Tuesday 1 April
April Fool’s Day? Honestly, it seems like a snarky sort of day at its heart. Why trick people? Especially when so many of us are bumbling about and watchful of such trickery as a way of life? Anyway. I’m being a twit. I’m sure it’s fine. I just don’t like it, as far as the Days go. I prefer kinder things, I guess.
I got dressed early, made some cheese on toast and tea and sat back at my desk to watch a video (I think I’ll try that Porridge Bread this week) or two. I had a bit of a fitful sleep because things are happening with the incoming baby, but that’s not my story to tell, so I’ll say no more.
It’s a gorgeous blue sky morning and I am trying to summon the energy to go for a walk around the block because I know it will help a) my mental health and b) my body’s systems. Tell me to do it, reader. Make me go?
…
Above: Flowers and snacks (left is Bubble and Squeak and right is hummus and tomato on toast) and medication
Friday 4th April
Well. A bit of an unexpected absence, but it was because the baby arrived! It’s so exciting and the new normal is pinging long-forgotten parts of my mum-of-three brain. Things about breastfeeding and birthing and the smell of a newborn and so much more. Mother and baby are doing well and everyone is very much in love with the new little one. Her name is June !!!
I had not realised the worry that comes with having a grown daughter working to birth her baby. I worried for two days and two nights and then it all felt so much better when the cherub was here and my grown-up girl was mostly in one piece, yet transformed. There’s a vulnerability that arrives with a baby, a kind of starting over and feeling through. I feel very privileged to be able to be a part of all this and know there are so many new lessons ahead of us all.
Luckily I had planted lots of seedlings and sown lots of seeds in preparation for this April baby, so I have been able to take little posies of flowers to the new mum and her wee girl very often. The cupcake cosmos are a particular favourite, but I also like the regular cosmos and the marigolds and the calendula. So cheery!
L/ Meatloaf roll with crochet (ANOTHER blanket for June!) and op-shopped cookbook R/ Eggs and soldiers with tea
I’ve been reading our new Old Lady Book Club book Sipsworth each day, making the pages and taking notes for a later discussion. I’m loving this book. It’s not too long and the chapters are short and good. I am trying not to tear through it, truth be told, so am reading another book at the same time, to help pace myself. Well. Not at the exact same time, but I do read a few chapters of Sipsworth and then put it down and pick up In A French Kitchen by Susan Loomis. It’s all about the rituals and rewards of eating in France and I’m enjoying it so much. I have never been to France and doubt that I will get to go … but you never know, right?! Anyway, I’ve read a bunch of Susan Loomis books and I have loved them all, so this one is turning out to be no exception.
Today I am going to nip out for supplies and cook some hearty and delicious things to share with the new mum. Feeding and caring for a baby is hungry work and I remember wanting to eat the leg off a chair I was so hungry postpartum, especially with my first.
Getting dressed: Jeans, an old Bul linen shirt dress from the op shop, Birkenstocks (but will change to Merry People books when I go out because it’s been RAINING!!!)
Breakfast: I made meatballs yesterday so I had two of those smooshed between two toasted slices of bread with a spoonful of the tomato sauce they were suspended in.
L/ Chicken curry and roti R/ taking flowers to Rin and June (this is what cupholders are for!)
Monday 7th April
Gosh. Sorry again for the patchiness. So much going on with welcoming the new family and looking after the new mum and trying to get enough rest too. It’s all going well though. You’ll be pleased to know that.
Thank goodness daylight savings has ended and gifted us another hour in the morning. I have been for an early walk three days in a row, now that the weather is cooler. No doubt the walks will not last, but they are doing me a world of good right now and that’s what counts.
Breakfast today (post dog-yard-runaround) was hummus and tomato on sourdough. Two slices. Plus a big cup of tea and then a big cup of coffee. I’m all about the big cups, friends.
I then made an apple crumble for the new mum, the latest in the foodie care packages that began when the baby was born. Other delicious and mother-strengthening things include: chicken curry and roti, penne with meatballs in Napoli sauce, banana bread, flourless chocolate cake (the Elizabeth David recipe one), a little tub of roasted potatoes, a green salad with dressing (in a separate little jar).
