Sorry about that. That was a long pause!
Since I last wrote we have been stupidly busy.
Rebecca and I went to Holland to play our last foreseeable performances as Ember, and we've not seen much of each other since. The album has been selling well thanks to her mailouts to the people who support us and value our music. We still have to work out what to do with the many boxes of Emberobelia - theatre programmes and magazines featuring write-ups about us, reviews, stacks of live recordings on CD and DVD, data CDs full of photos, as well as all the excess office materials we have left over. We can't just throw that stuff away!
Since Ember finished in early March, Phil and I have been racing to complete the remaining work on our house so that we can put it on the market and go to the smallholding. It felt so good to get involved (finally!) and complete jobs such as sanding and oiling the stairs, cleaning up the revealed copper pipes, and thoroughly scrubbing the entire interior. Phil has been doing so well - he's finished putting the new roof on the annex, painted most of the window frames and (almost) fixed the front door. I feel rather out of my depth with the actual building work, so have been signing up for any and all of the cleaning tasks...
I can't believe we are planning on moving to the smallholding on Thursday! We have two more valuations taking place on Wednesday, before we decide on an estate agent, and we're planning on leaving most of the furniture in the house while it's on the market. Life at the smallholding will be pretty basic to begin with, but my parents have offered to lend us some chairs and a patio table for our kitchen in the meantime.
Today I hit the 19 weeks mark in the pregnancy - halfway through, according to the updates I get from the BabyCentre.co.uk - and the time has been racing by! For the last three weeks or so I have been feeling little Squiggles moving about inside, and the little cartwheels are getting stronger all the time. When I think about the fact that there is an actual baby inside me, it makes me feel strangely ticklish and a bit giggly... Exciting times! :)
The downside of the pregnancy has been a hugely increased emotional sensitivity - I've been getting really upset over small things (they seem so massive at the time!) and sometimes in the evenings it can all become too much. The depression can last until I finally fall asleep exhausted. I am not normally one to cry, but some nights have seen me weeping inconsolably for hours. :( There is such a thing as Ante-Natal Depression apparently, though we don't hear much about it. The positive thing to bear in mind is that usually the depression passes once the child has been born. I'm hoping it will pass when we get to the smallholding - life has been so stressful these last few months, slowing down can only help!
Hormones though, they can drive you mad! How are you supposed to remain a nice person whilst being dragged around on a nightmarish emotional roller coaster? Poor Phil has been through the mill as well, he has no idea when I might snap next... (Well, nor do I...!)
I shall do my best to get some photos of our beautiful, tidy house for you to have a look, and while I'm at it, I might even ask Phil to take a photo of my little bump...
Goodnight! :)
PS - Oh yes - the One Hundred Days? I reckon it's over, baby. I did 54 posts out of 100 - pretty poor! - but I can appreciate what it did for me. It got me started on this blog for one thing, and helped me to connect with others who were involved - without it I would never have found Tammy, or Beth... It's brought me closer to my Kellee... Not to mention the fact that it's allowed me to share my daily mundanity with my mum, who checks the Tangled Yarn regularly and will be pleased to see that I've finally posted another update - oh - there she is now - HELLO MUM!
Monday, 22 March 2010
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Pregnant Pause
Thursday 18th Feb.
Sorry for my silence lately, I realise that I am now at least 25 days behind in the 100 Day Project, and I am soon to add several more days to that number. This has been a hectic couple of months, finishing off Ember's 5th album, planning and organising our 10 Year Celebration concerts, and generally trying to tie up loose ends before we take a long break from playing together at the end of the month. We're excited about moving on to other projects, but I expect we'll be doing some grieving too, once the reality sinks in.
