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THE TIMELESS APPEAL OF CANDLES IN MODERN HOMES

Candles have remained a beloved feature of homes for centuries, valued for their gentle illumination, mood, atmosphere and comfort.

INTRO

Today on the blog I'm sharing a really interesting post on the benefits of candles in our homes, and why they're still such popular gifts today. I hope you enjoy this lovely collaboration and that it inspires you to light a candle and enjoy the scent and serenity...
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WHAT DOES BEING MINDFUL MEAN TO ME?

What does living mindfully in the present moment mean to you? Here's a few thoughts about how to achieve those mindful moments.

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Today on the blog I have a wonderful guest blogger joining me....Denyse Whelan. Denyse and I have been blogging friends for several years; recently she moved her blog over to Substack. She's taking a few week's break, but normally she writes there every week, sharing her journey of recovery from severe burnout and the lessons she's learning along the way.

I noticed recently that she wrote a great post about being Mindful (my Word of the Year for 2026) so it immediately caught my eye. (And if you have something on being Mindful that you'd like to share here, please email me and we'll make it happen). Denyse has very generously allowed me to share her original post, so without further ado, here is Denyse with what she's been learning about being Mindfully present in the "now".....
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SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT MINDFULLY LIVING ONE DAY AT A TIME

Don't spend too much time worrying about the future or regretting the past - focus on mindfully living in the present.

CHOOSING TO BE MINDFULLY PRESENT

When I chose "Mindful" as my Word of the Year for 2026, I realized that it covers lots of different aspects of my life. One of the big ones for me is how to be present in the "now" and to not be re-hashing the past or over-thinking the future.

I'm slowly getting better at living one day at a time. Retirement has helped with that because sometimes I can't even remember what day of the week it is, I just flow along with whatever small commitments I have on the calendar, and let the rest of each day take care of itself. But, I still regularly catch myself thinking too far into the future or dwelling on what's happened in the past, so it's still good to remind myself to live in the present and here's a few quotes that have spoken to me recently...
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I WANT TO BE A "NOTICER"

Do you feel seen by the people around you? Do you turn your inner dialogue off long enough to listen when you're with a friend? Do you pause to notice the little things?

OWNING MY NOTICING

I love Ullie-Kaye's poetry (as you'd know if you've read any of my posts over the last couple of years since I discovered her writing). She often says what I'm thinking, but in a beautiful way that I could never pull together. A little while ago I read one of her poems that was about "noticers" and I realized that I'm a noticer - and that it's a good thing to be.

So, today I thought I'd tease that out a little and take some ownership of a quality that seems to be lacking these days - being a noticer....
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TEN REVEALING QUESTIONS AI ASKED ME ABOUT MYSELF

Have you ever been analysed by ChatGPT? If not, here's your chance.

AN ONLINE PERSONALITY CHALLENGE

Recently, as I was mindlessly scrolling Facebook videos, I came across one from Digital Laura where she shared a ChatGPT prompt that will give you some insights into yourself that you may or may not be aware of. Because I'm looking at ways to be more mindful this year, and because I'm still on the fence about all this AI stuff, I thought I'd toss myself into the experiment and see what the outcome was.

Laura gives us a prompt to type into whatever version of ChatGPT you use. Here's the prompt:
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FROM FINE LINES TO FIRM SKIN: WHY COLLAGEN IS KEY IN YOUR MIDLIFE SKINCARE ROUTINE

Today on the blog I have an interesting collaboration on why collagen is important and how to include it in our skincare routine. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

INTRO

I never used to think about my skin much - just threw on a bit of moisturizer and off I'd go into my day. But, as I'm aging (yes we all are...) I've realized I probably need to up my skincare game a little, and collagen is certainly high on the list of things to look into. 

Today on the blog I have an interesting collaboration on why collagen is important and how to include it in our skincare routine. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

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BOUNDARIES, CREATING SPACE, AND BEING MINDFUL OF MY LIMITS

I'm not good at holding space - I get a lot of my identity from other people, and I have very poor self-differentiation.

KNOWING ISN'T ALWAYS ENOUGH

Several years ago I finally (way too late!) discovered what a personal boundary was, and how important it is to draw a line in the sand when it comes to dealing with difficult and demanding people. I wrote a blog post about it because I thought I'd grasped the concept, had teased it out as to how it would help me in the future, and I had begun to put it into place. Little did I know how easily my line in the sand could be erased and how porous those boundaries could be....

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CHOOSING TO CURATE A MINDFUL MIDLIFE

A mindful Midlife is knowing what my heart, mind, and emotions need for me to live my life well.

A NEW YEAR AND A NEW WORD

I always love the beginning of a new year and choosing a new Word of the Year to direct my thoughts and help me grow more into my true self in this second half of life. As each year draws to a close, I find myself mulling over what my next WOTY will be, and as I allow things to simmer, I find a Word will often bubble to the surface.

That's exactly what happened this time - it came to me early, and it stuck in my head because it clicked in a way that resonated with how I want to approach this year ahead. So, for 2026 I'm embracing the Word:
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GOODBYE TO ANOTHER YEAR

It's the middle of December and less than 2 weeks til Christmas. Time to take a blogging break and spend time celebrating the season with my family.

ANOTHER YEAR IS DRAWING TO A CLOSE

We're just back from a delightful week in Albany. We enjoyed it so much in March that we decided to return to our same accommodation (it was perfect for our needs) and relaxed by the beach, wandered around town, stopped at cafes and little shops, and toured around the southern tip of our State.

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A YEAR OF APPRECIATING THOSE SMALL DELIGHTFUL MOMENTS

A look back over a year of choosing to find small delights and joys in the every day happenings in my life. Living imperfectly with great delight.

CHOOSING TO LIVE WITH DELIGHT

At the beginning of January, I chose "Delight" as my Word of the Year and it's been such a good way to remind myself to look for all those happy little moments that fill my days - moments that I often take for granted. I love that I'm living the life that "past me" would be so happy to see, and I feel like I owe it to her to live with gratitude every day.

So how has living with delight played out over my year?
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