Attic24

Cosy November

Gosh, it's been a whirlwind kind of a week here in the Attic and even though I've been whirling in very small circles close to home I feel as if I've expended a lot of energy somehow. Some weeks just feel especially full I guess - full of social connection (even if it is all digital these days), quiet productivity, high emotion. All the feels here. I would like to say a mahooooosive, big squishy (((thank you))) for all the Meadow love on my last post, thank you for your kind words and your enthusiasm, I absolutely love love love sharing my creative endeavours with you all. The Meadow yarn packs have been selling so fast, flying out of the Warehouse to deliver some happy yarny cheer all around the world. I am SO EXCITED for the crochet a long to begin in January, and to have your company as we wander the summer meadow together. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I mentioned in my last post about planner stickers - this is the fifth year that I've collaborated with Rachel of EllieBeth Designs and I absolutely love the way she takes my colour palettes/themes and produces the most beautiful sticky things to work alongside my CALs. You can find them in Rachels shop ((HERE)) - the stickers can be used on a calendar or in your notebooks/journals if you aren't into planners, and I absolutely love them.

Rachel has very kindly given me a discount code to pass onto you - you can get 15% off any stickers in her shop....

...just use the code MEADOWCAL15 at the checkout.

This past week has really felt like autumn is slipping away and winter is beginning to creep in, and although it's been quite mild (we've not had a frost yet this season), the air has nevertheless looked and felt quite wintry.

I've been enjoying the cosiness of my home, especially the first hour when I come home from the school run. Usually the timing works out just right for me to call at the coffee shop on my way home from dropping Little B, picking up two takeout coffees to bring home for J and me. I do miss my café visits in this locked-down life, but enjoying a really good freshly made coffee in the comfort of home is still a wonderful luxury and I am grateful for it.

Once a week I get to collect my takeout coffee and carry it up to the park to meet up with a very good friend. We sit (socially distanced) at the top of a small run of stone steps, her on one end and me perched on the other end so that we both have this  view out across the park. We can sit and drink our coffees and chat for about half an hour until our butts get too cold and stiff, then we walk a brisk circuit around the park to warm up again. 

This week I have felt very blessed with my friendships, and I have spent a lot of time chatting via WhatsApp on my phone, and on social media. I received a beautiful little parcel through the post a few days ago too, from one of my yarny friends who I used to see once a week at our Coopers knit and natter when life was normal.

She has been knitting little houses using her very own pattern, such a delight! She knit a whole street and very kindly sent them out to her friends, simply to bring a little cheer. Oh my, I was overwhelmed with emotion over this beautiful little handmade gift.

You may know that I have a Thing for little houses, I totally adore them and over the years I've managed to collect and build a small handmade street. Gosh, I've just noticed how terribly dusty my mantel is, please do try and overlook my very slapdash approach to the housework and focus on the houses. Eyes up. Aren't they cute?

It's been all things Meadow here during the past few weeks as I've worked hard behind the scenes to finalise all the colour work decisions. These colours have been bringing me a lot of happiness, a LOT. I think they are magical actually, and I can't wait for you to experience them for yourself in January. 

Lots of time spent in this room as J an I both work here during the days when the Little Peeps are at school. I've started lighting the fire in the early afternoon as the house seems to suddenly feel chilly round about then. We've usually been on our woodland walk, had some lunch and settled down for a few more hours of work before the 3pm school departure, so lighting the fire has given us some very welcome warmth and comfort. Right now I am sat exactly where Tilly is sleeping in the above photo, it's one of my favourite places to sit. I pull the coffee table over so that I can sit on the floor with my legs stretched out underneath it, and lean my back against the sofa. Not a bad working-from-home situation by any means.

As I mentioned earlier, there has definitely been a distinct whiff of winter in the air this week. 

I am so glad of my wellies now as the pathways are very muddy and the most dominant colour of the November woodland is brown. Oh dear, it really isn't my favourite.

Thank goodness for moss, it provides such a beautiful little bright spot of colour in amongst all the murk and I couldn't love it more. I'm a moss-lover, and proud of it.

↑↑ OK, so this happened on Tuesday, I know, I know. Danish pastries are not very "clean eating" but totally acceptable in terms of "wellness" I'd say (please see this post if you don't know what I'm going on about!). I always treat myself to a pastry on new-blanket-launch-days, it's become a little ritual that I have - a small celebrational treat from me, to me. It was still warm when I snaffled it from the bakery shelves and it was utterly divine I can tell you. Di-VINE. 

And so my days whirl along, and I continue to feel very thankful for it all. 

We found out today the this area of the UK will be out of Lockdown next week, but our socialising is still going to be very limited. Our pubs and cafés will reopen and J and I will be able to return to enjoy our morning coffees, but that's only because we live within the same household. I really, really miss my weekly yarny get togethers and was hoping to have them back again next week but sadly it's not happening. Ah well, I guess we just keep on doing our bit to stay safe and hope that little by little things begin to improve.

There are only three more weeks left of school now before the Christmas holidays, I can hardly believe it to be honest. 

I took the above photo yesterday on the way home from school, it was twenty past three in the afternoon and the sun was almost down beyond the horizon. It's twenty five more days before we land on the Winter Solstice (it's on Monday 21st this year). I am so looking forward to celebrating that special day of the year, I will be ready and waiting to gather in the greenery, light the candles and celebrate the fact that our days will begin to lengthen once more.

I hope you're having a good week however big or small your circles are, and that there is light and colour and warmth in your days xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Meadow Blanket :: Introduction

Good morning! If you're here looking for the new Meadow yarn pack, click on the following link to go straight there >>

❧🏵️ MEADOW YARN PACK ❧🏵️

If you'd like to read on, I'm sharing more of the inspiration behind the Meadow blanket.....

I always embark on a very curious and creative journey when I design colour palettes for blankets, as I am never quite sure where the inspiration will come from or how it will manifest itself inside my Creative Mind. Sometimes I mull over possible themes for a very long time (years) before it feels right for them to come to fruition, and sometimes the ideas just seem to ping in at a moments notice. The Meadow blanket was definitely a PiNG moment!! The idea for the colour palette landed inside my mind with such force one sunny morning that I immediately knew I would be powerless to resist it's charms.

Those of you who've been reading my blog for a while will be familiar with the small meadow I visit which is just a five minute stroll from home. I mostly feel the pull there in late May when the buttercups are in full flower, and over the years I've often shared photographs of the haze of golden flowers. It's a such a stunning sight and one of the many reasons that May is my absolute favourite month of the year.

This year during May and June, I often felt drawn to the meadow when I was feeling in need of some breathing space. We were still in quite a severe lockdown back then with pretty much everything shut so that we were only venturing out for our daily walks. 

I strolled around the meadow almost every day throughout June, most often on my own when I craved solitude. It became my sanctuary, a haven of tranquillity where I could calm down my racing thoughts and find some peace for my emotions to gently settle.

