Blogtober 2021 :: Day 6

Early morning walks at this time of year start out in semi darkness, but there is something very uplifting about witnessing the first light of a new day. I think I mentioned the other week that J and I have moved the time of our daily walk from mid morning to first thing, and I'm really enjoying the change. Because of the low light levels we've stopped walking in the woods for the time being, and instead we walk a circular route which follows the canal towpath, into the park and then a climb up through hilly residential streets.

We walk between 6.30 and 7.30, and it isn't always easy to make that happen I must admit. Take this morning for example - I was actually sound asleep at 6.30, right in the middle of a dream where I was taking part in a fashion show. J came and woke me up and I literally tumbled out of bed with my eyes still half closed, pulled on some clothes, brushed my teeth, splashed cold water on my face and was putting my shoes on a mere ten minutes after walking the catwalk in Dreamland. I impressed myself quite honestly, and as always I was so, so glad I seized the day (with J's help). Getting outdoors to stretch my muscles, breathe deeply and wake my body up with exercise and fresh air is a great way to start the day, I can highly recommend it.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to go back to setting my alarm for 6am, so that I stand a chance of caffeinating myself before I have to go and climb hills. 

It's been an absolutely stunning day today with endless blues skies and warm sun and I have been so happy about it. The weather does really affect my mood, well not so much the weather as the light levels I think. Having the brightest of blue skies above me all day I've felt full of energy, and I've really been thankful for that.

So what do you make of this room, with it's William Morris wallpaper and olde worlde charm?? I tell you, I am so spoilt living here in Atticland because we have some truly amazing independent coffee shops and cafés, and this delightful room belongs to one of my favourites. It's a small, upstairs café - on the ground floor there is a shop where you can buy a huge variety of coffee beans and loose leaf teas. Downstairs is also home to the old roasting machine, and on days when the coffee beans are being toasted the smell in the surrounding area is wonderful. And because they roast their beans freshly on the premises, the resulting coffee is really, really good. Like unbelievably good.

Needless to say I'm a regular customer and frequently stop by to collect takeouts, but this week J suggested that he would enjoy taking a break from his computer screen in the middle of the morning, and would I fancy a proper sit-down coffee? Well what a ridiculous question, honestly, it took me a nanosecond to agree to this new arrangement and oh, it's suiting me very well indeed. If I tell you that this delightful place is a mere one minute walk from my front door, you can see how my love for a frothy milky coffee has been pretty inevitable living here. Lucky, lucky me.

The rest of my morning was spent darning in ends and taking a few photographs for the Yuletide mandala pattern. I'll have everything ready to share either tomorrow or Friday, and I'm excited to show you more of the colours I've been playing with.

I needed to go out and run a few errands this afternoon, and it was heaven being able to leave the house without wearing a coat. So different to yesterday when my bones felt chilled all day. I snapped a quick photo of my view before I set off down the hill, it's been a while since I shared it with you and it's still looking quite summery for October.

It was busy along the canal today, with plenty of boats cruising back and forth and a good number of people out enjoying the sunshine. 

Ahhhh......back doing "the school run"!! I still think of this part of the canal in terms of walking to school, and I wonder whether this will change in time or if I'll always feel the attachment to the memories? 

I spent some time in the back yard this afternoon and absolutely loved being outdoors with the warmth of the sun on my face. I ate a late lunch sat on my lounger and it felt so good, like an unexpected dip back into summertime. I did some gentle deadheading too, and admired the abundant floral colour which is still thriving out there. Brightly coloured flowers make me happy right down to my toes.

