“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.”
Paulo Coelho
And many of us tried, hard, this summer.
Last week we saw a tremendous amount of beautiful answers ”Under the Sun”, hosted by Amy. This week, ”We’d love you to share with us the ways you’ve fueled and satisfied your creative energies these past few months as the pandemic has restricted our ability to move freely.” And this time, Tina is our host.
When all this started, I had just visited my daughter in Umeå, and bought a fascinating jigsaw puzzle with many house plants – most of which I some time over the years had grown in my house. And, puzzling hade not been on my mind for some 20 years…This was february, and we knew nothing about what would happen only some weeks later.
Emma’s birthday is in September, so we decided to celebrate during her summer vacation instead. She wished to take a short course in ceramics and clay work, together with some friends. I joined in as well, and we all had a creative day at the small farm, where the artist, Caroline, had her studio.
During the whole summer, Emma kept working on the costume for her graduation. She also made a prototype for sewing her leather spats. Much work, but I am sure it will look really good in January for her Big Day. Posing for me? Well, some minutes only – it was 37 degrees C that day…so fast I had to be!
For her birthday, of course I made her favorite lamb pies with lots of vegetables and fruit. For me it is a joy to cook for her when she comes home – I want to make her feel relaxed and having nothing to worry about. Being a student for so many years is tiresome – not least doing all the cooking yourself.
We did many other things togehter of course, but these were some of those that made our summer worth remembering. I think we worked on 5 puzzles at least, and we had so much to talk about and debate – things that might never have come up an ordinary summer. Summing up, this Covid summer went from hopeless to meaningful in the end.
Emma has left now for her final term, so maybe this was her last stay ”at home”. And the last puzzle we started together, I have to finish on my own. It has a name: Universe Creator, by artist Lora. Autumn is coming, and I sit in the warm evening light, looking at Lora’s painting. It shows a little girl cycling, and a giant panda blowing soap bubbles that sails through the air, making new planets and galaxies. I like that idea.
Finally, are you interested in learning more about about the team behind the Lens-Artists Challenge? If so, we invite you to visit TCHistorygal.net where you’ll find our recent interview with Marsha Ingrao of Always Write. It was great working with Marsha and being a part of her Artists’ Interview series. We thank her sincerely for her efforts on our behalf.
We hope you’ll join us next week for Patti’s challenge #111. Until then, take care and stay safe.
Leya 
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Ann-Christine, your post is so Hygge!! I love it, thank you for sharing your heart-warming post, I felt like I was right there with you enjoying every moment. Best wishes to your daughter, too!
I will tell her, Shelley – thank you!
So beautiful to see you surrounded by creativity. I felt really lucky to be with my parents this summer too. Such wonderful costume, and food!
So glad you could be with your parents, Manja. I was thinking so much about how you were doing. And that costume – yes, wish I was that thin once again, I would have liked to wear it too! and – we love lamb pie all of us.
Love the puzzles, & what a fantastic graduation costume 😃
Thank you – I believe it will be ready when graduation comes along!
That is a fine costume that your daughter is making, Ann-Christine. What surprised me most was the 37c day! I didn’t know that it got that hot in Sweden. Your pies are a work of art.
Well, she is rather handy with the sewing machine…And the last three summers we have reached those high temperatures for some weeks. We are not made for it up here, and do suffer a great deal. I guess we will have to get used to it…I have told my husband I will move north and live in the mountains.
What a beautiful summer with Emma, A-C. She is such a joy to you. Tell me about the costume. Is this a custom to create and wear a costume for graduation or is this something special for her degree? I’m not surprised that you went all out to make a delicious feast for her birthday. You are, I’m sure, a wonderful mom.
We are all trying to be wonderful moms, aren’t we? I know I try my best, and still I think I could have done even more – I guess being a Woman thing…
The costume – no, nobody makes their own costumes. Except Emma. They all look quite the same when they graduate, (tail-coat and evening dress) but she likes to look different and doing her own thing. Always done that, been like that. An 18th century look, like one of the characters in her novels. (she is always writing…publishes on the internet).
Yes – she really made my summer. Thank you, Patti. Hope you will meet your son soon. ♥
Ohh…tail coat and evening dress! I love that Emma wants to do her own thing. I love original thinkers!
I would think you do – you belong to them!
I understand how you felt about having your daughter at home. I have been able to enjoy for a few days, sharing holidays with my young son and his partner, have been wonderful moments.
Great post!
Thank you, Ana – they are the greatest joy!
