Christmas Round Here

It is the first day of the holidays.

No coincidence then, that I am finding the space, the time and the thought to turn again to writing. I have missed it. As Christmas arrives and time stops for a brief moment, I am able to gather and reflect on the last few months in preparation for the New Year. I have decorated, I have bought gifts, friends have gathered and I have begun to rest, for the first time in quite some months.

Even though I have only been in my little home for a couple of years, I already feel sense of seasonal routine about Christmas here - I had a wonderful afternoon buying my tree, stringing up bunting and pine cones and baubles, before friends gathered last weekend to decorate the tree and celebrate together. We mulled, we sang, we chatted and it was good.

Now that the term has finished I find myself able to enjoy the peace and festivities all the more. The long and winding road of text book writing is hopefully, with luck and faith and a lot of hard work, coming to an end and I am grateful. I am grateful more so for the ever glorious life at school which is so good. I'll be focusing on that after Christmas.

I am longing to see my family and friends - those up north, those down south, those in London and those who have moved around so much that it's hard to keep track. The great Christmas Visiting Spree begins on Monday.

I will spend my holidays reflecting back, and looking forward, whist savouring the time I have to simply, be.

Merry Christmas.

Soft Autumn Light

It has been another unexpectedly beautiful autumn weekend and in between writing I have been out in the fields.

The blackberries are fading as the hawthorn battles for space in the hedgerows,

The white, feathery thistles stand proud amongst the long, dewy grass,

The corn stems are yellowing and buckling under the weight of their cobs,

The mist hangs in the air, patchy in the soft light,

The faint hum of wood saws, mowers and chatter float faintly on the breeze.  

The damp earth smells amazing.

Happy Autumn Days.

The Collective

The Creative Folk Collective has been an important part of the last nine months. A group of women who are all forging their own paths, trying to figure out how to launch into creative pursuits in bigger and more purposeful ways. Some are old friends, some are new; sometimes we meet as a distinct five, sometimes as a wider gathering with boyfriends and others in our lives.

The Collective met at the weekend, minus one key member (who was honeymooning in South Africa,) for a day of country air, folk music and fields. It was blissful.

Sometimes when we gather together we have a project, a new skill to learn or a discussion to have but sometimes, we just meet. This was a meet up. Intentions to camp in Wales gave way to a lazy Saturday in our various homes and a Sunday at a music festival in the hills outside Bath. We strolled across the fields in the grey morning light, to sit in a village square festooned with bunting and flags, accompanied by Morris dancers and accordion players.

Freshly Ground performing at Priston Festival



We ate beer battered fish and chips, drank delicious ale and chatted. We occasionally sheltered from the rain under golfing brollies snaffled from old acquaintances, and rounded off our afternoon huddling around a big old table in the village pub.

As we traipsed back over the fields, a little less energetically than we had started our day, we picked the last of the blackberries and mused over careers and loves and plans and moves.

 And stopped for the occasional Album Cover photo.

Crafting: Projects

I have a quotation stuck above my desk which reads, 'Don't get swamped in too many projects - one thing at a time.'

I don't remember where it came from, but I do remember the feeling of clarity when I read it. I knew it was wise in many respects, but I have found it hard to stick to - sometimes I think that I should be trying harder, other times I feel that having a few things on the go keeps me feeling creative and motivated...Once in a while however, having too much on, tips me slightly over the edge!

At the moment, after a summer of crafting, writing and wedding-present making, I feel satisfied with what I have achieved and what I am working on. Life is dominated by the combination of a new post at school and writing the second draft of the text book, but I have found the time to work on a few things.

The Cut Out

I haven't finished this cut out yet. The cutting is done - a present to mark the marriage of two friends - hours spent cutting white card on a brand new cutting board left me with a pleasing shape, but it was covered in pencil marks. I am half way through working out how this is going to be rectified - I sprayed it with graffiti paint, but the effect was patchy - so I am now painstakingly covering it with white acrylic - it'll get there before their first anniversary...



The Collage

And this is the start of a mixed media canvas. I have painted the background of the canvas - a simple blue/grey acrylic wash - and stuck the first layer of prints and a bit of lace. The plan is to build up layers of acrylic and textured bits and pieces - I love this blog - and recently bought Kelly Rae's book, Taking Flight which has all sorts of ideas for mixed media approaches. Again, this is a long process, but I dip in and out, when I have a spare hour or so.

The Noticeboard

Perhaps the simplest and most satisfying project of my summer, after months of bemoaning the cost of pretty fabric noticeboards, a gingham addition to my kitchen. I used an old canvas, a piece of wadding, the gingham left over from a chair that I reupholstered last year and some biased binding. With the help of a handy staple gun I layered the wadding and the gingham before criss-crossing the binding (rather unevenly). In order to hold the cards and paper on the board, I stitched small stars at every crossing point - simple, wonky, but effective. 

And...The Pencil Case. 

The night before term started, having worked to the wire to complete my draft, I felt forlorn at the thought of a new term without new stationary. I dug out a favourite old fountain pen and stitched together a little pencil case to house it in. Every morning, I arrive at school, sit down at my almost tidy desk, and place the pencil case next to my planner and computer. Tea in hand, fountain pen at the ready, I feel ready for my day.

