Hello my friends, I hope you are all well and doing ok out there, finding your way gently through these strange, strange days. Finally I feel I have just about the right kind of head space to be here opening up my Attic window for a chat, after what has felt like a very flat, deflated week or two. I have felt ok really, just a bit drained and lacking in any kind of motivation to get things done.
The days flutter past and I allow myself to drift rather listlessly through the hours, keeping a hold (just about) of the small, mundane routines that I've managed to form for myself during these stay-home days. I honour my natural body clock which always sees my eyes opening just after 6 am and wanting to close just after 10 pm. I make time for a morning workout, prepare and eat healthy food, drink more water and less coffee. Enjoy my daily walk around and about the neighbourhood.
And yet I seem to spend lots of time in the day feeling like I am simply trying to fill the hours until the next meal time or snack time or bed time. I can't seem to settle on anything much and find myself doing the most random things at random times, as and when the mood suddenly strikes. Getting down on my knees and scrubbing those awkward tiles right behind the toilet. Defrosting the iceberg out of the freezer. Potting up some baby petunias that a friend gave me last week. Some stop-start crochet here and there, a flick through a few magazine pages.
It all feels quite disjointed as if I've somehow slipped out of the groove I'm supposed to be on and don't quite know how to get myself back into it. I guess it's just a symptom of these strange times and actually I haven't been too worried about my lethargy. It seems to be a natural result of spending so much extended time in the house, and I am quite sure I'll find my way back into a more productive state of mind soon enough.
It's funny because at the start of Lockdown (a whole eight weeks ago now) I felt convinced that I would be blogging way more than usual, using my days to write, to connect, to chat, to share, to remember. There would be loooooads of time to catch up with blog posts that I've fallen behind with (hello Dahlia Ta-dah post, I'm looking at you, half written in draft and waiting oh so patiently for me to return). But it hasn't been like that at all, has it?! Hahaha! I will try to be here more from now on as I really want to start feeling more productive and balanced again, and to ease myself away from this permanent sluggish weekend-vibe. Have to admit that I am deep down AdOrInG the perpetual weekend vibe mind you, but maybe after eight weeks it's time to make my days count for something more.
As you can see from these photos, I continue to find a huge amount of pleasure in the season we're in and my daily walks make me soooo happy even though they are extremely repetitive. The shadow above shows me and Little Lady, taking our walk one evening and loving the light and warmth that was still so glorious at 8pm.
The woodland is utterly captivating in May, and I absolutely love being out amongst it all.
The wild garlic began to flower profusely during week 7.....
.....and the sight and scent of it all was almost overwhelming. So much natural beauty right there, and I'm extremely grateful that walking through the woods has become a part of our daily lives. It never fails to lift my spirits even on particularly flat days.
I'm still on with the Aria blanket, although it spent almost a week in the naughty corner. Poor thing, it wasn't at all the fault of the blanket. I started work on the border but didn't pay enough attention to what I was doing and managed to miss out a few colours which meant pulling out two big huge rounds to put it right. It took me almost a week to work myself up to the business of yanking out all those neat stitches, but once I got over myself and stopped sulking it was all OK again and I fell straight back in love.
As you can see, the Aria blanket is already being used around here, and truly the Little People seem to really love it especially as they've been quite involved in watching me making it during the past month. I am so close to finishing it - I'm currently poised ready to tackle the edge of The Edge, all very exciting.
The kitty is her usual aloof crazy self, seeming to love having us all around but managing to look utterly bored by us all at the same time. I snapped the above photo of her early one morning when the Little People had yet to surface and all was still quiet and peaceful downstairs. She definitely finds Little B a challenge, he makes her ears constantly twitch as he is sooooooo noisy and boisterous all the time. I do feel for her, my own ears are pretty twitchy these days as it's very, very hard to find any quiet space in this house.
Another week and another tray of lockdown flapjack, dried apricot this time. I don't get bored of making it (recipe HERE if you are interested in how easy it is) and the Little Peeps certainly don't seem to be bored of eating it.
I spent some time jaunting in Magazine Wonderland in week 7, allowing myself to finally open and devour the May issue magazines which arrived at the end of March. My, my, such beauty in those pages, even if the dreamy aspirational quality of the photos makes them ever so slightly deflating at times. I look at the huuuuuuuuuuuuuge grassy gardens and wish for some green space of my own.
