HELLO!
I am so glad that you are here. How are you doing? I hope you are well and feeling uplifted as we move through Spring.
I am currently in beautiful Tasmania with my family for the school holidays. We are enjoying nature walks, and the Salamanca markets, and about to visit Mona (can’t wait!). It is just so nice to be together, and I was well overdue for some rest and relaxation.
Back at home, my garden is beginning to explode and my ornamental grapevine is about to take off. My hedge of purple pansies in my front garden is definitely at the “show off” stage - which I feel very smug about (I just love wowing the neighbours with a little bit of joy!). And I enjoy coming home to a great display too.
On a less positive gardening note, I am currently dealing with a large infestation of pink-sorrel (oxalis articulata). Which I thought were pretty pink flowers - but alas - a rather nasty case of weed. Plenty of discussions around the solutions on this one with my husband, Matt and also taking advice from my dear friend Joyce too. Will let you know how we tackled this!
In other news, it has been a little bit of ‘groundhog’ day here after coming down with a rather nasty virus. It wiped me out for three weeks and then went through our household. Thank you virus. I lost my voice and had to cancel many catch-ups and work meetings. It is sometimes hard to put boundaries around recovery and I have learned that if I let people know why, they understand and give you the time and space that you need to recover. The trick is to rest (which I find very hard to do). It’s a work in progress. During this time, I received a few parcels of meals and gifts on my doorstep and quiet surprise pop-ins from women in my tribe who noticed I was struggling a little. Listen to my story about this here. My weekly walking buddy and dear friend Nicola reminded me to keep sprinkling joy into your life when it feels like all is getting a little bit hard. So, I booked a lunch date with my girlfriends, hear my recent experience and filled the house with hand picked flowers from my garden.
My local book club book this month, Honeybee by Craig Silvey, was an absolute cracker with a big turnout of beautiful women popping over to my place for the debrief and discussion and then plenty of chatter afterwards about everything else happening in our lives. Fills my cup every time. Rachel asked on our WhatsApp group - what can I bring? And I replied, “There is no need to feel pressure to make or bring anything. But if you do want to, please don’t bring too much, and just a small offering from your pantry or fridge. What is guaranteed is a tea bag (I’m loving Pukka Feel New) for a nice cuppa!”. So, Rachel swanned in empty handed (which I loved). Sometimes, we just need to take the pressure off ourselves and just relax a little! Our company is enough, don't you think? Our next book is There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak.
I hope you enjoy reading This October in our Village and please do have a wonderful month ahead.
Stay joyous and buoyant,
