Attic24

Back Yard :: 2021

It's about a month or so since I purchased these little pots packed with floral potential and brought them home to the Attic. It's always such a thrill for me to do this (on the years when I pull my finger out and make it happen at the appropriate time) and this year was no exception. Oh, the J-O-Y in the choosing, in the imagining of it all! I loved picturing the colour combinations in my mind and anticipating a whole summer full of living, growing colour right outside my back door.

Before I could get stuck into the actual planting, I had some tidying up to do in the yard. For those of you who aren't familiar with my outdoor space, let me tell you it is teeeeeeeeeny. It's a very, very small L-shaped enclosed yard - there is a square of paved space directly outside my kitchen door which measures 2.5 m², that's part of it in the above photo. Then we have another even smaller area which measures approx 2 m x 1.5 m and that bit sits just underneath my equally teeny tiny kitchen window. So yeah, not much room to play with at all. It's west facing which means we get the sun in the afternoon, although there are parts of the yard which are in permanent shade all day. I'll show you some more photos as we chat along so that you can maybe get a better idea of the space, but when folks talk about small gardens, they actually have no idea what small really is until they've seen a Victorian terraced back yard.

Once upon a time I lived in a 2nd floor flat backing onto a high speed railway line, and believe me, a small back yard where I could sit in the sun and sip a mojito surrounded by flowers would have been heaven to me back then. So I try very hard to be thankful for this space, to appreciate it and not feel too envious of those who have grassy gardens with trees and wildlife and abundant borders.

Anyhow - an afternoon was spent shifting our dilapidated furniture about, sweeping and de-weeding the rather ugly concrete slabs and getting rid of an accumulated pile of gardening bits and bobs which were no longer fit for purpose. Then it was time to plant up my pots - these are all many years old but are still mostly intact so I simply changed out the compost and gave them a bit of a clean up.

Ahh....that's looking a bit better, a few colourful crochet blankets always makes everything look better!

We had an old folding hardwood chair down in the cellar so we dragged that up to put in the very small space at the end - this is the spot that gets the sun throughout the whole afternoon and it's very sheltered and warm there. I really wanted a lovely comfy chair to be there as it's one of my favourite places to sit, so I measured the space and started to have a look online for something that might fit.

The warm sunny weather was enticing us all outside, including Little Lady who decided that a spot of sunbathing might help her revision along (I know, teenage logic, don't bother questioning  it). As you can see, sunbathing options in our back yard were very basic - a picnic blanket on the hard concrete floor was pretty much the only option. 

Did you notice that I said "was", as in past tense? Uh-huh, well after I had a few mojitos tucked away I confess I went a little cray-cray with some online shopping......

....and this ↑↑ landed in my basket. Oh boy. Please say hello to the Allibert Jaipur Sun Lounger with Graphite Grey Cushion, and picture my face when a huuuuuge box arrived on the doorstep and I had yet to inform J of my purchase. Luckily all was well, and although J said I was "absolutely mad" for purchasing a giant piece of plastic, I was positively overjoyed with it.

I mean, just look how well it fits, and imagine how warm and comfy this tiny space is now...just perfect for some sunny afternoon idling with a spot of crochet in my lap.

The above photo shows where the lounger sits in relation to the shady table and chairs - you can see we don't have much privacy, actually er, we have zero privacy. I guess I've learnt to accept it as part and parcel of living so closely with our neighbours in a terraced row of houses, but I really would love to add some height to our boundary wall and gate so that we can relax a little bit more in our small outdoor space. 

Despite the lack of privacy, I've been getting on just fine with the business of lounging around in the sunshine. I've been making very good use of my new giant piece of plastic seating and let me tell you I LOVE it. Absolutely love it. It's just a delight to sit with my feet up in this little sunny nook, an escape from the house and a bit of time to be alone with my thoughts for a while. I've had one or two afternoon naps here too, well I did have to try out the lounger in it's fully flat position to see how well it worked....I can confirm it works a treat. The only downside to having this one delightful piece of furniture is that I have to share it with Little Lady. We haven't (yet) had to fight over it but that's not to say that I haven't found myself on occasion waiting impatiently for her to get too hot/bored with sunbathing so that I can have my turn.

During the past month, my flowers have really started to fill out the pots. Most of the flowers are situated on top of the wall as they get full sun that way, and it gives me a smidge of extra privacy from folks walking up and down the cobbled back street just on the other side.

I water with a watering can which is a bit slow and laborious but it does mean I can add a liquid feed to the water once a week to keep the flowers blooming well all summer (I hope).

I'm waiting impatiently for the "prolific cascading" which is supposed to happen with some of these flowers...come on, come on!!

Two weeks ago I realised I had one large empty pot to fill, and I started to ponder what to plant in it. I wanted something tall/climbing as the pot sits in front of an ugly drainpipe, so I decided in the end to try growing something edible. I settled for climbing french beans as the blurb on the packet said that they'd have pretty purple flowers so I thought it was worth a try. I planted a handful in a pot indoors on 11th June....

....and six days later, ta-dah!!! How quick was that?! It was extremely exciting I have to say, the thrill of seeds growing into actual real plants never gets old.

I didn't have any tall sticks to hand, so I made some string supports (tied to the top of the drainpipe) for my beanlets to help them in their journey upwards. I'm hopeful for flowers and beans later in the summer that will cover up the pipe, I'll keep you posted. Also, you can see how fast my sweet peas have grown in the blue pot there - no flowers yet, but we do have buds. Super exciting times in the back yard. Buds!!

I love the ritual of stepping out of the kitchen door every morning to check on my flowers and see how they're doing. By the way, I'm still managing to keep with my morning routine in which I get myself out of the house at 7am each day for a brisk "wake-up walk". I'm pretty sure that I've now set that habit for myself (trying to remember when I first began? Ok, found it, it was 24th March so three months ago - is it a habit now then? I think it must be.)

I have to say it's really lovely coming back down my cobbled street at the end of my morning walk and seeing my pots looking so blooming pretty. I'm really happy with myself for making that happen. Well done me.

I leaned right out of my bedroom window to take the above photo for you, so you could better appreciate the small-scale of my yard. Teeny-tiny indeed. Incidentally, the big black box thing there is a very handy storage box which I purchased alongside my sun lounger. Oh, J had a LOT to say about that I can tell you. But it's such a good thing - it means we can easily store blankets and cushions and other gardeny bits that we want to keep dry. And like I said to J, it's waaaaaaay cheaper than a shed, plus you can sit on it or use it like a table. Versatile and useful.

And I leaned very precariously out of the bathroom window to show you the little bit of my yard where my lounger sits. 

So there you have it, it's all bit a rough and ready but it does make me happy. At some point in the future if we decide that this is going to remain our home for many more years, we'll spend some money making this into a proper courtyard garden I think. I have lots of ideas (of course I do), but for now I'm content to enjoy what we have.

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Spring Bank Staycation

Before I launch into this next instalment of bloggy chit chat, I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the time you take to write me comments. I enjoyed reading your words on my last blog post so much, your kindness and empathy really made my heart squeeze, and I am so grateful for you all. Thank you.

