The two most dreary months of the year!

I'm glad to get the Festive season over and quite like January and February Burns Night the Celtic Connections Music Festival on January and my anniversary and birthday week in Feb when I usually have a holiday I also like coorie with a book and light candles which there's plenty of opportunity for All my clubs etc are in full swing too

The most difficult thing to deal with is the lack of good light. I can't even sit and paint, as our workroom has a north-facing window with the dullest grey light imaginable in Jan-Feb. Just go to put up with it (or move to Australia for the winter).

DH and I have our January birthdays in the same week, and options are always restricted - theatres still showing pantos or having breaks, restaurants quiet or having breaks, family and friends doing dry January or economising after Christmas, restricted destinations from the local airport, anything planned liable to be affected by bad weather or whatever winter viruses are doing the rounds. Still, we’re both still here so we’ll still be celebrating!

I was given some stick on light things to put under shelves in cupboards.
They are cheap. And make a big difference to seeing things in certain cupboards.

NonGrannyMoll

The most difficult thing to deal with is the lack of good light. I can't even sit and paint, as our workroom has a north-facing window with the dullest grey light imaginable in Jan-Feb. Just go to put up with it (or move to Australia for the winter).

I think you might be able to get special light bulbs.. ask in an electrical shop

Allsorts I just read your post about accepting your estrangement from your daughter. I just wondered if you could give me any advice , I am newly estranged from my daughter who is an only child.

I have a January birthday as does my sister so there are 2 birthday cakes to look forward to and share with family (weather permitting).

My 2 hobby groups are back to meeting after the festive break, as is the garden I volunteer in, so I'm glad the holiday breaks are over and 'normal service' is resumed.

The grey days weather wise just mean I can get on with more sewing/crocheting and listen to the radio or catch up on tv I've recorded.

Also, I was given a present of an air fryer for Christmas so my New Year resolution is to try and use it every day . I look forward to the day I don't have to consult the instruction book every time I use it.

Pippa22

why why why do you have a pattern for a cowl as I’ve been looking for one. They are such a good idea aren’t they ? Well done on your fundraising.

Millie 22 I read your post too quickly I think and read that you were “ knitting testicles next “. I had begun thinking how when I read again and saw that you were knitting tentacles. Easier I think !!

I don’t follow a pattern. I’m using some fluffy chunky wool from my stash. Knitted using 8mm circular knitting needles. 40cm long. I cast on 72sts and knit in rib (k1,p1) until I get the length that I want. Just the ends to sew in. Hope this helps.

I find January to be most dismal month of the year. The weather's awful, Christmas is over and everyone seems down. I usually just think that at least the days are getting longer and spring is 2 months away.

I have to join the haters. Hate the cold, the dullness, the dark.

Hate going back to work (I hate my job anyway). DH has had yet another email which might be the precursor to redundancy. DS25 hates his job and isn't adapting to life 'up North ' even though he's sharing with DS22, who loves it. DS27 isn't happy with his job, but is putting up with it for now.

Bah, humbug!

To be honest I never think of months as dreary I always keep myself busy keep positive, just happy to wake up each day and try to make the best of each day as much as I can.

I agree about January and February being the most dreary months, but I have no desire to stretch Christmas out any longer. Though I wouldn't mind having 'winter' fairy lights for another couple of months to brighten things up.

I wonder if where we live - countryside versus town, and everything in between- makes a difference to how we feel about this time of year.

I live out in the sticks, and can't walk anywhere without walking through mud right now. The fields are drenched and even in decent footwear, the clay mud makes them almost impassible for weeks- possibly months - at a time. There are few pavements, and the grass verges are not much better than the fields, plus there are the idiot drivers speeding by on the wet roads who might soak you at any moment. We can't even get from car to house without traipsing dirt/ mud into the house. And while it is so bad, you might not pass another soul for days on end while out walking and might not even bump into the neighbours for longer than that.

Roll on springtime!

I’m with Monty Don - the worst two months are November and December. January and February get lighter each day and you know spring is just around the corner.

J52

We have some birthdays in both those months. I like getting back to all the activities that have been on hold over the Christmas period. Getting back to meeting friends who’ve been tied up with family commitments.
Also there’s new films and theatre productions after the Christmas pantos and children’s animations have finished. Not to mention Burn’s Night and Valentines Day.
Before we know it, it will be Easter!

I agree with you J52.

And DH proposed after a Burns' Supper leading to a (mostly) very happy 55 years together.

I quite like it when the clocks go back, & christmas is just round the corner. Walking in the twilight, lights coming on in the houses.
But I can't like january, as someone said above, it's so muddy & my dog is orange roan with lots of white, & very hairy paws even when just clipped. Keeping him clean is like painting the Forth bridge. The mud doesn't get better till end of march, but by february there are so many signs of spring (my favourite) that I don't feel so glum.

I quite like our Winter months here, I like a nice fire and the gardens grow well, you don’t have to water. It doesn’t get as cold as the UK though it does go down to about 2 C sometimes.

