roses in the hot-house

Oh my goodness, I am completely overwhelmed by your responses to my first blog post back! Thank you. Thank you all so very much!!

One of the things I thought a lot about while I was considering firing this blog back up again, was whether anyone would come and read it. The online landscape feels like it’s changed so much over the last two years. There’s so much scrolling and tapping and snappy sound bites and quirky comments, I just had no idea if people would be prepared to invest their time into long form posts. I myself am occasionally guilty of looking for the pretty pictures and ignoring the words.

As for the photos, it broke my heart when earlier this year instagram announced that it would no longer consider itself a photo sharing app but would focus on and promote video instead. Apparently photos are passé. But I still love looking at photos. I love the beautiful photos, I love the documentary photos, I love the work-in-progress photos, I love the personal photos. Am I a dinosaur?

But you beautiful people most certainly let me know that I am not alone out here. You’re still happy to put aside a bit of time, maybe make a cup of tea, sit comfortably, and to read my long rambling stories. So many of you said you missed this form of social media it was heart warming.

Actually, while I’m talking about what you all told me, I should probably tell you that I wondered if you’d bother commenting. As a blogger writing and recording my stories is one side of things, but getting your feedback, and hearing your opinions and stories, and creating a community is another. And it’s just as important. Otherwise I guess there would be no point in publishing my work to the big wide world at all. But comment you did. And you were generous and kind and thoughtful and emotional and three days later they’re still coming. THANK YOU! You have no idea how much they mean to me.

If you’ve noticed your comment hasn’t appeared on my blog yet it’s because I’m still in the process of reading, cherishing, accepting and replying to them. What a dopamine hit! I’ll have to remember to come back here whenever I’m feeling bad to fill my cup.

Which brings me to today, a rainy old Friday in the middle of November. I thought the first post on my brand new blog would be the hardest to write, and this one would be easy. But my first post poured out of me. It felt natural and easy to tell the story of how my new blog came to be. But what to write about for my second post feels trickier; should I Introduce myself again after all this time? Should I pick up where I left off almost two and a half years later? Should I guide you through the books I am reading, the top I am knitting, the podcasts I’m listening to, the shows I’m watching? Should I talk about possible subject matter and directions my new blog might take? Should I take you on a tour of my new blog? Should I stop overthinking things and get back on that horse? Probably.

As it happened the weeks since my first post have been ridiculously full. Lockdown ended, Indi came home to visit, the girls went back to onsite school, I went back to the gym, Jarrah had her last few days of school ever and started her final exams, I unexpectedly had a bit of a rocky week leading up to a big mile-stone birthday, we celebrated that birthday, we dealt with the clean up after yet another big storm, spring sprang and we planted berries and flowers and vegetables, we mowed and mowed and mowed, we spent time with and looked after our 15 goats and 4 sheep, I knitted some tops, and I did all the other day to day things that make up my life as a mother and lover and farmer and friend.

Considering how long this post has taken me to put together (gosh I am out of practice) I think I’ll just do a quick run through of the highlights.

Farmer Bren is back on the lathe and making some beautiful shapes. Vases and bowls and candlestick holders a plenty. I’ve been eating my breakfast out of that bowl every morning and gosh it makes my humble muesli look like it’s in a magazine.

I’ve been trying to knit garments this year after last year was mainly shawls. The green is the Boulevardier by Thea Colman and the bottom is the Hello From My Colours Crop by Jessie Maed Designs.

I’m reading Severance by Ling Ma. My sister Emily read it and loved it and suggested it to my Mum who also read it and loved it and passed her copy over to me. I haven’t read very much yet but so far it feels post-apocalyptic, The Walking Dead, during a pandemic. I’m about 60 pages in, I’ll let you know.

And then last weekend we celebrated my 50th with a few parties with family, lots of food and lots of music. I hope to throw another bigger party over the summer once I have gotten my head around the whole covid thing. Watch this space.

So there you have it, a brand new Friday Foxslane. By the time I write to you next week Jarrah will have finished her exams and high school forever and Indi will have turned 21! I remember writing about Indi’s ninth birthday on this blog.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend and get to spend some time doing something that makes you feel really happy. Mine’s casting on a new knitting project, what’s yours?

Be kind to yourself!

Lots of love,

Kate xx