The past few weeks we've been back into the swing of our everyday school routine, but the week before that we enjoyed some wonderful holiday time. It already seems like a distant memory despite only being three weeks ago, but I wanted to write about it here on my blog because it was honestly one of the most enjoyable half terms weeks I can remember in a long while. It was the very end of May and into the start of June and after many weeks of unseasonably cold, grey weather, we were gifted with some very welcome warmth and sunshine for the holiday week.

As you can tell from the title of this post and the familiar woodland scenes, we weren't off galivanting anywhere for our holiday week but enjoying something of a homespun staycation* instead. The spring bank week is always a time when I crave an away-from-home holiday, preferably beside the sea if I can make it happen. In years gone by we would take the caravan away during this break, and there is a big part of me that really misses those simple family holidays. Ohhhh, I've just had a little jaunt down Memory Lane to our first Connievan trip at this time of year......awwww, tiny baby toes!! Little B was only 6 months old at the time, the sweetest of memories for sure.

*A staycation is a play on the word "vacation" and means spending time off in or near your own home, rather than traveling to another location.

So yes, as I was saying, in normal non-pandemic times I would do my utmost to plan a trip away for us during this week, but this year we felt that staying home was the best thing to do. And do you know what, it was absolutely brilliant. Having the word "staycation" inside my head meant that I really did approach the whole week in full blown holiday mode. I ditched all my carefully built routines - no alarm, no workouts, no real agenda other than to rest, relax and have fun.

I happen to live in a small town which is used to welcoming holidaymakers all year round, and so it's pretty easy to occasionally pretend that we are part of the holidaymaker crowd. We can stroll along the canal, pootle about the quirky old streets at leisure, pick up ingredients for an impromptu picnic or an evening barbecue, and settle ourselves down in the sunny garden of a little café to drink morning coffee in the sunshine. Relax, sit back and enjoy the moment because we are are on holiday, and doesn't it feel good?!

On the occasion that included the above ridiculously, outrageously good coffee, we were having a little morning refreshment on our way to the market, as is our usual Saturday routine. The weather was warm and sunny and we were able to sit out in the lovely little café garden which greatly assisted with the holiday vibe. Not long after we'd sat down, J took a phone call from Little Lady asking us if we were at the café and if so, could she come and join us? As we live a mere hop and a skip away, within ten minutes we were joined by both Little Lady and Little B, both freshly tumbled out of bed and in need of some refreshment to kick start their day.  Little B was still half asleep (he honestly had his eyes still half closed) but he made short shrift of a berry smoothie and some hot buttered toast and jam which perked him up no end. It was just such a lovely thing, to have their unexpected company on a sunny Saturday morning, and it made me so happy.

The sunny weather and holiday vibe put me in the mood for a holidayish drink, and I got it into my head that I would very much like to sit around in my back yard and sip a cocktail. Once this idea popped into my head I could not dislodge it, so off I went to purchase the ingredients for one of my all time favourite cocktails - a Mojito. Oh. My. Goodness. I can't tell you how much I adore this drink. It takes a fair bit of effort to make it as you need to squeeze a million fresh limes which is surprisingly hard work. I followed an online recipe and made my own sugar syrup (basically equal measures 1:1 of sugar and water, stirred until dissolved). Once the squeeeeeezing and syrup making is done, then creating the mojito is a breeze. Fresh mint leaves in the bottom of the glass, then add in roughly 1:1:2 of sugar syrup : fresh lime juice : white rum. Muddle the mint around with a spoon to release the flavour, then add in lots of crushed ice and a splash of soda water.

Ahhhhh, the smell of this drink is like the best of everything summery, and the taste is just the perfect combo of fresh, sweet and sharp. Love love love it. 

I made virgin mojitos for the Little People, and we thoroughly enjoyed our cocktail hour, sat out in the back yard with a blanket or two to take the evening chill off. We had music playing, and it was just the loveliest end to the day - I'll definitely be adding Make Cocktails to my summer holiday to-do list.

This time of year calls to my light-loving soul and the looooong days feel absolutely magical to me. The fact that it doesn't get dark until after 10pm in June makes me insanely delighted with life, and evening walks become not only possible but a truly wonderful thing indeed.

I took these photos one evening when it was the three of us spending time in the park - myself, Little Lady and Little B. The time stamp is 9:02pm and as you can see it was utterly beautiful out there with the sun just in the process of dropping behind the trees. It was a very spontaneous outing, the Little People came to me and said they wanted to go to the park for a while, so I grabbed my beloved granny stripe blanket and the Little Peeps grabbed a frisbee and off we went right there and then. I think this was one of the nicest things about this particular holiday, that I got to spend some really great time with the Little People...actually, more to the point, the Little People seemed to really want to spend time with their Mum and Dad haha!! At ages 17 and 11, they are becoming increasingly independent in how they choose to spend their time. 

Believe it or not, I actually wrote myself a to-do list for my Staycation week which is very unusual for me. To be fair, it did include things like "go on a picnic" and "mojitos" so it wasn't all that arduous to tick things off. Top of my list was to tidy up the back yard, and this also included a trip to buy flowers and compost, and possibly some new garden furniture. Last year my back yard space remained in a state of hibernation and gentle decay and I think the only thing I planted were a few petunias that a friend gifted to me. So this year I wanted to make more of an effort because even though this outside space of ours is teeny tiny, it's still a place that I enjoy sitting in and it makes me happy when my pots have colourful flowers in them instead of straggly weeds.

I absolutely love the process of choosing and buying a collection of summer annuals to fill my pots with, especially as we always go to the same place each year. You may remember in past years me talking about "the plant man" who had a stall on the market selling pots of growing flowers as well as buckets of cut flowers (dahlias in particular were one of my favourite things to buy from him every week)? Well sadly he no longer brings his cheery flowers to the market but he does run a beautiful little garden nursery with his wife and I love to support this kind of small local business. It's about 8 miles away in nearby town across the border in Lancashire (somehow feels very liberating to Cross The Border these days), so it's necessary to involve J as he's in charge of transport around here. This year we also had the Little People with us, so it was even more fun than usual - I might have mentioned before that Little B absolutely loves flowers and bless him, he was so excited to help me choose. As you can see in the above photo, I went for a hot palette of pinks, purples and reds and stuck to my tried and tested favourites - geraniums, daisies, verbena, little petunia-type trailing flowers, snapdragons and lavender. I also always buy a few trays of trailing lobelia too, as I LOVE the way this looks when it flowers - I chose the deep blue sapphire colour which should look amazing alongside all the hot pinks, reds and purples of the other flowers.

J helped me to give the back yard a good tidy up and a sweep - I decluttered all of my "gardening" paraphernalia and we got rid of a fair bit of accumulated rubbish and broken things. It felt good to have a bit of a clear out and we decided to move the table and chairs into the corner this year to give us a little bit more space for flowers. We really desperately need some new furniture (I've been saying this for years and years) as our chairs are now very unsafe to sit on, but I'm still trying to decide what I want out here. I'm thinking maybe some slightly more substantial chairs which are more loungey, with a low coffee table instead of normal height table? Not sure - garden furniture is so ridiculously expensive isn't it, and as usual I'm in a spin of indecision with it.

