tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54229359404162144682024-03-07T06:43:42.714+00:00All Fingers and ThumbsCrafting a delightful adventure, exploring this beautiful life with curiosity by my side, finding joy by being in the moment Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.comBlogger617125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-7857581833161365272020-09-04T17:28:00.003+01:002020-09-04T17:28:58.864+01:00Friyay<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3kjfbjAlnzdo34HXhqswkxpRiRjI3x86pMK-GKAruIT4Mu4AaVRAbRkMTCIToZj1xE6A7eV9jPHJBAcKC3jkoR74-QR3t0yeMijI6RXJps56L5JSrovWRiFZufZkNFF_NziDsiaH_HA/s3456/IMG_20200904_153712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="3456" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3kjfbjAlnzdo34HXhqswkxpRiRjI3x86pMK-GKAruIT4Mu4AaVRAbRkMTCIToZj1xE6A7eV9jPHJBAcKC3jkoR74-QR3t0yeMijI6RXJps56L5JSrovWRiFZufZkNFF_NziDsiaH_HA/w400-h400/IMG_20200904_153712.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It's been the most beautiful day. Our local bread shop reopened on Thursday after their August holiday shut down and I felt the urge to walk over this morning and gather some of their goodies. Such a unique bread, it was so satisfying to bite into it again after a month off! I love that they shut down though, sort of old-fashioned/ new-fashioned. It feels good to me to see small businesses model sustainable ways of living, balancing life and work. It breathes hope in to my wish that we all start to live a bit more like this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It is a lovely September day, mellow feeling, perfect for a little wander with treats in store and a pop to the post office to send a long overdue package. Simple trips out like this are so precious to me. Solo time to sink in to the present, gently occupied my mind doesn't get up to so much mischief! Under the soft grey sky I meandered, delighting in signs of autumn peeking out at me from the hedges and edges. I saw a garden FILLED with french marigolds and was itching to take a photo but had left my phone on charge. A little voice suggested I paint them when I got home and I let that little voice keep whispering as I soaked in the atmosphere of the neighbourhood. By the time I got back I was inspired to try a journal spread capturing some of the vignettes and feels of the walk.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It's no masterpiece and no-one should underestimate how hard it is to paint bikes, but I love these pages so much! I've been relaxing with journalling videos on You Tube of late (and woodland living and packing etsy orders - a weird cross section of delight!) and that definitely played a part in my inspo for this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">It's been such a soothing occupation. Letting that little walk fill the whole day, elevating errands to be the focus has made me feel deeply satisfied with where I am. Fridays at the moment call for space to let the work week settle, and fall out of my mind as much as possible. Sinking in to the feelings of this gentle walk. Challenging myself to draw things I don't normally. Playing with colours and different art supplies has been a lovely way to rest and restore a feeling of being more present in today.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-69927483178529827382020-08-28T14:52:00.000+01:002020-08-28T14:52:03.618+01:00The Betwixt and Between<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicprhR-TduyDQo-FLLijfXm3oJPLpCCscXVWxBuJm_VyVJPJbTHyvTfjZxF7RkxYdW8dB_8AOWtppr9fMXS3sAme_RoaNvEZWOJh1so6eX0Ez0Xlj-kxEmBN8jmOAxsvh1Ntof3pukvEI/s4608/IMG_20200827_191647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicprhR-TduyDQo-FLLijfXm3oJPLpCCscXVWxBuJm_VyVJPJbTHyvTfjZxF7RkxYdW8dB_8AOWtppr9fMXS3sAme_RoaNvEZWOJh1so6eX0Ez0Xlj-kxEmBN8jmOAxsvh1Ntof3pukvEI/s640/IMG_20200827_191647.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISiDHaJi_EZYbU9oGrnTj3WWcZckZxrNhWQUQdeQOb_fBU2XrudkGLucorqSyvkBW0JYmLdBdvoPOaop1KvPkD2E0ihR0r8GVvwZM1j9cU-JOBE3oKqjrcdXHW-pdGyW8IPdJ3dnygAM/s4608/IMG_20200825_064718.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="641" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISiDHaJi_EZYbU9oGrnTj3WWcZckZxrNhWQUQdeQOb_fBU2XrudkGLucorqSyvkBW0JYmLdBdvoPOaop1KvPkD2E0ihR0r8GVvwZM1j9cU-JOBE3oKqjrcdXHW-pdGyW8IPdJ3dnygAM/w481-h641/IMG_20200825_064718.jpg" width="481" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdayMH6pCK6gP6xrpfmi5PAnD2Wq-ibB04PEWka5n9vzvvMb16Vh5ceCTEnHdc0SGhitxkNJDS7QJOGbX_h6Sw5cBGgrZmEe85d3y3XHVsfrOSPdiQ0sY0hZtG6N97PpD78pzHbBYnVIA/s4608/IMG_20200824_151427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdayMH6pCK6gP6xrpfmi5PAnD2Wq-ibB04PEWka5n9vzvvMb16Vh5ceCTEnHdc0SGhitxkNJDS7QJOGbX_h6Sw5cBGgrZmEe85d3y3XHVsfrOSPdiQ0sY0hZtG6N97PpD78pzHbBYnVIA/s640/IMG_20200824_151427.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzv2GfUgyvV5946K_glaIEPrA5QHTEGfjX2pqYmLh0d9VP-CO7JLG7WLkfkq5uFvPemUP-t8-PoBsQ6ZN49M_4xfMFj7QWsfOCo4ZPY_qcDtZRrx8zJ2Y91rDEb0fBGc27hPYmFeppz2A/s4608/IMG_20200824_172432.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzv2GfUgyvV5946K_glaIEPrA5QHTEGfjX2pqYmLh0d9VP-CO7JLG7WLkfkq5uFvPemUP-t8-PoBsQ6ZN49M_4xfMFj7QWsfOCo4ZPY_qcDtZRrx8zJ2Y91rDEb0fBGc27hPYmFeppz2A/s640/IMG_20200824_172432.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSsIR5qsDUuz3M-Fr5WoA0BOSlfPPZxVQYVG6y9aPcy1jiBP3_dz_gGHKLDwvUpaCs7XZ6sOUxeDhjNoLcSsjxpr93dFXd_LyCIq4irWA5gXg2B74Eeec7Y1CWrK7bN1Iiu0vGgpcxxE/s4608/IMG_20200823_111444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSsIR5qsDUuz3M-Fr5WoA0BOSlfPPZxVQYVG6y9aPcy1jiBP3_dz_gGHKLDwvUpaCs7XZ6sOUxeDhjNoLcSsjxpr93dFXd_LyCIq4irWA5gXg2B74Eeec7Y1CWrK7bN1Iiu0vGgpcxxE/s640/IMG_20200823_111444.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIF9DXQyz6K7YKEm2BJYtQSG3s_0hOHmWbGo1o8R6DfiGl100hTBXftwl2U3X6IxO8UlprN5xTQm9JWrq2CxONLXdoQHh6FnXTezKtbPhAtYkD5R8UPqByqL-d7gLC8vPrXciDNyTvI_I/s4608/IMG_20200823_112936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIF9DXQyz6K7YKEm2BJYtQSG3s_0hOHmWbGo1o8R6DfiGl100hTBXftwl2U3X6IxO8UlprN5xTQm9JWrq2CxONLXdoQHh6FnXTezKtbPhAtYkD5R8UPqByqL-d7gLC8vPrXciDNyTvI_I/s640/IMG_20200823_112936.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcL5WHv4_OVmbQUYayypslKclc03ZMpmQLPV7BkTHT0gAsL6WWSJNAEwOq2WDzaiZlREwYNYp_NZbCCkuOr55DzuQOsNDb02EalmN1JpXBktdd8xoCUeSVoLgb5qRv4fBCadVlEy7StA/s4608/IMG_20200823_110014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4608" data-original-width="3456" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCcL5WHv4_OVmbQUYayypslKclc03ZMpmQLPV7BkTHT0gAsL6WWSJNAEwOq2WDzaiZlREwYNYp_NZbCCkuOr55DzuQOsNDb02EalmN1JpXBktdd8xoCUeSVoLgb5qRv4fBCadVlEy7StA/s640/IMG_20200823_110014.jpg" /></a></div><br /> That blue sky in the top photo is well hidden right now. The candles are on, incense lit and the sound of rain pounding down out side makes me smile. Feet in slippers I'm glad for the cosy space here at my desk. I'm a creature of the twixt and tween. These seasons around the full show of summer and winter make me happiest. I'm glad we roll gently through them in England, and I'm capturing all the magical shifts I can. Autumnal themes are creeping in to my sketchbooks as well as my camera, watercolour mushrooms courtesy of a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeLGTkruNCw&t=70s" target="_blank">great tutorial from Shayda Campbell.</a> I'm excited for what comes forth in these next few months. This gathering up of the year before we settle in to winter feels magical to me always and this year perhaps even more so. Spring was so changed by lockdown I'm hoping for lots more wandering adventures this autumn. With waterproof to hand perhaps!<p></p>Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-13889991615295729112020-08-21T13:30:00.000+01:002020-08-21T13:30:38.010+01:00Heart messages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53f9S6wAew-U-V57k0jM2qzllq8UZ52yU59nDc-7sqrYdjckzd2cyYT61kqPCVJ3fl0d0z7tGFbNJOMTxMzRbYWG2dCEw641YvWdpul_WoaY6PNbt0FcpWaoqS13gBWfdRDjJL5LKUB4/s4608/IMG_20200821_131702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53f9S6wAew-U-V57k0jM2qzllq8UZ52yU59nDc-7sqrYdjckzd2cyYT61kqPCVJ3fl0d0z7tGFbNJOMTxMzRbYWG2dCEw641YvWdpul_WoaY6PNbt0FcpWaoqS13gBWfdRDjJL5LKUB4/s640/IMG_20200821_131702.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>I think a lot about what it means to listen. To listen to our selves. Do you hear conflicting things? I feel like moment by moment one self speaks and then the next. I assign them names: heart, ego, Nigel. Physical personas: wise woman of the woods, puppy, unicorn. Sometimes they come together in a wise council. Of course I like them to be sitting around a round table, a la the Knights of Camelot, or gathered in a meadow, held within a fairy ring. More often they seem to wandering around on their own, just saying confusing things. </p><p>I say that the heart or soul voice is quiet but is it? Is it actually just overlaid by distractions. Its messages this year have been consistent: be soft, go gently, let delight lead, sit quietly, look around you. Often it feels in conflict with what the world asks of me. Or more accurately what I believe the world is asking of me. What I interpret. What I'm conditioned to believe. I'm making a series of little cards to capture some of what I hear that feels wiser, truer, more loving. </p><p>I've taken a batch of old business cards and painted over them. That action has felt powerful in its self. To use something made for the corporate world for this inner, softer world. I'm using shimmery watercolours and my favourite colour ink. These are things that my heart approves of.</p><p>I hope that these will be something to turn to when other things are louder and I feel out of alignment. When I get swept up in a story of saving the world rather than living this life. When the narrative says 'be a good xxx' isn't that a red flag? What does it mean to be good? Who gets to decide? Is it actually worth aspiring to? When there are lots of conflicting thoughts running through my mind, I find it helpful to hold on to something tangible made in a more harmonious moment. To settle in to my heart and to ask questions without need for an answer, to dwell in possibility.</p>Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-69800894555083207802020-05-14T14:32:00.000+01:002020-05-14T14:32:05.983+01:00Wandering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0YzyWljeH3QCZgwxsfP3dBdYmpGF7kOCA4CSuQHkwQg3EAuuD8DNlZ-MBkoq6zvS17KuD2NtESzrmB675UOZNHr38MnWWYn35YAwu5EvvrwD_z-D28ThKFnbBcysEPmccGWziaEyKzo/s1600/1589462704980724-0.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI0YzyWljeH3QCZgwxsfP3dBdYmpGF7kOCA4CSuQHkwQg3EAuuD8DNlZ-MBkoq6zvS17KuD2NtESzrmB675UOZNHr38MnWWYn35YAwu5EvvrwD_z-D28ThKFnbBcysEPmccGWziaEyKzo/s1600/1589462704980724-0.png" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Our stories and images and sounds create, explicate, or point to a deeper meaning that helps us receive, celebrate and be fed by beauty and bear what is hard. And if the meaning revealed by the process of creating is often more implicit than explicit, still it does not fail to feed us. Because what it feeds is not our minds but our souls and souls do not need explanations; they need only to touch and sit in the centre of the meaning that is enfolded in being..." Oriah Mountain Dreamer </blockquote>
