Thursday 24 May 2012

Dream big!

I seem to spend all my time trying to play catch-up at the moment......  Please tell me I am not the only one?



Just over a week ago,  this lovely card and package arrived for me, from Jill over at Stocki, it's not often I get gifts through the post, so it was a very exciting event.  I am not the type to dive into things immediately, so I waited until I had my jobs done and a bit of time to myself and then slowly opened my pressie.



Now, Jill, being the lovely friend she is, had made quiet note of my gripes with a circular needle I was using and thoughtfully sent me a posh new one, which I am very excited to give a whirl, and she also gave me a ball of this lovely sunshine yellow cotton, which is also spot-on as I love to work in cotton.....ooooh, what to make?

Thank you so much Jill, you have been so thoughtful and hugely generous in your lovely gifts.  My words of thanks don't come near to show you how happy I am with my new things!

Maybe the first project off my new needles will be yours.........I will think up my new knitting project very carefully ;-)



My middle boy will be seven on the 1st June and while we will do cake, friends and day out, we always do a big family tea party too.....I can't help the impulse to make copious sandwiches, cakes, biscuits, cheese and pineapple hedgehogs.......but this year.......with the Queen's Jubilee next weekend, my dreams have gone up a gear, and I now want....

  • A red and blue layered cake, with white frosting...........

  • Red, white and blue bunting strung from the apple tree above.......

  • Glorious sunshine

  • Weed-free borders




To be fair, if I had more hours in the day, I may just pull it off, but honestly, I know it will be an hour before everyone is due to arrive and I will still be frantically trying to weed the borders.....I love to make lists, but I am, it has to be said, not the best manager of time.

We will see!



I was reading the lovely Jooles' blog earlier, Sew Sweet Violet and agreeing with her, how lovely it would be to enjoy the garden rather than just work in it.  I love the idea of having a beautiful garden, but it tends to escape me around May time when the weeds start to flourish.  Anyway, against the grain, I went out an hour ago, just for a stroll and I discovered to my surprise I have a beautiful garden! 






I look out of my window and I see the work needed, but if I spent a little less time stressing about it, I may see the loveliness right there......




The problem is, as I said, I dream big and then obviously don't quite get there.....

It strikes me that I spend a lot of time dreaming up big ideas, but don't really ever see the whole thing happen.....

In the past, I have been tetchy and disappointed with myself for not doing it 'all'....but I'm beginning to wonder, that if you aim to do lots of things, you will probably get more done than if you didn't aim at all.......make sense?

So....admittedly, I may be hopelessly unrealistic and laughably disorganised, but, I'm a better person for trying......

Next week at our ' Birthday/Jubilee Party' I may not be wearing my dress that fitted me two years ago, with my new Colour Affection shawl (which is 1/3 way through) draped over my shoulders, but I will still get up at a ridiculous time to do my 'shred yourself' DVD every day and knit like an idiot......in the hope..........

This week, I will also start Annaboo's CAL.....will it be a cat/monkey/doll?

I will have a lovely day out walking with my family.

I will do school runs,  swimming lessons, football, cubs.

And........ I will dream big!





18 comments:

  1. You are not alone--I feel like I am always feeling catch up, but I think I dream big too. Being the list maker that I am, I find my lists always a tad long, but get such satisfaction for each thing I cross off. Your birthday party plan sounds like grand fun, and believe me, you will be making memories your child will never forget.:)
    *smiles*

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Faith...Gawd you sound so much like me! What lovely idea that we are better for trying :) Does that mean that I am better for spending so much time on Pinterest dreaming up ideas and writing lists of things to make when I should just get on with it!?
    No need for thanks for your pressie... just enjoy! Your garden looks so lovely...but you are so right..they do take a lot of work. My Dad has an IMACULATE garden... even at the age of 89 it is his life's work... I am hoping that in a few (!) years I will begin to see the ends of my fingers going green and finally be a gardener...for now I just dream big too! Good luck with the party...Tescos have bunting for 99p :) Hugs, Jill x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aaah, good for Jill, I am sure you deserved a present. Hand on heart you really, really aren't the only one. There is so much I want to do at the moment and I can't even seem to get a handle on the washing! For some reason, as I am freakishly busy, I have decided this would be the perfect time to teach myself to knit continental so that I to can make some of these lovely shawls. I am besotted by these colour affections I see popping up everywhere but my knitting is so painfully slow that I know I will just give up if I can't build up some speed.
    And as for the CAL at Annaboo's, well, our mutual friend Jill has made me long to join in to.
    Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nothing wrong with dreaming big! The party sounds like it's going to be great.