I gaze at the huuuuuuuuuuuuuge roomy rooms and sigh with longing.
And then I remind myself to continue appreciating my modest house and tiny back yard as I always have done and not get swept up in a tide of envy as no good can come of it. But isn't the above kitchen just so dreamy? I would really dearly love that kind of space.
Another weekend arrives and so we take our longer walk (around 6 miles), leaving the woods behind and striding out over open fields instead.
Cows have suddenly arrived in the fields to join the sheep and they are always curious about us humans as we pass by their open air homes.
We walk past a farm right next to the canal and have been watching these goslings grow over the past few weeks. Sometimes they are wandering about in the field and sometimes they come down to the water, they really are so fluffy and beautiful. I can't resist stopping to chat to them, even if J and the Little People roll their eyes and look at me like I'm crazy.
It's extremely relaxing walking along this stretch of the canal as it's a few miles out of town and very quiet. Usually in May it's busy on the waterways with boats sailing back and forth, but of course there are no boats moving about on the water at the moment and that definitely adds to the tranquillity.
I love that lonesome blue boat, moored up quietly right on the bend there. I have no idea whether it's someones permanent home or a holiday boat but every time I walk past it I find myself wondering what it would be like to call a boat home?
The cow parsley is just starting to burst into flower in hedgerows and along footpaths and it is so beautiful. It's treated as a bit of a weed I suppose (it is very prolific and grows everywhere) but I absolutely love it, those delicate little froths of flowers are enchanting.
Another weed growing absolutely everywhere is the dandelion, and due to this long spell of dry warm weather they are already in seed. I don't love them quite as much as cow parsley, but those seed heads do hold a lot of childhood nostalgia. Even as we walked past this clump, Little Lady (age 16) plucked up a stem and blew away the seeds "to see what time it is". I wonder, is this a worldwide thing? Do dandelions grow everywhere on this planet, and do all children use them as clocks?
Sometimes towards the end of a long day I'll find myself in desperate need of some alone time. I make myself a drink (often a peppermint or fruity tea infusion which I've recently rediscovered after not having them for ages) then head upstairs and gently close the door to my bedroom. I pull on some woolly knitted socks for comfort and settle on my bed to sip my drink and just relax my mind a little. I don't do anything specific, sometimes just sitting and allowing my mind to wander and ponder is enough, and sometimes I pull out my tablet and browse through favourite blogs, Pinterest, or YouTube.
I'm pretty new to YouTube as generally I much prefer digesting photos and written words rather than videos and audio. I don't really have much idea of what to look for on YouTube yet, or what sort of content might inspire me, but I'm quite enjoying discovering a new-to-me medium. I've been enjoying some food channels mixed with photogenic slow living, lifestyle/interiors and a little bit of motivational stuff thrown in. Pick Up Limes is a current fave and although I'm not contemplating going vegan, I have always been very inspired by wholesome, healthy cooking and eating. Also, I really love the passionate and beautiful way in which Sadia prepares, presents and adores her food, it's just so beautiful! If you have any recommendations for YouTube I would dearly love to hear them.
Another thing I do when I retreat to my bedroom in the evenings is light this jar candle beside my bed. It's an old one from last summer and I adore the clean, soft scent of it. It's these little rituals and pleasures which are really keeping me grounded at the moment, I'm holding onto the little things that bring quiet pleasure to my days.
Well another day has passed and this blog post is coming together veeeeery slowly in stops and starts, I'm so sorry if it all seems a bit disjointed here in the Attic. As you know I don't tend to edit my writing (other than a basic check through for typos) so I've no idea if my words are even making sense to be honest, but I hope that even if I'm writing absolute tripe you can still enjoy the pictures :)
Week 8 has very little to show for it as I didn't seemingly feel very inspired to point my camera at anything much.
There is wild garlic of course, as I can't seem to stop myself trying to capture this season that I love so very much.
Almost every single day we walk this same route into the woods to feast on the green and white display.....
....it's just so abundant and fresh, both the visuals and the scent, and I wish I was better able to describe it to you.
Beautiful, intoxicating, uplifting, every single little bit of it.
We've only seen a smattering of bluebells this year as they are scarce in our local woodland (the garlic more than makes up for it mind you), and I think they are almost over now for another year.
