Irresistible

Autumn marked by the coming of these irresistible colours.    Always a joy as the summer passes into crisper days.    Not yet ready to do away with all of the warmth of the sunshine, these blue sky days and colourful trees feel like an extra gift.   This was a spontaneous weekend picnic and we were collecting again, preserving the colours as best as we can.  

every evening calm

By the time our day reaches evening our home feels like every corner is filled with chaos. The kind of happy mess that only a toddler can bring to each and every available space. 

But it does often overwhelm me. These are the moments I am grateful for the evening light that daily streams through this window and brings calm to the chaos. An unreached space that I can look up at and breathe... a mobile silhouette of birds and stars somehow makes me smile every day. 

And then the big tidy up begins once the small person is finally asleep x

still noticing

This is how it began. I loved this idea. Two friends, miles apart, capturing and sharing the everyday with each other. We developed it a little into the act of choosing to notice and that in itself being a form of gratitude.. 

 Now, a small toddler, a new city, a new job, a new church, a husband who has been very sick... and just day to day life - keeping the mound of washing under some sort of control, cooking wholesome meals for a growing family and getting my head around a new job have meant these moments, although they happen no less, haven't been captured so often. 

My head though bursts with them. Each and every day. How the light falls a certain way on an object. How the colours of the food I am preparing look so beautiful. How the home is filled with sweet moments each day.

 With a small person time is filled with noticing things - today it was introducing him to a bumblebee, and discovering the joy of water fights with a garden hose. Tommorow it will be something new. Guilt can slip in as I realise diaries haven't been written for months, photographs lay buried deep on phones, never seeing the light of day again. Yet these moments are still deeply treasured. 

I hope so much to share them more often. x. 

Treasure Refound

It's been some time since we have written but it feels fitting to begin again with thinking about something that has been refound.   We were back at the foot of the mountains and this little one found a similar treasured snail that had been looked upon a year ago.   Today, after a gift of a day, meandering through meadows and sipping tea amongst beautiful flowers, I've been reminded of the beauty to be found in the small things and in remembering these moments.  

possibilty again

For a few weeks now the trees in our garden have become heavy with fruit. I have spent many moments, usually in the evening, when the day's chores are done, looking up. I dream of long summer afternoons capturing their fresh flavours and turning them into chutneys and crumbles to be savoured for months to come. 

After a time of uncertainty and intense days full, life feels just a little slower again. Now looking up at apples and pears hanging ripe and ready to fall somehow gives me a sense of more space stretching ahead and a chance to slowly rekindle some time to make again. 

A new way.