Starting a journal for 2022

`I’ve long been a notebook fan, some might say hoarder - I’m not, I’m just waiting for the right occasion to use them, which is completely different! I’ve also long admired the stunning layouts for bullet journals on instagram, and some really are pieces of art. Now I should point out, mine aren’t - but equally I don’t think that should stop me (or anyone) starting a journal.

I’ve considered starting one before, but quite honestly, I’ve long since given up a paper diary and really don’t see the need to go back. I’m totally bought into storing my appointments and tasks, and plenty of lists, digitally and across all my devices.

But, I keep coming back to how pretty the journals are. And then I had the realisation that I only needed to record things that matter, not the minutiae of everyday life, and so this weekend I finally got started.

I know that most journals aren’t lined, but mine is and I’ll work around that. As I hone and refine my skills and ambitions that may change, but I’m pleased to be using a notebook that I already have. I’ve decided to have a monthly header page, and have bought some very cute calendar stickers for the year. I’ve already learnt that there are a wealth of sticker shops over on Etsy, so you can be as artistic as you like, or not at all.

I intend to include some of my own brush lettering, but not yet - I was too keen to get started and map out a few pages. A few years back I started learning brush lettering, and this will give me the perfect reason to pick that up again. I’m planning another brush lettering project, but I’ll share more on that another time.

Each year, since 2014 it turns out, I’ve set myself a word for the year - and this is absolutely something I want to include in my journal. I’ve not yet decided on my word for this year, but I’m expecting it to be way ahead of last year when I didn’t share it until the end of April! The quote from Jane Austen seemed to fit with these pages too.

IT ISN’T WHAT WE SAY OR THINK THAT DEFINES US, BUT WHAT WE DO. JANE AUSTEN

Over the years I’ve collected many journalling cards, stickers and the odd pretty paper or two and I’m planning to put these to good use. I’m forever saying ‘when was it we went to x’ and often I look on my blog to check, so adding pages to record this makes sense. The cactus and palm tree stickers, and the washi tape, were part of a previous stationery subscription box which I knew I’d make use of at some point.

I’ve allowed for a continuation page, as I’m hoping that we will get out and about across the country throughout the year - though at the moment we don’t have plans past May. Yet.

I also knew that I wanted to record the yarn names from my Yarn Advent box, and the blanket that I’ll make with them this year. I’ve more to do on this - including winding the wool - but I’m hoping to get going with this soon. I’m trying to be disciplined with myself as I much prefer to crochet projects than to make up projects, and I have a project sitting alongside me that needs sewing up. So the plan is to finish that first - it’s a mental block I know - because I’m really keen to get my latest project sewn together so I can start wearing it! You’ll know when I’ve done it, I’m sure.

I’ve realised that a lot of my pages will go across the year, and be interspersed with the month header pages and a ‘month review’ page too, which I’m planning to use to give a summary of the month. I’ve an idea in my mind to use the same headings each month, as I think that will give some consistency and capture what I’m hoping it will.

I know that throughout the year we’ll have a few house projects - I’ve started on my list, and I know MOH will have some things to add, so I’ll share more about our plans at some point. These pages will have a check box that I can tick off when things are complete - the best kind of list, if you ask me!

The other page I’ve set up already is a page to record how I get on with Yoga. I’ve been following Yoga With Adrienne for a few months now, and was really getting into the 30 day Move challenge for January. That is, until I twinged my knee during my MIL’s move - and twinge is a bit of an understatement, it really hurt. It’s getting better and hurts less, and I was surprised that a recent CST session also accelerated its improvement. I wasn’t expecting that, but was very glad it did.

LOVE IS THE BEAUTY OF THE SOUL, SAINT AUGUSTINE

It’s also the first page where I’m using one of the papers I have, it had the scalloped edge and it works really well. As does the quote, I think.

So there you have it, a quick run through of my first foray into journalling. And journalling that works for me - or at least, I hope it will. I already have a list of other pages I can include, and I’m sure these will develop over the year - but if you journal, I’m keen to hear what else I could include.

Discovering stunning plants at Holker Hall

I discovered these plants for the first time last June when we were in the Lake District, and then again more recently when I was finally sorting through and editing my photos. With no firm plans on what to post here, and also wanting to finally post the outcomes of a delayed pre-pandemic post, I decided to share them today.

