Little Fluffy Clouds

 {Firstly, apologies. Although I replied to comments yesterday, I don't think I notified people that I’d replied.  I'm really not very clued up on how it works yet}

Before I went to bed last night I was feeling quite manic and over stimulated so I put on some pouring rain and thunderstorm music on Spotify.  I really love those heavy rain storms with thunder and lightning and I do miss them. We get so little rain here in the SE of England.  I was wondering why I find it so restful and calming when my brain is being a bit overactive and I discovered that the sound of rain produces Alpha waves in the brain which are close to the state the brain is in when we sleep.  I wouldn't say I am a pluviophile exactly, as I'm so happy to see sunshine and blue skies, but I do miss a regular dose of rainstorms - especially summer ones.  Growing up in Yorkshire and being at university in Manchester meant that I experienced a lot more rain then than I do now and I find it so comforting to hear.  Isn't modern technology crazy in that I can choose from Muffled Thunder, Thunderstorm in the Forest, Juicy Rain and a plethora of other rain variations to soothe my mind.

I woke up this morning feeling very, very tired.  Really drained and muddle headed.  I think that as an introvert, although I really enjoy seeing and talking to friends, family, neighbours; when it's for a large part of my day I find my internal battery has run low and I need some quiet time to recharge.  When I was younger and worked full time in central London for a busy architectural practice, I wonder how I coped with being on the phone and talking to lots of people all day.  I suppose I’ve become more and more used to being alone over the last few years and perhaps it all takes more effort now than it used to do.

Today I’d arranged to meet my friend Gill who has recently moved to Herne Bay.  She’s actually a relation of Chris’s but we get on well and so we meet up fairly regularly.  We used to meet for coffee or lunch but now we meet for a walk until the lockdown rules are lifted.

Gill admiring the cliffs

Looking rather wooden trying to pose!

We walked along the seafront towards Reculver, enjoying the sunshine and appreciating the blue sea and fluffy white clouds.  I do feel very fortunate that I have this on my doorstep. Gill kindly took some photos of me posing on a rock so that I can show my face on here and on Instagram.  It’s good to see the person behind a blog or an instagram account sometimes.  It helps make the connection.  I am not photogenic but I try to accept it now.  I am a very harsh critic of myself but I think I look ok in these today.  A hat and dark glasses helps somewhat!!

We walked as far as where the bigger cliffs rise up as you approach the last kilometer to Reculver.  It's my favourite part of this local stretch of beach, closely followed by the cheerful beach huts at the opposite end of town.  If I'm in the mood for “wild” then I head this way and if I'm in the mood for cheerful huts and boats then I head off in the other direction.  I would say that wild wins most of the time.  Soon it will be the time of year that you can walk here as the sun sets on those golden evenings, watching out for the rabbits that live in these cliffs.

I got home for lunch, quite chilly and windblown as over the duration of our walk, the wind had picked up and it had definitely got colder.  I was so pleased to see that we had gnocchi Bolognese leftovers to warm my bones.  Hurrah for leftovers!!

I made a few tiny crochet centres first thing this morning as I find if I do that, they actually get done.  The day often gets away from me and then creative stuff gets pushed to the back of the day, often never getting done.  This way I am making it a priority because I need that creative part of my day.  Our house is Victorian and quite large and I could spend all day, every day doing housework, cooking, shopping, cleaning and house admin but I choose not to spend my life doing that.  Life is short and I have to have a balance. 

I received some yarn in the post this afternoon - I say that as though it wasn't me that ordered it!  I'm completely smitten with Kauai by Madeline Tosh.  I love the speckles of fluorescent pink and yellow in it with sprinkles of turquoise.  It's perfect and squishy and I'm delighted by it.  I may have to buy Holi Grunge too - but next month as my yarn budget is blown for this one.  I will hand wind it like I do with all my skeins and hopefully start seeing what it works up like. It will be the second and final (I think) round of the granny squares.  I only want them to be small. We will see.

Many thanks for reading and following along with this blogging daily until the end of this month. Perhaps after that I will have a hard look (or a hard stare in a Paddington Bear way) at this pesky formatting business and try to work out what on earth it is doing with my text.