Cosmic Dancer and Blackberry Squeezer

Cosmic Dancer by Thomas Hine, now appearing in an Etsy shop near you.

We are back into a new term-time schedule. I am remembering what I like about that, such as being able to write during the day, returning to Forest School to find it full of mushrooms, and walking into Pickle's nursery to find her deeply focussed on playing a steel drum. I am also remembering how very much Pickle hates having her flow interrupted because I want her to be elsewhere. Sometimes it is important that she be given unlimited time to sit on the floor snipping and taping bits of card and any suggestion that she might need to stop can create a banshee response. Pickle is a girl who knows her mind, as all the best of us do. 

However hard it is to get out the door, I am glad to have these bits of time now. I can feel the dark loom of my wedding anniversary approaching and am already spiralling down. It is good to vent some of my maddest moments while Pickle is impressing her teachers with her new-found number skills or (right now) attending a dog birthday party with her Gappy.

On the very last day of our holiday we went to a fantastic event in the woods. Everyone who's anyone in these parts, and several of us who aren't, gathered for a day of wonder. Chagford bloggers were out in force... but we have all been sworn to secrecy... for now...

And since, we have progressed from T-rex brownies to T-rex gluten free flatbreads and the most delicious blackberry tea picked from our garden and squeezed by a delighted Pickle through muslin. Here she is enjoying the leftover mush with yoghurt. Our table may never be the same again.

Last night I went out (I was shocked too!) to an African dance class. We learned a Zimbabwean harvest dance, complete with brow-wiping and snuff-taking-then-sneezing moves. I loved it, but it made me confront how unfit I am. Luckily I only have to harvest blackberries and cherry tomatoes, although Pickle has grand plans for her garden next year.

Other than that, I have been painting in the evenings as usual and will show you the results soon. I think I need to do lots of these little posts to catch up with myself.