Many thanks, you ridiculously lovely lot, for every single one of your kind words about my book deal. And if I’ve been quiet since the announcement, it’s because I’ve been busy designing and writing. I’m breaking the habit of a lifetime by working hard from the outset, instead of leaving the task until 10pm on the night before it’s due. Trust me when I say that this is deeply unfamiliar behavioural territory.
I’m running quite a bit, too (twenty miles per week), which is helping to keep my writing and knitting productivity up.
But then I visited my parents and my mum said, “You haven’t published a blog post for a while, have you Philippa?” Reader, I scurried home to draft this post. Yeah, I may be a semi-functional adult (give or take a maladjustment or two) with a responsible job, an irresponsible family, and my own compost heap, but all it takes to make me feel about eight years old again is someone using the rarely-said full version of my name in a stern voice. (The principle doesn’t seem to apply to my own children, who look me in the eye and tell me I’m just not scary when I attempt the same trick on them. *sigh*)
Supervising all this writing and designing is Robyn-the-robin. She has Opinions. It’s getting to the stage where I worry about her on days when I’m out at work.
She disappeared (again) for a couple of weeks, (as I said on Instagram). Honestly, that robin has NO IDEA how much worry she causes. Since her return, she’s been hungrier than ever. Almost every time I wander into the back garden, she flies crazy missions past my head to get my attention, or she stands on the fence and yells. My own children wouldn’t get away with such outrageous behaviour at mealtimes, but when Robyn demands food, I plod dutifully to the shed and fetch the mealworms.
Once last week, as she swooped down to snatch a mealworm from my hand, I caught the briefest glimpse of ANOTHER ROBIN further along the fence. Those of you who commented that she was doubtless off courting when she vanished, I think you might be right. Robins are fiercely territorial, so I can only assume that this other robin is her new partner. Love – or at least grudging tolerance – is in the air.
Her partner hasn’t fed from my hand, but he seemed curious about this featherless weirdo who gets bossed around by his wife. I hope they have babies. Last year, Robyn nested behind the shed, and I’d sometimes glimpse her not-yet-red-breasted fledglings once they were old enough to venture a short way along the fence. But she’d always chivvy them back towards the nest so I never hand-fed them. I hope she raises a healthy brood this year, too.
Anyway, back to the book. It’s not the writing that’s the tricky bit – after all, I have words. Plenty of words. Lots and lots and lots of words, just in case you hadn’t noticed. Thousands of words, tumbling out everywhere, cluttering up the house and getting in everyone’s way.
No, the hard part is when I’ve knitted a prototype for one of the patterns to be featured and then I look at it and think… nah. Somehow, it’s not quite right, not quite good enough, not quite perfect. Or I’m half way through the knitting and I realize that the yarn just isn’t going to do what I want it to do unless I can rearrange the laws of physics, no matter how many expletives I throw at it. And just like that, a week’s knitting needs to be redone. Just like that, a little more time dribbles away. But I refuse to put anything mediocre in this book, so I rip back and start again.
It will be worth it when the last sentence of the thing is complete, the last pattern is photographed, and the last stitch has been cast off. I may have exhausted every last shred of sanity by that point, but it’ll be worth it. This book is going to be as good as I can possibly make it.
And as long as the mealworms keep coming, Robyn will be happy.
Outrageously beautiful flower and bird photography – thank you so much!
And thank you for saying so!
Isn’t it a gift Robin is living with you and thinks your place is good enough to raise kids. Oh your mom is a special one! You still listen! Oh wow. Glad you did write the post. But that book is important. Curious.
Yes, it’s a wonderful gift. She’s gone missing again for over a week, and I can’t help worrying about her. She’s probably keeping a low profile in the face of these awful storms, but I just hope she’s safe.
Phil, I would not have thought it possible for your writings to get any better, but this post is really, really the best! Please keep those words tumbling out and cluttering up the house and please thank the twisted mother for her timely reminder.
Thank you so much! Mother Twisted has seen your comment, so you have thanked her directly!
This is a lovely post (fit in between book writing, knitting, parenting, bird feeding, running and visiting Mum!). I especially love the little hints about how your creative process works, discipline or not. (My creative process needs much more discipline.) You are an inspiration!
Enjoy,
Kathy
Thank you for being so kind! And interesting that your creative process works differently. Keep creating!
What a great mother – I was wondering about your blog posts and missing them because you write such good ones. I really enjoy your photos as well so please keep the posts and the photos coming (in between everything else you do! You do know that sleep is overrated don’t you?!)
Yeah, sleep is for the WEAK!! (Unfortunately, I seem to be quite weak.) But thank you for your generous words. I certainly won’t stop blogging.
I entirely agree with Connie ! – this is an absolutely enchanting post, Phil(ippa). [grin]
I smile every time I see an email from The Twisted Yarn in my Inbox, knowing there is delight ahead. It’s always left till last, for ultimate enjoyment.
