Falling down rabbit holes

I have loved reading all the round up posts that folks have been blogging in the past few weeks.  So many inspiring, amazing and interesting things that people have been doing and making.  I have been amazed by the number of books that some have managed to read in a year, most lists seemed to be equivalent to what I would manage in a decade.  I hadn't made a list of books I read this year and when I did I was unsurprised by the fact that they were mostly non-fiction.  I rarely buy fiction these day, any fiction I do read is borrowed from my local library and as I have not set foot in there since March last year, not many books of this type made it on my list.   My total was 11, in case you are interested, but I also had a further 10 half read books on my bedside table.  

I have been doing a little bit of decluttering every day so far this year, I am not aiming to keep that up for the whole year, it is the time of year when I like to clear out, part of my winter routine.  I have reduced the pile of unread books to six, not a great reduction but a start, the other four have been been shelved to be read in full another time, or placed in the charity shop bag as they are not for me.    I like the idea of doing a little every now, inspired by this post rather than getting overwhelmed by trying to tackle it all at once.  I have a tendency not to start things at all when it gets to the overwhelming stage, procrastination is an art form in itself isn't it, but it doesn't get you very far if you never get started on anything.  So little and often it is.

I learnt a new, to me, phrase reading those round up posts, actually it is an acronym really, SABLE, have you heard of it?  Apparently it means Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy.  I should quantify that it was a knitting thing in the context that I read it, a stash, in this case, being a collection of skeins (or hanks or balls whatever you call them) of yarn.  My stash does not meet this definition by any stretch of the imagination, it is a rather random selection of remains of balls of yarn from my knitting projects over the years with a small collection of complete skeins which were inexplicably left over from projects.  I buy yarn when I want to knit something.  So it got me thinking.  About SABLE that is and why and what people knit.

The creative process is a very personal thing is it not, why we create and what we choose to create is unique to each and every one of us.  It is interesting to me as someone who buys yarn with a specific project in mind why people would buy yarn because well, I don't know, I am guessing they like it.  This is not a criticism by the way, it is pure curiosity.  I am more likely to create a SABLE for fabric than yarn, perhaps I should rephrase that to I am well on my way to creating a large stash of fabric.  I have a wonderful fabric shop in my local town and it is rare for me to visit and not walk out with some lovely fabric that fell into my basket.  I can't help wondering if I still had a local yarn shop to visit, whether yarn would be falling into my basket each time I visited there too, when you buy it online it doesn't have quite the same appeal for me.

Despite my large fabric stash my sewing projects last year amounted to a bag for my nephew for Christmas, I could not remember making anything else.  I am sure that I had my sewing machine out a few times I know that involved repairing things and I sure I made another batch of cloths as I usually do each year at some point.  I did start one project in September but I am still working on that so I cannot claim it as a finished project for 2021.  Thinking about what sewing I had done last year, and not coming up with anything made me wonder why.  I cannot explain why the gift sewing stopped other than I was not inspired but that is not all I sew.  I have made myself a few items of clothing in recent years but thinking about my wardrobe, from a sewing point of view it is enough, I don't need anything new right now.  

In that wonderful way that synchronicity can occur, as I was pondering this a new episode from a podcast producer I love, popped into my podcast app, you can find it if you click on documentaries.  It was a one off called Stitched up about fast fashion and amongst other things the lack of transparency within the supply chain which makes it nearly impossible to make a considered purchase.  Like so many things in our lives we are so removed from the processes it has been through it is hard for us consider this when we are browsing in shops or online.  The label telling you where it was made?  That is where it will have been sewn together by the time the fabric has got there it may have been half way round the world from growing, to processing, weaving, dying and whatever else needs to happen to it before it can be sewn into a garment.  

It would be so easy to feel overwhelmed, to worry about the current contents of our wardrobes, our stashes of whatever it is we like to buy to make things or whatever else it is we like to buy,  but it is not about that is it.  We cannot unknow what we hear, see and read, what we can do is think about it and be mindful in the future, what that looks like will be personal to each and every one of us.  I am not standing, or writing here in judgement.

So I have loved all the roundup posts I have read not just because they were inspiring, amazing and interesting but because they sent me down rabbit holes and got me thinking too.

Sustainable Living October

This blog has always been about living life in a mindful and intentional way, for me this means that most of the decisions we make have been thought about carefully, even if we decide to continue as we are a decision has still been made.  When we take a product from a shelf in a shop or tap a button on a screen, should we stop and think about how it has got this point before we do so?  It can be hard to make decisions over many aspects of our lives, we are often far removed from the means of production and it can be hard to find out how this operates.  Maybe we shouldn't be thinking is there a more sustainable replacement for something, rather do we really need it at all?

To help me keep on track I have come up with some words that I will be using to keep my decision making mindful and intentional, and my life in general as sustainable as I can make it.  If you you want to join me you would be most welcome, either using the same words for inspiration or your own that are more meaningful to you.  These are the words (you can read my thoughts behind some of them here and here) that I have been using in October: 

Nourish

I bought a new to me cookery book this month, one that I thought would be perfect for the autumn and winter months.  I have made several dishes from this book this month and they have all been delicious.  Some are a meal in themselves some you need to cook a little something extra, well I do here with my teenage son with hollow legs!  I love that you put everything in one dish and put it in the oven where it does its thing.  

I have been baking more this month as a result, the oven is on already so why not?  I love the smells that waft through the house when you have something baking in the oven, I have realised that I am an autumn and winter baker.  I seem to have had a lot of bananas that were in desperate need of eating up this month, getting to that almost black stage which is perfect for baking.  We have had several loaves of Banana bread and I found a delicious banana and cacao granola recipe in one of my recipe books too, each batch does not last long!

Lessen

A few years ago we were given a piece of furniture by a friend who was moving house.  It is one of the few pieces of furniture we own, so much we have built into our house.  It sits in Alice's bedroom and amongst other things it houses my yarn and some of my fabric.  It was always a pain trying to find anything in there, I always want the things that are at the back!  I knew that whatever I bought would not fit the space in such a way to make the best use of it so I have long wanted to make something, I think this project has been on a list in the back of my diaries for the last three or four years!  The cardboard box that held the fabric in was slowly falling apart, I had to be really careful each time I took it out as it was in danger of falling apart completely.  I bought the outer fabric for these storage boxes, the lining was from my stash, they are also lined with a iron on interfacing which stiffens it slightly (although they collapse inwards when they are empty).  I sewed handles on to the front of the boxes to make them easier to get in and out.  I originally had the left and middle parts of the cupboard and I measure up to make boxes for those two parts.  When I came to put them in I had failed to notice that there was a post right in the middle of the middle part of the cupboard - oops!  Alice had a few bits in the right part and she has kindly taken over the middle.  As a trade off she has most of the small shelf which you can just make out in the rather dim photos (it has been really dark here this month), as I was able to put most of the stuff I had stored there into my boxes.  I am pleased with the way these have turned out and it makes it so much easier to get to my yarn and fabric now.

