January, slow and fast.

This is what I see  when I am running.

The rhythms of January are always slow notes for our family, it is a firmly not a time for new resolutions mainly because they are so hard to live up too but more of a time of cosy austerity after the excesses of Christmas. A time of more, not less: more home cooking, more making, more plans for the spring, more contemplation and for me at least more running.  Now the next paragraph or will seem like a whinge fest but please bear with me.

Usually I can find much to love in the crisp linear beauty of January, the subtlety of winter's light but this year I have to confess to finding it hard to appreciate life so easily. In part this is due to the increasingly horrible political developments. Here in Ireland we seem stuck between a rock and a hard hard place, Brexit on one side and foulness of Trump on the other. For example, one of our most successful sectors in our unstable little economy is that of our food and drink exports, the Agri-Food sector has risen for the seventh consecutive year to reach 11 billion. However it has been estimated that Brexit has already cost the Agri-Food industry 570 million. This interests me because I feel a deep connection to the Irish countryside, two of my Great Great Grandfathers were farmers. I want to invest a little bit of money in rural Ireland. I want to live in a country were my children will not have to emigrate to get a job.

For far too long much of our focus has been centered away for rural Ireland particularly towards FDI. Rural communities have been worst hit from the economic crash of 2008 and the shortsightedness of successive governments. Such communities and therefor the wider national community can only benefit from a growth in trade. Tourism is another woefully underdeveloped sector of our economy. We had to give up on the house we wanted to buy in rural Donegal, there were too many financial implications that could not be quantified, but undaunted we carry on hoping that something suitable will pop up. We have found a beautiful farmhouse built into a mountain but despite it being advertised in every Irish property website and via an estate agent; it seems that no one knows whether the property is in fact for sale. Least of all the selling agent!

I have also begun the unexpectedly dispiriting process of applying for a job, it seems that my 15 years experience in the bar/restaurant trade counts for nothing as I had the impertinence to take a career break to look after my pesky children.  I have spent the last six tears studying for a degree that qualified me for little except volunteering for a non-profit. Hmmm, groan and moan. However, I have been working out all my frustrations on and in my running shoes and eventually have fallen into a running routine. Well, oh my goodness I am ecstatic! I feel like a real runner. I wish I could adequately explain to you the marvelous post-run feeling when bursts of endorphin fall exquisitely down to a wonderful glow of energized well-being. CT in one of her gorgeous posts describes the lovely 'clean' feeling that one acquires after a run.

After starting the couch to 5k programme ages and ages ago I still have not managed to get up to a continuous 5k however I can run/walk for 7k. This includes the recommended 5 mins warm-up and warm-down either side and the majority of the time is spent running. Next run I must join it all together, of course the difficulty is mainly psychological. For me what is interesting is that no matter what my mood is before the run and admittedly for much of January it has been grey going on irritable with unexpected bouts of tears, after a run I feel tougher, centered, ready to take on what ever life may bring. On the CV I may be an unemployable house wife on the wrong side of forty but when I am running I feel like this, only with better boobs and a top on. 😏

Frilly Frou Frous

Hello all out there in blogland. It has been very cold here, sometimes crisp and beautifully frosty but also that grey dampness which I think is particular to January that seems to penetrate down to your very bones. My poor feet are like mini icebergs! So we have been indulging in some cheery projects to keep warm and cosy.

Myself and the kids had great fun making this sweet little pom-pom garland from this cool tutorial.
I have to say that these are so quick to make and so cute they become highly addictive. Miss E is planning to make a necklace and a bracelet and O wants a scarf for his toy dog. I think a long garland made in shimmery whites and frosty blues would make a lovely Christmas decoration. (Sorry, the very mention of the C word at this time of year does make me wince! )

Candle-light is so necessary for me at this time of year, warming and atmospheric, I think just a couple of well-placed candles and tea lights manage to create that homely feel beautifully. We especially need a little bit of soft focus here as we have yet to re-paint the house after its re-plastering, so we have super smooth walls but in a monotonous grey all over! I was actually re-visiting my pinterest albums one evening when I saw this simple make. It is a good use for those nice but empty candle jars that hover around without a true purpose and for my bag of coffee beans bought in error.

Finally, it has been marmalade season, I just love the brevity of the availability of these gorgeous sour oranges because it make one very organized and single-minded for a change. Marmalade must be made immediately! My local independent green-grocer, who is I think, the only supplier of Seville oranges around here, announces their arrival on his Facebook page and oh my goodness if you don't get a move on and hightail it down to his shop very quickly they just disappear for a whole year. Little O threw a bold tantrum when last years supply ran out so he had a lovely time perched up on his high stool watching me completely ruin the stove by letting the pot boileth over and laboriously ladle litre and litres of hot Spanish sunshine into warmed jars.

I followed the Darina Allen recipe that I found in this rather annoying article - so why even mention that marmalade making 'also appeals to guys'? Is the ancient art of preserving supposedly a predominantly female girlish occupation, until a huge chopper is to be welded with masculinity? Certainly the 'guys' in my house do like to munch the marmalade on crusty toast but are quite content to leave all the arduous hours of peel slicing and pip-squeezing to me, perhaps my knives are disappointingly feminine...

Apologies, I digress. I would indeed recommend Darina Allen's recipe and especially the whiskey version but I would be a little more heavy handed with the uisce beatha as I cannot really taste the whiskey in my marmalade. So, what about you? Any crafty or foodie plans for the weekend? I hope this weekend is a lovely one for you and that all your plans turn out great! xxxx