Bringing Colour into the New Year!

I thought a swirl of luminous colours might do us all good today!
Now the days are getting longer, one minute at a time.
You would never guess that this abstract was created
from a crocheted piece in warm colours and yellow Christmas lights!

Here are the same lights with my red candle
I do love candles and lights to brighten my home at this time of the year.

This was a pretty sunrise from my balcony one morning

and later on that same day we had blue skies and dappled clouds.

Snug afternoons at home with a cup of tea and a new book to read.
The two lovely packets of tea were given to me by my grandson for Chrisltmas.

A mug of soup 
in a new mug from my daughter,
I'm trying out different recipes from the accompanying recipe book.
I love eating on my Christmas tablecloth too!

I promised myself to do daily walks, whatever the weather.
These tiny cyclamen growing under a big oak tree were a delight to discover.

I rather like early evening walks
and loved these fairy lights along the railings.

Even if the day has been grey, the evenings seem to develop into a lovely
shade of blue if you catch them just at the right moment
after sunset in what is known as the Blue Hour.

These pine branches were particularly lovely.

Back home again to enjoy some candlelight.
This pretty jam-jar lantern was made by my grandson when he was little.
We always used to do crafting together and had pressed some leaves
in my flower press to use them with coloured tissue paper. 
The photo of my grandson was in my nearby park when he was a baby.
I have left my scintillating Christmas cloth on the small table because it makes me happy!

On January 1st, I baked some Florentine biscuits with flaked almonds
brushed with chocolate and flavoured with grated orange rind.
I also opened a bottle of Clairette de Die
which is made from Muscat grapes and very bubbly, like champagne.


 My second Amaryllis plant came into bloom.
There were five huge blooms which lasted over a week.

I protected my plants on the balcony with pine branches
and this tiny yellow viola popped out through a little space one morning.

We did have a light snowfall in the night leading up to the first day of January.
So I took my little gnome and red mug for a walk to add some colour.

I rather liked this snowman which some children had built.
He's sitting on the very same table where we had our Christmas Eve
get-together to exchange Christmas gifts.
See us HERE

The snow started to melt quite quickly, but it looked perfect on the branches
with red berries.

One week ago, I bought some red tulips
and today I took a photo of them looking very beautiful still.

So despite the rather grey days we've been having
and cold temperatures too, around 1-2C  (33.8 Fahrenheit),
I've been enjoying lots of colour in my home.

One last swirl of colour, this time in blue.

Colour is so therapeutic, don't you agree?


16 comments

  1. I do agree!!!

    Lovely festive photo's.

    Hugs, Sarn xxx

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    1. Thanks, Sarn. Colour is marvellous, isn't it!

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  2. Sandra, this is a wonderful encouraging post. Yes, color is therapeutic and this morning I needed a little postive therapy! Thank you for providing that. I love your snow! Maybe Monday we will see a little here, but no accumulation, which is fine, I just want to see it falling. I need the peace of falling snow!

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    1. Thank you, Cathy. No mor snow this week, but it's very cold. We may get snow again next week. It's good to have a real winter!

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  3. Just lovely photos everyone. Those bisquits looks delicious👍 And the drink 🥂 All the best for a safe 2021!

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    1. Thank you, Lasse! The biscuits are a delicious healthy version with no sugar nor flour, just almonds, egg white and grated orange rind and brushed with chocolate!

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  4. Yes, I agree, color is therapeutic. And you know how to capture colors wonderful.
    So many beautiful glimpses of your winter. Beauty abounds in your post. Lovely new year to you Sandra.

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    1. Thank you, Tammie. I've always loved to surround myself with colours and choose them according to the season! Yes, here we are in a new year full of new hope and positive thoughts!

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  5. Love your swirly photos today, Sandra! Both the blues and the oranges/apricots... Your little gnome looks so cute out and about in the snowy landscape. I've always had a soft spot for gnomes. And what tasty looking cookies you made! I think I'm in the mood for a bit of baking here today, too. It is finally a sunny (but cold!) day and I have so much more energy when the sun shines. Hope your world is full of beautiful colors in this coming week, Sandra! ♥

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    1. Thank you, Carol. I'm always on the lookout for colour at this time of the year. It makes everything feel more joyful! The cookies were delicious and were sugar and flour free! Winter is good for having baking sessions. I've got a new cranberry bread to try out this week! It should be tasty for breakfast!

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  6. Wonderful, colorful views. It's nice to see winter that is not all white. I like how the berries are still around even in the snow, it's like they enjoy showing off their colors.

    Have a lovely day.

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    1. Thank you, lissa. I always look out for colour in the winter months!

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  7. I certainly enjoyed the colors, Sandra. The little snow person looks like it is wearing flash eyelashes!

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    1. Many thanks, Sandy! I too thought that the snow person looked as if it were wearing false eyelashes! So cleverly done!

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  8. Beautiful photos of the lights, Sandra! How did I miss this post? That snowman is cute. Have a great weekend! Enjoy our recipe for Salmon! :)

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    1. Thank you! Winter is really here and the snow has arrived too. I was just about to put up a new blog entry which I'll do now! I'm doing your salmon dish tomorrow!

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