The countdown

On the 16th of September it was 100 days until Christmas and everyone is saying now its 12 weeks to Christmas. Is that gasps and shock I hear? And while it may seem early Christmas can be an expensive. I love Christmas and to make it as stress free as possible  a little planning now you can go a long way. So don't get into a blind panic and as the autumn nights are drawing in here's a few things you can be working on! 

1. Make a list of everyone you want to give a gift to

Include everyone kids, parents, friends, colleagues, and don't forget people like teachers, post man, bin man….and anyone else you think of. Try and make a list or at least a budget for each of these people and so any gift purchases are specific rather than buying that little something for someone that sits in the press till next year.

2. Know your budget

We seem to buy food at Christmas like the shops are going to be closed for two weeks. We like to spend money and if we sit down and work out how much we need we can avoid the January credit cards bill. Budget for the food, for that party dress, the decorations, the alcohol, the nights out….be realistic. We've just had September's pay day, October & November pay days try and put some aside based on how much you think you will need. 

3. Make a bit of cash

Look around the house to see what you don't want or don't need anymore. It's a great way to clear the clutter and make some cash. 

Sell last years party dress - there are lots of Facebook groups selling things locally 

West of Ireland Occasion Wear

Or if you have a car full why not spend the day at the car boot it can be good fun with the kids and they sell their old toys to raise a bit of cash.

Castlebar car boot

4. Think Creatively about gifts

You've made your gift list now spend a bit of time thinking about each person and what they like. Personal, thoughtful gifts can bring a lot more joy than a price tag. If they are a foody get them a hamper or craft get them some craft supplies or maybe add to their collection. For a gift that lasts past Christmas thing about a nice gift certificate such as one of our voucher for a course, afternoon tea or our coffee club. If you want to make gifts now is a good time to start. Trying to make something in December means it's unlikely to happen and will stress you out. 

5. Be a Savvy Shopper
At this time of year there are often mid season sales (we will be having one soon). If you shop online put items in your basket and leave them there for a few days before you check out. Often the retailer will send you a discount voucher. Look early for a party dress there are some great sales on now. And most importantly don't leave it to the last minute because you will panic buy and blow your budget. When I worked in Boots the girls on the perfume counter use to run a bet to see who could sell the most expensive bottle of perfume to the guys that had had a few pints after work and needed something for the their partners with the shop about to close. 

6. Decide on a Theme
Think about how you want to decorate your house. Do you want a certain look like vintage or contemporary or do you want a certain colour scheme. Try and add to this little and often. You can run this theme through to your wrapping using things like ribbons etc. Keep checking back on out pinterest page for inspiration. 
https://www.pinterest.com/lunasabelmullet/christmas-themes/

7. Plan to enjoy it 
Make a plan and stick to it. This will keep things under control, keep the stress levels down and give you time to enjoy it. 

Let the countdown begin! 

Today is our day

The month of August may have got its name from Agustus but I think the Irish name for August gives the character much better - Lúnasa.  The 1st of August is the festival of Lúnasa when the Celts would give sacrifices to the god Lugh to ask his blessings for good weather throughout the month to gather the harvest. 

Most of Ireland's reeks were climbed and sacrifices were given to Lugh and they reckon that's what started the climbing of Croagh Patrick now on the last Sunday before Lúnasa. The gathering of families and clans in Lúnasa is still a strong tradition and certainly the Barony of Erris swells with all the family coming home like we used to as kids.

Six years ago today would have been like any other day and now the significance of today is hard to put into words. Overwhelming, sad, joyful, lucky - I don't know but it now feels like the tread that holds all the pieces together.

My gentle, loving dad died leaving a hole in our family and our hearts. He died before we moved back to Belmullet and I often wonder what her would have said when we told him we were moving back. He loved to be here by the sea and we would come like so many in August to visit as a family packed into our VW camper van adapted for five girls and smuggling the dog over on the ferry. 
His illness brought me back from my travels many times that summer and I would always get  a visit from a 'friend' who popped up the 3 hours from Essex to meet for lunch. A delayed bus, a missed flight and a snap decision to swap the Cairo suntan for the Essex fake tan worked out quite well. We were engaged by Christmas!

My sister then got very sick and we were faced with the decision to get married in August when she could be there or to do it another time. So we went for August. But deicing that in February limited our options to the 1st of August. I agonised over this for months but on the day it felt right and we were all there as a family. And I am very proud to say that my sister is this August representing Canada in the transplant Olympics - how is that for a recovery! 