The lambs in the big field are growing large now, and they aren't at all bothered by us humans. We always linger a little at the top of the hill, partly to recover from the long climb up, and partly to take in the sweep of the view which has our home nestled into it. Sometimes on quiet, still afternoons when I'm sat in my little back yard, I can hear the lambs and sheep baaaaaaing from their hilltop field and it's such a comforting sound somehow. I do really love where I live.
Last week was quite a cold one, and woolly jumpers and socks were most definitely needed even inside the house. My hands don't do so well when I'm cold so I do my best to keep warm especially when I plan to crochet. Little B took the above photo of me warming up my fingers before getting on with the Aria border - this was after I had finished sulking and pulled out the Wrong Rows and I was happily enjoying this blanket all over again.
The kitty doesn't take more than 2.5 seconds to jump in and claim my space if I happen to get up and leave the Big Chair for any reason. Mind you, I can't blame her as this over sized old chair is such a cosy spot and one of my favourite places to sit during the day. She really does seem to appreciate my crochet (especially after it has been warmed up by my backside first).
I'll be working on the pattern and tutorial for the Aria blanket this week - it's a lot of work but I'm really looking forward to getting stuck into it. I'm sorry I don't have a release date for this yarn kit and pattern just yet but as soon as I know when it's possible for my friends at Wool Warehouse to make it happen, I'll be sure to let you know.
Well I think that's about all for now, thank you as always for taking the time to digest my witterings and keep me company with your lovely, lovely comments, I appreciate them so much. I hope you are all keeping cheery, and that your spirits are positively inflated and not deflated. I am sending you all the brightest, cosiest happy stay-home vibes.
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Dandelions! Here in Los Angeles I grew up making wishes on them. If you blew out all the seeds in one blow your wish would come true. But I like yours much better. No missing out! You always find something out. “What time it is”. How lovely.
Posted by: Joya Roy | May 20, 2020 at 07:46 PM
hello lucy, always enjoy catching up on your postings, its an 'odd', surreal' time isnt it...my body does feel a bit all over the place and my mind doesnt settle easily either...i find i'll loose myself in hanging the washing out, walking or spending time in the garden...but when I sit i feel lost somehow i just cant explain it...I'm so glad we have plenty of country walks around us to escape and forget the world troubles...Love your yarny makes! and those socks! beautiful country side around you too...Me and my daughter Sophia often pick the dandelions and blow and say its all the fairies!!...fly off make a new home ( or seed somewhere knew) Im sure my mother and nanny did the same when i was a little girl...yes i wonder if they grow all over the world?. Cow parsley is my favourite at this time of year! froffy lanes! blissful!!! take care, kazzy x (country rabbit blogspot)
Posted by: kazzy | May 20, 2020 at 06:27 PM
I made the 'flap jacks' which in Florida are pancakes. I loved them before they went into the fridge and today I'm eating them with my 4 yo grandson who loves them also. He loves the shiney, smooth, buttery bottoms the best. Thanks
Posted by: Mary W | May 20, 2020 at 03:39 PM
I don't watch a lot of you tube but I love The Last Homely House East of the Sea. I try and watch every evening. I hope you check it out and enjoy Kate's charming videos.
Posted by: Denise | May 20, 2020 at 01:02 PM
Dear Lucy, you describe the lockdown lethargy perfectly. I think we all expected to be productive and creative with all this time on our hands, but we're living with an undercurrent of anxiety and uncertainty, and it's distracting and draining.
If you want to know what it's like to live aboard a narrowboat, search for Travels by Narrowboat and Cruising the Cut on YouTube. Those are two "vlogs" about life on a narrowboat. In one episode of Travels by Narrowboat, the guy spends a wonderful day in Skipton. I kept my eyes peeled for Cooper's as he strolled around town, but if he showed it, it escaped my notice.
Posted by: T. | May 20, 2020 at 02:50 AM
These are enormously different times. We just have to go with what the day suggests and be kind to ourselves.
"You do not have to walk on your knees. For a hundred miles through the desert,repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves" (Wild Geese - Mary Oliver) (poem discovered thro Soulemama, bless her!)
