Monday, November 9

winterizing...

in between being florence nightingale this weekend
i have pottered,
i have cleaned,
i have sorted
and
i have winterized


winterizing is usually something
i do with relish,
and
i do with glee,
i start 'a planning' in september and just love an excuse 'to nest'.
but this year i lack the 'urge to do so'...

i am thinking it is due to an unusually long hot summer. for one summery season i lived the life of an 'outdoor' bohemian, chicken lady. flitting in and out of the open back door, lanterns hanging, countless meals eaten 'al fresco' and only needing a summer dress day after day (but let's not dwell on the summer dress thing, 'cause then we think about 'the missing slip' and then it spoils everything. no, best all round if we just move on from that)

and then several weeks back it was like 'bam!' winter is upon us, cold, wet and miserable. daylight hours appeared to no longer exist and the shed resembled a cave.
a cold cave, for our shed suddenly appeared very white. i don't usually notice this for all the 'clutter' that surrounds me, but there is not denying it, it lacks a feeling of warmth...

having looked at the Neet Magazine blog i noted the shed's whiteness
i mentioned this to our #1 as she recuperated
"blimey, mum... of course it's white, every wall is white apart from the odd bit of wallpaper, it's glaringly white, we live in a white, white box, haven't you noticed before?"
i can only imagine it was the concoction of painkillers that made her feel the 'whiteness' so deeply and thus her 'outburst',
and of course i recall the time i put wallpaper one end of the lounge, our #4 remarked, it was a huge relief as he no longer felt like he lived in a hospital...

and so it was at the weekend, i went around doing a bit of winterizing, hoping to warm the place up...


i found one strand of fairy lights in a drawer and hung them on the fireplace.
they lasted one night and then gave up the ghost. so much for twinkly lights this christmas.
i found some knitted jackets, some i had made and some i had been given and wrapped up a few cold souls


i took down the white linen drapes in my studio and hung up my prized granny barkcloth, not bothering to hem the fabric, knowing in a few months something else would probably replace them
and
then i started a little crocheted garland for my fireplace
in warm, woolly thrifted cream yarn


i'm not sure my attempts at winterizing have met with much enthusiasm, although our #4 was tres excited about the yarn balls and knitted jackets on the cold souls, he exclaimed it would seem only right that a 'pesky gnome' sit upon the horse and he hoped they would hurry up and arrive soon...


but i do not need to worry, for little olive never lets me down, she embraces all my winterizing with great gusto, i know this to be true when i look under the couch and see her 'magpie treasures' accumlated from around the shed, all made from yarn and all crocheted...

she is dipping her crafting toes into the world of kitschy 'miniature living' and wondering if she is 'quite all there' ~ Tif

22 comments:

Lola Nova said...

Congratulations on the big spread in Neet, looks wonderful! I am tickled with your kitsch cozies. The curtains are stunning.

Living in a house with nary a white wall and the main room an uncertain color in the yellow family, there is a sense of warmth - which is nice. It is crappity crap for taking photos though (in these dark, drippy, and dreary days).

I hope #1 is recovering well.

EmilyKate said...

Hi there, I just found your blog and I love it, it's so pretty... it made me laugh to read that your daughter likened the all-white rooms to a hospital... I'd LOVE an all white-painted interior, it looks so restful, with just pops of colour for interest. But I don't think its restful in a hospital way ;o)
Kind Regards,

EmilyKate

Moline/Yvonne said...

As you might possibly guess I love your winterizing and. Of course your unique way of Blog-Talk.
Yvonne/moline

Geek+Nerd said...

The owl in the stripey jacket makes me smile! I have the same color dala horse in my house. We bought it on our honeymoon in California.

renee anne said...

have I told you before that your blog is amazing?!!

no? i will tell you now.

have I told you before that your home is amazing??

No?! I will tell you now!

YOU, your blog and your gorgeous home are JUST STUNNING.

jealous in a good way.

Renee xx

Vic said...

Oh to be winterizing - enthusiastiacally or not...!

