Ideas to make deep midwinter lovely ( or at least bearable)

[FoxRedLabbingtons]

I loved the ‘make autumn lovelier’ thread. But is there any hope for deep winter loveliness?

There was frost on my office windows this morning ( should’ve left a heater on over Christmas), dog walks are ankle deep in mud, all the chocolate is gone and it’s dark all day.

It’s lean picking for loveliness but here are my ideas:

I went to the church epiphany carol service this evening. A peaceful, candlelit hour. 2nd February is Candlemas- early pancake day!
Swimming with a quick jacuzzi dip once a week.
Actually lighting my posh candle. It’ll look it’s best on a grey afternoon.
Comfort food. DH is making boeuf a la daube this weekend.
Facing down the weather and enjoying beach walks and snowdrop rambles.
Spending my Christmas money on L’Occitaine bath foam.
Wintry books- Ghost stories. And comfort TV- maybe a bit of Scandi noir and This Farming Life.
Living vicariously through my best friend in Perth, who has been complaining all month about the terrible heat 🙄

@Theheartmustpausetobreathe

Seasons podcast

Am reading Wintering at the moment. I was nearly tempted to buy it after the recommendations on here and then it came in this month's Feel Good Book Club box. What a marvelous, thoughtful book. I wish it had been written 20 years ago! I needed that wisdom in my early difficult years of adulthood but it is so perfect for me now as I get to grips with a new and at times disabling health condition.

We've had a rather wet dog walk in the rain today, but rewarding ourselves with a pub supper at a lovely country pub with roaring fires in a moment, and the contrast feels perfect

Following this thread. Thanks for starting it OP.

'Am reading Wintering at the moment'

I love it too. A friend passed it on to me last Winter and I adored it. I'm planning to read it every November forever more 🙂

@Lottapianos I am torn between wanting to share my copy with everyone and wanting to hang onto it because I know I will want to read it again and again!

Ok, so I’ve seen a few of you mention the book “Wintering”. I’ve looked it up on Amazon, but I don’t feel the blurb is giving me much.

Would anyone be willing to give an overview as to why it’s so good? I’m not into woo or airy-fairy, but I am into things that are beautifully written and evoke emotions - I realise that’s not a good description.

Just trying to figure out if it’s worth spending my money on. Is it pointers/tips? Is it personal to the author?

Meghan I absolutely love Wintering. In some ways it’s a personal book as it talks about the author’s own psychological ‘winter’ ( recovering from sickness and burnout, her son not coping in school) and it introduces the idea of these ‘winters’ in life as a source of growth. She talks about how she managed during these times. But it’s much broader than that in that of considers cultural aspects of winter all around the world ( Fins in their saunas, visiting Stonehenge at the winter solstice, St Lucia’s day, lots more) and what we can learn from these. As I say, I love the book and listen to it as an audio book most years ( along with Nigel Slater’s Christmas chronicles).

@MeghanAndTheSeals I am not into woo or airy fairy either. It's definitely the latter - a beautifully written book. @TwoMagnificentLabradors summary is perfect.

I’m helped by frequent phone calls from a Swedish friend in Stockholm, usually bewailing the fact that it’s minus X again, and it’s snowed yet again on top of ice, so being accident prone anyway, she doesn’t dare get out for a walk.

Makes me feel a lot better about say 9 deg., grey skies/drizzle, on my usual walk - and I can see signs of spring already -tiny flower buds on holly, crocus shoots pushing through, and masses of mimosa buds on several trees nearby, all ready to burst into flower soon. I’m in the SE though, I know it’s not the same further north.

Well, if drinking hot cider and singing to trees can’t bring joy, what can?!

Anyone up for wassailing?

tradfolk.co/customs/wassailing/where-to-wassail-this-year/

@TwoMagnificentLabradors @SweetSakura thanks both, I think I’m going to add it to my list.

I love the winter, for me it's a time to slow down to enjoy the silence and have some time to reflect and make new decisions for the coming year.

I love to get up a bit earlier than Dh turn on the fairy lights that I keep up throughout winter and enjoy a cup of tea by myself. I have horses so although winter is bloody awful in terms of mud etc it's so nice to be at my yard horses munching the grass and watch the sunrise, although I wish we had more of a crisp winter than the washout we're currently having!

I batch cook and freeze soups, lots of slow cooker recipes, read if I have time and spend a bit more time looking after myself.

I don't wish the winter away although I am looking forward to spring.

I have decided to leave the fairy lights up in the hall. They're micro lights on a fine copper wire so the effect is pretty but subtle. Also loving my new Habitat oil diffuser which I'm using with The White Company 'Winter' fragrance oil. And I've just started a beautiful new tapestry cushion kit, the colours are so gorgeous.