As June progressed I began to notice more and more wild flowers hiding in the tangle of tall summer grass. The buttercups were still there, but their vibrant golden yellow was joined by a beautiful palette of summer shades. Purple and white clovers, vetches and trefoils, creeping thistles and creamy meadowsweet, wild sorrel and hogweed.

I found myself absolutely transfixed by the beauty of these common wild flowers....

...hogweed...

...clover...

...buttercup.

I spent long moments slowly wandering the pathway around the edge of the meadow searching for flowers and taking in the colours. It was a beautiful time - long slow days with many hours to spend day dreaming and creating inside my mind.

I still walked the meadow through the days of July as it continued to deliver a welcome period of quiet calm to my days. By this time, most of the flowers had gone and the tall summer grasses had well and truly taken over. There was a delicious purple haze over the meadow - I don't know what this particular grass is called but it's very delicate and its smoky purple hue looked amazing.

OH>> I just had a little search online and found  this, aren't we so so fortunate to have so much information at our fingertips? So this grass ↑↑↑ is "Yorkshire Fog grass" - wow, I am LOVING that!! 

Into August and pretty much all the wild flowers had gone, with the exception of the hogweed....

....towering above even the tallest grasses. I learnt the hard way that hogweed should not be picked as it really irritates the skin. In fact, it's not the thing to pick any flowers from the meadow as the area is protected and I have a lot of respect for these kind of rules.

I spent a lot of time walking throughout the summer months, often covering many miles across fields and around quiet narrow lanes around my town and neighbouring villages. I saw so many wild flowers growing in abundance, along verges and rough grass around fields and roads, and I noted that most of them were the same species that were growing in the meadow. So one stormy summers evening, I went off on a mission to gather in some stems for my photographs, taking care to pick only one or two from each spot. I walked just under five miles in my quest to gather in all the shades that I needed...

....ahhhhhh, such a wonderful spread of summer colour! I decided to include some blues in this colour palette to represent the summer sky, and I'm really happy with the overall feel of it. Actually "really happy" doesn't even come close to describing my feelings here - this delicate and pretty colour palette is absolutely full of summer light and warmth and I couldn't love it more. It has a healing quality which instantly gives me a calm feeling and transports me back to my quiet, solo walks around that glorious field of living colour. I am very much hoping that the Meadow blanket will be blessed with the same calm, healing vibe.

As is usual for my blankets, I've chose fifteen shades of Stylecraft Special DK for my Meadow blanket

Starting from the top and working clockwise ::

🏵️ Wisteria 🏵️ Lavender 🏵️ Cloud Blue 🏵️ Duck Egg 🏵️ Sage 🏵️

🏵️ Lincoln 🏵️ Meadow 🏵️ Pistachio 🏵️ Dandelion 🏵️ Buttermilk 🏵️

🏵️ Parchment 🏵️ Mushroom 🏵️ Pale Rose 🏵️ Raspberry 🏵️ Grape 🏵️

You can find the Meadow yarn pack in my shop at Wool Warehouse, click on the following link...

❧🏵️ MEADOW YARN PACK ❧🏵️

It's hard to put into words how much I adore these colours - they are extremely calming (without being dull) and bring a gentle warmth which reminds me so much of my summer meadow walks. They sing to me of sunshine and a light breeze, of soft footsteps around quiet pathways, of tall waving grasses, distant hills and calming views. And of course the floral delights are represented in all those glorious hues - the pinks, purples and golden yellows of the wild meadow flowers. 

Beautiful, all of it.

The wild flowers that I gathered from the roadside lasted a few days indoors - I plopped them into recycled glass jars and really enjoyed observing their gentle beauty up close.

It was fun to play with the colours, matching flowers to yarn and marvelling at how the "Dandelion" shade was the absolute perfect match for buttercups. It couldn't be a more perfect colour for the Meadow blanket.

I have to confess it was a sneezy affair having wild flowers and grasses on my table - atchooooo! So much pollen!

But in the days that I had wild flowers in my table I absolutely made the most of it. I played endlessly with my yarn pegs, and sampled a whole stack of possibilities for a stripe pattern that would do these colours justice.

After a lot of false starts, I eventually settled on something simple but rather perfect. This is a variation of a "crossed treble" where the stitches are worked in pairs so that they cross over each other. It immediately reminded me of the tangled criss-cross of grasses and flowers as they grow in such abundance in the meadow.

These neat rows of little crosses create a beautiful pattern - it's a weeny bit lacy and a weeny bit textured but all very subtle I'd say. And oh, it makes for some delicious, easy-breezy crochet! Perfect for beginners (if you can crochet a UK treble, then you can create this stitch I promise) - there is just enough concentration needed to keep you on your toes, but the ease of these rows makes it extremely pleasurable.

When I was first working on the design ideas for the Meadow blanket, I knew straight away that it would be perfectly suited to creating a "colour story". If you've followed along with my CALs before, you are probably familiar with the Moorland and Woodland blankets? Both of these blankets were designed as a colour story, which means that the stripes are ordered in such a way that the colours tell a story of a particular landscape view.

From a design point of view, this represents a fairly major challenge - it's not nearly as easy as it looks to create this kind of effect whilst keeping a track of yarn quantities. But you know me, I do really love a colour challenge and I think "story blankets" are my absolute favourites to design.

In the above photo, you can see on the left that I've created a graphic representation of the Meadow Story. This should hopefully give you an idea of how the ninety stripes will look once they all come together to create the full length blanket. My aim is to use the colours to recreate the tranquil feeling of strolling through a quiet meadow surrounded by flowers, with a beautiful distant view of rolling hills and summer sky.

As well as the Meadow colour story, there will also be a second option to create a "mixed stripe" Meadow blanket where all fifteen meadow colours are dispersed evenly throughout the whole blanket. Over the past few years I've enjoyed giving more than one option for my CAL blankets and it's always wonderful to see the excitement as everyone makes their decision as to which version they prefer. I'll be sharing some sneak peeks of the two versions of the Meadow blanket a little bit closer to the start of the CAL.

Needless to say, I'm really, really excited for this blanket journey to begin and for us to enjoy a meaner in the meadow together. Just a reminder that there is no need to sign up for this CAL - it's all very relaxed here in the Attic so all you need to do is gather your yarn together and join in when the pattern is released in the New Year.

I'll be writing more about the CAL a little closer to the time (just over six weeks until the CAL starts), but here is a quick round-up of information for you :

♥ The Attic24 MEADOW CAL will will run for 8 weeks in total, beginning on Friday 8th January - that'll be the day when the pattern will be published here on my blog and I'll give you all the information you need to get started. I'll then give weekly updates every Friday throughout January and February 2021 so that we can make the most of weekend hooky time.

♥ There will be a full picture tutorial here on my blog for the new Meadow stripe pattern. Each week I'll share the colour stripe order for the two different versions of the Meadow blanket I'm making (Colour Story and Mixed Stripe)

♥ The MEADOW YARN PACK contains 15 x 100g balls of Stylecraft Special DK and is enough to make one blanket/throw. There is no printed pattern included in this pack, all pattern info will be here on my blog, with updates every Friday throughout January and February 2021. 

♥ The Meadow blanket will measure approx. 120cm x 175cm. You will need two packs if you wish to make a larger/double bed size blanket. I'll give starting chain/pattern guidance for those of you wishing to make larger (or smaller) blankets.

I'm extremely grateful to my friends at Stylecraft Yarns and Wool Warehouse for all the hard work they've done to make sure that this gorgeous collection of yarn is here for you. Wool Warehouse are continuing to work under very tricky conditions, keeping their fabulous staff safe with social distancing measures and an increased work load. They will do their best to get yarn out to you as quickly as they can, and to ship overseas at the present time, but as postal and delivery services are snowed under right now, please expect that there maybe some slight delays. The CAL begins in just over 6 weeks, so hopefully enough time for you to gather your yarn together.

As always thank you so so much for your friendship and enthusiasm as I embark on another blanket journey, it means the world to me that I get to have your company, especially in the depths of winter when life can feel like an uphill struggle. Thank you, thank you xx

❧🏵️ MEADOW YARN PACK ❧🏵️

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ps my lovely planner friend Rachel of Elliebeth Designs has designed some truly beautiful planner stickers to go along with the Meadow CAL which will be available as part of her WNW (what's new Wednesday) tomorrow. I have a discount code for you, so I'll be sure to post more info for you in the next day or so. xxxx

 

 

 

 

Circles of Sameyness

Here we are, two weeks into Lockdown 2.0, with two weeks still to go. Predictably my life is running in very small, samey circles of repetitive routine, but I find myself embracing it and feeling content for the most part. I am happy with my small life right now, because I am blessed with good health, my family are all safe at home (when 2/5th of them aren't at school) and we really have very little to worry about in our immediate day to day life. I appreciate how fortunate I am, I really do.

I am enjoying my walks to school in the morning with Little B, relishing our back and forth conversations as we make the half mile journey along the waters edge together.

Coming back into the warmth of the house after a very chilly school run this morning, I felt a rush of affection for the comfort of home. Blankets strewn across the sofa after Little B spent ten minutes snuggled up after eating his breakfast. Our house is never, ever tidy, in fact it's a downright mess most of the time, but there is always cheery colour and cosy comfort within these four walls.

This morning I folded and stacked some handknit socks which had been drying on the radiator, two pairs of J's and two of mine. I am so happy that I learnt to knit socks (five years ago), they bring a lot of pleasure into my life. I love the creative knitting part and I really love the fabulous wearing part, but also there is the extreme pleasure of the visuals they give me on the daily. I keep my socks in a small pile on a shelf next to my bed so that I can fully appreciate the sight of all those glorious woolly stripes. Eye candy, without a doubt.

I thought you might be missing pictures of my daily coffee, so here is today's offering.....a take away skinny latté from my wonderful little local indie coffee shop - needless to say I am a loyal customer and I couldn't appreciate them more. Luckily for me, I live within a very short walk of this wonderous place, so I get to enjoy my daily cup in the comfort of home.

J and are are still walking our daily walk each morning in all weathers. Sometimes I just enjoy it without taking photos but it's rare. I nearly always experience an overwhelming need to capture images, to preserve the memories.

I feel compelled to remember the day, the time, the weather, the colours, the wide vistas, the tiny details, and the feelings....

.....always the feelings. Walking gives me all the feels, it's an avalanche of emotions.

We had the most beautiful weather today, crisp, clear and oh-so-cold. It was glorious looking up above into the sunny, wide blue yonder!

More hours of work on my Meadow blanket design today, I'm currently on attempt number five and I think I might finally be there with my meadow meander. I want to get it just right, capturing that joyful feeling of being surrounded by so many beautiful flowers and tall grasses, but also the tranquillity that I experienced during my many walks in the meadow earlier this year. This colour story is very special I think, it has a calming, healing quality which feels really, really good. I can't wait to show you more next week.

More sameyness as I take off on my afternoon jaunt to collect Little B, pausing briefly to admire my hill view glowing in the low sun. No time to stop though, we only have minutes to get to the school gates, hurry down the hill and don't be late! It's the same every day.

The hyacinth scent has finally arrived and it is wonderful. It's not yet at the stage where it overpowers the room - you have to actively engage your face with the blooms to get a whiff, so all is peaceful on the home front. I just love love love having these flowers in the house at this time of year, they never fail to make November feel special.

Aside from the school runs and our daily woodland walk, I'm spending all day in our main living/dining room at the moment, sharing it with J as he works from home too. I move between the dining table, the sofa, the Big Chair and the fireside floor cushion, depending on what I'm doing and what time of day it is. It feels Ok I guess, we don't have much space and there is zero alone time but I am making the best of it because that's just the way it is.

Fairylights and flowers, snuggly socks and cosy blankets, favourite drinks and creative projects, gentle strolls and peaceful views. I hope you're doing OK in your own little circle, enjoying the small things that bring you pleasure. 

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November Light

Would you just LOOK at that sky???!!! Talk about forboding, I would have bet money on the imminent arrival of lashing rain, but nope, it never came. Not even a sniff of rain fell from those black clouds despite the glowering sight of them hanging over the hills for much of the day. I even wore my wellies just in case.

The light was spectacular in a very moody, threatening way.....

....and I had to keep apologising to J for stopping so many times to take photographs.

I never thought I would enjoy this late Autumn weather so much, but the high drama of it has been captivating. I found myself almost wishing for a humungous rain storm to descend upon us, just to feel the full force of the season upon my face. Wouldn't that be something?

But the storm remained in the distance and our walk was quiet and uneventful in the end. Just an hour out of the house to breathe in the outdoors and tramp along the muddy woodland pathways, a daily routine that I continue to be very thankful for.

I ate a late breakfast when I came home, a small bowl of oat porridge buried under a mound of fresh fruit. I honestly think this is my favourite meal at the moment (I have the same thing most days), I enjoy it so, so much. I have to try really hard not to wolf it down because every mouthful is just that good - eating more slowly and savouring my food is a habit I'm working on as I've always been a fast eater.

In fact, this year has taught me a lot about slowing down in many different ways, and I'm enjoying this life lesson very much. Slow. Down. It feels good to do so!

I've been working at the dining table today, finalising some last minute colour decisions for my Meadow blanket which is still a work in progress. The fifteen colours that I've chosen for this blanket are inspired by the colours of the wild flowers and grasses which grow in the meadow during the summer. They are soooooo lovely, and I am over the moon happy with the colour palette. It's the subtle way in which they play together which I'm fine tuning at the moment, there is a delicacy in the balance of the shades which needs careful handling when creating the stripe sequence. 

I am so so excited for this next blanket of mine, and can't wait to show you more.....

....not long to wait now.........it's almost time for the Meadow yarn packs to land in my shop. Squeeeeee!!!!!!

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Meadow Yarn packs will be coming next week on 24th November and I'll be sharing a full introduction to the blanket then. The Crochet-A-Long will start in January, so there should be plenty of time for you to gather in your yarn if you'd like to join me on a pretty meadow meander xxx

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Slow and Steady

Life at the moment feels slow and steady and I think that twelve days into a month long national lockdown that's about as good as it gets. 

This weekend we spent a lot of time at home, only venturing out for our regular Saturday market/local small food shop and a quick walk round the woods. 

I got to wear my new wellies which I was stupidly excited about - splashing in puddles never gets old.

Just as we were heading homewards we got caught in a sudden rain shower - getting wet wasn't much fun but the beautiful rainbow made up for it.

After our visit to the Saturday market we came home with some new-to-us fruits - Persimmons, AKA Sharon fruit. I am honestly amazed that I've reached my fifties and have found a fruit which I have never eaten before. How???!!! I can report that Persimmons are delicious, kind of like the texture of a pear inside, with a sweet, subtle mango-ish flavour and definitely a fruit I'd like to eat more of.

And to balance out the healthy fruit, let me 'fess up and tell you what also went down at the weekend ↑↑

Uh-huh, a fully loaded jammy scone topped with the most lip smacking Cornish clotted cream. Oh. My. Goodness. It was heavenly. It's been over a year since I ate anything so indulgent and I enjoyed every single moment. This was part of a very generous gift sent my way through the post - a cream tea in a box no less, complete with prosecco and other goodies. Very grateful for the wonderful friends I've made through this blog of mine.

Much of the weekend was spent by the fire - we lit it in the middle of the afternoons and really made the most of the warmth, light and cosy vibes. I'm still loving my Autumn mantel, and this morning I realised that in just over two weeks it'll be time for another seasonal switcheroo when we decorate for the Festive season.....only two weeks! 

Sunday afternoon I picked up my cross stitch project again and completed the final part of the design. I'm so happy with it and have absolutely loved the slow, gentle process of completing each little Christmassy motif. I'll show you once I get it all stretched and framed up nicely.

Even though we are in Lockdown here, during the week our routines remain pretty much unchanged. The Big Teen has been most affected as he's currently furloughed from his pub job, but the Little People are still going to school as usual. J continues to work from home and we still enjoy our Mondays together. I am so grateful for the normality of our slow, steady days right now. 

J and I walked at Bolton Abbey this morning, and it felt so good to be out and about. I thought I would show you the above view - this is what the top of the stone aqueduct looks like (the bridge shown in the first river photo above) when we cross the river. Isn't it grand?

There were very few people out walking today as the weather was cold, grey and windy. But the café was open for take outs and J and I enjoyed our morning coffee with a riverside view. It was bloomin' good I have to say.

As always, by the time we'd come a full circuit I felt completely re-energised and so very glad that we'd decided to leave the comforts of home behind for a while.  

This morning I noticed that the first of my hyacinth flowers have begun to bloom......

.....and they look so pretty on my mantel. They don't have a scent yet, but I'm hopeful it's on it's way (J would probably disagree, but that's a minor matter of inconsequence I'd say).

I hope you've all enjoyed a beautifully slow and steady weekend full of small pleasures. Tell me a little of what has filled your days recently, I'd love to know?!

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Happy Little Things

♥ Leafy clementines are back in the supermarkets, yay for fruity seasonal rituals!

♥ I know they are more leaf than fruit, but oh, they are so sweet and juicy I can't resist them.

♥ A fresh bunch of baby chrysanths on my table this week.

♥ The colour was hard to capture on my camera, it's a delicious burnt orange in real life and the perfect shade for November.

♥ My new wellies arrived in the post and they are so beautifully pristine I don't want to get them muddy. This could be a problem.

♥ The kitty trying desperately to ignore me, just look how superior she looks!! She was sulking because I'd turfed her off my lap when she was all nicely settled. What a horrid, mean Human I am.

♥ Flapjacks baked for the Little People with some giant chocolate buttons for extra good luck. They approved of the chocolate addition.

♥ The three o'clock departure for the school run and I know I shall miss it when it's no longer a part of my day. By my reckoning, I've got around one hundred and forty three days left.

♥ I always take the time to pause and appreciate the view of my hill as I race off to school. Yes, I'm claiming that hill as mine.

♥ It's been a good week for clouds, and I've really enjoyed sky gazing. On days when it's been still there has been the added magic of viewing the clouds on the surface of the canal, which is just the most beautiful thing in my opinion.

♥ I've walked every day in the woods this week in a whole variety of weather conditions and have loved every minute of it.

♥ A ribbon rainbow caught my eye amongst the trees and made me smile.

♥ Not a lot of sun this week, but believe me when I tell you I was fully appreciative of it when it showed up. 

♥ Dancing sunshine reflected onto the underside of the bridge is always a good thing.

♥ I love seeing the swans living out their birdy lives on the canal. It's an everyday sight for us living here, but I do still appreciate it.

♥ Leafs...lots and lots of leafs!! Little B used to say "leafs" when he was a Littln' and so we adopted the word. Its' funny how some things just stick over the years?

♥ More leafy gorgeousness. I have spent a lot of time either gazing at the sky or looking down at the ground this week and there has been a lot of natural beauty to inspire me.

♥ A rainy walk to school this morning, but nevertheless I enjoyed watching the raindrops bounce into the water. Watching rain fall is such an overlooked pleasure.

♥ New baubles arrived! I ordered these on an absolute whim as an add-on when doing some online Christmas present shopping but I don't regret it for one second. The colours...oh, they are giving me ALL the heart eyes!! 😍 And furthermore they are made from recycled plastic. Winner.

♥ daily hyacinth appreciation. Observing the rapid growth and appearance of buds is just a thrill I never get tired of.

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Before I go, I'd like to express my gratitude for all your positive comments on my last post, thank you so much. It was an unexpectedly hard post to write, it can feel quite vulnerable to talk about health related struggles but I'm happy to put my ramblings out there in the hope that it might encourage or inspire, or just give you a little nudge if you were needing one. Prioritising self care and wellness is always a good thing, but sometimes we need a gentle reminder, don't we?

I hope you've all had a good week, and that your weekend will be full of relaxation and cosy vibes. Be sure to fill your days with as many happy little pleasures as you can xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

My 2020 Wellness Journey

I've wanted to write this post for a long time but haven't quite known how to go about it. I think it's because often the notion of health and fitness feels very personal and I got to thinking that nobody would be in the least bit interested in what I am eating and how much I am choosing to move and stretch my body these days. And yet the few times I've mentioned exercise here on my blog in the past six months or so I've received an unexpected amount of interest in what I'm up to, so I thought I may as well just crack on and share my journey with you. If this isn't something you wish to engage with then please feel free to click away, I won't be offended I promise! Normal Attic-style blogging will resume in the next post.

