the view from my bedroom window
rain and more rain
The lowering gray days of November have been getting me down.
Don't you think that certain words are best suited to an English accent? Horrid, wretched and dismal, for example.
(To be said in best Mitford tones): The horrid weather we've been having is unrelentingly dismal . . . and it's making me feel perfectly wretched.
I thought that I was feeling too glum to rejoice in simple things, but a visit to Christina was a good restorative.
There are always some bright spots, really; even if the lamps do come on by mid-afternoon these days.
My list:
a cup of tea in bed
my winter-weight goosedown duvet
homemade minestrone soup for lunch today
tickets for Jane Campion's latest film Bright Star
half of my Christmas list, already wrapped
a new purple cashmere scarf
narcissus in a teacup
Visit Soul Aperture for more simple things to take pleasure in this November.
46 comments:
I'm in Southeastern Europe and we got hit with the worst rain that finally relented after a long week and a half. I kept listening to "November Rain" by Guns 'N Roses which didn't really help matters. Your remedies sound better.
Those dull November days (though we've been blessed here with mostly sunshine...such a treat!) are perfect for coming up with lists like Christina's idea for simple things....what you have listed makes me think of sunshine, of warmth and of comfort. Perfect as we head into winter. And I love the narcissus in the tea cup!!
Bee
I love the simple things in life--I have always been like this. We have had a great deal of rain in Greenville the past few weeks--now it's in the high 70"s--hard to believe Thanksgiving is almost here!
Best
Tracy :)
It's hard to say some words in a cheerful voice, isn't it! "Damp... gloom... gales... November..."
A teacupful of narcissus is a delightful antidote though.
I love the dear world in a teacup. What a precipitous landscape. It's certainly good reading weather. Our rains have not yet started, which is of course why I can take this sanguine view about yours.
Hideous weather!
I agree that there are certain words that sound better in a British accent.. add to the list "Chin Up!"
These simple things are beautiful and your list is warm and comforting.
A narcissus in a teacup, that's joy!
The real November rain has not yet arrived here in Cambridge.. so today I walked into the garden and watched the wind play with the last autumn leaves, still glowing like embers on the birch.
The narcissus in the teacup is an image to be savoured and remembered through Winter to come... thankyou so much for sharing it :)
Already half done with your Christmas list.....wow...I'm envious.
Beautiful list....
♥
S
With such a delicious list, how can you possibly feel wretched?? Oh how I love that narcissus in the teacup!
what a scrumptious list, bee!
may I reiterate just to read it again?
"a cup of tea in bed
my winter-weight goosedown duvet
homemade minestrone soup for lunch today
tickets for Jane Campion's latest film Bright Star
half of my Christmas list, already wrapped
a new purple cashmere scarf
narcissus in a teacup"
that purple cashmere scarf...are you kidding?? I would kill for a purple cashmere scarf about now and am wondering if you are familiar with the Pure Collection, the most fabulous cashmere in the world with TWO yummy purples this year~damson[m?] plum and plum, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous, and then the narcissus in the teacut, what a sweet idea!
also, my dear, thank you for the words of support on my blogging problems...I was just thinking this morning of consolidating somehow, after only two weeks of having them up! :D
♥ ~enjoy that winter-weight duvet!
Yes, 'wretched' is such a wonderful English word!
and 'vile' in all sorts of contexts.
It's three pm here on a lovely autumn day but the light is beginning to fade after a almost Maxwell Parrish technicolor-glowing morning.
a nice cup of tea -almost anywhere any time
I'Occitane verbena and grapefruit shampoo
removing lint from the dryer ( don't ask!)
Almost everything on Rupert Brooke's list in the GREAT LOVER.
C. returns to London this afternoon.
What a warm and cozy list. The November damp, chill air has set in today, but a hot cup of tea with a bit of honey and lemon kept me toasty this afternoon. The narcissus in a teacup is an enchanting idea.
I have never had a cup of tea...IN BED....now this I have to try....and soon !!!
Oh how I used to long for those rainy days, when I was in U.S. The smell of the wet grass and the gleam of the street lights on the wet pavements, all dear to me. I love watching the raindrops coursing down the tall windows, especially when I am indoors. Oh and the joy of buying a new umbrella. Which colour to choose this year? I love your narcissus in a tea-cup.
Blessings, Star
Great list! I've been finding this November so, so hard... But making a list of the things we enjoy always helps!
I can't believe you already have half of your presents! Very organized!
Bee, we should trade places for a little while. You can come bask in the unrelenting sun and I can go revel in the unrelenting rain. Failing that, I'm sending you warming, cheery thoughts from the other side of this continent plus that ocean.
