Month: January 2018 (page 1 of 1)

Our Weekend Soundtrack

One of our favourite places to drink coffee in Copenhagen is at the tiny but oh so full of wonder Sort Kaffe og Vinyl. On their Instagram feed, they post among other things new releases. Right before the weekend they posted that the Texas band Khruangbin was back with a new album.  Now, I had somehow missed this band, Mr. Michie had not. He liked their first album, but that one, I have to say, doesn’t even hold a candle to this one.

We listened to it. We listened to it again and again and again. It has been the soundtrack to our weekend. There is so much there, so many influences. The more I listen, the more I catch a glimpse of something else. It is a beautiful album. It touches my soul.

Below, is I think one of the best songs off of the album:

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Spring Cleaning

The weekend is here at last and I am so happy. The cottage has been topsy turvy with all the goings on of washing machine woes, burst pipes where our kitchen was briefly turned into a tropical paradise complete with a waterfall and a den that looks like a disaster zone because everything has been piled up in it from the kitchen.

But, we have a brand new washing machine, who has become my new best friend! The pipes have been fixed and the holes in the ceiling patched and painted. All of this has given us an opportunity to start our spring cleaning a bit early, which is a good thing. I moved our dresser yesterday and discovered that there wasn’t dust bunnies behind it, but dust elephants! Quite scary! I love deep cleaning and getting everything refreshed.

So, the house is coming back to itself and this weekend we will put everything right again. I picked up some milk yesterday evening on my way home and noticed that the grocery store had flats of pansies out front in all different glorious shades of yellow, orange and plum. So if the weather holds, I’m thinking that some sunshine yellow ones might just jump into my hands this weekend and we can cheer up a few spots in our little street garden.

Here’s to the weekend long may it last!

{Image via Good Housekeeping}

Back in Business!

Our washing machine decided that for the New Year it was calling it quits! After waiting for a week on a repairman to come, only to be told saving it wasn’t a viable option; we waited another week for a new machine. It arrived today and I’m so excited that I don’t have to haul bags of laundry to the laundromat in rainy weather again.

I’ve got my first load going as I write. The house has a happy hum to it and Mr. Michie won’t have to go to work naked tomorrow. So, it’s a win, win all around.

Let the Weekend Begin!

The weekend is finally upon us and after this week it is very much deserved. The cottage is clean and tidy for the weekend. We have sunshine today, which like our plants on the windowsill, I’m drinking in as much as possible because the weather forecast says it’s gonna rain for the next five days. It’s cold, but it’s sunny. It was 24°F when I went out for my run this morning. I felt like a popsicle, but the air was so clean and the woods were so quiet.

The twinkle lights are on and a steaming cup of ginger tea is sitting next to me. The house is quiet except for the soulful sounds of Gladys piping across the living room. Amongst other things there’s been a lot of Gladys Knight & The Pips being played around the house lately. Below are two of my favourites.

Here’s to the weekend, long may it last!

Life Lately

I’ve tried to write this post 1/2 a dozen times but life lately has put a stop to it. I’ve had things to share, but for now they’re not important.

The cottage is quiet today, I feel quiet today. The only sound is the hum of the oven, baking a fresh loaf of bread. I went for a run this morning in the freezing cold and darkness, but I was rewarded by getting to see the sun rise as I crossed over the train bridge. It’s the little things, right?

It’s very windy here today, but the sunlight keeps coming and going, drifting through the window and is slowly starting to crawl across the wall and towards the mantel. All of Christmas has been tucked away now and the house doesn’t feel so much bare as it does streamlined.

Sitting on the mantel are a pair of strawberry pink candles nestled in the antique milk glass candleholders my parents gave me for Christmas. A clear glass bowl of moss covered grape hyacinths with their shoots poking through the soft green mossy blanket, rests between them.

I love that I can see their creamy white roots running down into the dirt and moss that line the bowl. It’s like getting to watch a science experiment. In front of your eyes Nature grows, in all of Her glory.

The candles are lit and the kettle is on, as I think only copious amounts of tea can warm me up today.

Here’s to Friday, because I’m already ready for it!

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Two Foxes

I ran through one of my favourite neighbourhoods this morning and right past one of my favourite houses that has a giant dog statue who sits on their porch. He is dressed up for every season and holiday. Today he had on his Scottish tartan tam and scarf, to ward off the chill that was in the air.

I stopped running just before I hit the footbridge over the train tracks. Sometimes I enjoy sprinting across it, it’s like you are flying through the air as you run across the bridge and disappear amongst the tree tops.

This morning I had an inkling not to run. When I have that feeling, I know I’m in for a treat. Sometimes it’s a robin who talks to me from the apple tree or a muntjac who is munching on grass along the banks.

This morning, it was something truly special. I came out from under the trees, just in time to see two foxes strolling up the hillside by the tracks. They walked slowly and then one stopped to let the other one move to the front and then they disappeared into a thicket and down into their burrow.

It made me so happy. My heart was singing. I’ve been worried about my foxes, I haven’t seen them in a little while. So, I’m pleased to know that there is a cozy den, nestled in the banks by the train tracks where two foxes live and this spring when the wildflowers come out, if I’m really lucky, I’ll see cubs rolling around in the grass.

{Imaged HERE // Pinned HERE}

Writing on the Wall #153

** As we enter this New Year, I’m sure many of us have goals and lists of things we want to accomplish, take this above message with you. I feel it is important to celebrate the little things, not just the big accomplishments. Because the big things are only achieved by all the little things adding up along the way! Be proud of all your victories, be they big or small!

{Image FOUND // Pinned HERE}

Back to School

The house got a quick “spit and a polish” yesterday. Things were put away and tidied up. Christmas is still up and will remain that way until the weekend. We always keep things up till after Epiphany. To be honest, I normally keep them up a bit longer. But not this year, I will have to be good and put everything away till next Christmas as we have some New Year’s work to be done in the cottage. That’s what happens when a pipe bursts! Luckily the damage appears minimal, but we’ll have to wait and see.

We didn’t sleep a wink last night with “Storm Eleanor”. We had wind gusts of over 70mph. We watched things fly by from our window. I saw a neighbours gutter get ripped off and fly down the street. Garbage cans were rolling down the road like they were in some kind of race and the wind was so hard, it sounded like someone was punching down the door. But our little cottage held her own.

Today was back to school day. I don’t think I was ready. I never am. So here’s to a short work week and here’s to the weekend, may it arrive quicker than I can blink!

{Image FOUND}