A slightly different post to usual and I want to point out that I’m not a healthcare professional so this is just my own anecdotal story about using turmeric as an anti-inflammatory – along with an algal (or fish) oil. I did some research on Kit’s lineage (Scottish deerhound x lurcher) because they only tend to live to ten. He turned ten earlier this year and had started to struggle getting up on the bed and getting out of bed in…
Here we are stationary after managing to avoid the worst of lockdown or restrictions all year. It’s been a strange six weeks with two of them in quarantine in a house (house life is NOT for me anymore no matter how beautiful) and then a week stationary in the van as she failed the MOT. One of the things vanlife teaches is how to let go of expectation, that as soon as we begin to make Big Plans the universe…
Another thing bringing us all joy during lockdown is this gorgeous hardback book sent to me by the truly generous and inspiring Helen Mort. Andy and I are both currently reading it, and it’s wholly Bonnie approved. “There are two types of people in this world: those who love dogs and those who haven’t spent enough time with them yet.” Absolutely. A beautiful book to hold and immerse in, especially if you and your four-legged friends can’t get out in…
Something that has brought me joy today – receiving this lovely cacti & succulent compost by Clare @digbywilde because she saw my beautiful Dashboard Darlings on here recently and wanted to send them some love. I feel incredibly lucky to meet so many creative, kind and generous people through these tiny squares. My babies will do just fine hibernating in their new autumn/winter duvets. ??? ps – the only way to keep plants happy in a van is to have…
I am in love with the glorious impermanence of our changing seasons. No matter how wild our blossomings or lifeless our canopy, everything returns to earth as we embrace change & shapeshift – or risk calcifying when we are not made of rock. Roots speak of a longer cycle – drawing life from soil, trees teach us both change & stability, the holding fast & the letting go. This is the most beautiful lesson on how to be in the…
As there were so many requests for the Italian white bean recipe in my Instastories I’m posting it here… this is a classic Italian dish first made for me by a Dutch friend in Switzerland, so simple. What makes it taste amazing is the amount of time you can give it. That’s all really. Slow Living. This is the recipe as I remember it as I didn’t write it down… Soak white beans overnight.Next morning drain beans and put in…
I spent hours yesterday evening starting this jumper and then before bed, I unravelled it all. I know where I went wrong, and expected it to be difficult as this is teaching me a number of techniques I haven’t used before. I’ve learned to build a few false starts into a new project like this so I don’t get too disappointed.Failure is such an important part of creation, it allows us to ask questions without knowing what the answers will…
Kit: gimme the stick. Bonnie: nope. Have you ever stopped yourself in the middle of a situation and just asked: what do I want from this? It’s only in recent years I’ve become comfortable with putting boundaries in place, with saying no, but also saying ‘I want that’ and learning to be ok with the outcome whether I get what I want or not. The point is I’m not sure I ever used to ask myself what I really wanted,…
I was so inspired by all the responses to yesterday’s post about us being multifaceted. ‘ I am large, I contain multitudes’ wrote Walt Whitman and he wasn’t just talking about himself. I wanted to continue with this theme of ‘and’. ‘And’ is my favourite word. This love affair began around a decade ago when I wrote an ampersand as the symbol for the universe (see below). This tiny, seemingly innocuous connecting symbol is what allows us to grow, to…
I worry. All the time. That I’m not doing enough. Or that my output is too much and off-putting to some. I worry that if I post too much on Instagram people won’t take my novels seriously. I worry that when people like my food posts and say I should do a recipe book that they think my writing is no good and I should stick to cooking. I worry that when people say they love my vanlife posts it…