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Living in the moment is something I really strive to learn. But it’s hard.
I tend to look at the past and regret the things I now know I should have done differently, or I look at the future hoping things will get better soon.
I feel like I hardly ever savor a moment of peace and quiet and I’m usually stressing about things that need to be done.
This morning, trying to find inspiration in the garden (I think really half of my blog posts somehow start in the garden) it finally hit me: I have been trying so hard to find a way to learn to live in the moment, but I have already found it. Right here, on this blog, in this daily quest to capture and share some beauty and happiness…
:: hard work (no, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, but I do wear gloves when I have to pull out those thistles)
:: beauty
:: “wildlife “
:: silent company
Ah…just what I needed!
No matter what kind of day I had, there is always some knitting going on…
I finished the scarf. It’s nice and long and warm. And I love that color (or actually those colors, because I knitted this holding two strands of different colors together).
Of course I needed a matching hat. Soulemama’s pattern again. I know it by heart, so it’s a real comfort-knit. And I still love the way it looks.
So, that done, I started a new project. After seeing how beautiful Amanda’s shawl came out, I decided to try another one. This time with the proper increases and that fancy stitch. It took me a while to figure it out, but I think I got it now. And since there is still plenty of that yarn left, I think this one will be big enough to actually use.
And I’m about to start knitting up this beautiful cotton. Although I’m also happy just staring at it…
I think I really need to cut these down now…
I thought I knew about every thrift shop in the neighborhood. My favorite shops each have their own specialties. The nearest one is a real mess, but very cheap. You really have to dig around to find stuff, but you pay next to nothing. At least, I pay next to nothing. Nothing is priced so the guy just names a price when you ask him to. He seems to like me.
There is another shop near by, that is pretty expensive, especially for dishes and glasses and so on. But the books are sold by the kilo and they have lots of tablecloths, sheets, fabric and sometimes even some good yarn.
There are some other shops that I visit when I’m in the neighborhood, sometimes I return empty handed, sometimes I find a treasure.
A few weeks ago, I was asked to interview a few volunteers who worked at the goodwill shop of the local church in a small village near us. I never visited that shop before, because it only opens on Saturday mornings. Not the best timing for me. But I was in for a surprise: they had very nice items, low prices, a good selection of books and… a crafting corner, where they had buttons (one can never have enough buttons, don’t you think?) and other crafty things (knitting needles, hooks etc.) And something I had never seen before: boxes and boxes of embroidery thread, all sorted by color. For fifty cents each. I have always wanted to start embroidery. I have some nice ideas and I think it will be fun, like drawing on fabric. But buying the thread new… it’s expensive, especially when you want to have a nice selection of colors. I did show some restraint (only bought ten colors), but I think I found myself a new favorite shop.
Now I really need to start embroidering…
Thank you so much for your well-wishes!
It seems we solved it. Or at least we understand it now.
I have been having these bad cases of hay-fever-ish symptoms for months now. The runny nose, the coughing and the watering eyes are bearable, but the headaches and the exhaustion is so frustrating! I have been taking over-the-counter medicine a few times, and it worked a little. But it seemed I was reacting to every new kind of pollen and I was feeling worse every time. So that’s why I was going to try a slightly different sort of medicine yesterday.
But than I started browsing the internet, looking for natural remedies and I suddely stumbled upon a site that was both about hayfever and dust-mite allergy. And than it sank in…
That made a lot more sense. My symptoms are the worst when I get up, and late at night. I feel better when I go outside. And although now I understand I have been dealing with this for a long time, it became worse when our cat started having skin-issues. He is shedding a ridiculous amount of hairs and skin cells around. When I started feeling sick, my cleaning got a bit sloppy, which made it worse. A down-ward spiral.
So… yesterday I thoroughly cleaned our bed room. It wasn’t that filthy, but it’s the only room with carpeting, so it needs to be vacuumed more often than I did. I got rid of my woolen blanket, washed the quilts and the bedlinen (hotter than I normally do) and threw out everything that would hold dust.
This morning I woke up feeling a lot better than I usually do.
So, now I need to get my act together and start being a better housewife. Good thing I made myself a cute apron last week.
Wishing you all a happy summer!
I’m sorry, not much to say today, I’m suffering a bad case of hayfever – again- and I’m not feeling as summery and happy as I would like to feel. Hope things will be better soon (I’m going to try a different kind of medicine).
We’re still recovering from yesterday’s chaos (and today is not very quiet either). I’m going to try and get some rest this weekend, in between work, and visiting family all over the country for father’s day and a birthday.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Both of them! So happy!
Our (brand new) flag is waiting anxiously with us. In Holland it’s tradition to hang out the flag, with your schoolbag in top, when you passed your final exams. We had two candidates this year. Between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. we will be called to hear the verdict.
So, what will it be? One bag? Two?
I’ll keep you posted…