Anyhow, after two whole days of working out here, I'm really happy with what I've done and how it looks without spending too much money and making use of what I already had. I've taken quite a few photos of my pots and the back yard in general, but I want to share that in a separate post I think. Also....aren't snapdragons just the most enchanting flowers?? I don't think I've ever had them before, but I'm thinking I've been missing out, they are delightful. 

Although our staycation week was mostly spent at home, we did manage to take a day trip (ticking off the "picnic" on my to-do list). Just recently I've been really hankering after a trip to the west coast, to visit Silverdale and Arnside. Sometimes the memories of old, familiar places call to me so strongly that I get a little obsessed about wanting to revisit. We haven't been to this coastline since 2015 which was our last caravan trip (sadly I didn't manage to document that trip on my blog, but I do still have all the photos on my laptop). If you've been visiting with me for a while then you may remember how much we used to love staying at the Youth Hostel in Arnside when the Little People were small (post from waaaaaay back in 2008, and also in 2013). Silverdale is also a really special kind of a place, well the whole area is very unique and so unlike anywhere else I've ever been, kind of sleepy and quaint and old fashioned and completely unspoilt. I absolutely love it there and couldn't wait to be back. 

The day we picked to go, the weather was grey and overcast with the threat of rain hanging in the air, but it turned out to be pretty good weather for walking. We parked the car in Silverdale and set off to walk a 6.5 mile circular route, planning to stop half way round to eat our picnic lunch.

It's a lovely walk and involves quite a bit of steep woodland climbing in the beginning, but after a while you emerge from the trees and can take in the sweeping views of the coastline. 

This is a tidal estuary coastline (the river Kent which runs into the wide expanse of Morecambe Bay) so it's not the sea as such....

...., but there are beaches with vast sandy mudflats and wide open watery views.

It's a curious mixture of beach and riverside, with grass and flowers growing on the huge expanse of sand. It always feels and smells so good here, like damp, salty, earthy, grassy mud? I wonder if you can imagine it?!

We stopped to eat our picnic lunch on a little wooden bench overlooking the water and it was just the nicest thing, I do love picnic lunches very, very much and want to have lots of them as we head into the summer season. I'm putting it firmly on my summer to-do list.

The walk continues to follow the line of the water....

....with the pathway climbing up above the shore onto low cliffs, twisting through ancient looking trees. It's so tranquil somehow, and I love the combination of woodland with coastal views. 

We walked through some beautiful meadows too, and at this time of year the wild flowers are looking so, so pretty.

Almost at the end of our walk and we were all feeling a little weary by this point- 6.5 miles isn't that far really, but with the steep climbing in the beginning I could certainly feel it in my muscles. Only one thing for it - head off in search of refreshment!

We drove the few miles from Silverdale to Arnside and it was exactly as I had remembered it in my mind. It's a very unspoilt little place that doesn't change from year to year, and I love it for that. It's perfectly suited for some very slow-paced pottering which really should include a combination of coffee/cake/ice cream while you breathe in the expansive views.

There's a very small stone jetty with wooden benches which make the perfect refreshment spot. I really enjoyed my coffee (but you knew that already, right?) and it was just a relaxing time to sit and appreciate the moment with J and the Little People. It was late afternoon by this point and the weather had gotten quite cold, so we took a short walk along the shoreline before jumping back in the care and heading homewards. 

It was such a good day out, and I really enjoyed the company of the Little People, who really aren't all that little any more. I especially treasure the time spent with my gorgeous Little Lady, because at age 17 she could quite easily have chosen to stay at home or gone out with friends instead of walking and picnicing with us. I love her company, she is such an easy young person to get along with and I do know I'm very lucky to have such a close friendship with her.

I'm very aware that if you are reading this blog without knowing my back story, you would assume that I only had two children. My eldest will turn 19 at the end of the summer and so technically is no longer a child, which blows my mind on a regular basis. He's still living at home right now but leads a very independent life - he comes and goes as he pleases, goes to work, to the gym, to his driving lessons and out with his mates, and every so often we'll have a passing conversation or two. I'm hoping that soon enough things will fall into place for him and he'll be ready to get going with the next phase of his life. 

Awww, just look at this sweet, sleepy kitty, I do really love having her around and I think she likes having us around too.

Early June turned out to be be so, so beautiful and being outside for a lot of the time felt amazingly good. I'd almost forgotten the joy of outdoor living (May was really a huge disappointment in the weather department) and love love loved every minute of breathing it in.

Well, this has turned out to be a much longer post than I originally anticipated, I hope I haven't bored you. I uploaded the photos about ten days ago and have been writing in stops and starts over the course of the past week or so. I'm keeping fingers crossed that there is at least some sort of story-flow because I'm not editing or going back over anything - what you've just read is the spontaneous blurb that my mind deposited onto the page. I will be back again soon I promise, hopefully with a bit more clarity and togetherness. I would really like to show you more of my back yard (now named the Yarden after I discovered the hashtag on insta) and some of my recent decluttering success moments. You've no idea how proud I am to actually have decluttering moments to talk about...major life win.

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The Here and Now

Last week I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine about the business of how to return to ones blog when one has been absent for a period of time. She was telling me she hadn't blogged since February and really wanted to find her way back to it. My advice went something like this ::

1. Don't get caught up in the reasons for your absence. Don't feel you need to explain if you don't want to, and definitely don't fall over yourself to apologise. Blogs belong to the blogger, and gaps in the narrative are a natural part of writing a genuine, truthful blog which follows the ups and downs of life. There is no need to say sorry, or feel guilty.
2. Jump right in with something short and current rather than trying to back track and create a hefty "catch-up" post. Your blogging voice may well be a little bit croaky after a break and keeping things short and of-the-moment will be a good way to un-croak yourself. Lengthy catch ups and more specific posts can happen when you get back into the general swing of things.
3. Let the photos lead the way if the words aren't coming easy.

So......this is me sliding back gently into blogland and taking my own advice. Hellooooo!! I've missed this space, and am very glad to be back. The above photo was taken this morning on my daily tramp into the woods. It's been a warm and muggy day today with a heavy feeling in the air, as if it needs to really pour with rain but can't quite manage to make it happen.

I found a beautiful feather on the woodland path today and had to bring it home to add to my collection - it's the super-tall dark black feather in the above photo. Actually, it's a very, very dark blue rather than being black but you only see the blue hue when it catches the light. Needless to say, even though I tried to be very stealthy about introducing it into the house, Tilly has already sniffed it out and had it onto the floor. I have no idea why I'm so surprised.

I've had a jug of white stocks on my table this week and the scent they bring to the room is heavenly. 

I took the above photo to share on Instagram this morning, for no other reason than to document the joy my dining room shelves are delivering to me at the moment. After a very long spell of them making me feel very frustrated and irritated, I finally decided last month to put some effort in and and sort them out. I performed a major declutter, re-organised all my things, and finally managed to tame the chaos. 