<br />
Earlier this year I participated in <a href="https://www.meghangenge.com/horsefeathers/" target="_blank">Meghan's delightful Horsefeathers course</a> which was an utter revelation. She shared the quote above with us and encouraged us in a practice of showing up creatively that has really unlocked my ability to make things joyfully without worrying about whether they (or I...) am good enough.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh3Hx_s9uKkm8o3dsIdpIu7KkVtjjUhx8XcT8axQEmBCnknUnJK8obfqbJ8M6qqp6ppD5pcv_OtC-k7_BjYIXsZedDKLofnfBsOylre5VDlmVcSaUNr6x8F6Rf4WN2okRFZPZksD9hp7Y/s1600/1589462693031711-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh3Hx_s9uKkm8o3dsIdpIu7KkVtjjUhx8XcT8axQEmBCnknUnJK8obfqbJ8M6qqp6ppD5pcv_OtC-k7_BjYIXsZedDKLofnfBsOylre5VDlmVcSaUNr6x8F6Rf4WN2okRFZPZksD9hp7Y/s1600/1589462693031711-2.png" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
<br />
I'm so grateful for that piece of the puzzle which has really shifted my daily experience and allowed a lot more whimsy to flit through these weeks.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndJNE_lezMoTz4KhPgFiOcjD-_UqCDDw50oZI-h8Y4PhY2NJe_pYIsgl5Pf1zojzZ6yMznHQgVoRe-gZ1JSDGNkTp-FCKAqV0TjSPGPEQpiFS5ax3wEE7QLxgwMnimb-ZfmVlbxGJNVE/s1600/1589462687106207-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndJNE_lezMoTz4KhPgFiOcjD-_UqCDDw50oZI-h8Y4PhY2NJe_pYIsgl5Pf1zojzZ6yMznHQgVoRe-gZ1JSDGNkTp-FCKAqV0TjSPGPEQpiFS5ax3wEE7QLxgwMnimb-ZfmVlbxGJNVE/s1600/1589462687106207-3.png" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
<br />
The images here are all pieces that I have created this past fortnight with prompts and nudges from Jane's <a href="http://be-in-art.co.uk/getting-creative-during-the-coronavirus/" target="_blank">Beinart online group</a>, <a href="https://www.amytwon.com/" target="_blank">Amy's new Enchanted Explorers Club</a> and my own imagination.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZT0FxfJ3i6-PPXXYQWUChMGrbVf-4hFVYt2NDL7nAGbZdldL2Bxv-XUa4oRIRMxZrOA5Yr8QHwEW7h-4n40HtKTFz_psQcXxGsmJ1t8QCYwGCcJSLSPbLgK2DMBOinVI0qQ6EHFtALM0/s1600/1589462680449665-4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZT0FxfJ3i6-PPXXYQWUChMGrbVf-4hFVYt2NDL7nAGbZdldL2Bxv-XUa4oRIRMxZrOA5Yr8QHwEW7h-4n40HtKTFz_psQcXxGsmJ1t8QCYwGCcJSLSPbLgK2DMBOinVI0qQ6EHFtALM0/s1600/1589462680449665-4.png" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
<br />
Wandering feels like purest freedom.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-54810603060024140322020-05-05T14:05:00.000+01:002020-05-05T14:05:45.107+01:00Wings and whimsy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlyvGCH0fNJY3x8fexpCnaUWEe4E9ANUx_yiWILzaxhREXfutcOhioMEDrCnZRmvMb0HPbxujnzvhFdxMZk5eBCo790IBDYERMwJn3N_Wl9d13_pF1NnASPw4l3rZGjalWH_JPKoE9Gw/s1600/1588679917755034-0.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlyvGCH0fNJY3x8fexpCnaUWEe4E9ANUx_yiWILzaxhREXfutcOhioMEDrCnZRmvMb0HPbxujnzvhFdxMZk5eBCo790IBDYERMwJn3N_Wl9d13_pF1NnASPw4l3rZGjalWH_JPKoE9Gw/s1600/1588679917755034-0.png" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
Over a year since my last confession but I'm at the start of three weeks of whimsy! Led by delight I have an urge to write here. Who am I to argue? All this whimsical wandering is facilitated by furlough leave from work, I wonder how many other dusty blogs will see a little more love during this coronavirus pandemic?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2otIAkKWlzdI5QX_QMEWXQDKftJfdSp9lJnmL6JyFsNiXq11c7OBxGCpbwcSpmWww7pK1lu__cGFmKV-a7yLmbo-3bhm-iNieW32vzj3Y7AX815LxW674Y5O6FCnCIRCgK3PjBeKchE/s1600/1588679912035898-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2otIAkKWlzdI5QX_QMEWXQDKftJfdSp9lJnmL6JyFsNiXq11c7OBxGCpbwcSpmWww7pK1lu__cGFmKV-a7yLmbo-3bhm-iNieW32vzj3Y7AX815LxW674Y5O6FCnCIRCgK3PjBeKchE/s1600/1588679912035898-1.png" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
<br />
The images here are some of my creations from the Spirit Wings painting course offered on a pay what you can basis at the moment by <a href="https://www.kellyraeroberts.com/" target="_blank">Kelly Rae Roberts</a>. What an utter delight it has been.<br />
<div>
<br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2RYar_NFN2zkMvg9QW7-yEo1y58lOV7XEwslerjIkXv0pONdydTMSaWDTwg-SG2-tpVMjltWj4VBPyBWE4DgM59GrKdKPx3t0Y9rB-L6BCq_i6CxBMcqeDsZ-5eysDRBxsnZeBG_-W8/s1600/1588679905544131-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH2RYar_NFN2zkMvg9QW7-yEo1y58lOV7XEwslerjIkXv0pONdydTMSaWDTwg-SG2-tpVMjltWj4VBPyBWE4DgM59GrKdKPx3t0Y9rB-L6BCq_i6CxBMcqeDsZ-5eysDRBxsnZeBG_-W8/s1600/1588679905544131-2.png" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Full of inspiration, an exploration of what creativity is and a whole framework for playing and opening a channel to listen to your intuition/highest self/ the Universe. It's been an unexpected shot of pure magic. Something that I have been craving and trying to find my way back to these past couple of years.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-ziBgOmTdk3wo0RHACAVd5fRGOXD03nnaWBB7PE3pEyCSx5YxapO51zJJhb_Vu4RnQmE8To7xOJxQWJI85la7BfFqTuQd6W9e8JbkbWuFpj2evED1aBLPTcTK2PxUZyFHPosWW8uUxU/s1600/1588679899837538-3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-ziBgOmTdk3wo0RHACAVd5fRGOXD03nnaWBB7PE3pEyCSx5YxapO51zJJhb_Vu4RnQmE8To7xOJxQWJI85la7BfFqTuQd6W9e8JbkbWuFpj2evED1aBLPTcTK2PxUZyFHPosWW8uUxU/s1600/1588679899837538-3.png" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Rediscover your worth, your potential, your creative spirit and then go and fly on its wings to places you won't ever want to leave." Kelly Rae Roberts </blockquote>
Yes! That's where I am right now, up on a fluffy cloud: excited, joyful, full of wonder. What a gift. Thank you Angels, Ancient Graces, magical beings and thank you Kelly Rae for putting this out there in the world.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjZWkujQlmXjm7fFwVAZ9WeB0oMMtTVxWLmYeefzDJkbEn5IuuJowdCikHl8r6rg5PVducm7q5Z_anK-ZXOBVRLco0W7xfHfJtNRWbM5w0Ot0Ya0pmd9GqLSAUnE7jKtR-takpqSDFyI/s1600/1588679893065762-4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjZWkujQlmXjm7fFwVAZ9WeB0oMMtTVxWLmYeefzDJkbEn5IuuJowdCikHl8r6rg5PVducm7q5Z_anK-ZXOBVRLco0W7xfHfJtNRWbM5w0Ot0Ya0pmd9GqLSAUnE7jKtR-takpqSDFyI/s1600/1588679893065762-4.png" width="400" />
</a>
</div>
<br /></div>
Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-8333540262678263292019-03-24T09:17:00.000+00:002019-03-24T09:17:08.372+00:00Ways I keep together<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR7jUp9YMLIvkLUVjCeDErYx5MRm_cAZ9XStiLZowjypdtHOEuNdFhNLlXeZg7o1KFXM1ue3M-DXMkeQi3NWm6jmrJ6EDb6fwb-KyG-I0Eq2XYnjOY7dkM13TmqXYHsdsdukGvUeAdt8/s1600/IMG_20190322_091044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="primroses" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGR7jUp9YMLIvkLUVjCeDErYx5MRm_cAZ9XStiLZowjypdtHOEuNdFhNLlXeZg7o1KFXM1ue3M-DXMkeQi3NWm6jmrJ6EDb6fwb-KyG-I0Eq2XYnjOY7dkM13TmqXYHsdsdukGvUeAdt8/s400/IMG_20190322_091044.jpg" title="Primroses" width="300" /></a></div>
I feel like this world breaks my heart about a hundred different ways every week at the moment. The horrors we witness, and then up through the cracks of the latest tragedy, the tender shoots, the beautiful ways humans reach out to one another to help each other tentatively move forward again. Those of us still blessed or cursed or blessed to be here. I hear an internal narrative that says it's all too much for me to take in. I am challenging that, staying present for the reality of it, mindfully, finding personal stories behind platitudes and headlines, understanding more about how we all process and grieve and flail. I look for the moon. I knit. I think about the equinox. I stop and smell primroses. I say thank you to my toes. And I love, the best I can, as many as I can.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-43478525744146994792019-02-04T08:22:00.001+00:002019-02-04T08:22:49.988+00:00Removing the shutters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksHFTe6HBGPl_E-jn5CnMyUGzq2voexLBzLMnwJHN08K09yRHLMVVk8f2Bo5dL_cAz7xCOUu4JmhbDBwX4H251wRh8-rKVGpl_EY0yKWm8xll8pKvltwKn9_-pKGETc26Fegwp8dsjnk/s1600/IMG_20190126_110357.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksHFTe6HBGPl_E-jn5CnMyUGzq2voexLBzLMnwJHN08K09yRHLMVVk8f2Bo5dL_cAz7xCOUu4JmhbDBwX4H251wRh8-rKVGpl_EY0yKWm8xll8pKvltwKn9_-pKGETc26Fegwp8dsjnk/s400/IMG_20190126_110357.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
Somewhere in the middle of last month, while working through my initial reactions to the conversations about racism in the knitting community, I saw the danger of avoiding the Political. In the words of others, who didn't want their false picture of a cosy community disrupted, I saw a reflection of myself. In the last couple of years I have tried to shut out the world when I haven't liked what I am seeing. When I sought to avoid the Political I attempted to also avoid the political. I hadn't fully acknowledged that. I hadn't seen that even being able to attempt to avoid the political, was due to my layers of privilege. If anything, I'd resisted acknowledging it, because I felt like I didn't have the strength to work against the structures that distribute so unfairly.<br />
<br />
I'll be forever grateful to the women that spoke up, and continue to speak up. Grateful that finally they are being heard more widely, more loudly than before. I'll be forever sorry I didn't do better. That I hadn't heard, and seen clearly, how much people were made invisible and treated unfairly in a creative community that helped me to feel more me. Witnessing that pain and suffering bust open the shutters. As I've read and reflected it has become clear to me that the shutters only held me down and enforced a narrative of powerlessness. <br />
<br />