Posted by: kate bates | May 19, 2020 at 09:28 PM
Lucy, I love to read your witterings. You write as if you are in the room with me sharing your photos. I love that. I also feel like I’m drifting by. It’s as if I’m waiting for life to start up again. I think I am mourning for my previous way of life. I’m treating myself gently and I work on having accomplishments each day to feel good. Being outside helps. Just having a change in scenery makes a difference in my mood. My knitting project is on a time out and I’ve been crocheting baskets. Something much easier to do at the moment. My Dalia blanket is waiting for ends to be darned in (I know, I know...I didn’t do them as I went along) and then a border. It’s a gift for a friend and I have until Dec to finish it. Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts and pictures and your life with us. I think of you as a friend and wish all good things for you and yours! Lynn
Posted by: Lynn Dee Butler | May 19, 2020 at 07:22 PM
Hi Lucy
Always enjoy your honest blogs. Not to mention the beautiful photos from your part of the world. I would recommend Kate from the last homely house east of the sea. Her vlogs remind me a little of your blogs.
Posted by: Adele Seaman | May 19, 2020 at 06:02 PM
As always, your thoughts are true and your camera is brilliant. Do you cook with the dandelions? and the garlic?
Posted by: EL | May 19, 2020 at 05:27 PM
Love the pictures from your hikes in the woods. You may wish your inside rooms were a little bigger at times, but your outside space sure makes up for it! How lucky you are to be surrounded by such natural beauty. Thanks for sharing it!
Posted by: Ellen D. | May 19, 2020 at 05:14 PM
Hi Lucy, I have been following your blog for a couple of years and can totally relate to everything you write about. I love looking at your beautiful pictures and reading about your walks and crochet and crafts. I too enjoy all these things. Where you live looks amazing and is definitely on my to visit list! I’m always looking forward to reading your next blog. Take good care of yourself and keep blogging
Paula
Posted by: Paula Herdman | May 19, 2020 at 04:30 PM
Hello Lucy,
Just popping by to send you a virtual cup of tea. Take of yourself, you are doing fine. We are all waiting just now. Love everyone's comments about the dandelion clocks. Maybe we could all find a dandelion clock and think about our hopes and wishes for the future each time we blow away the clocks?
Best wishes,
L
Posted by: L | May 19, 2020 at 04:01 PM
I dearly love reading your posts. I grew up in Harrogate and now live in the US. So your photos are very nostalgic! I, too, find myself wandering through the days. Fairly rhythm-less. And trying to enjoy it as best I can, and be ok with the unease. I opened a little Etsy shop, which gives me more scope to play with fabric. https://www.etsy.com/shop/FabricSpeaks
I thought long and hard about the name and when this one came to me, I knew it was right. The story behind the name is towards the bottom of my shop page.
Posted by: Kara | May 19, 2020 at 03:27 PM
I adore and use dandelions almost every day while they last. I split the head of the flower with my fingernails then bend the yellow petals from 1/2 to pull them off the green (bitter) part. Repeat with other half and drop into hot water along with 5 others heads. A small bit of honey stirred in makes a delightful hot drink and is filled with Vitamin C. Everyday while walking my dog provides me with a yummy cup of my daily needs! I've tried planting it but being part cat (lions) they come up where they want to and it's not my garden. Collect enough heads for a great jelly. The roots can be roasted for a good hot drink, the bitter leaves are a great bitter for salad, and the blossoms for tea and it can be put in fridge for a great cold drink! We blow the puffs to make a wish in US. The roots go deep and bring up valuable minerals for other plants and break up hard soil - they are a soil indicator and a really good friend to gardeners. Going to try your oat squares when I finish my coffee. Sound so good.
Posted by: Mary W | May 19, 2020 at 03:00 PM
I will always enjoy coming to the Attic, even in these weird times when it seems almost like we are frozen in time. I am still chugging along on my Dahlia blanket. I usually plow through these projects, but for some reason, I am dragging my heels with this one. My other crafty projects are suffering too. I keep trying to get motivated to finish some things, but it hasn't happened yet.
Posted by: charlotte m. | May 19, 2020 at 02:59 PM
Just a thought Lucy but why not design a "Wild Garlic" blanket using the beautiful shades of green and white? That way you can revel in the glorious colours all year.
