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 🙄

Love the moon 🌙

The robin has started singing in the middle of the night from the tree outside my window. His spring song is loud and beautiful and he sings on and off all night. Last night he was singing away and I could hear the owls at the same time. Lying in my cosy bed listening to the robin and the owls in the dark was a very satisfyingly wintery moment.
I also had a manicure today, a deep rich burgundy with just a touch of post Christmas sparkle.
Hot chocolate with sloe gin in it made in the velvetiser was another win and I managed to buy another Anthropologie glass mushroom candle on eBay.
Hurrah for embracing the deep midwinter.

I bought one of those 5 foot indoor Birch/Cherry tree/artificial tree/branch thingy's, plug in- prelit.
Its not everyone's cup of tea decor wise and wont win any awards but it helps keep the cozy warm light feel that all the Christmas fairy lights gave us, From Amazon I cant link as I'm in the US but you get them in the UK too,

I adore this thread.

I have an 11 month old and I love taking her out straight after her milk on a nice long frosty walk every morning bundled up in her snowsuit (I usually end up grabbing a hot drink somewhere along the way). It’s particularly lovely when it’s a crisp day, and I’m looking forward to soon being able to stop and give her breakfast on the walk now that she’s getting bigger. It puts me in the right frame of mind to get out into the fresh air first thing.

Must admit, I feel a bit of a fraud because I already loved Winter anyway. I could very happily hibernate from May to September.

It's sleeting outside today, so I'm going to pamper myself in the shower with a full on exfoliation followed by lots of body cream. I've just hung a spray of fresh eucalyptus in the shower and the smell is really refreshing.

Tonight we're getting a take out and watching a few more episodes of Outlander (yes, we're late to the party) and I'm loving its misty scenery, and candlelit castles.

I just ordered the Wintering book for my friend who is having a tough time at the moment.

I have found this thread inspiring; I love nature and the seasons' cycles, so I am trying to appreciate the 'year's midnight' for what it gives us.

Leaving some warm white fairy lights up is good.
Last year I left some in a huge house plant (more like a mini tree) intending to take them down when the clocks changed. But they stayed up all year,

Other than that, I do like getting out for a walk every day, no matter how grey/cold/miserable/freezing it is, so it’s that much nicer coming back to a nice cosy warm house, and I can slob on the sofa with book/Kindle TV/knitting, with a clear conscience.

I have just bought some root vegetables and some cabbages, apples and onions. I am going to watch the rain come down in the valley below while preparing a dish of alternate layers of red cabbage, apples, onions with some cloves, cinnamon and a glass of cider. I will slow cook this for supper this evening with some roasted vegetables. To go with this I will back a small loaf with some nuts. For pudding we will have some fruits from the garden this Summer: blackcurrants, cherries and raspberries.

Placemarking

This thread made my much dreaded return to work bearable yesterday with the suggestions of candles and so on, so thank you guys. I had the most productive day at work I've had for months as it helped me to change my mindset.

What a beautiful thread, and so nice reading everyone’s responses.

The slow cooker is out on an almost daily basis, which is a lovely thing to come home to when you’ve been out all day. DH spends ages looking for recipes we haven’t tried before.

There’s some scrubland behind my kitchen and I enjoy putting lots of fat balls and seeds for the birds out there. There are two robins who are regular visitors and it makes me happy to watch them.

I’ve got a massive glass candle jar and I’ve put fairy lights in there. The lamps are on, rather than the big lights, and we’ve got Slankets. I don’t care if people hate them, they are the best invention ever.

My favourite thing to do at the moment is to wrap up really warm and go down to the beach for a walk first thing on a Sunday morning. Dogs are allowed on the sand this time of year so we take travel mugs and sit watching lots of damp, sandy dogs having a wonderful time and completely ignoring their owners. It really blows the cobwebs away. Then on the way home, we stop off at a farm shop that has a bakery attached, get loads of veg for the week, and some nice bread and cake, then the local cafe for a late breakfast. If we’re not having a roast, we’ll have a late afternoon tea with an old black & white film.

@Sn0tnose

What a beautiful thread, and so nice reading everyone’s responses.

The slow cooker is out on an almost daily basis, which is a lovely thing to come home to when you’ve been out all day. DH spends ages looking for recipes we haven’t tried before.

There’s some scrubland behind my kitchen and I enjoy putting lots of fat balls and seeds for the birds out there. There are two robins who are regular visitors and it makes me happy to watch them.

I’ve got a massive glass candle jar and I’ve put fairy lights in there. The lamps are on, rather than the big lights, and we’ve got Slankets. I don’t care if people hate them, they are the best invention ever.

My favourite thing to do at the moment is to wrap up really warm and go down to the beach for a walk first thing on a Sunday morning. Dogs are allowed on the sand this time of year so we take travel mugs and sit watching lots of damp, sandy dogs having a wonderful time and completely ignoring their owners. It really blows the cobwebs away. Then on the way home, we stop off at a farm shop that has a bakery attached, get loads of veg for the week, and some nice bread and cake, then the local cafe for a late breakfast. If we’re not having a roast, we’ll have a late afternoon tea with an old black & white film.

I've never been more jealous of someone's Sunday!

@BrownOwlknowsbest

And @TheGonnagle

Thanks for your information about Candlemas and Imbolc. I know I could have googled but I like to know what it actually means to the people marking it.

