DIY Christmas decoration!

 There is just something about the smell of oranges, can't explain it but it's just got a festive feel to it. Few years ago me and my mum attempted to make our own Christmas decoration piece for the centre of the table and orange and cinnamon just has that festive look and feel to it.

Naturally with it being me and my mum alone in the kitchen... we burned the oranges... however our further attempts went so much better and a few people have asked me how I do them, so why not share!

So you need, two large oranges (or more depending on how many bowls you're going to have)
Cinnamon sticks
Kitchen roll/towel
Oven on at 80C
Bowl and some form of Extra decoration

One of the baking trays ready to go!

Bowl prepped with candle and some festive decor!

They are super simple to make,  slice up the oranges into thin slices and lay them out on some kitchen towel to absorb any juice. I leave them to drain there for a while, and put an extra layer of towel on top to cover both sides.

Once most of the juices have drained, put them on a baking tray and put them in the oven on a low heat, around 80c, for around 2-3 hours. Keep checking around the end time to ensure they aren't still juicy and soft, if they are you just have to leave them in the oven a tad longer! They need to be dried out and firm.

Once they are ready you just take them out and leave them to cool before putting them in the bowl. So the house will now smell of oranges because of the baking and once in the bowl everyday you will get this great smell of oranges and cinnamon. Soooo good!

Nice and easy, once everything is baked properly I arrange them in the bowl, this changes most years, sometimes I have plain pine cones in the bowl or maybe some with "snow" or Glitter on them. This year Andi found this nice decoration on a rope with snowy logs, cranberries and teeny pine cones so that is the decor of choice for this year! 

You can also keep them in a plastic box or ziplock bag to keep them fresh for the next year, personally I love doing the baking every year because it's a little tradition to do that I get exited about.

Hope you enjoy and give it a try!

B x

My radio silence

I haven't posted anything since 8th of Nov, the reason for that is that a week later I lost my mum. 

I haven't felt like blogging, talking or even being awake, I have barely cried and the two times I did cry for more than a minute was when my dad hugged me and when Andi came down to console me. The safest I feel is with those men and it's the only time I cried. 

I don't mean for that to sound heartless but the only way I can explain it is a sensation of numbness except for those times.

My mum raised me to accept my emotions and not suppress them and not be ashamed of expressing them, so did her sister ( my aunt) Lynn. What I saw from dad was to be stoic and not complain about things that be can't be changed even though they really hurt. So I accepted what I could not change and I showed emotions when I had them, it's only now after spending yesterday with most of my family that I felt like posting something before getting back to my normal blogging or as normal as it can be. 

Yesterday I was spoiled and thankful for that, but what I loved most was being around family, laughing, hugging, talking and seeing others enjoy the day. Once back home I was luckier still to create dinner with my dad for my Uncle Paul, Julie and their baby Niamh, my Nana and Andi. Spent the whole evening with them with more jokes and laughing, not a single sad face. 

Then curling up on the sofa with Andi watching Firefly with my dad after playing board games. If anyone is grieving for any reason (which I honestly hope no one is) then be sad, be angry, cry if you feel like it and laugh hysterically if you don't know what else to do. Be with everyone you possibly can because in all my years of having depression, nothing has pulled me back faster than what my family has done for me recently. 

We are all caring for each other, we are all being strong for each other, but not of one us will know just how much it's helping the other. This family has had a rough time between my mum passing and family members being diagnosed with things that are just awful, but we never whine, we get up and fight where we can and be together when we can't fight. 

So this is my explanation but not an apology for my silence and a small reminder to my family that we are braver than we think. 

Mum, Paul and Lynn 

This is my mum and her siblings, never without a rush top on ever! The day my uncle announced that he was "effing blessed" 

If any of this has reached you in anyway, or even just if you have a big heart, any small donation to Epilepsy Scotland would be amazing, it was unfortunately this that took my mum because of something called SUDEP that no one can explain or stop. This isn't a plea, this is merely a hopeful "if you can, great. If you can't, thank you for reading" 

B x

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