Thankful

We were due to fly abroad at the beginning of November for a month.  We have been waiting to find out what would happen with our flights this month.  They were finally cancelled about ten days before we were due to fly.  We had already made the decision that we would not travel, even if the flights went ahead.  The cancellation meant that we were entitled to claim a refund should we want to which is what we decided to do.  The company that we booked through have been amazing, the customer service has been fantastic, I cannot fault it.  Our advisor has kept us informed with what they were doing throughout the process, even when they had no information to give us they still contacted us to let us know they were keeping an eye on things, I always felt I was in safe hands.  It would be lovely to be able to travel again at some point in the future, when that time comes we will be using this company again.

Create

I finished my hat that I started last month it has become my new favourite.  I am still not sure about the very pale pink, I ripped out the initial colour I used (that is also in the middle) as it just did not show.  The section above this where the decreases start was rather confusing in the pattern.  A search through other projects suggested that others had gone their own way at this point so I did too.  I am not sure how I managed to knit the pattern from this point, when I thought about it too hard I made many mistakes!  There is a part of my brain that just knows when something is right but if I was to try to explain it to anyone else I would be hopeless.   The light colour of this hat was the remaining yarn from my shawl, I still have lots of it left, so I will be looking for other projects to make with it, maybe some mitts?

Grow

My garden has become pretty dormant this month.   I have not harvested a single thing.  The leeks are nearly ready to eat and I am pondering whether to leave them other the winter in the hope that they might grow a little fatter come the Spring or to eat them now.  My cabbages and broccoli are well established and will now over winter in the garden also ready for the Spring.  I really need to get into the polytunnel for a tidy up and to pot out the kale and pot choi that I have in pots as it will more than likely continue to grow over the winter and hopefully provide me with some greenery over the winter months.  I have been neglecting my garden this month!

My sunflowers waited until October to flower!  One is in the photo at the top of this post.  I have never known them to flower so late, I thought they were not going to flower at all this year.  By the beginning of last month they had finally started to grow small flower heads, I think the warm spell we had in September was just enough to give them the energy to flower.  They were a cheery sight as the temperatures started to drop.

Sanctuary

Despite the very wet weather this month I have managed to get out at least once a week, sometimes more for a walk.  We have had a beautiful display of autumn colours this year, so often we will have a blustery storm early in October and all the leaves will be blown off the trees before they have had a chance to put on their wonderful display.  This year the storm waited until the end of the month.  There have been some days when getting out of the car or the house has felt like a rather crazy thing to do as the rain was coming down so hard, but get out we did and we have had some wonderful walks.

Learning

I have been listening to many podcasts about the election in North America, I cannot profess to fully understand how the election works but I feel that I understand more than I did at the beginning of the month.  I would like to extend my thoughts to all my North American readers as you enter into this time of election and uncertainty.  I hope that whatever the future holds it is brings with it the certainties that so many of you have been writing that you need to have in your lives as this tumultuous year draws to a close.

Fun

It was my birthday this month, I am going to post about that in a separate post, but it has been a month of celebrations for me.  I realised early on this year that my plans to have a big party were probably not going to happen, so I sent out an invitation to a handful of friends to ask them if they could spend some time with me to help me celebrate.  I have been out on walks, paddle boarding (new to me) and had some lovely phone conversations with friends who live far from me.  I have not quite managed to organise all the meet ups yet and this latest lockdown will mean that they will have to pause.  I have loved this intentional time with my friends, uninterrupted conversations with lovely people what more could I ask for?

Thank you once again for reading through this very long post,  I realise that it may seem that I do an awful lot, I suspect you do to, if you were to write it all down like I have here.  You are most welcome to join me, either use the same words or your own which mean more to you, let me know in the comments below and I will head over and have a read.  I will post my Sustainable Living November roundup on Wednesday 02 December.

Sustainable Living September

This blog has always been about living life in a mindful and intentional way, for me this means that most of the decisions we make have been thought about carefully, even if we decide to continue as we are a decision has still been made.  When we take a product from a shelf in a shop or tap a button on a screen, should we stop and think about how it has got this point before we do so?  It can be hard to make decisions over many aspects of our lives, we are often far removed from the means of production and it can be hard to find out how this operates.  Maybe we shouldn't be thinking is there a more sustainable replacement for something, rather do we really need it at all?

To help me keep on track I have come up with some words that I will be using to keep my decision making mindful and intentional, and my life in general as sustainable as I can make it.  If you you want to join me you would be most welcome, either using the same words for inspiration or your own that are more meaningful to you.  These are the words (you can read my thoughts behind some of them here and here) that I have been using in September: 

Nourish 

I was so happy to find out that my local farmers market would be starting again this month, I have really missed this wonderful source of food for us.  It was wonderful to chat to the farmers whose stalls I visit, it was like being amongst friends again.  I do hope this is able to continue through the coming months.  I bought two large red cabbages, one of my favourite vegetables.  I have two jars of sauerkraut fermenting in my pantry, they were made a fortnight apart, the first jar will be ready soon.  It has been a long time since I was able to make this.  

I have been doing a spot of foraging this month, first blackberries I managed to pick about 10lbs in two trips.  We had a delicious blackberry and apple crumble with some apples that were kindly left on our doorstep by a neighbour.  The rest have gone into the freezer to be used over the winter on those days when we really want at pudding with our meal.

The other berry I picked were elderberries.  The children and I went for a walk in a local wood to celebrate the autumn equinox.  We didn't go with the intention of doing any foraging, the elder trees were dripping with berries and as we walked past them I felt this pull to pick some of the berries.  We were careful to take only a few from each tree leaving the rest for the birds.  Having never made elderberry syrup before I had to do a bit of research to find a recipe.  I was keen to make it without using refined sugar, it gives me a headache if I eat or drink food with it in and I wanted to be able to drink whatever I made.  The elixir as the family is calling it, its rather good.  This is the recipe that I used:

Elderberry Syrup

1 cup of Elderberries

4 cups water

1 cup honey

1/2 cup brandy

Spices to flavour (I used cloves, star anise, cinnamon and turmeric)

Simmer the berries and spices (I put mine in little bag so it was easier to take them out after cooking) in the water for about half an hour until the liquid is reduced by half, strain and allow to cool a little.

Return the liquid to the pan, add the honey and heat gently to melt.  Finally turn off the heat and add the brandy leaving the lid off to allow the alcohol to evaporate.  You don't have to use alcohol, it acts as a preservative if you are intending to store it.  I had 3 cups of berries so I knew that I would need to store mine for a while as it made a large quantity, I used half the amount of honey (1 1/2 cups) and it is plenty sweet enough for us. 