I've felt defeated. Too small and weak to make a difference. Instead of staying open, looking for all the opportunities in the everyday, instead of feeding the fires within I tried to tell myself that not actively doing wrong was enough. Action is vital: standing by weeping, or trying to shut out reality, poisons us from the inside and gives power to those we struggle against. We are all more powerful than we realise. I see clearly again that action comes in many forms and always starts within. I will do better.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-56381930086866314042018-11-02T13:22:00.000+00:002018-11-02T13:22:34.241+00:00Rechilding<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiKOXAwHfdM8Vt7Pf8M8888aQsiEW5f4ouJLx9CJkXj0UZGRi21IJiBXWxW5-QWBSQNm3AEhk4xiOCqr0M5LDsqKPcBY_x1lt1_EtJZS4wRVp5vMZBy190a_dTwP8brTDyZZcDODFrbk/s1600/IMG_20181102_105548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Beech leaves against the blue sky" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiKOXAwHfdM8Vt7Pf8M8888aQsiEW5f4ouJLx9CJkXj0UZGRi21IJiBXWxW5-QWBSQNm3AEhk4xiOCqr0M5LDsqKPcBY_x1lt1_EtJZS4wRVp5vMZBy190a_dTwP8brTDyZZcDODFrbk/s400/IMG_20181102_105548.jpg" title="Beech beauty" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpuLVItFpQlREdT7GyyNJw9Cmloy34ioX9LgOEWuJoaJcCZs0hNtN8GDEcKg5Slde37V1ox_klXMXe05UzeQoj2gsPBQVktzaIxxoMhO4duFzLdR6yS5J75pKTUNCBO3gPkIvsPhTHrn4/s1600/IMG_20181102_105942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Mountain ash tree with berries" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpuLVItFpQlREdT7GyyNJw9Cmloy34ioX9LgOEWuJoaJcCZs0hNtN8GDEcKg5Slde37V1ox_klXMXe05UzeQoj2gsPBQVktzaIxxoMhO4duFzLdR6yS5J75pKTUNCBO3gPkIvsPhTHrn4/s400/IMG_20181102_105942.jpg" title="Rowan berries" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnl-3jwZSkbQPKidsCVlZBLw-gsjOPq8FHwqAFzwUPXelVzF-qZX0GwDydxXltpmmkCcU9NfkXZgV7JvZTecyuwn_ccS1F9HTJ40b3t7Qh0xQCIiir_84NgsoH3zVw3rlo3ra4ILmZ5o/s1600/IMG_20181102_110343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Favourite scarf and coat" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibnl-3jwZSkbQPKidsCVlZBLw-gsjOPq8FHwqAFzwUPXelVzF-qZX0GwDydxXltpmmkCcU9NfkXZgV7JvZTecyuwn_ccS1F9HTJ40b3t7Qh0xQCIiir_84NgsoH3zVw3rlo3ra4ILmZ5o/s400/IMG_20181102_110343.jpg" title="Outing for my new scarf" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfk6t6L5OZ5RQeRAqo5YjV5wTX9pxBbC93i_N1OAsWwwTijkgCfd7-Jiq9sGVIvZHPk3z31ggWfuu0XsfJH2es0zURvKRsX5cNt6GXgMvH0365J6jrI1mq2iLF6t7rW-BrJJP7Aln8Gk/s1600/IMG_20181102_113709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="blue skies, day moon and huge, gorgeous trees" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfk6t6L5OZ5RQeRAqo5YjV5wTX9pxBbC93i_N1OAsWwwTijkgCfd7-Jiq9sGVIvZHPk3z31ggWfuu0XsfJH2es0zURvKRsX5cNt6GXgMvH0365J6jrI1mq2iLF6t7rW-BrJJP7Aln8Gk/s400/IMG_20181102_113709.jpg" title="Morning moon, sky and TREES :)" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFfE8ok_yr1s9-W951RS0sGtqv3Chsk2oEP5dIUp3yGOkEmEgU6no82R4_dMihIjLXWq4M2M7SCAcY2FVKjg-T2XsGO8JtcqugvWbu1UxnDmA4E5t-puSC6GUnfUSSnfT-QkN_-FU2SQ/s1600/IMG_20181102_114745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="sunlight through autumn beech leaves" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFfE8ok_yr1s9-W951RS0sGtqv3Chsk2oEP5dIUp3yGOkEmEgU6no82R4_dMihIjLXWq4M2M7SCAcY2FVKjg-T2XsGO8JtcqugvWbu1UxnDmA4E5t-puSC6GUnfUSSnfT-QkN_-FU2SQ/s400/IMG_20181102_114745.jpg" title="Beech tree showing off" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LG_vUk9olWFAWf8Nvw6XFGN7wHic7YRXjOZFQOjsSPIRGw4oD9ZLjUERLrqWxXSTgnYo9slqQRzuLmko2SAfBgF99ZvAgoeL0VK5H4jFYmocssAyLmiEuBXakCz-qI3KOzdb64NHVfw/s1600/IMG_20181102_115023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ginkgo leaves green and yellows" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LG_vUk9olWFAWf8Nvw6XFGN7wHic7YRXjOZFQOjsSPIRGw4oD9ZLjUERLrqWxXSTgnYo9slqQRzuLmko2SAfBgF99ZvAgoeL0VK5H4jFYmocssAyLmiEuBXakCz-qI3KOzdb64NHVfw/s400/IMG_20181102_115023.jpg" title="Ginkgo leaf bouquet" width="400" /></a></div>
I'm afraid to google the term 'rechilding' in case it goes the way it did when I searched for 'adult play' a few years back. Is sex still the most searched for thing on the internet? Hard to remember that when you tend to type in things like 'yoga for sore feet' or 'quince gin recipes'.<br />
<br />
Anyway, all of that to say that I asked November for a beautiful day, after the first of the month dawned with the lowest of skies. To my delight today could not be more different. Blue skies, bright and warm, so I asked my too often ignored inner child what it wanted to do this morning. Taking a banana smoothie to the park seemed like a very easy request to grant.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-63726173005018217592018-10-12T16:25:00.003+01:002018-10-12T16:25:46.171+01:00The sound of letting go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRqMsw_hJYeF6wyKOa5aFdGQWcWZvYSLA2xrfkGqkx0fp-hr8UBZNJiDwexLWiAl-PsAmQW4UcYelRG-RvlDBaR0BkGQj5eudHL7-RBUeKMRjue4cukdx8TjHMYDY3_HJkR06OFkop6O4/s1600/IMG_20181012_155416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="collage image of letting go" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRqMsw_hJYeF6wyKOa5aFdGQWcWZvYSLA2xrfkGqkx0fp-hr8UBZNJiDwexLWiAl-PsAmQW4UcYelRG-RvlDBaR0BkGQj5eudHL7-RBUeKMRjue4cukdx8TjHMYDY3_HJkR06OFkop6O4/s400/IMG_20181012_155416.jpg" title="Collaging in my journal" width="400" /></a></div>
It's a big yawn. A soft exhale. A carefree squawk of laughter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY460zRSbc0cqR08WV-9mbf7gX-6VsLJ8MJJYOltD4quut0Rf7SNZp2_7-PikQwW1PZh9lgQTmh4GQxakKuL2lJIjBKNsfaxooNzriu9WDobsb65dWTtXC3AaNKTGA-cd6DCxyPLHbPvc/s1600/IMG_20181012_143443.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="sketchbook and nature treasures" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY460zRSbc0cqR08WV-9mbf7gX-6VsLJ8MJJYOltD4quut0Rf7SNZp2_7-PikQwW1PZh9lgQTmh4GQxakKuL2lJIjBKNsfaxooNzriu9WDobsb65dWTtXC3AaNKTGA-cd6DCxyPLHbPvc/s400/IMG_20181012_143443.jpg" title="Simple nature finds and art therapy" width="225" /></a></div>
This year has been utterly different from what I hoped and planned for at the start of the year. It's brought many challenges and many unexpected gifts - more often than not out of those challenges. The end of the eternal winter and the start of the spring found me very low and I reached out for help. Antidepressants and counselling. Life rafts that have helped me float on through a year where the physical constraints of my knee injury had taken away two of my greatest balancers: regular yoga classes and long, wonder full rambles. They continue to help me now as I wait for an operation on my knee. Wait and unravel. Slowly slowly. No matter how slowly I think I am going there is a level beneath that my soul craves. Not a standstill but ponderous, languid, incremental.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtW66WDSngetFGqJWlgVnoUx_6vJgYZXWb3Jiql-anDF4gqFEPNv3uJyeEtpZsiKXs9W7Q6z1mZx8GAACt-8AAhzdtoka5zDn21ityPOF_a3CcTaGEDMz-l6eqmA1PDCHvTNUCwTAX78/s1600/IMG_20181012_115055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="all the fairy lights" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtW66WDSngetFGqJWlgVnoUx_6vJgYZXWb3Jiql-anDF4gqFEPNv3uJyeEtpZsiKXs9W7Q6z1mZx8GAACt-8AAhzdtoka5zDn21ityPOF_a3CcTaGEDMz-l6eqmA1PDCHvTNUCwTAX78/s400/IMG_20181012_115055.jpg" title="A Room of One's Own" width="225" /></a></div>
I write this from my room of my own. Feeling a pull back to this virtual space as I seek to kindle sparks of inspiration. The eternal building project has a last few nails to be banged and walls to be painted but I am here in my very own space. Den. Studio. Nest. Craft room. Burrow. Study. Container of joy! It makes me feel like a teenager again, fussing in my bedroom, the rearrangements of furniture, pictures, books helping find a sense of who I am. Though teenage Sarah would have had her eyes on stalks at the range of fairy lights available.<br />
<br />
Who knows what crafts will actually occur in here. At the moment the sheer pleasure of grouping like with like and dreaming of being able to lay my hand on the exact desired supply are enough.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-24783299363404236262018-01-26T12:31:00.003+00:002018-01-26T12:31:50.030+00:00From the mossy hollow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7E_ZALxDe-FPpgJzvJwEF6DA-NYUkPrtExhxwLcxX-Lnn6r1_aIqC7uT97QRWHhxB6k_En5XVDWOtqcnuFJRwGLobwxBoH9mSQH8t1brVWfWxUG3nJ6zKoFAGGnu9nP3GOyWR_9C9Ig/s1600/IMG_20180122_134018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo7E_ZALxDe-FPpgJzvJwEF6DA-NYUkPrtExhxwLcxX-Lnn6r1_aIqC7uT97QRWHhxB6k_En5XVDWOtqcnuFJRwGLobwxBoH9mSQH8t1brVWfWxUG3nJ6zKoFAGGnu9nP3GOyWR_9C9Ig/s400/IMG_20180122_134018.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-s18sexuEA0ZJt6Xg3NguReN_GPLLp1qMOeb4FFhNjchWRuw1W4tMR_fSKiNt3HEr59uMOAC_L3HXyIC841F3T_Suiw069r7PSEDvjVid5iHmPOCzCz_NPIVAjeGNyrwaDA3LzVmOtY/s1600/IMG_20180126_114425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-s18sexuEA0ZJt6Xg3NguReN_GPLLp1qMOeb4FFhNjchWRuw1W4tMR_fSKiNt3HEr59uMOAC_L3HXyIC841F3T_Suiw069r7PSEDvjVid5iHmPOCzCz_NPIVAjeGNyrwaDA3LzVmOtY/s400/IMG_20180126_114425.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGUpZp9TAK8Tokr5emUShOsj1UAaIz-MUJ99X85nMCXZ0VU-tN8QlzpnOeR9aswF7kkhEurgWZvOzZ5WcxIK6n82z7lqcr45457EuLmgVvDx76_NTtj3YDMs8J35SLeYDgGlAko9deRI/s1600/IMG_20180126_115920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGUpZp9TAK8Tokr5emUShOsj1UAaIz-MUJ99X85nMCXZ0VU-tN8QlzpnOeR9aswF7kkhEurgWZvOzZ5WcxIK6n82z7lqcr45457EuLmgVvDx76_NTtj3YDMs8J35SLeYDgGlAko9deRI/s400/IMG_20180126_115920.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHn3QqE8V8Lb_N1_DyvUB_TGGb8P6OamXqCycD9cXmLdUHHWeGTq8mlH38TuvOsDwQt-67Hi-QUjej0hnfWIpRJrEM5ySyV_ZJe_DYEARg-47Xfo4QU3Lexmy-e_UI9PsRY2bPu7eT3k/s1600/IMG_20180126_115553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHn3QqE8V8Lb_N1_DyvUB_TGGb8P6OamXqCycD9cXmLdUHHWeGTq8mlH38TuvOsDwQt-67Hi-QUjej0hnfWIpRJrEM5ySyV_ZJe_DYEARg-47Xfo4QU3Lexmy-e_UI9PsRY2bPu7eT3k/s400/IMG_20180126_115553.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
As we descended towards the shortest day I could feel the need to turn within very strongly. I kept coming back to the image of a mossy hollow. Tucked in the earth, at the roots of a bare tree, a space where I could curl up in to a ball and let the days pass. It sounded soft and comforting, but the slowing has been awkward, and though the body tells me what it needs, keeping the mind, and the world around me to the same pace is always the challenge. As <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Thumbelina/orchard-grass-wrap" target="_blank">my new knitting project</a> grows, I see the browns and dark greens are like the manifestation of the hollow. Happily a softer, cosier representation. Knitting this wrap is a process that literally helps me create the space I craved. I have been falling home from work and into its embrace all week. The long rows create a rhythm that wasn't in my hands as they scurried at the socks. Warm and safe from epic rains and winds. The hollow is the dip my bum is making in the sofa cushions.<br />
<br />
I thought I only started on the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/orchard-grass-wrap" target="_blank">Orchard Grass Wrap</a> over other patterns, like the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pay-it-forward" target="_blank">Pay It Forward </a>scarf, because I could wind frogged yarn easily into a ball (while my skein winding gear remains in hiding somewhere). Perhaps the knitting muse just knew it was exactly what I needed to be knitting.<br />
<br />
I've been puzzling over why knitting and I had such a long hiatus in our towering romance. Looking over old projects. Opening bags and marvelling at why I stopped right there. Reading back over posts here and on Ravelry. Instead of answers I find only gratitude that the knit is back on.<br />
<br />
My new <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17262149-the-wishing-thread" target="_blank">read</a>, pictured above, could literally have been written for me and there is a beautiful quote I keep coming back to:<br />
<br />
