Where, Why and How.

Where have I been? Everywhere and nowhere baby.

I went through a long dark tunnel, I only emerged because the wonderful Jess plucked me out.
The joy from our friendship, her gorgeous girls ivy and Hazel and not forgetting Will is a shining light in my life. We speak most days and Ivy is a master of the telephone conversation.

Why did I stay away so long? No real reason.

It is not so easy to pick things up after a prolonged absence, and the longer I procrastinated the more difficult it became.

How did I manage to get back? Quite simply I was looking for a post from a few years ago (the early years seem to have evaporated) and couldn't understand why I struggled.

So here I am, warts and all. Older, greyer but still wrapped in colour.

My eyesight has deteriorated significantly, the cataracts are growing. I was due for an eye test in February but with the craziness erupting around the world I cancelled it. Once we come out of the other side I will join the queue and get tested eventually.

It means that fine sewing, cross stitch, embroidery and knitting with dark shades are out of the question for a while. I do have daylight lamps but am happy to knit through my stash of lighter yarn. The WIP count has gone through the roof as I am knitting socks and putting them on hold before adding the heels. I plan on spending a few evenings (many probably) adding contrasting heels using all my scraps at some point. 
It also means that I can decide who gets which pair for That Time of the Year nearer the time.

Luckily the weather has been pretty sublime and my garden is showing the benefit of my time spent on hands and knees. 
The greenhouse is stuffed to the rafters with plants, trays of seedlings and modules of freshly sown seeds.

I have a lovely neighbour who collected, and delivered, several bags of well rotted manure from his parents farm.
There are potatoes in pots, mangetout in the garden, spring onions and carrots making a green haze over the soil. Strawberries waving their flowers at all the busy buzzing bees and hoverflies. The plum and dsmson trees have been frothing with white blossom and the apples were in competition with their shades of rose, pink and white flowers. Jostaberries, gooseberries and various coloured currants are all looking fecund and of course that stalwart of the garden, Rhubarb is keeping us healthy and well supplied in the crumble department.

When the sun drives me in search of cooler surroundings and gallons of tea, coffee, squash, water I have been sewing masks. I had plenty of quilting weight cotton, ordered some iron on interfacing and elastic and got cracking. Some of my neighbours have them but most are going to Michaels son who works in the care sector.

I I had the fabric I would sew scrubs but I am doing what I can.

What about Captain Tom then? How amazing is his achievement?
With the backing of the public many of the NHS heroes will get a reward in their lifetime as well as after. reward is the wrong word here, recognition, heartfelt thanks, gifts of love, I struggle to find words to express my feelings. 

Closer to home a little gift to my postie, refuse and recycling collectors for a coffee/tea/pastie/whatever, goes a little way to thank them for their daily forays.

Look what's happened. A search for something has opened the floodgates and my sewing machine is waiting. So is the ironing but that can wait on.

I hope that you are all safe and well. Managiing to keep mind and body occupied and happy. This, like most things, will pass and all too soon it will be "do you remember..." and "what on earth did we do all that time"

                TTFN                                           Pam