I’m not a fan of January/February. Seems like such a long haul until brighter, warmer days. So I decided to make sure we always have something to look forward to in the February half term. We’ve got a short break abroad and a theatre trip to look forward to this year.

25Avalon

I’m with Monty Don - the worst two months are November and December. January and February get lighter each day and you know spring is just around the corner.

Me too.

The lengthening days give me hope and lift my mood. I start planning for the gardening year and finish (or try to) any indoor DIY projects I’ve been sidelining because of winter CBA syndrome.

I disagree- I love this quiet time of Winter, the chance to reflect on the year gone by, and make plans for the next 12 months, filling out dates in the crisp new diary. Once the decorations are put away, it’s time to dust cobwebs out of corners, clear away unwanted bits and bobs and start to plant seeds for the Summer ahead. When we get to Valentine’s Day, the birds choose their mates, and off we go again…..

So, waste not want not!! Firstly I am a galanthophile (its ok not catching it is snowdrops!) So in my last house I had a garden on 3 different levels, a pond , greenhouse patio with over 70 pots on to grow the things that my garden did not like. So I did open my garden , usually first week in february time< mostly for my own chosen charities , cancer research, RNLI etc etc. So I would have snowdrops beginning in october and going through to april, some very rare. Then I had a large amount of hellebores, ranging in colour from pink picotee (cream withpale pink edging) to almost black - very dark blue and a lovely one which was like a foxglove in colouring, so cream with purple spots . Then I would have iris reticulata (blue or purple) iris danfordii (yellow) winter flowering jasmine and all sorts of plants. I planted a lovely cercidifillium tree, so heart shaped leaves with a purply underleaf, This tree had a lovely look and in the autumn the leaves change to a wonderful mix of bright colours and smells of burnt toffee! Then I had trilliums, miniature daffodills etc etc. The great pleasure is to walk round at this time of year and see something lovely to enjoy and have ideas to take home with you. It was a great lift to the spirits. I have a bad back and difficulty bending down etc, so my husband made me a long handle with a car mirror on the end so that I could put it under the hellebores to be able to see what they were like without bending. so I would lend these out to visitors and they enjoyed using them. then I always had my binoculars available as we were close to an open field, so we had garden birds and also other birds flying over, so I would bird watch etc. I usually am mad enough to do the birdwatch weekend, I draw up a plan, get my table out and my seat, then sit in the garden with binoculars at the ready and check the birds and enter them on my page, and then send in the details to the birdwatch., so I do think I can be quite mad as I sit in a chair with a hot water bottle and wrapped up in my coat etc . I have for the last 50 years always gone out on christmas day and new years day, and walk round my garden one way and then turn and walk the opposite way. I make notes on any flowering plants and also the levels that bulb leaves are reaching at that time , so sometimes wasnt long in a place, but my garden in richmond where I lived for over 20 years I could compare the changes over the y ears, and changes in flowering times.Then I did 10 years as a hospital car driver 3 days a week. Used to take up to 3 people to hospital, wherever they needed to go, So my greatest pleasure was when I took a patient home up Swaledale, so once they were delivered safely I would go to my very special place above Thwaite, Make my coffee in my china mug, binoculars at the ready looking out for curlews , any birds and animals about. If it was dark then I might put radio 3 on and drink my coffee in my favourite place in the world.
So Jan and Feb for me used to be times to go the cheapest way possible to Florence and Rome or Venice. Cheapest b and b, practical clothes with good boots, and then I would be one of the first queuing up to go into the sistine chapel or whatever. I would be able to wander about with few people around, then when it got busy would take the bus to fiesole or wherever and get away from the crowds. it is the cheapest time to visit and the weather doesnt matter as art galleries and music concerts dont worry about the weather. In this country, I do a variety of things. So if my back is ok, I drive to York to the park and ride and then use my bus pass to go into york and wander about in the art galleries and whatever takes my fancy. Then I am an RHS member, but need to use a buggy to go round as I cant walk far now, so I literally get up and if the weather looks dry or not too cold, I get my picnic and coffee ready to go in the car, then ring up RHS Harlow car, and if I can get a buggy for the morning or afternoon, drive to Harrogate, and enjoy having most of the garden to myself and mooch about and look at the winter garden etc, and sometimes ring a friend to come and meet me there. This year , after my disaster with the bathroom, I am still wading my way through sorting out the mess, finding missing things and feeling pleased to start to get my home back to the way I want it. My back is very bad at the moment and am lucky if I sleep until 5am. Dont drink anything apart from w ater or eat then, as I dont want my body to get used to expecting food at that time, so am rather clock watching until about 6.30am when I make a much enjoyed fresh coffee, sit in my dressing gown with a blanket round me and at 6.55am I listen to beloved Bach before 7 (J S of course) so whatever the morning has been like I then sit with my coffee listening to Bach. Calming and wonderful, soothing and uplifting. I drink my coffee while it is very dark outside and then go for my shower etc and by the time I am dressed the day has arrived and I can make my plans for the day. Round here we have the Yarnbombers , who are great. They are a secret group who knit fantastic different things that they put on the bollards etc in Thirsk, So you go one day and it has all been altered. I like going round to look at them all and see what the new ones are, Then I go swimming at thirsk pool , which helps my back and gives me some exercise. So the thing to do is make the most of the rubbish weather , and do things inside and in the library, organise to meet friends who you dont get to see too often. Then on quiet days I sometimes write poetry, come on here of course and give my twopennorth opinion. am glad to have a rant about lunatics like Donald Trump and Putin and Assad etc. Can go several days without seeing anyone if my back wont let me get out at all, so am so grateful to have this gransnet to be able to waffle and rant on , and it lets me get rid of annoyance and then go to bed and read a bit and calm down. So here we are at 10 to 1 am and about to go to bed. No point in trying to go before as my back wont let me sleep very well, but now have been able to write lots of bits and pieces and hopefully will get some sleep. So folks use this miserable time to meet up with friends, sort that flipping drawer out, so that when it is a better day you can go out and enjoy the countryside from the warmth and safety of your car or the bus. Join with me in really annoying the government of any description , in particular the men!! So tas they have taken the winter fuel payment off me and I dont get anything so that it might be heat or eat, but I intend to keep breathing until I am 103, However paltry my pension is they will be annoyed to have to keep paying me.So if you have a bad day, make sure that on a good day you have written a few lines about what appeals to you and what you enjoy doing . So on the rough day when you actually cant think of anything good at all , look at your pieces of paper and it will remind you of your plans and what matters in life. Hurray for Radio 3 and 4 , good music, friends, libraries etc. Now have to change my routines, as now I have to work out how to keep warm in the cheapest way, so may go mad and buy a coffee out, but of course I take my own china mug to drink from, then I can find a comfortable chair, take my paper and my coffee and sit there fore at least 30 minutes, until I am warmed through and ready to go on with the shopping or whatever . So where next - oh yes go to the garden centre as the sales are on, and it is warm inside. So can park in the disabled space, and walk right round looking at things and buying a few bargains. Anothe r warm place, so dont need to have any heating on all day, until the evening!!

