Mended

These gloves! Mum made them for me I would guess around 45 years ago, both greys from other projects, the fingers and cuff from a ripped down school cardigan. You can see from the way they have moulded to my finger shapes that they have has a lot of use.

This week I noticed a hole as I pulled them on; the first in all these years. That grey wool now long gone, I repaired it with red thread, a symbol of my enduring love for her, though she’s been gone more than ten years now. And a symbol of her love for me, given so freely, keeping my hands warm all this time.

some wild swooshy'ness

It has been very wild and windy the past couple of days. We are lucky enough to be in the south where the rain has been dramatic, but not damaging and as we live on the top of a hill we are unlikely to be flooded, though the pond has been rather full.

Because we are all constrained by the current restrictions I have been making the most of our lovely seafront for my hour's walks. I was wildly proud of myself earlier this month when I managed three miles of brisk walking. No great shakes for my fitter friends, but it made me very happy. Most days though it is about a mile, and I have been interested by how many other folk have been down there too - I suspect fitness devices across the country have recorded far more steps than usual over the past year as we all get our allocated daily exercise.

Today and yesterday have been enlivened by Storm Christoph. Yesterday was particularly blustery, and as I was trying to capture the whooshy sea foam swirling at the shoreline, what should come past but this fine machine, known at home as a wokka wokka. They fly up the coast from Odiham and have been seen much more frequently along the shoreline than in past times. A rather nice rumour suggests that "they" have changed the pattern of their training sorties to cheer us up in these difficult times. A lovely thought, and perhaps it is true.

Today was less grey, but no less windy. With a low tide there was no foaming froth flying up the the promenade, but there were folk out enjoying themselves in the waves - how marvelous to be fit, strong and confident enough to trust yourself to the water and fly across it, skipping the peaks of the waves with your rainbow sail high in the air.

I was rather glad these clouds were far out to sea, and gave me time to scurry home before they dropped their water on us.

Time for some quiet stitching I think.

Happy New Year

I hope you and yours have had an enjoyable, if quiet Christmas and New Year. Tomorrow we take down the tree with it's message of hope for the return of light in the darkness, and our little colour changing angels and snowflakes will be safely tucked back in their boxes to come out again next year. 

We aren't amongst those who have a themed Christmas and buy new decorations each year. Some of mine go back 30 years to when my daughter was a child, and upstairs I have a box with the last few remining ornaments that went onto our tree in Petersfield when I was a very little girl. And yes, Amanda Jane is tucked away in a box upstairs as well, along with all her clothes. She was given to me twice, the first time I was underwhelmed by her and she was "tossed to one side", so Mum packed her back up, put her away and brought her out again the following year when I was more appreciative!!

I have some new reading for the New Year. Thank you Rachel for the indirect recommendation - I was given two for the price of one! I am amused by the way that the same font has been used on both covers. Better finish "Early Mesopotamia, Society and Culture at the Dawn of History" first though. I think these will keep me busy for a good while, in between such delights as re reading PD James, for when I have an evening brain rather than morning one - you know how it goes.

I have been stitching as well, those little bits of blackwork all finished now, along with some Dorset buttons, which are rather fun to create, and may get a bit more embellishment. I will probably work a better version of the darkest square as well, it's lopsidedness is even more obvious here. They will be gathered together with others for a group project which must be finished in the next couple of months. I will post the results when it's done. I wonder what it might be?

I have enjoyed doing some simple stitching that hasn't required too much thinking. Sometimes that's all you need, a set of instructions, a needle, some thread, fabric and an embroidery hoop. Oh, and some good music to stitch by, in this case one of my favourite Christmas albums - Jethro Tull's Songs From the Wood with it's glorious ringing out of Solstice bells.