"This is the nature of faith, of magic, of art, of a good life's work: If you ever understand perfectly what you're doing, you should stop right away."Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-58408829676113360272018-01-21T13:37:00.001+00:002018-01-21T13:37:58.083+00:00Ebbs and toes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8qbzcVkb_lT41N1ErU8pgE2mn2C8Hg7FrTxqGiq7z3FRZHhU1be_rumPW2B82tfVTLfpe2mKsqYT3-LWvy_3q9HebreTZomjZBLz1DFRocjG3Kf3S6Vw9jz3BTDm63nTiECwKiSrEH8/s1600/IMG_20180121_113047.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Socks in progress" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8qbzcVkb_lT41N1ErU8pgE2mn2C8Hg7FrTxqGiq7z3FRZHhU1be_rumPW2B82tfVTLfpe2mKsqYT3-LWvy_3q9HebreTZomjZBLz1DFRocjG3Kf3S6Vw9jz3BTDm63nTiECwKiSrEH8/s400/IMG_20180121_113047.jpg" title="Elongated Corded Rib Socks from Sensational Knitted Socks" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqU1qgM6Une8MxzosFwy8Pb3ZZKgTrI29aRcZhTaF6kyCC0ylx2jc4pEGNddcSujd1pdMltmQxYPXBY4h-CHbCKFEmh1nUfVFwpSEGnyhRITVKX7So5nzk3fgj-Y0idxAxLbjR6ptmooI/s1600/IMG_20180121_105045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Grafting a toe" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqU1qgM6Une8MxzosFwy8Pb3ZZKgTrI29aRcZhTaF6kyCC0ylx2jc4pEGNddcSujd1pdMltmQxYPXBY4h-CHbCKFEmh1nUfVFwpSEGnyhRITVKX7So5nzk3fgj-Y0idxAxLbjR6ptmooI/s400/IMG_20180121_105045.jpg" title="When kitchener stitch goes bad" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Rxc84HmyZjfAoTVTOxuN0ynTxqQlys3C3K-Z5MPo1edm1QeSrHZbPtBIEztSXFAdPI-76c5cVwd-g0TPWOMJheqn7_4qKvajmpxcIx_q9PvdtiIOrst_wRIasooEtnVDIBDleBv2Pzw/s1600/IMG_20180120_120222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Embroidered spirals" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Rxc84HmyZjfAoTVTOxuN0ynTxqQlys3C3K-Z5MPo1edm1QeSrHZbPtBIEztSXFAdPI-76c5cVwd-g0TPWOMJheqn7_4qKvajmpxcIx_q9PvdtiIOrst_wRIasooEtnVDIBDleBv2Pzw/s400/IMG_20180120_120222.jpg" title="Hand embroidered hare cushion" width="225" /></a></div>
Today is a classic wet winter Sunday, grey grey with just the slight twist of snowflakes in amongst the rain drops. It's the kind of day that reminds me of teenage doldrums, school tomorrow and cooped up inside. Our house used to have downstairs rooms that all flowed one to another and I'd get trapped either in my bedroom, or out of it, with an armchair full of snoozing Papa between me and wherever I wanted to go. He has always had a lot of back problems and was in such constant pain that waking him from a snooze was a little like waking a bear from hibernation. I guess I have much more empathy for him as I get older and creakier! I'm not having the most fun with some of my body at the moment, I injured my knee in November and rehab is slow, and has felt a bit backwards the last couple of weeks, as I just try and take a short walk on top of the essential steps to get through a day. Still, these days grey out and being sofa bound says craft, craft, craft rather loudly!<br />
<br />
Not that it's all plain sailing in the knitting either, happily though too short socks are easier to mend than human bodies. I couldn't believe it last night when I proudly pulled them on and then had that uncomfortable moment of trying to pretend they fit. What gets me is I tried the first one on before I grafted it! Clearly feeling impatient to be wearing them! So I've ripped them out this morning and they are going to have to have a sit in time out to think about what they've done before I can segue in to happy repairer mode. But still. They are actually nearly done. Yay!<br />
<br />
While they pause I think starting a <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/koolhaas" target="_blank">Koolhaas hat </a>is on the cards. Or perhaps an <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/orchard-grass-wrap" target="_blank">Orchard Grass Wrap</a> after I realised I had some perfect yarn for it in my stash. Delicious Rowanspun 4ply in Sludge. That was actually half knit but has now been released from its <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Thumbelina/stripey-garter-stitch-scarf" target="_blank">previous ill fated project</a>. Though, choices, choices, it could be more socks. I have a new to me, half done pair, <a href="http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/PATTmonkey.html" target="_blank">Monkeys</a> in Rowan Fine Art Yarn. Found after a <i>very</i> long time out, started in 2014 apparently. I only found them when looking for my ball winder to get some yarn wound for the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/snicket-socks" target="_blank">Snicket Socks</a> I thought were destined to be next. The problem here is also toe related. Perhaps attempting kitchener stitch without written instructions to refer to??? it seems I created a reverse kitchener and was obviously lacking in patience to sort it out! The Monkeys never made it to Ravelry and were only once mentioned <a href="http://allfingersandthumbs.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/in-my-hands.html" target="_blank">here</a> so the joy of finding a finished sock outweighs any concern at sorting out that toe! It's amazing how deep in my clutter I've managed to hide many of my knitting tools and yarn but at least there are sweet surprises along the way of sorting it all out!<br />
<br />
Despite not having a finished pair of socks yet this month I have met my little goal of a finished object. I finally gifted my one handmade Christmas gift yesterday having finished it the day before! My sweet embroidered hare cushion suffered a very swift photo shoot as she was hustled out the door but I was delighted with the cover itself. I bought a printed cotton cover and used various of my most favourite threads to embroider simple running stitch spirals. It was soothing, gentle work and part of the beauty of a handmade gift is the time that you put in isn't it? So, slow, but worth it.<br />
<br />
We were chatting at work about that crazy year when you attempt to hand make every gift. I have reined myself in and in but it's still my dream. I'm mulling over something I'm calling Project Hamper. The idea being to try and make various preserves throughout the year and then come December be overflowing with handmade abundance without the wild eyed desperation. The idea sounds so good in principle but as I looked at a crate of marmalade oranges in the supermarket yesterday I decided I could at least give myself a pass until our new kitchen is in and my knee is better! The current kitchen is so dark as we have an extension being built on the outside that there is no encouragement to linger out there when I make a cup of tea let alone getting all cosy and productive. Who knows when we'll be done but maybe it's all divine timing as I might have a mended knee on the same timescale!Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-72777084523265287612018-01-07T15:43:00.002+00:002018-01-07T15:43:38.788+00:00Brighter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0RsGYJwGzyffQnuEK_dRMS8B7uA_o6ubj_4Hl7Ukg09lDW-WnX-8Dkj0XzTJ96a7D8JSwb5NY1EU2C3H-a0a0Cj085oscBuMFurxOrmixLwqQmBIuNpOWoEatSO6PtHEA7p4CcahkG8/s1600/IMG_20180107_094156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Blue skies and tree branches " border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0RsGYJwGzyffQnuEK_dRMS8B7uA_o6ubj_4Hl7Ukg09lDW-WnX-8Dkj0XzTJ96a7D8JSwb5NY1EU2C3H-a0a0Cj085oscBuMFurxOrmixLwqQmBIuNpOWoEatSO6PtHEA7p4CcahkG8/s400/IMG_20180107_094156.jpg" title="Horse chestnut canopy in January" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_QHTeB_4U7J7lxpWK-2y5GLSeHiLAtNSQVD6X_haqO-su_XL6lcCc-hloxYvc6v9bY44aDEzJRYWgdSFDlcvZuxWZxwg9hv-4dAJ2iyorK82HhR2jkKri6BuIDShh3O6JB2ZHbUcTlA/s1600/IMG_20180107_092013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Early January narcissi first daffodil" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg_QHTeB_4U7J7lxpWK-2y5GLSeHiLAtNSQVD6X_haqO-su_XL6lcCc-hloxYvc6v9bY44aDEzJRYWgdSFDlcvZuxWZxwg9hv-4dAJ2iyorK82HhR2jkKri6BuIDShh3O6JB2ZHbUcTlA/s400/IMG_20180107_092013.jpg" title="First narcissi" width="225" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGFu_yf4G81y14QBHLjf2aYtLruaPSIz0UXpNdanGQty-DAQeQ-dnziKRIwwaeWnvc7BVcaUxN3En_Jj-8r8JjzQs0wSKPAnTVE2B1T2glhLL6TreT-cFFVPbfQenCzaFMzMtAFssqY8/s1600/IMG_20180107_085301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="snuggled up sleeping cat" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGFu_yf4G81y14QBHLjf2aYtLruaPSIz0UXpNdanGQty-DAQeQ-dnziKRIwwaeWnvc7BVcaUxN3En_Jj-8r8JjzQs0wSKPAnTVE2B1T2glhLL6TreT-cFFVPbfQenCzaFMzMtAFssqY8/s400/IMG_20180107_085301.jpg" title="Hibernating Ralf" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyjg37KTqifp7r86jlYPbO9dROzyKF3rQTE0qUSkY7sGEKc8xOhKjwizvlZAzLVrafc_Wo_gzfs9X72qTOk79fKGkmmD5EkPuFiN7fxnyssZYw32Bs1FdCx0djMzuBRLbfxYkPEScruk/s1600/IMG_20180107_141612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="handknit sock hand knitting " border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFyjg37KTqifp7r86jlYPbO9dROzyKF3rQTE0qUSkY7sGEKc8xOhKjwizvlZAzLVrafc_Wo_gzfs9X72qTOk79fKGkmmD5EkPuFiN7fxnyssZYw32Bs1FdCx0djMzuBRLbfxYkPEScruk/s400/IMG_20180107_141612.jpg" title="Elongated Corded Rib handknit sock" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Sky and mood are both a lot brighter today, though hibernation is definitely not over yet! It was lovely but very chilly in the park today. The trees were filled with long-tailed tits searching for whatever tiny bugs it is that they eat. Their tiny chirrups were the most lovely soundtrack to a beautiful walk, though how they keep their tiny selves warm is beyond me and my six hundred layers.<br />
<br />
Stitch by stitch I made a sock and got myself through a tough few weeks. Feeling low for a whole host of reasons I'm so glad that I found my way back to knitting on something absorbing. That old sanity saver has really worked its magic again. I know I've still got to make the other sock but I <i>feel</i> like a knitter again.<br />
<br />
The surest sign that the old addiction is back is that it's only willpower and cold toes that have kept me working on this sock. Suddenly all the dreamy patterns on <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Thumbelina" target="_blank">Ravelry</a> are calling me. I have a hundred different sock patterns I want to start and to the left of me, here in my sofa nest, is the already printed pattern that is calling me the loudest: the <a href="https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/pay-it-forward" target="_blank">Pay It Forward scarf</a>. I'm letting it court me, playing a little hard to get. I'm thinking about yarn combinations while my fingers work on the sock, I daren't start pulling skeins out of the stash and begin the fondling (second base??) or I know I'd have to cast on!<br />
<br />
