sometimes you just need a still life or two

it's been a busy time. there has been a frenzy of activity up to everyone departing on summer holiday. and while it's been good, it's also been rather hectic. and it's winding down now. next week will be a quiet one, with almost no one in the office. i'm looking forward to it, because i have some work to get done that requires solitary concentration and in a busy, open office with colleagues you enjoy talking to, you don't get much of that. it will be good to shift down a gear or two and have time to think things through properly.

even while it's been busy, it's also been great, so i'm not complaining, not at all. the pace is good, but life requires different paces at different times and during these long, light, warm (dare i say hot) summer days, it feels like the pace should slow down. i'm hoping time expands along with it and stretches to be just the time i need. i think it probably will. time feels elastic like that at the moment.

i'm grateful for working with people who make me laugh and smile and think and learn and push myself. i'm happy to have a really good boss who guides me in the right direction, but doesn't look over my shoulder too much, but instead supports me and listens to me. i know how unusual that can be and i'm grateful for it. i really love the projects i'm working on and how much creativity i'm exposed to on a daily basis. it's really a privilege. i have to remind myself that it's one that i worked very hard to attain and which i have earned. sometimes it can feel like some kind of miracle, but maybe it's not only that, it's also an achievement. and i'm doing my best to remember to give myself credit, even while being very grateful for the opportunity. 

the week is nearly over and a weekend filled with happy plans with cherished friends stretches ahead. hopefully there will be a bit of time for stillness as well. because sometimes you just need some stillness in which to breathe. 

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cool! one of my photos made Vox!

winter's welcome arrival

at long last, yesterday morning we awoke to a proper, thick frost and then this morning, there was the dusting of first snow. don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining about the gloriously long, mild autumn we've had. but we are ready for winter now. the earth and the plants and the hibernating hedgehogs need a proper freeze. it helps them sleep and rejuvenate. we all need a quiet, waiting, resting period. we need to hunker down, to settle in and snuggle up. we need cold, crisp air filling our lungs when we step outside. i've been craving it without even realizing it until it was here.

why does it seem like every season is the best one when you're in the midst of it?

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anna maria horner's new fabric lines are delicious.

and she's so genuine and authentic. 

reading about them on her blog is like a big, warm hug.

dear autumn

autumn, you can be discordant and pushy - blustery and demanding attention one second and demurely bathing us all in a golden glow the next. you're nothing if not unpredictable. maybe that's why i like you so much. even tho' your winds are whipping fine drops of rain into my face every time i step outside today, there are also the last bright flowers to be gathered in the garden and brought in to brighten up the indoors.

oh autumn, you're so demanding and real and just so THERE.

thank you for that.