For some reason, book people are also often quite fond of stationery products – and of course, as a writer, one can never have too many notebooks or pens. It’s quite funny to see how popular expensive stationery is, when we are writing less and less by hand! I will be including some Japanese products as well, for January in Japan, and because they are masters of paper production!
It has been a cold winter in Egypt, one of my work colleagues tells me, and an unseasonably warm one in many parts of Europe. There has been more snow for skiing in Aberdeen than in Switzerland. So here I am wishing for snow to fall in places where everyone can cope with the snowfall, where people’s livelihoods depend upon it falling, and where it looks as pretty as in the pictures below.
In summer we might be islands in the stream, but in winter, I feel more like a castle in the snow, don’t you? And, since it’s escapist Friday, we won’t even worry about the heating bills!
Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating, and a happy end of the calendar year to everyone! Hope you get a chance to rest and recharge your batteries!
There are so many holidays all over the world during this period: Christmas, Hannukah, New Year, any thing to drive out the cold and gloom. Here are some scenes that should cheer us up, even if we haven’t yet put up our Christmas tree or sent any cards.
Traditional old houses in Japan tend to lose their value and are difficult to restore. Few people want to be saddled with them, as they are frequently in remote locations and badly insulated. However, you can’t fault their aesthetics – and since these Friday posts are all about escapism, I will simply look for the positives: that elegant, minimalist style which is so good for my mental health. (They are also very much present in Studio Ghibli productions)
It’s the time of the year when all I want to do is drop everything and hide away in a cosy little place, preferably in the mountains, preferably with snow and skiing nearby, with a log fireplace and plenty of good books to keep me happy.
When things go against you and the entire family collapses with something that could be flu or bronchitis or tonsillitis or all three rolled into one, one should stick to what one knows and likes best, namely my beloved chateaux or manor houses, which is how Friday Fun got started.
In previous years, I might have been tempted to do a World Cup of stately homes from the countries participating in the FIFA World Cup, but this year it has been so problematic (not that I was any happier about 2018) that I will just stick to a few sturdy favourites. Oh, and they all are (or were until recently) for sale, so better hurry!
I think we’re all agreed that you can never have too many inspiring reading nooks, right?
I’ve just finished reading Marlen Haushofer’s novella The Loft, but I’ve long had a love for attic conversions. In fact, back in the days when I thought this might be my forever house, I was planning to convert the loft into a very big study for myself (so that my sons can call me ‘the madwoman in the attic, perhaps?), drawing inspiration from one of the below.
I often boast about being descended from shepherds, which is also the most traditional occupation in Romania (one of our oldest folk ballads features shepherds – albeit, quarrelling ones). There is no one in the younger generation to keep the tradition going, but maybe if I had a hut like one of those below, I might change my mind!
findingtimetowrite 