Here and There

I've had a funny old week, kind of slow and fast and busy and lazy all at once. I've been here and there, pottering about in my local environs as well as heading further afield for both work and pleasure.

I have been enjoying my town very much recently, opening my eyes wide and truly appreciating living in such a beautiful, vibrant, historical, rural little market town. I felt a bit disloyal when I returned from Dorset with my heart full of the sea, yearning to be there and not here. But the post holiday blues soon dispersed and I have fallen back in deep love with this place I now call home. I really do love living here.

The waterways are busying up again now that Spring has sprung, and every day the boats come and go along here providing a wonderful changing scene. I fell in love with this gorgeous wide-beam canal boat which arrived last week, it looks so homely and cheerful with it's traditional painted pots full of colourful flowers. I really love seeing the traditional "canal folk art" alive and kicking, and if the fella hadn't been sitting inside his boat when I walked past, I would have got up right up close and personal with my camera and those lovely decorated pots!

Last Tuesday I delivered the Little People to school, then made my way onwards to my picturesque local train station. It's been a while since I travelled by train and the ninety minutes seated next to a window looking out onto a changing landscape was very enjoyable.

I travelled on three different trains, journeying into rural West Yorkshire.....

....to the land of ever-so-very-large textile mills. Oh these buildings are something else - ancient and humming with history, industry and creativity, they are absolutely wondrous places to visit.

I spent the day bent over this table of glorious colour, umming and ahhing and stretching my brain (and my heartstrings) as we deliberated over the endless possibilities of the glorious Pantone Index. I was in good company, judging the Stylecraft/Lets Knit colour competition with three other wonderfully talented yarny peeps. It was a fascinating day (you can go read Phil's amazing blog about the day here), and I'll be updating you about the competition as soon as I'm given The Colouful Nod to do so.

We're having some gloriously sunny days right now, and yippeeee I've painted my toenails turquoise and have donned my flipflops!!It's still a tad chilly around the nether regions at times but my flip flops are ON and my toes are OUT regardless of the odd frosty start to the days.

I've unexpectedly felt the need this past week to be away from my desk and out in the open. So I've trusted my instincts and allowed myself to spend time pottering and mooching at home and out and about, taking in my surroundings and practising a kind of meditative mindfulness. I'm approaching an extremely busy few months and I guess this is my way of preparing myself? I'm not sure really, I don't think there is any need for me to analyse, surfice to say it has felt wonderful to feel free. I am very, very blessed to be able to do this wandering, pondering thing from time to time, believe me, I am full of gratitude for the freedom I have in my days.

On a whim, I took a walking tour of my town one warm, sunny afternoon last week, Wednesday I think it was? I had in my mind that I wanted to photograph the rows of terraced streets that make up a good portion of the domestic housing in this old mill town. Again, I'm not sure why this impulse came upon me, but oh it was fab to just walk, observe, take pictures. I'll share them with you in a few days.

I found myself  right across the other side of town, high up near a large area of allotments.

I have a real nostalgic soft spot for allotments, having spent a lot of my childhood weekends hanging about on our family plot(s) with my Mum. I enjoyed nosing about a little up here, inhaling the scent of wood smoke from a nearby bonfire and admiring the neat veggie beds. It's reminded me that we have our name on the waiting list for a small plot near us, we've been waiting for seven years and still harbour some hope that one day, one day we might get lucky....

Blossom is blossoming around here too I notice, although the exuberant frothy pink cherry trees that line the path to the park are still in bud and not yet in full flower. Can't wait for those beauties to put on their annual show.

On Thursday I had a coffee date with a friend, and after a minuscule amount of deliberation we abandoned the cosy coffee shop in favour of an al fresco option. It was the weather you see, such glorious sunshine and blue skies were just too good to waste. My lovely friend has wheels at her disposal, so we motored out of town and landed at Bolton Abbey, just as the Cavendish Pavillion cafe was opening.

Of course we both had a bag of hooky with us ( I try to never travel anywhere without it) and enjoyed a fabulous morning of sunshine, crochet and coffee, interspersed with chit chat and the odd duck.

My Harmony blanket is progressing beautifully and I'm now over half way with the blocks. I have this desperate urge to finish it within the next three weeks or so just so that I can photograph it in a bluebell wood. I'm thinking we might possibly have a spell of severe chill which might delay the bluebells and I might also stop needing to sleep in order to crochet through the night. Not likely, but you never know.

I can highly recommend a spot of riverside crochet, if you can make it happen at a scenic location near you. It's a very therapeutic way to spend a morning.

From peaceful riverside to the hustle and bustle of city centre, yesterday I took my second train-ride within a week. This is Leeds, more precisely the amazing Trinity shopping centre with it's spacious pedestrian streets and glass ceiling (lots of pictures here). This was a special Girls Day Out, a Birthday trip for my beautiful Little Lady who turns 11 this week. She has been asking for us to make this simple trip together for a good many months (much to my shame I kept putting it off) and yesterday we finally made it happen. A train ride, some clothes shopping, lunch at a funky restaurant, more shopping, a very special Birthday Purchase  and one super-happy, unexpectedly emotional Little Lady. It was a wonderful day. She is wonderful.

And there endeth my rather rambling weeks summary, I hope you've not nodded off. This week I need to be rather more squarely positioned at my desk, doing the things I should have done last week. I need to work that list, tick those ticks. Wish me luck.

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Comments

[Claire]

Sounds like a great week! I too LOVE canal boats, the old mills and allotments.

You do know you are pushing up the house prices where you live, don't you!

[Pat]

How very lucky you are to live in such gorgeous part of the world! Pat x

[Helen F]

fantastic post - yes you are very lucky living in your beautiful village - how I envy you!!!