This morning I am preparing to leave home for our last UK tourette - taking in Burnham-on-Sea, Camden, Cambridge and Hitchin over this weekend, and then we have two final gigs in Holland on the 27th and 28th. It's impossible find time and internet access to update the blog when we are away, so I am resigning myself to catching up in March, hope that's OK with you! :)
There is another exciting development which has been partially responsible for the pregnant pause, which is just that - Phil and I are 14 weeks pregnant and have been given a due date of 16th August. So a new life beckons, in more ways than one! :) I've been thinking (and worrying!) about the blogging (and all of the catching up I might have to do!) and have realised that this 100 Day Project has fitted almost exactly with my pregnancy - no wonder I quickly developed an obsession with de-cluttering - isn't it all about nesting, somehow? The early exhaustion makes sense too, no wonder Christmas was so draining... We are both really happy (and nervous!), and hoping that it all goes smoothly.
Well, I shall be back at home next week, but won't promise anything, but you never know, I may surprise myself. Early March (once I return from Holland) will see me with more time, and that's when I hope to catch up properly.
Bye for now.
:)
Sorry for my silence lately, I realise that I am now at least 25 days behind in the 100 Day Project, and I am soon to add several more days to that number. This has been a hectic couple of months, finishing off Ember's 5th album, planning and organising our 10 Year Celebration concerts, and generally trying to tie up loose ends before we take a long break from playing together at the end of the month. We're excited about moving on to other projects, but I expect we'll be doing some grieving too, once the reality sinks in.
This morning I am preparing to leave home for our last UK tourette - taking in Burnham-on-Sea, Camden, Cambridge and Hitchin over this weekend, and then we have two final gigs in Holland on the 27th and 28th. It's impossible find time and internet access to update the blog when we are away, so I am resigning myself to catching up in March, hope that's OK with you! :)
There is another exciting development which has been partially responsible for the pregnant pause, which is just that - Phil and I are 14 weeks pregnant and have been given a due date of 16th August. So a new life beckons, in more ways than one! :) I've been thinking (and worrying!) about the blogging (and all of the catching up I might have to do!) and have realised that this 100 Day Project has fitted almost exactly with my pregnancy - no wonder I quickly developed an obsession with de-cluttering - isn't it all about nesting, somehow? The early exhaustion makes sense too, no wonder Christmas was so draining... We are both really happy (and nervous!), and hoping that it all goes smoothly.
Well, I shall be back at home next week, but won't promise anything, but you never know, I may surprise myself. Early March (once I return from Holland) will see me with more time, and that's when I hope to catch up properly.
Bye for now.
:)
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Lovely Surprise, and A Helpful List
Day Sixty Three.
Ooh, what a lovely surprise! This morning I received an envelope packed with loveliness from the Heartful Blogger - featuring two of her handpainted luggage tags (great bookmarks) and one of her very own postcards, which depicted some more beautiful converse boots! It made me so happy! :D It was strange too, strange to go from following a blog online and enjoying Tammy's drawings and paintings on the screen of my laptop - to having said artworks in my hands! I found that the pieces were even more impressive when I could study them in closer detail... It was very much an inspiring experience. Thanks, Tammy, I love them!
Later...
Bec and I spent the afternoon sorting out the logistics for our '10 Years of Ember' Celebration concert in the Plas, Machynlleth, on 12th February. It's amazing how much organisation is involved in one little night of music, and doing the organising has helped us to appreciate the work of all of the people who arrange gigs for us all over the country. I suppose that the more often you do it, the less stressing and planning you need to do, but still - it's a lot of work!
We made a great big list of what we'd need to do in advance, and what we'd need to do (and when) on the day. Thank goodness we have some kind friends to help out - it would be a nightmare if it were down to the pair of us! The master list was divided up between us, so now neither of us needs to worry, we just need to get OUR stuff done! Even though there is still a lot of work to do, mostly it's been broken into bite-sized pieces, so there's no need to panic.
Although:
Aaaaarrrgh!!!!
Ooh, what a lovely surprise! This morning I received an envelope packed with loveliness from the Heartful Blogger - featuring two of her handpainted luggage tags (great bookmarks) and one of her very own postcards, which depicted some more beautiful converse boots! It made me so happy! :D It was strange too, strange to go from following a blog online and enjoying Tammy's drawings and paintings on the screen of my laptop - to having said artworks in my hands! I found that the pieces were even more impressive when I could study them in closer detail... It was very much an inspiring experience. Thanks, Tammy, I love them!
