Finishing

Thank you, friends, for the support following yesterday’s little hiatus.  Much appreciated and a timely reminder that it happens to us all at some point.  I’m feeling more positive this morning and less overwhelmed by things, but am trying not to overdo it and allow myself just a wee bit more breathing space for now.

So I sat at my desk and looked across to my sewing machine table and spotted a pile of unfinished “hotmats”, started shortly after our holidays when I came home with a packet of these in my suitcase.  I had begun the set of four thinking they’d be a quick and easy project, whipped up in minutes.

Of course, you know what happened then, don’t you?  That quick and easy project went smoothly for 75% of the way but when I hit a small problem and things didn’t go quite according to plan, I became a little disenchanted with the whole idea and gathered the stuff up and left it.  Actually, I did more than that – I cut out a mistake and tried to remedy it but was unsuccessful and left it at that stage.

But this morning was the perfect time to pick up those oh-so-very-nearly-finished things and just complete them.  I did all four in little more than an hour, applying the binding and then mindlessly handsewing the last bits.  They are not works of art, nor are they heirloom quality stitching, but they are done, and with such things, done is almost always better than perfect.  As I sewed them, I remembered what a lovely day we had at Zion National Park,  and the true function of a souvenir was put into practice.  Therapy in all ways – not only did I enjoy the distraction of remembering that lovely place, leaving behind all the baggage of yesterday, but I also had the satisfaction of finishing something and seeing an empty corner of my sewing table (not to mention a little stack of hotmats, too)

I now need to remember that feeling of satisfaction having finished a UFO.  There are several more lurking around here.

Gathering

Spending time at home today in a bit of a wool-gathering mood after a minor meltdown this morning.  I’m used to keeping several plates spinning, have always got at least a handful of things going on at once and several more in my mind at varying stages of completion.  This morning, however, for some reason, it got a bit out of hand and I needed to reboot my brain!

 

We’d had such a brilliant weekend with non stop fun and nonsense.  Edward came home and joined the goings on and the house was filled with interesting and thought provoking conversations usually around the kitchen table.  There was music – not unusual for this house in itself, but Purcell?   The wonders of Spotify and Sonos – and a half dozen assorted ipads/iphones in control!

We played “Who’s in the Bag?” again for the first time in years and fell about laughing, as we inevitably do as soon as certain names appear.  So many fond memories associated with it all.

Spending a morning in Cirencester, at the Corinium Museum with no fewer than four historians more than made up for my total lack of interest knowledge and allowed me to focus completely on the visual feast that is on display there.  Oh, and having kindled our intellects all day, what better way to spend the evening than at Hobbs House Bistro where the house red, served by the litre jugfull is simply delicious (but seems to evaporate before our very eyes ;-)

 

So was it all of that or the after effects of the huge Sunday lunch and the Brooklyn Blackout cake I cooked, which sent me over the edge this morning?

Or might it just possibly have been something I picked up during a meeting at work yesterday?

Whatever it was/is, a total switch off and a bit of peace and quiet was needed. There is a lot to be said for getting off the merry go round every now and again, and next time, I need to remember to recognise the warning signs so that I can step off gracefully before I come crashing down with a bump!

The answer

Remember, a couple of posts ago when I was wondering what this was used for?  Well, I thought that I would email Ballenberg and ask the experts.  Within an hour, there came a reply:

“The object in question has been used to transport great big wheels of cheese. The cheese would have been strapped to the round bit of the object, and the whole thing carried on the back similar to a backpack”

Who’d have guessed that? 

Thank you, Petra, from the museum, for such a clear answer!

Whose books?

I’ve been having a bit of a tidy up this morning and as I did so, I was surveying the very full bookshelves in someone’s bedroom.  Beano annuals, Bash Street Kids books and a few Asterix and TinTin titles.  A treasured copy of the book about Robert Ballard’s discovery of the Titanic along with other similar titles, all well loved.

Another shelf has Niall Ferguson and Misha Glenny alongside Bill Bryson and Boris Johnson.  There are countless books about ancient civilisations, politics and world history and rather a lot of biographies, too.

Of course, there are the inevitable Star Wars paperbacks and Biggles books, but surprisingly on the shelf below there’s a Jane Austen and a couple of Martin Amis.

Best of all, Fireman Sam stands alongside a year’s worth of German History journals, a Short History of Canada and Teach Yourself Arabic.

Love him!

Sunshine

Sadly, none of that here today, except in lovely messages from friends and family, all of which were much appreciated.  Thank you!

So, I’ll stretch the Ballenberg warmth a little further with a few more pictures and a puzzle.  This green window lights the apothecary’s bench and the photograph ought to come with scent attached, for the whole house smelled of fresh herbs and flowers.  Lovely.

Here’s the basketmaker’s house, complete with willow plants growing right outside the door and a variety of baskets at different stages of completion.

Unusually light and airy, this sitting room was attached to the room where the lacemaker was working.  The theme here seemed to be needlework of all kinds, and there’s a lovely embroidered cushion on the settee as well as more work in progress on the stand by the window.

The puzzle is this. The polished construction on the top of the bench is quite separate from the bench itself, and consists of the circular base and the unusually shaped framework.  What do you think it could be?  I took the photograph intending to ask one of the staff members but forgot all about it until I was home and reviewing my photos.  I should add that this was not in the needlework house…in fact, I don’t recall the house having any kind of theme at all, but was more of a simple farmhouse with a pretty ordinary kitchen and living space.

It’s been a lovely day and I have done little but fiddle around with a few bits and pieces just for the fun of it.  Just how a birthday should be, really!