[Dee]

I always enjoy your adventures and the photos that go with them.

[Amy]

Please please please share the pattern with us! !! :)

[crafty mema]

love it all
the canal boat art-the colors-the afaghan

thanks
xooxoxoxox crafty mema

[Irene]

Just returned after spending weekend in Skipton. Spent time drinking coffee and eating lovely cake in Coopers a couple of times. We even saw the wide berth boat today before we left. It's such a lovely place where you live. Love to read your blog and see your colourful photos. x

[Miss]

I would like to see what you see !!
you have exciting discovery life! and i love the eye you have to take good pics.
Miss

[CJ]

Sounds like a wonderful week. I slowed down a bit last week as well, I think it was the sun, it demanded to be appreciated. Lovely to see those allotments. I can't go past allotment sites without having a good look, I'm a bit obsessed with them I think. I do hope you get a plot before too much longer. They are wonderful things. A little piece of land of your very own, to grow whatever you love and to hang out and have fires and hit things with sticks, perfect. I hope this is a good week for you as well Lucy. CJ xx

[Teresa Kasner]

Ooooh Lucy, what a magnificent post! Your life is so full and creative and lovely. *H*A*P*P*Y* * *B*I*R*T*H*D*A*Y*!*!*!* to your daughter! What a great day and present you gave her! Of course now I want to see what she chose at Pandora! I'm excited about the Stylecraft judging.. did you see mine there? You are such a yarn/crochet rock star! We are at the beach in our caravan, I'm relaxing after a busy trip to New Orleans.. I do hope you're able to pop over to my blog and see the photos of that wonderful city - I know you'd enjoy it. Don't work too hard! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

[Helen]

Lovely post Lucy, I love seeing photos of the canal and your home town. Do quite a bit of pottering myself sometimes, really cold today though so perhaps the bluebells will wait for you. Look forward to seeing your blanket finished.

[audra janssen]

Happy birthday to the little lady! I so enjoyed the photos as my husband has been abroad- England, Poland, Germany, ( and not the touristy places-thank you!), and I have not. I much prefer the real and now; and so your pics were wonderfully interesting. I so appreciate your patterns, and your sense of color is amazing. THANK YOU! aj

[Deirdre Greene]

Hi Lucy, you've had a really fun week...happy birthday Little Lady...I've been doing the opposite, I've forced myself to stop galavanting & stay at home & do some spring cleaning...don't you hate it when the sun shines in the windows & shows up all the dust so I rolled up my sleeves & got to work. Now after all that I have a "cappuccino & cake" date with two good friends tomorrow morning & I can't wait!!! Deirdre xxx

[Sue goldsmith]

Thanks for gorgeous pics. We're thinking about buying a canal boat soon your blog made us say 'lets get on with it' jump off the merry go round of work (24/7 shifts) and live. Are you going to share with us your harmony blanket pattern. Would love to do this. Sue

[christa harris]

that's a long time to wait for an allotment!
If its not forthcoming ~ have you considered putting an ad in a shop window ~ asking for the use of someone's back garden in exchange for surplus veg. Something I do ~ a good way of making friends/growing veg and helping out someone who's not able to tend their garden.

[Kath]

Absolutely love all your posts, a bit of colour and chat makes my day. There's nothing quite like chugging along in a narrowboat, especially if the sun's shining. 4 miles an hour, and countryside and nature you can only see from the water. Talk about relaxation!
Happy belated birthday to little lady. They grow up so quickly, but are always your babies. (Just don't tell them though!)

[Carol D]

Oh my! Lucy you've done it again! You so make me want to hop on a plane and get to your corner of the world....all the places you visited are so lovely!
I really enjoyed all!the waterways with the colorful boats...I do find waterways peaceful and relaxing.
Thank you for 'taking us along' on your little Birthday Trip with Little Lady. She, like all our children, is growing up way too fast.

Thanks for the visit - I feel as if my day has begun anew -- all in thanks to our lovely visit!

[maryanne holm]

Thank you for the lovely pictures. I didn't know about canal folk art and loved looking at it. I wish I lived in an area that appreciated history and historic buildings and traditions and 100 year old trees. Thank you for letting me know that there is a place on this earth where they are appreciated.

[Pat]

Love you sharing your bit of life and just the day to day woman side of things. Happy Birthday to little miss ! And I'm so glad you had time to potter about, to travel, to share time with family, friends and creative people :)

[Gillian]

I'm wearing my fur-lined boots today! It's freezing cold, blowing a gale with heave hail showers. Not a day for flip-flops.

[Sarah Green]

I absolutely Love Love Love going on trips with you!! Your writing and your photos make me feel like I am right there with you! Thank you so very much for sharing!!!!!!!

[Elizabeth Gregory]

Love all your blogs. Can't do much crochet for a while got tennis elbow. So painful. Miss doing a few rows of my cosy blanket. Any ideas to give me a quicker cure for this painful problem. I have even bought the strap for my arm but without success. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Spécialiste de l'éphémère]

You live in a wonderful country. We travel through the Atlantic twice a year to have the pleasure to be there.

Have a pleasant week.

[Clare]

Sounds like a fab week to me, I do love this time of year and also have a birthday this week. The blankets looking just lovely, can't wait for the bluebells.
Clare xx

[Winwick Mum]

I didn't realise until I read Phil's post that Stylecraft was based in Slaithwaite - I drive through there to visit one of my best friends who lives in the next village. Such a beautiful part of the world - all of Yorkshire is, really! Giraffe's a fabulous place for a birthday lunch and I'm glad you and Little Lady (should that be Big Lady now? :-) ) had a lovely time together. It's important, Mum and daughter time xx