Lessen 

We eat a lot of mustard in this house, so much that I usually buy it in bulk through a wholefood supplier that I use. When the last tub was running out I realised that I was going to have to buy something else as a stop gap as there was not much else we needed to buy in bulk at the time.  I scoured the shops in our local town to find a mustard that did not contain any sugar or preservatives and couldn't find any.  I am not sure why I had not thought of before but I ended up making my own.  It was so incredibly easy that I will not be buying mustard again, ever.  I have made a couple of jars now and will keep tweaking the ingredients to find a recipe that we like.  I can't find the recipe that I used as the basis of my experiments but if you search for recipes online there are many to choose from.  You basically soak mustard seeds in a liquid for a day or two unit the seeds have absorbed the liquid, once that has happened you process most of the seeds in a food processor and then add the seeds you have taken out and store in the fridge.  

Thankful 

I have been so grateful for my friends this month.  I had a wonderful day out with two friends to celebrate the equinox, it was an unseasonably hot day.  We spent many hours talking and walking with a long pause to share food.  I have also had time with other friends too who have supported me and listened in ways that have been so healing and nourishing for me.   The messages that are sent in between times are so important in my day too.  Just a few words, so that you know that someone is thinking about you can make all the difference to your day.

Create

My shawl is still waiting on buttons, it seems there is a supply problem somewhere along the line.  I managed to talk to the owner of the shop this week and she is going to look into it, I am hoping that I will be able to source some soon, it is now cool enough for me to be able to wear it, but it looks a little odd with six buttons missing!

I am continuing to knit the hat that I shared in my last post, I think I may have ripped out as many stitches as I have knitted in the last week.  I made a mistake and didn't realise for a couple of rows, then when I had corrected that and knit several more I decided that the colour of one of the yarns didn't work so I ripped that all out and changed the yarn.  A couple of rows into that yarn and I made another mistake!  So another row had to be unpicked.  I am hoping that is the last of the mistakes for now....

I also made a present from my nephew who celebrated this third birthday this month, with a lot of help from Alice we created a story sack, a bag with a book and some 'props' in this case needle felted characters to enhance the story as you read it.  I will share the complete creation in a separate post.  My nephew loves the story, it is his new favourite particularly as it comes with its own bag which he can carry it around in.

Grow 

September is often a month for gathering in the last of the summer produce from the garden.  This month I have had the last of the courgettes and cucumbers, they lasted right until the end of the month but I can't see anymore growing now.  It is a little too cool for that now.  Those plants have all provided a good steady crop for us this year without a glut.  I welcome a glut of courgette as I have grated and frozen them in the past but that was not to be this year.  I have cut 6lbs of rhubarb and frozen that, there will be more to cut before it stops growing for the year.  I have also harvested the garlic, every clove that I planted has produced a bulb, some of the cloves are huge, they are currently drying out a little so that they can be cleaned before I plait them into a rope for storing/eating over the coming months.  I need to purchase cloves for next year soon and get them in the garden in the coming weeks.  They are one of the easiest things to grow and we usually get a good harvest each year.

Sanctuary

We have been swimming outdoors in lakes and streams a lot this month.  It was lovely when the temperatures rose for a bit, it makes getting changed a little more comfortable.  I got a thicker wetsuit this month and it has made all the difference for the amount of time I can stay in the water.  It is so magical to swim with the sun on your face and the beautiful scenery to drink up as you move through the water.  It helps me to get things into perspective when they are troubling me and it is great exercise too especially when you have to walk uphill to get there!

Learning 

I have read a lot this month about the effects of the uncertain world we live in and the effects that is having on us all.  There is always a level of uncertainty about the future but the balance feels like it has tipped at the moment doesn't it?  I have been thinking about this a lot this month and the certainty that I can bring into our lives as a counter balance.  It seems to be working, in the main, I am focusing on the parts of our lives that I can have control over, taking each day at a time and not thinking ahead unless I absolutely have to.  There is is something rather wonderful about living in the present, it makes you be present so much more.

Fun 

There have been so many things that have been fun for me this month.  Swimming outdoors, lots of walks with friends, celebrating my wedding anniversary, so many things that have bought light into a world that feels so heavy at times.  During the week the only time we are together as a family is in the evenings when we sit down for a meal together.  At the beginning of the year when we were all so busy very often these meals were, by necessity, a rushed affair, people needing to be somewhere else meant that they were not terribly relaxed.  Now we all sit together and slowly enjoy our food, we talk about our day, we laugh, make jokes and it has become a part of the day that I look forward to, a time to enjoy each others company and relax.

Thank you once again for reading through this very long post, it is posted a little later than I would normally, this past week has been really, really full for me.  I am sorry that I have not visited any blogs for a while, I hope to have some time to do that in the coming days!  I realise that it may seem that I do an awful lot, I suspect you do to, if you were to write it all down like I have here.  You are most welcome to join me, either use the same words or your own which mean more to you, let me know in the comments below and I will head over and have a read.  I will post my Sustainable Living October roundup on Sunday 1 November.

Sustainable Living August

This blog has always been about living life in a mindful and intentional way, for me this means that most of the decisions we make have been thought about carefully, even if we decide to continue as we are a decision has still been made.  When we take a product from a shelf in a shop or tap a button on a screen, should we stop and think about how it has got this point before we do so?  It can be hard to make decisions over many aspects of our lives, we are often far removed from the means of production and it can be hard to find out how this operates.  Maybe we shouldn't be thinking is there a more sustainable replacement for something, rather do we really need it at all?

To help me keep on track I have come up with some words that I will be using to keep my decision making mindful and intentional, and my life in general as sustainable as I can make it.  If you you want to join me you would be most welcome, either using the same words for inspiration or your own that are more meaningful to you.  These are the words (you can read my thoughts behind some of them here and here) that I have been using in August:

Nourish

I have been struggling once again to find recipes to eek out the contents of our veg box, I had hoped that the garden would be able to fill this gap but it wasn't to be.  We have been able to harvest courgettes, broad beans and salad leaves but we have not had much else.  I don't think the quantities that I am getting in the veg box are as big as I was getting this time last year when I started to get the box.  I am really looking forward to the farmers market restarting next month where I can get a supply of veg to top up the box.  I have not felt as inspired to cook anything new this month, so it has been more of the same old favourites.  A friend has recommended a new to her recipe book which I am going to order a copy of in the hope that it will inspire me!

I started harvesting and preserving a little this month.  We picked the blackcurrants, we have one bush which always gives us a good quantity, this year we picked 9lbs, the whitecurrants are now ready to be harvested.  The rhubarb has been abundant this year, loving the cooler temperatures that we have had, I have already frozen 3lbs and there is about another 6 or 7 lbs to harvest, I have given away quite a bit this year.  I was lucky enough to receive some plums and figs from a friend, I have frozen and dehydrated most of the plums and the figs got eaten, fresh figs are a luxury, they didn't last long!

Lessen

We have been going through many of our storage places this month, sorting out things that we don't make use of any more, or things that the children have outgrown.  We have a large bag of things for the charity shop, they are taking donations, you have to make an appointment to drop them off, I need to arrange that. We also have a bag of clothes ready to pass onto friends with children that are younger, I am not sure when that will be possible and the place they are being stored in is rather full already.  We have also listed a few items online to sell through eBay.  It was a job that was long overdue, the house is getting rather full again, it is a job that often gets neglected in the busyness of life.

