Did you see the Tumbleweed rolling lazily by just then?

My blog has sat dejected and unloved for some time now.  So much so, that I’ve even been toying with putting a stop to my rambles and searching for something new.  It’s always been the closest thing I have to keeping a journal about my creative life, mixed in with a little more of me than I originally intended to share.

However, like a lot of things in my life at the moment, it could do with a good shake to get the dust off and then leaving outside to air for a few hours.

As I sit here at my desk typing on a Sunday afternoon, I’m aware that my head is chattering ten to dozen and I think that’s the problem.  I’m struggling for the first time in my life to remain focused on any one thing for long enough to be productive.  ‘Hang on a minute’  I hear you cry, ‘aren’t you one of the pair of women that produce the very successful online magazine Olann and?’

Well yes, I am, but just possibly that could be why my head feels like there are fifty conversations going on at once?  Hands up, I had absolutely no idea how much work would be involved in producing the magazine and I doubt my partner in crime Deirdre did either, when she agreed to join forces.  (There’s no need for alarm, we’ve no intention of stopping)

Other possible factors could be (in no particular order)

• My age 😱 yes, I did just say that.  You know your the wrong side of 40 when everyone around you starts talking about the menopause or being peri-menopausal.  Either that or I must look much older of late? (taxi to Brown Thomas immediately)
• A nature to hoard anything and everything – particularly if I think I can make something out of it, it’s pretty, inspiring or all of the above.  My house is literally bursting at the seams with stuff.  It’s everywhere and despite the mammoth amount of storage I have, it’s all full.
• The auto immune diseases are causing me problems – fuzzy brain being one of the known issues with both Hypothyroidism and Rheumatoid Arthritis.
• The drugs I take for above conditions –  That’s a whole different conversation right there.
• The basics – diet, exercise, sleep.
• Finances – End of year accounts are never a cause for celebration, it would be so lovely if they could be.
• Being unable to turn the creative side of things off – Did you see that pretty yarn, the baby cardi design in my head, year long knit-a-longs, herbal tinctures, natural dyeing, spinning, weaving, puppet making, quilting, squirrel!

Enough!

It’s time for me to get a grip and regain some measure of normality.  I’m saying this but in truth I have the mother of all colds at the moment.  Everyone I know has one and I thought I’d done so well not to catch it.  Sods law, I have and with a medically suppressed immune system it could well be here for a while – BO*%&£#S!

Excuse me, I digress…..

It’s time to regain some focus in my life, take the bull by the horns and re-discover me, my blog, my home, cooking and therefore food, exercise, sleep, my health, the things I love and what brings me joy.

All well and good, re-discover, makes it sound like I’ve lost everything, so maybe what I really need to do is DISCOVER?

So, better late than never, my word for 2018 is Discover and like I’ve done in previous years, I’m going to try and live my life in 2018 with it in mind.

Having discussed this in depth with several people, I think planning and scheduling might be one way of stopping the buzzing in my head and it’s got to be worth a try?  Wouldn’t you know, this year is the first year since I can’t remember when, that I bought a pocket sized diary – TYPICAL!  So next week I’m going to look for a cheap and cheerful desk diary to help me with my endeavours.

In the meantime, I’m trying my best to get back to eating properly.  I even made a Cauliflower Pizza this week, just for me.

The jury is still out on this one.  It could feed a whole family and three quarters of it is currently in my fridge waiting to be sampled cold.

The knitting has been my constant companion as always and I was delighted to be able to gift hand knit presents to most of my friends and family this Christmas (lots of blog posts about them to come).  With that in mind, I’m going to attempt to join in with Amber aka The Yarn Hoarder’s idea to make fifty dishcloths in a year.  The hashtag is #yarnhoarderdishclothchallenge and it sounds pretty doable, right?

Even if I only make one a month, I’d still have a nice little bundle for gifting at the end of the year.  They’re too nice to use for the dishes, but they make great washcloths and are far nicer to look at than standard facecloths.  Can I digress here, just for a moment?  We call them flannels here at home and I’ve always wondered what other people use to wash if they don’t use them?  There’s nothing like a good face rub with a hot flannel to wake you up in the morning.  A clean flannel each day mind, not one that’s been sitting on the edge of the bath growing musty.

And I’m back, sorry.

My first washcloth of 2018, whipped up last night whilst I watched a few episodes of Outsiders on Netflix.  It’s the All Washed Up pattern by Jill Arnusch, which is available free on Ravelry.

Not a bad start to 2018, even if I am a little late to the party.  Now it’s time for a cuppa and a couple of Cold & Flu tablets me thinks.

Happy Making

♥ Follow me on Bloglovin Here ♥