fairy lights, stretching and movement

Oh yes, I still need my fairy lights for these dark winter nights. These vintage lights give a lovely soft glow, such a brilliant invention. They are quite old now, I love them.

I have been doing my daily stretching on the mat here in front of them. Lets see, I am at day seven. I'm starting to feel a bit looser and have began to work through the initial stiffness that immediately appeared in several places!

It tends to be in the evening. I'm remembering how it feels to stretch out and move in a certain way. For me movement is the answer. I need this. I know how important it is to stretch and rotate all the joints. Keep things moving. Stay supple. I just do it in my own way. A combination of things I have studied. I would call it more like a gentle stretching and movement meditation, with a bit of self Shiatsu thrown in for good measure.

I really admire how in the Oriental culture gentle movement is practiced everyday. I love the fact that even the older people will go out into the parks and practice. They know how important it is. It is what everyone does. Our culture tends to just stop moving.

I remember on a trip to Edinburgh watching a group of older Chinese people stop and go through their routine in the city park one morning. They just chose their own spot and started to gently move in a meditative way that would probably be known as Tai chi. I was quietly watching, in the distance. Once they had left I went and stood in that spot and thought how inspired I felt to move the way they did, how easy it looked. For me I would have felt self-conscious there, but for them it was a totally normal occurrence.

I want to be able to stretch and move everyday. Of all the inspiring stories I have read from older people who are living interesting and happy lives, they all have in common the fact that they practice some kind of body movement. They have kept moving and practicing, as well as engaging and connecting with life!

Please join me if you want to. You can make it up! See what stretches your body feels like doing. Give yourself some space and listen. Just move slowly and gently of course.

♥

not yet

a pretty decoration on the dog-walkers tree

I have a tinsel decoration which keeps falling down. But I am saying oh no you don't, we still need you. It's not over yet! I'm not quite ready for the bareness of January, although glorious blue skies will help.

Today we have torrential rain and snuffles have arrived. But the pretty twinkling lights and tree are helping see us through to the new year.

our tree in all it's glory!

I'm not sure how I will cope without my fairy lights......I may have to put in a large jar and carry on enjoying them.

I especially like turning these on in the evening, so that passersby can enjoy them too!

lights in my kitchen window

These are the soft vintage lights which I still have since my childhood. I love them so much! I will keep them up until the 4th, which is my way of counting the 12 days of christmas, (from christmas eve that is!). 

Then I will hope for sunshine and blue skies to take us through January. I think we need a rather large dose of hope right now to see us through these darker days.

christmas morning in the sunshine, so busy!

We had this glorious sunshine on christmas day. The boy, agreed to walk with me, before plugging in the new technology too! We put on our christmas hats and felt silly.....it was fun!

The white flags were definitely waved on christmas day. I feel we are re-building our christmas traditions, really from the ground up. It's not easy when there is only one parent and one child. We have had some seriously difficult events around previous christmas times. That we are still only learning how to ground oursleves from. There has been loss, accident, trauma, illness. Families shaken to the core. Is that dramatic? probably. We are not quite out the otherside yet either. But I am seriously grateful for any little light and joyful moment that comes. It's a mixed bag isn't it.

It's not too late though. each year we can build on little successes. This year I got the gravy right, and the roast potatoes! (I did drop half in the bottom of the oven though!) but even that will become a christmas story too.

Oh and friendly neighbors who invite you over to share some wine in the evening, god bless them! yes both days! there are some good people in this world.