DH and I have decided to pop out for lunch to a local pub. It has real fires, low beamed ceilings and great food. Think I might treat myself to a Baileys with ice

Just had a week off hibernating after a hectic month at work in hospitality.
I left warm fairy lights up stair banister.
Deep cleaned and decluttered.
Light candles.
Had cosy afternoon naps,caught up on tv.
Bought trainers now I'm more into keeping fit.
Snuggles with my cat.
I am terrible with the cold and dark and would hibernate if I didn't have to work 12 hr days in a hot kitchen.
Looking forward to being super busy and it will be Valentine's day before we know it then spring.
Yes to part baked rolls or home made foccacia.

I’m so enjoying reading about people’s midwinter treats. It’s really uplifting. And a PP is so right- what’s the point wasting twenty five percent of your liked wishing winter away.

It’s drizzly and grey here today. The worst winter weather. But DS have just got in, having been out since nine. Dog walk, DS golf practice and lesson, swim and jacuzzi with lunch at the gym. We went by the farm shop and stocked up on shin of beef for tomorrow’s casserole.

I’ve now got the fire on, a dog warning my feet and a cup of tea. DS is deep into his new Beano and I’m finishing the last story in this great little book.

Can’t pretend I didn’t lay in bed this morning googling villas in Carcasonne for the summer though 😉

Ghost stories - wonderful. I love a good ghost story at this time of year (not a horror story though ).

Crowdfunding these are very much in the spooky and a bit unsettling camp. Nothing gory. One was disturbing and I made DH come to bed early to sit next to me while o finished it off

@FoxRedLabbingtons

I’m so enjoying reading about people’s midwinter treats. It’s really uplifting. And a PP is so right- what’s the point wasting twenty five percent of your liked wishing winter away.

It’s drizzly and grey here today. The worst winter weather. But DS have just got in, having been out since nine. Dog walk, DS golf practice and lesson, swim and jacuzzi with lunch at the gym. We went by the farm shop and stocked up on shin of beef for tomorrow’s casserole.

I’ve now got the fire on, a dog warning my feet and a cup of tea. DS is deep into his new Beano and I’m finishing the last story in this great little book.

Can’t pretend I didn’t lay in bed this morning googling villas in Carcasonne for the summer though 😉

Oops, I might just have also ordered this book too (literally any excuse).

New warm clothes, walks wrapped up warm, looking at the stars, reading a good book with a blanket. All I can think of at the moment!

Peaceanddove, me too.........

I have a pile of James Herriot books to read (extra points for frugalness as they cost 50p each at the Oxfam shop) and am about to serve up a chicken and bacon stew (frugal points again for using yellow sticker chicken).

The weather has been appalling here today but it's the perfect excuse to hibernate.

M.R. James wrote some wonderful ghost stories...

I also decided to try and be more positive about this time of year , easier said than done but this post is very inspiring , i particularly love it described as deep mid-winter .
I have candles , rugs , throws , fairy lights and lots of books.
I am trying to find something positive each day , i was really happy to notice it was still relatively light at 4.45pm yesterday and today whilst at traffic lights i watched a beautiful thrush in the rain going about his business.
I love looking at the moon and stars in winter and a frosty morning can look magical .
I don't want to do much other than be warm and cosy at this time of year so pretty much after work that's me in the house once its dark .
I think winter is a time of rest and renewal ,spring will soon be here and hopefully we start to feel a bit more energised , there are so many things to look forward to in the seasons .
I love the image of listening to robins and owls in the night when warm in bed .

We tend to view winter as the season that isn't quite good enough, and yet this thread & the Nigel Slater one has made me realise winter is good enough. Having a different take on winter really does increase your enjoyment of this season. It encourages me to go out more too. I love the changing of the seasons in the UK, as we always have something to look forward to. I quite enjoy the unpredictability of each season too. We are going out tomorrow morning, whatever the weather to have a wander around the historic area of our city, before the world wakes up. We will get a coffee & a pastry/bacon roll and listen to the cathedral bells. We will walk around the cobbled streets then look out over the city towards the countryside below. And then we will head home to get warm (& possibly dry) just as the rest of the world is waking up. Just lovely.

There is something massive about January.

For one thing the world literally turned a couple of weeks ago with the Solstice and like the limbs unfolding on those new-born thoroughbreds that are coming into this world just now, the days are starting to stretch out longer. Though that may not yet be tangibly felt, this is the month of big skies. On a clear day like it is here today, with the sun low and thin cloud you will see different shapes, shadows and colours on the landscapes in front of you. The low sun picks out folds, crevices and tree trunks you did not see from the same spot in July.

When food was scarce our ancestors spent these days outside in the sun. Even this minute at a little after 10am if you turn your face towards the sun you can feel its warmth. The sun keeps us warm and preserved our energy which we saved for foraging and other tasks on the darker days. If you are near water you can watch the wading birds and gulls spend most of today in one place, on the banks or the cliffs sunbathing for warmth and in anticipation of longer days.

We can do that too. Warm boots, gloves, scarf and a woolly hat, leaving our faces open to enjoy the sun. Take a light foldable seat and spend a few hours anywhere in the open, with a book, a flask of coffee and sit and face the sun. It is set on defrost today and the air seems cleaner right now.

Then go home to the candles and fairy lights as the evening draws in. We do not need to hide away in January. Grab the day and grab the night in equal measure because both are full of light.