Thankful

At the end of last year I had an acupuncture appointment for the first time, it was a difficult time for me and it helped with the overwhelm of some of the things that I was dealing with.  I have needed it again this month and it never ceases to amaze me how restoring it is.  The first of my most recent appointments I attended I felt so anxious and overwhelmed, but I managed to fall asleep whilst the needles were in and felt so relaxed when I came out, I was surprised I was able to drive home!  

Create

My shawl is off the needles, blocked and has most of the buttons that it needs.  I found a suitable button in my local sewing shop but they only had 25 and I need 30, I have bought them and sewn them on whilst I wait for some more to come into stock.  I hope I haven't made a mistake doing that as the next batch may not match!  I am looking forward to being able to wear this once it is finally finished and will share photos when I have been able to buy the extra 5 buttons I need.  I wanted a small project once the shawl was  complete, I went through my stash of yarn, mostly the ends of balls from other projects, and found a ball to make a hat.  I have no idea what this yarn is as I don't seem to have recorded anywhere what I originally bought it for, I also had no idea how much I had left.  I did a bit of maths by weighing 5g and measuring it, to guesstimate how much was on the whole yarn cake, I am hoping I have enough to knit my hat!

Grow

My garden has been a real disappointment this month, after the lovely warm days we had in spring I had high hopes that we might have a warm summer but it hasn't been so, it has been really Autumnal here for most of the month with the odd rare hot sunny day.  Not only have we had cool temperatures (around 15°C/59°F) it has also been overcast and grey so little is growing and ripening, we have also had high winds and storms on a couple of occasions so the garden is looking a little battered in places.  I have a few tomatoes in the polytunnel which are tiny and green, the cucumbers and courgettes have virtually stopped fruiting, the salad leaves have continued to be abundant, with a steady supply.  In the garden the leeks, cabbages and broccoli have hardly grown beyond the size they were when I planted them out.  I am hoping for a warm spell in September which we sometimes have it might mean the Sunflowers actually flower, they have the flower heads but I think it is too cold for them to actually bloom.

Sanctuary

I have once again been walking this month as much as possible.  It was somewhat hampered by a pain that started in my foot right at the end of last month, the pain had started when I was sitting with friend, I had been walking around shortly before but only around her house.  It is a cool house so my feet were rather cold, which is not unusual.  I rested it a little over the following days and then it seemed to improve so I continued to walk on it, we join friends to walk along a beach, through woods and up a steep hill for a swim in a tarn/small lake, the pain came and went, I think I was getting also used to it.  When it was still not improving three weeks later I looked closely at my toes and realised something was not right, I video called a friend who is a medic and we concluded that I had most likely dislocated a toe!  It is back in place now and the pain is completely gone but it has made walking a bit more painful this month!

Learning 

I have been so thankful for being able to fit in time for my yoga everyday, I have found it to be so calming and restorative this month for those times when I have had a lot to deal with.  I did some research and found some videos online to extend and improve my practice.  I have learnt many new poses this month, some that I thought I would never be able to do.   It has been a good challenge for me, building my muscle  strength - gently! 

Fun

The highlight of the month has to be a short visit by my brother, his partner and my nearly three year old nephew.  They were travelling back from a holiday and passing our house so they dropped in for a couple of hours.  We decided it would be best if went for a short walk together, we managed to pick the only two hours of the day when it was not raining!  It was so lovely to see the again, it has been seven months since we were last able to get together.  I was amazed that my nephew recognised us and was really excited to see us.

Thank you once again for reading through this very long post.  I realise that it may seem that I do an awful lot, I suspect you do to, if you were to write it all down like I have here.  You are most welcome to join me, either use the same words or your own which mean more to you, let me know in the comments below and I will head over and have a read.  I will post my Sustainable Living September roundup on Thursday 1 October.

Sustainable Living July

This blog has always been about living life in a mindful and intentional way, for me this means that most of the decisions we make have been thought about carefully, even if we decide to continue as we are a decision has still been made.  When we take a product from a shelf in a shop or tap a button on a screen, should we stop and think about how it has got this point before we do so?  It can be hard to make decisions over many aspects of our lives, we are often far removed from the means of production and it can be hard to find out how this operates.  Maybe we shouldn't be thinking is there a more sustainable replacement for something, rather do we really need it at all?

To help me keep on track I have come up with some words that I will be using to keep my decision making mindful and intentional, and my life in general as sustainable as I can make it.  If you you want to join me you would be most welcome, either using the same words for inspiration or your own that are more meaningful to you.  These are the words (you can read my thoughts behind some of them here and here) that I have been using in July:

Nourish

It has been another month of trying out new recipes to eek out the contents of our veg box.  I have been informed that the farmers market I visit every month will be returning in September, I do hope it does as there is a wonderful veg stall that I use every month to top up our box.  I have really missed this extra supply of veg.  This months winner was a lentil and walnut loaf which was lovely and moist and really tasty.  I have tried many different savoury vegetarian loaf recipes over the years but this was hands down the best and definitely one that I will be making again.

We found a supply of field mushrooms growing on a fell behind our house, every couple of days my husband would bring home handfuls of them on his daily bike ride.  We had soup, garlic mushrooms (several times), and a lentil and mushroom bake.  I found a recipe for a lovely sounding mushroom pate, one of the ingredients was creamed coconut which I usually have in the house, sadly this never got made as we couldn't find any in any of the shops in our local town or the one where my husband works.  We will have to save that for next year.

Thankful

I started keeping a simple journal at the end of June, writing things down, under a series of headings, in the morning and the evening, one of the things I write each evening is three things that I have been grateful for during the day.  It has been interesting to look back over what I have written in this last month. It has been a fairly challenging month for me at times, my friends who have been at the other end of the phone, or supporting me with messages have helped me through that and have made me realise how important it is to have friends in your life who you can depend on and who you can support when they need it.

Create

I have not created much this month except many rows of knitting on my shawl and one mask that I made for myself as they are now compulsory in shops where I live.  I have only made the one so far as I only shop once a week and feel that it will be possible to wash and dry it in between.  The shawl meanwhile is reaching those final rows.  This has to be the biggest project I have ever knitted, I am half way through the zig zag pattern at the end, with 41 more rows of that and six to make the edge so still many rows to do.  I am just about managing to do it whilst watching things in the evenings although it is not as easy as the rows of stocking stitch.  It seems that it will be ready just as the cooler weather hits our shores which will be perfect timing.

Grow

The garden continues to be abundant in growth despite the lack of many sunny days this month.  It has felt like it was wall to wall rain but I know this is not quite true!  We have been enjoying a steady supply of salad leaves, occasionally providing us with three salads a day as I sometimes have salad with a boiled egg for breakfast.  The courgettes are growing at that perfect steady speed to provide us with a meal a week, now that I have said that they will of course starting producing a glut.....we have had one cucumber and the tomato plants are finally in flower.  There has also been a steady supply of herbs, it is wonderful to be able to go out and pick your own fresh herbs when you need them for a meal.  Some are getting a little leggy now so I really ought to sow some more seeds to keep the supply going.  I have sown some more lettuce, salad leaf, pok choi and kale seeds this month to keep the supply of those going for a little longer.

