I came home from work the other evening to a glowing fire, snuggly children, twinkling lights and a bowl of warm, spicy pasta. Earlier in the evening, still at work, I’d soaked in the cool air, the dark silhouettes of trees, the sound of fast-running water from the nearby stream. It’s the season for all…
Category: Small Things
Where I reflect on the good things in the past week
On Contentment
This picture is my way of trying to capture something profound that I’ve been re-learning lately. As I write, I’m sat quiet in our kitchen with our two children on either side of me, both pairs of eyes glued to screens. It’s not a perfect moment, yet somehow I find myself perfectly content. I’ve been…
Nostalgia
Lately, with our children, I’ve found myself often back in my own childhood. Our son has taken to climbing the tree and I have gladly followed him into its cool tranquillity, hidden among the leaves, peeking out at patches of blue sky, calm, safe and free. I remember running and climbing on long, country walks…
Small Things
Now seems like the perfect time to compose a Small Things post. There has been a lot of worry and fear and strain lately, which is all the more reason to count the sweet, simple things that bring us joy and remind us that this world is abundant with goodness, hope and love. Here are…
Three Good Things
Remember that book, Three Good Things, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall? It’s a recipe book, released several years ago, based on the concept that less is more, that a good dish can often be made with three simple but wholesome and tasty ingredients (plus a few store-cupboard items). Lately, I’ve been applying that concept to my latest…
Gardens
It’s June, and as you’ll have read in my previous post, that means I’m sticking to my tradition of celebrating ’30 Days Wild’, along with many others. Since having children, one of my favourite places to go is RHS Rosemoor. In every season, this place is beautiful and fragrant, full of flowers, herbs and trees….
At Home (30 Days Wild)
Every June, the Wildlife Trust organise ’30 Days Wild’, encouraging people from all walks of life to get outside and experience nature. For me, it has become a 365-days-a-year thing, but June is a great month in which to celebrate that! Getting outside and engaging with nature is very much a part of who I…
On Parenting (and writing and, of course, the Small Things)
For various reasons, I never wanted this to become a parenting blog and especially not a motherhood one. But it has slowly dawned on me, firstly that writing one or two posts on parenting doesn’t have to make the whole blog about parenting, and secondly that, as a parent, I really have very little else…
Blackberries
I grab half an hour of slow on a grey day in late August, and everything slides into perspective again. Small, ripe blackberries, abundant but carefully chosen, begin to fill my bag and stain my fingers. Fruit from a thorn bush, essentially. The branches scratch at me as I search out the loveliest ones. I…
Happiest Moments 1
I’ve been working my way through Moorea Seal’s fantastic book, ‘The 52 Lists Project’, which offers weekly list prompts to help the reader reflect and journal their way through the year. It’s been a positive, life-affirming pursuit, with lists I’ve made so far including favourite quotes, favourite characters, a current playlist, people who brighten my…
Things to do in February
February’s a funny little month, isn’t it? It feels, to me, short, sweet and fun. Snowdrops appear; the mornings are lighter; there is a chance of snow; whimsical heart-shaped balloons appear in the shops and everything just a feels a little bit charming. Both Andrew’s and my birthdays fall in February and over the years…
