trimmingthesails

Time for Tea? (December)

Hello! I'm so pleased you have time for a cup of tea ... And a little wistful that it's the last time the lovely Abi will be able to host this warmly companionable meme of hers, but you are all the more welcome for that :). Oh, don't worry about the damp leaves coming in with you on your shoes, I'd tell you smilingly: that's my fault for not clearing the path. When the sun peeped out from behind its cloudy days-old shroud, and my kind brother came to look after Dad for the weekend, it seemed more important to be up, up and away, out on the hills for a walk with Himself ...


But, I can hear myself say, let's not talk weather in our so very British way! How do you like your tea? Indian? Herbal? Or I can offer you some coffee from freshly ground beans brought all the way back in my little rucksack from Costa Rica, if you like. Might go nicely with one of those little oaten and ginger biscuits. And if your eyes strayed to the board of russet-toned squares alongside, I'd explain that this is homemade gluten-free tomato bread - oh, yes, do have a little nibble if you like, though they're better with something savoury ...

And as we settled ourselves into chairs and cushions near the patio windows to make the most of the November light, I'd be wondering how things are with you (feeling very out of touch) and how all your creative projects are going. Do you find you have seasonal cycles? An urge for stitching or knitting at a particular time of year? A waning of energy for scrapbooking? It's the lack of light for photographing that stymies me, I'd explain - a succession of dull, misty days is like living at the bottom of a murky pond. And as I poured you another cup and you helped yourself to a little something, I'd be itching to know if you are intending to record December in any particular way? I'd show you where I was up to with mine ...

Inspired by Julie's super and current series over at Notes on Paper on recycling an old book for collaging, I've been reforming a battered copy of Education Since 1800. If you had an interest in learning and teaching, we might giggle together about how therapeutic tearing out pages from an intellectually weighty tome could be. We might even wonder idly how many subversive ways we could find to expand on the chapter heading Education Experts. (All contributions welcome! I'm liking 'Education Experts ... Need To Go Back To School'). How am I getting on with my photobook of recent adventures with my delightful daughter? Mmm, I keep getting distracted just looking through the photos and remembering ...


And I'd be keen to hear how things are for you, how you balance different parts of your life, and what gives you joy and energy right now ... Are there things you realise no longer serve you and you want to let go of? Are there new things to invite or to look for? Will you be choosing a word to keep you company next year? Are you feeling prepared for the month ahead? Ours is going to be busy, I'd tell you, for we have our wonderful son, daughter-in-law and the two Littlies arriving this week for six days. Last time, we made up 'low-down' beds, which proved perfect for our six-year old bookworm to sprawl on ...


... but this time, we're keen to know if he might manage the high-up bed that was his beloved Aunt's and under which my craft desk lurks. Is there much shifting around of things when you have guests, I'd ask? Do you manage to do any scrapbooking or sorting of photos while they are with you? I never seem to be able to! And before we knew it, you'd be looking at your watch or phone, and it would be time to leave. We'd keep chatting, of course, right to the very last minute! as you popped your warm things on, checked you had everything with you, walked up the path, and turned to wave. I'd watch you go, full of gladness you'd come, sadness you'd gone, and holding the memories close ...

Thank-you so very much, Abi :).

 

MVPs on a Monday

 "You need an MVP", observed Himself, as he popped a third cup of hot tea beside me, skillfully retrieving the two previous cold ones before my mouse hand knocked them over. He eased himself into the chair, dumped the battered folder of Layouts I Like on the floor, and squinted at the screen. "It'll be next summer by the time you get this done at this rate."

"I know", I sighed, wriggling my stiffening shoulders. "I'm just not sure how this design ..."

"That'll already be version number twenty, probably", he interjected. I ploughed on.

"... is going to work further on. There could be well over fifty pages in this photobook at least, I reckon." He tipped his head on one side, and raised his eyebrows. "Oh, go on - you know you want to!", I sighed. "What's an MVP, then?"

Turns out it's a Minimum Viable Product. And it's how to Get Stuff Done these days in programming circles. Don't waste time trying to perfect what you're doing; get it up and running, and modify it later when you either get feedback or its deficiencies make themselves clearer as you use it.

"You see?" he said? "Simples!" (as our advert Meerkat friends are fond of saying). Sounds like a plan. So here we go: opening spread. (MVP tip number 2 - don't do the Title page or Contents till last.)

(Text: How did we come to decide on Costa Rica? Ah well, there’s a back story, as journalists say. Many moons ago, when Sarah first talked about her sabbatical and what she might want to do in it, South America featured large: happy memories of her first trip to Mexico, the possibility of visiting a friend in Argentina, and anything else that would fit into five weeks. “You could come and join me for a bit of it!” she smiled. “I could!” I replied, truthfully not really believing it at the time. But as the months in 2014 slid by, it began to seem possible. “I’ll look after Dad”, promised Himself. “The weekend you’re away, I’ll come up”, offered Bro. “It’ll be a mum-and-daughter adventure”, was how we began to talk of it. But where, exactly? Some countries were politically too unstable. Cuba? Hmm, hurricane season. How about Costa Rica? asked a colleague of Sarah’s, who’d worked there and loved it: ecologically green, safe, tropical. We  googled, borrowed The Lonely Planet book from the library, perused the Rough Guide bought in a charity shop and then, late at night on the 28th of August, we sat with phones on speaker-mode and fingers on our respective keyboards a hundred and seventy miles apart. Juggling with differing flight combinations, seat reservations, dates, time zones and treble-checking everything, we finally took a deep breath on the Air France website and  pressed Book Now: Sarah would be heading out first on the 15th October, I’d join her for the last nine days and we’d fly back together. It was really happening! They flashed by, the subsequent weeks, in a blur of myriad choices about where to stay, how to get there, what we’d like to do. My Bookmarks began to fill with info on mosquito-repellant clothes, footwear for the jungle, and packing light. There were Away Lists - insurance, visas, currency; Home Lists - documents, Dad’s medication, appointments, what-to-do-ifs ... And then, suddenly, it was time.)

Next up in the gaining-momentum-on-Monday stakes, pondering what else could be shifted forwards with an MVP. Or perhaps I could just get going with an MVA? (Minimum Viable Action). I thought I had just invented that, but I've googled it and hey! I haven't :(. Wishing you a productive day!

Me on Monday (well, almost)

Hello and welcome! And yes, I do know, really, that it's Tuesday and, moreover, that we've somehow slid into November and that I've been away a little while - but it's lovely to see you and thank-you for popping in :). Grateful thanks also to the inspiring Sian, over at High in the Sky, whose lovely meme this is ...

Well, it's been a long journey-ing, airborne-film-watching, bumpy landing, warm-hugs-and-greetings, catching-up, photo-downloading and sharing, unpacking, washing and ironing, broken camera-lamenting, paper-sorting, kind of a weekend. Plus a dollop of daughter-hugging, seen-you-sooning, and general decompressing. (Not that I've been away from home all this time - my lovely family felt it was time I had a little break and made it possible for me.)

Looking forward to catching up, popping in, saying hi, oohing-and-aahing at your lovely pages and posts, and generally finding my blogging feet again. There are tales to tell, photos to share and books to make - see you soon?