Our first Christmas as a newly married couple we got told Tom was being made redundant, not what you expect in the oil and gas industry. A small article in the western people came via email from a cousin in Belmullet and the week of our first anniversary we moved lock, stock and barrel to Ireland.  

You would think for one day of the year that's eventful enough but after deciding to open my business, picking out the premises and very optimistically thinking we would open in May, The ESB eventually allowed us in on the 1st of August. Last year we celebrated the birthday of the shop by having a great party, the sun shining in the back yard of the shop and our anniversary dinner was eaten with heavy eyelids. 

This year we moved and we hand back the keys of the old premises today but I don't feel sentimental about it. I love the new place and it's more like the image of the business I wanted from the start. 

So today I will have dinner with my wonderful husband who left for work very early this morning which is why I'm up writing this. I'll do a little something to remember my dad and have a glass of something to toast another good year in the shop. I might even pay homage to the god Lugh in the hope that he brings us some good weather for the rest of the month but most of all I'm planning that the 1st of August this year I can just appreciate how today is a pretty important day for me and so if you ever wondered why we are called Lúnasa, wonder no more.  

Mooooooving and a bit of grooooovin'

It's hard to believe it's been two years since we were knocking out the big high ESB counter in the blistering heat and yet it's also hard to believe it's only been two years. Since we realised the business was moving it's been a whirlwind and finally the end is in sight….this weekend.

The thing with change is it's a great opportunity to correct the things that weren't right in the first place. However, for a while, even though I've been looking forward to the move and all the new opportunity it brings it has also brought a lot of discomfort. The blog and the newsletters have been quite as I've found it hard to wrap my head round how it's all going to work. I kind of lost my rhythm there for a while. As I danced between delight and sheer terror about the move it was had to find the right words to say. 

Often as humans we try to keep things the same, sometimes making things worse by not changing but our nature means we become familiar, attached and there is a comfort and security in this.   It seems odd to me that the place that started this amazing adventure for me will no longer be accessible to me. Like driving past your childhood home that your parents sold and moved away. Good memories but no longer a physical attachment. 

Things staying the same makes it easier for us to settle in and operate on 'auto pilot' but when we get to the reality of it if I had an apple for every time someone has said 'you're a bit out of the way up here' I'd be selling my own juice! And with a business hat on you were right.

But I strongly believe things happen for a reason and our location on Church road was right for our first step into the scary world of owning your own business. And now the time is right to move. 

'Build it and they will come' to quote the film and you have come, up that hill in the wind and the rain and we are very thankful for it. So now it's time to make coming to us a bit easier. No hill to climb, no wind tunnel to battle against and no more illegal parking required. 

We will see you there!

p.s. if you didn't know already we are moving to the square - the bright turquoise shop :-)

No More Galivanting

I can't believe it's the 1st of June - especially with this weather. May just seemed to  go in the blink of an eye, probably because we did so much gallivanting! Well many weddings, later, a festival organised and executed and various parties later I suppose we need to get back to business. The business of moving! Our one week sale has been a fantastic success and we will have another one at the end of June so don't worry if you missed out. 

Our move date is set for some time in June or July - when we get round to it really. I am looking forward to it so much that I am determined to stress about it and enjoy the designing and painting and getting it set up just so. 

I've planned the layout, picked the colour for the walls - Autentico of course and the colour for the outside. I've ordered the sign and given Tom a list of jobs to be done. We've loads of new stock to fill the new shop for the summer and all I am worried about is if we can keep up with demand.

Our cosy new craft corner will be all set to go with lots of crafts to make and take as well as our popular classes. 

Private classes can also be booked such as sewing, knitting, crochet and many more. I'm designing new leaflets to 

Do you want to dance?

Tom is back on his shift at his other job :-) so I've been going since 5am. It's such a beautiful day so we of course went to the beach and after Junior had woken everyone up barking over his toy we went home again. I couldn't get settled or stuck into anything so I decided to come up to the shop. It's a normal quiet Sunday morning and as I mooch about the shop I can't quite believe that in a few months we won't be here anymore. Change is not an alien thing to me, I would move jobs or move countries every 18 months to 2 years and not think twice about it, but for the first time change feels odd to me when all I crave to be is settled. It's amazing to think about what we've achieved. It sometimes seems like yesterday we were ripping out the old counter from the ESB and then sometimes it feels like it was years ago. 

