Pottering

potter (verb): to occupy oneself by doing minor, pleasant tasks in a relaxed way.

I love to potter. It it my favourite way to relax. Some days are frantic, as we dash madly from school to playdate to shop to school again. Others are tedious, and I feel lost in the constant, unrelenting demands of the children. But mostly our days are happy and Angus and I go at a pace that suits us both. Today, John is off, and he is joining our day of happy domestic pottering, or "puttering" as the Americans say, a fantastic word.


The sun still shines, although it is much cooler, and I have washed the quilt ready to pack away until next autumn. We've done some gentle gardening. When I say gentle gardening, I mean I sat in the garden with a cup of coffee and watched Angus water the plants with his little blue watering can. Many flowers have started to bloom now, including these chives. Paint charts have been consulted, tester pots ordered and the decorator has been to give a quote to paint our living room. Best of all, I finally got around to hanging the collection of pictures that have been cluttering up the sideboard. Clockwise from the top..the Spring Flowers print is by Lou of the gorgeous little green shed blog; my completed Winterwoods Sampler from Alicia Paulsen's Posie Gets Cozy blog; a framed RHS print; my beloved collection of postcards with the initials of our little family; and finally a small watercolour of a  French cafe, bought by my parents in Paris and "borrowed" by me. When I saw it hung behind a door in my Mum's music room I thought it wouldn't be missed.


Do you like to potter? Do you have time to potter? Please tell me what you love to do to relax.