July :: an update

Hello my lovelies, thank you so much for popping into the Attic to see me, it's always good to be here and to have your company. As you are probably well aware, I've been finding it incredibly difficult to find time to blog of late (yes I know, you know, we all know, sorry to keep saying it). I've been swinging through some extremely hectic days during the month of July, and even though we are now a week into the summer holidays and I've had J at home all week, I still feel that barely a smidge of each day truly belongs to me. Some days this fact presses down on my weary shoulders so hard that I begin to feel completely squished into the carpet. Other days I don't feel the weight quite so heavily.

I do miss my blogging time a great deal. I miss not having time to write my Calendar posts any more, miss not being able to follow the seasons quite like I used to, don't get to show you the view as much or chat about the weather. But more than anything I miss that I don't have time these days to record Everyday Life. The small stuff. The little bits.

But do you know what??

I am so fed up with feeling resentful. It's exhausting. So I'm going to try very hard not to keep feeling sad about the fact that I can no longer write my blog in the way that I used to. I shall just do updates when I can, and be thankful. Thankful for the fact that despite the lack of blogging time, I can still take photographs, can still think about things inside my head, can still find colour and beauty in the Little Moments of each and every day, can still appreciate that life is essentially good.

And then when I do manage to find time to sit and write a little, well then, I can whoop it up and be truly blooming thankful! Wooooohhoooooo!! I managed it!!! Today I am making it happen!!!! Go me, go me!!!!!

So here I am, making time to blog, and what do I have to show you?? Life, that's what. My life, the little itty-bits of my life that have occurred during the month of July, as told by a rather random collection of domestic photographs.

Above picture sums it up nicely. A Beautiful jug of blue Californian Bluebells. My old sky blue crocs still being worn, now into their third summer. A bag of brightly coloured baby toys. A floor cushion (I spend a lot of time sitting on the floor these days) and a red bucket catching the rain drops as they drip-drip through the leak in our bay window roof. That's kind of how it is. The beautiful and the mundane. The old the new. The comfy bits and the worn out bits.The dreadful weather.

Ahhhh these flowers, how they captivated me when I was walking towards the salad veg in the supermarket. I just had to have them. They weren't expensive (£3 for all these). The colour makes my soul shimmie with happiness.

Ahhhh that baby, do you see him? That Little Baby Boy of mine? See him sitting up on the sofa all by himself? He is the Root Cause of my lack of me-time, there's no denying it. He is a proper full-time job and then some.

But he is totally gorgeous of course, and I completely forgive him for taking so much of Me. Almost seven months now, he is sitting and playing, babbling and giggling, blowing bubbles and making mischief.

And he is eating. He is eating for England in fact. I took the above picture one lunch time a few weeks ago when I was outside in the back yard peeling veggies to make a chicken hotpot for him. For a while I was at a loss as to what exactly to do with him whilst I got on with the job in hand, but then I figured it out. I could try spreading out a little quilt on the table top and lay him down right next to me while I peeled and chopped. He was very happy with this arrangement. I had clothes hanging on the line to dry, flapping in the breeze above his head. Life on the Home Front, problems are solved, things get done. Domestic Success.

Can't lay Little B on the table at the moment though cos the table is covered in flowers. The flowers need to be planted into their pots, but finding time to do it is proving tricky. Soon. It'll happen soon.

And what of my other two Little People?? They are still doing pretty much the same sort of things that they've always done, and I am still delighting in these things. Little Lady is showing some talent with her colour mixing don't you think, taking after her Mummy perhaps?

And Little Man is still up early and crafting before breakfast, taking over the table with his busy little creative activities.

This is the current page he is working on in his Doodle book, and joy-of-joys he is actually allowing me to share it with him (I had to put enormous pressure on him, he caved in eventually poor boy). I've been really enjoying doing this with him though, it's been great fun. 

So almost at the end of my update I think, my tea has gone cold and I'm about ready to go crash my head onto my rosy pillows. Can I just say a huge THANK YOU to you all for continuing to support me here in Blogland and more recently over on Ravelry. It's been wonderful reading all your comments about my Granny Stripe blanket, you are very generous with your words.

Tomorrow we are going off on a little holiday in Connievan, and the blankie is already ready and waiting to be taken along for the ride. We're heading over to York for a week, so I'm ever so excited about this particular trip. We've booked a campsite in a small village a few miles down the road from where we used to live, so this trip is all about catching up with old friends and visiting old haunts. Oh, and getting to hang out with Connievan for a whole seven nights. Good stuff.

I thought before I go, that you might like to take a little peek at what is currently on my hook. It's a second blanket for Connievan (the lucky girl), to match with the Granny Stripe. As we have two seating areas in the van, I thought it'd be good to have two blankets. I'm still using the Stylecraft, but have added in a few new (darker) colours (more info coming soon).

So it's Granny Squares this time :: my own design which I am extraordinarily pleased with........................................................................................................................

 

....what do you think??

I'm calling this the Sweet Flower Granny Square.

The flowers and leaves are worked in place of the first round, it's all very clever but quite easy and veeeeeery addictive. And yes, I will be sharing the pattern. Of course. How could I not?

Have a wonderful week one and all, I'll see you into next month.

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Comments

[ramya]

lucy, lucy,lucy!! whata wonderful post. i am new to ur site but i adore u and everything about the site and th lovely patterns.....
started on ur hexagons ydy and by jove are they addictive!!! cant thank u enuff for all the sharing u do..cn only say,what goes around comes around!! could i pls email u sometime,would be nice to have a friend to talk to?

have a wonderful holida.y

see u soon.

love
ramya

thk u

[the quiet homemaker]

Dearest Lucy, you are soooo right to live life more than blog, and I shall just look forward to your less-often-posts as if they are like special expensive chocs...know what I mean? Have a lovely time with your dear ones. :)

[Nikki]

Happy Hols Lucy!