Later...
Bec and I spent the afternoon sorting out the logistics for our '10 Years of Ember' Celebration concert in the Plas, Machynlleth, on 12th February. It's amazing how much organisation is involved in one little night of music, and doing the organising has helped us to appreciate the work of all of the people who arrange gigs for us all over the country. I suppose that the more often you do it, the less stressing and planning you need to do, but still - it's a lot of work!
We made a great big list of what we'd need to do in advance, and what we'd need to do (and when) on the day. Thank goodness we have some kind friends to help out - it would be a nightmare if it were down to the pair of us! The master list was divided up between us, so now neither of us needs to worry, we just need to get OUR stuff done! Even though there is still a lot of work to do, mostly it's been broken into bite-sized pieces, so there's no need to panic.
Although:
Aaaaarrrgh!!!!
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
My Beautiful Laundrette
Day Sixty Two.
Yes, since the washing machine broke down sometime in October last year, I've been a regular at the laundrette. When I say regular, I mean I've been twice, before that I was able to use my mum's machine. So this was my second visit, and even though it's literally around the corner from the house, there's something retro and exotic about the experience. You take one look at those rows of sleek, stainless steel, regimented machines, and you know they mean business. Accepting loads of 7kg, 10kg, and 16kg, these are the hardcore washing machines you've only dreamed of... until now.
I carry two giant bags full of dirty things - from sheets to socks, jackets to jock-straps. No, not really, that wouldn't be right. I'm just getting caught up in the retro-tastic nostalgia induced by those soapy smells and swishing sounds. I squeeze everything into two machines - two 16kg machines would have been perfect, but only one is working, so I have to make do with one 16kg and one 10kg. Being inexperienced, I must study the instructions fully in order to be sure that all will go to plan. I feed in the pound coins: £4 and £3, and the churning begins. The display tells me that the cycle will be over in 27 minutes - that seems rather brief! - so I return home until the job is done, wishing I could just sit in the laundrette reading a book or writing a short story...
Yes, I almost start to wish that I lived further away, so that I would have the excuse to sit and soak up this atmosphere of cleanliness and pure function...
Later I retrieve the stupidly heavy bags of wet clothes, and hang them EVERYWHERE about the house. Phil lights the fire so that our bathroom radiators will also become warm, and he hangs socks and pants on the rails.
The house is now filled with the smell of clean clothes, and the promise of presentability, and the assurance of an essential job completed...
Yes, since the washing machine broke down sometime in October last year, I've been a regular at the laundrette. When I say regular, I mean I've been twice, before that I was able to use my mum's machine. So this was my second visit, and even though it's literally around the corner from the house, there's something retro and exotic about the experience. You take one look at those rows of sleek, stainless steel, regimented machines, and you know they mean business. Accepting loads of 7kg, 10kg, and 16kg, these are the hardcore washing machines you've only dreamed of... until now.
I carry two giant bags full of dirty things - from sheets to socks, jackets to jock-straps. No, not really, that wouldn't be right. I'm just getting caught up in the retro-tastic nostalgia induced by those soapy smells and swishing sounds. I squeeze everything into two machines - two 16kg machines would have been perfect, but only one is working, so I have to make do with one 16kg and one 10kg. Being inexperienced, I must study the instructions fully in order to be sure that all will go to plan. I feed in the pound coins: £4 and £3, and the churning begins. The display tells me that the cycle will be over in 27 minutes - that seems rather brief! - so I return home until the job is done, wishing I could just sit in the laundrette reading a book or writing a short story...
Yes, I almost start to wish that I lived further away, so that I would have the excuse to sit and soak up this atmosphere of cleanliness and pure function...
