Bonne année Bonne année
Well now, one minute I was fretting about whether Father Christmas had managed to stuff Finn’s stocking with all that a nineteen year old man-boy could desire and…
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Let the Renaissance Begin Let the Renaissance Begin
I cannot tell you how often I find myself sitting listening to conversations about ageing. empty nests and all the associated delights of the menopause with my friends…
The New Year House The New Year House
While I do adore layering the house in Christmas, there is something deliciously cathartic about its undressing in the New Year, and as this year I want January…
The book of Days – A Very Brocante January The book of Days – A Very Brocante January
A few years ago, I started writing a little book called The BrocanteHome Book of Days, and with your Patreon support, I created a list of 365 to-do’s…
Housekeeper’s Diary Housekeeper’s Diary
It’s been an odd few weeks. As if the reality of what life will now be like has finally hit home and I find myself not quite knowing…
Why I’m Giving Away Everything I Have Ever Created for Just 99.00 Per Year! Why I’m Giving Away Everything I Have Ever Created for Just 99.00 Per Year!
Brocantehome turned 18 last week and I quite forgot to mention it, because in my perpetual muddle I would frankly forget to put my teeth in if they…
Housekeeper’s Diary Housekeeper’s Diary
Well now, I think you should now that what turned out to be the astonishing peace of the empty nest was abruptly disrupted when my little fledgling decided…
By the Skin of My Teeth By the Skin of My Teeth
Well, I said I would be back in September and while obviously I meant at the very beginning of the month, instead of on this, the 28th, consider…
Back In September Back In September
August has arrived and the time has come for me to down tools and take my annual month long holiday away from BrocanteHome. As you know the past…
101 More Things About Me (At Fifty) 101 More Things About Me (At Fifty)
I have written a few of these posts over the years, and thought it was time for another to reflect on who I am now, at fifty. You…
The Progress Report – Learning To See Myself The Progress Report – Learning To See Myself
I was once crazy head over heels in love with a lovely man who told me that he showered in the dark because he couldn’t bear to look…
Akēru Akēru
In Japan, the word akēru means “to pierce, to end, to begin” – the aftermath of something broken making room for something new to blossom like so many…
The Put Alison Back Together Plan – Part Two The Put Alison Back Together Plan – Part Two
And so I have had to let him go and there is no point talking about it because it has been confusing, terrible and so very, very sad,…
Housekeeper’s Diary Housekeeper’s Diary
I am wandering around the house in bright red lipstick. A mad bow in my hair and my floaty kimono wafting around me as I skip down the…
Where I Am At Where I Am At
So there I was charging along on my treadmill, doing a little giddy dance inside my head as I reached my personal best without having a coronary, while…
The Put Alison Back Together Plan The Put Alison Back Together Plan
People are so very kind. It simply never ceases to astonish me how when my world falls down in this way, so many step in to cradle me…
Left/Bereft Left/Bereft
I cried in TK Maxx yesterday, I stood in front of a chenille pink flamingo baby rocker – of all things – and suddenly I was balling. In…
The Slow Scrub Challenge at BrocanteMe The Slow Scrub Challenge at BrocanteMe
How does your house feel right now? Have you managed to squeeze in a Spring clean yet? Is it feeling as fresh as a daisy ready for all…
The Scooby Doo Solution The Scooby Doo Solution
One of the things that is ridiculous about me (and trust me I am positively abundant in ridiculousity) is my quiet passion for Scooby Doo. In fact sometimes…
Goal Setting for Homemakers Goal Setting for Homemakers
We are living in weird times aren’t we? Most of us have grown up in an era when life felt relatively stable and our sense of self and…
How Focus Was Lost How Focus Was Lost
I do believe I have just two modes: serene and swanlike or completely off my head. And honestly, completely off my head seems to be the way I’m…