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Reading is such a wintertime activity for me, and adapting to that energy is what seasonal living is all about! Rather than fight it, flow with it and get cozy - embrace slow and seasonal living. Here's a list of my top reads - books and also some podcasts to help you while away the Christmas and Winter days.
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Winter is my favourite season in which to read. Enjoy my top ten winter book recommendations. A mix of memoir, fiction and non-fiction and heart-warming tales, perfect for seasonal escapism. Enjoy on cozy winter evenings and nights by the fireside, or for rainy days curled up on the couch. Listen as audio books on winter walks, nestled on the sofa or tucked up in bed to help you fall asleep. Add them to your seasonal reading list, your winter book club recommendations and save to your favourites.
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It started with a promise to my dog….
I promised my beautiful dog Molly, that she would be able to run free. I breathed my dreams into her velvet soft ears that one day when we had more space, she would have a brother or sister dog to keep her company. I swore I’d have more time for longer walks, that I’d choose to play ball over answering emails. That we would have a different life, one in which we wouldn’t feel like this was all there was.
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Photo credit: https://beafordarchive.org/archive-image/untitled-3364/
The celtic festivals provide an opportunity to connect to spirituality in our modern day lives, to align with nature and her seasons and to pause and reflect on our own lives. Memories of the harvest as a child on a farm in rural Ireland and some modern day ideas on how to connect with Lughnasa or Lughnasadh in your own life today and mindfully celebrate the abundance in your life.
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It feels like summer time is flying by, the days slip away like sand grains from between my fingers. I can’t quite seem to catch it and hold onto this precious time as it eludes my grasp. Here are some of my latest blog ideas on how to slow down time, to savour the summer.
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Summer bonfire: Unsplash: Kimson Doan
The Summer Solstice on 21st June heralds the annual zenith of the Sun and there are the most hours of daylight and least hours of darkness of any day in the year. This is one of the power gates of the Wheel of the Year. It’s also the International Day of Yoga. Here are some ideas on how to celebrate and honour the Summer Solstice here in Ireland.
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Journey to the Heartwood
2022 was the year I bought my first home.
This is a tale of my journey to find a place I could call Home. And it’s evolved into a solo journey, because we chose not to buy a house together as a couple for reasons as tangled as a delicate gold chain tucked away for safe keeping at the bottom of a jewellery box. Precious enough to keep, too intricate and complicated to unravel at the time. That single, silver, jagged key to the front door finally rested in the palm of my hand some two years later than planned, but at exactly the right time.
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The Two Faces of January: Resolutions Vs. Rest
This week I feel like I’m in a tug of war, being pulled over and back. Some days I hold my ground, strong and steady. Then I’m yanked towards the line and in danger of falling flat on my face. Next I’m inching backwards, fighting with all my might, heels dug down, teeth gritted. This pull and push, back and forth, effortful, tiring, ah yes, I know for sure I’m in January. A blog about the dualing energies where new years resolutions battle it out with rest.
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Why I don't set new year's resolutions! Research has shown that people quit their resolutions for the year by the second Friday of January, Friday the 13th this year! It’s even being called Quitter’s Day. I don’t really commit to mine until February as I find my energy is low in January and prefer to hibernate a bit longer until Spring. But in case you are bursting with January enthusiasm here are some of the top ways to maintain, achieve and reach your 2023 new year’s resolution goals & dreams.
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Perhaps it’s this sense of comfort and openness or the wide expanse of countryside and the wild, rugged coastline of Co. Clare that has given me the headspace to finally sit and pen a few words about 2022, my reflections on the year that was. I feel like I did nothing! My reflections on the year that was in 2022 and the magnitude of buying my first home. My battles with not feeling enough and the ups and downs of self-employment, the pain of loss and heart break. I share my highlights and look ahead to goal setting for 2023 and how I believe January is not a time for new year's resolutions.