I had a long overdue clear out of my books and donated some huge bags to our local Oxfam Bookshop which felt wonderful. Owning less books has given me more shelf space and now that it's pretty tidy and clutter-free on those shelves I'm working hard to try and keep it that way. Daily diligence is needed, honestly, it's a full time job. I check on them every single day and make sure to re-home anything that lands there and doesn't belong. Who even am I??!

Funny thing, I took some before and after photos whilst this was all going on because I also tackled the twin Cupboards of Doom at the same time. I've just looked back at the photos and gasped out loud - it was really pretty bad here for a while last month when everything was in utter chaos. I might be brave and show you - is this something that you'd be curious about, the behind the scenes state of my messy home that you don't usually get to see? Would you like to see inside my cupboards which are no longer doom-filled? Let me know eh?

I'm currently dragging myself back into healthy eating after way too much over indulgence during the past few months. Artisan sourdough bread has a lot to answer for, as does chocolate. I've discovered that gluten and sugar are really not good for my body these days, both my mood/energy levels and my joints really start acting up if I eat too much of it. So I'm diggin' deep for some self discipline this week and thankful for our weekly trips to the market and the delicious fresh produce we can purchase. Natural fruit sugars are wonderful....I keep telling myself this, as I sit and fantasise about eating a piece of cake.

As well as daily shelf-clutter checks, I'm now also performing daily plantlet checks as I've got actual living things growing in my back yard that are making me so bloomin' happy. Lots of flowers are now in residence, and I'll show you some more photos very soon. For now, please do appreciate how healthy my sweet peas are looking - this is one of three big pots I've got going on out there, and I am mothering them to death. My plant babies. 

And in crochet news, my Yuletide blanket is slowly but surely growing and I am very in love with it. Coopers café re-opened a few weeks ago after being closed since the start of the year, and I am so happy to be back. It's not back to the full social group of old yet as we are still restricted to sitting in small groups of 6, but it's a step in the right direction.

This week I'm also working behind the scenes on the design of another blanket project but annoyingly I can't show you just yet. On the whole though, I've been enjoying some slow down time during the past few months and haven't done much crochet at all. I've been percolating some ideas though, and there is a list of things I want to make - an actual list written on paper, not just free floating inside my messy head space, so that's something. I very much hope that June will treat me better than May did, I lost my way for a while last month, it' was a tricksy, emotional month for various reasons. 

Well, I'm so happy to be back here and I promise to not be so quiet and croaky-voiced and will come back very soon to chat some more. Back soon...........xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Hello from the Attic

I thought I'd just pop by to say hello and to let you know that I'm doing OK, I know some of you have been worried and I'm so touched that you take the time to check up on me. Thank you, thank you.

I've just uploaded photos to my computer from the past four weeks, and the hundreds of images have reminded me that May was a very beautiful month all in all, no matter how scattered I've been feeling at times. 

It's half term week this week and J has also taken the week off work so we've been spending precious time with the Little People and thoroughly enjoying this spell of gloriously warm and sunny weather. It really has been wonderful this past week, the long sunny days and clear blue skies have made me feel soo good, just what I needed.

I hope you're all doing OK, and I'm sorry for the big gaps in my blogging story just lately. I'll be able to catch you up on all that's been going on with me very soon xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Life Lately

I've been on Blossom Watch during the past few weeks which is pretty normal for me at this time of year. I tend to get these seasonally induced obsessions throughout the year and they occupy my thoughts on the daily. I know from past experience that May will be a busy month inside my head because there is so much to obsess over - blossom, wild garlic flowers, bluebells, cow parsley, buttercups, asparagus season, tree leaves....oh my seasonal cup positively overflows in May!

Being that I live in the northern part of the UK where temperatures are cooler, I'd say we are about three weeks behind those in the south. Blossom is just starting to reach full froth this week and I am absolutely delighted by it as always.

I honestly don't think I could keep away from these beautiful trees if you paid me, they call to me so loudly each and every morning. Sometimes I'm content to admire them from across the grassy expanse of the park, but often times I find myself walking to them even before I've made the conscious decision. Standing underneath a blossom tree when it's in full tilt against the bluest of morning skies is one of life's great pleasures. 

On of my other favourite trees at this time of year is the Whitebeam, and I only found out it's name last year after being in love with it for a long, long time. The new leaves are a beautiful pale silvery green colour when they first emerge and I just love them so much. 

As I wrote in my blog post last week, I'm still keeping up with my morning wake-up-walk at 7am and I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying it. I guess it's like walking a dog every morning, except without the actual dog.

The cold weather continues, and when I say cold, I really do mean it. We are into early May now, but most days it's literally freezing out there when I walk in the mornings.

These bluebells were frozen solid this morning, stiff and icy but still looking very beautiful.

We've actually had a fair bit of rain during the past week, but this morning the sky had cleared and the air felt clean and crisp. It was zero degrees out there. Zero!! What is going on with our Spring this year?? I'd really, really like it to warm up now please. 

Walking back towards home along the side of the canal, there is often a blackbird perched high in the tree singing his heart out. Can you see him in the above photo? And do you know the song of a blackbird? It's so melodic - and loud too, I always forget how loud birdsong can be at times. It fills the air as I walk.

I'm back to my daily morning workouts this week after an enforced rest last week. I've been having leg trouble, it's something that comes and goes and is most definitely hormone/peri-menopause related so I'm not worried about it, but my goodness me it is super irritating. It's like a deep, dragging ache within the depths of my thigh, painful enough to keep me awake at night which is the worst part of it. Anyhow, I generally try to ignore it although I do make an effort to rest up a bit when it comes on, and after a week or two it slowly begins to fade away again, until the next time.

Been feeling much stronger again this week though, so I started out on a four week exercise challenge with my fave Lucy Wyndham-Read on YouTube. The programme is completely free, with short workouts all on the Tube (find all the info and links HERE) and I'm really enjoying it. I can highly recommend starting the day with a quick ten minute blast of outdoor fresh air walking, followed by twenty minutes of home workouts - half an hour is all it takes, and honestly it'll make you feel soooo good. 

Life continues to be very same-samey here, as I'm sure it is with most of you too. We haven't been anywhere much at all, preferring to stay very close to home for all of our leisure, pleasure and work time. At the start of last week we drove out into the Dales to walk around Grimwith Reservoir which we've not done for a long while.

It was a beautiful walk, and yes you guessed it, it was bloomin' freeeeezing! I enjoyed all the blues of water and sky so much, gosh I miss the sea something chronic. It's been nine months now and not a day goes by when I don't think about being beside the waves. Rivers, waterfalls and reservoirs are a pretty good second best though, especially on a clear sunny day.

After a very dry period of weather throughout March and April (not counting the snow of course), the start of May has given us some much needed rain. The first day that it rained after many dry weeks, the scent of petrichor was really intense. Ooooh, I've just been on a little petrichor search, and found an interesting article about it ((here)). 

