March

With seaside visits, handmade markets and Easter it's been an eventful month. So, lots of photographs and a list of goings-on from my little corner of the blogosphere. This March has seen us:

Visiting garden centres and farm shops for food and inspiration...

Planting things in the first cleared bit of the garden. Wild or native trees and shrubs (blackthorn, hawthorn, dog rose)...

Eating with family. Lamb on Easter Sunday followed by a layered rhubarb dessert (homemade ginger biscuits, stewed rhubarb, whipped cream)...

Laughing at the things Joe comes out with. And wondering where his turns of phrase come from, particularly beginning his statements with 'I expect...' or 'I'm afraid...' He sounds quite gentrified. Although he spends a lot of time with his finger up his nose too.

Watching Gardener's World, The People Versus OJ Simpson (I know, I know) and a really good 3-part series on Queen Victoria's children.

Experimenting with more printmaking.

Enjoying spending time with Joe after preschool. There's a little play area at the local farm shop which is elevated and a complete sun trap on a bright afternoon. He makes friends with the other little people there; I sit and watch as he plays on the mini tractors and the slide.

Worrying about the next handmade market in two weeks. So much to do, so little time, hence:

Writing a lot of lists, and

Using my diary more than ever before. Also:

Regretting just how much chocolate I've eaten lately. Easter egg for breakfast did seem like a good idea at the time, though...

Observing the garden coming to life. We have lots of bird activity - mostly blue-tits, goldfinches, starlings, sparrows and robins. And the snowdrops are giving way to muscari and miniature daffodils. The hellebore and Fritillaria Imperialis are flowering and the magnolia buds are getting ready to open...

Hoping for better weather. A few blue, hazy days have since disappeared and the gloom, gales and rain are back...

Remembering my mum. And missing her. Particularly as I was preparing the family meal on Sunday and gazing out of the kitchen window, wishing she could join us all.

Trying a new approach to wellbeing. I've been diagnosed as 'borderline' underactive thyroid, which would explain a great deal. I have to go back to the doctor for more blood tests in a few months, but in the meantime I've had a few consultations with a medical herbalist. I'm a great believer in homeopathy and the whole 'You are what you eat' philosophy. Although herbal medicine does taste beyond horrible.

Baking seasonally. Not for me (I ran out of gluten free flour) but for others. Easter spice biscuits. I made the dough, my niece cut the shapes out and everyone but me got to enjoy them...

Reading a new book: The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell. I'm only just at the beginning so the jury's out just now. But I did, regrettably, finish The Victorian House: Domestic Life from Childbirth to Deathbed and am now hungry for more books on domestic life during the last century-and-a-bit.

Needing some more space to work in...

Tiring of my lovetolerate/hate relationship with Facebook. It drives me mad, all the pointless and inane stuff people post on there. And if I want politics I'll buy a newspaper. But is it a necessary evil if you want to run and promote a business of your own? Sigh...

Coveting nice things for the garden. Mock currant bushes, a rocking bench on which to escape into a pleasant trance, a shed to prettify...

Waiting feverishly for that oh-so rare combination: a sunny day with no Joe around, so I can paint some furniture outside. Mustard and teal and an almost grubby shade of pink.

And:

Looking forward to April. Well, once the next craft fair's over and done with. We've got two weeks where preschool's closed for Easter (it's a very strange holiday year) and I'm praying the sun comes out and the mercury rises.

The next post will be shorter, I promise.

Have a wonderful April.