Sanctuary

I have rediscovered my love of walking this month.  It has been wonderful to get out on many walks, often with friends to spend a day or afternoon walking.  The amazing views and company that these have given me, remind my how blessed I am with the people that I have in my life and the beauty of the area that I live in.  We walked up the highest hill in England with friends on a lovely dry and sunnyish day.  It is a very popular walk and coincided with the first dry day in a long while.  The number of people at the top of this hill was the most I had seen together in one place for a very long time.  The best walk though was with a dear friend who I had not seen since before lockdown, it was not a particularly dry or warm day but we spent the whole time we were together (7.5 hours) talking and could have carried on for another 7.5 more!  It was a wonderful, restoring and nourishing day out.  I hope I can make the time to do more long walks in the hills that make up the area where I live.

Learning

I have continued to listen to and soak up so many podcasts this month.  I am loving this audio input which I listen to whilst cooking meals or on the rare occasion that I am on my own, which seems to happen often enough in a week that I keep up with those that I subscribe to.

The documentary podcast from the BBC World service has had a huge variety of programmes to listen to including the life of a photo journalist in Syria, a man abandoned as a baby at a few weeks old searching for his birth family, ambulance drivers in Karachi and the milkshake and cyclops genes to name but a few. I also love the Inquiry and the Forum which are also good BBC World service podcasts

I have continued to listen to the wonderful mediations offered by Tara Brach I have included a daily short mediation at the end of my morning yoga stretches again this month.  I am now able to do this without needing a guided meditation every morning.

I have been listening to On Being with Krista Tippett for a while now, she always has the most thought provoking conversations.  This month, one particular episode will stay with me for a while, I have already listened to it twice, I thoroughly recommend it.

Some of them I love to listen to with the children, Alice and I have been listening to the English Heritage podcast, this month we have learnt about how the railways shaped the UK, Eltham Palace, the history of make up and a Cold War bunker in York.  We all love to listen to Countrystride a podcast about the area where we live, we have learnt about Lady Anne Clifford and a brief history of our county this month.

Fun

We have been wild swimming several times this month.  Over the winter I read the rather wonderful book Waterlog by Roger Deakin and it made me want to go out and swim, immediately.  I thought it might be best to wait for the temperatures to warm up a little before I tried it properly for the first time.  I have always been a bit of a coward when it comes to cold water but I have been having a cold shower every morning since then in preparation.  I totally understand what Roger Deakin meant when he talks about how alive it makes you feel.  I am completely hooked and cannot imagine ever swimming in a man made pool again.  

Thank you once again for reading through this very long post.  I realise that it may seem that I do an awful lot, I suspect you do to, if you were to write it all down like I have here.  You are most welcome to join me, either use the same words or your own which mean more to you, let me know in the comments below and I will head over and have a read.  I will post my Sustainable Living August roundup on Tuesday 1 September.

Sustainable Living June

This blog has always been about living life in a mindful and intentional way, for me this means that most of the decisions we make have been thought about carefully, even if we decide to continue as we are a decision has still been made.  When we take a product from a shelf in a shop or tap a button on a screen, should we stop and think about how it has got this point before we do so?  It can be hard to make decisions over many aspects of our lives, we are often far removed from the means of production and it can be hard to find out how this operates.  Maybe we shouldn't be thinking is there a more sustainable replacement for something, rather do we really need it at all?

To help me keep on track I have come up with some words that I will be using to keep my decision making mindful and intentional, and my life in general as sustainable as I can make it.  If you you want to join me you would be most welcome, either using the same words for inspiration or your own that are more meaningful to you.  These are the words (you can read my thoughts behind some of them here and here) that I have been using in June:

Nourish

Regular readers here will know that we get a veg box delivered every week, we eat a lot of veg, but some weeks it is not quite enough for us.  I usually top this up at a farmers market and a shop that is near one of the home ed groups that the children go to each week.  As these have both stopped for now the only place that I am able to top this up is at the supermarket, I try to buy as much organic as possible, organic veg at a supermarket is always wrapped in loads of plastic.  I have been trying to keep this to a minimum, each week when I do my menu planning I have been pulling my recipe books off the shelf and searching for new recipes and reminding myself of those that I haven't made in a long time to make more use of the ingredients we have in the pantry.  Black bean and squash burgers, Tofu Nut Balls, Middle Eastern inspired wraps and Sweet Potato Timbales were all delicious and I will definitely be making them again.  A Tofu Walnut Loaf and an Onion Salad both of which sounded like a tasty combination of ingredients on paper were not a hit at all, they were both in one meal which was a bit of a disaster!  I also had a go at making a fermented chutney which was delicious, I have been eating it with my fermented breakfast pancakes.  Whilst looking through my recipe books I was reminded of recipes I had made before including a Savoury granola, it is a mix of nuts, seeds and herbs cooked in the oven with some oil and mustard.  I have been enjoying this on my salads this month.

Lessen

Like most people around the world I have not had a hair cut for months.  I had been meaning to sort out an appointment when lockdown started so it is actually over six months since it was last cut.  As it is long it is not too much of a problem, however the ends are not looking good.  I remembered that I had read about making hair conditioners using herbs, so I gave this a go to see if could help the ends of my hair which are becoming very dry. There are lots that you could use depending on what nourishment your hair is need of, I used elderflowers, soaked in hot water for half and hour to make a 'tea' and then I dipped the ends of my hair into the liquid.  I was a little sceptical I have to admit but it has made a real difference, my ends are still a bit dry but nothing like as bad as they were.  I am converted! 

We have several solar panels on the garage/workshop building at the back of our house, they are connected to a bank of batteries where the power is stored until we need to use it.  Pretty much everything that needs power in that building, the exception is the chest freezer, runs off this power supply.  We also use it to charge phones, tablets and my laptop.  At the end of May we started to run a cable into the house to see if we run some of the things in the house off this supply too.  We have used it to run my sewing machine, the hoover, the digital projector and the stereo for a solar powered cinema and Cameron's gaming computer.  The savings are not huge each day, but the pennies do add up.  

Thankful

We had some very unexpected news this month.  My husband came home from work one Friday and told me he had been offered a promotion.  As the main earner in our household (I have a  very part time job earning a little) it has been on my mind, throughout the period of lockdown, how safe his job is and whether he would have one to go back to, when the time came that he could consider going back to work.  I am so thankful that not only is his job safe but that they have valued his contribution to the company over the last ten years so much they want to acknowledge that with this offer.  He has accepted it and is loving the challenge that his new position is giving him.   

