spring things 2023

How many blog posts do you think one person can write and save to their drafts before they finally get frustrated enough with themselves and post one out into the world? Maybe squarespace should have a feature where they give you a gentle nudge and some encouraging words when your draft posts reach a certain number. Over the past few weeks I have put together so many posts. I have constructed stories, I have uploaded photos, I have at times bared my soul, and yet when it came to publish, I just couldn’t commit.

Honestly I’ve had a few awful weeks. My hormones have smashed me. My sleep has all but disappeared, I’ve felt low grade anxious for the first time in my life, I’ve felt doubt and overwhelm, and I’ve really felt like my world shifted and started eroding at everything I felt confident and competent in. Including blogging.

But this morning as I drank my coffee in bed and scrolled through my various social media feeds, I saw and clicked on a link to a post I wrote on this day six years ago called 10 spring things. As I started reading the first thing that hit me is that it’s the first day of spring today! We made it! Even though September is most often the darkest and dreariest month here, there’s something so psychologically uplifting about turning the page and leaving winter behind.

The next thing was a comment I’d received and included from one of my dear blog friends;

Shemmariah Beth - You know I was just wondering why I love these Friday arvo reads SO much, and I think it's because in a world full of blogs telling me what to eat, what to do and 12 steps to be what I need to be, this lovely little blog 'just is'. It's just about life, just as it is. And that is Bloomin' refreshing. Thank you Kate 😘

Like I wrote back then, that comment is EXACTLY what I want my blog to be and it still feels so great to be seen that way. I am so often troubled by the perfect, prescriptive narrative, and it warms my heart to think that I might be contributing something real in a sea of styled, edited, manufactured content. I like to see my blog as a quiet and honest place. There are crumbs on the bench-tops and weeds among the lettuces, but I feel okay about that, and I think there’s space in the online world for this story. Shemmariah Beth’s comment from six years ago might have actually been the gentle nudge I needed.

So let’s do this, a new month, a new season, a new blog hopefully to post. 10 spring things.

Thing one - blossom (see above), leaves, buds, and new growth. Seasons are slow to change in the mountains, in the forest, but things are definitely on the move and each new sign of spring fills me with delight and relief.

Thing two - burning shit! It’s cleansing and grounding and such a balm for the troubled soul.

Thing three - Bren’s bowl-a-day project began when one of his mates asked him for some formal turning lessons and he thought he’d better brush up on his skills. It’s been so inspiring watching each bowl come off the lathe and then spending time discussing the process, the design elements, what worked and what didn’t, and honouring the tree it came from. Yesterday’s bowl is the biggest and probably the most plain to date, but somehow still one of my most favourites.

Thing four - those of you who have been following along on my instagram will be well aware that after 22 years, we are finally in the midst of renovating our kitchen. I have a few blog posts documenting the process sitting in my archives, hopefully to be published someday soon, but in the meantime - one of the best features is the open shelving that covers the walls. It feels so fresh, and bright, and easy to navigate, and most importantly, is the most wonderful way to exhibit our rapidly expanding bowl collection.

Thing five - so far this knitting season I have made another Norwood sweater (pics still to come), a pair of friends mitts (pics still to come), a completely random and nonsensical pair of baby booties (pics still to come), the Paper Birch Pullover above, and I’ve just cast on a pair of Last Minute gloves for Jazzy. Now I’m on the hunt for the perfect shade of green to knit one more sweater for myself before the weather warms up and that’s it for another year.

Thing six - For some reason I’ve started this new practise of reading a non fiction book over breakfast each day, and a fiction at night. I’m usually such a monogamous reader, so I don’t know how this started, but it’s working and I’m going with it.

I’m about half-way through Next Level and it feels so relevant to my life right now, and so important, and is filled with so many facts that I want to hold onto that I’ve taken to carrying a notepad with me whenever I’m reading it so I can keep the information for future reference. It just occurred to me that I probably should just buy a copy myself and bookmark it, I think I will.

Thing seven - I don’t know where I found out about Chris Whitaker’s book We Begin At The End, but gosh I loved it. I think it’s one of the only books I’ve given five stars to this year.

We Begin At The End tells the stories of Duchess Radley, a 13 year old outlaw and Walk the chief of police in a small town in America, and the crimes that have shaped their lives. This is such a beautifully told story of family, of friendship, of loyalty, and of pain. This book made me laugh and cry, and despite being a crime mystery, was filled with so much heart that I found myself really upset to come to the end of it. I’m hoping for a sequel so I can spend some more time with the characters. Or maybe a series, I read that Disney have bought the rights.

Also when I ordered it from the library I must have accidentally clicked on large print, and to be honest, I’m a fan!

I’ve only read about 60 pages of Great Circle so far, but my cousin Nu recommended it and I can’t wait to get stuck into it.

Thing eight - this should have been thing one. Or even things one, two three and four. Bren and our girls. Each one exploring their world and leaving their own precious mark, in their own special way. It’s an honour to watch them, to live alongside them, to share their ideas and moments, and to love them.

I took this photo a couple of weeks ago when Jazzy played a set at the Winter Sounds festival at Glen Lyon town hall.

Thing nine - last night Bren noticed that JoJo the poodle has stopped licking us when we snuggle him. Something that always drove me mad, has become one more sign that he’s slowing down into old-dog-age. The past few weeks have been a steady, sad stream on social media, of very much loved dogs dying, and it’s almost impossible to imagine our life on the farm without him. Bren’s constant shadow. My heart hurts just thinking about it.

Thing ten - would you believe I’ve deleted this post twice in the time I’ve been writing it! I can’t even imagine how I clicked close tab instead of open tab, not once but TWICE!! I also can’t believe that squarespace doesn’t save this somewhere as I’m writing it. It’s so annoying. And now I’ve written these same words so many times that I can’t even see them anymore. Ugh I need to go back to researching sub stack.

In far better news, in fact wonderful news, we recently cut two windows and installed a pot-belly stove in my little cabin, and it’s changed my life! We originally built my cabin back in 2018 when I had three children at home and needed a quiet place of my own to make art, to think, to write and to get away from them all. I’ve hidden out here a bit over the years, but without ventilation or a heat source, it’s always been too hot or too cold. Fast forward five years, one child at home, and a mini renovation, and I wondered if I had any use for such a space anymore. Well I’m here to report that I certainly do. Absolutely! I spend time in here most days reading, knitting, writing, drinking tea, alone or with company, drawing, and just watching the garden grow outside my window.

I’m obsessed with it. I love having my own wood-stack, I love lighting the fire and boiling the kettle on top for endless cups of tea, I love remembering all the stories that go with the recycled building materials, I love having a jar of pens that no one but me ever uses, I love the feel of the space. I may just have a blog post cabin-tour in my drafts too. Of course I do.

And there you have it. I actually did it! From start to finish three times. I think I might actually post this one too.

Before you go, I’d love to hear a little about the season you’re in, or about to begin, just something that’s going on in your world. if you feel like sharing. I’ll be sitting right here on my navy chair waiting to read it.

Hopefully I’ll see you soon!

Have a great weekend.

Love, Kate xx