Saying goodbye to 2015 with a good book

What better way to say goodbye to the year than by settling down with a nice book? I spent the morning in the garden, checking that all was well; bird feeders full, bird baths topped up, gave my chooks clean water and filled their bowls with some extra snacks, cleaned the wildlife pond's pump and filter, saw to it that the patio was clean and washed, the pathways neat and free from debris and that all the pot plants had enough water.

I've prepared a light meal and some snacks for hubby and I for tonight, and now I'm looking forward to settling down with that good book, a cold glass of Rosé, some snacks nearby and soothing back-ground music. Although that might be trumped by hubby wanting to watch some TV. That's also OK.

No noisy party or get-together this year - in fact, we have not attended noisy parties or get-togethers for quite a few years now (and it's not an age thing!) Smile! I've always been partial to quiet evenings at home on New Year's Eve, even as a youngster. Sometimes I stay up to greet the new year at midnight, yelling "Happy New Year!" to all the garden birds, much to their consternation! Then it's time for a midnight snack and off to bed.

However you spend your New Year's Eve, here's wishing that you enjoy it immensely and that your new year is filled with abundance, peace and lots of good books.

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right!

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Merry Christmas 2015!

Here's wishing you a good book and a cup of coffee this Christmas day! May this festive season be filled with LOVE, JOY, INSPIRATION and lots of reading!

My pet peeve - a dog ear

One of my pet peeves is the dog-earing of books! And yes, underlining and highlighting passages, scribbling in the margins and crumpling dustcovers! When I get a new book, I spend several minutes caressing it, gazing lovingly upon it, and eventually hugging it to my chest in unabashed glee and just the thought that someone could desecrate it by folding pages or scribbling in it has driven me crazy for years.

Why would one want to dog-ear a book? I know it's meant to mark a section or phrase in a book that one finds to be important or of personal meaning, but why harm the page? There are so many innovative ideas of marking a place or keeping your place when you stop reading for a while. This shops are full of beautiful book markers. Anything from metal markers with beautiful dangling silver charms to fabric corner bookmarks that you slip over the corner to plasticized cardstock with magnets.

 

Narrow sheet of paper with inspirational words and laminated for durability

And the sky's the limit if you use your imagination for making your own bookmarks. There's so much you can do, from tearing a piece of notepaper to place at the page (and you can scribble on it!), crochet something, cut out magazine pictures or creating something something unique like inspirational words on a long narrow piece of paper and laminating it. I'm always making some like the one above and below, not only is it sturdy but it also gives me a daily dose of some really inspirational thoughts.

I think books are sacred. Well, you know, not really sacred - The intrinsic worth of a book belongs to its content. Most books aren’t sacred in and of themselves. A book is only sacred for what you get out of it. And then, of course, there is the beautiful printing. Anything in printed form can highly excite me, from a magazine to a lady's journal to beautiful greeting cards and, of course, books. Hard cover books, with or without a dust jacket - they feel so firm and heavy in your hands...

But now, here's the thing. I also have trouble throwing away books. Even 'rubbish' ones like cheap soft covers or promotional or advertising booklets. However, those I have found a use for! Those destined for the dustbin, I now keep on a special shelf and often use them for sketching and painting in, like the image above - the words behind the painting lends a certain charm and these little books can become artwork in themselves.

However, whether you dog-ear or not, love your books. Allow them to look loved by adorning them with beautiful silver charms and always cherish them, not for what they are, but for what they say.

 Image credit

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Do what you love - curl up with a good book!

Nothing is of more importance than our mental and physical health - if you're not well, you are of no use to those around you. In fact, you might be a burden.

I have this special little corner set up in my dining room where I can disappear into my own little world, doing the things I love - journalling, sketching, making notes of new birds visiting my garden and where I keep some seeds ready for sowing. Here I often also plan my week, it seems to bring order to my life and reminds me to not fill my day with too many things and to leave some moments for just being quiet...

A corner in the lounge where I curl up with one of my favourite books

Another favourite is my reading nook (actually, I can read anywhere!), but nothing beats a comfy sofa or daybed for curling up with your favourite book, a cup of steaming tea and maybe a snack or two.

My reading corner in the lounge before I got the comfy yellow sofa.

A daybed in my bedroom where, in winter, I often snuggle up under a throw to enjoy a good book. Originally built as a spare bed in my bedroom for when my 3-year old grand-daughter came to visit (she was scared to sleep in her own room), it is now used as a daybed to read.

Doing what you love is one of the most important steps to mental and physical health. It has been proven scientifically that people that feel passionate about, and enjoy, what they're doing, live a longer, happier and healthier life than someone who struggles to get up in the morning because they hate their job, or what they're doing.

Put a spring in your walk, get your skin glowing and exude vibrancy - by doing what you love! And if you want to make a difference in the world, the single most important thing you can do is consciously and deliberately choose to do work that you are passionate about.

 Isn’t this just the most inspiring reading nook with a view?!

When you follow your bliss, it seems like the rest of the world orchestrates things so that your life is easy. It becomes effortless.