Rain made the bank holiday weekend a bit of a wash out, but we still managed to visit the market and then sit outside our favourite café for an al fresco breakfast (huddled up and wearing allllll the layers). But mostly it was a time for relaxation and lazing about indoors keeping warm.

Tilly obviously got the memo about the importance of lazing about, it's one of her favourite pastimes. And yup, we lit fire. I was in two minds about it, mostly because I'd taken the time last week to Spring clean the hearth and put it to bed for the season. But the lure of having some cosy warmth on a holiday weekend when the rain did not stop falling was too much to resist. I honestly don't think we've ever had a May fire before, except for the very first fire we ever lit when we had the chimney repaired and the open grate installed in May 2008. Ah well, it was unexpected and unseasonal, but lovely all the same.

Firelight and candle light, this is all sounding very depressingly autumnal don't you think?! But whatever season we're in, I'm still enjoying the heck out of my little ceramic candle burner, and light it next to my bed most evenings. I was gifted this burner by a lovely friend for Christmas, but they are easy to find online and come in all different shapes and sizes (the one I have can be found on Amazon HERE)

I bought myself some eco friendly tea lights which have compostable cups (instead of aluminium ones) and are made from vegetable wax with no nasties in it.

But the stars of the show are the scented wax melts, and I just love swapping these depending on the season we're in. My current obsession is Orange Blossom, and Oh. My. Goodness. I am absolutely besotted by the smell of these. I buy my melts from the Botanical Candle Co who are a fabulous small business based down in Dorset and I can highly recommend them for all your seasonal scented candle needs. 

As soon as I sniffed these little waxy stars I was instantly transported back to two years ago when I was lucky enough to visit Portugal for the first time. It was springtime back then too, and I enjoyed a truly wonderful long weekend in Faro with Christine.  I'd always wanted to visit Portugal, and a few nights in Faro seemed like it would be just the thing in March when we didn't want a beach jolly, but didn't want a hectic sight seeing city break either.

I absolutely adored Faro, it was everything I had dreamed of and so much more, oh it's such a beautiful place! But the thing I remember the most about being there in March were the orange trees, they were utterly, utterly enchanting. Yes they had a tonne of very beautiful fruits in the branches, but the blossom....oh, the blossom!!!! The scent!!! the air was filled with the most ridiculously beautiful, intoxicating sweet perfume and I won't ever forget the joy of it.

Having this scent in the home is like taking a mini holiday and I couldn't love it more.

So, what else to tell you? This week I've enjoyed some lovely spring blooms on my table, although as you can see they are past their best now and starting to droop.

I also thoroughly cleaned and decluttered my dining room mantel which had gathered a lot of miscellaneous objects during the past year or two, as well as a good insulating layer of dust. In fact I've been doing a lot of decluttering here lately, working hard on the task of sorting, clearing and organising in areas of the house which had gotten completely out of hand over the years. It's been eye wateringly hard at times, but also extremely therapeutic. I'm still neck deep in the clutter zone mind you, with a long way to go.....the Cupboards of Doom are currently spilling their guts out onto the dining room floor and everything is in tremendous disarray. I've taken some photos to share with you at some point, but only once I'm safely out the other side and can offer up some satisfying "after" photos to be proud of. Right now, the mess is a bit overwhelming and I'm only just managing to maintain my equilibrium. It'll be worth it when it's done though, I keep telling myself this as I dig deep into years of accumulated stuff. So. Much. Stuff. 

More on that journey another day......for now I'm going to love you and leave you as I need to be horizontal now, cosied up in my bed with the scent of orange blossom doing it's thing. I hope you're doing OK  and that you're enjoying the season you're in, whether it's Spring or Autumn depending where you are.

Tell me how your days are feeling, and what's making you happy, I'd love to know xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

April Ordinariness

Hello my lovelies, it's me, the one who's been ruminating in her little Attic nook of late, keeping quiet because there has been a lot to think about and some changes afoot. I find that when I have these very introverted, overly-thinky kind of times, there is always a point when I know for sure that I need to snap myself out of it. And the best way I know to do that is to come here,  open my Attic window and reconnect with the world (that means you).

So....here I am. Helloooooooo!!!!!!!!!! 

Truthfully, the past few weeks have been really good for me, if a bit on the ordinary side. I've not got a huge amount to share with you, but as always I've continued to take photographs every day and practice gratitude for life's small pleasures and simple daily routines.

I'm really enjoying my morning routine at the moment and absolutely loving the return of the school run. My gosh, I sure did miss it for the three and a half months at the start of this year when it was removed from my life.

I think I mentioned in a post recently that I listened to a podcast about the benefits of getting outside as soon as possible after first waking in order to set our circadian rhythm and help us sleep better. Ideally within the first hour of waking, we would all benefit from allowing some daylight to enter our brains, and I am all for this idea. I've been trying it out for about a month now and absolutely LOVE the way it makes me feel. My alarm wakes me at 6am, and after a ten minute sleepy drift I am usually pretty awake and ready to get up at 6.10. I head downstairs, do a few jobs (feed the kitty, empty the dishwasher, straighten up the downstairs living room if it needs it) and then make myself a small mug of coffee to bring back to bed. After about half an hour of gentle wake up with my coffee I get up for a second time, pull on my workout clothes and get myself out of the door and into the fresh air at 7am.

It's a truly wonderful time of day to be out and about, especially at this time of year. The sun has already risen above the hill and those first slants of soft sunlight and shadow are really beautiful.

Can you see me standing there, in the frosty cold early start of the day? April has been dry, bright and devilishly cold, and many mornings I've been walking over crisp, still-frozen grass as the temperatures sit just around zero degrees. 

It's been breathtakingly beautiful at times, literally stopping me in my tracks and stealing my breath clean away. The stillness in the air is so acute at this time in the morning, it's like the very day is holding it's breath and waiting to begin. 

In the chill of the morning there is a mist that swirls over the surface of the canal, and I find it absolutely mesmerising to watch. I literally crouch down and just stare at it, drinking in my fill, delighting in the extraordinary ordinariness of it all.

A couple mornings a week I turn the other way out of my door and take my walk down the street and along the canal to the bakery to pick up a loaf of fresh bread. It's a five minute brisk walk each way, and I feel incredibly lucky that I get to do this. It's one of the many, many things I enjoy about living in a small rural market town. 

The bakery sourdough isn't quite as good as the artisan bread we buy from the market on a Saturday, but it's not half bad. And now I'm just showing off with all the bread purchasing options at my disposal, so I shall stop with the bread bragging.

I'm aware that this post is not showing you anything new or exciting, as we are still living a very restrictive locked down life and daily routines are extremely repetitive after more than a year in place. J and I continue to take our daily mid morning walk together, mostly around the woods but every so often we do stride out a bit further afield.

We walked out to a neighbouring village last week, strolling the narrow lanes until we eventually reached the canal. The walk home is along the tow path and takes about an hour or so - I sometimes find this walk a bit of a drag if I'm perfectly honest, is it ok to admit that to you? I prefer footpaths and field tracks, or winding woodland pathways, although I do get a kick out of the endless possibilities for gazing at reflections which I think might be a hobby of mine. 

