Catching up on news & happenings, where did January go . . .
After my morning walk I came home grinning from ear to ear, for I discovered there are stirrings in the forest, the beginnings of bluebells and there are snowdrops down the lane. Spring is on its way & things are slowly starting to come out of their sleepy hibernation.
The darkness of January, I always find the hardest months to bear, when the light is gone & the skies are grey. It is my "Go Slow" month, I have always fought that & it has made things so much worse. So it was my personal challenge this year to be kind to myself & to wake to the year at my own pace. This year I have been hibernating too.
I have worked moments into my days when I take time out, go slow, curl by the crackling fire with cups of tea to sip, I have hunted for adventure in the delicious stories & books gifted to me at Christmas.
I have sat & watched sunlight flow into the stillness of my studio setting a myriad of sparkles dancing about the walls.
Then as February loomed, knowing my struggles with the darkness of the days, my Mr O whisked me of on a magical trip, away over sea, mountains & desert to an oasis of sunlight & colour & warmth.
Normally i choose to fill every minute of a holiday dashing about & exploring going home almost as tired as when we arrived. Apparently this was not on the list of to do's for this break!
By day three I was beginning to wonder how I would last a week. Then as if by magic something clicked & I suddenly discovered its wonderful just to sit all day, every day, to watch, read, listen to music, doodle & well just relax. Well who knew!
And loveliest of all, the creative block that has been lurking for oh so long, decided it needed a holiday too and my pencil just flew, I came home with pages filled with ideas & doodles.
I felt the stirrings of ideas beginning to form, plans starting to hatch. Those sunshiney days where just the thing to give me the boost I needed and I came home with boundless energy, a full sketchbook & plenty of mosquito bites !
The images above are the workings for an upcoming exhibition, but more of that another time.
I loved the unfolding story in this post - with beautiful photos, as ever. Your holiday sounds wonderfully relaxing - and glad it rejuvenated your 'muse'. Not long 'til Spring now! X
ReplyDeleteThank you Abby, yes it's so good to know that Spring is just around the corner, I find I'm looking for signs every day.
DeleteWoke up to snow today! Lovely to read your post anf look at the fab photos. Gives me hope that Spring is just around the corner x
ReplyDeleteOOh Jacqui, snow, was it very deep? I wish we had some here, I know it can be a pest but it looks so beautiful!
DeleteYour photos are all so beautiful and I love your mug. I have one very similar! I used to have the jug and sugar bowl but they sadly became casualties many years ago. It must have been amazing to see such gloriously coloured flowers in the winter, the sunny memories could keep you going through to the Spring? :)
ReplyDeleteI love your newest paintings!
Jess xx
Thank you lovely Jess x My mug was a set of 3, charity shop find Jess, I love the dinky size of it, I never drink a full cup if I use a large mug so its perfect for me.
DeleteWhat a lovely husband to arrange that for you! It looks like you had a wonderful and well-deserved time....brilliant!! I loved seeing your photographs and hearing of your adventures Ruthie.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Jane x
He is a lovely hubby Jane, I am very lucky & he knows me so well. So good to see you back x x x
DeleteBeautiful post Ruthie.. thank you :) That was such a lovely and considerate surprise, being whisked away like that! I'm glad you've got your creative mojo back :)
ReplyDeleteI hope your daughter and her family aren't being badly affected by all this flooding.. Looks like Avalon is an isle again at the moment.
xx
Hi Deborah, thank you, my lass seems to be safe from the flooding where they are at the moment such a relief, but my heart goes out to all the other poor souls. x x
ReplyDeleteThe snowdrops are abundant over this end too Ruthie.
ReplyDeleteI love that Celtic ring on the thumb, yours ?
A lovely colourful post with variety.
Hi Jim, yes that's my thumb, Mom bought the ring for me many moons ago, so it is very precious.
DeleteOh … you always inspire. Happy the creative bug is back for you … I'm creative with the kids I'm teaching and then I get home … and after I eat I plop down in front of the TV! Thanks for this. I think I will go clean out my workspace!
ReplyDeleteLove all the lush shots … so dry here. Nice to see things look so wet and wonderful with little green shoots!
Dear Lucinda, thank you, its extra special to know my blog is inspiring someone, thank you treasure. I'm not surprised you haven't energy left at the end of your day for your own creativity, working with children is so precious but also sooo tiring too! Good luck with clearing the work space. We could do with a little of the dryness you have over there, we've had far too much rain, but not as bad as they have in England, so much flooding & so much disaster.
DeleteSounds like the very best of ways to spend January.
ReplyDeleteI agree - it can be hard to get going again, once all the Christmas decorations are packed away.
Your 'doodles' (really? you call then doodles?!) are wonderful.
Hi Janice, it was a lovely way to spend January, and I thoroughly recommend hibernating ;)
DeletePRECIOSAS¡¡
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