Rainy Day

Grey clouds on our walk. I carried Mo , held Treacle back from his roadside mission to chase and eat every leaf and tried to photograph puddles. We ran reaching home just in time. Mo was frightened of the rain thundering on our glass roof so we painted stormy skies and sang about old men snoring.

Why its hard to lay the table for tea..

In the foreground: 'Myrtle's card of all the things that you want to know; butterflies flit everywhere, people walk, bees buzz fast, lions roar loud, rabbits hop fast, books tell you things, bears growl, dogs train fast' (would have to disagree with her on the last one)2. one of C's many battle scenes

In the background: Myrtle's saltdough star brooches, C's aircraft.

Week of Peace: 4 Outside

To be honest what was going on at ground level during this walk was far from peaceful. I

floated away upwards with my camera for a few moments, just until the lead was wrapped around the buggy, Mo and me for the fifth time and we headed home. Weekend walks were off the lead at last!

A Week of Peace: 3 Cutting and Sticking

Having found the online equivalent of my favourite activity I spent a happy hour here the other day, - can you see me wearing this to walk the dog!? My dreams of chunky hand knits, cloud print dresses and vintage duffel coats led me to attempt shopping for a real life coat. The combination of a tiny budget and the need for waterproofing resulted in an unromantic plain black rain coat-sigh.

A Week of Peace: 2 Inside

This moment was fleeting and all the sweeter after the crazy, cold, rainy morning it followed. It was only when I sat down with this cup of tea that, for just a little while, the demands stopped. Mo found a special place in the window with trains and lego, too high for puppies to reach, and Treacle found his favourite spot by my feet. I could have taken endless pictures of this happy boy playing but the tea was hot and I had a long empty stretch of floor to look at and a lot of slow breathing to do.

A Week of Peace: 1 Together

Inspired by this beautiful image I want to spend this week thinking about, finding, photographing, celebrating moments of peace. I've been feeling so much recently that I want to make them happen for all of us much more; unscheduled spaces for happy play, silence, grief, sleep or just taking life in gently. This weekend was full of peaceful time together, helped by sunshine and the fact that Mo climbed up beside us to join in with the things that slow us down; writing, drawing, making.

The loss of two people we love dearly has left me speechless and unable to come back to this space for a while. I didn't mean the pause to be so long and I am needing more than ever to find and frame moments of joy in the everyday. Also, I have someone new to introduce. Let his blog name be Treacle. He may be a little bigger than I was expecting and a little more challenging than I was prepared for but because of him we have rolled up carpets, tidied away everything, run full pelt through the rain and spent quiet evenings with a dog warming our feet. Strangely enough he is just what we need.