I hope you're still enjoying my daily posts and that you're not finding things too samey. Thank you for all your chatty comments so far on my Blogtober posts, I really love to hear from you and find out what is making you happy and how you are spending your days. See you tomorrow xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[PatriciaA]

Thanks to your enthusiasm for the canal walks to school with your children, I watched a canal vlog called "Cruising the Cut" and loved it. I finally caught up with all the vlogs.
Would love to know if David visited the canal near you so that I could cruise along your canal with him. It would be an old vlog as he is not vlogging so much these days on the canals.
I love crochet and playing with designs and creating my own. I am a bit of a spreader of projects, currently have six blankets waiting for me to finish them. All of them are a bit challenging for me with some new technique for me to try out.
I had to put them aside when I was diagnosed with breast cancer after I had a nasty problem with my very first chemo session, a chemical spill under the skin. This debilitated me so. I couldn't shower or do much of anything for a long time. I was going to keep a journal of my cancer journey, but I couldn't write or sit at the computer to write on screen for nearly twelve months. Took me three months to do a simple towel topper in that time. Normal time would have been under a week considering that the cotton turned out ultra thin and I needed to redo the work a few times to obtain the right tension for the job. I stuck to it and it is hanging in the bathroom for me to enjoy its lovely dark pink and mid grey colours.
Back to doing crochet (only easy stuff - 3 x C2C blankets, one is a JAYG, the other two are using the same four colours but in opposing colour order. It is different following someone else's colour chart where I normally do colours my own way in my own order) and reading your blog now. Doing catch up.
Enjoy what you have left of this year's summer.
I was enjoying an early summer breeze the other day. Made me feel happy feeling that blast of warmth.
I am in the southern hemisphere, so summer is on its way for me. Next door children were outside playing on their swing set last night at 7pm thanks to daylight saving time.
Off to catch up with the rest of Blogtober. :-)

[Andrea]

I love your blog, and love the insights of your life an of course your stitching. Weather on hooks or needles. You give me inspiration for a life better lived with more beauty and creativity.

[Claire Hayden]

Hello Dear Lucy, it was so lovely to hear you had such a sunny day and enjoyed it so. I too get very strong urges to go out for a walk on days like this, so this afternoon I followed my nose and the sun as I wondered around the village and ended up near the local copse where there is a huge open common edged by trees. The sky looked amazing with light wispy white clouds. I sat on a bench in the warming sun and soaked it all up. I felt very chilled, it was so therapeutic.
Thank you sooo much for the mandala tutorial❤.

[Karen Dodgson]

I love to read about your days! Samey is good I promise. As you know we moved to St Anne’s a year ago this week, so my daily coffees are sipped on the prom and I never stop to give thanks for being so blessed. But in September at the age of 61 I embarked on a level 3 course in art and design at Blackpool college! So now, my daily coffees are sipped on campus and I still feel blessed….tired, brain exploding with ideas and so much to learn, but oh my days it’s wonderful!!! I’m working towards my first big assignment and of course my chosen subject is beach huts!
Love to you in my beloved Yorkshire xx

[Helen Mathey-Horn]

I can see why you enjoy your coffee spot. It is so charming and inviting. Always wonderful when the weather co-operates with walking.

[laura]

Dear Lucy, may I ask you how can you be so happy in having your husband at home full time... mine also is smart working but I am not o happy to have him at home... not only for all the meals but also for not having my space anymoore...

[Jacqui]

The canal looks so beautiful and the boats.
Cant wait for the mandala pattern. Thank you !

[Rachel]

We’ve also had some really nice sunny, bright blue sky days this week. Well, a couple anyway. I went for my first big walk in ages. I’m going to write a blog post about it today because I took squillons of photos!
Glad the weather is also playing ball for you XX

[Shasta]

That's what a model does, quick changes of clothes, quick change from one mode to another. That coffee shop looks wonderful. Over time, my trips on a formerly frequented place is a combination of the old memory plus forming of the new one. It is both.

[Lee]

Hi Lucy,

I don't find your blog too "samey," more that it's a comforting visit with a warmhearted friend who can make the most mundane events interesting by the gratitude and joy you infuse into telling about them.

Your photos are gorgeous and help me picture the scenes you describe, and your eye for color and form is superb. I hadn't realized until quite recently that the reason everything always goes so well together is your instinct, paired with the design training you took.

