It is Wednesday, I think. Yesterday, I was sure it was Friday, but it was only Tuesday apparently. Without the anchoring of the school day, time sort of loses all meaning.
Wednesday is good though. It means we have three more days to get everything ready before we re-open with our first event of the year. I have paint in my hair even after a shower - red from the barn trim and white from the hallway walls. I have spent a large part of the week at the dump and B&Q. Today I am caulking the gap between the baseboards and the walls and installing a new splashback in the loo. A digger is arriving on farm today to do some garden levelling and I am putting Kevin on a hyper-focussing mission to powerwash the event barn. I didn’t remember to make dinner yesterday, but the bonus of starting this season with a 16, 13 and 12 year old is that they organised dinner themselves. Its feels like progress on all fronts.
Except at night. I haven’t been sleeping and I spend the hours between 2am and 4am making endless lists (and occasionally watching Taylor Swift Eras tour footage on Tiktok). I try to focus on the knowns - the parts for the new loo I need to order. The list of things to discuss with the joiner for the doors. The points I want to bring up at the next meeting with the electrician. With the crowdmatch meeting its first target, we have already started on getting the facilities up to a place they need to be.
But in the dark of the night, the un-knowns creep in. Are folk even booking for events these days? What happens if they don’t? Will we burn ourselves out (again)? How will we juggle it all - the kids, the business, all of it.
The answer is the same at 7am as it is at 4am - we don’t know. We never knew. However, older and somewhat wiser than we were previously, we have learned a key lesson that will see us through - no matter what happens, we can’t do it ourselves.
And if the last few weeks have shown us anything, we don’t have to. From volunteers showing up to help shift a barn full of clay tiles, to the loan of wheelbarrows, to the offer of produce to feed the masses. And then the crowdmatch. What can I say? Thank you doesn’t really cover it, but thank you.
Thank you all so much for your support for the crowdmatch - for the contributions, shares, cheers and laughs. We hit our target and the building of loos and doors are in motion!! That first target gives us such assurity. Not only are we able to carry out the first part of the work we need to take pressure off of us as a family, it gives us a firm base heading into the season.
We do have a stretch goal - with the funds raised from that, we will be adding a small demo kitchen to the studio, allowing us to expand our workshop offerings (if you have ever been to a sourdough workshop here, we will have water on tap in the studio!!) as well as move the event catering out of our tiny house kitchen.
We will also be adding a cooking space outdoors for Lucy Pattinson of the Fodderation, our new business partner! Lucy specialises in open fire cooking and we are hatching so many exciting plans celebrating the seasons, local food and community. Watch this space for announcing new events!
It feels hopeful and achievable around here - for the first time in awhile. And that is progress…whatever comes after.
The crowdmatch will be open until the 21st of April. You can support it here
Ok. I am off to take receipt of a mini digger for the week! Kevin is VERY excited.
Wishing you an over the top successful events season.
NEVER.STOP.MOVING.FORWARD.
Kasey <3