Hi all!
I used to be a regular blogger, and, man, I enjoyed it.
Often, I would write one post per week, documenting my crochet journey and life
in general. When I started working for my own coaching business next to my
regular full-time work, time became scarce, and as a result, blogging became
less. Then, in 2018, my husband and I relocated to the Netherlands, started new
jobs, and bought a house. If I thought I was busy before, I was wrong! So, my
blogging “career” mostly stopped. I am still active on Instagram, but I miss blogging.
In fact, whenever I talk to my husband about what I would like to do more
blogging pops up within my top 5. Yet, even though I talk about it a lot, I
never actually do it. It is so hard to pick up a routine after it got lost,
isn’t it?
Anyway, with this post, I am trying to bite the bullet and
start blogging again! Fingers crossed, I will stick to it…
******
Life in the Netherlands is… wet. There has been so much rain
over the last couple of weeks! Combined with grey clouds, it is sometimes hard
to remember that there is a sun out there (somewhere…). Yet, the first signs of
spring are here. In our (very) little garden, crocuses have been popping up for
some weeks now, and I think the first daffodil is getting ready to bloom.
In February, on a dry day (yes! We had these, too), we even
planted new lilacs and a couple of other plants, which will hopefully be loved
by bees and other insects. The decrease in insect numbers is incredibly
worrying, and we are trying to do our best to help them find food. Gardens in
our area tend to be desgined to require as little maintenance as possible. As a
result, a lot of gardens are made out of stone only with a couple of flower
pots (if at all). When we bought our house, our garden had very little in it
that might appeal to bees. So, we have made it our task to transform our backyard.
This project will, of course, take time, but I guess little steps are better
than none. You should have heard my squeals of delight last summer whenever a
bumblebee visited my newly planted lavender! I hope that this year, my little
bumblebee will bring a lot of friends…
*****
My crochet adventures over the last couple of weeks/months
have been focused on Bargello crochet. Michelle has three (!) new Bargello
patterns in the pipeline, which I have tested/am busy testing (one of them is
in the naughty corner. Not because of the pattern, but because I made a mess
counting stitches). I have finished one big blanket, and am working on an even
larger one at the moment. The latter one is my favorite so far – it uses two
strands of yarn, which means it a. is super-soft and b. works up quickly!
I hope to have finished both blankets by the time Michelle
comes to visit me in April! YES! Michelle is coming to visit! We have not seen
each other in person since my trip to Australia in 2017, and, man, I can’t wait
to see her in person again. Plus, I finally get to meet Allie! So exciting!
Next to the blankets, I have also made some owls. I forgot how addictive the pattern is! I have the feeling that there will be more turning up in our house soon...
*****
Okay! I made it through my first blogpost in 2020! Hurray!
Hope to
see you again next week!
Take care,
Anne