So that was that. I have also been selling bunting in the local cafe - a small and manageable creative-business step - and have to make a few more strings but thought I might make some pencil cases too. The tools of the trade are laid out on my sewing table, fabrics have been chosen and I will continue in my small way to carve my niche.

As Autumn Approaches



The change in seasons came suddenly and shockingly last weekend. With the start of a new term came wind and rain, gloomy evenings and grey mornings; I wasn't ready for it. I spent the week hunkering down, ignoring the rain hammering on the skylights and creeping down the windows, preferring to work late, rush home and pull the curtains shut and cuddle up on the sofa.

This weekend offered me the perfect remedy. The rain eased off, I opened the doors to the garden. I swept, mopped, scrubbed and freshened my own little house before heading to my parents' house, my family home. At home, the harvest continues. We ate grapes from the vine, apples from the orchard and this morning feasted on homemade oatcakes and home laid eggs.

The cat kept close watch over the chickens as my dad cleared the orchard, and the sun shone softly on the warm stone walls.

Crabapples are falling, logs have been gathered and the flutter of anticipation of cosy evenings is beginning to sustain us all after the busy summer months.

I grew up in a special place. A National Trust estate which, in its post-feudal incarnation, is home to earth-loving farmers, organic growers and creative types. And it's a village that knows how to have a party. This particular party was to celebrate the end of the annual local food festival, and it did not disappoint.

The village is beautiful and unpretentiously wholesome. It is a good place to have grown up, and a good place to return to. There is inevitably a conversation every time I go home in which someone asks, 'do you think you'll end up coming back?' My answer is generally, 'maybe' but whether I do or not, it is a place that runs through my veins, sustaining me and reminding me of the things that I love.

Writer?

For the last three years, I have been building a teaching career, happily so. A longer post will appear one day, in which I tell you in rambling detail, quite how important this step has been for me and how much I have grown through the job. I really do love it and I know, deep in my heart, that it has done me the world of good.


And yet...


Being fiercely independent and needing, deeply, increasing autonomy about my working life, I have been moonlighting, cramming, and dreaming of other occupations which can live along side my teaching. I have been adding strings to my bow. This blog is essentially a tool for me to figure out and develop these sidelines; cooking, crafting, yoga teaching and now, writing: All are creative, all are nourishing.


But for now, the writing. It has been hard. I have been working to a publisher's brief and putting together a guide to gothic, perfect for those pesky 14-years olds that I spend my days with. The process has been far more demanding than I anticipated, and as I approach my deadling (Monday - deep breath....) I am both grateful and terrified to be handing over the work that I have done. This is the first time that I have ever written professionally, and for me, this is a big, big deal.

The process? An eye-opener. Way more thinking than I had anticipated. More cups of tea, more breaks, more procrastinating and fankly, more back ache. I am grateful for the opportunity to see if this lifestyle, of working to deadlines, of being alone, of sorting and sorting and sorting my thoughts, could be for me. Now I am nearing the end? I think so. I think I could handle the process again and hope (publisher willing) that I get another opportunity.

The greatest thing is however, the autonomy. I like to handle my own time. I like to be creative and I am grateful for a framework within which to be just that.

Setting Intentions

For about ten years, I kept scrapbooks. Scrapbooks filled with images and words that I found inspirational and which all amounted to a sort of dreamscape of hopes for my future. Having floated around through university and jobs, in search of a place of work that was fulfilling and a home that was comforting, I looked to other people's existences to help me find my own.

Now in a job that I love, a home that I adore and in a life which is becoming more and more like the pages of the magazines that I aspired to be a part of, I can view the scrapbooks that I painstakingly filled as a collection of intentions for my future. This intention setting has moved from something unintended to a very definite process that I undertake every few months, to help keep me on track and as a reminder of what I really want and need in my life. The process helps me to clear my head of all the things that I get distracted by and helps me to find some clarity when sometimes I feel quite befuddled.

I take time to sit, to think, to light a candle, say a prayer and make a list of things that I hope to happen, priorities I intend to make and nourishment that I need. It doesn't take long, but it is quality time and it does me the world of good. In due course I revisit my lists of intentions and say a quiet thank you for all that has been received.

Intentions are like prayers. You clear your mind, state your case and leave the rest up to God, the universe and everything, allowing life to come together before you in ways that you hope and dream of.

It works. Try it.

New Beginnings

The summer is over. A new, autumn term begins and the smell of crisp mornings and dewy grass is in the air.

I am anticipating good things.

I have decided to move in a new direction and having toyed with the blog world before, I felt that now was the time to restart, to move in to a new chapter. This September marks a new beginning for me, in many ways, and I am glad.

As I progress through my teaching career, and build on long-held dreams and important ambitions, I feel blessed to be in a space that allows for reflection and growth, all at the same time. Life grows and changes and as trite as it may sound, it moves in ways that we can not predict or dream of.

Bear with me as I gather my thoughts, stay focused as you gather yours.