Assuming it is my second sock that I cast on this afternoon, I'll be watching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8BR0H4zmScKaV8A_-fO_zA/videos" target="_blank">Nicole at the gentle knitter podcast</a> while I knit it. It's been one of the happy surprises about diving back in to yarn obsessing, that somewhere in my knitting lull, podcasts went from audio only to video. This one is providing beautiful companionship (and source of plenty of inspiration for what to cast on next!).Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-68809796926688146572017-12-31T11:46:00.001+00:002017-12-31T11:46:04.975+00:00That sock magic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjjATLh1nWe5M2bm1yKRBCbN3YGFNA8efRbNRTHr6TPfp1QMANoRMyUu_OjuHW7C-bC6XvRp101RufyzRoEnDw3Wn6sGSw4ZyjIjbShj2VnB9FtHpNx5Ykso4CCxojOfQRfIXzZk9i0o/s1600/IMG_20171231_113835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hand knitting sock with Sensation Knitted Socks" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjjATLh1nWe5M2bm1yKRBCbN3YGFNA8efRbNRTHr6TPfp1QMANoRMyUu_OjuHW7C-bC6XvRp101RufyzRoEnDw3Wn6sGSw4ZyjIjbShj2VnB9FtHpNx5Ykso4CCxojOfQRfIXzZk9i0o/s400/IMG_20171231_113835.jpg" title="Sock in progress" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I felt the flickers of an old impetus and I cast on some socks just before the Christmas break began and have been cosied up with them whenever possible. They are so delicious. I had to get my Sensational Knitted Socks out to have a clue where to start. I thought I might be in trouble when I need to look up what SSK meant but my hands remembered the long tail cast on, the needles sit just right in my hands and it is so pleasing to watch it grow. Top down, my old favourite construction, there is a rhythm here that is deeply satisfying.<br />
<br />
I'd forgotten the comments and conversations that knitting socks in particular seem to draw. Can you make me some? (Mostly no, only the most beloveds get hand knits). How long will they take? Followed up by "HOW LONG? and then one of the classics - "You do know you can get a five pack from xxx (insert their favourite shop) for just £x" (always good to know what people spend on socks!) It's an insight in to how fixated so many people are on having things quickly and cheaply rather than having something special, or exploring the enjoyment of the process of making them. These are the same people I'm sat chatting with. Their time has passed without making anything so you'd think they'd be in awe at my multi-tasking efficiency!<br />
<br />
I turned the heel last night and went to bed puzzling over what I used to do to tighten up the picked up stitches around the heel flap. Overnight my brain offered up the old trick of knitting through the back to twist the stitch. It's been so long that there's this funny sensation of doing something new that I am mysteriously talented at. I can't deny it's a enjoyable phenomenon. Years of practice make you a natural when you get back on the bike!<br />
<br />
I'd like to see more craft magic sprinkled through 2018 so I'm going to set myself a little project of finishing something each month. Let's see whether that little challenge helps to keep these fingers busy.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-24511041243344101092017-10-25T14:50:00.001+01:002017-10-25T14:50:33.730+01:00Today I love...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dqEQHC1YmtptMWTNpFH95vg22VlGGpE_dbgTRy4zkLZUq5n07GxA_SRWBs86ANEbHeaVTGGIc3aDZdl0edCNKYf0V7LUK_5eQxEn0Ar_rsMMeI7sidiVfVs1sp5tFej1GoBeIfHm1Wc/s1600/IMG_20171024_124422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dqEQHC1YmtptMWTNpFH95vg22VlGGpE_dbgTRy4zkLZUq5n07GxA_SRWBs86ANEbHeaVTGGIc3aDZdl0edCNKYf0V7LUK_5eQxEn0Ar_rsMMeI7sidiVfVs1sp5tFej1GoBeIfHm1Wc/s320/IMG_20171024_124422.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
... AUTUMN! Once upon a time I forgot about how delicious autumn was because I was dreading winter, I must be growing up because now I love them both! But especially autumn. Oh the colours. Today the sun is shining and the sky is vibrantly blue, blue in a way you can stare at and fall in to. Blue in a way it doesn't seem in summer because the sun is so strong. So I love the softer sun, the deeper blue, the myriad of colours in the leaves, the lichens, the hedgerow bounty. I love how alive I'm feeling, wrapped in mischief and magic and my new glorious cardigan/coat/garment never to be removed. Happy October! For sure, this is the most magical time of the year.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-6240913362784139672017-09-09T11:06:00.001+01:002017-09-09T11:06:42.285+01:00LightYesterday I was introduced to the work of Sharon McErlane and <a href="https://www.netoflight.org/" target="_blank">Net of Light</a> by my lovely <a href="http://www.saspetherick.com/" target="_blank">Sas</a>, it resonated with me so powerfully and the timing! I am working with <a href="http://www.meghangenge.com/" target="_blank">Meghan</a> circled with women <a href="http://www.meghangenge.com/returning-to-the-fire-the-circle/" target="_blank">Returning to the Fire,</a> and it was one of the moments when you just have absolute faith that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. A moment that I could feel through every cell my connection to the Divine, my oneness with that energy. Purest magic.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzM9wUY8eiMi4TagKhdzfYE8nDaXhDws1Uc47gZZHmfF3GIiobJw783vteDh0V-9hyphenhyphenpDVVMKlQeVCVjIVUrC0VsSboNCXHnmDixSpU_GQAFCit4LzIoE7_pHVJhn56rpne9PgSWztFo7Q/s1600/Light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sunlight flare through lime trees - with a sparkle on a messenger from the Morrigan" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzM9wUY8eiMi4TagKhdzfYE8nDaXhDws1Uc47gZZHmfF3GIiobJw783vteDh0V-9hyphenhyphenpDVVMKlQeVCVjIVUrC0VsSboNCXHnmDixSpU_GQAFCit4LzIoE7_pHVJhn56rpne9PgSWztFo7Q/s400/Light.jpg" title="Light" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This morning, out there under my trees, I was thinking about how we shine our lights.... or not. Wondering how we find the beacons among the tides of sleepwalkers. Thinking that if we shy away from showing our true selves we are short changing ourselves and the world. I believe one of the gifts of navigating through darkness is that you can see the closest light to move towards. No matter how small. So here I am being that little light, writing on a blog that not even my Mum reads any more :) .<br />
<br />
It would be so easy not to post this, to just feel like writing something here is shining about as bright as a failing bulb in a cheap torch. Yet, what harm can I do? I release the pressure of reaching anyone but me and bring levity to this gentle little action. I am a light bearer in any way that I feel able and empowered to be. Who am I not to be? It is a strange kind of arrogance, living ego led, to not allow the Divine to shine through me. In the darkness even a tiny, flickering, light is so welcome. Even if I am the only person who reads this I have helped myself by a tiny act of courage and have a light here to come back to when it is feeling dark again. If not, then I hope that whoever you are reading this, you can find a similar tiny way to bring a little more light and love to the world. No-one can deny how much it is needed, and I am committed to not letting the enormity of that feeling overwhelm simple, tiny, joyful things.<br />
<br />
I am sharing a poem I read for the first time this morning, shared by a wonderful woman in the Returning to the Fire circle. It feels like an essential part of everything that I am feeling right now.<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The Laughter Of Women </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
by Lisel Mueller</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The laughter of women sets fire<span class="m_4518601092140469885gmail-text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;"><br />to the Halls of Injustice<br />and the false evidence burns<br />to a beautiful white lightness</span></div>
<div class="m_4518601092140469885gmail-text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px;">
It rattles the Chambers of Congress<br />
and forces the windows wide open<br />
so the fatuous speeches can fly out</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The laughter of women wipes the mist<br />
from the spectacles of the old;<br />
it infects them with a happy flu<br />
and they laugh as if they were young again</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Prisoners held in underground cells<br />
imagine that they see daylight<br />
when they remember the laughter of women</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
It runs across water that divides,<br />
and reconciles two unfriendly shores<br />
like flares that signal the news to each other</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
What a language it is, the laughter of women,<br />
high-flying and subversive.<br />
Long before law and scripture<br />
we heard the laughter, we understood freedom.</div>
</div>
<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-22276389398770994532017-03-03T18:02:00.001+00:002017-03-03T18:02:45.156+00:00More trunk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFzA8c1ae-5abBjFXAUoG3ib19i44Z9UBDWZ1sSpJU8llmWdLP6QaK8VnKDRQHqHavrD7kyEGP6IaKWdzLF5YdxWwZkhglIrZApeeuI32VGgjprhgSL1ZdlAR924uMOFlNflnqXc1Ojw/s1600/IMG_20170303_140231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTFzA8c1ae-5abBjFXAUoG3ib19i44Z9UBDWZ1sSpJU8llmWdLP6QaK8VnKDRQHqHavrD7kyEGP6IaKWdzLF5YdxWwZkhglIrZApeeuI32VGgjprhgSL1ZdlAR924uMOFlNflnqXc1Ojw/s400/IMG_20170303_140231.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujO8e7pgYlygxT7MIqKfJUwqwynvEz-JRWGq364wGPO5Cxygl_R0GAmvnxov7s8fH59u89NY-Rjhkvl_MbWNa_ws7e6cO8risHa8eJYojebWaPwFuMNT2VuCrvCt2xQjP8mX7jv-dhXU/s1600/IMG_20170303_140258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujO8e7pgYlygxT7MIqKfJUwqwynvEz-JRWGq364wGPO5Cxygl_R0GAmvnxov7s8fH59u89NY-Rjhkvl_MbWNa_ws7e6cO8risHa8eJYojebWaPwFuMNT2VuCrvCt2xQjP8mX7jv-dhXU/s400/IMG_20170303_140258.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMo271xXou79QQ0Sb03ITeoYaSSy0kNJj7OC9ARgKDo45qu2yKAEb9_SeOQDbobq7itHS3ZzC74WwHJt8G4NZzfJ4FL7cleX7lV8W_GJErLhGebOWRi6LpqslMU0cvXlqGxYNQjYB9_4/s1600/IMG_20170303_140118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMo271xXou79QQ0Sb03ITeoYaSSy0kNJj7OC9ARgKDo45qu2yKAEb9_SeOQDbobq7itHS3ZzC74WwHJt8G4NZzfJ4FL7cleX7lV8W_GJErLhGebOWRi6LpqslMU0cvXlqGxYNQjYB9_4/s400/IMG_20170303_140118.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