One of the most exciting things to happen last week was the reopening of one of our favourite little local cafes. Its doors have been closed since December so it was absolutely lovely to walk past one morning and see the little wooden tables and chairs outside on the pavement and the coffee garden all spruced up and open for business. If you followed along with my Blogtober posts, this is the café that I often talked about, the one that serves the "outrageously good coffee". Oh, it was SO GOOD to be back with that cup of deliciousness in my hands and the sun on my face, chatting to J about how happy I was to be there.

We have another couple weeks until we'll be able to sit inside again - it's outdoor seating only at the moment at cafés, pubs and restaurants, which of course is extremely weather dependent. And as I mentioned earlier, it's been very cold this past week or two with a return to very wintry temperatures, which isn't ideal for al fresco dining. Soon though....hopefully soon we'll have some true Spring warmth and all will feel right and good again.

When the sun shone last week, I took myself out into the sheltered warmth of my little back yard and enjoyed some quiet afternoon crochet time. Hooking al fresco is one of my all time favourite pleasures and it's been lovely to have that back in my life again. It reminded me of last year when we were first in this lockdown crisis and I was working on my Aria blanket then. What a blessing it is to have yarn and colour running through my hands and quieting my emotions. I honestly don't know what I would do without the therapeutic benefits of blanket making, I love it to the moon and back.

By the way, thank you so much for all the delightful comments you wrote for me on my last post where I introduced you to the ideas behind my Yuletide blanket. Thank you, thank you! I appreciate your enthusiasm and support more than I can put into words, it really is something special.

I have to confess it is a little strange working with these particular colours in Spring, but despite the oddness of thinking winter thoughts in springtime, I'm enjoying it very much. The pattern, the richness of the colours, the way the rows are now becoming delightfully long and engaging. It's all so joyful I have to say. I've had a few hiccups along the way as I'm learning about how the colours like to work together and the contrasts that are needed to make the pattern work its magic, but a bit of ripping out from time to time never hurts. It's all part of the journey, and like I say, I'm enjoying it massively. 

It's a funny thing, but even though I'm madly into my Yueltide blanket, there is still a near constant pull to start something new. I keep looking at my overflowing tubs of scrap yarn and fighting the uprising urge to make another happy scrappy picnic blanket. Just simple granny squares joined in a delicious patchwork of colour that will make my heart sing when I see it slung on a bench, or on the beach later in the summer. Maybe it's because I'm craving a holiday (rather badly) that I'm dreaming about summer picnics and all. Remember the colourwash granny? And the patchwork granny? I do have a history of this sort of thing......what do you think the odds are of me resisting this temptation?? Slim to no chance?!

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Yuletide Blanket :: Inspiration

Even though I've designed and crocheted dozens of blankets over the years, the excitement of starting out on a new blanket journey has in no way diminished. I still get sooooooooooooooooooooo excited, like I can hardly contain the feelings as they fizz and bubble and make me feel like I've got ants in my pants. 

I've been pondering on the idea of making a Christmas blanket for the longest time (many years, on and off) but have always managed to talk myself out of it. I think I was simply too indecisive to commit to a colour palette, being that my own personal Christmas colours are "jewel brights" and this probably wouldn't work out for various reasons. As you may well know, I also have a real problem with incorporating white into my blankets and that became a massive stumbling block for me. I got all caught up in the idea that a Christmas style blanket would absolutely have to include white, and yet every time I tried to work something out it all went horribly wrong.

Eventually after much faffing (and finally deciding that white simply had to stay on the shelf), I settled on the idea of using nature as my inspiration. I made my brain forget about colourful baubles and tinsel, and began to think about the natural world instead. It seems so obvious now, but it was a real lightbulb moment at the time!

Photo Credit : Arcade Flowers

I thought about Christmas wreaths and all the beautiful natural elements that we associate with this time of year - holly, ivy, eucalyptus (my fave scent of the season), pine, orange slices, berries and cones.

Photo Credit : Schwartz

I also began to think about the flavours of the festive season - mulled wine, gingerbread, nuts, cinnamon, clementines, cloves. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, this set me off on a wave of craving and fondness for this cosy time of year which surprised me because I am truly a summer-loving girl. 

Although I was super happy with my ideas and inspiration, the colour palette came together in very slow stops and starts. I spent quite a few weeks tweaking and messing with it, adding colours in, taking colours out and fine-tuning the balance until it suddenly felt exactly right. I always know when I've got it right because I feel it right in the pit of my stomach, a very deep, visceral reaction which is full of emotion.

Once the colours were in place, the design for my Yuletide blanket came together surprisingly quickly.  I had it in my head that I wanted to make a square blanket - one big giant square so that those rounds would grow out from the centre. I've never made a giant square blanket before so this is a first for me, and I can tell you that it is ThRiLlInG!! As the rounds get bigger and bigger, there is less stopping and starting (and darning in ends) and more rhythmic, soothing, wonderful repetitive crochet. I'm currently up to round twenty five I think, and so far it is giving me the hugest amount of satisfaction and pleasure. 

I've designed a simple three-row pattern repeat inspired by the spike stitch border I created for the Dahlia blanket. Oh-my-gosh, it is such a neat design to crochet with just enough thought needed to prevent boredom setting in, but simple enough to provide that relaxation factor. I can't tell you how much I'm loving it.

The Yuletide blanket will be available as a yarn kit with a printed pattern in early September. The timing means that you can crochet it through the Autumn so that it'll be ready to adorn your sofa for the festive season.

I'm not sure yet how big the finished blanket will be, but I'm thinking something between 4 and 5 ft square. I want it to be big enough for a snuggle, but compact enough to easily throw over the back of an armchair.

Incidentally, are you familiar with the word "Yuletide"?? It's quite old fashioned and refers to the time around the Christmas season, usually from around 21 December until 1 January. The celebration of Yuletide dates back centuries, and was originally a way to commemorate the winter solstice — the shortest day and longest night of the year. 

I hope it's OK to talk to you about this right now - I know it's a long way in advance and it does feel a bit weird to be talking about Christmas as we are just at the start of Spring! But I wanted to give you a glimpse into my creative life and to share the journey with you in real time. I always feel much happier when I'm sharing. 

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ps while we're talking about blankets and timings, I also wanted to mention that the Yuletide blanket won't be run as a crochet-a-long. My annual crochet-a-long will be happening at the same time as in previous years (yarn packs in November, with the CAL weeks running through January/February).

x

 

 

 

Wild Garlic Season

Wild garlic grows in shady damp woodland and I'm lucky that here in my local area it grows in absolute abundance. It's an easy leaf to forage for, partly because it is so distinctive that there is no mistaking what you are getting, but also because you can pick a huge handful from a small area without having any impact on the plants at all. So long as you just pick/snip the leaves without disturbing the bulb in the ground, the plants will continue to grow and spread for years to come.

Right now is a good time to gather wild garlic as the tender young leaves (before the flowers bloom) are full of fresh garlicky flavour. I finally went on a foraging expedition last week and collected some to bring home to eat.

