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08 June 2022

Busy (Gently) Doing




It has been a month of things breaking here, I have already mentioned that the washing machine, dishwasher and fridge need repairing.  The repairs on the washing machine and fridge have worked but the dishwasher is still not fixed, we sent off the circuit board to be repaired as my husband found that one of the microscopic parts on it was damaged, he had to use a magnifying glass on it to see the damage.  The board has now come back but it is still not working so back to the drawing board.  Thank you to all of you who offered to come and do my washing up for me in exchange for me cooking for you, please form an orderly queue, you are all very welcome to come and live with us.  

My watch fell off whilst I was changing the beds.  It took me a moment to realise that I was no longer wearing it, I then had to retrace my steps to work out where it had got to, that took a while, my mornings are often busy with movement.  When I finally found it I realised that the strap had broken, it is a metal one but as the watch is over twenty years old it had lasted well.  I knew that the strap had stretched a little over time but it seemed it had stretched more than I had realised.  We managed to source a new one that fitted, it was really strange not having a watch for a couple of weeks waiting for it to arrive.  You don't realise how much you use a watch until you don't have one, I know that a lot of folks use their phone and don't wear a watch but as I often don't have a pocket to put my phone in that option didn't always work for me.  

The whole family attended a weekend Explorer Scout camp over a weekend.  Cameron and Alice were taking part in the programme, Alice is not old enough to be an Explorer yet (they start around their 14th birthday) but as husband and I were helping out she opted to come too.  We were asked to bring our camping stove for the catering, we haven't used it for a couple of years due to COVID.  It was kind of inevitable that when we got it out a crucial washer had dried out and perished.  Luckily it was easy to get hold of a replacement which arrived in time for the camp.

We had a lovely weekend in the company of 22 young people and six adults.  We were running the canoeing on the Saturday, we had eight in four canoes.  It was a really sunny day which was unexpected as it was not what was forecast, the climbing group who were in another valley had a much cloudier day than us.  We managed 12km and had all our meals on islands on the lake we were exploring, the photos at the top are from that trip.

It was the second weekend of camping for me, I had spent an earlier weekend on a scout training course and had chosen to camp rather than share a dorm room.  I knew that I would get more sleep in a tent than sharing a room.  It was a very tiring weekend, a lot of sitting listening with periods of thinking.  My brain was overloaded by the time I got home.  I managed to lose my glasses at a home ed group I went to on the Monday and I could not remember what I had done with them after I had got out the car, my brain was completely blank.  It took a few days for there to be any space available.

I was lucky that my two weekends of camping were warm sunny ones which could not be said of a fund-raising day we had organised.  It was not for the Jamboree but something else, as I don't have enough fundraising in my life.  We were running a pop up cafe in a usually popular spot, on a very rainy day it is most decidedly not.  We managed to stay for four hours during which we had two inches of rain, we raised £50 which is not bad considering how few people were about.  We had a lot of cakes left over which we managed to sell to colleagues and friends raising another £50.  Thankfully that fundraising is now completed as we have raised all that we need, so we can now focus entirely on the Jamboree.  We had a slot booked to go back and run another pop up cafe this Sunday and I am watching the weather forecast very closely to see if it is worth going back for another go and raise some more Jamboree funds, if it is wet I will be staying at home.

Alice had some disappointing news when she found out that a friend that she has known since she was four is going to start school in September.  If you are new here then you may not know that Alice is home educated and is now thirteen, her friend is fourteen and has also never been home educated all her life.  It was a real blow to her, the friend was the last member of a group, who have been part of Alice's life for years, who has not headed off to school.  We were really hoping that the big changes she has had in her life over the past few years might have finally come to and end, but this is yet another one to navigate through.

I realise it sounds like it has been a month of disaster, disappointment and getting exhausted but there were more wonderful moments than the scout camp.  We spent a day out with my brother and his family exploring the woods and hills by a local lake. It was a lovely day out, my nephew is such fun company.  We took him on an adventure up a hill and through a wood, he loved it although I am not sure my brother would say the same.  

I have managed to find time to spend in the garden this month, it was starting to look a little over grown and was in much need of a weed/clear up.  I finally made it up to the jungle at the top of the garden and have started clearing it.  There are still a few seven foot high kale plants up there.  I am leaving them at the moment as they are all in flower and the bees are loving them.  I don't need the bed just yet so I am leaving them for the bees for now.  I finally placed a seed order, I realise that is quite late compared to some but there is little point sowing any seeds before May round here as it is not warm enough.  If I sow them earlier I end up with seedlings that I cannot plant out as it is too cold for them outside, I start most of them off in the polytunnel.  I have now have a tunnel full of seed trays and pots of wee plants that will be ready to go out soon, I am just hoping that the weather warms up and stays warm.  

