Selfsufficientish.com

I am not the best winter person so need lots of inspiration to keep the blues at bay. For example:

1. If winter is here, then Spring cannot be far away
2. Crumpets in front of the fire (just had a supply brought over )
3. Winter walks on crisp frosty days
4. Hot chocolate
5. Chunky jumpers that hide a multitude of crumpet/hot chocolate excesses

Feel free to cheer me up.

6. Crisp white snow
7. Big bowl of stew and fresh homemade bread infront of fire.
8. Hot water bottle to cuddle
9 Anticipation of coming year/ growing season

10. Time to plan and get organised ahead of the new season (something I never do but always mean to ) so it isn't a mad dash come planting time.

11. Time to take up a new hobby in the long dark evenings when outside is not calling to you with a million and one things to do!

12.turn old clothes into useful items....just turned two woolie sleeves into a draft excluder!!

13. make next years christmas cards now

14. brighten up and decorate a room...makes the place look less drab!

15. same as 11.!!

bah 14 dd not work for us - we took the wallpaper off a wall, found hardboard under that and under that we found a wall which is nearly falling down and has to be rebuilt! depressing! (more here)

annnnnnyway
16. spend as much time out in what little daylight there is, to suppress SAD. make more vitD and lift the spirits (and not look at crumbling house)

ooh I didn't know you had a blog now Red! Must go and have a butchers!

16. Read seed and plant catalogues to get you in the mood (wahey! )

17. Get outside as much as possible and do some gardening. Personally I feel really satisfied after doing some 'chores' outside unlike doing chores indoors.

18. Have a cup of tea,
19. listening to the rain patter against the windows while you're all warm and snuggly inside,
20. checking if any seeds have come up in you propagators or in the greenhouse,
21. Seeing that some of your seeds have come up in the propagators or greenhouse,
22. eating apple crumble with custard using apples you picked, stewed and froze in the summer (think thats the best of all)

23. TUrn the red wine you've just opened (which is at room temperature, i.e. freezing cold) into mulled wine.

24. Stride forth into the raging storm (80mph winds, forsooth), crash your boots upon the icesheets that clasp the earth, brave the spume and driven snow, embrace the elements...

...and fly backwards, landing on your bum in a lovely, warm, steaming pile of fresh pig manure.

Do you feel better now?

25. Curried parsnip soup.

Stonehead wrote:24. Stride forth into the raging storm (80mph winds, forsooth), crash your boots upon the icesheets that clasp the earth, brave the spume and driven snow, embrace the elements...

...and fly backwards, landing on your bum in a lovely, warm, steaming pile of fresh pig manure.

Do you feel better now?

I do thank you - hope you and the pile of pig poo are both OK . I am building myself up to take the dogs our for a long walk - rain is forecast which will make it a wet slippery walk ......

Then back for tomato and pumpkin soup - although having seen Hamster's idea I might also make some curried parsnip - with a bramley added to take away a bit of the sweetness.

26: Clean out your cupboards and freecycle half your belongings. I've just done this and now I feel great!

27: Turn off the TV and all the lights when it gets dark, light some candles and tell scary stories

28: Have you got small children? Nothing beats making a HUGE duvet tent in your living room and having a picnic in it

29: Close the curtains and go back to bed. Winter is a time for hibernation, after all.

30. Curl up on the sofa with a fluffy cat and Ssish!

31. the joy of getting a really good drying day for washing, you know, one of those wonderfullly breezy,crisp but sunny days (like today) when you can get at least one load of washing dry on the line so it has that fab outside smell. mmmmmm outside dried sheets going on my bed tonight!

32. planting cheap bulbs found in a wilkinson bargain bin, knowing they will come up 'cos it's what my mum does every years and wilko's daffs have never failed her

33. the look on my daughter's face when it's dry enough to play outside. she has her play tent outside today along with her cooker, elephant collection and doll's pram. plus one or two toy cars which she seems to be cooking. I have the back door open and it's great.

Proof of what a strange tiny country we live in... the frost never thawed here today, no way would we be out playing...And I am immensly jealous of you getting washing dried, I crave that outdoor smell.

34. getting a new wooden toilet seat - no longer will my backside freeze to that cold plastic... which kept falling off, then I ended up on the porcelin...brrrrrr.


to add - t'was the plastic seat that kept falling off... not my backside