The exciting thing was that I didn't need to go tramping about in the woods with the general public as I had a personal invitation from a good friend to go rootling around in her private shady borders. So I was at my friends a week or so ago, a really great few hours where I was able to sit in a sheltered sunny spot in her garden with my flask of coffee and crochet and catch up with a few of my yarny friends at long last. I was thrilled to be let loose to forage to my hearts content, and oh my goodness, the scent of this stuff is just out of this world. It's the very definition of Spring Green in smell form.

As soon as I got home I whizzed up some fresh wild garlic pesto - I only made a small quantity as it was for my own personal consumption. I looked at a few recipes online and worked out that the ratio of ingredients seemed to be roughly along the lines of 1:1:3. And by that I mean one part parmesan, one part toasted pine nuts and three parts wild garlic.

For my small dollop of pesto (which was about four portions), I used :

20g parmesan

20g toasted pine nuts

60g wild garlic

A generous squeeze of lemon juice

Olive oil - just enough to enable the blitzing to happen without it being too oily.

The whole lot gets whizzed up in a mini food processor to make a wildly green chunky paste which smells intoxicatingly of garlic. 

I tossed a small dollop through a bowl of spaghetti for my lunch, adding in some sun dried tomatoes as well as some fresh baby plum tomatoes. The whole bowl was utter Spring deliciousness. 

This pesto is pretty powerful stuff and a little went a long way so I ended up making a few similar lunches last week, sometimes adding a crumble of feta to the top, or a bit of shredded cooked chicken. It will keep in a jar in the fridge for a couple of weeks, but be warned, this is veeeeeeeeery garlicky!

With the remainder of my foraged bounty I made soup. I concocted the recipe myself, and it was absolutely delicious I have to say.

Here is my recipe, should you wish to try it - you could always substitute spinach if you can't get your hands on wild garlic, adding a crushed garlic clove to the celery and leeks instead.

WILD GARLIC SOUP

2 x celery sticks, finely chopped

2 x medium leeks, finely sliced

a knob of butter and a glug of olive oil

2 x white potatoes, cubed into small pieces

600ml vegetable stock

Large handful of roughly chopped wild garlic leaves, maybe around 100-120g (I didn't weigh what I used, so guessing on the grams)

A splash of milk (again, I didn't measure, but I would guess 2 tablespoons/30ml)

And here is the way to go forth into soupy heaven....

1. Melt the olive oil and butter  in a frying pan and sauté the celery and leeks over a medium heat for around 10 minutes until softened.

2. Add in the potatoes and veggie stock and simmer for 20 minutes or so until the potatoes are soft.

3. Add in the wild garlic leaves and simmer for 2 minutes more until the leaves wilt but stay nice and green.

4. Lastly, add a splash of milk , season well with salt and pepper, then blitz until smooth and creamy. 

Ooooo, I've just found another really yummy looking recipe - white bean and wild garlic hummus which is right up my street. I think my early morning wake-up walk may well involve some wild garlic foraging tomorrow.

xxx

 

 

 

 

 

Wintry Springtime

Last week was the second half of our stay-at-home Easter holiday and honestly it's been the nicest time. I can't get over the difference in the general ambience of the house when the Little People are home and on holiday as opposed to home but home schooling. The reality is that they're spending the vast majority of the time in their bedrooms absorbed in their own pursuits whether it's school work or leisure time, but somehow the air feels lighter around here when it's the latter. I am definitely waaaaaaay more relaxed when we are officially in holiday mode that's for sure.

The week was lazy and we did very little of note other than our usual local pottering. We had a cold, breezy walk at Bolton Abbey one morning, ending with hot take-out drinks slurped in the car because it was just too chilly to actually sit outside. We had a trip to a nearby retail park to visit a DIY chain store for the first time in over a year, and my goodness it felt strange. I had almost forgotten what real out-and-about shopping feels like. The purpose of the trip was to purchase a tin of paint so that Little Lady could create one sage green wall in her all-white bedroom. She had a very clear idea about what she wanted and picked a particular shade of green from the two thousand shades that you can get specially mixed up by the magic paint-mixer machine. She was so sure about it we didn't bother with a tester or anything sensible like that, and fortunately it was a resounding success. She is now on a mission to amass a collection of houseplants for her bedroom, and I must say I'm really enjoying watching her find her own style and recognising so, so much of my younger self in her. 

One of the things I managed to do last week was to pop into Coopers Café (where I have my studio) to collect my mail. I've not been there since October, and I'd been meaning to go and collect a couple of packages that I knew were waiting for me as well as the monthly crochet magazines that get sent there. Of course the café is closed because of this never ending lockdown situation so it was a bit strange being there when it was so quiet and calm. I've not been able to use my studio since the first lockdown in March 2020, and I've really, really missed my precious space.

Anyhow, one of the packages was from a lovely lady who lives fairly local to me and reads my blog. As well as some beautiful and very thoughtful gifts, she had packaged me up a stack of old magazines to read and I was so happy to receive them. As you know I adore magazines and even better when they are passed on once they've been read so that the pleasure can be spread a little further. Do you know this magazine, "the simple things"? I've come across if before but it's not one that I've ever bought myself - oh, I've clearly been missing out! What an absolute delight this magazine is! You can take a little peek inside some previous issues online to get a feel for the content ((here)) - the photography and styling is stunning, and I really love the overall message which promotes slow living and celebrating life's simple pleasures. 

I spent some blissful hours across a few afternoons snuggled up with the kitty, drinking in the articles, recipes, musings, photographs and seasonal feel good in these pages and I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. If you are reading this Rosie, thank you SO MUCH for this gift which really did make me very happy. And....I've still got three magazines left to read, which I'm saving for this coming weekend, I can't wait (they are summer issues, my fave). Magazine heaven.

We continued to walk in the woods pretty much every day, and I was happy to see that the willow Huntress was wearing a new skirt. She's been looking a little unkempt over the winter with most of her bottom half missing, so Anna must've been called in to restore her dignity. Actually, as I was looking up Anna's website just now, I decided to write her a quick email telling her how much happiness her willow sculptures bring to my daily woodland walking experience. I think it's a wonderful thing to practice gratitude, but even better to express that gratitude to the people that contribute to the goodness of our days.

The woodland is very slowly beginning to wake after it's winter sleep and every day I search for signs of green things happening. 

The wild garlic carpet continues to grow, and I continue to observe it and love it just a bit more every day. That vibrant green is really uplifting when everything else around it is still so brown. I finally managed to collect some to bring home and cook with this week and made some pesto and also some soup which were both really good. I'll share my recipes here on my blog in the next day or so as I like to have a record of these things for future me, I know I'll be glad of it next year when wild garlic season comes round again.

It's been a cold start to April here in Atticland with temperatures remaining firmly in the single digits and falling to below freezing at night. On the positive side we've been treated to many bright clear days and I've really appreciated the undiluted amount of sunlight that has filtered through to my brain. I've spent quite a bit of time outdoors either walking, sitting and chatting with friends or pottering in my front gardening and I feel so good for it - I'm definitely happier outdoors than in at the moment.