This year we are having a rather cool spring, I am still wearing winter woolies.  We have the odd warm day but it has not been continuous enough for it feel like it is warming up.  The winds, which we get a lot of,  have also been mostly northern and eastern which are cold, so even when we do have those rare days of sunshine it feels really cool.  I am ready for it to warm up and hope it comes this way soon.  

The triffid like kale has been stripped of leaves which we have been enjoying in our meals.  It was lovely when it had warmed up just enough for this to start growing again.  It is a very hardy variety that copes with our cold winters but it does not grow when it is cold so I have to be careful about how many leaves I remove during the winter.  It is an heirloom variety which I have had in the garden for about five years now, it self seeds each year providing me with a continuous supply of plants hence my letting some of it run to seed and grow very tall.  I have had a good supply of small plants already growing for my next crop.

I also have a good supply of salad leaves in the garden now.  Some of it is wild rocket which self seeds all over the garden, the rest is oriental leaves such as mizuna, greens in snow, mustard leaves some of which has seeded from our own compost which we spread on the garden at the end of the winter.  Free salad leaves. What is not to love?

Crafting has moved from needle felted hearts to knitting dish cloths, embroidering needle cases and making beeswax wraps when the oven is on, all for fundraising.  I now have ten completed needle cases and twelve dish cloths.  I have paused with both of these for the moment as they had ceased to be enjoyable, they are for an event at the end of July so I have plenty of time to make more.  I have returned to my much neglected jumper which I have been ignoring since before Easter, I had to look at the written pattern to remind myself as it had been so long.  I am now a few rows away from finishing the body after which I can start on the arms.  I think it is not going to be a year of big knitted projects this year, that time will return again but is paused for now.

On a grey drizzly day we had a ray of sunshine celebrating Alice's birthday .  She didn't want a big party this year so we had a quiet day at home cancelling all our usual activities.  I had not thought about what I was going to do on the day until I woke that morning.  I decided to spend the time sewing, I am making a patchwork picnic blanket and managed to add three rows of patches to it, it has grown considerably, it needs another two rows to bring it to size I am after, then I need to work out a backing for it.  It is the first time I had had my sewing machine out for a long time and it was very over due.  I really need to make some more cloths that we use in place of toilet roll our current batch are pretty much past their usefulness.

It has been a full month, one filled with lovely things but rather tiring at times.  I find being busy at the weekend and then hitting the ground running on the next week quite hard work.  I have just about managed to cling onto my rest times although many weeks this was reduced to moments here and there.  I had many naps during the day a much needed recharge, they were a necessity not a luxury, I can thoroughly recommend them.  I can feel more of them being needed this month which is also looking pretty full.

24 comments:

  1. Hope you get a little more relaxing time next month, though it sounds like you are going to be busy. A belated Happy Birthday to Alice. Hopefully she can still get to see her friend when she's not at school. X

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    1. Thank you Shazza, this coming month is just as busy!

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  2. Lovely photos. It sounds like a busy month for you and frustrating too with so many things breaking, isn't that always the case, one thing goes and then a whole stream follows. Crafting has ground to a halt completely here, I suppose it's down to the move, just about all my crafting gear is still packed in boxes at the moment, but I could reach what I needed if I really wanted to, I just don't have the inclination at the moment, and I don't see the point in forcing it. I'm sorry to hear about another disappointment for Alice. I hope that she manages to stay in touch with all the friends who have headed off to school.

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    1. I hear you on not forcing crafting when it does not feel right. I am sure that your inclination with return soon. I hope the move has all gone smoothly for you.

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  3. How gloriously busy you have been, and your title truly resonates with me. I keep saying to everyone that I am busy, but happily busy. Life has taken on new directions for us with our 15yo entering into a kind of placement and me taking on Yoga teacher training. Days have changed and we find ourselves adapting to new routines. It's made me quiet on the online front, but I'm glad to return here and catch up with your news. I hope you find the energy to get through the next month!

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    1. I am indeed happily busy Alice that is such a good way of putting it. It sounds like you lives have taken a very different direction recently, it sounds like they are positive changes I do hope they stay that way for you all.

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  4. It sounds like you've been very busy, indeed! I always find that the transition between spring and summer is a particularly busy time. I think it's the garden, mostly. All those "new" chores stacking up again . . . when you still have all the "regular" chores to manage as well. The views from your weekend are just lovely, and so peaceful looking. You live in a very beautiful corner of the world! :-)

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    1. You are so right Kym that there is so much extra to do at this time of year on top of all the usual things. I do live in a very beautiful part of the world, I am blessed to call it home.

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  5. It is typical that everything breaks at the same time, just when your need their time saving capabilities most. I find a good afternoon nap to be an excellent tonic! Your seven foot high kale sounds amazing. I hope you had some monster stir fries and enjoy the free, self seeded salad :) x

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    1. It is typical and made me realise that it is all about the same age so it might all break down completely at some point! That could make for an expensive time. I am glad to hear that you also take an afternoon nap occasionally too.

