summer’s end…
The beautifully perfumed ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ rose…
“When summer gathers up her robes of glory, and like a dream, glides away…”
Sarah Helen Whitman
I have visions of summer, a stately lady, gathering up the many layers of her crinoline dress, rustling as she walks away down the long hallway to autumn…the perfume of the falling rose petals trailing in her wake…
But, night-time thunderstorms aside, the weather is being kind. As I write this, yesterday was warm with blue skies, high cloud; summer is almost done, but not quite… And I am not completely ready either, to say goodbye to those long days, however much I love autumn and all that it brings. One reason being, is that the coming season brings about, all too soon, the first anniversary of Mum’s passing: another milestone…a time for reflection, and yet…
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward…”
Soren Kierkegaard
So, although the past year has been difficult, there have been happy times too… Time away is always good; new places to explore and experience, fresh inspiration…
And talking of stately ladies… A much postponed treat: I had the opportunity to imagine what it must have been like to live in such a grand home, taking afternoon tea in The Blue Drawing Room, followed by a walk around the grounds… There is something so elegant in the fading grandeur…
The summer has been a time of living gently…letting some days wash over me, acknowledging that grief has its own timetable for each of us. Creativity has been slow to return; I have been cooking new recipes if that counts…? But sometimes…
But if revamping your website counts as being creative then I have it more than covered! I had a mentoring session with Jo at Firain . Jo is a mentor for creatives who want to open or grow their online shop. I have had an online presence for a while and felt it was time for fresh, professional eyes to take a look and see where improvements could be made. An hour, and four sheets of suggestions later, it was definitely time to pull my finger out…
Undertaking all this admin, also highlighted the need for me to have a system when dealing with finished work. Whilst tidying up/sorting ‘stuff’ out, I found work, in one instance framed, that I haven’t got around to uploading to the website…I am sure that there will be others…!! I did find the time, however, to get some cards printed…and uploaded to the website…in double quick time!!
The good thing is that, once my creativity returns, I will be able to fully concentrate on it, as, for now, the immediate admin/tech issues have been taken care of, although, as with anything to do with websites, it is always an ongoing process….
“It is the glistening autumnal side of summer. I feel a cool vein in the breeze, which braces my thought, and I pass with pleasure over sheltered and sunny portions of the sand where the summer’s heat is undiminished, and I realize what a friend I am losing.”
As the dog days of summer slip away, I hope you have managed to make summer memories to cherish…
Bring on autumn, but perhaps not for a little while yet…
Cx