This past week

Lots of tidying going on this week. Therapeutic tidying. Starting with my work room. There were piles of 'stuff' hanging around. Patterns cut out, little remnants of fabric (too small to go back into the fabric stash but way too precious to be discarded so it sits there in a sorry pile waiting to be organised), embroidery threads, receipts - both posting and purchases, sketches of planned embroidery patterns, crocheting in progress, knitting in the last stages of completion, art supplies not put away.....you get the picture. All the product of the mad Christmas rush. So the clear up started with my room - it's all tidy and organised now, which means I can think clearly again in there.

I need some more storage in there and more colour. I'm on the lookout.

I've been cooking and so enjoying it. Lots of soups to warm us up. It's finally got wintry here after such a mild few weeks and that means a temporary end to the rain. Yay! Also been making lots of smoothies having finally purchased a Nutri Ninja.

Some home-made granola

I'm reminding myself of how much I love my art. I used to spend untold hours sketching and painting. Why did I stop? Instagram has inspired me- there are so many daily sketches so out have come my watercolours, my pens, pads and pencils. An art journal is my latest pleasure - I'm excited at the artistic possibilities it presents in a manageable chunk. Not too daunting. I'm not quite confident enough to 'show and tell' yet tho'!

I've started dedicating time to reading again - something I promised myself I would do way more of this year. Far too much time spent on the laptop. Instagram and Pinterest literally absorb hours of my life - like a black hole. So far this year I've read:

Mystery in White: A Christmas Crime Story - J. Jefferson Farjeon 
A traditional crime mystery first printed in 1937. A perfect easy read on a snuggly night in front of the fire. I don't normally read crime stories but really enjoyed getting to know the characters in this novel and trying to work out the outcome of this mysterious tale, which begins on Christmas Eve. I've also got The Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay, another British Library Crime Classic but I think I'll save it for reading towards the end of the year as it's another Christmas mystery!

The Dressmaker - Rosalie Ham
Loved this book. A real page turner. Quite a cast of characters to familiarise yourself with but well worth the effort. Can't wait to see the film!

Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
Only a fifth of the way through this book and so far really enjoying it. Why though, does the blurb on the back covers persist in telling you about plot lines that don't happen until after a 100 pages or so? Why? Grrr.

Still really slow progress when I think I used to read around three books a week but hey ho I'm getting there.

I'm looking out to the garden deep in the throes of winter and I look forward to the first shoots of spring.
 I love winter - all cosy and snug with the chance (crossing my fingers) of snow. But spring somehow seems irresistibly close and beckons to me. I expect those of you who have snow regularly, wonder what all the fuss is about, but in the UK (certainly in the south), we can get pretty excited about it.

Highgrove - the home of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall is only a few miles away and I'm already looking forward to another look around the gardens - I haven't managed to see it in early spring yet. My back garden could do with a bit of inspiration that Highgrove always brings (albeit it on a small scale!)

Our garden may look slightly bare and uninteresting at the moment but beauty and inspiration are out there. Frozen leaves with stunningly intricate ice crystals and the birds feeding outside our sitting room window - so close and so beautiful.

What have you been up to this week?

Sherry xx