Later I retrieve the stupidly heavy bags of wet clothes, and hang them EVERYWHERE about the house. Phil lights the fire so that our bathroom radiators will also become warm, and he hangs socks and pants on the rails.
The house is now filled with the smell of clean clothes, and the promise of presentability, and the assurance of an essential job completed...
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Tea and Coffee and Cake
Day Sixty One.
Spent the day NOT thinking about smoking! Horray! And if I DID find myself thinking about it, I made sure I distracted myself. It's not being too much of a problem.
Our tenant and good friend Christian moved out yesterday, so we now have the house to ourselves. Our plan is to up the gear in terms of getting the house ready for market, but first we needed to reclaim the space a bit, and make it our own again. I had been itching for some time to sort out the wooden shelves on top of the work-surface, and today I was able to clean and organise them. Before:
The shelves house the teas and coffees, as well as the bread and cakes (!) - and are conveniently located next to the kettle and toaster. After:
I've got this idea though, whereby I'd like to start putting out some of the jars we need to use up - and the top shelf would be ideal. Realistically though, are we really going to go to the shelf first (to see if we want to use anything up) before going to the cupboard to get the specific thing we have in mind to eat? I'm not sure. I might try it, even if it doesn't work, it might at least remind Phil of some of the contents of the darker corners of the cupboards...
Spent the day NOT thinking about smoking! Horray! And if I DID find myself thinking about it, I made sure I distracted myself. It's not being too much of a problem.
Our tenant and good friend Christian moved out yesterday, so we now have the house to ourselves. Our plan is to up the gear in terms of getting the house ready for market, but first we needed to reclaim the space a bit, and make it our own again. I had been itching for some time to sort out the wooden shelves on top of the work-surface, and today I was able to clean and organise them. Before:
The shelves house the teas and coffees, as well as the bread and cakes (!) - and are conveniently located next to the kettle and toaster. After:
I've got this idea though, whereby I'd like to start putting out some of the jars we need to use up - and the top shelf would be ideal. Realistically though, are we really going to go to the shelf first (to see if we want to use anything up) before going to the cupboard to get the specific thing we have in mind to eat? I'm not sure. I might try it, even if it doesn't work, it might at least remind Phil of some of the contents of the darker corners of the cupboards...
Properly Stopping Smoking
Day Sixty.
The CBT book didn't work for me, mostly because it relied upon you smoking at least twenty fags a day, and reducing that number by half or two-thirds on each consecutive day. I was smoking about three rollies daily, and managed to double that to six on that first day as the book kept on insisting that I smoked whenever I wanted to. So if (for example) you smoke six cigarettes on day one, four on day two, three on day three, two on the fourth day and one on the fifth, you've really had hardly any chance to learn the first programme, let alone the second and third, etc.! So I ended up feeling rather like I was going through the motions, but without really achieving anything. After the third day it tailed off, and I carried on smoking about three rollies a day.
Well, I've given up many times before, as I explained in that earlier post, so I spoke with Phil and we agreed Monday 1st Feb - today - would be the day we would both just stopped smoking.
So that's what we've done. It's easier for me, I'm sure, as I'm used to NOT smoking most of the day, whereas Phil starts as soon as he wakes up and has his last cigarette just before going to sleep. The day passed fairly smoothly with no major upsets. We're planning on having a very early night. The longer you sleep, the quicker time passes. We'll be over it before you know it.
:)
The CBT book didn't work for me, mostly because it relied upon you smoking at least twenty fags a day, and reducing that number by half or two-thirds on each consecutive day. I was smoking about three rollies daily, and managed to double that to six on that first day as the book kept on insisting that I smoked whenever I wanted to. So if (for example) you smoke six cigarettes on day one, four on day two, three on day three, two on the fourth day and one on the fifth, you've really had hardly any chance to learn the first programme, let alone the second and third, etc.! So I ended up feeling rather like I was going through the motions, but without really achieving anything. After the third day it tailed off, and I carried on smoking about three rollies a day.