Holker Hall is an independent garden in Cark, Grange-over-Sands which was close to the cottage where we stayed in Cartmel, and just around the corner from Sizergh which we also visited.

Part of the beauty about these plants, is that for most I don’t know what they are - that doesn’t make them any less stunning, but if you can identify any which I can’t then please leave a comment and let me know.

The lightness and airiness of the white flowers above is their appeal, but I’m not sure what they are - they look like they could be related to a chrysanthemum but I’m happy to be told otherwise.

It’s not often that you see a blue flower, even bluebells can be more lilac, and I’m not sure I’ve seen plants like the ones above and below before. I’m leaning towards them being some kind of wort or maybe a euphorbia, but I really don’t mind, as I think these are absolutely the most stunning. And if it turns out these are suited to woodland type environments then they’ll go to the top of my wish list.

Alliums and irises are more well known so I feel on safer ground with the next few photos. Each appeals for their vibrancy and delicacy, in equal measures.

And one final shot which I couldn’t resist including…

Isn’t it great - the expression, and how good does that stretch look?

Papped in the City

One of our festive traditions is to treat ourselves to a steak night in the run up to Christmas. I think it probably started as a reward for Christmas shopping, starting most probably, not completing it. But over the years the shopping part has been dropped and the steak is the focus. Last year we managed to fit in a visit to the Hawksmoor at Borough, walking from Fortnum & Masons in Piccadilly, mostly to avoid the tube and because it had been such a long while since we’d been into London.

This year though we were headed towards the City of London, so I thought our Fortnum & Masons luxury mince pies (another festive tradition of ours) might not be on this year. Then I learnt that they had a shop in the Royal Exchange, you don’t know how happy that made me. And so with my mince pies ordered for click and collect to coincide with our steak night, I was happy. The mince pies are divine, expensive, but divine.

What I wasn’t expecting was to be papped by Gillie & Marc’s Paparazzi Dogs at the entrance to the Royal Exchange, but I was so glad we were.

They definitely made me smile.

Mince pies, paparazzi dogs and steak - it was shaping up to be a very good night.

It’s the first time that the dogs have been in the UK, I’d like to think they knew I was coming - but that’s not true at all.

On the Royal Exchange website, they explain more about their temporary exhibit:

Designed to highlight the pack mentality of the media, the four Paparazzi Dogs have been travelling the world from New York’s Rockefeller Center to Melbourne’s Federation Square, Shanghai’s Jing’an Sculpture Park and Dublin’s Dundrum Town Centre, before arriving at The Royal Exchange to turn their lens on Londoners in a piece of public art that gives us all a taste of the glare of celebrity living

As well as the dogs, the mince pies and the nibbles to try in the store both the exterior (top) and interior (below) never fail to impress. For many years I worked opposite this building, and for many of those years had never been in until it was transformed into a posh shop mall - and even then, mostly just to look.

Our next stop was a favourite City pub - The Counting House on Cornhill - where both MOH and I have spent many evenings, with many colleagues. We were apprehensive about how busy it would be, and our tolerance levels for what we remembered being one of the busiest pubs where often it could take tens of minutes to make your way from the front of the pub to the back.

Reassuringly for us, less so for the publicans I’m sure, it was by comparison empty. There were people there, and we found a table to sit relatively easily - of course this was much to MOH’s horror, as he’s not a sitting down in pubs kind of person. But as I am, he did. It was still as beautiful as we remembered, and enhanced by the Christmas decorations.

After an aperitif or two, we along with our box of mince pies headed towards our steak restaurant - Blacklock just off Fenchurch Street. We’d been here before and in my usual style, I have no in-restaurant photos. We took the scenic route through Leadenhall Market to the restaurant, and this chandelier - in a coffee bar of all places - caught my eye.

Do you think it’s large enough?

Ah, Leadenhall Market always looks so good at Christmas, and while it’s the emptiest I think I’ve ever photographed it, it was good to see that some things don’t change. Let’s hope that the pandemic doesn’t completely silence places like this, that we know and love, but can’t always visit as much as we have in the past.