There was so much Sunshine. It hardly felt like Winter at all!
We have six very old Almond Trees, which we harvest once a year. We're very grateful! Have you seen the price of organic almonds!?
The grass needed cutting and my husband needed exercise. Perfect combination. :-)
A pure cobalt -blue Winter's sky! Just awesome!
The valley below, looking a little dry but the rains are on the way! We're waiting for snow on those mountains!
It's all Vineyards and Olive groves here...and mountains, of course.
Proteas growing wild, just everywhere!
Wildflowers and lovely grasses, peeping out to sun their little faces. So sweet! I wish I could describe the smell in the air. It was heavenly!
I always feel a bit sad when I read about crochet weekends some crocheters participate in, in other parts of the world. Mind you, we have had a few here too, but they always seem to be really far away, like another province altogether! Anyhow, so I chose to take myself on a crochet-weekend up to our little off-grid cottage in the near country side. And it was lovely! The weather was warm, I got taken out for meals, the dogs were almost well behaved and the neighbours were MIA.
Usually, I choose some crochet homework to take along. This time, sewing in yarn ends for the last few squares of the Elle CAL. And...I continued with parts 4, and 5 of Jane Crowfoot's "Frida's Flowers". Seriously, what a lovely, lovely CAL. And 10/10 for the well laid out PDF patterns, with their very handy pictorials. My ADD brain gets very muddled when I read crochet patterns. I am a visual learner so pictures and diagrams work for me, beautifully. I still love the colours I chose for the Elle Yarn CAL...they remind me of Winter fruits! I think I mentioned that before. :D
And so, while I was comfortably sat in my old wicker chair, in a patch of warming sunlight, the dogs at my feet, snapping rather half-heartedly at a few winter flies, I thought, wouldn't this be a perfect way to die. Oooops, my INFJ thinking does creep into everything, but yes....I thought: there I'll be all ancient, like 130 years old ( so many projects to crochet before I pop off ) sitting in a lovely sun-spot, a bit of crochet on my lap and I'll just nod off, and that will be that. My husband says I have a morbid mind, but I don't really. I just think a lot, about everything.
Although we're all set up for cooking and baking off-grid, we always mooch on down to the village for breakfast. It's become a sort-of tradition for us to do so. Over the years we've made a few friends here, namely the proprietors (and their friendly staff) of the small yet bustling businesses. Also, it's a good time for us city mice to exchange news and views with the country mice. Everyone is very friendly and total strangers strike up conversations with us!
Visiting King Olaf has become part of the post-breakfast amble around this little village. I guess you could call it a hamlet. He opens late, but then he's a King after all! We've found quite a few bargains here! Pauper prices always suit us. There are some lovely, cosy and totally adorable coffee shops here too. They have funny, charming names like Baa Baa Black Sheep, The Social Cafe and Wicked Treats ( our favourite ). This one is called "The Cosy Armchair". Yes, please! :D
I love the country life. I raised my children on a smallholding many miles from civilisation, and they turned out alright! I am somewhat of a hermit. If you know something about INFJ personality types (or you are one yourself), then you'll know the great paradox of INFJ types is that when they're around people everyone would absolutely swear we're Extraverts.
The thing is we DO enjoy people, and outings, and even participating in social events...however, our super-chameleon-power can eventually make us absolutely DRAINED! Then suddenly, we disappear into our caves until our batteries have recharged. Most people find this unsettling, disturbing and sometimes, plain rude! It's why we have very few friends, who truly understand us and can allow us space to re-fill. I've been re-filling for years it seems. I did have an incredibly busy life which I think I'll probably never fully recover from. But that's ok. Crochet fell into this space and I couldn't be happier.
Also, it's less messy than painting, and not as soul-destroying as writing can sometimes be.
Wherever you are in this big ol' world of ours I hope you're making the most of this amazing adventure called LIFE!
Love, always, and happy hooking!