Lovely photos. Enjoy all this precious time with your little ones.

[Tina]

Life can be overwhelming at times, but you´ll catch up eventually. Suddenly, you´ll be sitting there wondering why nobody has called for your attention in an hour! ;-)

Looking forward to the Granny square pattern, am always on the lookout for more! :-)

[Melissa]

What a wonderful post just chock full of color and happy fun. :) Your new granny square is beautiful. Have a wonderful vacation.

[Andie@LollipopTreeLane]

Have a fabulous week Lucy! ax

[Alicia]

All gorgeous but most especially the babe! Enjoy your holiday!

[Dot]

love the new granny squares Lucy, enjoy your holiday, and your little ones , thay are grown befor you know it, my boy is seventeen and seems like only yesterday we were sharing his colouring books.

[Kirsty]

have a fantastic holiday with your gorgeous family and connievan, your granny stripe blanket looks fabulous as does the new sweet flower granny square. thanks for popping in to share some of your bright and sunny self.

x

[Pahavit]

Such beautiful flowers! The ones called Californian Bluebells in fact look to me more like what we know as Ithuriel's Spear, a common wildflower found in clay soils in open forest, woodland, or grassland in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are so lovely to see, and I'm glad you have a chance to enjoy them yourself. A rose by any other name, etc!

I love your use of color and all your granny patterns - they are a feast for the eyes! :)

[cathleen]

Sweet post, Lucy...just like the good old days...a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Lovely! Have a wonderful time away!

[Patti Johnson]

Lucy, I think you are on the right track to focus on the positive & let the negetive go...I have 2 special needs adult children & until I accepted this as my way of life I pretty much felt the way you described.
Your blanket looks great!
I hope you have a blessed week on holiday. We too will be away most of next week in our camper too, looking forward to some down time from the "normal" routine here! take care!

[Sweet Shoppe Kitty]

You gotta do what you gotta do!! Just make sure you're making some time for yourself or you'll go nuts!! Always glad to see you on here, but if you can't then it's totally understandable!

[JanJan]

Thank you for a wonderful post. What a good perspective to have! And thanks for always being so generous with your hooking and patterns - that square is delicious looking! You have such a gift with color. Thanks for brightening the world :)

[sammia]

What a nice long post! Your kid's doodlebook is fantastic! We all get carried away with life, and we should always be thankful for that!

[Lisha]

Oh Lucy I totally understand the "no blogging time" thing. With three children it's hard to have time to do anything for yourself. However, I've simplified my bog posts down to my photos (cause pictures tell a thousand words) and just a few brief words of my own. It still keeps me creative in the photography department and I can still blog when I have time and inspiration.

Your granny stripe blanket is wonderous, can't wait to see more of your sweet granny flower squares. Have a lovely Connievaning time in York!

Lishaxx

[The Garden Bell - Kate]

There it is... the Hobbitland we all know and love. Fresh air, sunshine, green grass, flowers at your feet, laundry on the line, markers in hand, food a'cookn', blankets thrown around, little one a purring sweetie... of and I'm sure a brewski or two around that we aren't seeing...giggle-giggle.... Sweetie, post when you want, post when you feel like it, post what you want, just know we all will always be here awaiting... Love the new grannie. Interesting, very interesting, my dear Watson. Sherlock will be trying to figure this out quickly, but first I must finish my Circles of Love, Friends and Life with my Luc Pak... Coming to the final stages of last round and then altogether.

Have a Florally Beautiful Weekend,

Kate

[Kate Bruning]

Absolutely and utterly beautiful - from baby toes to blankets. You don't need to blog all the time to be fabulous - there is always so much colour and content that it leaves you feeling satisfied for a week! Love Kate (the greedy one) xxooxxooxx.

[Marian M-S]

Ooooo! I love the flower granny square! I will I will I will make a blanket some time...I just need to practice some smaller projects first...maybe! Have a wonderful holiday!

[Clara]

Yes Lucy, such a truthful and heartwarming post. Take the extra time for you and the little ones but most of all, find some alone time for you to do whatever you want to even if it is just to say aaaaaaahhhhhh! I wish I had listened to the more experienced Moms who told me to make time for myself. Now I can tell you the same--listen to all of the women and Moms of the world who know this to be true. Have a lovely weekend! Lovely Connievan blanket #2.

[Kimbles]

Lucy, Lucy, what a fabulous post and what a fabulous job you are doing of growing that little boy!!!! So bonny and boys always eat loads!!!! Enjoy your time in Connievan hope the weather improves and by the way your new square is going to be THE next project for the world!!!!!x

[Anne]

What a lovely blog and gorgeous photos too Lucy. Thank you once again for sharing your life with us. Love your new granny square. Have a wonderful holiday.

Love,

Anne

[Cindy Rush]

Lucy - LOVE the granny stripe blanket. I'm hoping to have mine finished by next week so I can start the new blanket with you!

I totally understand being too busy to blog. My posts have gone down too. As a matter of fact, my husband and I are so busy right now we have to make an appointment to see each other. It's ridiculous. Something's gotta change!

Enjoy your Connievan Holiday.

Cindy

[Jennifer]

What a thrilling post! Sweet Baby Boy peeking out from behind those gorgeous flowers, baby toes and hands, Oh My!! Have a wonderful (7 whole nights!)holiday. xxxxxxxxxxxx

[Chris]

Wonderful post again Lucy, I love the new square.
Have a great week and a rest.