Tea in bed is such a treat. Although it's the easiest thing in the world, I rarely think of it, so whenever I do it feels like something special. Best when it's accompanied by a good book and that winter-weight down duvet. Your list sounds perfect for chasing away the gloominess!
I'm glad you produced such a wonderful list. I think everyone should have narcissus in a teacup.
hi sweetheart. i do love the photo, from your bedroom window. your list is filled with sunshine.
i want to share a cup of tea with you someday... oh yes i do!
xoxo
Must (somehow!) make the time to create such a list - I know the simple, beautiful things are there...
"Knackered" is another English word I love. ;)
What do you do to keep the teacup from overturning when the narcissus gets full height?
Lovely, Bee, just lovely: your words and those images, especially the rain-spattered glass. I share your sadness and your comforts. I wish I could share some of our November sunshine too.
yes...November can be a hard month.
I love rainy, grey weather..i always have been a bit unique. With that said, i enjoyed reading your list. I do so want to see Bright Star.
oh, a lack of sunshine can be most depressing for sure. but, the teacup (and shot) cheered me right up. I may have to try that in some of my old teacups.
i missed bright star when i was home. now i´ll have to see it in spanish... enjoy! love your list btw! besos!
a cup of tea in bed with a book to read... Aah so simple and wonderful.
I really liked your list.
ahhh bee - that first photograph is lovely - to me!! i laughed about the words best spoken with an englsih accent because you're so absolutely right!! my mum and my aunt still have lovely english accents . . . slightly public schoolish through my father's influence . . . and i hear words like horrid through their voices and the accent delivers every bit of disgust and shudder without even the slightest change in facial expression. it's all their in each syllable. have a lovely day and maybe even a dry one! steven
You sound perfectly English! and how lovely are those paperwhites.
x..x
ok, half of your christmas list already wrapped has M# depressed now...tho' i did send lego advent calendars for my nephews in time so they can start them dec. 1, right on schedule. i wonder if i'll get any of the rest of it done?
I just found your blog and it's lovely! I love the list as well. I have come to love November. It is the beginning of a wonderful hibernation of hot tea, good books, and warm fires...well, at least after work and on weekends: ) The older I get the more I appreciate the simple things and even a dark fall day.
I just love your list! So lovely. That narcissus in that teacup is gorgeous. Can't believe you're half done wrapping Christmas gifts! I need to get on the ball.
I adore rainy days. Guess I should have been born a Brit.
The darkness and damp of England in the autumn/winter can really get me down too. Thank goodness for down duvets and cashmere scarves :) K x
I spent the last week in Portland, Oregon.I think it must be like England with the wet weather. Big, fat, wet drops. For days.
I love the tea cup and soon-to-be flower! So charming (in my best Mitford voice.)
A perfect post! You are right about certain words sounding so much more eloquent in an English accent! That photo is stunning!
That half the christmas list one is a bit annoying! But the rest are lovely. The teacup narcissus is a brilliant idea. In fact I might add it to the Christmas list for someone, as we've a deal with our local friends to do home-made only...
(I do know you have to be ahead of yourself when you've got farflung friends and family!)
Sorry to hear the gray days are getting you down, Bee. I rather like them. They coax the creativity out of me.
Be sure to let us know how you like the Campion!
Love-love the bulbs in the teacup~!
Rain outside
and me inside
with
a soft blanket
a fire in the fireplace
a good book
some candles
and yes
tea.
XO
Loved the 'Mitford' voice!
It is the simple things. All waiting there to be found, noticed or caught out of the corner of one's eye.
Thanks to everyone who offered a bit of support here! I think that I should start collecting teacups . . . to plant flowers in, or collect raindrops. One of the two.
Narcissus in a teacup? I am swooning. Swooning I say.
'Lowering' is a pretty good English-ism too.
I'm not sure I share celebration with someone who has not only already purchased half her Christmas presents, but has also wrapped them!
Your tea cup planter brightens my day too,
so beautiful! I got amaryllis bulbs the other day. I keep them between the inside and the outside casement windows, that way they grow slowly and their white flowers will hopefully light up many a grey January day!
May the sun come out again soon in your parts of the world!
I'm very impressed (and more than a little envious) that half your Christmas shopping is wrapped!!!
I've been unaccountably down as well! Before I read your post, I was wallowing and thought of a couple of my own:
1) a warm cat who presses herself against my sleeping leg
2) a pot of red pepper soup on the stove
3) a late-night long conversation with my dear mother in law
4) the company of fellow bloggers, trying to make sense of our emotional world
Thank you, Bee, for being one of number 4.
we had a surprising number of blue days this past november .... I'll keep count on how december goes so far it's one sun two grey (and wet!) - and the s word in the forecast for later today and tomorrow!!
love the list of bright spots!! I thoroughly enjoyed campion's latest! and the narcissus in the teacup - completely precious!
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