Blogtober Day 9 :: Wednesday
I've just been watching some reports about the extreme weather in the US with Hurricane Milton approaching, oh my heart, it looks soooo scary and I feel ever so sad for all the millions of Florida residents who are preparing to deal with the force of mother nature. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel to be so threatened by a storm.
It's been grey and wet here again today but I am certainly keeping things in perspective and am really thankful that the rain here has just been the irritating, drizzly kind and nothing to worry about.
I walked down to the coffee shop this morning to pick up some takeouts to bring home, a treat for J really as he was glued to his desk with online meetings and the very full-on working life that he conducts from home. Often if he is busy I'll head out by myself for a solo coffee date but I felt sorry for him today as he seemed snowed under. Again, it made me really appreciate the freedom I have in terms of how I spend my time - it's been a day of gratitude and feeling thankful.
The above photo I snapped with my phone at the bottom of my street, it seemed to sum up the mood perfectly - soggy but still looking perky, a visual reminder to remain optimistic even when things are tough.
Some breaking news --> it was a handknit socks-and-boots combo today, the very first of the season. I've been wearing my walking shoes a lot lately because my beloved Fly London boots that have seen me through seven winters had worn out completely and were no longer fit for purpose. Arrrgh, wet feet is one of my personal peeves, I absolutely cannot stand for my toes to be remotely moist, let alone reach the soggy stage. I knew I would be ordering the exact same Fly Salv boots because I love them so much, but it's taken me months to decide on which colour to go for. The struggle was huuuuuuge! In the end I settled for this lovely deep dark green (unatractively called "diesel") and today I had the pleasure of cosy, dry, uber-comfy feets as I went out to do my daily food shop. Happy feet, happy heart ♥
On the way home I was taking a short cut through B&M car park when my phone rang. It was Lady B (my dad's good friend), ringing to chat and catch up with news, and to tell me about her recent visit with my brother to the care home to see my Dad. We ended up chatting for 40 minutes and during that time I found myself slowly drawn across the car park towards the metal stands of flowers and plants. They were absolutely crammed full of cyclamen, colour-dyed heather plants and an exuberant collection of pansies and violas.
So as I was chatting to B, I was also more than a little bit distracted by all the floral goodness, oh, I LoVe violas soooo so so much! There is something unbleievably charming about them, and I adore all the sweet variety in their colours and markings.
Once I'd finished the phone call, I took some photos to share with you, it was an unexpected colourful sweet spot in a grey morning. The above delightful mixture was a largeish pot on sale for £5, and if I hadn't been carrying heavy shopping bags I would absolutely have marched into the shop and bought it. So I'm thinking that the top of my to-do list for tomorrow will read 1. Go and Buy Viola Pot, which I am stupidly excited about. What a treat to look forward to.
Ahh, this blog post seems to be really rather random today, I do apologise for the lack of follow-through narrative. But I just had to share the above image with you because it totally took my breath away when I saw it in my phone earlier. It's by an American artist called Angela Johal who I follow on Instagram and her paintings just blow my mind. Yes, this is a painting, acrylic on canvas, not a digital image! It's called "Rhythm & Line No. 18" and measures 4ft x 6ft, so the same size as one of my crochet blankets. Isn't it stunning?? And can't you just SEE it made out of Stylecraft Special DK????!!!!
You can see loads more of Angelas beautiful "chromesthetic geometric" paintings on her website ((here)), they are amazing, a real dose of colour therapy.
Talking of colour therapy, I have a confession to make. This afternoon I finally finished unpacking my giant pink suitcase which has been sitting on my bedroom floor for, eh-hem, << three weeks >> since I came back from Morocco. J and I both kept tripping over it, and I've been meaning to deal with it for ages. It was mostly all the travel odds and ends, plus all of my crochet project stuff and bags of spare yarn balls. I spent some time this afternoon sorting everything out and taking some photos of my crochet project to share with you, because the colours are lush. I named the square "Sunny Days" and it feels like maybe now is a good time to share that with you, and I can show you some photos from my Morocco trip to feed colour inspiration into your eyes. So I think that will be my Day 10 Blogtober post, a blast of sunny colour to cheer us all up.
See you tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx