Settling Down

Here in the Attic we've spent this past week settling down and easing back into life at home. We've all been through the inevitable adjustment period that follows every holiday away, and I've noticed that each of us have dealt with it by gravitating to the things that we left behind/missed whilst we were on hols. It's interesting for me to look at these pictures and see what things I immediately chose to reconnect with at home, and to see that (shock-horror) this did not include any crochet!!! WHat the *&%@??!! I seem to be in a strange non-crochet phase right now, in part due to the fact that the only projects I have on the go are various Yarndale yarn bombing projects and I can't seem to get myself fully engaged with them just at the moment. However, my head suddenly seems to be FULL of ideas, they keep on arriving at the most unexpected of moments, popping in like brightly coloured bubbles, PING! I hope to be able to release some of them soonish before they begin to drive me crazy and stop me from sleeping. Oh, and whilst we're talking crochet, just to let you know that I'm working hard behind the scenes finishing up a full tute for edging a ripple blanket, and as soon as that is done and dusted I'll be ready to reveal my beloved coastal ripple blanket (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeem very very very very excited for that!)

One of the very first things I did when I got home last week was check on my back yard pots. In fact, it was about 11pm on the night that we landed home when I suddenly thought CriKey, I do really hope everything has survived a week with no water!!!! I dashed outside in the dark and discovered that everything was on the verge of death, with some serious wilting happening left, right and centre. I spent the next 2o minutes throwing watering cans of water over everything and praying that it would all be ok....and by the following morning pretty much everything had perked up nicely. Phew. My pots are looking great actually, those flowers bring me such a lot of daily happiness :)

I snipped some stems to put on the table, do you know what, I don't think our table has been without flowers a-top of the mandala centre-piece since early May, isn't that a lovely thought?

There are now enough geraniums in flower for me to snip some stems without feeling guilty, so I did just that...snip, snip, snip, snip snip. I've got 5 different varieties/colours happening.....

.....a symphony of summer reds and pinks!

I put the jug beside my bed, does anyone else give themselves bedside flowers? You really should give it a go, the pleasure of waking up to the sight of a few colourful blooms just inches from your nose is really worth it.

When we holiday in Dorset, our bed there is supremely comfortable, it has a deep divan base and a newish mattress and a light but cosy feather duvet. But there is nothing nicer than the comfort of your own bed, is there? I love my bed, so very much, more than I think is completely normal actually.

Looking at the above photo, I think to myself I really, really must hang that beautiful framed print on the wall, it should be on the wall above my bed, not propped up there beside my bed on top of my books! I bought the print last Autumn after stumbling across it on Facebook and falling in love with the quirky style and delightful stitchiness of it. Would you like to take a closer look?

OK, here you go................................

...isn't it wonderful? Rosie Made A Thing is the name of the shop, and Rosie herself is an utter delight. Like me, she is a creative Mum to three Little People, and her work is unique and beautiful. I lover her writing style too, she has a very funny way with words and her Facebook page often has me laughing out loud. You can find the above print in Rosie's Etsy shop, along with some other real gems (by the way, Rosie has variations on the above image, with either 3, 4, 5 or 6 family members in the bed, so be sure to order the one that fits your own brood!)

Whilst settling down at home this week I have enjoyed being back in my own dinky little kitchen space. I have baked (fruity flapjacks and oaty cookies) as a little bit of home baked goodness is often very much appreciated by the Little People during school holidays. I've got some browning bananas to see to in a day or two (I love this recipe), which is perfect fodder for that "I'm staaaaaaaaaaaaarving" thing that my kiddos do without fail every day at 4pm.

I confess that it's not been so easy to ease back into cooking meals, in fact I've found that cooking up a nutritious family meal from scratch every day has felt like a real chore this past week. I loved the beach barbecues and easy no-cook salad meals we ate whilst on holiday! However,  I have thrown myself back into the kitchen, even trying out some new recipes - this chorizo and spinach paella was a great success, although the hair-raising cost of the saffron made me weep a little.

One of the loveliest things about coming home from holiday is getting back together with good friends. It's a hard thing to capture in photographic form if you don't wish to include the actual Friends in person, but the above image says it pretty well I think. This is me, sat at the kitchen table of my friend at number 18 late yesterday afternoon, enjoying a glass of chilled white wine. Tracy (my studio buddy) was also there as she lives close by, and often the three of us can be found drinking, chatting, crocheting and roaring with laughter on a weekend afternoon before we each get down to the business of cooking dinner for our families. Good friends are worth their weight in gold, and I am blessed to have them so close by.

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★...more little snippets from the Attic...★

The Starflower Mandala

Yarndale 2013 :: The Yarn Bombing

2013 :: Year End Review :: crochet

Mandala Love

Mandala Wheels for Yarndale

Comments

[Libby Bowles]

Hi Lucy, I know you like to cook, have you ever made a tomato pie? It is wonderful, google the recipe I'm sure you will love it. Love your blog and all the pictures and I sent you a mandalian from Wv. Keep it up, Libby

[Ruth Topping]

Thank you for sharing your homely and friendly thoughts and feelings, it is like having a friend to chat to, when you live alone as I do! Thanks too, for the wavy pattern. I made a blanket for a baby's cot using pastel shades and I was so pleased with it. At my church we run a soup kitchen for homeless folk or those having a 'rough patch' in their lives. I gave it to a lovely guy whose life is dogged by an alcohol problem and who was going to visit a daughter from whom he had been estranged, who had just had a second baby. He was delighted to have a lovely gift to give her.

[poppysnest]

Oh the frame is adorable...such a wonderful scene! I'm glad your plants survived your Hols... Horrible to come back to dead plants. Always makes the holidays blues worse to bare. X

[Lizy Tish]

Yes, so hard to get back to real life after a vacation! Your geraniums are just lovely. And ere is nothing better than sitting, chatting and knitting/crocheting with friends!

[Priscilla]

what fantastic geraniums! I am very new to gardening and have some geranium cutting struggling to survive our frosts (Winter here!)how do you deal with frosts where you are? As for loving your bed, nothing wrong with that - every night I climb into bed and say "God I love bed" and the picture looks perfect just where it is I think...

[Victoria]

Hello from Spain. First I would like to apologize for my horrible English.
I'm a big fan of yours, I love your crochet work.
As for saffron, in Spain usually use "colorante alimentario" which has the same effect and is much cheaper. This: https://www.ulabox.com/producto/ducros-colorante-alimentario/5518 or similar.

[cate]

Have you made a decision about painting your back yard wall? I keep hoping you'll paint it, but I'm afraid the 'don't paint it brigade' might have dissuaded you.

[Nadia]

I love how you bring cut flowers in doors, including into the bedroom!

[Martina]

Hi Lucy!!! First of all congratulations for your blog, it's really wonderful and you are a very talented person!!! My mum love crochetting and knitting, so we've decided to come to the Yarndale festival next September!!! We live in Italy, so we would be really grateful if you could give us some suggestions!
If you want, this is my e-mail: [email protected]
Thank you so much!!!
Martina and Patrizia

[Catherine]

An interesting post as always. We had just 5 days away and the garden aaas parched. Everything revived with a good soaking. I love how you surround yourself with pretty things.

[Gillian]

Lots of lovely things to come home to.

[Bekah]

Your house is so lovely and colourful!

[Susan]

Lucy, you are truly blessed with a circle of friends to talk to and have a great time with. I live vicariously through you....LOL!!!

Glad you had a lovely holiday.

[Maya]

I am desperately in love with my bed too - I think I love it more now that I have had a little one that is not a fan of sleeping. I'm sure it is completely normal....

You should try daphne beside the bed one day - the flowers smell divine so you can enjoy them even when your eyes are closed!

Thanks for the email last week too - I really appreciated it!

[Katherine, NZ]

I know how you feel about cooking evening meals. I go through stages of loving then loathing it. My 4-year-old insisted on Taco Tuesday last night (inspired by the Lego Movie). I made a chicken and bean filling and all three loved making their own tacos. Not sure I want to do them every Tuesday though.

[Gillian]

I think this is where I'll be this time next week. It always takes a while, doesn't it, to get back into normal routines and rhythms. Your geraniums are glorious and I share your love of the bedside posy, it is such a nice little luxury. xx

[Jen]

Those prints cost £22 !! My goodness you do know how to spend don't you? But then again if you can afford saffron I suppose that says it all.

[Corine]

Lovely flowers! I was in Utrecht last Sunday and they have those huge baskets with geraniums all over the city centre. Really pretty. Do have a look at my blog (in English) if you like, I added some photo's of them. I am sure you'll like the flowers.

Love reading your blog, and trying your crochet items, and baking. The oaty cookies were very nice!

[Jo]

Happy holidays - we are in a groove now that feels good. Great post as ever. Jo x

http://joeveryday19.blogspot.co.uk

[Joyce]

Glad the flowers survived...get those close friends to give them a drink next time you go away and they'll reward you even more....lovely post.

[Marie Farenc]

Thank you for yet another lovely post, Lucy. Feels good to reconnect with home after being away, doesn't it? :)

[Anna-Marie Field]

Wonderful to see your pots have survived and actually look great after a week!!!! That is such a pretty little wall hanging!!!!Have a colorful and happy week!!!
Love
AMarie

[ann clements]

the paella looks lovely but wont be able to make it as hubby is allergic to tomatots, and I cant eat onions,did try the oat cookies and theya re amazing I put chopped nuts in mine and raisins,and I think they would be nice with coconut in as well,hubby likes them he kept coming in with one in his hand and saying it jumped off the plate into his hand lol will have to make some more

[Teresa at knitbakecultivate]

The framed print is adorable. I will be checking those out, my girls would love it too. Lovely blooms to come home to. T x

[Melissa]

I love your pots of flowers! And also your bedside lamp :-) So pretty.