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  6. That sounds like a full month - even if everything is all "good" in a busy month, it takes such a toll on me and you had lots of challenges along the way.
    I can't see anything without my glasses and losing/breaking them while I'm vacationing is a source of constant worry for me! I'm actually thinking of having laser eye surgery next year and I just can't imagine a world where I don't rely SO heavily on my glasses.
    I love how you show grace (especially in the form of naps and forced rest) and also how you know yourself so well. You realize how important margin and buffer are to your days. I hope the month ahead is filled with moments of wonder and rest and happy memories.

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    1. You are so right Elisabeth that even a good busy month is hard work and can take its toll. I wear glasses but I don't rely on them to see, I can understand that being in that position would make it very worrying when you are out and about. Wow laser surgery sounds interesting, I know someone who has had that and his eyesight is amazing now.

      I have been a long work in progress to get where I am now with self care, I still find it hard to prioritise myself at times, sometimes I just forget and keep on going but those days are few are far between. I simply cannot keep going all the time anymore and need those margins and buffers to allow me to continue to function.

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  7. That is a lot of inconvenience you've experienced in a short space of time. I hope it is all resolved now.
    Rest when you are able to. I am envious of your ability to nap during the day. Xx

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    1. It was a lot of inconvenience! It is all resolved now, finally. I have only recently started napping during the day and swear by it on those rare occasions that I really need it, it is totally the reset that I need.

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  8. what a lovely catch up. I'm sorry that your stuff is breaking, it does seem to clump together. I hope that the school year for Alice brings a new friend or two along so she doesn't miss her old friend so very much. When I go anywhere I take a back up pair of glasses because I cannot see anything!!

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    1. Thank you Karen! These things do clump together, they are all a similar age so I am very much hoping that they don't all break down completely at the same time too. Thank you for your kind words about Alice, it is the end of an era for her, in some ways I wish we could just be in September and getting on with things without the friend around rather than having this interminable wait for that time to come. It feels like a very long transition for her. A spare pair of glasses is very wise if you are dependant on them.

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  9. A shame about Alice's friend, I can imagine how disappointing that is. I know what you mean about missing your watch. I have been known to wear a child's lizard watch when mine is being repaired, complete with lizard ticking round every second. It's actually brilliant. The two on mine has come adrift and is stuck jauntily in the corner now. Hurray for self-seeded salad, the leaves at this time of year are so good aren't they. CJ xx

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    1. Thank you CJ, it is really disappointing for Alice. I am loving the idea of a lizard watch, sadly I didn't have the option when mine was not working, I am also intrigued by your number two being adrift wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just drift during that period of time too, as if time did not exist because our watch is not able to tell us where we are at.

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  10. My daughter had a similar experience when all of her friends went off to school when she was about 14. It was a difficult few years for her to find her confidence again. We tried various things to keep her active, engaged and meeting new people (judo, synchronized swimming, Duke of Edinburgh award, 4H) but her becoming a lifeguard at 15.5 and time really had her come back to herself. She is now a thriving 22 year old studying to become a deaf language interpreter. I know that she would tell Alice that it's going to feel really hard but to follow her heart and dreams and it will get better.

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    1. Hello and welcome, thank you so much for your lovely, kind and thoughtful comment. It is lovely to hear that your daughter found her way after big changes at a similar age to my daughter, thank you for sharing your story. Her studies sound so interesting, I wish her well with them.

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  11. Why do these things always come in groups? It's never just one thing that breaks, it's like they send a message out to all their inanimate friends to join the party. Your photos are lovely and it seemed like a great day to be out and about! The beginning of summer is always a jam-packed time so I hope you are both enjoying it and getting some rest.

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    1. I loved what you say about machines sending messages to each other, it did feel like that round here for a few weeks! Thank you for your kind words about my photos, I do love where I live. I haven't felt the need to travel far for a long while now, there are so many beautiful places on my doorstep. I am finding corners of rest in and amongst the busyness.

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  12. Lovely to catch up with you today. It has been a while, like you, I have been busy. Our dishwasher also perished, for the third time. It has now been replaced as a repair was no longer possible. I am sorry to her Alice will be missing her friend when she starts school in September. So much change for Alice. Tell her that I wanted to wish her a very happy Birthday, very late, I am sorry. I don't know if you accept comments with links? I wanted to share the box pouch tutorial I used, you were asking if I had used one over on my blog. It is https://melaniekham.com/zippered-box-pouch-easy-sewing-project-no-raw-edges/

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    1. Thank you so much for the link Christina, I will be sure to head over and have a look at that, I love the pouch you made. I fear that our dishwasher and some of our other appliances will do that the next time they breakdown, they are all old and a similar age. Thank you for the birthday wishes and the kind words for Alice, I have passed them on.

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