May is now here, which means that is the last month of meteorological spring, and either I haven’t been paying attention or it’s been a cold wet windy one that hardly deserves the name. And, of course, it’s a Bank Holiday in the UK, which means that it’s practically guaranteed to rain.
Never mind, I say through ever more gritted teeth. There are lots and lots of things I can do inside, which is why the little room is now less full of junk and I have cleared everything off my treadle sewing machine table. Thirty five years ago I actually used the treadle machine that’s in there. Now, I’ve moved my rather more modern sewing machine up there and bought a lovely shabby chic Cath Kidston oilcloth cover for that has lots of pockets on it that’ll hold my scissors and pin tin and a tape measure and bobbin boxes. Don't you love pockets? Or is it just me?
To say that there’s still a lot to do is.a massive understatement because it hasn’t been used as a sewing room since I had my son and life went from busy to usually crazy. Gradually it became the place for all those things you’d use someday or just needed to put out of the way for a bit, and excavating it makes me feel as if I’m doing my own personal archaeological excavation, thankfully without Tony Robinson giving a running commentary because I can't believe some of the things we've kept.
I’ve always loved Time Team, because it's about the people who made history and the archaeological bits, so I’ve got loads of them on my hard disk and watch them when I want something where no one shouts at anyone else, people work together, and there’s beer in the evenings. I like the Repair Shop for the same reason, and Escape to the Country, because it’s such a wonderful source of characters, including some who seem to demand to be murder victims. Articles like this make me smile https://www.countryliving.com/uk/wildlife/countryside/a35191740/moving-to-countryside-advice/ and wonder why there never seem to be any articles about people who move to towns regretting it. Nor do there seem to be any TV shows about people escaping from the countryside to the joys of urban living. Odd that, isn’t it?
Anyway, I’m wandering off the point yet again, because what matters is the vision of this little room in my mind. Yes, I know it’s a fair way away because it has to be done on top of everything else, which means I'm doing it in small chunks. Also, because summer surely will arrive someday soon, and when it does, I intend to be out there. I’ll be paddling in the sea and swimming if warm enough. I’ll walk along the shore, with my sunhat held on with elastic and my dress just floaty enough but not so floaty that I show the world my knickers or end up with it soaking wet when I misjudge a wave. I’ll sit on the rocks and drink my drink and do some sewing or writing . Local ice cream may well be involved. This is my favourite https://www.purbeckicecream.co.uk/ My favourite flavours are serious chocolate and honeycomb hash but I haven’t met one I didn’t like yet.
I’ve already made my home made lemonade concentrate and stored it in ice cubes so I can pop a couple of those in a bottle of water to enjoy as I listen to the waves and watch the seagulls mobbing the fishermen like this.
The recipe, if you're interested, is juice of 2 lemons, 2 tablespoons caster sugar and 100ml of water. Bring to the boil and freeze and then pop 2 cubes in a glass and add still or fizzy water. This, oddly enough, is the same recipe that Ruth uses in the cafe in the latest Amy Hammond, Death By Misadventure, which came out on Thursday. We seem to cook a lot of the same recipes...
So I’m ready for summer. More than ready. And if I can’t have summer then I’m getting ready for autumn and winter and retreating indoors in my sewing room. Someday, it’ll be shabby chic, because I can easily do the shabby bits. Wicker baskets of fabric and things waiting to be sewn, pretty tins for needles, pins. A kitchen timer with a visual element to it because I can’t hear a normal one when my sewing machine is running and time has a tendency to run more quickly when I’m engrossed in my hobbies and then suddenly my family are dropping unnecessarily pointed hints about being hungry and wanting to be fed. And the less said about what the cats are doing the better!
It won’t be as big as Amy’s fictional hobby room, but it will be mine and I’m excited and going to enjoy this bank holiday weekend no matter what the weather does, and I hope you do the same.
Today’s picture comes from Pixabay and is of the sort of sewing machine table I’m talking about. It’s a long time since we lugged it up our narrow stairs and I can’t wait to see it in use again. Unless, of course, the sun comes out! Which it must do soon, mustn’t it?