Whatever that WONDERFUL THING is with the pink icord, it enhances your extraordinary knitting talent gallery; and one can hardly wait to see it in full.
Your photography is excellent ! – what do you use ?
As I’m probably your mother’s age, I shall sign off by echoing her meaning: post more ! OKOK, I know you’re pressed for time; so let me just say “Don’t forget we eager followers out here, tongues hanging out to know more about Robyn and her new spouse ..”
Thank-you, you totally brilliant woman.
You certainly know how to make a grown woman blush! But sincerely, thank you. To respond to your photography question, the pictures in this post were all taken using my phone. It’s a Huawei P30 Pro (which I chose purely for its camera). Usually, I take pictures with my ‘proper’ camera (a Canon 6D), but I lapsed this time!
[whispers very quietly: the thing with the pink cord is a drawstring project bag. If anyone asks, I DID NOT TELL YOU THIS!]
Phil, you are a hoot !!! π
Love your robin, Robyn! I’m very curious about these robins as our North American robin is way too big to eat from your hand!
It’s been an education being on here, because I didn’t even know that there was a different type of robin. <3
Tell your Mom, we appreciate her thinking about the great unwashed knitters out here, starved for another post from our favorite, running, pond digging, bird whisperer, twin raising super Mom, knitting blogger.
She reads the comments, so you’ve told her directly. π And thank you yet again for being so kind.
You write very realistic and what I always feel after reading is that you are very good human being. Your photography is also too good. Thanks for sharing.
You are very kind and generous with your words! I just come here to have fun, and it’s an honour that people (including you) keep coming back to read. Thank you.
I LOVE your close up of Robyn; what a fantastic picture. I also, as usual, enjoyed reading the whole post. As others have said I am always pleased to get a notification of a new post from you in my in-box. Like you I am running a minimum of 20 miles a week at the moment (just completed my 12th consecutive week) and am starting to see a slight improvement in my (still sedate) times. What running plans do you have for this year?
Yay to a fellow 20-miler! Unlike yours, my times are not improving. *sigh* Not sure about plans this year yet. I’d absolutely love to run the Abingdon Marathon in October but I’m ALWAYS ill in Sept/Oct, so I’m not sure. Might do the Oxford Half again. Trying to decide between the two. What about you? Are you gearing up for a race?
And thank you for such kind-hearted words.
Thank you for posting this!! Really needed to read this today.
And thank you for saying this. You’re kind.
Well done you for fitting it all in. The 10pm night before made me laugh out loud except with me it’s closer to midnight!
Himself has his first RHS exams coming up and is sooo disciplined- if the end of the world was nigh he’d hold a hand up and say ‘ sorry, still 30 mins to go”.
I shall look forward to seeing Robin the Robin’s family develop. We have a pair of woodpeckers who have fledged each year for the last five so hoping for the same again. It’s amazing watching the parents teach them to feed ( they get through a fat feeder a day!).
Can’t wait for the book – no pressure at all. π
Yikes, you’re even worse than I am! That can’t be good…
You have WOODPECKERS?! I’m seriously envious! Are they green or great spotted? Meanwhile, Robyn has gone AWOL again, possibly because of the storms. I just hope that she’s safe.
Very impressed by the RHS thing. Please send Himself over to teach all his wisdom. Anyway, must go. Need to phone the RSPCA yet again about the completely terrible time that Lily is clearly having in your household… π
There is a paw lock on the phone so she can’t call them herself π
The nesting woodies are green but occasionally we get spotted rooting through the grass.
Robin will be seeing the storm out with her knitting somewhere, she’ll soon be back demanding mealworms. X
I So wonder where you get those mealworms! and all your posts. They make me feel warm and happy
Thank you so much! Seriously. Glad to be of service. Dried mealworms are from local garden centre. They look revolting but Robyn seems impressed.
Stunning photos. And thank you for sharing these little bits of your life. My exciting news of the weekend is that having cleaned out the nest box yesterday, the blue tits were back to check it out today!
Yay, that’s brilliant!!!! I hope they stick around. (We’ve had a blue tit couple looking at our nest box, too. I’m not yet sure whether we passed muster.)
The photos are beautiful and I love your knitting work. So refreshing to see how beautiful your garden is and that you actually feed the birds by hand. Can’t wait to see your book.
Thank you for every single part of this. The garden is a work in progress, but I’m optimistic about how it will look overall in a few years’ time.
Good to here from you. I love the flowers and that robin is so dear. Your robins are much smaller than the ones that visit my yard. We won’t see signs of spring for a few weeks. Thank you for giving us a taste of what’s to come.
Thank you for such a kind comment. We haven’t got much in the way of spring here, yet. It’s just (very) wet and windy. Hope you see signs of colour soon.