Telling us about your training really helped, as I struggle with color management, having neither training nor instinct :-( and wondered how you managed to put together such lovely mixtures.

Once travel is possible again, your area of the UK is definitely one I would like to visit as you have made it sound so appealing.

Best regards and I look forward to more posts as you find the time to write them,

[MKaye]

Love your daily posts! I was thinking the other while working on my Yuletide blanket - have you ever thought of publishing a book with your blanket patterns? I think one would be beautiful and so many of us would love to document your work and our work with you in a permanent book for our shelves. Just a thought - many happy returns for the day!

[Kathy N]

I'm so envious of your coffee shop! LOL. I'm also very impressed with your willpower in getting up and walking so early. Good for you!

[Elizabeth]

If I get myself out of bed early enough in the morning, I get to read your post before getting ready for work. It just starts my day off right -- your photos, your chat -- its wonderful and puts me in the best mood! I suspect that part of the canal will always remind you of "the school run," but now its a lovely memory of time spent with your young children. That's a good thing, yes? Have a lovely day, Lucy. Looking forward to visiting with you again tomorrow.

[Barbara]

I’ve never been a morning person and would really struggle getting up at 6:30 so well done you. Mind you I agree about that early morning light, it makes the best photos. I’m very envious of your coffee shop :) B x

[Tonia]

Early morning autumn walks are the best and you've just inspired me to do the same! We also have a canal where I live and it's one of my favourite places to walk along. Think I might even set an alarm for it tomorrow.

[Juliana]

Samey? No, not at all, just as beautiful and inspiring as always, feel reassured! We are so spoiled, to be able to read your lines and admire your pictures every day for a month...
The two mandalas are so different from each other, but both so pretty!
Flowers always bring me joy either.

[Rosie Rogers]

Really enjoying your daily posts, just love to hear about your daily comings and goings, they provide such comfort and normality. Your photos remind me of my visit to Skipton last year, so thank you again for some happy memories.

[Janet Burns]

Love samey. It's comforting to me. Like a blanket I use over and over. Also, walking early in the morning and getting the earliest light is so good for healthy sleep cycles. Iv'e read that it's the yellow colors that actually help regulate Serotonin and melatonin. You get them at sunup and sundown. You are a great motivator for me.

[Brenda]

I ever find your blogs samey Lucy. Just grateful for all the time you spend with your photos and wonderful crochet ideas. Love the mandala, looking forward to the pattern.

[Pamela Richards]

I really enjoy your blogs especially as a Yorkshire woman living in Cornwall. The weather's been horrible lately so it's lovely seeing your sunny photos. I really like the William Morris Strawberry Thief design. In fact I've just bought the same fabric in a blue. Am going to go to a beginners crochet class at the end of the month as haven't done any for many years. My grandma taught me and I have her original bone crochet hook. Have a lovely day and thank you for your blogs.

[Dinah]

Had a little wander in the park and along the canal a couple of weeks back whilst visiting Yarndale. It was a beautiful day, and I spotted the lovely red leaves growing across the bridge. It certainly looks a beautiful place to live!

[Winwick Mum]

Your day was sunnier than ours - I was just glad that it had stopped raining - so it's lovely to see the sunshine in your photos! xx

[Louise]

Absolutely loving the daily posts. I know they must be alot of work for you but I really appreciate them. I really loved the photo of the pond part of the canal with the people sitting around the edge. It looked so lovely. It's been on my bucket list for many years to hire a canal boat for a few days if ever we get the chance to visit the UK. xox

[Elizabeth Denny]

Blogtober is like a little overseas holiday for me, still locked down here in Victoria. Anyway never bored with your posts, love it all - coffee, walks, flowers, kids and inspirational yarn projects.

[Regina]

Love your writing style. I can almost smell the coffee beans roasting. Your hometown looks and sounds charming.