Create

Most of what I have been creating this month I shared in my last post.  A purple linen skirt, a new sock project and more rows on my shawl.   I was so excited to discover that my local sewing shop was opening up to allow customers into the shop.  They stayed open throughout the lockdown but you could not go inside, everything had to be ordered and paid for over the phone.  I like to look and feel fabric before I buy it, I could never buy it online.   I bought some linen to make a dress for myself, which is nearly finished.  I need to make a few adjustments as the fit is not quite right, luckily I am able to do that without unpicking too many stitches.  I will share it when I am done.  There was a slubbing in the linen not far from the length that I needed, the shop gave me the extra for free which was rather unexpected, they told me they would be unlikely to sell that 50cm or so.  I was able to arrange the pattern pieces such that I have managed to cut out the pieces for a top as well.  I shall be sewing that up too when the dress is complete.  

The children and I spend every Tuesday morning creating, on one of these days this month we sat and made the pictures in the photo.  They are created using a special paper that lets light though it, some call these window transparencies.  We used a book for inspiration and came up with our own designs for these summer inspired window transparencies.  

Grow

I am really enjoying the extra time that I am able to give to my garden this year.  It has not had so much attention since I became a parent when it has always come far down the list.  Everything in the garden is growing really well, not much is ready for harvesting yet except an abundance of lettuce and salad leaves.  The extra time I have been able to spend gardening has meant that I have been able to grow a lot of tender herbs, in the polytunnel, this year.  I grow these most years but they often die off for lack of attention.  I want to try and grow enough to freeze or dry them for use during the colder months when they won't grow.      I have tried a new one to me this year, holy basil or tulsi, I love the herbal teas I have tried made with this herb and was delighted to see that the seeds were available from the company I buy my seeds from.  I have about fifteen plants and have been enjoying tea made with my own leaves, I hope to pick and dry some to keep me going for as long as possible.

Sanctuary

I have been doing yoga stretches every morning for about the last five years or so.  I started with a sun salutation which is a series of poses that flow one from another, it is a great way to warm your muscles up each morning. Over the years I have gradually added more poses and now do between twenty to thirty minutes every morning sometimes more.  I have found that if something is on my mind it is a great way to help to make sense of it or release it.  I have also found a way to include a short meditation at the end of my stretches.  I have long wanted to find the time to fit this into my week and during lockdown have been doing some meditating but it has always been a bit hit and miss as to when I would do it during a week.  I have found both of these practices hugely helpful to get through the challenges of the last few months.

Learn

I have found more time for reading articles online this month.  One I came across offers an interesting perspective on what we should be prioritising as we find a sustainable way forward for the future.  I want to hope that these perspectives will be part of the thinking for the future, but the queues that were pictured in the media when clothes shops were reopened here in the UK doesn't fill me with much.    The last year has seen a huge increase in people protesting about climate change, last month has seen protests about the discrimination that people of colour face in their day to day lives.  As I have learnt about the level of this discrimination and how it pervades through every part of people's lives it has been hard to comprehend how this is possible.  How we could have been so ignorant about how this has been going on right under our noses and why is it that there are sections of society who think this discrimination is acceptable.  I have been thinking about whether once these protests stop will people continue to demand change and action?  We need to be doing more than paying lip service to the latest issue and thinking about the changes that need to happen on how people think and act.  It is not going to be a quick fix, just as coming out the current situation or slowing down climate change isn't either, when you have generations of people who think in a particular way, changing that viewpoint and thinking is like a muscle that needs to be constantly worked at to keep it strong and working well.  I have always been a little hesitant to speak out and say what I think about issues such as these but this last month has made me realise that not doing so makes me complicit.

Fun

We were invited to join some friends for a physically distanced barbecue this month.  They have a large covered area outside where we could sit far enough apart but not so far that we could still chat.  It was a strange but lovely evening.  We had to remember not to get too close to each other but it was good to talk to face to face with someone other than family.

I am sorry there are not many photos in this post.  Sadly my good camera broke this month, I am not sure what is wrong with it, whether it is repairable and where I could get this done.  I have not taken many photos this month!

Thank you once again for reading through this very long post.  I realise that it may seem that I do an awful lot, I suspect you do to, if you were to write it all down like I have here.  You are most welcome to join me, either use the same words or your own which mean more to you, let me know in the comments below and I will head over and have a read.  I will post my Sustainable Living July roundup on Monday 3 August.

Sustainable Living May

This blog has always been about living life in a mindful and intentional way, for me this means that most of the decisions we make have been thought about carefully, even if we decide to continue as we are a decision has still been made.  When we take a product from a shelf in a shop or tap a button on a screen, should we stop and think about how it has got this point before we do so?  It can be hard to make decisions over many aspects of our lives, we are often far removed from the means of production and it can be hard to find out how this operates.  Maybe we shouldn't be thinking is there a more sustainable replacement for something, rather do we really need it at all?

To help me keep on track I have come up with some words that I will be using to keep my decision making mindful and intentional, and my life in general as sustainable as I can make it.  If you you want to join me you would be most welcome, either using the same words for inspiration or your own that are more meaningful to you.  These are the words (you can read my thoughts behind some of them here and here) that I have been using in May:

Nourish

May has been a wonderful sunny month, mostly, the temperatures have definitely gone up.  I love to eat salads all year round but I do love the vegetables that are available at this time of year that means we can have a greater variety.  We have had a butter bean salad with fried capers and lots of salad leaves, a mixed bean salad with fresh herbs, a carrot salad with ginger and mint, roast almonds with beans and salad leaves, a white bean salad with lots of chopped veggies and herbs, and a broccoli salad with toasted sunflower seeds, sour cherries and grated cheddar.  I have also been making our old favourites which we eat year round, coleslaw, roast beetroot with feta, chickpeas with wonderful herby, paprika dressing and a couple of filling rice based salads.

Lessen

We have a wood burning stove which produces lots of ash which we usually put on the garden.  Some years ago we discovered a series of historical farm programmes made for the the BBC, each series focuses on a particular period.  We loved them so much we bought the DVDs and watch them regularly.  One of them, based in the Tudor period, shows how to make lye from wood ash using straw and stones in a bucket.  We have been meaning to have a go at this since first watching it and this month we did.  We have made about a litre.  We have used to wash the dishcloths, really greasy items like the old cloths I use in the place of kitchen roll when making onion bhajis which I deep fry,  I have also put a couple of tablespoons in the washing machine with my white washing and it has definitely made my whites whiter.  I would love to venture into soap making, I think that might just be our next use for it

Thankful

I have mentioned that May has been a sunny month in these parts.  We British talk about the weather as a past time because it is very changeable and totally unpredictable.  We can have warm temperatures one day and jumper needing cold temperatures the next day in the middle of the Summer.  One year when Cameron was little it was cold in the Summer we carried on wearing our winter jumpers right the way through.  We are not guaranteed long spells of warm sunny weather, so when we get two weeks of wall to wall warm temperatures it is worth talking about!  The blue sky and the warmth have made this past month so much easier to cope with the life that we are needing to lead right now.  Throwing open all the windows and giving the house a good air makes it feel a much healthier place to live after the months of having to have them shut as it is too cold, wet and windy.  Not to mention the fact that line dried washing smells wonderful and it dries in a day rather than the two or three days it can take in the winter months, I have finally found the bottom of my laundry basket this month!  Sunshine and blue skies are guaranteed to make us feel happy here.