I've titled this post "Wellness" as I think this is a really good way to look at how we make lifestyle choices. The World Health Organziation defines wellness as "...a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." I also found this quote which I think says it nicely >> "...wellness is the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes, so that instead of just surviving, you’re thriving." 

Yeah to all that, especially the idea of adopting daily habits which make you feel great, I'm all for it.

So today I thought I would briefly touch on the things that I've made an effort with this year which have made a great difference to my physical and mental well being.....

• Taking my vitamins
• changing my diet (and losing weight)
• daily exercise
• hydration (and cutting back on caffeine and alcohol)
• daily routines and good sleep.

:: VITAMINS / SUPPLEMENTS ::

Something I've made a real effort with during the past six months is making myself take my vitamins every day and not just on the odd day when I happen to remember. As I've suffered with deficiencies before, I make sure to take natural iron and a high strength vitamin D (I take the little D capsule October to March, but take iron all year round). I also take a Vitamin B complex as I definitely notice this makes a difference to my energy levels. And lastly the bright yellow offering is the turmeric capsule - I've only been taking this for about three weeks (I take it for it's anti-inflammatory properties as I suffer with osteoarthritis in my knuckles and finger joints). I shall keep you posted once I really get stuck into my next big crochet project.

:: DIET ::

I shall try and keep this brief as I know it can be a difficult subject for many. I also want to say that I am not in any way trying to tell you what to do, or to give diet advise - I just thought it might be helpful to document what I myself have done to regain my healthy weight after a decade of being overweight. I've also recently tried to make changes to my diet in an attempt to reduce inflammation (to help with the discomfort of arthritis).

A few weeks before Christmas last year when I was at a particularly low ebb, I finally faced up to the fact that I wasn't in a good place with my physical health and this was affecting my mental health. I was coming through a particularly frustrating time with the peri-menopause, suffering with the most annoying aches and pains in my hip and lower back which kept me awake at night. After many months of poor sleep I felt so exhausted and run down that I decided something needed to change. The most immediate thing that I felt would help was to regain some control of my eating/drinking habits. I was more then 2 stone (14.5 kg) overweight for my short 5 ft 3 height, so I went all in with my commitment and joined my local Slimming World group.

Up until writing this post I had no idea that Slimming World was purely a UK organisation, I had assumed that it was worldwide. Well, I've learnt something new today! Those of you in the UK are probably familiar with Slimming World and there is lots of information online too. From the start I knew this would be a healthy eating plan that I could pretty easily stick to as there is no weighing or time consuming calculations involved and the meals are very family friendly. I won't go into too much detail about the diet itself, but if it's new to you and you are interested, you can find out more information about the basics here and here.

The thing I enjoy most about this way of eating is the focus on whole foods. The SW plan is centred around home cooking using fresh, whole ingredients, with an emphasis on fruit, vegetables, lean protein, pulses, beans and pasta/rice/grains/potatoes, all of which you can eat freely (yes, as much as you like). For someone like me who adores fruit, salad and veggies and loves cooking with fresh ingredients, this felt like a wonderful way to enjoy good nutritional health and lose a little weight in the process.

Foods which contain fibre (such as wholegrain cereals and wholemeal bread) and foods which contain calcium (milk and cheese) must be eaten as part of your diet every day for health reasons, and these are in controlled amounts. 

And then there are the treats - these are still allowed (nothing is off limits) but again, in controlled amounts. So foods high in fat and refined sugar (which includes alcohol) are part of the diet (yay!!) but it's not really possible to indulge too much. A biscuit, a glass of wine, a little chocolate - I still eat all these things, but now only in small quantities. I was surprised how quickly I got used to it, but then I really was determined to stick to the plan and make it work. My head was in the game and I was 100% committed.

As the weeks went by, I started to see my weight drop. It was quite a slow and steady process for me and I did manage to lose weight most weeks. As the months passed, I began to re-think my eating habits, changing my focus away from the numbers on the scales and thinking more about how best to nourish my body. I stopped eating products which contained artificial sweeteners as I found my digestive system didn't really like them very much. In fact I eat very little refined sugar at all these days (a biscuit, or a little good quality dark chocolate is pretty much it). And with the exception of fat free Greek yoghurt (which I genuinely love) and a certain brand of light cheese spread, I don't eat anything that is marked as low sugar or low fat. So I eat proper butter, full fat cheese, olive oil for cooking etc, but I'm very watchful of the quantities. I also started to reintroduce things like nuts, seeds and avocado to allow some healthy fats into what is essentially an extremely low fat, low sugar eating plan. 

And my goodness me, I do feel SO MUCH BETTER for the changes I've made. It has been quite remarkable really. It took me  7 months to reach  my target (I've lost 2.5 stone in total which is 15.8kg) but best of all I have managed to keep it off since the start of July. I have so much more energy, I sleep better (mostly, although still get troubled by an aching hip/lower back which I know is purely due to hormonal crap), and I just feel more like the happy ME I used to know and love a decade ago. My body works better going up stairs and hills, and I am not nearly so sluggish and stiff any more.

Although I would say my diet is now pretty "clean" I do still enjoy treats. With regards to caffeine, during the start of Lockdown in March when all cafés were closed, I had around 3 months of home-made coffee and was entirely caffeine free. But since life opened up again, I allow myself one caffeine brew a day (which as you know I ADORE), then I switch over to decaf. It's a good balance I think.

Its the same with alcohol and sugary sweet treats - I still have them but really in moderation. A single glass of prosecco/wine once a week and on special occasions I enjoy a piece of cake or a pastry. I admit I do have fantasies which involve a warm pain au raisin going straight into my face, but I manage to keep my cravings under control.

:: EXERCISE ::

As you know I love love love walking, and have been a walker all my life. J and I have always walked for pleasure and so I'd say that on the whole I am a reasonably active human. I like climbing hills, and I like my daily routine which involves walking everywhere as opposed to sitting in a car.

It may sound odd but I've never really considered walking as exercise. I think of it as a leisure activity, an enjoyable pastime, or as something that needs to happen if I want to get from A to B.

I treated myself to a Fitbit at the start of the summer holidays (I needed a new watch, and this seemed like a good idea). Oh my gosh, I absolutely love it! I'm still in the honeymoon stage as I haven't had it for very long (since mid August I think) and I am ever so slightly obsessed with my daily numbers. I average 15-16 thousand steps a day (on a normal kind of school-run week day) which I think is pretty good. 

Like I said, I don't really think of walking as exercise (although the fitbit does) - to me, exercise is the thing you do to get sweaty, increase your heart rate and strengthen your muscles. I guess hiking/hill walking does that, but an actual proper workout (leaping about wearing trainers and stretchy clothes) isn't something that I felt the need to do. And then Lockdown happened.........

.....and along with many thousands of other families we began to join in with the daily live PE session with Joe via YouTube. In the weeks when I was doing this with Little B, we were using my crochet blankets as exercise mats, and I wore a very old pair of baggy leggings and a t-shirt. Sometimes I did it in bare feet, sometimes I put trainers on, but it was all very low maintenance. All I really needed was the motivation and a big bottle of water.

Little B and I were really into doing this together at the start of lockdown, and every weekday morning at 9am we would spend half an hour working out together. It was loads of fun and I can highly recommend it if you would like an introduction to HIIT exercise (high intensity interval training). This is where you typically do 30 seconds of full-on exercise, then have 30 seconds of rest, then 30 seconds of a different exercise and 30 seconds rest etc. It's fast and fun, and I was amazed at how quickly it improved my strength, flexibility and stamina.

Joe's PE workouts are sometimes a bit on the silly side (obviously aimed at entertaining children and encouraging families to exercise together which I think is brilliant) but the workouts are tough enough to really make a difference to your fitness levels.

When the PE sessions finished at the start of the summer holidays, I found to my astonishment that the habit of daily exercise had well and truly rooted itself and I knew without a doubt that I wanted to continue on my fitness journey. I invested in an exercise mat and began to follow a more grown-up workout routine - enter the world of Chloe Ting. Chloe is a very popular YouTube fitness instructor with more than 15 million subscribers. Her workouts are pretty tough and to be honest I think I would have found them too hard if I'd come to them without having done any previous workouts.

I worked through a couple of her exercise programmes, but I eventually found them just a bit too long/hard so I started to put together my own schedule using shorter combinations of her free videos. 

Towards the end of the summer holidays in August, J showed me an article in the paper about an online fitness instructor called Lucy Wyndham-Reed. I took a look at her videos on YouTube and decided to give them a try - they appealed to me because they only lasted for 7 minutes which I felt would work for me once we returned to our school routine and I would have to fit my exercise into a tight morning schedule. Oh, I LOVE these exercises, they are fabulous. Seven minutes, seriously!!! The HIIT ones are my favourites as I really enjoy the intensity of them - you do seven different exercises and each one lasts for one minute with a 15 second rest in between. They go by so fast that before you know it the seven minutes is up and you've tucked a full body workout under your belt. I can highly recommend them ((on YouTube)) - I usually do a warm up first, then do two of the 7 minute ones back to back. I do this five days a week, Monday to Friday, and it as become an important part of my wellness journey. I do still do some Chloe Ting and Body Coach HIIT when I feel like a change, but the 7 minute LWR are my definite favourite.

Getting into regular exercise isn't easy from a mental point of view and it's very easy to put it off and procrastinate around it. I know because I have spent many, many years thinking about trying to exercise and never actually doing anything about it. The way I approach it these days is to set my intention the night before. I lay out my workout clothes right where I can see them beside my bed (yes, I invested in some proper workout leggings and a sports top and I love them) and I tell myself that as soon as I get up I will put them on and commit to making myself feel good. I set my alarm and I get up, get dressed for my workout and don't allow myself any excuse to wriggle out of it. Soon enough it became a habit that I don't even have to think about any more, it's just a regular part of my routine, a great way to start the day.

The thing I like most about Lucy W-R is her positive attitude. She has this phrase : "exercise is an investment in your future health" which has really stuck with me. Coming through the peri-menopause is hard, I had absolutely no idea how hard it would be or how flippin long it would last! I love to think about making my body as strong and healthy as it can be to carry me forward through this decade of mental and physical change. Committing to a daily exercise routine goes beyond wanting to lose weight or drop a dress size and becomes more about my vitality, my energy, my heart health, my strength and my mental wellbeing. And about beating those pesky hormones into submission too. All those things. I am investing in myself, and it feels soooooooo good.

:: HYDRATION ::

This is something I've really had to work on this year as drinking water doesn't come naturally to me (I'm a passionate coffee drinker, enough said). However it's an important part of the Slimming World routine, making sure you drink enough water each day to help with weight loss. But also, I find it does help with my concentration and my general well being if I keep myself hydrated throughout the day. I have this 600ml Systema bottle ((from Amazon HERE)) which I use throughout the day and I make sure to drink at least three of them. I always polish one off with my morning workout, and a second one when I do my daily walk through the woods. The third one gets drunk more slowly with my breakfast and lunch usually. I also drink two glasses of water with dinner so I manage to drink my two litres each day.

:: SLEEP and BEDTIME ROUTINES ::

If you've been reading my blog during the past few months you will no doubt have gathered how much I value my sleep and how much I adore my bed. I think having a routine and getting enough sleep is vitally important to maintain a good level of wellbeing and I try very hard to make this happen for myself. I have a few rules which I find help enormously....

1. I keep my mobile phone out of the bedroom - it gets plugged in to charge downstairs and I don't look at at after 9pm or before 8am.
2. Lovely cotton bedding and comfy feather pillows - bed should feel like a luxury. I also like to sleep with the window open (even in winter) as the cool fresh air does help me to sleep better.
3. I try and keep set times for going to bed and getting up. I am usually in bed by 9.30pm - I light my candle and allow myself at least half an hour to relax with a book or a magazine. I find I'm usually ready to sleep between 10 and 10.30. My morning alarm goes off at 6am and I allow myself an hour to get up, re-hydrate (usually a hot water with lemon and ginger) and wake up fully. No phone or emails at this time though, as tempting as it is to browse! Workout begins at 7am, no procrastinating!

Ahhh, this has turned into a mammoth blog post, well done if you've made it through to the end. I hope you've found my journey of some interest, it has certainly been a year of positive change for me, despite the restrictions of lockdown and all the emotional ups and downs. I am happy to report that I do feel well, really well actually. And despite the ongoing floofy brain and hormonal cray-cray, I feel better now than I have for many years. I'm determined to make my fifties a fabulous, thriving  decade of my life, and right now I do believe I'm on the right track.

If you have any questions, please do leave them in the comments and I will answer/help as best as I can.

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ps the above photo was taken on 31st July this year, a sunny day trip to paddle in the sea at St Annes. I was in my happy place and oh, it was glorious! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

Beating the Gloom

Helloooooo my lovelies, thank you so much for stopping by the Attic for a catch up, I hope you're doing OK out there?!! Tell me, how was your weekend? Here at number 24 we've had a beautifully slow few days and I've been grateful for the gentle pace. There has been time to sit and ponder, time to rest and recharge, time to spend with J and the Little People watching films, chatting and eating together. It's been restorative I'd say.

On Saturday morning J and I kept up our usual routine and walked into town together. Yes we are on lockdown here and most shops/cafés are currently closed but we are committed to supporting our small independent retailers whenever we can. This meant a chilly walk to visit the few stalls on the market that are permitted to trade, to stock up on fruit, veg, eggs and cheese. Our butcher and baker are still open too, so I called in for meat, a loaf of bread and some sweet treats for the Little Peeps. It was very, very quiet on the streets as you would expect, but it felt good to be out for a little while. Combining exercise with essential food shopping seemed like a good weekendish thing to, and I was equally glad of both. Our final stop was the coffee shop where I picked up some takeaway coffees to bring home. It wasn't quite the same vibe as our lovely little café, but it was warm and cosy on the sofa and the coffee was excellent.