Posted by: Helen Ciotti | May 19, 2020 at 01:41 PM
Here in the US the dandelion seeds are used for making wishes before you blow them off, like candles on your birthday cake!
Posted by: Kim Krause | May 19, 2020 at 12:57 PM
I absolutely love reading your blog!! I can empathise with the inertia too! I thought I would get the entire earth sorted out during these weeks, and I have managed quite a bit. But now my oomph seems to have wandered off too...
Still, crocheting will always wait for you, without holding a grudge! 😊
And yes, even though people think it’s “grannyish”. they seem to love the blankets!,
Keep safe and keep on blogging!
Posted by: Gaina Owen | May 19, 2020 at 11:52 AM
Love the pictures , especially the wild garlic and the animals. Y'all stay safe and positive.
Posted by: Miss Daisy | May 19, 2020 at 11:52 AM
Those first few paragraphs could have been written for me too & I appreciate you putting those words to paper, because I just can't seem to put my thoughts into words as you do. I'm feeling so similar & wondering when it will all be over. I'm nearly at the end of my dahlia rug & should start the borders next week, as it will be slow going this one due to now having a big blister on my thumb. We were cutting up branches from a shrub we've removed & maybe I overdid it.(giggle). Thanks for the update & all the accompanying beautiful photos of your walks of the wonderful county of Yorkshire. Take care, stay safe & huggles from down under.
Posted by: Susan | May 19, 2020 at 11:18 AM
I think most of us are feeling like this in some sort of way. I'm trying to work from home as well at the minute and am feeling very unmotivated. Mind you staying up late isn't helping! LOL
I'm loving the cow parsley at the minute and I brought a big bunch home from our walk a couple of weeks ago and have it out on my little pallet table in the back garden, it lifts my spirit when I go out there. We also do the dandelion clock thing here (n.ireland) and last week my daughter (16) and I found one on our walk that looked like 4 had merged together. The clock part was thick like wool and the stem was fat but flat. We also checked the time! LOL
I have fallen out of the crochet mojo lately and there hasn't been much done at all, I just can't seem to get that passion back for it.
I have realised however, that time was never the issue. Now that I have all the time in the world, I'm still not doing all those things I told myself I could do if I only had the time! LOL
Posted by: Carla | May 19, 2020 at 11:10 AM
I feel guilty about feeling sluggish and demotivated, trapped in a small gardenless flat with most of our possessions in storage as we are house hunting having sold in another area. Try to count blessings as have good pensions and all family in good health but can't get motivated even to knit or sew. In retirement we've kept busy so being with husband 24/7 can become a trial however much I love him. Thank you for giving us a window into your life.
Posted by: Geeha | May 19, 2020 at 10:51 AM
It's odd isn't it, I've been feeling exactly the same here. I think the bits of the day that exerted pressure before - having to eat by x o'clock before going somewhere or trying to fit in getting everyone in the right place at the right time, kept me going at a faster pace all day. Now, there is more time, but less pressure, so I am a bit more drifty. Also, it's much harder to get that deep focus when someone is speaking to me every 90 seconds. I'm not complaining at all, but like you I was a bit surprised that my productivity and motivation wasn't higher. I have lots to get done in the rest of the year though, so I am trying to up my game a bit. Lovely to see a post from you, and your photos are sublime. All that beautiful spring greenery. I second what you say about that kitchen. Mine is tiny. But it doesn't take long to mop the floor! CJ xx
Posted by: CJ | May 19, 2020 at 10:43 AM
Hi Lucy, in Denmark children does not tell the clock by blowing at a daffodil and counting the reamaining seeds. They count their boyfriends - or girlfriends - and optimally only one should be left.
Posted by: Charlotte (MotherOwl) | May 19, 2020 at 10:19 AM
Isn't it a bit the same with an upcoming vacation :-)? When you tell yourself that you'll catch up with all the chores once you have time off from work. And when your vacation finally arrives, you only hang out to read, sleep, crochet, stare at the sky, call some friends, bake some cookies, do one thing of your to do-list just to feel less guilty,...;-) It's the art of doing nothing, of being lazy and benefit from being lazy! Seems perfectly normal to. I can still work from home and I love my job but boy, it's starting to be difficult to get behind that laptop every day 'cause being lazy feels so comfortable ;-).
Posted by: EV80 | May 19, 2020 at 10:18 AM