I have enjoyed your post Ann-Christine! Spending time with our adult children is always nice and I had the priviledge to have our daugher with us for almost 2 and a half months during the first part of lockdown.
True – and how great to have your daughter there for so long! A privilege indeed.
Thank you 💕
What a lovely post about your COVID-19 situation … you have been active and busy. I wish I had this much to show. Done absolutely nothing … more than been in contact with airlines about my booked flights. I got a nice tan!!!! *laughing I can feel this day trip to Copenhagen coming up soon. *smile – we both are in a desperate need something to happen. What a fantastic outfit Emma made … I can image it was warm to wear. And I love the read about lamb pie – never had, so that is on my wishlist. *smile
Much thanks to Emma…had to make her stay relaxing and fun! I can imagine your tan – much sun these weeks.
Too much …. rain is on it’s way. Bring it on. *smile
Pouring sown here now – just in the middle of my walking the dogssssss……
”down” it shoud be…
I read your interview. Very nice job, I enjoyed it and learned a lot!
Thank you – I’m afraid some of my comments were lost and could not be found, she said. Technical problems – but the others answered for me as well I think.
What a beautiful post Ann-Christine. A snippet of ordinary life in an extraordinary time. Spending time with our adult children is always to be cherished. And those puzzles look wonderful. I can’t remember the last time I did a puzzle with my children, but we used to buy one every Christmas which used to lie on the dining table for ages with everyone stopping to put in a piece as they went by!
Yes – so good to hear from your family’s traditions too, Jude. The thing is to do it together, isn’t it? So glad you liked my everyday report too – I guess this will never happen again. I haven’t put in one single piece since she left. Have to sit down to it only when I get the feeling again.
WOW. Great post, A-C. Love the creative banner slogan. LOVE the jigsaw puzzles. Love the costume in progress. Looks great! LOVE the lamb pie!!!! I’ll be right over!
You are welcome, John! I’ll have to make another pie though…😉
Those look like great puzzles! I have fond memories of my daughter working on them as a young child when nothing else would hold her attention.
Your daughter looks so happy in that costume. 😀
Yes, puzzling is good for all ages, I think. And she WAS happy to show off her outfit!
I enjoyed this post primarily for the words, and I the story. I enjoyed puzzling and talking with you and your daughter. And reminiscing with you about what is effectively the end of an era _
– the bear grabbing your daughter and bubbling her into a fully fleged adult
Yes, I’m thinking about that too. And you have more than one daughter – so you will have this twice. This September Emma will turn 30 – I find it really hard to believe so many years have gone.
This is such a cool response. I used to put together puzzles, but then we got cats and that ended the puzzles. The article Marsha wrote with you all was so great. 😀
Thank you, Cee – and glad you liked the article. Sadly enough two of my replies/additions went lost due to technical problems with her blog. One of my thoughts was that because of our different backgrounds participants always would meet a great diversity in themes. Differences are a strength. But anyway, the others answered so well.
You always make this a delightful and welcoming space to visit, Ann Christine. Thank you for that 🤗💕
As do you at your place! Thank you!
You certainly had a great time with Emma, and I feel privileged to have ‘met’ her. The puzzling was a great way to bond, and I don’t know how you manage it with those thoUsands of pieces! Lamb pie looks fab!
Sue – she just loves you. You are quite the role model for both me and her – and I guess for many of us. All who really gets to know you a bit, will get more positive about life and living, and more humour struck with laughter. I am so happy to have met you in real life too – hope to see you again after this dreadful year. Stay cool!
Aww, thanks for this lovely comment! It is having good friends like you that keeps me happy and sane! I really hope we can meet again one day. I hope your weather gets cooler soon
It will I hope. And we will I hope!
😊
I’ve been working puzzles as well, something I really enjoy but hadn’t done for quite some time. It sounds as though you both had a lovely creative time and the ”together” part is the best. The food looks SO good. Cooking is certainly creative and also delicious.
janet
Thank you, Janet – yes puzzling went to the top it seems. I had some real difficulties in finding new ones in the end. Everyone was sold out!
When we moved, I donated most of my puzzles because they take up so much room. I sort of wish now I’d kept them, but I have some really nice ones and my mom has a number of puzzles I can borrow. It’s interesting to see what shortages emerged from the pandemic. 🙂
😀
you and Emma are very creative and inspiring! thanks for sharing your restricted but wonderful summer together! 🙂 🙂
I am so grateful for how the summer turned out, Wilma! I hope yours was a beautiful one as well!