We set out to walk through the woods in the early afternoon.....

.....and despite the murky gloom....

....there were the occasional glimpses of blue sky from time to time. The blue didn't last for long, but I promise you I appreciated it fully while it was in evidence, casting my vision up through the mostly bare branches to drink in the beautiful light and colour. 

As is my thing, I paused at the top of the hill to take a deep breath and spend a mindful moment - this ritual has become important to me in recent weeks. I am so thankful for this homely town where I live, and I like to take a moment to stop and practice some gratitude for that fact, in a place where I can look out across the rooftops and feel the connection. I can highly recommend making time for moments of mindfulness during your day, I do think it really helps to lift the mood and beat the gloom. 

I spent the afternoon catching up with some chores (sadly the laundry basket doesn't empty itself) whilst also squeezing in a little bit of stitchery. It snowed onto my green fabric - pretty little stitchy white flakes!

Sunday came and went in a blur of grey, gloomy weather. Unusually for me I didn't take any photos on Sunday so I'm hard pushed to remember much of it. We walked in the woods but the light levels were very low. Plus we had Little Lady walking with us so it was lovely to appreciate her company and to be fully present without having my attention pulled this way and that by potential blog photos, if that makes sense. We lit the fire in the early afternoon and I cooked a roast chicken for dinner, and that's about all I can recall. Oh, there was stitching too - more of that in a bit.

Today we remained embedded in the gloom, the grey just refused to lift. 

In fact, it's been foggy for days on end here so that it feels like we are in a constant state of twilight. I can't say I like it very much.

After dropping Little B at school, J and I decided to walk through the park.

It rained last night and I loved how this shrub was glistening with big fat raindrops. The way the droplets caught the light fascinated me, they looked like precious jewels.

You can see what I mean when I talk about The Gloom - our whole landscape has been shrouded in this heavy, low slung cloud which has made it feel cold, damp and well, gloomy. There is no better word for it. Having said that, it still felt remarkably good to stride out in it, breathing in the grey and feeling the cold freshness of it doing me good. 

As you can see, yesterday I made good progress with my cross stitching, and the snowflakes were joined by cute little trees, leaping reindeer and some pretty evergreen foliage.

I got into that addictive zone yesterday where I just could not put it down and I stitched right into the evening, sat squished on the end of the sofa with the Little People and Tilly taking up the rest of the space (they were watching a film while I was obsessing over my weeny crosses). I have a very handy light which I use for evening stitching, it's one of those bendy ones that hangs around your neck, do you know what I mean? I'll see if I can find a link for you..........here you go....on Amazon ((here)). It allowed me to stitch golden reindeer in a darkened room lit only by the glow of the fire and my mulled wine candle. It's a marvellous gadget, truly. 

Well, it's been lovely catching up, but right now it's around 8pm and yes, you've guessed it.....I'm going to go and cosy up by the fire now and stitch, stitch, stitch. I do believe there's a bough of holly and a couple of robins which need my attention.

Byeeeeeeeeee, see you tomorrow!

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ps I haven't forgotten about blogging about my exercise/diet routines for those who've been waiting. Hoping to do that tomorrow xx

 

 

 

November Rituals

After a very murky, foggy start to the day and a bit of a bleugh morning in general, things were looking very much brighter by lunch time. I'd been waiting patiently for J to finish up on his work call so that we could get out of the house and enjoy what looked to be an unexpectedly lovely November afternoon.

Every day when we visit the woods I wonder just how many leaves will be left. I know pretty soon there will come a day/night when we have strong winds and the whole lot will literally come tumbling down in one swoop, it always does seem to happen very quickly at the end. Right now there are still leaves to be seen, and they are looking glorious. I am constantly reminded of my Woodland Blanket at this time of year as I find these bright sunny autumn days very inspirational. The colours in nature lift my mood and never fail to bring on the happy vibes even when life feels like a bit of a slog.

During November I notice the sun stays pretty low in the sky even at midday, creating long shadows and a gentle slanting glow across the woodland paths. This low sunlight even manages to make the mud look good, and that's pretty amazing in my book.

Despite me feeling very wobbly today, there have been some happy moments. The October Cotton & Twine subscription box arrived in the post and I couldn't be more excited to stitch this beautiful seasonal design. I made a start and managed a few snowflakes but today was one of those days where the hours felt like minutes and the whole day seemed to slip away very quickly.

Ahhh, but here comes the weekend and I'm hoping for some little pockets of quiet stitching time, fingers crossed. I love love love the way that cross stitching slows my mind right down, and the repetitive, slow, rhythmic nature of it is very soothing. It's an extremely therapeutic craft I think, I can highly recommend it.

In other happy November news, I have hyacinths in the Attic!!!!!! YIPPEEEE!!!!!!!!!! This is one of my most favourite rituals of the season and I've been buying these pots of bulbs from the supermarket ever since I came to live here thirteen years ago. The tin pots change every year (you can see last years design in this post - you'll need to scroll down, it was a rambling one!) and I love this years offering. I don't usually go for gold, but I do rather like the shine of it on my mantel. Judging by the colour of the actual bulbs, I think these will be white flowers but there was no label on to tell me so they may well be bright pink. It'll be a festive surprise, and I am probably way more excited for it than I should be. I honestly can't wait, I bloomin' love hyacinths.

We had the most stunning cloud display this afternoon as we walked to school, I was absolutely transfixed by them. It's quite hard work walking down a steep hill whilst also trying to photograph the sky (we were running late so J wouldn't stop to wait for me), but I managed just about.....

....look at this one! This was me pointing my camera directly upwards where the telephone wires spread out to all the houses in my street. It kind of makes me feel dizzy just looking at it!

We were walking at a fair old pace down the hill....

....but I managed to stop and snap a quick photo of the canal as I crossed over the bridge. It was looking extremely atmospheric I thought, and very Novemberish. 

I lit the fire as soon as we came home from school as the house felt chilly and also I felt in need of some comfort and cheer as well as some warmth. We opened our mini bottle of prosecco (this seems to have become a Friday evening ritual) and everything suddenly seemed to settle for a while. I've felt out of sorts today, and despite managing to find so many things to be happy about, I've still had this underlying feeling of melancholy. I guess it's all part of lockdown life, emotions ebb and flow and I try to allow my feelings to surface without attempting to analyse them too much.

I did still get that wonderful Friday Feeling though, especially once Little Lady came home from school and all my brood were safe at home again. There is something so fundamentally settling about having all the family together under one roof, especially at meal times.

J always cooks a simple dinner on a Friday which I really appreciate, it's a treat for me to sit by the fire and have him in the kitchen for a change. Tonight he cooked up some meaty butchers sausages and served them hotdog style in bread rolls with fried onions and skinny French fries, and the Little People were allowed to eat in front of the TV. It's a Friday ritual which goes nicely with the prosecco I find. 