Not so much progress with the stitching this week. A little more filling in of the bark, a lot of not actually stitching. I've been so tired that making space for even ten minutes of daily craft time has been a stretch. Inspiration required, luckily it's literally on my doorstep! I took a few moments out there with the source today. Through the rain and cold spring is coming. The branches are full of pointy blossom buds, progress with the start of building work is slower than expected so I may yet see this beauty bloom again. I won't be hustling this project along. This makes me notice that though I often bemoan the pace of life I then also often drive things along. I can't bear inefficiency, maybe my definition of efficient just needs a little tweaking.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-51243987433796637352017-02-24T12:26:00.004+00:002017-02-24T12:26:39.851+00:00Trunk!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrepjHYx71S6vlwB0XHl3CeVzdcjcv1T0_DZp2mq7PW1FsLllUC1xAEBJDfLAQq3fiA81g0anAw47OHUq2C-lAh8gpa-DGNQupLRF4zc_-fE_ujdr2QX6UqkbIShhM83kKP1CY22aMSQ/s1600/IMG_20170219_120241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tree embroidery with scissors" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrepjHYx71S6vlwB0XHl3CeVzdcjcv1T0_DZp2mq7PW1FsLllUC1xAEBJDfLAQq3fiA81g0anAw47OHUq2C-lAh8gpa-DGNQupLRF4zc_-fE_ujdr2QX6UqkbIShhM83kKP1CY22aMSQ/s400/IMG_20170219_120241.jpg" title="Tree embroidery" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiolbVYQwcK7YBYzgBt8jdk4irISQL1L2bQfNYvqaUolxK2cCTwebxyT5egZU4vk0wxysrEx3yOoE3fIYFLUXxy79nUcqtWs5Z8pT5rDqzY0yGRGWhJZccuwXgzXZtUtxXoBfS91cpR8/s1600/IMG_20170224_111722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Stitched tree trunk" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwiolbVYQwcK7YBYzgBt8jdk4irISQL1L2bQfNYvqaUolxK2cCTwebxyT5egZU4vk0wxysrEx3yOoE3fIYFLUXxy79nUcqtWs5Z8pT5rDqzY0yGRGWhJZccuwXgzXZtUtxXoBfS91cpR8/s400/IMG_20170224_111722.jpg" title="Tree embroidery 24 February" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My beautiful tree has had her branches tossed around by storm Doris this week but is soaking up the sunshine out there today. Such a joyful "after the storm, spring is coming, soon, promise" kind of a day.</div>
<br />
All of my daily ten minutes craft prescription time plus a fair bit more has been dedicated to tree stitching. On Sunday I just parked my tired, achey little body by the door and stitched until I felt a whole lot better. That restful absorption is the craft therapy magic I think.<br />
<br />
I love that the trunk is emerging, and is feeling really true to life. She's looking a little more silver birch than plum right now, but the choice of the sideways stitch to reflect the striations of the bark makes me happy.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-8284152410446147902017-02-17T17:49:00.001+00:002017-02-17T17:49:12.331+00:00One small stitch for man...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTyA8tKhtAxxuHvM90oHUoAPs_xivHwXkfa63zfpjgep8N3ogMw0PxiBOUE4WhGbxEEkU-icilOkeDgT0yOZ8EFCYhMfqHdKgKBAASEDOg00cQULE7mWwZPI1Efcoj9uKcXY5i_oHueM/s1600/IMG_20170217_172334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Starting an embroidered portrait of a tree" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoTyA8tKhtAxxuHvM90oHUoAPs_xivHwXkfa63zfpjgep8N3ogMw0PxiBOUE4WhGbxEEkU-icilOkeDgT0yOZ8EFCYhMfqHdKgKBAASEDOg00cQULE7mWwZPI1Efcoj9uKcXY5i_oHueM/s400/IMG_20170217_172334.jpg" title="Embroidery begins" width="400" /></a></div>
I have embarked on an epic project. I want to caption this photo "can you tell what it is yet?" with Aussie inflection but that phrase from my childhood is out of bounds these days. Anyway it's a trunk. Of a tree. I'm stitching a portrait of my most <a href="http://allfingersandthumbs.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/zenith-of-plum-blossomyness.html" target="_blank">beloved plum tree</a>. Everyday companion for the last twelve or so years, we haven't got long left together. I don't think I will see her blossom again. Sob.<br />
<br />
We're most likely having an extension built. It will be amazing to have more space but I wish, I wish, I WISH I could keep my plum tree too. It won't work. If anything it's too close to the house already and should long ago have been dispatched to the great orchard in the sky. I feel like a sentimental ole fool, what a palaver over a tree. Then I think about how many memories are wrapped around that trunk and nestled in the crook of her branches and it makes a little more sense. I love that tree and enjoy it every single day. I am lucky to have shared this space with the tree and grateful for the new beginnings that are part of the ending. My family tree is a bit like this at the moment too. Ah stitchy stitching, you create space to hold so many feelings.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-37241187283854315312017-02-10T20:39:00.000+00:002017-02-10T20:39:06.292+00:00Making Winter and finding a little spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6mW7YV9fcELbNG3Ydi2x9XhXPG5Qkxe5yTgyCMbCXaG_FinHfHajE7d6wmfuFc0aA6mSHv1f20oLCVtzT_4Gk4ie-h6St-jTEW-oxeNgzWCUYek9ReUh1hHU9_C18MRWRNieF3g_vRI/s1600/IMG_20170207_162405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Sun shining up like God behind the clouds" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6mW7YV9fcELbNG3Ydi2x9XhXPG5Qkxe5yTgyCMbCXaG_FinHfHajE7d6wmfuFc0aA6mSHv1f20oLCVtzT_4Gk4ie-h6St-jTEW-oxeNgzWCUYek9ReUh1hHU9_C18MRWRNieF3g_vRI/s400/IMG_20170207_162405.jpg" title="Sunlight and blue skies lift my heart" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Though the silence here might suggest it, I haven't actually been hibernating all winter. It's kind of been like my <a href="http://allfingersandthumbs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/the-summer-of-not-much-love.html" target="_blank">summer</a> but colder, greyer and damper. A bit like Eeyore in a puddle. As soon as I work out which country has only spring and autumn, I'm there, till then I seek coping strategies.<br />
<br />
So far this year I've found three great ones -<br />
<br />
No.1: a day long yoga <a href="http://www.restfulbeing.com/events/2017/4/22/urban-day-retreat" target="_blank">retreat</a> with my regular class teacher. It was such a gentle day I felt lovely and mellow that evening, full of the kindness that I had been cultivating in the practice and then I spent the next four days in bed! It had been coming a while in all honesty, I think the work we did just unlocked a wave of exhaustion and made me face where I really was. The only way is through.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGOBpdT0JntNtOzaj2JE-OhMQvf4VYX51ZLd8t5taH9tLS3UQU9jB96eI8mF8VzzfmACwqwuI_AhK174hV-_yhosC_B2MGBA-lCUgHUUyWjx_zyxnDjetT3eysLeOOALY3PWESomKrqQ/s1600/IMG_20170207_074837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Journalling on wisdom from Mara Glatzel" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaGOBpdT0JntNtOzaj2JE-OhMQvf4VYX51ZLd8t5taH9tLS3UQU9jB96eI8mF8VzzfmACwqwuI_AhK174hV-_yhosC_B2MGBA-lCUgHUUyWjx_zyxnDjetT3eysLeOOALY3PWESomKrqQ/s400/IMG_20170207_074837.jpg" title="Learning from Cycle with Mara Glatzel - Energy is neither created or destroyed we need to reclaim & repurpose what we have" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
No.2: A seasonal virtual retreat with that bodhisattva of self-care <a href="http://www.maraglatzel.com/" target="_blank">Mara</a>. Happily a shade less dramatic physically but it has really helped me pick my heart up from the lows of that crash. I signed up for <a href="http://www.maraglatzel.com/classes-live-events/" target="_blank">Cycle</a> about two seconds after resolving to stop trying to buy myself 'better' through books and courses and Stuff. Thank goodness for my contrariness because a few hours of virtual retreating with a lovely circle of women was just the catalyst I needed to clarify what I am craving this year and to gently ease me back towards helpful practices that had become increasingly fragmented. I see how that old rascal - practice - is so key to everything but I feel like I need a constant reminder that just a little can still make a difference. Stitching together little pockets of care creates a very different outlook.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqv99RDMY9bKo37F6q8meSL3wRe5jLUznP-e7CuMqXxeyI0d3VIkjw_DAOhcKKXD5B8QvkBHDbxj4MYeF4c1Lpg_EaJVqZElstLt7yToT7hQ8VO1igmmhoJbmkmc09jDIMMnj2m2rBog/s1600/IMG_20170206_171440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Knitting and blankets, cosy craft time" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqv99RDMY9bKo37F6q8meSL3wRe5jLUznP-e7CuMqXxeyI0d3VIkjw_DAOhcKKXD5B8QvkBHDbxj4MYeF4c1Lpg_EaJVqZElstLt7yToT7hQ8VO1igmmhoJbmkmc09jDIMMnj2m2rBog/s400/IMG_20170206_171440.jpg" title="Craft prescription written for February - 10 minutes at least a day" width="225" /></a></div>
No.3: The <a href="https://silverpebble.net/studio-and-garden" target="_blank">Making Winter retreat</a> and its after effects are a testament to exactly that. A little of what you fancy does you the power of good. <a href="https://silverpebble.net/" target="_blank">Emma</a> drew together four fabulous craft workshops over two days to allow a little dabbling in what all crafters can testify are serotonin boosting activities. Of course the laughing and laughing and chatting and laughing in beautiful surroundings didn't hurt one iota either. I've come home with a well of inspiration and written myself a daily craft prescription for the rest of February. I'm thinking that might be one practice that lasts out these last cold days of winter.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjl6sgl0rU1FaSuQFuBhRsiVg96Ni3rCdodY4lmnc7GYQMrmlbcoWgI8YUKYAXX6zLdiTccnSqttVRomxT809zj1sfiGzKCfKAm_rIuMwf0hVuweDoWKsXRqxK18_YHcK90nas2chkRp4/s1600/IMG_20170205_112805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Willow weaving lanterns or bird feeders" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjl6sgl0rU1FaSuQFuBhRsiVg96Ni3rCdodY4lmnc7GYQMrmlbcoWgI8YUKYAXX6zLdiTccnSqttVRomxT809zj1sfiGzKCfKAm_rIuMwf0hVuweDoWKsXRqxK18_YHcK90nas2chkRp4/s400/IMG_20170205_112805.jpg" title="Willow weaving with Val in the amazing barn" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJGvNyhNsDuMRZiVslM5GvjZZgf3gh80F-wDa_xuJMghsvOeOQmktwcVOg6XdLQGuDfMWNrUIR3XOQWX5b95oE5xHqDLnQ9_OlwjDo-bxI-Fc4nPLpniVgw574UbvyeK5smzjPGxNPL8Q/s1600/IMG_20170204_164353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Emma Mitchell, Silver Pebble's teaching collection" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJGvNyhNsDuMRZiVslM5GvjZZgf3gh80F-wDa_xuJMghsvOeOQmktwcVOg6XdLQGuDfMWNrUIR3XOQWX5b95oE5xHqDLnQ9_OlwjDo-bxI-Fc4nPLpniVgw574UbvyeK5smzjPGxNPL8Q/s400/IMG_20170204_164353.jpg" title="Emma's treasure chest of silver creations" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgid2P8SniobBmeePAEli21M70ppPS8eo-rFBzpQcalRuv9PAFSuPF2_P_Nwtnvprh229pcUk4Zd_DUwzKvnvKa_dnY8aP0iDkFuFdbDYIb1VtQgdvEYPGIfK0ixJppV3hdOLSi7rlclzk/s1600/IMG_20170204_141707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Hand holding seedhead" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgid2P8SniobBmeePAEli21M70ppPS8eo-rFBzpQcalRuv9PAFSuPF2_P_Nwtnvprh229pcUk4Zd_DUwzKvnvKa_dnY8aP0iDkFuFdbDYIb1VtQgdvEYPGIfK0ixJppV3hdOLSi7rlclzk/s400/IMG_20170204_141707.jpg" title="Rachel and one of her beloved seedheads" width="225" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-loYW-R5mJcHwrwaZRK7DgeUxFNX4SsZtUFQz9WjKpM3RPabK8VwKQvhWQM1gJiSSzKYg35UAtdj_JEFJhSqsjzlYkIpQl6gs0jje8D1WABgWyiDbo__yy-BSCrAyGmM6C3MTEXtCS4/s1600/IMG_20170204_144841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Blossom peeping over a wall against a blue sky" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-loYW-R5mJcHwrwaZRK7DgeUxFNX4SsZtUFQz9WjKpM3RPabK8VwKQvhWQM1gJiSSzKYg35UAtdj_JEFJhSqsjzlYkIpQl6gs0jje8D1WABgWyiDbo__yy-BSCrAyGmM6C3MTEXtCS4/s400/IMG_20170204_144841.jpg" title="Walled garden blossom" width="400" /></a></div>
Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-19985186503206424442016-10-28T12:37:00.000+01:002016-10-28T12:37:37.035+01:00Today my heart sings for...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMCUptOrtEg_cli6vt8KrzIiYfhyphenhyphenjA67FD_Fa9zj59H8x3KdPEBp9Eo7hOO_ek9LsKMB3erjBoCIa9jJ_VzSduTxUX8agwHPnSf9xWespyQexHRrNRGggJ0zilZBuL_bmuylO2NojJ_w/s1600/IMG_20161027_090533.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Horse Chestnut leaves carpeting Florence Park" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMCUptOrtEg_cli6vt8KrzIiYfhyphenhyphenjA67FD_Fa9zj59H8x3KdPEBp9Eo7hOO_ek9LsKMB3erjBoCIa9jJ_VzSduTxUX8agwHPnSf9xWespyQexHRrNRGggJ0zilZBuL_bmuylO2NojJ_w/s400/IMG_20161027_090533.jpg" title="Autumn in Florence Park under the Horse Chestnuts" width="300" /></a></div>
... the mercurial moods of autumn: from the the bold, dazzling colours gleaming in the sun, through golden twilights to murky, mysterious misty mornings... pigeons cooing and moulting a hundred feathers... my dear Auntie Jo... the bite of wind that brings roses to my cheeks... Luke Sital-Singh serenading me... finding a peaceful path through complicated relationships... the ginkgo trees in the park... the smooth, golden bark of the eucalyptus... oh all the trees, always... chai tea... Halloween... my little spare room space... rose petals... baba ganoush... the smell of incense... a weekend filled with friends, Friends...Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-55373823882937812342016-10-21T12:27:00.000+01:002016-10-21T12:27:06.077+01:00It's a tromance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg20F2hDmwzUl_GsOCKrIVsuFXaoJuNjwRFw8vszqGKz3hMtEuVbRqhIByd1d-qDyLbZz7ySyghWvNhl_mPTMoGkChJzP_NsZ8sfbOOfebXjk7aLLaUEBbeApyYcd3vd0Sissm0CZdNK_8/s1600/IMG_20161021_111319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="English beech leaves close up" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg20F2hDmwzUl_GsOCKrIVsuFXaoJuNjwRFw8vszqGKz3hMtEuVbRqhIByd1d-qDyLbZz7ySyghWvNhl_mPTMoGkChJzP_NsZ8sfbOOfebXjk7aLLaUEBbeApyYcd3vd0Sissm0CZdNK_8/s400/IMG_20161021_111319.jpg" title="Beech leaves carpet the ground" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOagivztfpUMSD_XcJuyvOruO05MARmH8edmbWtrrZXnA9S9gHPiJA4ht4OwLhup7oEFTE9kSvWhWA_OTHrTCfa2ZQqWukFjxWgwYEynQ8l71mlhl5jzvLI1hK5XgabiHeeIc9UwULnc/s1600/IMG_20161021_105954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Eye in the bark of a beech trunk" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyOagivztfpUMSD_XcJuyvOruO05MARmH8edmbWtrrZXnA9S9gHPiJA4ht4OwLhup7oEFTE9kSvWhWA_OTHrTCfa2ZQqWukFjxWgwYEynQ8l71mlhl5jzvLI1hK5XgabiHeeIc9UwULnc/s400/IMG_20161021_105954.jpg" title="Beech trunk watching" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRyg5Mu8EIutjSPrIH1IPNp9w4g5LIv5Xb7CWA52FT9x91knJIac4wWHBfaFQdZ99IP7j-EZrHOzdIlN1yWFNZw1Dp3xRMfutVr9YbD5P3vwGtS5rx81NXPBIPirptui1KAnQewujxbw/s1600/IMG_20161021_104726.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Beech mast casing on branch" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRyg5Mu8EIutjSPrIH1IPNp9w4g5LIv5Xb7CWA52FT9x91knJIac4wWHBfaFQdZ99IP7j-EZrHOzdIlN1yWFNZw1Dp3xRMfutVr9YbD5P3vwGtS5rx81NXPBIPirptui1KAnQewujxbw/s400/IMG_20161021_104726.jpg" title="Beech leaves and mast" width="225" /></a></div>
The beech are catching my eye right now. I'm taking my time with them. Sinking in and letting the feeling of my heart dancing bubble up. There are huge, gracious, glories in my local park and hanging out with them is a daily joy. The <a href="http://allfingersandthumbs.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/roll-up-roll-up.html" target="_blank">magic of watching them</a> takes me deeper into love with my life. I noticed for the first time this spring how soft and vulnerable their concertina leaves are as they push out of the long, spindly buds. Reaching out for the light; sure of their purpose. While I'd revelled in that acid green of fresh beech woods I hadn't realised what tender pleats they start out in. Collected, fallen beech leaves were my one reference. Shiny, summer toughened, autumn browned and I assumed they popped out hard and ready for their work ahead.<br />
<br />
In one breath I'm not quite sure how we've swept from those tender spring days to these so fast. In another I am just, so grateful, to be here. There were times when I thought the <a href="http://allfingersandthumbs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/the-summer-of-not-much-love.html" target="_blank">summer would never end</a>.<br />
<br />
I'm feeling so much better, reset; resolutions set for the year ahead like the buds forming on the showy beauties all around me. I'm with these deciduous trees casting the tired summer done leaves aside and readying myself, curious for whatever winter has in store.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-73181458582034675332016-10-01T09:18:00.000+01:002016-10-01T09:18:52.371+01:00Open the love-window<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2aqK6CwhMy4tJR1boi8NfVJVgU8fAzqwNSHMeI-t45P6OZJZeTL1GkLnTepZkFo0F33WE4CgCapPETxYz-nRG6jImX14WictAuU3AsMYqB32A-b5rcYNiVl-AhMUfd3HTR-2PhWDJAc/s1600/IMG_20160924_152728.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="The lily needs some wild Darling" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR2aqK6CwhMy4tJR1boi8NfVJVgU8fAzqwNSHMeI-t45P6OZJZeTL1GkLnTepZkFo0F33WE4CgCapPETxYz-nRG6jImX14WictAuU3AsMYqB32A-b5rcYNiVl-AhMUfd3HTR-2PhWDJAc/s400/IMG_20160924_152728.jpg" title="The lily needs some wild Darling" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 1.3em;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There is some kiss we want</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
with our whole lives,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the touch of Spirit on the body.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Seawater begs the pearl</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to break its shell.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And the lily, how passionately</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
it needs some wild Darling!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
At night, I open the window</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and ask the moon to come</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and press its face against mine.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Breathe into me.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Close the language-door,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and open the love-window.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The moon won't use the door,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
only the window.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Rumi</div>
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-11559680219104733612016-09-07T18:09:00.000+01:002016-09-07T18:09:05.152+01:00Library Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XHs_UaYIY7jaRAD2vw6abqyhy28IcfbvZWmASNMJL4vUejyS1WixeYIv7ZWBZpnr4_3XhckWguTn_N3JnYiIug5r5jk79YqjMXAGhztqevT1v-E3-lr1xF-9kweNbVcRhOsblGwptvE/s1600/IMG_20160907_173031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Books borrowed from Temple Cowley library" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XHs_UaYIY7jaRAD2vw6abqyhy28IcfbvZWmASNMJL4vUejyS1WixeYIv7ZWBZpnr4_3XhckWguTn_N3JnYiIug5r5jk79YqjMXAGhztqevT1v-E3-lr1xF-9kweNbVcRhOsblGwptvE/s400/IMG_20160907_173031.jpg" title="Library books" width="225" /></a></div>
Just back from our three-weekly date night with a stack of new reads. Love the freedom in library picks, choosing on a whim, judging by covers, blurbs, mere fancy much more than when I am paying for a book. I find it easier to stop reading too if it doesn't catch my imagination. Back it can go and nothing lost.<br />
<br />
Our little library visit has been a regular in the diary since my trip to the States last autumn. I visited two glorious libraries in <a href="http://provincetownlibrary.org/" target="_blank">Provincetown</a> and <a href="http://www.bpl.org/" target="_blank">Boston</a>. Stunning buildings with huge collections that made you itch to just pull up a chair and stay all day. The previous summer I visited the most delightful gem of a members' library in <a href="https://providenceathenaeum.org/" target="_blank">Providence</a> that seemed so perfectly formed it could have fallen from the pages of one of the novels it housed. They seemed to honour the beauty of the books that lived within them and like they would capture and create new bibliophiles second by second. I felt like our libraries paled into the background against these widely varied but equally glorious creations. Then I wondered if I wasn't just out of touch it had been so astonishingly long since I actually crossed the threshold of any of our public lending libraries.<br />
<br />
So all inspired I renewed my local branch library visiting habits and it turns out it's still rather lovely in there despite the funding cuts. Other members of the public have not neglected it in the way I did. It's not in the league of any of the gems mentioned above but for a little area of a little city it's not too shabby. Though that is exactly what the public Central Library is. In fourteen years of living in this city I have been twice. The second time last autumn to see if my shock and dismay at my first visit in 2002 had really been justified. I think they were. It's a hideous building with a limited collection. Maybe our main library is designed to weed out the aesthetes, those who sort of like books but only if they can sit on a comfy chair and read one in natural light. Maybe it's to lending what <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/black-books" target="_blank">Black Books</a> is to retail. In a city famed for the universities libraries it's horribly out of keeping. A definite area where gown beats town!<br />
<br />
