We (well...I) finally whimped out!
Yesterday I switched on the central heating for the first time.
I have no idea why it always feels like such a monumentous event each year - could be a British thing where we try to endure the cold as long as possible before switching on the central heating!
I'm quite impressed that we made it to the 25th this year actually.
Whenever the time comes to switching on the heating, I always wonder how on earth people coped with the cold before our homes were heated and I have to say, that I feel like a soft weakling - truly!
Right now I am looking out of my office window and it is a glorious autumn day. Storm Babet has moved on. We were very fortunate in Chester to escape the brunt of her wrath.
As you can see the leaves on our Beech trees are well on their way to displaying their autumnal glory. November will bring about a deluge of leaves that will need to be cleaned up. This year, we are a bit more prepared and have fitted a net over the pond to catch most of the leaves.
It can be a real problem trying to keep the pond free of leaves in the autumn. The thing is, they sink to the bottom and rot, creating a sludgy muck. I'm not sure if that is harmful to the fish but to be on the safe side we thought we would try and prevent as many leaves from falling in the pond as possible this season.
I wanted to thank you (Penny and Bettelou :) ) for your kind comments on my last blog post. I am really glad to hear that I don't bore you all to tears! So I shall carry on sharing snippets of life and home with you here.
I also wanted to say that I really do love reading your comments.
Annoyingly, I don't get notified of them. I have just discovered that I have to go into a whole seperate screen to see them so HUGE apologies for having missed some of your lovely interactions!
I shall make sure I check any lovely messages that you leave.
So, I wanted to share something with you...
I have been blessed to take my yarns to a couple of yarn shows that are local to me this year. I have met the most lovely, LOVELY ladies, many of whom live very close by or even in the same town as I do.
If you are reading this and are one of those lovely ladies, you will recall that I said at those shows that I was more than happy for you to pop on over and collect your yarn rather than pay postage.
My offers are always genuine so I was very pleased to receive an email this week from a lovely lady that I met at one of the shows asking if she could pop by to have a look at my yarn as she was struggling to decided on which skeins to choose based on the website images.
This interaction got me thinking about my little shop dreams.
I'm not sure if any of my readers have heard of Chris Myers of the Cozy Club? (@thecozyclubx on Instagram). Go check her out.
Well, she hosts these lovely little get togethers a few times a year.
She hosts small groups of ladies and they spend time creating a beautiful craft where all the materials have been supplied. She has a 'general store' attached to her home where people can browse and purchase antique quilts and wares.
I also recall a visit to my favourite cross-stitch shop in Cape Town, South Africa which had been relocated from it's commercial premises to a converted garage and extention at the owners home.
I popped in around Christmas time on year to get a few supplies for a project, and she had provided mince pies and mulled wine for her customers.
It was so lovely, cozy and festive and there was lots of laughter and chatting going on.
This experience and the inspiration behind Chris Myers business model has planted a little seed of a dream in my heart.
I would love to start by opening my home for a few hours a couple of times a year where people can come and browse my yarns and other bits and pieces in a homey and cozy environment and enjoy a mince pie at Christmas or a hot cross bun at Easter.
In time, I would love to convert my garage and make it a lovely space for crafty classes and gatherings but that is a 'further-down-the-line' dream.
These are the thoughts currently swirling through my mind. I'm trying to work out logistics etc.
So the question is...is that something that you, as a crafty creative person, would find appealing?
Please do let me know in the comments - your thoughts would be much appreciated!
Anyhoo lovelies, I hope that you are all having a lovely week. I can't believe that it is Thursday already! Where does the time go?
I happen to be on a reading week this week - so no uni lectures. I had a long list of things that I really wanted to do and I haven't even done half of them! I suppose that is part and parcel of the busy-ness of life these days. It's a good reminder to actually plan to make time to do the things that we love doing - another thing to give thought to!
Right, I'm off to grab a cup of tea and do a little menu planning. I think we will have homemade pizza for dinner tonight!
Blessings to you all...