Hello. 🙂
Thank you, my fine fibrous friends, for your heartwarming comments in response to the self-care post, including the many from people who are new around here. (Welcome, do come in and please excuse the mess.) I started replying to each comment, but they number in the hundreds, and I’m not sure I can write a sensible response to every single one without being prosecuted for child neglect.
Special thanks for your birthday wishes for Mother Twisted, but more on that in a minute.
Anyway. Gather round, people (NO, NOT THAT CLOSE) and let’s get down to business. I say ‘business’, but I started this post without a clear agenda, such are the times we’re in.
To begin: there hasn’t been a great deal of knitting, though I’m still working on the book. In a sort of yarny version of the children’s game ‘grandmother’s footsteps’, the deadline for my book keeps sneaking closer whenever I’m not looking. I’m writing and designing as fast as I can, but it’s an uneven process, and the past week has involved more ripping back than knitting forwards.
So how are you coping in our strange new world? Never mind loo roll, I hope that you have enough yarn. I hope that there is creativity in your days. I hope your loved ones are safe. I hope you have food. I hope that you’re coping with worry in this, the year of the disappearing toilet rolls. I hope that wildlife is thriving within sight of your window, whilst human life pauses some of its activity.
Until my run this evening, I hadn’t left home for nine days, due to a brief lurgy (not the lurgy, as far as I can tell) which resulted in my boss telling me to work from home for a week. We’re not allowed to see patients face-to-face at the moment, so all contact is by phone.
Please don’t hate me, but I’ve actually loved being at home, apart from the worry about loved ones. Our garden is small, but luck has meant that the past few days coincided with some unseasonably sunny weather, plus the springtime waking up of wildlife, and a busy period in the grow-your-own-dinner calendar. I’ve mostly been outdoors, feeding various wildlife.
There’s always something going on in our little garden. Robyn-the-robin still demands all thirty-nine of her daily meals. In the pond, thousands of tiny creatures are getting their act together for springtime shenanigans. In the other pond, the sticklebacks are getting frisky. Horace the hedgehog has emerged from hibernation and like everyone else round here is demanding food. Eleventy thousand bulbs are exploding into colour, and the advantage of having a rubbish memory is that I have no recollection of what I planted, so each and every one is a delightful surprise.
But it’s Robyn who really steals my heart. She’s even started daring to take food from the hand of one of the twinnage, which is impressive, because she’s lived here long enough to know that nine-year-old boys aren’t always very quiet or still.
Once upon a time, I would have said that all robins look the same, but I’ve spent so much time with this lass that when I see people’s photos of other robins, they look utterly different. They’re not ‘my’ robin. I’d pick her out of a lineup, any day. She’s getting ever bolder, following me around the garden and flying right past my face when she wants food (which is, basically, all the time).
On the not-so-wonderful side of things, homeschooling is proving to be a challenge for all concerned. And the twinnage miss their friends. But the four of us are safe, for now. We have food for the week. There’s a spare loo roll in the cupboard. (DON’T TELL ANYONE!) I’m growing dinner. The children are kind-hearted, and I have yarn. One day, all this will be in the past.
But lets give the last word(s) to Mother Twisted, because she really appreciated your birthday wishes. Here’s what she said to you all in an email:-
Thank you all for your good wishes for my birthday and for Mother’s Day. The number of kind comments from all over the world has really overwhelmed me and touched my heart. It’s so reassuring that there are still lots of people of good will in the world.
There were two of us raising Daughter Twisted. Much of her sense of humour has come from Father Twisted. Many years ago I did teach her to knit a scarf, but little did we know where that would take us! Her expertise in photography, though, is purely her own doing
For those who are mothers too, I hope you enjoyed the day even though you were separated. The virus will pass and in due course you will be able to hug your offspring again!
Stay healthy my friends.
Phil x
Loved seeing all your pictures! My DD (40) who lives next door, is also into plants (has a degree in Horticulture) and has them everywhere. Most of her flowers are already blooming (California) and she is able to make arrangements, which she delivers to a couple of local McD every week, as well as selling plants and arrangements here and there.
Love the colors of your current project, whatever it is going to be!
Your daughter sounds awesome. Thank goodness that gardening needn’t stop in these crazy times.
All your posts and pix are lovely, but this one is particularly so. Really uplifting. I am in awe of your time management. . How do you cram all your activities into the time available?!
So pleased Robyn is also feeding from one of your kids’ hand. He must be thrilled! Thanks for the posts.
Julie, nr. Banbury
Hi Julie. ???? Thank you. Trust me, I have zero time management! I post here about what I do, not the million things I fail to do!
Your garden trives with animals and plants, lovely to see. My frog and toads woke up and left some oops situations when I accidently looked. I can’t feed the birds as my fluffy boys would catch them but they’re there to embrase my lush garden. So are the slugs and snail so my hedgehog is very very welcome. Good to hear your mom loved the wishes. Love her response. These days are filled with gardening and crafting are they.
