Mombie – a bit of everything

A soft start to my day

As part of my plan to finish 2023 soft, I’m trying to have a softer start to my days.

This morning, I woke up a little earlier than usual and couldn’t get back to sleep so I came downstairs, and puttered over my breakfast before sitting down to read with the tree lit and a candle burning.

(I turned off the ebook in case there were spoilers on that page. It’s a bright screen, I wasn’t trying to read in this dim light.)

The view of my table and my living room from the vantage point of my usual chair. There’s a mug, a candle, and an ereader tablet on the table.
A photo of the end of my table with my patio door and my Christmas tree in the background, from the vantage point of my chair. On my table runner, which is made of fabric decorated with poinsettias) there’s a red candle holder that reads ‘Merry & Bright’ with a lit candle inside, a tall blue mug with a cover on it, and an ebook in a case that props it up at an angle. The book I’m reading is called ‘Murder on a Midnight Clear.’

Try not to be all or nothing

After putting our decorations up yesterday, my brain wants to be in cleaning mode today.

I had big plans for decluttering and organizing my house this year but with everything that happened I didn’t have the mental space or energy to do it.

And since doing a huge amount of cleaning before Xmas is in my DNA, I always feel like I have to spend December cleaning.

But I don’t want to.

I’m trying to help myself have a very slow month so I can rest and recuperate from the whirlwind of this year. And resting is not compatible with the type of cleaning my subconscious wants me to do.

So I’m trying to do a little tidying up – just enough to make the house feel a little less like an ongoing project – but without flicking the switch to ‘must clean everything!’

It’s a tricky thing to navigate.

Decorating for Xmas

When I was a kid, Xmas decorating came last thing in the holiday prep.

Since having a house of my own, I do as early in December as I possibly can.

I like knowing that part is ready, even if the rest of my plans take forever.

December is starting well

Every year I order Santa’s Secret tea from David’s tea to have every day in December.

This year, I accidentally ordered it late and I thought it wouldn’t be here until next week.

Obviously, that’s no big deal but I really wanted to start that little ritual right away in December.

Luckily, the mail pantheon was smiling upon me today and my tea arrived just in time for lunch.

And it turns out that the tea tumblers I ordered are wee which absolutely delighted me.

My lunchtime tea was especially satisfying today.

I’m making it a practice to really dig into the small joys of my days right now.

A photo of my light brown tea in my clear glass tea tumbler which is sitting on my wooden table. ?
A photo of my light brown tea in my clear glass tea tumbler which is sitting on my wooden table.