Reviewing 2025 so far
Seasonal observation, books, travel and Substack news.
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.
Hello my friend.
A very warm welcome to A Simple Living Journal where we chat about all things slow, simple and seasonal living. I love that you are here, please come in and make yourself comfortable.
It’s been a long time since I last wrote a seasonal review, so today I want to look back over the last four and a half months and see where the year has taken us so far.
When I think back to the turn of the year some of us were busy making plans and resolutions for 2025 and diving headlong into those with full on action, but others chose to hunker down for the remaining weeks of Winter, quietly observing and following the guidance of mother nature. Resting, hibernating, readying oneself for the coming Spring. I am one of those individuals who chose the latter.
In the past I was someone who made New Years resolutions, planning the year with gusto. Out with the old habits and in with the new healthy ones etc. But as with every year, all of those intentions ran out of steam come February. I never understood it before but last year everything changed. The moment I grew a strong awareness of living seasonally and its many benefits, it was a revelation.
I immersed myself in Winters sleepy season, making gentle plans for the year, but nothing set in stone. More like intentions, wishes etc. I tucked myself away from the world, except for work and family commitments. I chose a few Winter themed books to read under the cosy warmth of the dark nights and candlelight. I dived into my writing here on Substack and channelled my deepest darkest thoughts to paper in my own private journal.
Without a shadow of a doubt it has been the most gentle start to the year that I have experienced. Aligning oneself to nature’s ebb and flow is freeing, connecting and mindful.
Spring arrived late March and with it followed a glorious April. One could almost be fooled into thinking Spring had skipped straight into Summer with it’s bright and warm days, but the cool evenings served to remind us that Spring was here to stay for a little while longer.
Nature awoke with trees thickening up with new growth, flowers emerging once more and gardens bursting to life with colour. The dawn chorus returned, the frogs moved back into our ponds and bats once again rose from hibernation.
With nature awakening so did we. A new rising energy within us. A time to start making those plans and a time to start putting those plans into action. A coming to life so to speak.
How have the first few months of the year been for you?
Adventures in Bella the Camper
Having a gorgeous slow start to the year has been helped by being able to get away in our camper. As it has a heater that runs off the diesel, travel is all the more doable and comfortable in the cooler months of the year.
One of our intentions for 2025 was to try and get away at least once a month, just somewhere local and easy to get to, with a couple of bigger trips thrown in for our longer breaks from work.
Our new favourite campsite provided the base for two of our trips so far this year. An off grid site called Fire and Stars, deep in the heart of the National Forest in Leicestershire. You can read about both visits here and here. We plan to visit again this year, once during Summer and again in Autumn.
In February we had a weekend break in Derbyshire, close to Tissington. A lovely little basic farm site overlooking the beautiful dales. The weekend provided bookshops, cafe's and a Tissington Trail walk. Some of my favourite things to do.
March saw our long anticipated trip to the Lake District, with boat trips on Lake Windermere, a visit to Beatrix Potter World and a viewing station on the other side of the lake with stunning views across Windermere.
I wrote about the visit here -
Books 📚
Another of my intentions for 2025 was to read more. I have always enjoyed reading but never more than a book every now and then. I have a big collection on my Kindle and a good few physical books on my shelves at home that I want to read so my goal is to actually read some of them instead of just collecting them - although that is kind of fun too isn’t it. Some fabulous book review Substacks and on YouTube have increased my collection somewhat 😄.
, and all publish some great book recommendation Substacks.Darling Desi on YouTube also shows some great bookish content.
I use my Kindle a lot now as it’s handy for our trips away in the van. Kindle has a great little feature which shows you how many books you’ve read and provides quarterly challenges. Whilst I don’t want to feel tied down to my Kindle, I have found this to be a great tool to track my reading habits.
Some of my favourite books so far this year have been :-
The Lighthouse Library - Rachael Lucas
The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods
The Borrow a Bookshop series (I’m reading number 3 of 5 now) - Kiley Dunbar
The bookshop on the Corner - Jenny Colgan
There is a bit of a theme running isn’t there 😄
has a great publication on books about books you might like if you enjoy bookish content.
Series/Films/Youtube
I tend to watch more tv during the cooler months of the year and this year is no exception. I rarely watch normal tv, usually just the Wimbledon coverage in the summer. Most of our viewing is Netflix and YouTube.
Some of my favourites so far this year have been -
Sweet Magnolias - a small town series on Netflix about friendship.
Persuasion/Sense and Sensibility - I love watching period drama in the early part of each year. I watch Pride and Prejudice religiously every January. This year I added Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility to the mix as well.
Peter Rabbit - we watched this shortly after our visit to the Lake District. I fell in love with this little fellow and his mischievous ways.
Cecilia Blomdahl - Following the lives of Cecilia and Christoffer and their dog Grim living in the most northerly town in the world, Longyearbyen in Svalbard.
Early Retirement Wanderlust - Following Richard and Jackie in their early retirement travelling around UK and Europe in their campervan. They have been instrumental in inspiring our own campervan journey.
In The Garden
Our garden looked a bit unkempt so it has had a bit of a clear up. Containers emptied, pond cleared, borders weeded, greenhouse tidied etc. The usual springtime jobs.
We gave up our allotment last September to allow more time for van travel, so we made room in our garden to grow some of our favourite vegetables and fruit at home. Just a few this year, tomatoes, garlic, onions and sweetcorn. Some new strawberry plants have gone in too, and a rhubarb patch.
Substack News
In January I was excited to reach my first 100 subscribers after just over a year of writing. I published a newsletter about it here.
Then in April, just three months later I reached 300 beautiful readers and we are still growing.
I believe the growth has largely been helped by a newsletter I published at the beginning of March about my decluttering journey. To date it has been viewed nearly 3500 times and shared 40 times. Those figures constantly amaze me. A personal thank you to each and every one of you who read, commented or shared this piece.
On the back of that publication I started my declutter series at the end of March. A month by month gentle process of clearing our homes and minds.
Seeing the benefits in our own home I wanted to share some of that knowledge and experience with you in the hope that it could help you on your own decluttering journey. I am delighted to see that this series is reaching so many people now.
I’ve written the first two publications which you can find here - Slow and Gentle Decluttering or you can click on the links below.
My next publication in the series will be out on May 25th. We will be talking about our home office/hobby rooms.
Until next time.
Debbie xx
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I enjoyed that and has given me some inspiration and ideas of my own. Thank you.
I loved reading this, thank you. Great idea to review and reflect on the year so far (hard to believe we’re nearly halfway through, isn’t it!) I’m inspired by this post in lots of ways, thank you!