There's something so nostalgic about library trips for me, so many things still feel the same. I basically lived in the Saltash lending library as a kid, was going to be a librarian, until I was going to be a lawyer which I researched in a book from their shelves. I loved summer reading challenges (those are still going strong). It was right next door to my primary school and for my whole childhood was a treasured visiting and meeting space. They had funny wire bucket chairs and it was a huge high, purpose built building with a roof that leaked into the atrium where the reference section was. Oh I should so go back for a visit next time I'm down that way. I still have a Cornwall lending ticket though I fear it may be defunct by now. I remember when we switched from our six little cardboard holders for the paper tickets to the barcoded card. These days we normally check our books out on the automated machine. Crazy! I do miss the stamped date though, nothing quite like the sound of the library stamp.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-46423254824010914222016-08-26T10:49:00.002+01:002016-08-26T10:49:35.972+01:00The Summer of Not Much Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4K5pZ7jJepEUoLygonWmsKFtZ8dnQMjpbhCxiLeqaSCUv0m9cMeEYWY-hah8sBk1aVDB0N5jjoayWX2qBJWYOEbcA2_q0azvUKsPIu-tX7jrRhjmjwrReSR2YVTyVTRgps7IDXOyld8/s1600/IMG_20160612_184341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The cove at Bank End Farm, Isle of Wight" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4K5pZ7jJepEUoLygonWmsKFtZ8dnQMjpbhCxiLeqaSCUv0m9cMeEYWY-hah8sBk1aVDB0N5jjoayWX2qBJWYOEbcA2_q0azvUKsPIu-tX7jrRhjmjwrReSR2YVTyVTRgps7IDXOyld8/s400/IMG_20160612_184341.jpg" title="The cove at Bank End Farm, Isle of Wight" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWi1XVU2-CJOcK38XM7NJ1wG3uCSw0KA8qQSZQ2C-rSA5ihE4gVKng1lDqUXk3rbMpJoYtR3J9sQowJhr1t_vRbiiVYM9JycubdL91mOWNVxJUXOpFfdji0u-PAmk-9CE9EIHdbm3-oLY/s1600/IMG_20160616_160406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Steephill Cove, Isle of Wight" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWi1XVU2-CJOcK38XM7NJ1wG3uCSw0KA8qQSZQ2C-rSA5ihE4gVKng1lDqUXk3rbMpJoYtR3J9sQowJhr1t_vRbiiVYM9JycubdL91mOWNVxJUXOpFfdji0u-PAmk-9CE9EIHdbm3-oLY/s400/IMG_20160616_160406.jpg" title="Steephill Cove, Isle of Wight" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3v2J2LqRu8yPGokVZJoP1CGeK7QVuH3RsrhcLKghXCtof3-uIIKCoq7ZRlydyHYcDmrYlWIZ0SaGy1coudNfvwnGc8BS4lc-xX6_CZLfDXqzzaJdOSQaiMASQhwievqQIaYNQ9CTiUs/s1600/IMG_20160616_193241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Daisies" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3v2J2LqRu8yPGokVZJoP1CGeK7QVuH3RsrhcLKghXCtof3-uIIKCoq7ZRlydyHYcDmrYlWIZ0SaGy1coudNfvwnGc8BS4lc-xX6_CZLfDXqzzaJdOSQaiMASQhwievqQIaYNQ9CTiUs/s400/IMG_20160616_193241.jpg" title="Daisies" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQUV2Ty5iBYs71m9zou5l3QsgL6UWbYrpyauUAmX5vbckKjbq0lBXgmbXg03CMIgOWtJrE58P0-JMVol_WsfyaKaovhIuh4xBS1IwprlpsXZWnXuIFsNzV5xoR4Fn-TcWzALeRH2R9es/s1600/IMG_20160618_154949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Queen Nina, Siamese Ruler" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAQUV2Ty5iBYs71m9zou5l3QsgL6UWbYrpyauUAmX5vbckKjbq0lBXgmbXg03CMIgOWtJrE58P0-JMVol_WsfyaKaovhIuh4xBS1IwprlpsXZWnXuIFsNzV5xoR4Fn-TcWzALeRH2R9es/s400/IMG_20160618_154949.jpg" title="Queen Nina" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtAVZLErGz8I2B-KD1yMNXnVOhNZyNzZ3k4uK3uR0yQzha5o1kn44ceMylGN_Afwif_fANF5XxAlICYOSJR6DQxYYfb9KrfTBatGwpO7GxxegIvmZtrGtk8UYsuc9pJcw0qpTLQFVv98/s1600/IMG_20160709_124400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Simplicty, the best advice from the Angel Cards" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtAVZLErGz8I2B-KD1yMNXnVOhNZyNzZ3k4uK3uR0yQzha5o1kn44ceMylGN_Afwif_fANF5XxAlICYOSJR6DQxYYfb9KrfTBatGwpO7GxxegIvmZtrGtk8UYsuc9pJcw0qpTLQFVv98/s400/IMG_20160709_124400.jpg" title="Advice from the Angel Cards" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K5qnzCpsSLRokPs53bjiAGtNWta_K9hftxUT3Y4gFKHdrIGZNjlEYNa9nOabBT23o18EUQ2xYhzGB94Hy39TNC0MujvIhpfkgEb3bo1mkHIEWsxnfcsqHlPBV9TIWXcYjBEW_epnGHA/s1600/IMG_20160728_091230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Graffiti pavement bunny" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5K5qnzCpsSLRokPs53bjiAGtNWta_K9hftxUT3Y4gFKHdrIGZNjlEYNa9nOabBT23o18EUQ2xYhzGB94Hy39TNC0MujvIhpfkgEb3bo1mkHIEWsxnfcsqHlPBV9TIWXcYjBEW_epnGHA/s400/IMG_20160728_091230.jpg" title="My birthday bunny" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fwfHsqN-EjDTd_ee24rQ__oZ4EuJyBDKup6Bnk4NgT2T0o4KT7jXOFpuH3pY7oCVqTrjUV-4LbpnbeBcfIDH7jcIBHio8X2lguln-7WzDBlpD4uoFR0_6yz0zRhEsbvN5QtkvIM62MY/s1600/IMG_20160814_094842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Anchor Anna Maria Horner 'Sketchbook' tapestry" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fwfHsqN-EjDTd_ee24rQ__oZ4EuJyBDKup6Bnk4NgT2T0o4KT7jXOFpuH3pY7oCVqTrjUV-4LbpnbeBcfIDH7jcIBHio8X2lguln-7WzDBlpD4uoFR0_6yz0zRhEsbvN5QtkvIM62MY/s400/IMG_20160814_094842.jpg" title="Anna Maria Horner 'Sketchbook' tapestry" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWv1Nb7npLgyIU-h5dtmYoAo6fJyQ_unEnXDiQ6TqpZ_IGCVSdBfmWsgMT1_FD5-8u5jKZbV3w5BNAW3l909Lk4CB_jg4uyYWho4G1Ur_CdbSpHRftxhc-3GEbH4jJ24mEzwjqMb4y9xw/s1600/IMG_20160823_080543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Castle Ring, Powys" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWv1Nb7npLgyIU-h5dtmYoAo6fJyQ_unEnXDiQ6TqpZ_IGCVSdBfmWsgMT1_FD5-8u5jKZbV3w5BNAW3l909Lk4CB_jg4uyYWho4G1Ur_CdbSpHRftxhc-3GEbH4jJ24mEzwjqMb4y9xw/s400/IMG_20160823_080543.jpg" title="Castle Ring, Powys" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikf_vZKxk3bpKWfrEM3jU8qTf9DvrLdm68xZUq0YFjQrBOGLvxHYVVgdCWWM3gaDrRyIajuuuGWuXKRhgRCsMy4YYj5u_Brs87SdHCxdprvQ5xp0kfv4-r6o6fD8r-QdIrrC-J80tpfH0/s1600/IMG_20160824_161416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Church Stretton from The Long Mynd" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikf_vZKxk3bpKWfrEM3jU8qTf9DvrLdm68xZUq0YFjQrBOGLvxHYVVgdCWWM3gaDrRyIajuuuGWuXKRhgRCsMy4YYj5u_Brs87SdHCxdprvQ5xp0kfv4-r6o6fD8r-QdIrrC-J80tpfH0/s400/IMG_20160824_161416.jpg" title="Church Stretton from The Long Mynd" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BeAIaJVsIguMD-eTOlWFQseAUR2hHWAD_NGc33eNq6SKiz5GQmAU6zno4HT5fOPLhULgsocUut-7GfqXxSfJt8LLCg6dqdQvHCVVuoNwKG98JrFOmVungc8zm3Bu3Na_dsAvxi4pJOc/s1600/IMG_20160825_075714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Soay Sheep at Castle Ring" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BeAIaJVsIguMD-eTOlWFQseAUR2hHWAD_NGc33eNq6SKiz5GQmAU6zno4HT5fOPLhULgsocUut-7GfqXxSfJt8LLCg6dqdQvHCVVuoNwKG98JrFOmVungc8zm3Bu3Na_dsAvxi4pJOc/s400/IMG_20160825_075714.jpg" title="Soay Sheep in the Ring" width="400" /></a></div>
Oh how I yearned for a long, languid summer. Dreamt of sinking in to a deep ease in my body and the days. We bookended the months with an early June and a late August holiday. Quiet, beautiful country times to enrich the experience. Lovely as those weeks have been (are being) this has not been the summer of my dreams and desires and therein as ever lies the crux of the hurt. Wanting my experience to be other than it is. I feel like I've written so many versions of this post over the past few years, there's frustration with that of course but also some understanding that this is the way it will be until I find a rhythm of acceptance and surrender. Underneath knowing that perhaps it will even always be this way, perhaps this is always going to be my brick wall, thumped into periodically as I spiral around my days and that is okay. It's not about how you fall, it's about how you pick yourself up.<br />
<br />
I have been surrounded by love and beauty and yet closed off from it. Fixated on what feels like the rock bottom wish of 'I just want to be healthy'. That isn't the bottom though, as I discovered at the start of the year. It's that old friend 'earn your place' in disguise. Be healthy to have energy to do more to prove I am worth the space and resources on our spinning disco ball. That this is my default setting is just the hardest lesson for me to learn, the fear that puts on so many different sets of clothes and sneaks up on me time and again. Somehow even dotting and dabbling abandoned me by the end of June. Physically spent and emotionally just too vulnerable for all the angst and the tragedies in the wider world this summer I've basically put myself in a bunker. No social media, very consciously used and limited time online and stripped down social engagements to just try and find some place where I felt like I could breathe, where I felt a flicker of interest in and excitement about this wondrous world. Numbing out in front of the tv. Diving in to fluffy novels or stripped down detective fiction without any emotional pitfalls to fall in to. Wrapped up against the woes of the world, coping with our own domestic drama as we said farewell to the head of our house, Queen Nina, our dear old Siamese. I think it was something of a shock to us all that even she had to bend finally to the rules of nature.<br />
<br />
Writing this from the end of the summer it feels like I've coaxed my way through the deepest levels of grue. My eyes are open again, my spirit communicative. I'm managing the sinusitis the best I can and have accepted that I can't find an elusive combination that will make it go away. What seemed like giving in now feels like acceptance that strips things back to the original hurt not the layers of story on top that end up being the hardest aspects to deal with. Feeling for what feels enriching within those limits, day by day, moment by moment. Going slowly. Reading a more varied diet again. Letting the Olympics shed a golden glow on the tv viewing. Picking up some simple, simple crafts: tapestry and mistake rib knitting. Accepting, accepting, accepting.<br />
<br />
I'm not sorry to feel erratic days of heat and chill. To see ripening fruits and the earliest of turning leaves. Happy to be beginning to say a farewell to a not much loved summer and welcoming the change of seasons with open arms.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5422935940416214468.post-76922515472103218302016-05-29T11:19:00.003+01:002016-05-29T11:19:48.988+01:00Humpty Dumpty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi48nZbuFhpKYH1IOsRCVDcZnRk8WT9tH70G9DlAKV-9IuvJhtUwPT8zkMnqYv30SaqczUOWOB6RzccyQXytqN8JAR8EMP58IJaEp-T_LpOfEYtkRFU1t80X1DVzTdwNJdJoixEYvqOZE/s1600/IMG_20160529_094111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Practical advice on coping with chronic illness to stumble across when needed" border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi48nZbuFhpKYH1IOsRCVDcZnRk8WT9tH70G9DlAKV-9IuvJhtUwPT8zkMnqYv30SaqczUOWOB6RzccyQXytqN8JAR8EMP58IJaEp-T_LpOfEYtkRFU1t80X1DVzTdwNJdJoixEYvqOZE/s400/IMG_20160529_094111.jpg" title="Advice to open when needed" width="400" /></a></div>
Where all the king's horses and all the king's men would fail, when the bleak whisper of you're broken and you will never be well swirls these things will help:<br />
<br />
<b>Breathe.</b> It will not always feel this hard. This too shall pass. Go on swear at me, slap my smug face. It's still true. I know it's the last thing that seems possible but batten down the hatches and just get through this storm by letting the breath connect you with your body. You're in this together.<br />
<br />
<b>Listen.</b> Your body can tell you what will make it feel better, one step at a time. Believe it whatever your ego wants to tell you about what is 'healthy' or 'best' or 'right'. You don't do healing, you allow it.<br />
<br />
<b>Sleep.</b> Yes, you can go back to bed after you just got up. Yes, you can have as many naps a day as you need. You will not always need this much sleep, it is not a bottomless pit, you can fill it up.<br />
<br />
<b>Water.</b> Drink it, bathe in it, sit by it.<br /><br />
<b>Friends.</b> If you can't get to them, email them, phone them, reach out and let them talk to you. Let them listen to you ramble your way back to sense. Laugh and cry with them. They want to show you how much they love you. Receive.<br />
<br />
<b>Trees</b>. They're your friends too. If you can't get out of bed yet go to the woods in your mind. Get close to them as soon as you can.<br />
<br />
<b>Breathe. </b>Keep coming back to deep belly breaths. Ground in your body and feel your way. There are no rules. There is no right way to do anything. Let your body guide you. It's not about what you do or don't do it's about how you do or don't do it.Sarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00149251009285628796noreply@blogger.com0