On Sunday we woke up to an unexpected winter white out, and the shock was real. It's not unheard of for us to have a final snowy surprise around Easter time (my very first Easter here was spent making a snowman instead of the easter egg hunt I'd planned) but it was still a shock to the system. Every year I tell myself that the Spring Equinox does not actually mean spring weather for us here in the north of England so that I don't expect anything warm and springlike until May rolls around.

At around 8.30 I took myself off for a morning stroll through the park, just to experience the uniqueness of April Snow.

It really was beautiful out there.

The sky was an incredible, intense shade of blue, and the treetops looked gorgeous with their dusting of powdery snow.

The poor flowers though, oh my goodness, they looked so forlorn. The blackthorn blossom that I've been admiring in the meadow was literally encapsulated in ice.

Every time I walk in the winter meadow I think of my blanket and try and remember what the colours of summer look like. Some days, the meadow is so far from summery that I have trouble believing that the flowers will ever return. The buttercups should start to bloom golden at the end of May which is only six weeks away from now......nature honestly blows my mind sometimes.

Monday was the last day of the holidays for us here, and on Tuesday the two Littlest Peeps were finally back to school.

Yaaaayyyyy-hahahaaaahhhhhaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trying not to cheer too loudly when they are in ear shot, but you know it feels like so bloomin' long since we had any sort of normal school routine around here (Little B has only been in school for two weeks since the start of the year). For the first time in an age I set my alarm for a 6am wake-up on Tuesday, my goodness, that was a shock to the system. But it felt good, like a bit of a reset and I felt ready to embrace this new season of routine.

After a leisurely coffee and some quiet time to slowly come around to the day, I was out the door and into the park by 7:04 for my brisk wake-up walk. I recently listened to a podcast called "just one thing" with Michael Mosley which sets out to explore ways in which you can easily improve your health and wellbeing by adopting small daily habits. Episode two was all about the benefits of taking an early morning walk (I'm waaay ahead of the game there Michael), with the idea that getting out into the daylight within 2 hours of waking can have a very positive effect on our bodies. It strengthens our natural circadian rhythm (or something like that), and helps us to sleep well at night as well as boosting our mood. 

Well I can certainly say that this routine of taking a brisk 10-15 minute walk at around 7am feels marvellous and I am all for it. Having said that, I'm not one hundred percent sure if I would feel the same doing it in the rain....hmmm, most likely not. As I mentioned earlier, although the weather recently has mainly been blinkin' freezing, the crisp dry air and bright sunshine has made it feel very energising.

My walk takes me up the hill, down through the park, then a short stretch along the canal before the steep hill climb back to home. I deliberately walk at a fast pace to get my circulation going and warm my muscles up because I do a short 20 minute workout as soon as I get back home. I really do love the way it makes me feel to do this and can highly recommend it. 

Longer daylight hours have opened up the possibility for evening walks again, and last week I took a few evening strolls with Little Lady.

We mainly like to head through the woods then a slog up to the top of the huge grassy hill where we can catch the very last rays of sunshine. The above photo was taken at 7:46pm, such beautiful, golden glowy light at that time of day which really lifts the spirits.

Two other things of note last week - number one, I had my first covid vaccination on Friday which was something of a relief. I faired pretty well afterwards with just a bit of a headache and the overwhelming desire to lay down and sleep at a moments notice but other than that (and a very, very sore arm) I was fine. I know I'm really looking forward to the time when all this is behind us and life begins to return to some sort of normal again. I'm so tired of covid-19 taking up valuable brain space. 

Number two, I started my new blanket, oh, happy day! I will definitely be sharing it with you once it's well under way, but in the meantime, I figured you might enjoy a little bit of a teaser re the inspiration behind the colours. 

Greenery and pinecones, bright berries, orange slices and spices, also mulled wine and gingerbread cookies (why didn't I have those to hand when I needed them?) Winter solstice vibes and festive flavours - a celebration of the Yuletide season. Can't wait to show you more!

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2021 :: First Quarter

:: JANUARY ::

:: FEBRUARY ::

:: MARCH ::

x

At the end of March when I'd finished my fortnight of continuous daily blogging, I decided to make a little montage of photos to capture the essence of the month. I used to make these nine-square monthly photo montages all the time and I've many years worth of them here on my blog and in my photo archives. I started them right at the beginning of my blogging journey in 2008 and continued them for five years (you can find these "monthly mosaics" in my right hand side bar →, or click here). I always featured a photo of my hill view as seen from the Attic in the centre of each collage, a beautiful record of the changing seasons and weather each month.

Eventually life got too chaotic to keep up with a review at the end of each month, but for a few years I did continue creating monthly collages at the end of each year for my annual "yearly review" : {2014} ♥ {2015} ♥ {2016}

Anyhow, after creating the March square, I remembered how much I love doing them and how there is something very comforting and consolidating about reviewing a month in this way. I went on to create squares for January and February and then had the idea that this year I'll create four Quarterly Review posts as a way to remember 2021. I feel ridiculously excited about doing bloggy things like this again, especially seeing as I'm now into my fourteenth year of old school blogging. I still get such a buzz from creating my blog posts, the pleasure of it hasn't diminished at all across the years it seems. 

So...January, February, March :: Winter giving way to Spring.

Looking back, I honestly did enjoy this winter because to me it felt properly seasonal for once. It was cold (bitterly so for much of the time) and we were gifted some beautiful icy, snowy wintry weather. I LOVE when the weather plays out according to the seasons, it makes me feel as if all is right in the world somehow. I found this year I didn't suffer with low mood as much as I have in the past, and the times when I did feel low I think it was due to pandemic life and the severe lockdown we were (are) living through rather than the fact that it was winter time.

I had my Meadow Blanket CAL to keep me creatively busy through January and February, and as always that really went a long way towards keeping my sprits up. Having that sense of purpose and the weekly postings to concentrate on was such a blessing and without it I think I might have fallen into a bit of a dark hole for a few months. In March I felt my creativity begin to really return, and I enjoyed my flowery crochet project and some cross stitch too. 

There were zero outings in this quarter due to the fact that the whole of the three months have seen us in lockdown. We took one or two walks at Bolton Abbey, and one walk around the reservoir and that was literally it. Extremely uneventful, but it's not like we had any choice.

I tried hard to shift my mindset this winter and think about the time as being restorative and replenishing as I hibernated a little and kept myself introverted for a while. I made sure to prioritise self care, keeping up my daily exercise and gentle routines and resting/retreating when I needed to. Even though we celebrated the Spring Equinox in March, it's a month that still feels very much more like winter than spring here in the north of England. But I've loved watching the wild garlic emerge in the woodland, and the first early blossom appear in the hedgerows. I've also really enjoyed having daffodils and tulips on my table throughout these past months. I've appreciated the cosy warmth of the fireside and many (many many) cups of hot milky coffee - little daily pleasures that have felt so good in these strange times. It's been a gentle period of rest for me and quiet homely days, and now I'm more than ready to dance through this next quarter which is my absolute favourite by a country mile. Spring giving way to Summer.....oh, yes, yes, I am so so ready for you!

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