Get ready for spring!

Even though we’re all still in lockdown and the news don’t sound at all encouraging once again (who knows whether the current vaccines are going to be effective against the new variants, and whether an interval of 3 months in between the two jabs is going to render them useless? Certainly not the government in Westminster…) – we’ve got to cheer up, dear friends, before depression gets hold of us all. And there always are reasons to be cheerful and optimistic, especially at this time of year: Imbolc (call it Candlemas if you like) has come and gone, the days are getting longer again, spring is coming!

So, if you’re lucky enough to live somewhere close to the countryside or the seaside, you’re allowed to walk or cycle out into the green or to the beach to get a glimpse of the changing season; and even if you’re trapped in the city centre, you can still go for a walk in the park. But what we ALL can do is simply decorate our flat or house with some nice stuff to get us into the spring mood! No matter whether you collect your flowers from the meadow or the park, or just order plastic ones online, it will make a big difference to the appearance of your place, and to your own wellbeing.

Honestly, I think I HAD to move to a Celtic country first in order to get that feeling of how to decorate your flat according to the seasons; back in Germany, Greece and England all I could think of were printouts of seasonal photos for the kitchen and living room (which is better than nothing, but still not the real thing) – but here in Wales it all comes so naturally! Even though the flowers I bought online are made of plastic, they simply convey that spring feeling. All I ordered was a set of garlands, a wreath and a little bouquet, for just about 30 quid altogether; I put the wreath on the door, of course, replacing our Christmas wreath, and three of the garlands around that lovely hatch that connects our kitchen and living room.

On our new sideboard, I combined another wreath and the bouquet with our nice old bathtub rack for which we haven’t got any other use now since we haven’t got a bathtub in our new flat – and it’s giving it a real country look!

And, since there was another garland left, I thought I’d simply throw it over our teapot shelf – it goes perfectly with my darling husband’s lovely teapot collection!

But it’s not ALL plastic around our flat: we’ve also brought our plants with us from London, of course, and they seem to love it here on those spacious windowsills – the geraniums have already started to blossom again!

So, have a look around either your local green or field, or online, and get a few things in to make your place look spring-like, dear friends; it’ll give you something to do, and the satisfaction of having created something beautiful, and it’ll warm your and your loved ones’ hearts just looking at it.

Stay home, stay safe, and cheer up!