Well, I've given up many times before, as I explained in that earlier post, so I spoke with Phil and we agreed Monday 1st Feb - today - would be the day we would both just stopped smoking.
So that's what we've done. It's easier for me, I'm sure, as I'm used to NOT smoking most of the day, whereas Phil starts as soon as he wakes up and has his last cigarette just before going to sleep. The day passed fairly smoothly with no major upsets. We're planning on having a very early night. The longer you sleep, the quicker time passes. We'll be over it before you know it.
:)
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Spring Clean
Day Fifty Eight.
What a lovely sunny day! Perfect for staying indoors and sorting out the piles of STUFF in our upstairs sitting room, right? Er - right. I did manage to get out and enjoy a bit of a walk as well as visiting my friend Jenny and her 6 month old baby, but before that I had a successful day of Getting Stuff Done.
You might have liked to have seen a before and after picture, but due to the camera battery situation, that was impossible. And when I looked at the mess before I started I was actually quite glad that no one would ever see it! It was disgraceful, to say the least!
As I have hardly any time before I go out to what I'm expecting to be a lovely party with music and food, I'll keep it brief:
I fixed the hoover (again - the sucky part keeps falling off, but I managed to re-attach it for the time being) and sucked up a ridiculous amount of cat hair as I cleared new areas of the room.
I've moved lots of things which I won't need for the next month (but wish to keep) downstairs into the spare bedroom, ready to go to the smallholding. These included our very few Christmas decorations (we usually collect holly and ivy and foliage in general, so have limited tinsel and a few red and gold baubles); the bag of carefully selected teddies; some wooden CD racks; and some more books.
I cleared the HORRIBLE hexagonal coffee table we have hated sine we were given it by a friend who was moving house and had no room for it, and Phil Took It Away, never to be seen again. Now there will be one less ugly clutter magnet in our world.
There was a whole pile of scraps of paper with people's phone numbers and addresses on them, and I've 'downloaded' them into my diary. At least now I might be able to find them if I need them, ha ha.
The folders full of the accounts were out, all over the sofa, so I put them away - out of sight and mind.
I can't believe I can see so much floor now, and moving around the room has ceased to be an obstacle course. If you could see it, you'd be amazed. :)
Better go and get ready now - in the coming days I hope to slowly catch up with myself and fill in the missing days... That is the plan, anyway. Maybe if I do two a day... Got a gig in Walthamstow tomorrow night (so sorry you can't make it, Tammy, I was looking forward to meeting you in person!), so leaving before noon - not sure what I can achieve before that time, but if I don't have time to blog, I shall write it up early next week.
What a lovely sunny day! Perfect for staying indoors and sorting out the piles of STUFF in our upstairs sitting room, right? Er - right. I did manage to get out and enjoy a bit of a walk as well as visiting my friend Jenny and her 6 month old baby, but before that I had a successful day of Getting Stuff Done.
You might have liked to have seen a before and after picture, but due to the camera battery situation, that was impossible. And when I looked at the mess before I started I was actually quite glad that no one would ever see it! It was disgraceful, to say the least!
As I have hardly any time before I go out to what I'm expecting to be a lovely party with music and food, I'll keep it brief:
I fixed the hoover (again - the sucky part keeps falling off, but I managed to re-attach it for the time being) and sucked up a ridiculous amount of cat hair as I cleared new areas of the room.
I've moved lots of things which I won't need for the next month (but wish to keep) downstairs into the spare bedroom, ready to go to the smallholding. These included our very few Christmas decorations (we usually collect holly and ivy and foliage in general, so have limited tinsel and a few red and gold baubles); the bag of carefully selected teddies; some wooden CD racks; and some more books.
I cleared the HORRIBLE hexagonal coffee table we have hated sine we were given it by a friend who was moving house and had no room for it, and Phil Took It Away, never to be seen again. Now there will be one less ugly clutter magnet in our world.
There was a whole pile of scraps of paper with people's phone numbers and addresses on them, and I've 'downloaded' them into my diary. At least now I might be able to find them if I need them, ha ha.
