Croeso y Charlie’s Chapter, if you’ve never been before! If you have, then I apologise for my long absence from writing – I’ve missed it if that’s any consolation. You may or may not know that this dormancy was largely due to having bought our first house and it being a full renovation, which meant living with my in-laws for several months and many, many small breakdowns (not because of them, they’re lovely). Truthfully, I’m a control freak; so whilst I’d rather not do (some) things myself and risk getting them wrong, I’ve discovered that I also get anxious having other people in my space – despite how necessary it may be. Renovating has therefore been without doubt the most stressful experience of my life so far. But we’re finally living there, feeling more settled and getting our life back together bit-by-bit, so it’s high time I start writing again!
It’s tricky, because I feel like I’m starting from the beginning. Doubt creeps in; what should I write about? I don’t have anything much to talk about besides the house… How do I write about house stuff without sounding naïve to some or condescending to others? Does anyone actually give a rat’s ass? And then I remember why I started this blog in the first place – for me. Because I wanted a creative outlet to talk about things I’m passionate about. And there is far too much focus on the numbers of everything these days, so I’m going to crack on with what I want to talk about and see what happens. Same as before.
I’ll start with a confession: unsurprisingly my food endeavours during this time have mostly been quick or familiar fixes, with the occasional meal out to feel human again – so not very inspiring.
Second confession: I have used single use plastic. The shock, the horror! Does this make me a bad person or a hypocrite? Absolutely not (in my opinion), because when shit hits the fan and your life quickly becomes a mess (whatever the cause) then you are absolutely allowed to cut yourself some slack. Rome wasn’t built in a day and nobody is perfect. Total clichés but totally true here. When you’re knackered and having a rough time of things, beating yourself up is the last thing you should be doing. Also, have you tried renovating sustainably?! It’s an effing minefield in of itself. One that I hope to share with you through a new series of mine (like that sneaky segway?) in which I’ll be talking my way through some Dos and Don’ts, things I’ve learned along the way and what I’d love to improve next time. I’m still figuring out the structure of these posts so if there’s anything in particular you’d love to know, please leave me a comment or a DM on Instagram.
Let’s get one thing straight before I dive back in: I am by no means a food or plastic-free or house renovation expert. My belief is simply that if any of my experiences could be useful or interesting to others, then why the hell not. Plus I like to talk/write and have met some bloody fantastic people since starting this blog, so I intend to continue!
Quick shout-out to some of the people who’ve kept me sane recently: my friends, family, OH and wonderful new neighbours; Dusty Knuckle Pizza – you guys & your pizza always cheer me up and I’m buzzing that the Warden’s House crowd funding paid off! And Ripple Living – Sophie’s vision and the success of this shop restores my faith in humanity. Plus it’s right around the corner, yay!
[Also Deliveroo and Abel & Cole veg boxes have been real lifesavers during all the upheaval, just saying]
Thank you all for your patience, please, please give me a shout if there’s anything you’re burning to hear about and in the meantime I’ll get cracking on some more posts for you soon.
Diolch i chi a hwyl am nawr,
Charles xx
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