Still on Holiday Mode

We had a lovely few days in the New Forest catching up with cousins whom we have not seen in 16 years. There were picnics, movie nights, walks and even a tortoise buying experience. My cousin has 3 tortoises, one of which she inherited. Timothy is at least 50 years old! I have always fancied having a tortoise - elderly spinsters who lived next to my Grandmother had one. Freya is now the keeper of a one year old tiny tortoise. I suppose it is the perfect pet for a vegan and can easily be transported. I expect she will take it to the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow.

Nella got on really well with her penpal from the next generation of cousins and it was lovely that she could spend time with someone her own age. Hopefully we will visit again next year, although we will not stay in the same apartment which felt like an institution, with handwritten, stern notices about how to wash the teacups properly. 

After such a busy few days and a long drive north, I did not feel like getting straight back into work mode. It took a whole day to unpack and do laundry so I decided that I would still be “on holiday” until Monday. Nella and I did so little on Saturday that we got quite bored. I really need a background project but I don’t know what it should be. I have decided to get a small Horn cabinet for the Nova to keep in the house so hopefully that will make me more inclined to potter away at something. 

It is clear that we need to plan outings and trips to keep Nella going. She is feeling flat after her big trip and also stressed that CAMHS has reduced the frequency of her appointments. People suffering from anorexia do not usually want to recover so they are not pleased by positive progress. She still has a very long way to go and the urge to relapse is strong which is I have to keep her motivated with trips and projects.

Holidaze 2021

 This week we have been on our holidays for the first time since 2019. We hired a van and drove down to visit my family in Norfolk. It was far more comfortable than rattling for more than 500 miles in the old Landy. We had a couple of scorching hot days, followed by some unusually heavy rain. We did our usual thing of rummaging in junk shops but did not find many exciting things. Mostly we just sat around in the garden and Nessie enjoyed barking at the passers-by in her Dundee accent.

Instead of heading home at the end of the week we drove down to the New Forest to visit cousins whom we have not seen in 16 years. It was lovely to see them and have the children’s heights updated on their kitchen wall. We went into the forest to see the sunrise just before 5am but it was misty and murky. It did not really matter as we had taken thermos flasks of tea and coffee and it was fun anyway. There are more forest based activities planned for the rest of the weekend and Nessie has been amazed at encountering wild ponies...

Peacock Paradise

 

A peacock arrived at my house this week - there are peacocks 2 miles away and across a river so I wonder if he had been kidnapped and dumped. I have always fancied keeping a peacock so if he hangs around that is fine by me. 

Freya came home on Wednesday and we spent the week mostly pottering to get ready for our trip to see family in Norfolk for the first time in 2 years. We hired a minivan for the 545 mile trip south instead of rattling down in the Landy which has certainly seen better days. Even with the extra luggage space we had a lot of gear, including a Scottie dog who hates travelling. 

The trip took around 10 hours which is good going. For the first time in our history of Norfolk holidays, we booked an Air BnB just down the lane from my folks. It means that we can come and go and don’t need to take over their entire house. Nessie is amazed at all of the people and dogs going past because she can see them out of the floor length windows! Our plans for the week are to mooch around junk shops and go to the beach. Hopefully, everyone will have a chilled-out time:)

Are you Busy?

 

I am getting quite a few calls from quilt customers that start off with, “Are you busy?” I am busy enough;) On a very productive week I can probably do up to 3 simple customer quilts, depending on where else we have to be. Lately, I have just about been catching up when 2 or 3 more quilts arrive so I always have a mini backlog. I always used to have a couple of other projects on the go but nowadays I can only just about manage to fit in some German practice or tidy up my virtual island on Animal Crossing. 

I had thought that I might make a quilted cover for the Nova sewing machine but I went off the idea and bought one instead. I had planned to replace the rotten canopy on my swing chair - I did start it but did not feel inclined to finish it. I am actually quite worried that I am not excited by sewing at present. Maybe I need to buy a super easy quilt kit to get me in the mood. 

Nella and I have been having short outings to reintegrate her into society. This week we have had lunch out and visited the art gallery in Aberdeen. She needs to be reminded that Life after Covid and Anorexia is worth living.