    I was looking at my garden tonight - the heavy rains and now sunshine have meant it is totally out of control these past few weeks but you know, I went out and took some photos of the "flowers" too - some are not flowers in the traditional sense, if you know what I mean, because there is certainly a natural beauty.

    Jill is a lovely friend to send you those pressies - very cheerful yarn too. Lovely.

    Enjoy what's left of your week. (Am now curious to see your CA shawl and the edging!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love that card, and totally agree with your plan and dream big motto.
    You;re right, if you think small, you will never reach the heights you possibly might achieve
    also, love the enjoying the garden idea, i wodul go and enjoy mine immediately if it were not pouring with rain
    :-(
    take care, hope all is well with you
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good luck with your borders! That has made me laugh as weeding the garden is on my list too (but I do my best to ignore that task!). It sounds like you're going to have the most amazing celebrations. I can't wait to see the respective blog posts with cake and bunting pics! I think I might have to arrange a jubilee tea in my part of the world too.

    Have a fabulous weekend,
    Leah
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sigh... you are so not the only one- in fact it warms my heart to know that half a world away there are similar thoughts running through your head! I too love to spend time in my garden, and not actually working in it. Dont have the body I once did, and wish for more hours to get to at least some of the ideas I have in mind for crafting, exercising, children, life... Jxx

    ReplyDelete
  8. PS Ill be dreaming of that peony!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You know that party sounds just divine so it does...I love themeing parties for the children and making lists and your right aim big for if you don't reach the moon you'll land among the stars !
    If I can be a domestic goddess by this weekend you can to, now how cool will we be ;-)
    Right off back to sort those puddings out, I will be awaiting pictures of this fab party.

    ReplyDelete
  10. List are wonderful! I have always got a few on the go, my husband always says I'd get more done if I just got on with it without all the lists!! But I think they help me to keep things (& me) in my own crazy order!!
    The party sounds wonderful, and if you don't get to weed the beds tell anyone that comments your encouraging wildlife with wild flowers!!
    What a wonderful gift to receive, can't wait to see what you make on your new needles. x

    ReplyDelete
  11. You are not the only one. :) Your garden is beautiful, and while, yes, it is good to dream big, we have discovered, of late, that there is also great value in lowering your standards a bit and taking time to actually enjoy things rather than stressing about 'getting it all done'. And you have MUCH to enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  12. The party sounds great...please can I come? As for lists... I have dozens of them in the family archive... and intend to will them to my family...what aren't you meant to do that?? Joan
    PS Garden looks lovely to me..well done!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely pressie how exciting getting gifts in the post. You are not the only one to dream big. I am a big believer in dreaming big. I like you always have big plans that don't always come to reality. Have a wonderful party no matter what happens.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely post Faith :D And you do have a beautiful garden ... I have often admired it in your photographs :D

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wonderful flowers. I've been looking around on your blog -- what great needlework!

    Stopping by from Pembrokeshire Lass

    ReplyDelete
  16. I loved reading this - you keep that big dreaming sacred, Faith! Yes, I agree dreaming big probably does mean one achieves more than dreaming small but it also keeps us alive in a profound sense - keeps us always interested in life and its possibilities and although sometimes I despair of ever having the time to do all I want to do and need to remind myself to slow down and enjoy what there is without always hurrying on to the next thing, I know my mind needs to be happily busy planning and dreaming of what might be next or I can lose engagement with things generally and become depressed. Of course everyone's different but this is certainly true for me and by the sound of it may be for you too. Enjoy your beautiful garden as it is but also have enormous fun planning your jubilee / birthday tea party and if you want to go to town with bunting and red, white and blue layer cake, go for it! (Those concentrated food colouring pastes may be your friend here à la Nigella Lawson Red Velvet cup cakes!) Tell the sunshine to stay with us too! Elizabeth x

    ReplyDelete
  17. Catch up is a constant refrain but it never deters me from enjoying the task at hand. I agree that I would much prefer to sit in and enjoy my garden than to constantly think about what I need to do next in terms of weeding, planting, watering, etc. Still, I've decided that 30 minutes of tending a day allows me 60 minutes of pure enjoyment IN the garden. Hope you find the perfect red, white, & blue cake recipe ... sounds like a wonderful tea party!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sounds like it shall be a lovely day indeed! Good for you to dream big! Glad that summer break is coming soon so I can catch up on the zillion things that have fallen behind. I teach school and am happy to have the summer off starting the end of this coming week!

    ReplyDelete

I'd love to hear what you think, and I won't be asking you to jump through hoops (or fill in a captcha) to do it.............