Making: A (Rather Messy) Life

Or, please give me a 20 minute warning before you pop round for a cuppa.

Our front door opens onto our small galley kitchen. It is the best and worst introduction to us as you step into the house from the courtyard. At various points in the day it looks as if a whirlwind has gone through it. This narrow space is heart of most everything that happens here.The minimal countertops are lined with jars and bowls, telling the story of the season. In summer, bowls of tomatoes and cucumbers sit on the side, ready and waiting for snacking. Flowers fill the sink and random jars and pots of milk sit near the warm stove, slowly making their way into cheese. Jam is usually straining in a muslin above the sink and the dishwasher is on, cleaning and sterilising vessels for containing the season’s bounty.

Even without the seasonal pressure of processing veg, my winter kitchen is much the same. A crock of kimchi sits next to 4 clean jars and lids, waiting to be decanted and moved to the fridge whilst two shredded cabbages are soaking in a bowl to replace the kimchi with sauerkraut. A line of flour across the floor connects the two sides of the kitchen where I made bread this morning. Dishes line the sink, ready to go onto the next load in the dishwasher or be washed by hand, probably the second load of the day (of at least four) if you arrive after noon. The slow cooker is usually running, as is the kettle as someone is usually making a cup of tea or coffee.

As you wander through the house, you will find other tales of things we are making. My borrowed sewing machine stands at my space at the dining table. I am learning how to quilt and am still at the stage where I am worried if I move it, I won’t remember how to put everything back together again. Behind it, ikea shelves are filled with dried flowers and herbs, pantry staples fill dusty jars, friends’ ceramics act as salt cellars and plant pots. In the next room over, you will see the large stump we moved into the living room so Kevin could carve spoons in relative warmth. Georgia’s sketch pad and pens sit on the coffee table, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.

At many points in my day, I walk through the house and wish I lived the tidy life of someone else. Every so often, I take the notion that I will become her. I begin purging the house aspiring to minimalism. I mass follow social media accounts that show me the top cleaning hacks, decluttering steps and “closing cleaning routines”. I ignore the sewing machine and my knitting, cook frozen pizza and chips for dinner and instruct everyone to “stop making a mess!!”

A few (stressful) days in, the real me— the person who stops mid declutter to write a newsletter/crafts until they can’t keep their eyes open at night/runs outside mid-laundry folding to take a photo—rears her head and I am back eating my dinner whilst gazing over the sewing machine at the children.

I am who I am, which is a maker first and foremost and tidy person well towards the bottom of that list.

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This week has turned quite cold here, so our garden tidy has halted a bit as we have focused on the endless task of hauling water from the house to the animals because of frozen pipes. I have taken the opportunity to do some planning and bought some willow to go in a new patch for coppicing. Kevin attended Green Aspirations’ Coppicing Weekend in the autumn and we are planning a small section for both hazel and willow.

This weekend we attended the Landworkers Alliance Central Scotland Winter Gathering. It was such a joy to spend the day learning and socialising. A highlight was the talk by Rosie Bristow about flax growing and processing. We have plans to plant a section of flax here in our veg field, and I can’t wait to take you along for that process!

Rosie was on the Farmerama Podcast as well as one of the Landworker Alliance Webinars and it is worth a watch/listen if you are interested in flax growing and processing.

We have a few events we will be at (purely in an attendee fashion!!) next month.

First up, I have booked on to the Gaia Foundation’s Virtual Seed Gathering on the 11th and 12th February. The line up looks fab and I am so excited to have a nose around Vital Seeds HQ!

On the 18th of Feb, we will be wandering down to the Green Aspirations 10th Anniversary Party. They are raising funds for their work as well as Start Up Stirling and, knowing Paul, it will be a lot of fun.

We are also looking forward to finally making it over to Scotland the Bread and Bowhouse in Fife for the Scotland Real Bread Festival on the 25th of February.