Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

On the Queen’s Birthday Weekend, my true love made with me :

12 pizza bases

11 jars of quince jelly

10 tubs of passata

9 jars of eggplant pickles

8 vanilla cupcakes

7 jars of onion marmalade

6 cups of chicken rice

5 soy sauce duck eggs

4 loaves of sourdough

3 jars of lemon curd

2 apple pies

And a cup of caramelised whiiite cho-co-late!!  ♥

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There is something immensely rewarding about making things with your hands.  I’ve always been reasonably “crafty” (as in “handicrafts” rather than “sneaky”), but it wasn’t until the boys were born that I discovered how blissfully, soul-fullfillingly happy it makes me to create new things from raw materials.  I’d often say that if I could make something every day, regardless of how small or minor it was, I’d feel that the day had been well spent.  Be it a new brownie recipe, or a vintage crystal spider, or a knitted beanie – often the process of creating is as satisfying as the end product.

I’ve started to wonder – is this part of the secret of contentment?  Do we find our lives so complete and joyous, partly because we can look around and see the work of our own hands?  Maybe that is what life is really about – living in the moment, finding pleasure and satisfaction in your small achievements.

This blog gives me great joy, because it lets me record all the little things we do each day.  Thank you for sharing it with us!

. . . . .

For I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.

Philippians 4:11b

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……

Courage does not always roar.

Sometimes courage is the quiet voice

at the end of the day saying,

“I will try again tomorrow”

……

Mary Anne Radmacher

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Years ago, a friend gave me some life changing advice.  He said, “time is yours, Celia, and only you can manage it”.  I’d been working in a  very stressful job and was feeling overwhelmed by a looming deadline.  He was right, of course, we’re all given the same 24 hours a day and the process we call “living” is about figuring out what we’re going to do with those hours.

Lately, friends have been lamenting to me about their lack of time.  I know exactly how they feel –  I’ve had months, occasionally years, where life has been brutally busy and I’ve felt like it was impossible to come up for air.  What I’ve come to realize is this: you have to find time for yourself first.  Be it just half an hour a day, in between working and feeding the kids and cleaning the bathroom, you need to find some time to look after your own needs, do something you enjoy and feed your soul.  And you need to schedule it in to do every day, because if you don’t, time will just sift through your hands like sand.  It’s a bit like the advice they give you when you board a plane – fix your own oxygen mask first, before helping children –  because if you can’t breathe, you won’t be able to look after anyone else.  I plan for at least an hour a day where I can consciously do something which makes me happy, and actively try to enjoy and be aware of every minute of it.

I think sometimes as a species we lose perspective on why we’re here.  We rush around madly trying to jam as much as we possibly can into a 24 hour day and as a result forget to enjoy the time we’re given. I hope you all find some time today to do something that brings you joy. Remember, time is yours, and only you can manage it!

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.

Gandalf  –  JRR Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (1974).

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