Lambs, Posh Parking, and Longdraw Spinning.

 I just seem to be incapable of keeping up here, so I'm going to just start where I am, because I do so desperately want to get back to keeping this as a daily (ish) diary.

Well, lambing is all done. We have nine lambs from seven ewes. All doing well and out on the grass in the sunshine.

This last weekend, we hired a BCS cultivator and Neil has gone all over the veg garden. Of course I immediately start plotting a return to commercial growing, but I do think I have to calm myself down and grow food for us first. We watched an absolutely brillian YouTube film about a couple in Vermont who have such a brilliant productive business from just over an acre of productive ground, and that of course set me off alarming.

I've not been fantastically well, with the combination of postcholecystectomy syndrome (aka lack of a gallbladder), diabetic medication (the dreaded jab) and IBS creating a bit of a perfect storm so my mind has wandered a bit, but I'm still trying very hard to honour my direction to myself for this year - 'what we are, who we are, where we are' - staying put in my mind, body, and spirit and giving up the lifelong habit of discontent, and living in an imaginary future. 

Brought back down to earth this morning by having a vast amount of VA work to do, so I've been in the office today until lunchtime.

We went to see The Fishermens Friends in Oxford - the girls' birthday present to their dad, whose hiraeth for Cornwall knows no bounds - and it was a wonderful evening. Because I was leary about parking, we definitely overpaid and booked a spot at the Randolph Hotel. They are just on the parking apps, but imagine our surprise when we discovered it was valet parking, no less. The smartly dressed French concierge didn't raise an eyebrow at parking Neil's signwritten painter's van. (Well, it is a Citroen, I suppose!)

This entitled us to use the loo (blessing!) in the hotel before and after the concert, and to have a post concert drink in drawing room (coffee for Neil, a glass of wine for me) while listening to a very talented pianist on the grand piano.

Last Saturday I went to Skills Day at  Guild, and learned (again) long draw spinning, which was fabulous. We are so fortunate to have such an active and well 'staffed' Guild on our doorstep. This class was held in the weaving studio, which I haven't previously been in, and it is an absolute Aladdin's cave. If ever I have any spare time at all, I'd love to learn to weave.

Grocery costs are through the roof, and the news doesn't seem to get any saner, so I think I really need to get back into budgeting, and frugal living and concentrate first and foremost on growin our own, on that vast open plot I've got waiting for me. It's dry as dust and I can't believe we're all complaining that we despeately need rain, but it's true.

I'm closing in on the second front of my cardigan (make's it sound like a military strategy) with only the dreaded sleeves (where I usually fail) to go. 

Do you knit in summer? I find it hard to settle when the days are long and light and outdoor tasks call my name.