On the twenty eighth day of the new year I cast off my fourth stripy sister sock and darned in the ends.

And I had a pretty crappy day.

Nothing major, I just felt like I had the weight of the entire family resting on my shoulders and I was crumpling underneath. All the needs, all the moods, all the demands, all the expectations and all the hormones, all on me.

Usually I can make my way through days like today and go and make another batch of plum leather - but today I burnt the crap out of it. Of course I did. Generally I know the right thing to say to make everything OK, but today I only made things worse, of course I did.

So I went to bed for a bit. And I watched the wild wind tossing the trees around outside my window and I felt wilder. It howled so I didn't have to. But it felt good to watch and listen and feel.

After a while it died down a bit and I felt calmer. Then I went and got my hair cut and I felt much better. And finally I came home and made lentil bolognese for dinner and my farmer boy made muesli bars and everything was just right.

I'm blaming the wind. And the return of school. Hopefully tomorrow will be kinder.


May the cake you bake slide out of the tin perfectly.

All my love,

Kate xx

PS Sock pattern and yarn details here.