The new normal

Tangentally-related knitting picture

I'm quite a private person in real life, and that's reflected in this blog; it very rarely strays beyond my little world of making, home dressmaking history, costume, and reviews of books or exhibitions which are linked to these topics. But as I prepared to write yet another piece which started with the words "Only a short post this week", I decided it was time to explain to my regular readers (thank you) a bit about what’s going on. If this isn't your thing don't worry, normal service will be resumed next week.

A couple of months ago I mentioned that my mum, who is 95 next weekend, had fallen and ended up in hospital. Mum's short-term memory had started to deteriorate before then but the fall, the infection which caused it, and the subsequent month spent away from home really exacerbated this. We are awaiting a formal assessment and diagnosis, but it's obvious that she has some form of dementia.

She has always been adamant that whatever happens she wants to stay in her own home, so she has carers coming in (who are excellent), and I go over to visit several times a week. It's not a massive distance but, depending on the traffic, it can take a while. The to-do list never seems to diminish, and Mum has good days and bad days - and I come home from the latter both physically and mentally shattered. And I'm well aware that from here things are only going to go one way.

None of this is to complain. I've been incredibly fortunate to have my mum in good health for so long, and both she and my dad were a huge support both during Mr Tulip's illness and after he died. But there's no denying that my life has entered a new phase, and it's one in which my privileges of time and energy to create, and even research and write blog posts, will be reduced. My promise to Mr Tulip to keep the blog going still stands, but I expect that posts will remain short, and there will be fewer completed projects.

Completing projects is further hampered by the fact that I'm often distracted, and so make more mistakes; both my latest Wondrella cardigan and my Reyna scarf have gone a bit awry recently. I managed to unravel the Wondrella as far as the mistake and then pick up all the stitches again (I impressed myself!), but undoing rows of the mesh section of the Reyna is going to be a major operation. Hence the picture at the top of this post - one thing which is definitely my new normal is lots more safety lines in my knitting!