The folders full of the accounts were out, all over the sofa, so I put them away - out of sight and mind.
I can't believe I can see so much floor now, and moving around the room has ceased to be an obstacle course. If you could see it, you'd be amazed. :)
Better go and get ready now - in the coming days I hope to slowly catch up with myself and fill in the missing days... That is the plan, anyway. Maybe if I do two a day... Got a gig in Walthamstow tomorrow night (so sorry you can't make it, Tammy, I was looking forward to meeting you in person!), so leaving before noon - not sure what I can achieve before that time, but if I don't have time to blog, I shall write it up early next week.
Friday, 29 January 2010
Blogging Backlog Hell
Friday 29th January.
Argh! I have been so stupidly busy that I've somehow managed to build up a backlog of about 12 as yet "unblogged" days, and it's driving me mad! I know I'm not alone in this, Beth has had difficulties too. It's not easy! :) The big push to get the album finished and safely to the manufacturers is completed, so at least that stress is off. It has consumed most of my waking hours for the past two months, but especially in the last four weeks.
Another problem is that the batteries for my camera need recharging, so I will do that when I have finished typing this. My blog without photos would become a little two dimensional, I reckon. You need before and after photos, right?! So I will do that now. And if you'll bear with me I'll just try my best to catch up, even if it happens somewhat slowly.
Meanwhile, allow me to direct you to the amazingly creative world of Citrus Girl, a woman who's talents and energy know no bounds, a Maker of Many Lovely Things...
And you might like to know that one of my favourite bloggers is giving away some of her beautiful designs this week... here's the 4th giveaway, but you can easily find the others!
Oh, and finally, I was overjoyed to receive the Sunshine Blog Award from the Heartful Blogger, for being one of the twelve bloggers who inspire and enrich her! :) Thank you, Tammy! Woo! I am looking forward to nominating my favourite bloggers and passing on the love! I shall do it, I promise, I just need time... :)
Argh! I have been so stupidly busy that I've somehow managed to build up a backlog of about 12 as yet "unblogged" days, and it's driving me mad! I know I'm not alone in this, Beth has had difficulties too. It's not easy! :) The big push to get the album finished and safely to the manufacturers is completed, so at least that stress is off. It has consumed most of my waking hours for the past two months, but especially in the last four weeks.
Another problem is that the batteries for my camera need recharging, so I will do that when I have finished typing this. My blog without photos would become a little two dimensional, I reckon. You need before and after photos, right?! So I will do that now. And if you'll bear with me I'll just try my best to catch up, even if it happens somewhat slowly.
Meanwhile, allow me to direct you to the amazingly creative world of Citrus Girl, a woman who's talents and energy know no bounds, a Maker of Many Lovely Things...
And you might like to know that one of my favourite bloggers is giving away some of her beautiful designs this week... here's the 4th giveaway, but you can easily find the others!
Oh, and finally, I was overjoyed to receive the Sunshine Blog Award from the Heartful Blogger, for being one of the twelve bloggers who inspire and enrich her! :) Thank you, Tammy! Woo! I am looking forward to nominating my favourite bloggers and passing on the love! I shall do it, I promise, I just need time... :)
Filing Accounts Online, and a Secret
Day Fifty Seven.
Despite my earlier post about my nightmarish blog backlog, I still intend to persist with the 100 Day Project, and endeavour to fill in the gaps. I realise now why my camera batteries needing charging had become such a big issue - when I found the charger I saw that the plug had been snipped off, leaving just bare wires... This was the problem I came up against last time I tried to solve the dead battery crisis... So there may not be any photos for a little while :(
I felt a huge sense of achievement today, not least because I successfully filed my Self-Assessment Tax Return online, with a little help from the telephone helpdesk, but also because I DISCOVERED A SECRET. I'd left it this late because I knew I needed to know something IMPORTANT before I filed it, and the Important Thing turned out to be called 'Profit Averaging.'
