Activities around these parts have been dictated by the weather of late. It's bitterly cold, snowy rainy and incredibly windy. Not that we're complaining. It's beautiful and wild and totally Tasmanian. And any excuse to stay indoors with the peeps is lots of fun.
Saturday's deluge of rain created a stream running through the boundary of our yard. The peeps rugged up and built gnome houses, dams, bridges, light houses and villages with sandy shores. A rare treat, running water and mud in the garden, and the chance for some creative building. Then inside for warm baths and hot chocolates.
Sunday I had a feeling the market would be cancelled, but I packed the car and headed off to Hobart anyway. I was almost there when I received the call that yes, as the main stall had just been carried four meters into the air and split in two, that market was cancelled. That gave me the chance to have an unheard of leisurely weekend breakfast in a cafe in Battery Point watching the snow flurries outside. How lovely!
I drove home over the mountain through the most magical snow fall, plonked myself on the couch and played with Pinterest all afternoon. Bliss!
Today we woke to the news that we were snowed in one road, and flooded in on another. Cut off from school! Hoorah! No option but to head west to the Judbury Crafters meeting. I prepped some stuff for Pip's pom pom project for the children, and dragged out my sock knitting, ahem, from the back of the wardrobe and off we went.
In a beautiful sunlit room with big windows overlooking the wild and flooded Huon river, sat a dozen or so people spinning wool. On spinning wheels. There was jam and scones and warm mugs of soup and lots of sharing of stories and skills. I got some much needed help with starting off my socks, again, and to be honest, felt a little inadequate that I was using boughten wool. I hadn't actually sheared my own sheep or alpaca, dyed it with foraged plants and spun it myself. Not that anyone said anything, everyone was very friendly and welcoming, however that might need to be a project for the future. In the meantime, next month, I'm going to bring a crochet hook and get some help starting a granny rug.
What a creative, warm and happy time we are having. Rain, snow, floods, road closures? Bring it on. We're happily hibernating in the valley thank you. We might see you in the spring.
But today, when I was working in the garden, feeling somewhat overwhelmed at the enormity of it all, I watched the little ones playing. There were trees to climb, long grass to run through, flowers to pick. In summer there are strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and wild blackberries and hopefully this autumn, there'll be apples and cherries.
