Feng Shui and the Doldrums

I have been somewhat down in the dumps recently, and couldn't really fathom out why. Everything seemed like too much effort, nothing was interesting, and the news was all dire. The idea of shopping for Christmas seemed utterly repellent, and the regular questioning about what I wanted to do on my birthday (soon, soon...) was as appealing as planning a course of dental work. Not that I've ever been really interested in my birthday; it's too near Christmas for a start, and life has always been too hectic to care about it except as the day when I took a day off work to decorate my mantelpiece, which I always thought was the best bit about Christmas. Fresh holly, ivy, candles, fa-la-la-la-la....

But today the clouds lifted a little and I had a flurry of determined activity, freecycling things that had stood unused for ever (wow, half of Newcastle wanted my elderly Kenwood Chef!) and passing on a spare tv to Margery. I feel a lot better now, and I think that this may hold a clue - I complain frequently about being oppressed by my belongings, as numerous as when I was part of a family, and as they started to thin out, albeit imperceptibly at this stage, I started to feel lighter and more energetic.

And I had a good think about Christmas, and the frenzy of presents and card-sending that usually gets out of control; it doesn't seem right, somehow, to spend and splurge this year, so restraint and frugality is the aim. Whether I'm capable of it is another matter, but I shall try; the problem is, that for me frugality equates with lentils and making do, and I rather enjoy the righteous feeling that one gets from eating up leftovers and going round the supermarket with a hand basket instead of a trolley. When it comes to other people, it's more complicated. I'm not confident that I can rustle up a guilt-free yet tasteful range of presents for my nearest and dearest that doesn't scream penny-pinching at them.

So, could this be the Christmas where everyone gets an e-card and a box of home baking? Will they hate it and despise me? Is this one step away from making my own wrapping paper from recycled envelopes and sellotape? Or hand-delivered cards decorated with potato prints and sprinkle-on glitter? Yes, that's about my standard; I look longingly at the craft and sewing blogs that have exquisite work on display and wonder why I can't do that....

At least, thanks to freecycle, friends need not fear a lumpy package containing an elderly Kenwood Chef (that I moaned about being so difficult to clean), an ancient turntable, or a video recorder that had seen better days. Maybe packages oozing a little butter or scattering a little coloured sugar won't be so bad after all. Maybe I could make a potato print of a cupcake to stamp onto the recycled wrapping paper....