Oh, and I'm still madly in love with my mulled wine candle. It's just so perfectly Novemberish. The house smells delicious.

Before I go, there is something I just want to tell you about, something that always makes November a very exciting happy month for me.......

..........uh-huh, it's almost time for me to tell you about my next blanket adventure!!!! I've been getting lots of enquiries about the next Attic24 CAL on my social media so I thought I would give you the dates now so that you know what's coming.

I've been working on a new blanket design called "Meadow" which is inspired by the place that I walked almost every day during our months of lockdown (March-June) when I really needed to feel calm and grounded. The little wild flower meadow at the bottom of the park became my sanctuary and the colours of the flowers, grasses and distant summery hill views inspired a truly beautiful colour palette. 

I'll be able to show you a little more of what I've been working on in the next few weeks - yarn packs will be going on sale in my shop at Wool Warehouse on Tuesday 24th November (just under three weeks from now), and as in previous years I'll be sharing the blanket pattern as a Crochet-A-Long project at the very start of 2021. I can't wait to show you more.

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Sunny Side Up

We had a cold start to the day yesterday, not quite a frost yet but pretty close I'd say. I am very aware of the shrinking hours of daylight with each passing day, it's most noticeable in the evenings as it seems to get dark quite early now, but it also feels as if the darkness still lingers in the mornings when we walk to school. 

A funny thing happened when I was stood at the side of the canal to take the above photo....I was holding up my phone to compose the image and all of a sudden a whole flock of pigeons took off from the other side of the canal basin and came flying directly towards me - and I mean that they literally swooped over the water and flew right at me!! I squealed in shock and nearly dropped my phone as I thought they were going to land right on top of my head!!!!

We managed to avoid an actual collision and instead I found myself standing amongst a flock of pigeons pecking around my boots and wondering where their breakfast was. Never a dull moment on the school run.

Yesterday there was a strange feeling in the air as it was the last day of "freedom" before our month long Second Lockdown began today (Thursday). I had a few errands to run in the morning whilst the shops were still open but I resisted the urge to try and cram in any Christmas shopping. It did briefly cross my mind, but no. No, that's not for me. I shall try and do things online  I think, supporting small independent businesses as much as possible, and hoping that all being well our local shops can reopen sometime in early December. I did manage to buy chocolate advent calendars for the Little Peeps while they were still available, and I was also able to order some much needed wellies (I went for these ones as sadly the floral ones I loved were completely sold out). After all that, I went and sat peacefully at my regular table in the window of my favourite café and ordered a restorative cappuccino to settle the low grade anxiety I felt creeping in. 

After the chill of the early morning, I noticed a bright warmth shining in through the window and dancing across the top of my coffee cup. I looked out to see the most stunning blue sky had materialised whilst I sat sipping my coffee.......

.....oh happy day!!!! It was like the most welcome gift on a day when we really needed our spirits to be lifted and I couldn't believe my luck.

I walked home with a spring in my step, thinking just how beautiful the trees were looking in the bright morning sun. It was glorious, and truly made me smile all over my face.

My little doorstep cyclamen looked like they were dancing in the sunshine, their petals all perky and upright....

....and this dinky little leaf caught my eye on the step too, it had blown right across the street from my neighbours pretty acer tree.

I came home from the café and settled myself at the dining table to make progress with my granny bag.

Aaaahh Tilly, you are such a little Diva!! She sat and watched me lay out my bag, watched me arrange the flowers just so, and then just as I got ready to start stitching she snook in and installed herself without hesitation. It was as if she'd decided I had prepared a little resting spot especially for her.....I present to you the Granny Josephine Kitty Relaxation Pad.

So I decided to leave her be for a little bit and went to make myself a bowl of fruit laden porridge instead. By the time I came back to the table she'd gone elsewhere - she was only interested in the bag when she knew she would be front and centre of my attention, of course. It's the Tortie way (have you heard of the word "tortitude"? Tilly definitely has it!)

I really couldn't wait to get out for our daily walk yesterday, the weather was absolute autumn perfection.

Ahhh, the colours!! And the light!! I thought it all looked so incredibly beautiful.

Everything delighted me and filled up my seasonal-loving soul to the brim. 

It was delicious in every way out there and I drank it in with eyes wide open. I could have walked and walked and walked, but J had to get back to his computer, and I had a basket of yarn waiting for me......

Don't those colours look luscious nestled all together? So pretty!!

I've had a few people ask about the small rope baskets that I'm using to store my small balls of yarn. I bought them a few months ago and really love them, they're the perfect size for holding small balls of scrap yarn for decorative projects (also wonderful for the small cotton Ricorumi balls that I like, you can see a photo of them here). They come as a pair - you can find them on Amazon ((here))

Yesterday afternoon I finished crocheting the floral embellishments for Granny Josephine (the bag version, not the cat mat).

And......

......I stitched everything in place and attached the handles.

So......

......that means the bag is officially finished. Uh-huh.......no longer a WiP!!!!

Yippeeeeeeee!!!! 

You can be sure of a Ta-dah flourish very soon - I need to find a willing photographic assistant to take some pictures of the bag and me doing our thing together, so that will most likely happen at the weekend. I'm so excited to show you!

Walking down the hill to school yesterday afternoon, I thought how particularly lovely my hill view looked in the afternoon light.

I also thought you might like to see the view at the bottom of the hill too - I walk down this cobbled hill street almost every day but I think this is the first time I've stopped to take a photograph. This cobbled street is actually a road which cars drive down although it doesn't look much like one (the above photo is showing the bottom part of what is a pretty steep hill down from the canal). The tall buildings on either side are part of the old historic cotton mill that dominated this town in the early 1800's. They've now become a mix of apartments and office space - the restoration took many years and these old buildings have been given a whole new lease of life.

I stopped to photograph this yellow leaf just because the glorious colour literally stopped me in my tracks.....

....and the same thing happened again on the way home with this tree laden with tiny yellow crab apples. Don't they look stunning against the blue of the sky?

I was in reflection heaven yesterday walking homewards along the canal.....I just wanted to stand and stare and drink them in. I can't get over how magical water reflections are, they make me feel like I'm dreaming or something, like I'm being offered a glimpse into an alternate world somehow. 

Yesterday was such a lovely day, but today, it has felt heavy. I am trying very much to keep an open mind and a happy heart despite the gloom which seeps in around the edges if I stop and think about it too much. I'm hoping to still visit the market on Saturday as I heard that food stalls would be permitted to trade - I hope Mr Cheese and Mr Veggie will be there, I'm keeping fingers crossed. At least our local butcher and baker are remaining open, so I shall continue to try and shop small and local where I am able.

I hope you are all OK, I am sending out a huge virtual hug should you need one. Also, before I toddle off, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the beautiful comments left on my last post - I have read every single one (over a hundred) and it has warmed my heart more than you could ever know. The connectedness is stronger than ever, I feel it, and I am so thankful for it.

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