Read more'Twas the night before Christmas and all through my little white house, not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse. The room is lit only by firelight. Beside the Christmas Tree, I sink deeper into the softness of my armchair, my body relaxes and my mind begins to play a reel like an old picture house, of Christmas eves gone by… A memoir blog post about some of the Christmas Eves in my life and how they have changed over the decades.
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Image credit: Manon
Reading is such a wintertime activity, and adapting to that energy is what seasonal living is all about! Rather than fight it, flow with it and get cozy! To help you pass the languid days over the festive holiday season, I’ve gathered my favourite Winter books, poems, reflections and podcasts to share with you. Perfect books for Christmas, a gift or to treat yourself as a little act of self-care this Winter. I hope they help you feel very hygge!
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With subzero temperatures creating an icy wonderland all around us here in December, I've been stuck at home for the last 2 days here on the hill. Stuck, that's the word that popped into my head today. Being stuck at home can feel frustrating, an inconvenience even or can we perhaps reframe it?....Am I stuck or can I embrace being still? A blog about slow & seasonal living.
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In Co. Kerry, we have the best of both worlds – the sea and rugged coastline and expanses of beaches but also treasures like Killarney National Park. This time of year is perfect for watching the changing of the seasons’ guard as we move from Autumn to Winter. So I thought I’d share my favourite / best places for Autumn / Winter walks to watch the leaves change and fall in Co. Kerry
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Coziness is "Teolaí" as gaeilge. Isn't that just a lovely word to say - teo-leee 😍
Its more commonly known as the scandinavian concept of Hygge, the word is said to have no direct translation in English, though “cozy” comes close. Journalist Helen Russell, defines it as “taking pleasure in the presence of gentle, soothing things,” like a freshly brewed cup of coffee and wool socks. For me it's about embracing autumn and winter coziness so as to ease feeling blue about the darker days. Here are my top five cozy things to do right now that are helping me enjoy this autumn season.
My top 5 Halloween / Samhain Book Recommendations
I'm on a total Autum vibe, trying to slow my pace of living to match the energy of this season and I'm spending lots of time in my cozy new home. Its the season for a good book by the fire, as the evenings darken so much earlier now (7.30pm last night!) so I thought I'd share my top 5 favourite samhain season reads with you.
Welcome to October, Deireadh Fómhair as gaeilge, which translates as ‘end of harvest’.
As the leaves continue to liberate their grasp and cascade back down to the earth, it serves as a reminder to us to release what no longer serves us too. “It is a cycle, not a descent”. It is not a descent into the darkness, but merely a normal, natural, annual cycle, part of creation. My musings on the month in question and some ideas for making a memorable October.
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For that's what the turn of the seasons is, it's not the end, nor a dramatic beginning, but simply a new page turning to tell stories of a time full of its own beauty and blessings.
In our Slow & Seasonal programme this month, I shared some reflective journaling prompts. One was similar to this.... What step(s) can you take to make a current or upcoming transition in your life feel more easeful? For one my own transitions, I went from blonde to silvery grey in a few hours…..
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If you were born in a time before now, then you might well be celebrating the Harvest, at a big oul hooley perhaps?! Or maybe you'd be getting married? Or perhaps you'd be showing off your skills and prowess in races or games? Or perhaps you'd be dancing around a fire in praise of Lugh the Sun God?! Either way, you'd be celebrating the festival of Lughnasadh, feast of Lugh the Sun God and the start of the Harvest season. Read all about this ancient celebration and how you can connect to it for yourself in modern day life.
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Every year it snuck up on me...Autumn I mean....
I LOVE summer, I crave the heat, the long hazy evenings, the piercing bright morning light that fragments the curtains and the sense of possibility in the air. Over Summer I'm normally quite busy flitting around from place to place, weekends away camping, festivals, meeting friends, packing and unpacking my little caravan. From June to August, I was always cramming things in, racing to the next adventure before the current one even finished.
This year it's different…
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