- It’s back to school at last (with M so proud to be in big school! Top wish: “I hope I do LOTS OF MATHS”). That’s generally the prompt for me to knuckle down and get to work seriously on design stuff and all my personal projects. The new school year coincides with the shift to autumn weather (i.e. knitting season), plus it’s the final third of my personal yearly organisation system (I don’t do quarters, thirds make more sense for me) and a whole new list of goals. I can’t say I’m completely feeling it. In fact I’m undecided about whether I’m going to release any more new patterns this year. I’ll probably regret it if I don’t, but I’m full of doubts and uncertainties. Not the usual design-specific doubts, more big picture stuff about whether I should be putting my energies into design at all. It’s complicated. But right now I am more focused on house move (yay!) and job hunt. Except that I’m not feeling full of job hunt energy either. Hm. But look, I’ve at least stopped merging those bloody dragons, ok?
- I seem to have prospects for possible jobs; they don’t excite me and they’re not part-time. They might be interesting and they might be workable, but obviously with recent experience in mind, I am extremely reluctant to just “make it work” when there is nothing about the position that really seems worth the extra effort. In other words, yes, I’m still being a bit bratty. But the childcare situation is a bit shit. It’s not just my life that’s affected. And it’s no fun for any of us. (Incidentally. I’ve removing the photo from my CV – Swiss and German employers expect to see photos, but that’s obviously discriminatory, and since my name is generally read as male, I thought it would be an interesting experiment. I do seem to be getting more interviews now.)
- I’ve temporarily quit coffee and alcohol, in an effort to sort out my gross scalp. (Psoriasis. Also no fun.) I kind of hope it doesn’t help because I really, really, really miss coffee. Gin’s nice too, but coffee is my boo. Not having coffee makes me feel really very sorry for myself. I guess the ideal outcome is that this extreme solution does work, but once it’s sorted, it stays sorted even when I indulge? That would be nice. Meanwhile, at least there’s chocolate.
- ANYWAY. Last week was properly lovely, aside from continuing internet problems and that. The kids’ circus was delightful; they had fun, we had fun, it’s a great thing. Better yet though, the whole weekend (Saturday to Monday) was spent with one of my very oldest and best friends and her twins. What’s particularly great about this friend is that she’s been my flatmate and also Armin’s – so we have a very particular dynamic together, it’s hugely enjoyable. Seeing friends’ kids grow up is lovely, seeing them enjoy hanging out with my kids is extra lovely. Also, we did a very nice thing: we went up the mountain to sleep on straw. Yes, literally on straw. It’s a whole thing in Switzerland and very nice indeed, although I do seem to have attracted a tiny pyjama stowaway who keeps biting me in my sleep. But the best thing was just discovering how uncomplicated it can be to take a mini-break. Just call in the morning to see if they have places, grab sleeping bags and go. They fed us supper and breakfast, we went wandering through the forest and hung out playing Uno and drinking wine with a truly breathtaking view. Then spent a blisteringly hot Sunday by a cool, turquoise mountain lake. Absolutely fantastic and felt like a much bigger holiday than just a weekend. To be repeated.
- One of those 8yo twins asked me in the course of a particularly cutthroat round of Uno, “How come everybody in your family swears so well?” I was equal parts embarrassed, gratified and impressed that he recognises swearing as a skill.
Woolly thoughts (and fuzzy logic) 