… trying to wake up. I slept very well tonight and I got up rather late, but it seems I could use even more sleep (had a bad case of insomnia the last two weeks)
… enjoying the morning light. We’re nearing zenith (i e. the sun will be directly above us) and the sun is extremely bright these days. I do like it, but this softer, golden light is really nice too
… preparing for a day of computer work. I have to do taxes and payments
… not too unhappy about that – it’s going to be another hot, hot day
… hoping I can get myself to do a bit of exercise though. I started that this weekend and it feels so good
And I have been working on it every day since. It will take a while (thin needles, thin yarn, small stitches), but I am enjoying the process and that’s what counts.
I was going to write an elaborate post about depression and burn-out and how picking up things I used to love feels like big steps forward, even though it’s really just baby steps, but I can’t really find the words. Let’s just hope that I can show you some progress over the following weeks.
:: my lantana really benefits from watering twice a day. It looked almost dead and now it’s flowering again
:: berbena is growing like crazy too, benefiting from the wastewater from my kitchen, shower and washingmachine. Those were never connected to the cess pit, but the water ended up on the path. I finally extended the pipes into the middle of my garden.
:: I’m growing more lemongrass than I’ll ever be able to make tea with
:: the tuturutu is blooming too
:: and the flamboyan trees that were completely bold are having a great time too, making leaves and even flowers (for the first time – I grew them from seed a few years ago)
So, all is great and my garden is perfectly kept? Ha! Nope. Reality check:
:: a thorntree that I usually cut back as much as I can somehow grew a branch that is so long that it’s hanging over my path (it’s hard to take a picture of, but you can spot it in the third picture)
:: devils thread is trying to invade my garden again (nasty stuff, it kills the plants it grows on and you literally have to unravel it carefully, because even half an inch will survive and grow out again)
:: we had a big pile of gravel delivered and we were half way making paths. Right now it’s too hot for that kind of hard labor, so that project is on hold until it’s cooler (that can take a while) or until I feel like I can handle the heat again (had a bit of a heatstroke last week, so I’m a little bit more careful now).
:: and I really need to do some weeding and pruning
As per usual, along with my blogging, my knitting/crocheting came to a hold. I don’t know why, but it seems to be related. Now that I’ve started blogging again, I’m itching to pick up a project again too.
Luckily I did finish the Baby Surprise in time to take it with me to The Netherlands in May.
This is how it looks when the knitting is done:
And then you do a bit of folding (Elizabeth Zimmerman’s drawing is quite clear, I think) and suddenly it’s a sweater (after sewing two little seams, that is).
I read a lot of blogposts about it, but it was still – indeed – surprising. And fascinating. Most of the other patterns by Elizabeth Zimmerman I get. They are very straight forward. But to come up with something like this… well, I’ve said it before, she was a genius.
And then all I had to do was find the right buttons. Which proved to be a challenge. So weird, I have this whole tin of cute buttons, but I’d rather go out and buy some when I finish a project. Luckily I finished this when we were still home. We don’t have a big selection of those things available on the island. Anyway, I settled for these simple pale blue ones.
I thought I was making it for fall, maybe even winter, but it already fits. Growing so fast! He wore it at his very first visit to the zoo, early this month.
Oh well, let’s just pick up where we left off, shall we? And it wouldn’t be my blog without a picture or two (well four) of the sunset (this was actually just one night).
(Oh hi! Don’t ask me where I’ve been. I don’t really know myself.)
I was uploading the very few pictures I took the past three months and found this gem. “Oh”, I thought, “that would have been a good one for the blog. Cute, but his face isn’t recognizable.” And then I realized I could just go ahead and post it.
So there you have it. My very cute grandson (in May, he already changed so much these past two months) and the cat I made. The little tail was in his mouth at that point. Glad I made sure it was attached really, really well.
I know… it looks shapeless and weird, but that’s exactly how it’s supposed to look.After you finish it, it’s supposed to fold a certain way and hey presto! A little sweater. That’s why it’s called a Baby Surprise Jacket, after all.
It’s so much fun to knit this. I keep trying to fold it to get at least an idea of how big it will turn out to be, but it doesn’t make any sense yet, so I’ll just have to wait and see.
Sunsets. Of course. But also the fact that we’re trying to actually sit on the porch and watch them again. It’s the little things that count
Headspace. I’ve been completely off Instagram and Youtube for a week now. My goodness. I had no idea mindless scrolling took so much mental energy. Well, to be honest, I suspected it, but I didn’t want to admit it might be better to quit doing that. But it is.
Knitting. When it clicks, that is, and it did. I’m happily knitting away on the BSJ and I’m thinking to start being active on Ravelry (I have a sleeping account to be able to view patterns) again, just for fun
Seeing some progress in the garden and actually enjoying working at it. . I do believe I’ll get it under control soon.
Cats, birds, iguana’s. Love watching them.
Counting down the days until we go to The Netherlands. Can’t wait to see our grandson. When we last saw him, he was only 18 days old. He wll be 5 months when we see him again.
The plans T. and I are talking about, for the house and the land we have. It will take years to complete, but we are slowly getting to the point where we know what we want, instead of just calling out possibilities (love those talks too, by the way).
The wisdom (?) that comes with time. Not too long ago I wasn’t too happy with the plans I mentioned above, since it meant I had to give up my dream to cultivate all the land we have into a giant botanical garden. I’ve always dreamt of maintaining a really, really big garden, but in the past few years I’ve learnt that I’m not a “niche” person, nor will I ever be. I love gardening, but I also want to have time to knit, sew, write, cook and who knows what else I come up with. And I’m not getting any younger. So I’m happy with the two big lots I have to play with (still more land than we ever owned before), but I’m also happy that it’s getting more and more clear what parts will be used for other things eventually.
My plants. I bought a new one when I was grocery shopping this week. I love the name on the tag: African Queen. I don’t know what species it is, though. Google tells me there are a lot of plants that are called African Queen.
Being able to list ten things I’m happy about (yeah, I know, I’m kind of cheating here). The cloud of depression is finally lifting, slowly, but steadily.
Some of the youtubers I follow post grocery hauls and I’m always amazed how well those videos are received. I do watch them every once in a while myself, but honestly, what fun is there in seeing that someone bought green beans, avocados and grapes? It’s a mystery to me. I have been trying to picture myself filming what I bring home from the supermarket, but no… Not going to happen.
Thrift store hauls though… yes please! Love those! It’s always fun to see what treasures people find and I love sharing the things I dig up on the shelves of our not-so-fancy thrift store.
I popped into the thrift store when I was out for grocery shopping last Tuesday. I almost didn’t, but then I decided I really wanted to, so I took 30 minutes out of that busy morning to have a bit of fun. And here’s what I found, straight from the shop (I did clean them after I took pictures):
How cute is that cat? It’s a tiny teapot and I love it so much! The lady at the thrift store loved it too. She actually started talking to it: “O cutie, someone is taking you away!” And then she had a hard time taking the head off to pack it seperately. But well, I really wanted it to stay safe. I was amazed that it was in such a good condition to start with and I would have hated to have it broken on the way home.
A tiny glass duck… Such a cute find. And I’m so happy the little beak and tail are still whole – they had some other cute little animals, but those were all damaged badly.
And a perfume bottle. Also in very good condition.
Of course I didn’t walk away without books. I never do. I actually had a good book day.
The stack on the left is from the free libraries in two supermarkets (I had to visit four to find our weekly supply of rice cakes). The stack on the right is from the thrift store. I paid 15 guilders (about 8,50 in dollars) for everything. The cat tea pot was priced at 10 guilders, so the rest was very cheap.
NOT A STATION 