepskin slippers and a bowl of porridge as big as my head but also by lighting a couple of candles as i get ready too.  I can't bring myself to put on a big light, much preferring a softer lamp light and a couple of candles instead.  I feel like starting my day much more softly and gently is also working wonders in curbing that pre-present panic that's churning away in my little tummy!


5.  Turmeric and split pea hummus.  It's just my favourite lately.  Spread generously on toasted rye bread with as many toasted seeds as i can balance on top  or even spread into the ridge right along a celery stick and with crumbled walnuts and feta on top of that:  I actually think it would go on anything and everything.  Not as harsh and garlicky as some hummus:  All warming, mellow and beautifully yellow.  It's another kind of 'sunshine' i've been welcoming into every corner of lately. 


6.  Wreath planning.  If it's ONE THING i am going to achieve this year it's making some kind of wreath for our front door this Christmas.  It was our first Christmas in our new place last year and i swore that there was no way we could have a red front door without a wreath and yet somehow time got the very better of me and then i couldn't find any anywhere that i liked and i admitted defeat and hung white paper chains and clear fairylights everywhere instead.  This year will be the year of the wreath and the fairylights I'm sure of it!


7.  Layers.  I've never been one for the skimpy and the strappy and so this time of year:  damp, icy or otherwise, is absolutely my jam.  Lately has been all about tucking things in, layering things up and feeling as cosy as can be! Is there anything better?!?  I've also made a sneaky new coat purchase in form of a rusty rose pink teddy bear woollen coat and i am GIDDY AS A KIPPER for it to arrive!!!  


8.   Lemon in warm water.  I'm not going to lie, it'll come as no real surprise to you that my natural instinct is to reach for a mug of hot Lady Grey tea first thing in the morning.  But i got into lemon water in the summer first thing in the morning when i'd have it piled high in a tumbler of ice and torn up mint leaves and it left me feeling all zingy and refreshed.  Lately i've been getting back into it, cold-weather style!  I add the juice of half a lemon to warm water, along with finely grated ginger and a swirl of raw runny honey and it's DELICIOUS.  It also seems to be helping keep those pesky cold and flu bugs at bay too.....

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And with a whizz and a whoosh that's another list of stopping, counting and being grateful for the littlest moments of lovely.  Make sure you hop, skip and jump right on over to  Jo, Helen, Michelle, Sarah, Kate, Cat, Sam, El , Kerri's, and Peta's blogs because if there's one thing that 'Lately' needs more than anything, it's all the list of happy that it can manage.  Somebody once said there's no such thing as too much of a good thing and do you know what?  They were definitely onto something there......

Sending so much love!