Blogging has taken somewhat of a back seat this past few weeks, as, indeed, have many of my creative pursuits. That sense of calm that I was successfully curating in the first couple of weeks of the month seems to have given way to the busy-ness again, and I must mindfully try to steer back to that gentler pace that I was so enjoying.

Despite that, there have been a few well used bits of leisure time this past few weeks. A couple of weekend’s ago, on the Saturday, the weather seemed to be uncharacteristically mild. I decided to take a trip to Whitby, and given it was early afternoon by the time I decided we would go, it was mid-afternoon by the time we got there.

With many of the cafes either full or closed for January, I was so pleased to get into Sherlocks. It’s years since I’ve been here, before I was even a mummy and it’s such an eclectic little spot with so much ephemera to catch your eye, I do love it.

We had scones and tea, before perusing some of the antique shops. I was a bit tempted by some antique Whitby Jet, but in the end I didn’t buy any.

Earlier in the day, when I’d decided we were going to go to Whitby, I’d quickly booked a table at Abbey Wharf in the old town, which is one of my favourite places to go for fish and chips because it always has quite a busy and bustling atmosphere. So, we had a wander around the old town, which was pleasantly not too busy, before settling at our table which was on the mezzanine floor, perfect for people watching from a distance.

It was a relaxed end to an impromptu day out and as we walked back to the car, night was falling so we got to see all the pretty lights along the harbour too.

Crafts wise, I haven’t really done much, although I did start knitting something for my friend. I can’t share what it is yet since it’s a very belated birthday gift, but here’s a sneak peak.

One thing I used to love was to go out for breakfast on a Saturday. I haven’t done it in such a long time, largely because the pandemic made everything so damn difficult and I only really feel like I’m getting to some sense of ‘normal’ now. I’ve made a list of places I want to take little miss for breakfast and will do that once a month. This weekend passed was our first ‘breakfast date’ and we went to The Hideout, over near North Bay.

I’d booked us a table, which is good as it was fairly busy, and we enjoyed toast and jam (for little miss) and a vegetarian full breakfast for me. It was absolutely delicious and little miss really enjoyed it too. I often notice when I take her out to breakfast, lunch or even dinner that depending on the venue, she will be one of the only very young children there. For me, taking her out to enjoy the things that I enjoy too really gives me pleasure, and she seems to enjoy it. She was particularly taken with some of the curiosities in the Hideout, especially the model train. We had a lovely morning, giggling away, and it just felt like a really nice thing to do.

So, aside from a couple of spots out here and there, it’s been really rather quiet and not that productive at all. That said, I feel like the next few weeks, while busy, are likely to be a more pleasurable form of busy.