I’m glad that your ponds are full of amphibian life. Do you get any newts? And yes, yes, yes to garden- and craft-filled days.
Utterly delightful to see a post from you in my Inbox, Phil. I saved it for as long as I could bear, and then read it with joy. What else ?! Robyn is becoming almost as familiar down here as she is to you, and it’s wonderful to hear of her becoming close to one of the twins (why only one ?). Your gardening efforts are commendable and have reminded me to look up, copy and save your post about growing from leftover bits ..
Keep it all up; go with your own flow re the book; never think we don’t await every post.
Big fat hugs from me Downunder, M-R
I am so thankful Google brought your last post to my attention. This one was equally as lovely. The pictures of your flowers leave me in envy. I long for the days I will see signs of spring besides the rain, mud, gale force winds and allergies. Some of my little seeds sprouted in their egg carton homes. Hopefully I can keep them alive until time to plant them outdoors. Every day gets me closer. I am envious of your yarn skills, you are truly gifted, Twisted. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with the rest of us.
Thank you so, so much. You’re extremely kind. I love that Robyn brings joy even beyond my little garden. She is very special. As for your question, one of my boys is a little more interested in Robyn than the other, so has been more persistent in gaining her trust. But they do both love her. Big fat socially-distanced hugs from the UK.
Ah yes – Clothes for Vegetables. How could I have forgotten a title like that ?! [grin]
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Deep apologies for clogging up your Comments – I never do this, normally ..
https://wp.me/p6zYMn-4SC and I hope you will forgive me ..
Oh, thank you! I’m honoured. ❤️
Also, I tried to leave a comment on your blog post, but it didn’t work. Will try from a different device tomorrow.
Thank you Phil for this post. Really needed your optimism today!!
You’re very welcome.
Just love your blog! I really appreciate your positive attitude and love your knitting designs! So refreshing in these difficult times. Can’t wait to get your book and try some of the patterns that I see you knitting. Also, loved the hedgehog picture – I have never seen one (maybe we don’t have them in the states?) And as always love Robyn the Robin. So different from our Robin’s here.
Thank you for every part of your lovely comment. I don’t think there are hedgehogs like this in North America, but I’m not 100% sure. Hope you’re surviving in these crazy times.
Love seeing all your beautiful garden photos. We are moving into autumn here and I am already craving the flowers of springtime. Thankyou also for using your wonderful gift of writing to put everything into perspective, yet again
And thank you, for such generous words.
Thank you for posting all the lovely pictures along with your story line. I envy you all your seedlings. I usually buy plants and the local nursery is closed. I hope by May I will be able to buy some tomato plants. Stay well.
Could you grow from seed this year? Online suppliers are still operating (at least here in the UK – not sure where you are). Thank you for your kind comment.
Lovely to see all your photos. I too am loving being at home with my children and yarn! I also have twins. Mine are 11 and reluctant to home school. They vanish like magic whenever it is mentioned! Take care and keep safe!
Yay to a fellow twin-mum! But yes, I hear you. Mine can detect the whiff of something educational from 50 paces. *sigh*
Loving your garden photos but Robyn playing an invisible piano is priceless x
If I had time, I’d brush up my puny Photoshop skills and give her a keyboard. It would be an awesome photo!
Brilliant blog post, as always, and I’m so pleased that you eventually got some frogspawn ???? So pleased to see the sticklebacks too as I was wondering whether they were alright ???? I too am very happy being at home especially when Spring is springing and there’s so much to see in the garden each day. Stay safe Phil and keep knitting (don’t know where we’d be without it at the moment ????) ????????????????????
Thank you for every single part of this comment. I do wonder whether the frogspawn is viable as it seems weirdly small, and the frogs still look like semi-juveniles, but we’ll see. The sticklebacks (all 15 of which are called Dave) are fine, but being camera-shy, they don’t get much attention on the blog! Enjoy your garden and your knitting.
The frogspawn ???? will amaze you I’m sure. We had soooo much and then we had all the storms and heavy rain and it disappeared so we resigned ourselves to no tadpoles ???? and then miraculously, one sunny day, we had a pond full of wriggling happy tadpoles ???? Keep the faith Phil ???? Oh and do let us all know how the Daves get on ????????????
Beautiful pictures , thank you for sharing .x
And thank you for such a kind comment!
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❤️❤️❤️ to you, too!
What a lovely blog, never apologise for the photos of your garden and such it’s quite inspiring. I love the photo of the frogs they are watching you take the photo.
Thank you. I do worry that I’m veering too far away from knitting sometimes, so it’s nice to see comments like this.
I think you must have got your traffic-stopping good looks from Mother Twisted. There is no other explanation for them. I also think your patterns, photos, and garden are all amazing. ~Lórienne.
❤️ Thank you for such kindness!
The Guardian’s column Country Diary today made me think of you. All about getting a robin in eat out of a hand. 🙂 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/06/country-diary-winning-the-trust-of-a-friendly-robin
I didn’t see this: THANK YOU! 🙂