Congratulations to my good friends Jo and Eli who welcomed their first child into the world yesterday! Sophia Rose was born at 4.30pm. Jo is my Penguin editor and during the process of writing and editing the book, and after, when we finally met, we all became firm friends. The photo above was taken on the day we met in Melbourne, earlier this year. Jo and Eli will be wonderful parents and I look forward to meeting Sophia. I'd best get a wriggle on with the cardigan I'm writing about below.
♥ ♥ ♥
The day didn't turn out quite as I expected yesterday. Hanno was supposed to have his eyes checked but before he went he visited his son, Jens, and discovered Cathy's car had broken down on the road to Hervey Bay while she was going to visit her parents. Hanno phoned the specialist, reorganised his eye check, and helped Jens retrieve Cathy and the car. He was away all day.
My rest day took on a life of its own.
I replied to a few emails, and please forgive me if you've written and I haven't written back. I do try my best and am working through the list. After that, I tidied my desk, shredded a some papers and made a few notes. Cup of tea time again, I sat outside in the sun with Hettie on the garden bench, felt the coldness of winter, made a few mental notes about plants and seeds, picked a Chinese cabbage and some herbs and went back indoors. I love being home alone, there are no expectations.
I picked up my knitting, hoping to get two sleeves on a baby cardigan finished, but I went to sleep in my chair and woke about an hour later with the phone ringing. That got me moving again so I cleaned up the kitchen table, wiped it down, and put on a clean table cloth. Washed up, then outside into the front garden to check out what's happening there. I picked a bunch of fragrant, pink Salvia and some gerberas and came in again. After lunch I sat down to watch about half of Downton Abby that I recorded, and knitted as I watched (poor Mr Bates!), then read more of Kate Herd's wonderful book Kitchen Gardens of Australia - specifically the part about Gay Bilson's garden in the Adelaide Hills. I wrote about Gay here In Praise of the Domestic.
Hanno made pea and ham soup on Monday night so it was wonderful knowing it was in the fridge and nothing had to be prepared for dinner. Rain on the roof, candles lit on the table, soup bubbling away on the stove with its aroma reminding me how much Hanno and I share. I wandered in and out, made more tea and sat in the sun when it came out again. The cardigan sleeves aren't quite finished but I feel I've made progress and had exactly the day I needed to have. The quietness here suits me.
What is your ideal rest day?
