w a r m

Last day of May and the sun came out and was properly warm for the first time this year. All the streets and gardens are full of people... So the mornings are the best time, when it's quiet.

G a r d e n

I did some proper ballet exercises today for the first time in years and feel much better for it. I've been feeling like a lumpen elephant, and haven't been as productive as I would like. But my current research project is focused on nature watching and gardens, so it really is up my street and I'm trying to remember that it is okay simply to be enjoying things. The sun is out today. It's not supposed to last, but it's lovely while it's here.

E s t o n i a

A sunny day wandering around Tallinn a few weeks ago. An expected adventure.

c h i l l y

While the rest of the country has been blessed with warm sunshine, Glasgow has continued to be cool, windy and rainy all weekend. Still wearing woolly clothes, like this cardigan that I finished from this really nice pattern over Christmas. And drinking lots of lemon and ginger tea to help with one of the worst colds I've ever had. It's not springlike at all.

b o b b i n

 

 

While we were in America I went on a bit of a yarn binge, but much of the yarn there is sold in skeins. I bought this Japanese winder quite a few years ago, but I decided to go for it and get the umbrella stand to go with it (both are much cheaper online -- around 1/3 of the price -- than in the fancy yarn shops). It's great! It was taking me ages and ages to wind by hand (partly because the Purl Soho fingering weight yarn comes in generous quantities), but this did it pretty speedily. I finished winding the last balls on the weekend, to the accompaniment of my niece singing 'Wind the Bobbin Up'.

t u l i p

Home grown tulips this Spring. In a beautiful mid-century Danish vase, that was a very thoughtful birthday present.