People often ask me if it was hard moving over and I would always say to them the shop was my life line. It rescued my at a time when I was struggling with all the changes and trying to redefine myself. When something has that much value to you it's hard to say goodbye but I suppose to spend too much time dwelling on it would just be tilting at windmills. 

In my early twenties a life changing event happened and I was sent an email by my friend titled 'Every woman….'. Over the years a few of these phrases have stuck with me and one of those is 'sometimes spends so long looking at the closed door that they don't see the one that's opened up'. I can say for sure that I will never be accused of staring at closed doors, if anything it's that I don't take enough time to let the door close. 

So today I will take a little bit of time to reflect on this closing chapter of my life before I start to make plans of moves and changes and all that. And as I sit in my workshop looking over to the sea I can think of many appropriate sayings - the calm before the storm, the sea of change, plenty of fish in the sea - but mostly all I can thing about is how blessed I am to have blown in here. The kind words of support and the offers of help will make light work of the move and I'm already thinking about the party. 

And I will close with a quote from Alan Watts…. ' The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it. move with it, and join the dance.'

So I hope you'll join us for a dance and if you want to be the first to know where we are moving to sign up for our newsletter on the website www.lunasa.co 

The wind in my hair...

Today was a fabulous spring day, the sun was shining and we headed straight out to the beach. The car windows were down and the dogs were hanging so far out of the window I was worried they would fall out again when we took those bends and curves on the North Coast road. 

We walked out on Lacken Strand and the sea was crashing down. It felt like I was shaking off the winter cobwebs and my mind went into Spring mode. As we were walking back to the car we saw lots of rally cars, a little unexpected. I looked it up on the internet and it was the Mayo Stages Car Rally….who knew we had a car rally right on our doorstep. I am still surprised that there is so much going in our little corner of the world. 

So we ran on the beach, got our feet wet and felt the sand between our toes. The colours of spring are always so strong. The blue sky, the lush green fields still swollen with the winter rain, the white of the waves as they crash on the golden sand. 

I suppose the winter has not left us completely yet but the promise of long summer days came in today with the rising of the sun and the the showers felt more spring like than stormy. I came back and felt invigorated and rejuvenated.

So the spring window is planned, the summer courses pencilled in and my mind is racing ahead to the coming months. We will celebrate our marvellous mothers, our patron saint and the Easter will soon be upon us. 

I feel like today recharged the batteries and got my engines going again - it's amazing what a bit of sunshine can do!

They can't copy what really matters - thank you

It's been a strange week. I started the week a bit down in the dumps. I know that they say imitation is the highest form of flattery but it can be a little exhausting coming up with new things all the time when people copy your ideas. Don't get me wrong - there is never a shortage of new ideas. As someone said to me this week I don't know how you do it, your brian never switches off. Maybe not but the plus side it's full of lots of new ideas waiting in reserve. 

At a weak moment I posted a little something on Facebook and in the morning I felt a little embarrassed but it helped me realise that the ideas and products I have are just a small part of Lúnasa.   

We have an array of supplies who we know by name and who put a little love into each of our handmade products. 
We have amazing customers who love our individual style and our unique products.
We have creative people who bring sunshine to our little store when they attend our courses. 
We have those who like our store so much they let us celebrate their birthday or special occasion with them.  
We have an array of mini makers who come and get stuck in every week.
And we have those groups in the community that invite us to share our creativity with them. 

I had a flood of lovely comments, texts and genuine concern from all of these people and it made me realise I am part of a community that makes me feel valued for doing something I love and for that I am very grateful. 

People can copy our products and ideas but they can't copy our vision and our passion..…and whatever they do they can't copy your enthusiasm for all things handmade. 

Thank you for your continued support 

Radio Silence

Testing, Testing…..It turns out we had a bit of a technology melt down but every cloud…..

Having just got the laptop repaired after coffee gate our new printer bust and we've had very little internet this week so there has been a bit of radio silence. Frustrating as it was I found that instead of surfing the net and replying to the mental number of emails, texts and Facebook messages I get I had to find other things to do. That has never been a problem for me. 

Workflow in the nerve centre

So I got a few more jobs done around the house. I organised the utility. I used to work for Boots opticians and there was a big thing called workflow. It looked at the jobs that you do and how many steps you take to complete them. A bit excessive for the utility you may think but no. I actually moved the dryer, made Tom move all his fishing gear and tools and got 4 laundry bags, whites, colour, darks and woollens. Now doing the washing is a lot less hassle and I have shelves to put the clothes on waiting to be ironed (or not as the case often is).

