Monthly Archives:

November 2018

creating dailyconnectionwithnature vanlife

Solitary time

November 30, 2018

  I’m quite happy being solitary. As I get older I crave it more. When I was younger I’d want company but then would have to drink a silly amount before I could feel comfortable. There was always the ‘should’ element to it: I should be going out more; I should be more sociable; I should have more friends. As I got older and discovered poetry I realise I took some of that into my art: I should write like…

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creating Europe vanlife

Winter knits and what this teaches

November 30, 2018

  A few years ago I knitted this poncho (using Rowan Drift wool). It took about 18months because the first time I finished it the neckline was wonky. I took it to my nan and asked her to help me fudge it so it would look right. She told me straight: “Sophie, it’s wrong so you’ll just have to unravel the whole of the neck and the front left shoulder and redo it, otherwise you’ll never wear it and it’ll…

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dailyconnectionwithnature Europe nature

Letting the world go by

November 29, 2018

  Hiking along the coast this morning I come across a place that flows into my internal landscape. I see these trees at the end of another year’s growth, stripped bare and silent as winter rolls into thoughts, and I feel like this photograph: I am the trees letting go of leaves so that I might hibernate; the mountains in the far distance are enfolded in cloud so that I can hardly make them out. That is my creative work…

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Europe travel vanlife

Solo in Slovenia

November 28, 2018

  After a day of pottering around the Slovenian coast I’ve found a little snug parkup that feels safe and welcoming. We have a rule that if we have even the slightest misgivings about a place we move on, but this feels right. Already loving Slovenia btw. So beautiful. The autumnal sunset streaming through the window is making the kitchen and our retro kettle look quite lovely. I will be happy here for a few days exploring the place on…

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dailyconnectionwithnature Europe nature

Heading east

November 26, 2018

  After nearly two months in Italy we leave in a few days. It’s a beautiful country, but definitely one of distinct contrasts. I’ll have a lot of fond memories of this place including slow walks around Venice, mountain biking in the Dolomites and immersing in the culture of Florence. But this is also the place where our van got broken into and some areas don’t feel so nice to be in. The north is more welcoming and beautiful than…

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Europe travel vanlife

Artistic Vanlife heroes

November 24, 2018

  One of my artistic heroes, Marina Abromavić, also travelled Europe in a van with her partner for a few years. This woman is such an inspiration. Utterly brilliant and uncompromising in her approach to her art. This retrospective in Florence is sublime. #marinaflorence #art #performanceart #vanlife #theoriginalvanlife #vanlifeeurope #inspiringwomen #exploretocreate #inspired #retrospective…

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Europe feature food vanlife

One year vanniversary

November 24, 2018

Celebrating our one year vanniversary with fluffy cinnamon pumpkin pancakes for brunch before heading to see an exhibition in Florence. Can’t believe it was one year ago (yesterday) we gave back the keys to our rented house and hit the road full time. It’s been a crazy twelve months filled with so many laughs and tears I don’t even know where to begin. It has made us really see each other and focus on getting to know each other again.…

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Europe minimalism vanlife

On thought attachments

November 24, 2018

I’ve had some epiphanies over the past few days about how attached I’ve become to our van, but also how I’ve forced some attachments. Since moving into it I kinda felt that to be a ‘proper vanlifer’ (whatever that is) we had to sleep in the van every single night. To sleep in a house was some sort of treachery to the cause. Now that I’m aware of it, it’s a bit ridiculous really, but this is one of those…

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dailyconnectionwithnature Europe nature travel

The sun always rises

November 22, 2018

Woke to this glorious sunrise. Still processing everything that’s happened over the past few weeks – still in awe at our amazing friends and family who’ve shown such staunch support. Our son has come to visit for a few days so we’ve booked into a place near Florence to take time out. Living your dreams is never easy – no matter what Instagram shows. But I do love the inspirational side of Instagram: we saw people living a more nomadic,…

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dailyconnectionwithnature feature India nature travel

When the mountain reveals herself

November 16, 2018

  Been awake for ages. Lying here in Italy but still on India-time. Trying to process these past few weeks but can’t seem to pull it all together in my head. Feels like the threads of creation I was hanging onto have begun to unravel out of my fingers and I’m not sure how to pull them back together anymore. This past year’s focus has been to slow it all down; to not chase things not meant for me; to…

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