Nice post! I really like the puzzles. We had to stay at my parents two winters ago while we had some home remodel and unexpected repair. During that time we did several puzzles (mostly by everyone else, I worked on my blog a lot). It’s so hard to tear them apart afterwards because they are so beautiful!
Thanks! Yes, so hard to put them back in the box. I decided to find an old frame for the plants and I think I will frame this last one as well. I like Universe Creator – love looking at it.
Lovely pictures and the story behind it! It’s really special to spend time together like this and do work on something creative. I think that’s a perfect backdrop for conversation and just being together. Hope your daughter has a great school semester.
Thank you so much – and yes, she was looking forward to presenting her thesis and finally start working outside uni. We had a great summer despite everything. Hope yours was a good one as well!
That sounds wonderful to have bonding time with your daughter! Special time before she goes off to school.
Have a great start to a new week and take care!
Thank you – you too!
🙂
I love this post about a slice of life Ann-Christine. Thanks for sharing 😀❤
Brian – maybe I am always sad and melodramatic…but I like your sentence…”a slice of life”.
Thanks A-C. It is a phrase I use as it fits some situations quite well 😀
It does!
I’m so glad you’re having a wonderful summer with your daughter at home Ann-Christine. The puzzle reminds me of innocence and adventure, something we may have lost during this Covid period.
Anne, I am glad too – I should not complain. When I read about all those people confined to narrow apartments and old people getting more and more lonely. We are the lucky ones in this mess. So far.
I believe you are right about what we might have lost this year…Innocence and adventure – . But I like the idea of sending bright bubbles across the planet, creating dream worlds – for we must keep dreaming and hoping – and creating.
Emma is so talented. I love the costume she made, AC. The lamb pies looks so delicious.
So glad you spend quality time with your family. 🙂
Thank you, Amy, – I hope you also have met your family and spent time together this strange summer. I know I always sound too sad and melodramatic – hope to get rid of that at the end of the year…. Your positive comments and thoughts are really very helpful, Amy! I should not complain. I had a good summer. ♥ Stay well.
I haven’t spent time with my family this summer. The Covid case got sky high in TX in July and Aug. I had been depressed… Happy to see your summer went so well. Have a nice week. 🙂
So sorry, Amy. I’m low almost all the time, but let’s hope for a positive change. Emma was in self quarantine for two weeks after the flight, but that works if you have the whole summer left to stay. We keep trying to hang on – but having family around you helps. Since Emma went back to Umeå, I haven’t been that smiling. I know you are in toutch via skype/facetime/zoom or something. I am doing that with some bloggers too.
Stay well
It looks like you both had a wonderful and very creative summer. Emma’s outfit is really stunning. She looks like the ‘bees knees’. 😍
Ha, thank you, Sylvia! Now I learned a new phrase – never heard it before. I will tell her! She loves everything about the 18th century, and that is her aim with making this outfit. She is growing her hair long again after being almost shaved off half ways. So…I’m looking forward to see the whole picture!
Thank you for sharing your Covid creativity photos. Your daughter may or may not be ”home” again. And if she is not don’t despair she will remember these times she shared with you. Our daughter is now 32 . We spent the day with her yesterday with her family. I got to spend lots of time just sitting and catching up with her. She may not be ”at home” but the bond is never broken.
Anne – thank you for comforting words. I know the bond will never be broken, and glad to hear you had a lovely day with your daughter and family too. They are about the same age – Emma turns 30 in September, that is why there were some extras this summer. I remember my own 30th birthday as not so bright – somehow realising my youngster life was gone and I ”should” be a grown-up now. I know Emma does not feel that way. Today young people stay ”young” longer and make the grown-up things wait. I think my generation was the last one to have that feeling. Good in many ways, but sometimes I feel the younger generation does not have the ability to slow down and relax. My children can though. I believe it has to be taught and learned from their home.
So many wonderful memories that you wish you can experience again. Thanks for sharing ANne Christine!
Thank you for the wonderful peek into your life these Covid-restricted days Ann-Christine. I am so happy you had such quality time with Emma, I know how special that is to you both. And I’m not the least bit puzzled that puzzling was a great opportunity for you to bond and cover the issues and events of the day! Loved the garden puzzle and the message of the panda creating new galaxies in the sky. I suppose we can all be doing that in our own little ways.
Thank you, Tina – yes, I had a good summer despite everything…Hope you had as well, out there in your lovely island! I know I am hopelessly melodramatic – so I’m happy to hear your always positive comments. Keeps me going too. and I hope we are sending creative bubbles at least on planet Earth!