It only applies to farmers and "creatives," whose self-employment earnings can fluctuate hugely from year to year, and allows you to make an average figure of income from two consecutive years. It makes a magical difference, and even the helpdesk man was surprised to learn about it from his guidebook.
After the number crunching was done, I took myself off for a brisk and lengthy walk, incorporating an amazing twenty minutes or so of lying on the pebbles by the river, enjoying the shapes of the trees, the smell of the breeze, and light reflecting off the water.
It almost feels like Spring is here!
Despite my earlier post about my nightmarish blog backlog, I still intend to persist with the 100 Day Project, and endeavour to fill in the gaps. I realise now why my camera batteries needing charging had become such a big issue - when I found the charger I saw that the plug had been snipped off, leaving just bare wires... This was the problem I came up against last time I tried to solve the dead battery crisis... So there may not be any photos for a little while :(
I felt a huge sense of achievement today, not least because I successfully filed my Self-Assessment Tax Return online, with a little help from the telephone helpdesk, but also because I DISCOVERED A SECRET. I'd left it this late because I knew I needed to know something IMPORTANT before I filed it, and the Important Thing turned out to be called 'Profit Averaging.'
It only applies to farmers and "creatives," whose self-employment earnings can fluctuate hugely from year to year, and allows you to make an average figure of income from two consecutive years. It makes a magical difference, and even the helpdesk man was surprised to learn about it from his guidebook.
After the number crunching was done, I took myself off for a brisk and lengthy walk, incorporating an amazing twenty minutes or so of lying on the pebbles by the river, enjoying the shapes of the trees, the smell of the breeze, and light reflecting off the water.
It almost feels like Spring is here!
SEEDS! Spring is on the Way!
Day Fifty Six.
We drove with Phil's parents to the smallholding today, as they'd not yet seen it. I managed to stuff a few big boxes of books into the boot, so little by little we are moving over there. It also helps to reduce the clutter in the house, which is brilliant.
While Phil took them outside to see the land, I sat by the woodburner with my mother, and we compiled a list of seeds we'll be needing for the coming year. It was very exciting to start thinking about growing, and to envisage the outdoor life we're looking forward to living. I'm hoping that all of my stress will fall away, and that the increase in excercise and outdoor activities will serve as a physical and mental therapy.
Far too soon we had to leave, so that Phil's parents could get on their way to South Wales to visit Phil's grandmother. My mother and I had made a pretty comprehensive list of all of the seeds we fancied sprouting, but we thought we'd both better check what we had at home before the order was placed. Of course, when I got home, I realised that I had a huge boxful of seeds, including most of the vegetable types we were planning on growing, and so did my mother, so in the end we decided that we would only buy in seed potatoes and onion sets for now. If the other seeds don't work out, we can always buy seedlings from the local nursery - perhaps the local farmers' market sells them too? All good things to be investigated. I can't wait!
:)
We drove with Phil's parents to the smallholding today, as they'd not yet seen it. I managed to stuff a few big boxes of books into the boot, so little by little we are moving over there. It also helps to reduce the clutter in the house, which is brilliant.
While Phil took them outside to see the land, I sat by the woodburner with my mother, and we compiled a list of seeds we'll be needing for the coming year. It was very exciting to start thinking about growing, and to envisage the outdoor life we're looking forward to living. I'm hoping that all of my stress will fall away, and that the increase in excercise and outdoor activities will serve as a physical and mental therapy.
Far too soon we had to leave, so that Phil's parents could get on their way to South Wales to visit Phil's grandmother. My mother and I had made a pretty comprehensive list of all of the seeds we fancied sprouting, but we thought we'd both better check what we had at home before the order was placed. Of course, when I got home, I realised that I had a huge boxful of seeds, including most of the vegetable types we were planning on growing, and so did my mother, so in the end we decided that we would only buy in seed potatoes and onion sets for now. If the other seeds don't work out, we can always buy seedlings from the local nursery - perhaps the local farmers' market sells them too? All good things to be investigated. I can't wait!
:)
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