Create

I thought I hadn't made very much this month, but when I wrote it all down I realised that was not the case at all.  The embroidery that I started in April has now been turned into a small bag for knitting projects.  I have made several of these bags as gifts and have been wanting to make one for myself but there are always other things above it on my list.  I had a good look through my fabric and found exactly what I was looking for to make the embroidered pieces I had made into a little bag.  I am loving that I am forced to go through my stash rather than go to the local haberdashers.  I know that I have got into a routine of automatically going out and buying what I need rather than having a look at what I already have to see if there is anything suitable.

The cardigan I was knitting for Alice was completed in time to be gifted to her.  It is a bit of tight fit which is a real disappointment.  I measured her against the measurements in the pattern and my knitting gauge was right.  She loves it though which is the main thing.  The yarn was some I found in a charity shop and cost very little, I also have plenty left, enough to make another one in a bigger size if she wants another one.

I have been knitting more rows on my shawl, which is the only project I have on the needles right now, I am over half way through.  I finished knitting the socks that I shared here.  I have gifted these to a friend and failed to take a photo of the finished item before I sent them off......I have plans to cast on more socks but that hasn't quite happened yet.

I made some birthday bunting, a project that I have been meaning to do since the children were really little.  I have appliquéd the letters onto the flags.  I wanted them to be a surprise for Alice and sewed them when she was on her video calls each afternoon.  They took me several days to make as I only had an hour or so at time and not having a dedicated sewing space means that some of that time is spent getting everything out and putting it away again.

I think I will do a separate post with all the things I have made recently otherwise their photos would take over this post!

Grow

All the lovely warmth and sunshine we have had this month has meant that all the seeds I sowed in late April and the beginning of May have sprouted and many are now taller and stronger.  The frosts stopped in the middle of the month when I got busy planting things outside, the broad beans, onions, French beans and sunflowers are all in the ground now.  We also planted out eleven hazel plants and two apple trees that we have been nurturing in the polytunnel over the winter.  We are hoping the hazels will grow and create a hedge in the front garden and provide us with a harvest too.  We don't have any squirrels here so hopefully they won't all get pinched!  The lettuces, various salad leaves, cucumber and courgette are all in the ground inside the polytunnel, none of these will reliably grow outside because of our unpredictable weather.  I also have some squash and gherkins which are nearly ready to be planted out in the polytunnel too.  It is going to be full in there again this year.  Now that the ground outside is warmer I shall be sowing straight into the ground with the root veggies this month.  We are still harvesting purple sprouting broccoli, kale and cabbages, they are all running to seed a bit now but the leaves and flowers are edible and tasty on all these plants.  I am loving all the extra time I get to spend in the garden with being at home all the time.  It is has never looked so tidy and well weeded!

Sanctuary

When we moved into our house and started landscaping the garden we knew that we wanted to create a place for our hammock to hang up.  We bought it from the maker at a wonderful market in Ecuador full of beautiful and colourful homemade items.  We loved all the places we stayed at, which had hammocks hanging between the trees in the garden, when we were travelling there.  We had had it for four years when we moved here and had had no where to hang it in that time.  We built a trellis with two posts that were spaced to accommodate a hammock between them, there is a third post which creates a triangular shape over which a large unruly honeysuckle grows.  I have spent many hours in the hammock this month.  On those days when I just need to rest and recharge I can be found hanging there knitting or dozy, watching the birds flying around busy feeding their young.  We have many bird boxes in our garden, and there are nests in the wood shed and the honeysuckle above the hammock.  It is a wonderful place.

Fun

We celebrated a birthday in our house this month, Alice's birthday, that is another post that I need to write......I knew it was going to be difficult for her as she loves to spend time with her best friend on the day and then have a party with another set of friends on different day.  I tried to make the day as special as possible for her without being able to be around her friends.  We had a lovely day together and she loved it all, I think it will be a birthday she will remember for many years!

Thank you once again for reading through this very long post.  I realise that it may seem that I do an awful lot, I suspect you do to, if you were to write it all down like I have here.  You are most welcome to join me, either use the same words or your own which mean more to you, let me know in the comments below and I will head over and have a read.  I will post my Sustainable Living June roundup on Friday 3 July.

Sustainable Living April

This blog has always been about living life in a mindful and intentional way, for me this means that most of the decisions we make have been thought about carefully, even if we decide to continue as we are a decision has still been made.  When we take a product from a shelf in a shop or tap a button on a screen, should we stop and think about how it has got this point before we do so?  It can be hard to make decisions over many aspects of our lives, we are often far removed from the means of production and it can be hard to find out how this operates.  Maybe we shouldn't be thinking is there a more sustainable replacement for something, rather do we really need it at all?

To help me keep on track I have come up with some words that I will be using to keep my decision making mindful and intentional, and my life in general as sustainable as I can make it.  If you you want to join me you would be most welcome, either using the same words for inspiration or your own that are more meaningful to you.  These are the words (you can read my thoughts behind some of them here) that I have been using in April:

Nourish

My weekly veg box has been a treasure trove of surprises this month we have definitely moved on from a box full of root veg which is what we get all Winter.  I love that I never know what I might get, it is making me dust the recipe books off and look inside.  Do you find yourself cooking the same things over and over, or is just me? I know I have periods of doing this, perhaps it relates to when a season is really settled and the vegetables we are eating are the same from week to week, but those transition times require more thought.  Whatever the reason I am enjoying eating and cooking some different dishes.

I have also realised this month how much I rely on other sources as well as the veg box for the large volume of veg we eat in this house.  Some of the activities we used to do took us near shops where I could buy loose, locally grown veg.  I am happy that my garden is providing me with lots of kale, cabbages and purple sprouting broccoli at the moment.  I have also dug up the last of the Jerusalem artichokes which have provided us with a few meals too.  I feel like I am doing something that I should have been doing, that is being more mindful about what we already have in the house and garden before going shopping.

Keeping my family fed at the moment is absorbing large amounts of my time not least as they always seem to be hungry!  I have started making more puddings, something I don't usually do as I am not a massive fan of them.  I am happy to make them if they will be eaten though, even if not by me.  I have been glad of the three rhubarb plants in the garden, which are healthy and producing lovely fat stalks.  We have had rhubarb fool, a polenta rhubarb cake/pudding and my favourite baked rhubarb.  I cannot believe I have not made this before, it is ridiculously easy and so tasty.  I used 600g of rhubarb  with a tbsp of honey, 1 tsp ground ginger and a splash of vanilla extract, I cut the rhubarb into pieces about 2 inches long and drizzled over the honey mixed with the ginger and vanilla, covered the dish with foil and put it in the over.  I took it out a couple of times to stir all the juices over the rhubarb.  When it was soft enough to eat I took it out and we had it with cream and or ice cream.

