Spring joy plans

Trail running, sewing, planting

I spoke on the podcast a couple of weeks ago, about the concept of seasonal joy lists. This is a process I followed for a couple of years, but stopped when we moved house and city last spring/summer. The time has come to make some definitive space for joy, so I’m setting myself the gentle challenge of completing these activities in the next 3 months, March - May.

Trail run

My last proper planned trail run was in Edinburgh, along the Water of Leith walkway. I took the bus to the end of the route, and then ran home. All in, it was around 11 miles, though I stopped for coffee in the middle and walked whilst I drank it. I loved the sense of achievement and the feeling of exploring a new-to-me area. It was fun to plan to logistics and treat myself to my favourite running snack sweets (Candy Kittens, thanks for asking). I’m definitely going to do this one again, I’m just trying to decide on the route. It’s around 8 miles from my house to the end of Loch Ness, so I could do a run-all-the-way run there and then get the bus home (or vice versa) or try an out-and-back, using a combination of walking and running. I scoped out the first part of this trail last week, running the first 3 miles of the route then doubling back. I need to double check what extraction points I would have access to along the way, how frequently the bus comes, or whether I could rope my in-laws into being on standby, in case I need a lift. I also need a new mouthpiece for my water bladder. It’s fun to plan!

Plant my raised bed

This one depends on building the raised bed first, which should be manageable because I’ve just ordered the wood for delivery. I also need to order topsoil to fill it, I’m using a combination of sticks and plant material, plus cardboard for the bottom layers, to minimise how much soil I’ll need in the top third where the plants will be growing. Building the raised beds and filling them is more productive than joyful, for all I’m excited to get going on that project. But planting them, planting them is pure joy. This will mostly be later in spring, once the weather is consistently warmer. We’re still dipping into the minus figures at the moment, so it’ll be at least March, if not April, before I’m planting. This gives me plenty of time to build!

Set up my sewing machines

I’ve been missing sewing, and have projects piling up. Initially I thought I would wait to set up my machines once my craft room was ready, but in reality that’s months away. My plan is to set them up in the dining room and pack them away at the end of each session. This is what I used to do in our last flat, so it’s totally manageable. My last joy list spoke about finishing my Hobbit Robe, which is laughable reading that now, a year later. I’m not sure I’ll be launching straight into that project, but getting out my machines is a good start. I’d like to finish the two bestie bags I was halfway through last summer, plus I’ve got a pair of trousers needing altered. After that, who knows? The Hobbit Robe, a pair of jeans, or a toile of a wool winter coat are all possibilities. The added joy for this one is that I’ll be doing it with my bestie, who is coming to visit our new house! We have a sewing day planned, which is the perfect way to get my machines dusted off and powered up. I also want to go through my stash with her, to have a sort through and decide on some future projects.

I think that’s enough to be getting on with, we’ve got so much renovation work to do that I don’t want my joy list to become a chore. I’ll report back with my progress later in the year!