Staying sane or going crazy?

Amidst everything that’s going on around here, it’s easy to forget the small stuff.

Life in the garden, where until the last day or two, it’s been hard to imagine it was anything but high summer with sunshine and warm temperatures. But Autumn isn’t far away and over the weekend, the wind blew in the rain and the sunny days are just a memory.

During the last few days in Iceland, I began to notice a few wobbles with my camera, which had begun to be a little difficult during our days in North Dakota earlier in the summer. I hummed and hawwed, but finally decided that it was time for a(nother) replacement (I think this is #4 of the same model) and went online to take a look. My little Sony HX 99 still gets the crown and having recorded tens of thousands of pictures, the old camera was assigned “spare” status in the drawer with its predecessors and the new kid on the block was fired up. All of that is a long explanation for some weird photographs like the one above.

Anyway, a flower photo or two makes a change from the usual ladders and scaffolding, doesn’t it?

Though I couldn’t resist a photo taken through an opening in the safety screen when the electrician was here the other day, performing acrobatics on what will become our first floor landing but what is for now something more like an aerial walkway. I made no excuses for playing the role of his Mummy and issuing reminders to be careful, for someone so skinny could so easily slide straight through one of those openings!

Whilst the crew outside were performing magic with wood and steel, I came across the needlepoint project I had started on the ship during our trip. Thinking I’d get on with it on one of those sunny afternoons, I took one look at my favourite spot and thought it needed a bit of a clean up before I could sit down. The builder’s dust was pretty deep and it would be a five minute job to sort that little corner out.

I always think of it as our “Christmas Tree corner” but it’s a light and airy spot throughout the year. Our chairs recline nicely, so if there’s a call for forty winks, it’s no big deal and there’s reading, music and puzzles on hand for when I reach my boredom threshold. There was just one problem as I settled down with my coffee and my sewing.

The view. The collection of glass vases on the windowsill beyond the door was a sorry sight. We’d agreed, there was no point in worrying about the dust for now…there would surely be more.

And there was. Plenty more.

It was no good. Whilst those vases and other bits and pieces were covered in that heavy layer of dust, there was no way I could sit and relax enough to do my needlepoint. So, one bunch at a time, I worked my way around the room, washing and drying each one before replacing it on the windowsill to gather a bit more.

A waste of time? Or a way of maintaining my sanity?!

We’re doing ok generally speaking. Things like the light switch above have just become part of the background and we don’t “see” them any more. But from time to time we have our moments and I feel much better having cleaned those windowsills! Somewhere in all of this, we have our lives to lead and if that’s all it takes to keep me sane, then it’s not too bad, is it?

A bit of therapy with needle and thread works wonders and my little pouch is coming along well. I’d completed the small coin purse whilst I was on board Splendor and was lucky to be able to find a matching design to begin when we were still in Greenland.

I wonder which will be finished first, the building work or my needlepoint?