25Avalon

I’m with Monty Don - the worst two months are November and December. January and February get lighter each day and you know spring is just around the corner.

I'd like to be with Monty Don if that counts?

madeleine45 Wow what a post very inspirational. I would have loved to have looked around your garden. I’m a novice gardener but I do enjoy it and I suppose thats all that matters.
I hope your back lets you carry on without too much trouble, and I’m sure you’ll go on to at least 103 !

Allsorts:

To Katyj

We gardeners never stop learning. So start now, take a few pictures of it as it is now. print them and write the date on the back. This is so that in years to come, if you open your garden or sell your house you can have these photos and notes to pass on and can see how it has changed over the years. when you first arrive in a new home, just walk up and down your own road and look. So if you see lots of azalaeas growing round about, you can see that acid loving plants are enjoying the soil, or you see loads of lovely hydrangeas. So this gives you your first information onwhat likes your garden in that area. I dont care for hydrangeas as they take up too much space . so I draw up a plan of the garden, taking some phtos, but also have a plan of each bed and make a note of what is there. If you draw thqt up as carefully as possible you will have a note and picture of the bed in November , so you an plan how to change it round. Wander round a local preferably independant garden centre. They will be knowledgeable about what grows well in the area. ask for their advice and you will do well. Then in 20 years time when you sell that house and move on, you can show all the garden information to the buyers and they will be glad to have the information. Join your local gardening club and you will havehalf a dozen knowledgeable gardeners who will be only too pleased to tell you about the areas, tell you of the best shops, the people who are expert in a specific field. usually in garden clubs people also bring in plants and give away or sell some for club funds . You will make up your own mind but if the majority of gardeners recommend a specific place you can assume that it is a good place to begin. Oh how lovely to be at the beginning of your gardening adventure. dont forget that if you have pots you can also grow something that you love but which doesn t grew in your soil. I grew some wonderful mecanopsis - himalayen poppies , which would not have grown in my soil but did wonderfully well in pots, and were much admired by many. Like anything you may become an absolute sucker for one particular plant and grow many kinds of that plant. or you may have as much a variety of one plant as you can. Then you meet other lovers of your favourite plant and get together t=with them and garden until you die. I am yorkshire and am careful with my money and expect to keep plants for years. So i can plant things that if you looked in the book would tell you that it was not worth growing thatplant you will be sure to fail. Well ignorance is bliss and I go on my merry way and do well and am surprised when someone congratulates me on my success. If something is unusual you can spend too much time fussing around with it, Well at last there is some daylight, nothing moving very still, but the snow seems to have gone. Just seen a squirrel dash up the tree and the sun gleams on the treetrunk. Time to put the kettle on, get sorting and think plants, gardening, visiting gardens, getting tulips planted and hopefully getting my flat gradually back to how I want it to look