Beautiful tulips given to me by Gigi and Emanuela, my Italian friends visiting London. They are from 'Wild at Heart' - lovely treat, tulips are my favourite flowers. I love them best as they are fading, arching and twisting their stems in all directions...
I was, undoubtedly, a grumpy old woman over the festive season. As I watched the bank balance decrease, my stress levels increase, and as I wondered how many more times I would have to clean and tidy for whichever person was visiting... I did long for some sanity to return, usually about now. The children have gone back to school, and my routines are returning. I am beginning to feel normal again. I like New Year!
I do like Christmas, but only for a couple of days and especially after all the food has been cooked. I love to watch my children open their presents, and although I'm not religious, I love Christmas carols. I would even like to go to midnight mass, maybe at Southwark Cathedral, but I never quite get it together. I love the twinkling lights, the food, the alcohol, the rubbish TV... Beforehand I feel that I'm going to have a nervous breakdown though! I detest the shopping and commercial side of Christmas, the fact that it starts on September 1st! I just can't get into it, am always hopelessly disorganized, despite my resolve each year to get everything done by November. My life just doesn't work like that, too many other things to do. So I end up frazzled.
I feel that I'm unfurling slowly into the New Year. I didn't spend much time on the computer over Christmas, I didn't even take many photos. Mostly though, I need this quiet time to recover my senses - I'm in rehab...
I've been looking around my house, appreciating some of the things I own. Some I use regularly, others are decorative, nothing expensive, but precious anyway.
A stash of plates from my Mum's house, used everyday, probably bought at a local market. I use them for many of my photos...
I bought this mortar and pestle almost 18 years ago in Barcelona. I had been looking for something similar in London, but they only seemed to sell useless tiny ones at the time. I spotted this bright yellow specimen and loved it instantly, it's very robust, unbreakable I suspect. A strange thing is that my cat, Mr Fizz, also loves it. I have to remind myself to scrub it before I use it, because I have caught Mr Fizz energetically licking and rubbing it on many occasions, much as he would with catnip. I wonder which herbs he finds so attractive?
My home is full of such things... stuff picked up cheaply at markets, often unusual 'kitch' items, or bits 'n' pieces inherited from my parents. They are mostly cheap and irreplaceable, and not the kind of things my friends would have in their homes. I may have questionable taste, of course, but I think therein lies the attraction, I like my quirky things. I also love to look around other homes and see things I couldn't possibly have purchased.
Nevertheless, after some time I stop noticing all my special things. It's only when a friend comments that I realise how precious they are. Maybe I should move things around more often - so that I keep noticing them. So this year I am going to take some pictures of the things I have accumulated that I love, but which may be slowly disappearing from my view...