L/ A pram blanket for June R/ Care package for the new family
Yesterday the family had other visitors so I rested and watched Space Invaders and did some reading (LOVING Sipsworth) and some knitting of the Sophie Scarf. I made scrambled eggs for dinner and had them with avocado and tomato, just for something very simple and nourishing, in the hopes of a very good night’s sleep. (It worked!) I had seen a video of someone making a sort of rosette of scrambled eggs, turning the pan as the smooshed the eggs together with a spatula, so that’s what inspired my dinner. Needless to say I did not achieve a rosette, but was perfectly happy with my delicious and more readily achievable blob shape. Also? I published a new edition of Feeling A Bit Sh*t (FABS) over on Wallflower Cordial.
Sick. Sick. Sick. There’s a big gap here in my Dailies because I got really, really sick. I am on the mend now, though.
Above: Scenes from an early morning walk (before I got sick!)
Monday 21 April
Gosh. I have been so sick. Too sick to see the new baby. Stuck at home trying with all my might to get better. Hopefully I can see them tomorrow, if I can test negative for all the things.
This morning I woke up at 7, let the pups out for their dewy frolic, fed the cats, made tea and then returned my laptop to my desk (it’s been couch side for a few days) and began to write to you. I watched this video and then this video and can say that I am feeling much more like myself for the first time in ten days or so. Yay!
I’ve been doing a lot of crochet and knitting and watching rubbish TV and also some good TV while I’ve been down for the count. This is your reminder to get all your immunisations up to date so you don’t spend weeks languishing in your house, wishing you could be part of the world. My routine is out the window and there’s been no happy little errands or much that’s good in general. I admit I have been feeling QUITE sorry for myself the last couple of days, but in the end it’s going to make me appreciate the good things in my life all the more. I hope.
Watching:
Old episodes of ER (right back at Season One) because I loved The Pitt and wanted to see Noah Wylie in his early career.
The Moorside because I watched a true crime documentary about it and wanted to see the dramatisation (what a nuts story.)
The Stolen Girl which I enjoyed but also found pretty bonkers in terms of the storyline. How beautiful was the French house featured in it though?
Good American Family, catching up with this week’s episode.
Above Suspicion because I love an old school British cop show.
Today I’m going to keep getting better and hopefully take some photos of current projects to share here soon. Remember that little pink jumper I was making for the baby? I tried to work on it when I was at my most unwell and made a lot of mistakes and had to frog some of it and now it’s in a box marked ‘I buggered this up’. It’s okay though. I will either go back to it or start again in a larger size now that little June is here. I got into trouble shaping the neckline and am first to admit that I am not a very good knitter. Just a beginner, really. And perhaps I did bite off a bit more than I could chew with a not-very-beginner pattern? Still … those mistakes are how we learn right?
Anyway, all this is to say that I will be returning to regular programming now that I am finally on the mend. Apologies for no Good Things links in this Dailies, but my newsletter will be out later today and it will be full of good things, so you can dip in there? You can subscribe to that for free or you can pay a small subscription amount – do what works best for you.
xx Pip
If you fancy, buy me a coffee —> https://ko-fi.com/piplincolne
i am playing catch up here, and am always delighted by what i find when i visit your wee corner(s) of the internet.
your mention of porridge bread whisked me right back to my childhood when my mother used to make porridge buns out of leftovers from the morning. nothing fancy about them, simply a way to use up leftovers that was always delicious. now i am craving them, even though i don’t normally make porridge! congratulations on the new addition to your family, sorry your illness has kept you away x
All this food looks amazing!
Congrats on the new addition <3
So lovely to hear the news of the arrival of baby June!
You have inspired me to plant some seeds – I adore cosmos – haven’t heard of the cupcake variety. Will have to google.
I’m loving Sipsworth too and like you I’m trying not to finish it too quickly although it would be very easy to do. I’m reading another book in between as well.
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How wonderful to hear that you have a baby in the family, the best news in the world. You have such fun and love ahead of you. X
being sick is hard, even worse when there are new granny duties to fulfil. I hope you continue to get better and better really quickly, but you are allowed to feel miserable and sorry for yourself because it does suck.
hope you had someone to take care of you
cheers Kate