Treat yourself, and two UFOs...

 

After so much happening lately within the family, my plan for this week was to catch up on things around home, work in the garden, and go visit a friend. But the best laid plans can easily be changed.

I began to feel unwell last Saturday night, and by Sunday morning I suspected there was more to it than I'd at first thought. By Monday morning I had a full blown virus, and it's been downhill from there every day since. So I've not left the house in a while, and have had to pace my days between shorts bursts of energy, and long hours of feeling blah. 

Kelly-dog has stayed close to my side, perhaps sensing that I'm not on top of life at the moment? 

This morning (Thursday) after doing the basic chores of breakfast, dishes, making the bed, hanging the washing, and feeding our pets, I was preparing to settle down with a herbal tea and watch Olesya's new vlog (a new one is up every Thursday my time), when I thought "Jennifer, why don't you make yourself a nice morning tea? Do something special."  And so I did. 

You see, I never bake scones for myself. I only bake them for family and visitors. With hubby at work six days a week, it has never occured to me that I could just bake them for my own delight. 

As the scones were baking, I went out in the garden to pick fresh herbs to make a pot of tea, and pondered the idea of making a fuss of oneself every so often, with a special morning tea. It just didn't seem right, and yet, why was that so? I still cannot answer that question, but I think many of us need to take a moment some days, to treat ourselves by the simple joy of creating a special meal for one. 

I found my lovely white tray, gave it good dust and wipe down, lay one of my very favourite little welcome mats across the base, and once the scones and tea were ready I headed out to the garden where the view is so lovely now that the petunias and dahlias are coming in to flower. 

Instead of sitting inside to watch Olesya's vlog on the telly, I popped the iPad up on our outside table and spent a lovely relaxing half hour or so watching her and her husband working to create rustic beauty in their remote forest house in Belarus. You can watch her HERE

I chose to finish off the last of the marmalade and the raspberry jam with my scones, and enjoyed two large mugs of delicious lemon balm, mint, tulsi and ginger tea. Kelly-dog thought he needed a treat too, so I had added a plain scone to my plate for him as well. It appears he and I will repeat this morning tea regularly. 

To keep my hands entertained during the past few days, I pulled out a few UFO projects that would be easy to pick up and put down. The first is a crochet blanket I began last year around August, the end of our winter season...but our short winter was even shorter and it was soon far too warm for crochet, so it was put aside for this winter. It's a warm winter so far, but very pleasant, and the evenings are good for crochet as we have all the doors and windows open, allowing the cooler night air to fill the house. 

Now, at this stage I must tell you what happened last night. I was in the kitchen tidying up not long after my husband had arrived home from work. It was dark outside, and I was just using the pantry light as it offers enough vision into the kitchen. Hubby had gone up to the pool to clean it and to check on our cat Sophie. I had packed up the blanket and the balls of yarn, and carefully placed them in a basket on the small table by the couch, ready for me to work on a little later. 

When I finished in the kitchen, I came into the living room and discovered Kelly-dog in his bed with a ball of yarn, and then looked over near the couch to see the basket upended on the floor and my blanket was nowhere in sight. 

Well, I found the blanket wrapped around a tree in the backyard. Yarn was wrapped around plants and strewn across the ground, and my favourite purple crochet hook was missing. Hubby and I searched with spotlights in the dark to find all that was missing, but we were unable to retrieve my crochet hook. half an hour later I had rewound yarn, removed all manner of leaf and twigs from the blanket, and given Kelly a jolly good talking to. 

This morning as I hung the washing on the line I spied a flash of purple under the passionfruit vine, which is so wild it has covered the large red Ixora, and heavy with fruit, lay mostly along the ground. I thanked the Lord because I think that hook has moulded to my hand and is incredibly comfortable, so I was not looking forward to breaking in a new 4mm hook at all. 

The second UFO project I have been working on is the remake of Phyllis May's Kitchen (here is the original), but this time as a quilt and with my own name in the main block instead of Nana's. 

I began these more than two years ago, and after completing eight blocks I put it aside, with the idea of getting back to it a month or two later. Last year I did the embroidery and applique on the final four blocks, but then put it all away again, as I was not very inspired to do the borders at that stage. This week I felt it was the perfect time to do a little each day, and yesterday had completed the final four block borders. 

Throughout this remake I have added vintage lace, vintage buttons, and old doilies to most of the blocks, and am now planning how to display all twelve blocks as a quilt. Below are some of the photos...

I think I shall sew some favoured patchwork blocks to fill out the quilt, making it a better size for our bed. And if I'm honest, this may take a while, just as every step of the project has been thus far. ;-) 

There was also a third UFO I'd begun to complete, but my computer has been acting up today and I can't get the photos loaded, so it can wait till another day. All I did with the third UFO was finish one of the eight blocks, and then trim them all...while I figure out how I shall display them, for this will not be a simple idea and I shall need time. 

I do hope you are all looking after yourselves? Are you in need of a special treat for one? I have decided life is too short to wait for company, or a visit to a friend, before enjoying a lovely morning tea. In these wintry years of life, we should make time to not just be a blessing to others, but a blessing to ourselves, especially, if you're like me, and are blessing others in one way or another almost all the time. I do love to bless others, it comes quite naturally, a gift from the Lord to be sure, but I am realising it's okay to bless myself with a simple and special morning tea on a regular basis as well, for I love morning teas! What about you? 

May the Lord bless each of you with wisdom to understand His Word, so that you may know His good and perfect will in every situation you face. I find that no matter what is happening in our day to day lives, whether in the valleys or on the mountain tops, we need to know our Bible so that we can draw from it all the wisdom, faith, courage, hope and direction we need - and so that we will not be deceived by false teaching, which appears to be rampant now. 

Currently I am working on the next Bible Study to share with you, and as my love is for ministering from the aspect of womanhood and gentle domesticity, it will be about one very special Biblical woman whom some may overlook, but her example is profound and covers many exemplary qualities. I am excited to gift you this soon. 

Hugs,