My Project

I also spent some time on one of my projects. I want to organise myself so that I can work at home but it doesn't take over. I like sitting at the kitchen table to work. The view out the window is always a good destruction and an inspiration at the same time. I can get my endless supply of tea and the dogs seem to settle in their beds. I don't however like taking over the kitchen. So I had a good sort out of my paper used the drawers I'd emptied by getting rid of more clothes and used them as a filing cabinet. Stylish and practical! I recycled a basket I got with a Christmas hamper as a sort of in tray for house stuff and I got it all organised. 

Bathroom

I tackled the bathroom next. In fairness this didn't need too much organisation - I just needed to put everything back in it place. I got some of that daily shower spray in the hope that the next time I need to clean it it won't take so long - I'll keep up posted about that. 

TLC in the living room

I gave the living room a good clean and I've got to say when I moved the sofa I was a little shocked. Turns out a lot of dust gathers under there! I cleaned behind all the cushions and decluttered. Now the only thing I have on the coffee table is the fabulous book on Wakes by a local guy so I can impress any visitors. 

But it turns out I had a bit of a media blackout as well. In getting my jobs done I didn't even watch TV so Sunday Tom went to golf and then I encouraged him to go to the pub to watch the footy. I spent the day enjoying the fruits of my labour. I lit the fire early in the morning and spent the day catching up on Emmerdale and reading my book. It has been a long time since I just spent time relaxing in the house. 

So I'm ploughing on with my home therapy. Someone text and mentioned that yesterday was the first day of spring. I know that the Celtic calendar put is as the 1st f Feb but winter has always run from December to the end of Feb for me. Many a year I remember snow for my birthday at the end of the month and so my spring doesn't start until the 1st of March. That give me one more month to get my home in ship shape before one big spring clean and then it'll be time to start tacking the garden!  

Harmony at home - My 7 day guide

I started the year very motivated and have lots that I want to get done. I realised that I needed to do quite a bit of work to make my home more of a sanctuary to recharge. With the space organised, fresh and clean it feels more under control. The big thing I noticed is it took away some little stresses everyday that just were unnecessary and this gives me head space for other things. It seems to be really working so I thought I'd share a few tips with you. With just a week of January left it seems to be racing by but you can still get a 7 day guide to get harmony. It will be a bit of work but it's worth it. 

Monday
The first thing to do is give the floors a really good clean. I turned all the chairs up onto the kitchen table and cleaned all the floors in the kitchen, the utility and carpets and really freshened the place up. And then something really simple I brought some nice yellow flowers for the kitchen table. Yours can be any colour but they just gave me a lift and lasted for about 10 days which was great. It's been such a long time since I had fresh flowers in the house. I got a bit way laid organising but stopped myself and just went back to the cleaning the floor. I banished the dogs and put the music on and it was quite therapeutic.

Tuesday
Next walk round the house and made a list of all the things that need to be fixed or organised. I really want to make it more mine and a much better living space so I listed everything that needed fixing, and things I want to buy/replace. This took me about 20 mins. Then I sat in the room I finished in and just sat there quietly for a while. I imagined what I would like the room to look at, the things I didn't like about it and how to change them. I thought about how I would feel about the room if it was done and compared it to how I feel about it now. Then with that in mind I added some more things to my list. Some of them a bit more of a project than a list of jobs. I went round each room doing this which took about an hour. Make sure you sit for a while in each room. Then at the end pick one 'project' (not one of the small jobs) and commit to it. Post it on our Facebook page if you like. This will be your project for Feb.

Wednesday
The next thing I did was organise the hallway. Ours had shoes and dog leads and post and keys and all sorts and it the part of the house that I have to clean the most. So I moved this lovely pine cupboard we have and filled it with our shoes. Then I moved pine drawers into the space and put all the dogs stuff in there and made a space for the keys and the post. Each day I try and take a bit of time to get rid of the post that's not worth keeping and put the keys back on the hooks. I put up some hooks for my bag and I try and sort through my pockets and bag each day. Finding the keys and everything else I need in the morning has become less stressful and for those of you that know me you'll know keys are a bit of an issue in out house! :-)

Thursday
I moved the dogs beds and made some space not too far away from the door. I started to declutter and moved some of the things that I wanted to get rid of to this space and then I went round the house and picked up a few things and put them in this corner. I am a bit of a hoarder so this is the first step to getting them out of the house. After a few days I'm sick of them being there so I get rid. There has only been one item that I didn't part with.  (I also have a take to the shop pile as I have fabric and sewing machines and all sorts I bring home to finish off at night) I then spent the rest of the time doing all the washing getting all my clothes clean. This is setting me up for tomorrows task!

