I always feel optimistic at the start of a new year - gazing into the future, contemplating the twelve months ahead, quietly excited about the possibilities it brings for moving forward. I've never been one for resolutions but each year, as I've opened a new diary, I've felt compelled to write down some goals and…
'Overwinter' - to spend the winter in a particular place, to keep plants or animals in a particular place during the winter. The perfect word really to describe my weekend...spending winter in one place, at home, plants brought indoors and our furry friend Boris snug on the sofa, while we all quietly bide time waiting…
If you are in to Instagram at all, you'll find, of late, beautiful pictures with bright yellow daffodils and tulips telling us that spring is just around the corner. And I love all the pretty spring pictures, of course, but when you live a bit further north like I do, you realise spring is some way off yet…
Sometimes, good things happen just by chance. As luck would have it, I had to take two days off last week as I am having to get a series of steroid injections in my hand and the doctor advises rest for 48 hours after each one. I know that doesn't sound like good luck, but…
January can be a tough old month. When I get up at 6am each morning, it's dark. When I drive home after work, the sun has already set and it's dark once again. The weather is variable, to say the least. Yesterday it was never ending grey, tomorrow I believe there is some snow on…
In that lazy, hazy period between Christmas and New Year, me, hubby and Boris bundled into the car and took a drive to Rowallane Gardens, a National Trust property in Saintfield a few miles outside of Belfast. Having been 'cooped up' in the house for a few days, we were in need of some fresh…
It's dark and misty outside as I write this post late on December 21st, the shortest day of the year. Boris is snuggled up beside me on the sofa, the candles are lit and there is a lovely stillness and slightly melancholy feel to this time of day, a quiet moment of calm before we…
