May is very nearly gone, and that's happened really suddenly! This big boy turned two a few days ago which I can hardly believe. Happy birthday Finnlay, you are magnificent!
He has grown into a brilliant child full of ideas, boisterous enthusiasm and helpfulness that is well-balanced by an ethereal sensitivity. It's magic to watch him grow. We step through the days with vigour at the moment, tiptoeing between cars strewn around the house and picking up bumbling toddlers who throw themselves into everything. Sometimes the days feel unreasonably long, and I look forward to bath time so I can focus on work and get things ticked off the list. Other days disappear far too quickly, and I long for weekends where I don't have to work (rarely) and for time not occupied by looming deadlines. It's a tough balancing act between being a working mama and a guilty-feeling parent.
In my infrequent "me time" after the children are in bed, I've been crocheting. It is slow going. It's a focus thing, I think, as a way to keep mindful about the day while winding up my to-do lists in my head. I've made some socks which has been quite a brilliant learning activity, and I've already got some new yarn to try out a variation which is rather exciting. I used to think of knitting and crochet as my winter sports but spring is here and I've got no intention of packing the hooks away any time soon.
And, I haven't forgotten my promise to do a step-by-step embroidery tutorial with photographs, that's happening soon. Things are going to get really busy and super crafty around here very soon, so watch this space.
The busy season for markets, festivals and events in July, and I shall start finding more time (I keep promising myself) to do the things that I've wanted to do for forever. Before then, though, I've got a workshop to decorate from the ground up (not the nice kind of decorating either - the painting, flooring and roofing type! - more on that in another post), some big decisions to make and lots and lots of soapmaking and teaching! It feels a bit impossible to fit personal time and making in amongst all of these things, but the slow moments of making and mindfulness are the ones that centre us the most. There's something so internal and therapeutic about making something useful and beautiful. I know that "therapy" is an awfully dirty word in most circles, but it does seem most apt at the moment when we need more love and less stress!
The garden is looking magnificent as the weather improves - the strawberries are nearly here, the tomatoes have grown into towering green monsters and the beans are working their way up and over the beanpoles. There are peppers on their way, a pumpkin, chillies and raspberries. The apples and pears are starting to look more fruit-shaped than flowers which is exciting (and good for the soul). I expect a healthy and happy glut from the garden this year, and I look forward to experimenting with a thousand different ways to cook with the enormous yield of tomatoes we're expecting. I'll have to get out there and get some photos to share with you all. Do you use instagram? You can find me here on my personal account and here for work. I'm going to make a big effort to post on my personal account more regularly and I work my way through testing shots for embroidery and other bits. Come and say hello!
