A Peek into my Day

Outside my window it is overcast, the sky is heavy, the cows are lying down suggesting that the rain forecasted is most likely to fall some time soon.  I don't mind a bit of rain at this time of year as it saves me having to water my garden and ensures our water butts are kept full for those times when watering is needed.

Around my house it is moderately tidy.  I had a bit of a purge on the tidying front today, I even got the hoover out to clear the particularly bad corners, I don't have much carpet in the house so it rarely makes an appearance.  It is amazing how much time we spend moving things, from one place in the house to another, which is all that tidying is really, isn't it?

We have had two big fundraising events this month and have another four next month  I am thankful for the generosity of everyone that is supporting us, we are already passed the halfway mark.

I finally got my jumper knitting out of its bag where it had been slumbering, ignored by my fundraising knitting, I am creating dishcloths still, I now have fifteen, but the jumper now has a complete body and half an arm.  Hopefully it will be ready for the Autumn!

We are doing a garage sale fundraiser on our drive this weekend  and I am hoping the weather is dry and folks wander down to our end of the village.

Life is pretty full at the moment and I am thinking about a lot of different things, I am just about managing to juggle everything to keep things ticking along, only occasionally dropping a ball.

Quiet and still time, busy resting is still a feature despite my busyness I am loving this time even when it amounts to a few moments here and there on some days.  The intention is always there.

In my kitchen I have a tin full of leftover unsold cake from last weekend's fundraising efforts,  my comfrey salve continues to steep, my sourdough keeps doing its thing, I currently have a leaven bubbling away ready for making pizza dough for tomorrow nights tea, it is all very tidy,  I am finding I need to keep the kitchen like this when I am busy, I find it easier to keep on top of things. 

Later I am going to take Alice to her home ed gymnastics group, we will do a bit of supermarket shopping on the way.  We have perfected the art of whizzing around the supermarket in twenty minutes, I buy as little as possible in there, preferring instead to support our local independent shops for most of my food shopping.  We stick to the list, which works most of the time until you forget to put something crucial on the list!

I was listening to an interesting interview on a Podcast this morning, the interviewee studied Economics at university 30 years and mentioned that the courses have changed little at his alma mater and many other similar institutions, the natural world, the biosphere, the environment is still not included in the curriculum,  I am pondering that and its ripple effect.  Is it any wonder we have so many resistant to making changes to support the climate.

I have noted the times of the new moons in my diary,  and I am remembering, the importance of being in tune with the lunar cycle, to make sure that the seven days surrounding a new moon need to be kept as quiet as possible.  I have realised this year that around that time I need to be quieter and have more stillness in my life, otherwise I become too exhausted.  

I have read a lot, for me, this past month at the moment, I am reading Mothers of Invention by Katrine Marçel.  You can listen to an interview with the author here, it inspired me to buy the book.  I have also read Devotion by Hannah Kent, my third book by this author, I have loved them all, and Land by Simon Winchester who went to school with my Dad.

I was on the receiving end of rude and unkind words last week, I am wondering why they wrote them.  I think they must be hurting themselves in some way and have tried to give that hurt to me, I am unable to receive it as it will not help either of us.  I am unable to continue working with them, as they do not think there is anything wrong with the words they used, I am fortunate that I am able to collaborate with someone else.

Much as it is hard to deal with situations like the one I mentioned above I am learning that it is possible to find a way through the pain they cause me by not taking it personally and recognise that the other person is the one that is hurting and I cannot help with that unless they recognise it in themselves.

I am looking forward to the end of July when I am hoping my life will quieten down a little.  My diary is looking wonderfully empty and I am going to work hard to keep it like that,  I am wanting a little more spontaneity in my life and there does not seem to be any room for that at the moment.

I am wearing navy leggings, a short pink skirt, a navy linen top, navy trainer socks with white spots and a hand knit pale pink jumper, it is cooler again here today so the socks and jumpers are back out.

Every weekday morning as I potter through the house doing my daily housework I am listening to whatever Podcast takes my fancy.  I love that you can create your own radio station, I used to be an avid BBC Radio 4 listener but I cannot remember the last time I switched the radio on.  I would not be without my Podcasts now.

I heard some wonderful words on a Podcast recently, my favourite quote for the moment, 'the thing that screws us up the most is the picture of how it is supposed to be, what if we deleted that, the idea of that and we just looked at what is and found it to be enough'.

A Peek into my Day