Lessen

Now that most shops are closed anything that we want to make at home has to made with things that we already have.  My husband is good at collecting things that might be useful one day, we have a garage and workshop full of such bits and whilst it makes it very full and difficult to store and get at the things we use regularly, I have to say we do often make use of this eclectic collection.

I was winding a hank of yarn using my wool winder and my husband observed that it was not very efficient which is wasn't as I don't or should I say didn't have a yarn swift to go with it.  This is a frame that holds the hank and turns as you turn the wool winder.  We found a tutorial on You Tube to make your own and by the end of the day I was the owner of home made yarn swift.  The pivot that allows it to turn was taken from an old lazy Susan and the pegs are pencils that he cut down and shaped to fit, we didn't have any dowl!  It works perfectly and makes winding my wool hanks much quicker and easier.

The warmer weather has meant that I have been in and out the polytunnel on a daily basis.  It is now nearly 17 years old and after years of battering by rain and sun the door was really warped and difficult to close.  It also didn't fit very well so there were large gaps round the sides, the temperatures are still dropping quite low at night (single figure centigrade) so it was cool in there in the mornings.  Again using bits stashed in the garage we now have a snug fitting, easy to close door.  It has made such a difference to the temperature inside, my seedlings all popped up in the days that followed it might not be due to the door but I am sure that had something to do with it.

I have also been in the garden itself a lot too, cutting back many of the plants that usually get left to their own devices.  Some had become rather unruly.  The large pile of cuttings were turned into two small wattle fences, one round our small pond and the other along one of the beds.  Alice built these with a bit of help from her dad.  She is now constantly on the look out for more cuttings and possible willow plants that she could take cuttings from when she is out on walks, she wants to build more!

Thankful

I have been so grateful for the wonderful friends I have in my life this month.  It has not been an easy month for me, totally unrelated to the virus, and the friends that have been there for me on the end of the phone have been a huge support, listening and comforting me when I needed it.  I never thought it would be possible to have three hours chats and still be able to put the phone down realising there were things that you forgot to say.  I usually spend a lot of time in the company of my friends, whose children are my children's friends too, that talking to them on the phone has been an important replacement when we cannot meet face to face.  Making sense of things that are difficult to comprehend are so much easier when you share that with other people who can give you a different perspective and help you to find a way through.

Create

I had thought that being at home all the time would mean that I had more time for making and creating.  In reality so much of what I do still needs to be done and often at specific times so my 'free' time tends to be in pockets rather than long stretches.  It took me a while to find a new rhythm that allowed time for me to fit creating in as well but it seems to be working now.  It made me realise that even though our usual rhythm keeps me really busy I always found the time to create, often thinking ahead so that I could take things with me when out and about.

I have been knitting a cardigan for Alice for her birthday, the body is complete and I am just coming to the end of the first arm.  I was worried, as I had a problem with the pattern, that I would not have the time to complete this for her birthday at the end of May.  It is definitely going to be ready on time, I just hope that I have suitable buttons in my small stash.  The socks I started in March are nearly a complete pair, I am knitting the last few rows of the foot before I shape the toe box.  I have also cast on a bowl that I will knit and the put in the washing machine to purposely full it (shrink it) to make a solid fabric.  I like to have a supply of these at all times to use and to give away as small presents.

My sewing machine has been busy this month I have made a small basket like the ones you can see in this post, I have darned several items that were getting a little holes.  I also made five scrub bags.  These were passed on to NHS workers so that they can put their uniform into them at the end of the day and take them home safely for washing at home.  I had a message from a friend that her neighbour, a nurse in a local hospital, was desperate for some of these.  I found a couple of old sheets and managed to make five bags and their drawstrings out of the fabric.  I had no cream thread so I had to make do with the various colours I had in my sewing box.  It felt like a drop in the ocean making five bags but I realised that if lots of people made four or five bags that would soon add up, I was a small part of something bigger.

I have also been having a go at some embroidery, it is something that I love doing but never think I have the time to do.  I am not drawn to doing it from a kit so I have always found it a bit difficult know where to start.  When I saw a tutorial available on this lovely blog I knew that it was what I was looking for.  I have made a start and hope to make the finished embroidering into a bag, I will share my progress on another post.  I have loved picking this up from the basket it is stored in and adding a few stitches each time I walked past and had a moment.  I definitely want to do more of this kind of embroidery.

Grow

April was such a warm and sunny month here.  The April showers which are often so common were pretty much absent, I had to water the garden on several occasions.  I have spent at least an hour every day pottering in the garden, weeding and pruning, it has never had so much attention or looked so tidy and well tended.

In the polytunnel I have had two apple trees which we hand grafted this time last year and several hazel saplings which have all be over wintering in there.  They are all growing well and I have been slowly hardening them off ready to plant outside in the coming weeks.  My seed trays are also slowly filling up, seeds have been planted up and small seedlings are starting to poke up through the soil.  I love the hope that this time of year brings, thinking of all the lovely vegetables that we hope to harvest in the coming months.

Sanctuary

My sanctuary this month has been being able to go out for a daily walk in the beautiful countryside around my house.  One in particular takes me up to a high point from which I have a near 360° view.  I have enjoyed sitting up there and soaking up these wonderful views.  There are some big stones that make great seats, I have also enjoyed sitting and meditating up there too, on those days when I needed the calm that comes with doing that.

Learn

I have mentioned here before that one of my sibling has had an incredibly difficult time over the last few years. The last sixteen months, in particular, have been the hardest for all of us.  Things go up and down, it often feels like we take three steps forward and two back.  The last few weeks have not been easy and I had not realised the effect this was having on me until I started to feel exhausted a lot of the time and knew that it could not be physical exhaustion so I must be emotional exhausted.   I have realised that I am going through a form of grief at the change in the relationship between me and my sibling, I have also realised that I need to be gentle on myself with respect to this and allow that grief some space to be acknowledged and validated.

Fun

I couldn't choose between two things that we have all really enjoyed this month, the first is family film nights usually on a Saturday night as Cameron starts his paper round much later on a Sunday morning which gives us a longer evening.  We have no TV but we do have a projector and screen so we can create a cinema at home.  Each week one person would choose what we were going to watch, popcorn was made and we sat down all together to watch.  We have enjoyed it so much I hope we continue to do it long into the future.

The other thing that we have loved doing this month is going out for a family walk after tea just as the sun is starting to set.  The wonderful weather we have had has meant that we have has some beautiful sunsets and being outside is the best place to experience them.  Not only have the sunsets been wonderful but all going out together has been great fun too.

Thank you once again for reading through this very long post.  I realise that it may seem that I do an awful lot, I suspect you do to, if you were to write it all down like I have here.  You are most welcome to join me, either use the same words or your own which mean more to you, let me know in the comments below and I will head over and have a read.  I will post my Sustainable Living May roundup on Tuesday 2nd June.