Don't look a gift horse in the mouth

So. D'ya miss me?

Long time, no post - I know. I have two iron-clad excuses - a serious medical event in the family, and a new job which has about doubled my working hours. Between the two, my free time is minimal and my emotional/creative energy almost non-existent. I've only just picked up some sewing again.

But now I'm back, and I'm back with a rant.

Nuts for nails

Eating healthy is good for you in totally weird and unexpected ways, and this simple-homemade-kinda-crunchy life is surprisingly healthy. Because it's completely transformed my nails.

My nails, you say? Yes indeed. My nails.

I hate the stereotype that you can tell a lady by her hands but we have to admit that our hands and nails do say an awful lot about us. Mostly, whether we can be bothered to pamper them or if we just give them a quick scrub with the nail brush and the dish soap to get the worst of the mud off. French manicure nails suggest that you're expecting not to pick up half the bill afterwards.

If my nails could talk, they'd tell you I am accident-prone and that I rush through life. They're short, often breaking or tearing on things as I dash past, or fumble through a disorganised bag for some change. They're rarely smooth and shiney, never polished, and never beautifully shaped. But that was LAST week!

This week, they're strong, long and starting to look a little bit shaped. They're smooth and shiney, and I don't have to worry about breaking them so much. I think this minor miracle is thanks to the daily consumption of nuts and seeds which I introduced to my diet about a month ago, as it's about the only thing that has changed. So I am now officially a nut fan, and will be ensuring I get a daily handful. My heart will thank me, and so will my nails. So who'd have thought that homemade breakfast cereal would improve my nails? Hopefully they speak more eloquently now.

Slow Living 2013 - February

I've been following the Slow Living series over at Slow Living Essentials for several months now - mostly just looking and longing, wishing I was able to do some of the things mentioned. Some of the limitations were due to our tiny flat, but also some were linked to opportunities I was missing in the local community. No where to store jars, so no opportunity to preserve things. No access to sewing machine, so limited opportunities for making clothes or things for the home. No regular knitting or crafting group, so I tended to let things slide.

In the last few weeks, several small changes are making a big difference and extended my sense of the possible considerably. I can't really kid myself that I can't do these things any longer, so it's about time I set about challenging myself to have a go. 

My 30 Day Challenge: Tubeing it old school

I love TED talks. They always make me want to completely rebuild my life - or rather, they make me believe that I can, that we can all make huge changes. The risk is, of course, that you spend so long watching TED talks that you never get around to making any of those changes a reality.

This one here is pretty cool, and brilliantly illustrates the power of the baby step:

Slow living cannot be rushed

There is nothing more tragic than having to throw away an entire unsliced loaf of fresh homemade bread.

Totally screwed up by rushing and/or being overambitious this week: one pair of net curtains, almost finished but now hours of unpicking and resewing away from completion; one loaf of homemade bread which was not given enough attention; one Saturday afternoon which should have been relaxing but wasn't.

Architecture and its impact

I never realised before how much of an impact the architecture of your home has on your daily life and rhythms.

One week in our new home, and already there's a marked difference. Previously, the activities which I saw as part of my simple living journey - crafting, baking, faffing around on the internet researching - seemed to pull us apart rather than bring us together. I would be drawn into a different room, a different rhythm, and I spent far too much time with headphones in listening to the radio or watching historic re-enactments, period dramas and other sources of entertainment information.

Happy Imbolc!

Happy Imbolc, everyone! Unfortunately I've not had much time to celebrate today as we're mid-move but I think, as the start of spring, Imbolc is probably an auspicious time to set up and settle into a new home so I still feel in touch with the day's significance. Although I can't really claim to have been meditating mindfully whilst I scrubbed the new bath-tub...