Cozy winter nights

The snow-moistened February garden seems to be whispering, “remember me”? And, “do I know you?” 

Indeed, winter has kept me away from the garden; trapped on its icy grip for far too long.  But winter still stretches wide and unkind over my little world, and things have changed in my life. I can barely hear the garden’s voice calling my name any longer, and the desire to work outside has diminished.  My enthusiasm had lost its fire too.  

When spring comes around and the tips of branches and shrubs will fatten up again with new life, I’m sure my heart will again hear the voices of Nature that winter have silenced inside me.  And perhaps… perhaps I will still find the time after my regular job to work the soil and do all the work that the garden is already begging of me?  

In the meantime, I keep busy inside.   I love the upstairs in the winter time.  It is a cozy, warmer little nest where both of us, the Fisherman and I find our own special little delights for a few hours before going to bed for another day—the Fisherman go his theater room to watch his movies and I to my gypsy room where I have my own TV too.  

We get home around 6pm, dark and cold and after making something for dinner we go straight to or ‘second’ home—the upstairs part of the house.  We've been sleeping in the guest room throughout all winter, which I love... it is a cozy little room, and I love it...

...but the bed in this room is a queen size and I don't know if you've noticed, but when you grow older and 'wiser' you have to have your king side bed.  So, last weekend, we decided to make another bedroom in our upstairs home... this one with a king size bed in it!  Thus, my little gypsy room became another bedroom… we bought a king size mattress, a bed frame and went to work.  Remember my beautiful gallery wall and Frida collection? 

We took everything down, filled every hole and retouched the walls with paint... we took the couch and chair downstairs and rearrange things around to give space to our new king size bed!

A boho styled low bed, a mandala for a frame, some of the art set on floors and just a few favorites on the walls..

 

Plants, of course.  I really want to bring some of the big ones from downstairs, but then I will miss them downstairs, so I guess I'll need to buy more...

I really love how everything turned out.  This bedroom is now my favorite room in the entire house.. it is so cozy and the bed so very comfortable and I love to watch tv from this nest, and then wait for the Fisherman to join... 

 Need more fairy lights for sure

Happy winter nights!

Extended winter blues

I miss my little white cottage in the wet, green space where red birds used to come down each day to serenate my hours. Small, low ceilings, and white all over. How cozy, and sunny it always felt, and how my soul misses it here in our large, tall-ceiling cold home where icy dark winter days kept stretching and widening throughout my days, throwing dark shadows upon my head. I’ve been sleeping in the smaller upstairs room, so that my soul can wrap itself in gentle coziness during cold nights, and it is been good—good to rest upon cozy shadows and dimmed lights, lower ceilings and white comforters. I’ve been making hearty soups in the evenings and toasting cranberry-walnut bread to accompany it. Nights are long and the sound of frizzing rain pitter-pattering on peat gravel outside seems to be singing a mournful quiet song. I got my book published this past week, and the amaryllis by the kitchen window has opened, and it sits in front of me laughing at my enthusiasm. Dead leaves have found a permanent home on the back porch, so it seems, and they will remain there until the sun comes back or until I can find my soul back.

“Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night.”
― Virginia Woolf

January

I have never liked January.  

Never liked a day without sun...

Never have I ever been fond of winter, or winter activities, cold days, windy days and thick coats that make you feel fat and uncomfortable.  If I ever did enjoyed winter, it would have to be those mild winters when we lived in the south where winters where always a welcoming blessing in every aspect of the word.  Always sunny by mid-day and beautiful perfect days by the end of February.  Short and pretty...

Here, my experience had always been a January of bad colds and the flu, it had been food poisoning and strep throat, pink eye, irritated eyes, dry eye, a cough that won’t stop, wheezing, fatigue, and chest tightness, chest congestion, earache, and headaches.  I don’t…. I just don’t like January at all.  Simply put, January depresses me.  It always had.  So after three weeks of not feeling well, I’m slowly starting to lift up my head out of the pit again… I think.  So this morning I cleaned and redecorated the upstairs room and bathroom, where both, the Fisherman and I have been living and nursing our miseries for the past few miserable nights…  

It feels so good to see this room sanitized and fresh again.  I even decorated this corner here a little different this time!  As you can see, my soul is craving green green... with all this amount of white going on outside...

My little jungle corner in the kitchen area, where most of my plants live got cleaned up a bit too.  When you have so many plants together in one place, they can make such a leafy mess… dried petals, stems, leaves, even water stains get to paint floors and accumulate behind pots and furniture… so it was about time…  

This little panda planter here is my newest favorite.  I so love him!

Hair is growing on her head!

 and this table got an eye leveled display

I love sitting here and read or watch the birds outside the window, or just drink my coffee here...

Then this evening…. Things got worse again.  Another episode of cough got the best or worse of me and I was afflicted by the most horrible headache I have ever experienced. I kept pacing back and forth in my kitchen holding my head in my hands, until it finally subsided a bit… I guess it had something to do with all the congestion going on in my poor body that, somehow went up to my head, and not that a vein had exploded in my head, as I thought then.  Whatever it was, it was pretty scary.  Yeah, January, boo you stink!

After Christmas

The day after Christmas, all my Christmas decorations were stacked away; including the large Christmas tree I had in our family room and the two smaller ones in front of our two front windows.  

As much as I love all the Christmas lights, I was already getting a bit anxious as it was... even with the minimal amount of clutter Christmas creates in my home.  Our living room is about the only place in my house I decorate a bit, aside from the two smaller Christmas trees I am now placing in front of the windows.

It was so easy to put everything away!  It only took me around ½ hour or less.  This is the joy of keeping things simple during the holidays. I love seeing our living room back to its simple normality… 

Do you go overboard on your Christmas decorating?  I guess there must be something wrong with me, for I fear overcrowding my house... I could never understand those who like overdoing it with Christmas decorations for the holiday; or any other holiday or day.  We see way too many pics of beautiful homes where owners love to stack thing on top of things, and one just have to wonder sometimes how in the world can these people walk around their houses without bumping into things or not going nuts… their homes make me think of an antique shop or a cozy pretty place where you just want to go to shop, but never want to stay.

It is just me, I know.  But while it may be tempting to completely cover your rooms wall to wall in regalia, doing so can actually detract from your overall aesthetic, me thinks!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a lovely New Year! Much happiness to you, and yours!