Weekend in the woods
Ah Monday morning – you bring back the reality a bit.
We got a huge delivery of firewood dropped in our front driveway on Saturday and we spent hours lugging wood into tidy piles in the woodshed and then the overflow into the garage. It was hard work – but good work. It felt brilliant to be doing some physical and practical and I am sure the next time we have to do it I will be far more jaded and moan about it a lot more, but right now, this suburban-girl even finds a deep satisfaction in lugging wood through the rain for our very own fire. We now have a warm house and happy hearts. Last night I sat knitting by the fire, while we watched the latest episode of Project Runway, and enjoyed the pop ‘n’ crackle (and a well earned whisky). We may have been absolutely shattered from all the wood lugging and Fall Fair shenanigans but it was a nice evening.
I have finished my cardigan for Lily – but it turns out that it is way too huge for her – in my usual casual knitting manner I think I added a fair few stitches across the back and it now fits Amelia perfectly – but Lily won’t have that, so it will probably have to sit in a cupboard until she grows into it. Next I am experimenting with stripes and wrist warmers. I started a wrist warmer last night and I think it might end up being a vest for a portly teddy bear. Perhaps I need to go back to following patterns.
Twitter! Quite honestly, I read a lot of tweets, more than I really should and I am going to stop – very soon… well, I’m going to limit myself to not reading them all the time… but this one I really like: @AdviceToWriters — it’s useful and encouraging.
The Only Way to Become Amazingly Great at Something over at Zen Habits is a nice little reminder that it takes a lot of work and practice to master the thing you really want to master. “So here’s the thing: don’t get discouraged if you’re just starting out. Have fun, like we all did in the beginning. If you have fun, you’ll learn to love it, and THAT’S when it clicks. When you love something, you’ll want to do it all the time”.
So pleased to hear that things are going well.I recently made some wrist warmers, for the first time. I used this Joelle Hoverson pattern, which I was really pleased with: http://www.canadianliving.com/crafts/knitting/cosy_knitted_handwrist_warmers.php
B.C. is one of the places I really want to visit but I’m afraid I may not want to come back. You pictures just reaffirm that feeling. Glad to hear that you are enjoying living on the west coast of Canada.
Stacking firewood is just so woodsy and good, I wish we had a fire in our little apartment! I love the smell, and the tired, tired body after a day of work like that!
Gorgeous rich color in those photos! I’ll bet it smells wonderful in that rainy woodsy atmosphere. And that is excellent advice from Zen Habits… I am much too hard on myself when learning a new skill. Must be patient.
RAINBOW! <3
Ah, shifting wood is great exercise for sure, and it is so wonderful to have sheds full of it! Here in Australia it is Spring, but it is still a bit chilly and that wood pile is the gift that just keeps on giving! To be snug and warm inside, for the children to have those nice warm PJs to get into before bed – Priceless. Good luck. And thanks for the link to Zen Habits, perhaps my routine will begin with moving the last of my woodpile to the shed!
Is this all CGI, Claire? TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!!!! Beautiful. x
Those colours look so vibrant and deep – you’re making the cloudy greyness of Melbourne feel like Kansas vs. Oz at the moment. Amazing.Claire – if you liked the Zen Habits article, you would enjoy taking a peek at this post by Derek Sivers (founder of CD Baby), who is a great living example of persistence and enthusiasm. “After 15 years of practice…” http://sivers.org/15-years
I love these photos from your newfound sanctuary! Also good to hear that you’re enjoying it so much. There’s nothing quite like that feeling of physical exhaustion that we so rarely experience in our modern day lives, isn’t there?It seems like autumn in Canada has advanced a little more than it has here in England. Foliage is slowly turning gorgeous shades of red, though, and until autumn hits, I’ll be happily enjoying your photos as a substitute!
Wow, a fire already! Love the photos/looks like a beautiful setting.
Life is full of simple pleasures. It is always nice when we get time to appreciate them! As a country girl I must say the satisfaction of a hard days work, is a feeling that is not easily replaced! Nice to see so many more entries from you and what things you have all been up to!
Ooooh, your weekend in the woods post is bringing back the most beautiful memories of when we used to live in BC. I learn’t to always have the camera on me when we went for walks…you never knew what big/little creatures you would meet. As we await the arrival of our little bean in the next 2 weeks, my husband and I have been talking of where we are going to take the little one once we get to head O.S again. It must be lovely being able to relocate the family to somewhere this beautiful.Thanks for sharing this lovely blogx
Wow, wonderful, wonderful pacific northwest. Big change from Melb’s, but amazing country. Don’t forget to jump over the border to Idaho, specifically check out Priest Lake, Sandpoint, and that area. Summer or winter is good. Looks a bit like the places in your photos.Very jeolous, I have always wanted a time to live in a place like that. 🙂
Glad to see you back in blog land though, you have such a lovely view of the world!
Well. August was a crazy busy month for me, and I kind of fell off the blog map. Imagine my surprise to stop by one of my favourite Australian bloggers, and find you’ve come to join me in BC! :o) Welcome here, I’m loving going back over the last posts, and seeing what you’ve been up to!