With a lockdown behind us and school holidays almost over, the normal pace of life will return again soon. I love the rhythm of life in my home. It's comfortable and calm and it helps me with both productive and creative tasks. I like the predictability of it, the knowledge that one day echoes through the week with familiar patterns and expectations. But I also love the surprises of life that sometimes happen along the way.

There were no surprises this week although we had Jamie here yesterday and he always adds a lot of interest, especially now that he's on the verge of change. Things are falling into place for him and yesterday, while we were weeding the back garden, he told me that it's better to work in winter because you don't get hot, and if you're cold you just have to get up and work and you warm up. He's right of course and I love that he feels that work is a normal part of his life. We're a family of workers and it feels right that Jamie fits in like a piece of our puzzle. It's Alex's birthday tomorrow so we'll have two savvy ten year old boys in the family.

It's raining today and while the rain fills the tanks and seeps into the soil it will mean that I stay inside most of the day. Although later on, after the morning chores, I intend going out to the back verandah to give it a good tidy up. At the moment there are garden tools, bags of potting mix, pebbles, straw, pots and watering cans all over the place. Most of the time we just put things back in place and move them around but it's a good idea once in a while to have a focused clean up and organise what is there to best support the work we do outside.

I've been working with the Ikea and the home-sewn cloths for a couple of weeks now and I have to tell you I much prefer the Ikea cloths for cleaning.  They're exactly the right size, the cloth is perfect for cleaning and they're easy to wash. I like the tea towels I made but I'm now using the cloths as a paper towel replacement - draining, lining vegetable bins and wiping up small spills etc., as well as for cleaning glass.  Did you buy some of the Ikea cloths?  How have they worked in your kitchen?

A big shout out to everyone in lockdown in Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongong where the Covid Delta variant is spreading. I hope everything is going well at your place and you're staying happy and healthy. Hanno and I send our best wishes to you and hope you remain safe.  

Thanks for your visit today and during the week.  💙