You may have guessed from last week’s post that I am from England, but don't hold that against me! :). I have been here for nearly 12 years now and to be honest this time of the year is always one of the toughest for me, missing my other home. My friends and family are all posting photos enjoying the annual, week long heatwave (i’m being mean now haha) and though I love Australia to bits, I honestly can’t think of a better place to be than England in the Summertime.
Summertime, for me, throws me back to childhood, when the days were literally endless. We stayed out playing until the street lights came on at around 10, some days nearly 11, and God help any of my siblings or friends who went near the house at that time, risking that we would be called in by our Mum. Life seemed so simple then. We didn’t need much to keep us entertained. We rode around forever on our bikes, played Kick The Can and built forts out of haystacks in the field behind the house, whilst dodging the farmer. Those are times I will never forget and these are the stories I tell my kids about my childhood. I am so grateful my kids had some of that kind of freedom in their childhood and now in a their 20’s they do look back and reminisce about it.
My family, Brittas Bay, Ireland 1976
I was listening to another podcast whilst painting the other day and they were discussing death and how in the western world we are so bad at it. The person in the interview was talking about the death of a person very close to them, and the thing that they found the hardest to accept about their passing was that this was the end of their story. From now on there would be no more new stories. When people talk about us, they talk in stories, the things we did, the places we went and the things that happened. I can still look at childhood photos, taken at the beach in Ireland with my grandparents and remember that we were eating warm egg sandwiches (with a sprinkle of sand in them) and Toffee Pops biscuits.
I still have a letter that my grandma wrote to me when my first daughter was born, and keep it in my bedside table, because it has her handwriting on it, though she has been gone over 20 years. These are the stories I have about my grandparents when I think of them. It made me wonder what I wanted my stories to be.
It seems that now more than ever we are relearning to appreciate the simple things again…a hug, a letter handwritten, a drawing sent to put on the fridge, a favourite cake baked, a scarf knitted for someone. We don’t have to try too hard to make new stories....something to think about..x
Loving this week x
Knitting a scarf. A very easy pattern, just 34 stitches in chunky wool, perfect for doing in front of the TV.
I spoilt myself and ordered 2 new pairs of trackies…very sad, but strangely exciting.
We have been slowly adding things to our home, decorating and rearranging in a non-perfect way and loving it. We have decided we only want things in our house that we love. Who cares about one style…life is too short for one style. Eclectic all the way!
We started a savings account called UK Trip and are putting away a small amount of money each week. We know it may be a while before we can go again, but it makes me feel better to know I am working towards it.
I ordered some cute face masks for walking the dogs. Admittedly they are not medical grade, but we rarely see anyone on our walks and certainly not up close. They make me feel better to wear something cheerful.
I’m a bit of a self-help/business book addict and have been listening to some great ones on Audible lately. I thoroughly recommend these. Get Rich, Lucky Bitch! by Denise Duffield-Thomas. Yes the title is funny :) This book is all about money blocks and unlocking your hidden potential for abundance and embracing wealth. I have just started Atomic Habits by James Clear, Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results : an Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. I have just started this, but it's making a lot of sense so far.
I finished 3 large paintings this week…they have been on the go for a while and they all came together at the same time. One I love so much I have decided to keep it haha. The others will be part of a collection I am currently putting together...watch this space x
We watched Eat, Pray, Love on Netflix over the weekend. Yes, we have seen and read it before, but it was a good, easy-going, non-confronting movie to have on TV on a Sunday afternoon. We made pasta afterwards and pretended we were in Italy.
Favourite podcast episode of the week, The Unmistakable Creative spoke to Simon Sinek about Finding your Why...heres a link.
On the wall
Take care and I hope you have a good week, especially if you are here in Melbourne xx
Newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new work releases and any offers. Subscribe if you want to hear the latest xx