Just Making

I have been arty partying today, in Balham instead of Blackheath, as it was busier there. I left at ten to seven as I wanted to drive but wasn't sure how long it would take or how bad the traffic would be. I was there in plenty of time (It took an hour) so had a wander and bought a coffee and some breakfast. The kids made clay cows today, loosely based on some lurid Andy Warhol prints. As usual it was an enjoyable day. 

The journey home was not enjoyable though. In the morning I know two thirds of the route well, so could ignore the satnav until I needed it. However, the other way is not well known, so I ended up going through Camberwell, Peckham and New Cross, which involved sitting in massive queues almost all of the way. When I got to New Cross I turned off of the queueing road to go round back streets through Deptford and New Cross. I was racing the clock as I had an Amazon order to post. I managed to get to Greenwich ten minutes before the post office closed so all fine, but by the time I got home it had taken me two hours! I need to look at the route tomorrow so I can go the nice way through Dulwich and Forest Hill.

So, by the time I did get home, I was really tired and felt a bit defeated. I had plans to carry on with the gradual cleaning and sorting of unloved areas of our flat, but did not have the energy for that. So instead I went into the garden and found some irises had flowered. I was taking a picture when my neighbour came outside, so had a chat with him. Then I just decided to knit. No aim, just using a bag of leftovers and enjoying the activity. It made me think of what happened on Friday in golden time at school. I was doing my last felting group, and had prepared bags with some roving in for them to make one more piece of felt, like a mini kit. Two of the boys in the class were upset, one by the fact that he was not doing football, and the other after a disagreement with his friends. They were weeping and grumping quietly in the corner (I had tried my best to sort out their issues but with no success) and didn't want to go to any of the activities. They are not part of the felting group, but I had loads of supplies so asked if they wanted to have a go. 'No' grumpy looks, sad faces. Five minutes later, they both had a piece of felting in front of them, and were excitedly asking if I had various colours. The healing power of making things in action!