It's REALLY starting to heat up here - we're talking from winter to HOT in like 2 weeks, it's crazy & super hard to adjust... so I haven't been. I've just been melting in a slothenly, selfpitying way.

Your space looks increadibly cosy & inviting - but I have to say all that yarn is making me just a tad heat struck!

Luisa said...

It's always funny to know that as you are 'winterizing' in the north, we are 'summerizing' in the south!...aha, I just summarised that!
I am so relishing some warm weather, it has been so, wet, wet, wet, during winter...never before have Tasmanian's truly seen their island state look like Ireland quite literally....
But I am sure we will soon be swapping green for dry again...and even though I REALLY don't want to think about winterizing (sorry, Tif!), there is defintely something cocooning about preparing for the coming cold season. I love season decorating...masses of candles, the warmth of timber, woolley throws, and more textiles around the place in general, seem to help with the nesting experience. Don't worry about the white, that's what they did (still do?) in Scandanavia...
golly that was long...I think I need to make a cuppa now!

my hyggelig said...

I love the image of the Dala horse in it's little white sweater with the yarn ball right on top - it is cozy (hyggelig in fact).

I envy your whiteness - here in the long dark cold white days of winter my man would not allow white - color we went for and though I love it, I always dream of my museum/nordic whites.☺ Compromise - we learn more about ourselves from those we love.

amy said...

So brilliant and beautiful...I love all your coziness. My wheels are turning as I reread every word. Thanks Tif!

Jody McDowell said...

so adorable! i love the little owl all bundled up in a tiny sweater :)

Sarah - Red Gingham said...

Oh you are so funny! I would never have thought to give my ornaments cardies for the winter. So cute as are the little balls of wool on their heads.

dottie angel said...

oh, how warming you have been with your delightful comments tonight. i shall away to my bed, with hot water bottle in tow, knowing that giving one's little friends a knitted cozy is not a sign of insanity but perfectly normal behavior for a handcrafted thrifty mama :)
thanking you kindly
Tif x

Blossomnbird said...

perfectly normal indeed! :)
Oh how sweet they are.

Joshy and belle said...

Hi Tif,
I saw your blog mentioned in sew hip magazine and thought Id pop by for a look, I love your style, the vintage fabrics and colours it reminds me of childhood holidays and beachy days, day dreams and big cups of milky tea! so pretty! I've taken a leaf from you and added more dollies and buttons in our little cottage! Fliss xx

http://joshyandbelle.blogspot.com/

dulcy said...

I think it's sweet the way you put sweaters on all your little guys........today I will finally take down hanging baskets with no flowers left in them....oh, but yesterday I smiled when I saw two red petunias blooming in a pot out back. I already miss spring and summer just a little bit. And....that little Olive is just too cute!

Elissa said...

oh, those wrapped up little figures! loving the owl. wishing you cozy, warm thoughts whether they come with white or color....

and, again with that olive. love. love. love.

Floss said...

I am kind of wrapped up like your little friends today, here in the chill south of France. I have also just completed my take on your little vintage whatnot holiday garland, and have posted about it today and put in plenty of links to you! Thanks for the sufficently vague tutorial - I can't follow strict ones.

Luna Levy said...

you know Tif, I have decided that you have the best blog of all. gush, gush :)

but really, it is the best!

ami said...

Leave it to you to bundle up your little friends...how incredibly cute they are all snug and warm...

cloudgathererholdmedown said...

daydream lily's post piqued mu curiosity and now here i am freshly in love..

Tess said...

Hi! I'm so smitten with your blog! So happy to have stumbled across it. I blogged about your blog in my blog and linked it back to you! Just wanted to let you know. Thanks for the inspiration!

~ Junkyard Jennifer said...

Congratulations on the spread in N.E.E.T. It's well deserved!

I keep waiting for all this inspiration I gain from visiting your blog to take hold and spread like wild fire over here. I'm itching to start decorating for winter but I'm still in the midst of a well-needed purge.

~ Jennifer