Friday
I laid all my clothes out on the bed in piles. A pile of jeans, pile of jumpers, pile of t-shirts etc. Then I went through each pile and made four piles. A pile of clothes that fit and I like. A pile of clothes that fit and I don't like. A pile that I don't want to keep either because they are the wrong size or are past their best and the fourth pile was clothes that I like but are too small. When I had done this I packed my clothes that are too small but too nice to get rid of in my motivation suitcase. I'm trying to loose weight and I'm looking forward to getting back into all my lovely dresses - you WILL see them this summer! Then I got a bin bag and put the pile of 'get rid' of clothes in it and put them by the front door. The next pile, the ones that fit but I don't feel good in I left them in my declutter pile. They will sit there for a week and as I pass them each day I will decide which ones to keep. By the end of the week I was ready to get rid of them. And the fourth pile you can then nearly put away. What I did, but it may seem a bit excessive, I organised them into outfits. I was inspired by something I read about Steve Jobs wearing the same outfit because it took away a decision each day that he didn't want to waste time on. It worked great. But it does need refreshing each week. 

Saturday
Now with the clothes sorted todays task is to give your bedroom a really good spring clean. I turned the mattress and cleared out the clutter and gave it a mini makeover. This is the place you go to at night to recharge your batteries and make sure you can face the day tomorrow full of beans. So I think it's important that its a little sanctuary. You want to look forward to going into your room at night not dreading it. This aids a good night of relaxation. Lavender incense sticks or essential oils can also relax you and help you get a good nights sleep. 

Sunday 
Todays task is a big one. Its to clean out the kitchen cupboards. I put the bin in the middle of the room and cleared out all the out of date stuff and I also cleared out all the junk food as we are on a healthy eating plan. I organised all the cupboards to make it easy to see whats in them (this makes the shopping list much quicker as well) and gave them a clean as I went. The Dyson came in very handy here. And I cleaned out the fridge and organised it so that it was more hygienic with meat together, diary, veg etc. This task took a good few hours so give it the time it deserves!

So that is my 7 day guide to harmony at home and so next week when February comes we can get well on the way with some other projects. 

2015 #makeitcount

January is always a strange month. You’ve over indulged and over spent in December and the New Year comes and you resolve to do lots of things differently.  Last year my New Years resolution was to become more organised and I can honestly say that I finished the year more organised than I started it but looking back over the year I hope that that wasn’t my greatest achievement.

As I crossed the Irish Sea heading home having spent a wonderful Christmas and New Year with both mine and Tom’s family I was looking out at the slightly stormy sea. It was like a blank canvas, full of possibilities and it  was all just bubbling under the surface waiting to come out. That's how I feel about 2015. 

I, like many, can think of all the things I don’t like about myself, my life, my habits and resolve to try and change them. Or for 2015 I could not. This year I am going to give myself a break and simply resolve to make this year count. Good things and bad things will come my way and I can’t control them but I can control myself. I can try and make small changes in my life, watching less TV, eating better, but at then end of the year I want to feel like I gave 2015 all I had and came out the other end a better person.

Having decided to approach 2015 in this way I feel and energy and buzz that I haven’t felt before at this time of year. I fell like each day is going to bring something great because I’m going to make it great by being good to myself. I’m going to make that project I’ve been thinking about for ages, I’m going to swap the fizzy drinks for bottles of water (done that already), I’m going to find time to use the spa voucher and I’m going to make each day count in some small way.

What was really great is that the few nights I have been lying in bed thinking about what my little thing is going to for the following day so when I wake up I know already and I feel good which is a great way to start a new day.

So for 6 days I’ve stopped watching TV before 9pm to make time for other things (thank God for sky plus) and for five days I’ve swapped all my drinks (except one morning coffee) for water. However, yesterdays' thing is one I got really excited about. I took something I didn’t use/didn’t like and changed it into something I do like/use. And the best thing is I might do it for one day, or everyday for one month and either way I’m still sticking with my resolution.  And having over spent a bit during the holidays it is a great way to keep crafting and be rather thrifty about it. I’ll try and post them on Facebook & pinterst so you can check my progress. 

So I'd like to wish you all a great 2015 - whatever you resolve to do have a great year, be kind to yourself and #makeitcount