Taking Stock for June

Can you believe it’s already the last Thursday in June? I feel like I wrote my Taking Stock for May only a week or so ago and yet, here we are. How can a Summer month fly by, while some of the Winter months drag along so slowly?

The weather here is finally heating up and looking spectacular. Hamburg is such a different city in the sunshine and feels like the population doubled overnight!

It seems everyone feels as I do during Winter. I like to be home where it’s warm and cosy. But as soon as that sun comes out – so does everyone else! Hamburgers are like moths to a flame and I am no different. Worshipping the sun in all it’s glory, every chance we get. There’s nothing like moving to Europe to appreciate sunshine.

Well, without further ado….

Taking Stock for June

Making : it’s been a month of custom orders this month, which I love to do. I love working with you, hearing your ideas, colour needs and finding the perfect fit. You can see Dustin’s transformation above. Isn’t he gorgeous!
Cooking : lots more chopping than cooking this month, as I don’t feel like hot foods when it’s warm outside. Lots of salads and homemade dressings and I’m now a gun at chopping watermelon in a snap!
Drinking : still lots and lots of water, with fresh lemon and lime. Tea and my coffee with soy milk – such a yummy sweet treat.
Reading: frantically finishing “The Couple Next Door” by Shari Lapena for book club. Can’t wait to start John Grisham’s The Litigators, for our next book.
Trawling: Youtube for homemade natural cleaning recipes and amazon for the supplies! If you have any great tips using natural ingredients like essential oils, I’d love the hear them.
Wanting: some fresh ideas for window displays.

Looking: up at the sky and trees a lot. Their colours never cease to amaze me.
Deciding: whether to open my studio for the Altonale this weekend or not.
Wishing: I could talk to my Dad most days. I miss our chats and hearing his laugh.
Enjoying: the sunshine and not having to put on so many layers to leave the house!
Waiting: to hear about a few markets coming up and whether I have been chosen to participate. Liking: my new shop window! Although I need to find some new ideas.
Wondering: what I will cook tonight. I’m thinking Turkey Stuffed Zucchini Boats. I found this fantastic recipes from Dani at Clean and Delicious – she has such great options for really tasty, whole food recipes. Every one I’ve made has been delicious.
Loving: all the delicious salad variations on offer throughout the Summer. The watermelon at the moment is so delicious!
Pondering: a few more Taggy toys to add to my collection.
Listening: to my Spotify subscription! Makes going to the gym to much fun. You can listen to any song you can think of, make up playlists and voila! I love finding new music through it too.

Considering: buying a steam cleaner for our floors.
Buying: thick, chunky balls of yarn to make Minty a round cat bed. She still squashes into her cardboard fruit bowl, but I think she might like a circle with a bit more room.
Watching: Flaked on netflix at the moment. The story and characters are funny and interesting, but the colour, light and how it’s shot grabs me every time. Maybe it’s just the intoxicating LA sunshine and Venice beach. Give it a go, I think you’ll like it. 
Hoping: all goes well in the next week, as Hamburg prepares to host the very controversial G20 Summit. The city is going into lock down, with many businesses affected by closures. There will be a designated express lane dedicated to all the motorcades, running directly from the centre of town to the airport; throwing traffic in to even more chaos. 20,000 heavily armed police are expected to be in our city – the biggest armed presence in Hamburg’s history. I just hope everyone stays safe and that things go smoothly. Marvelling: at my Hubby and his team – once again. On June 23rd this month, I was lucky enough to be there to witness the very first beam come through to their optics hutch at the SPB/SFX instruments at the European XFEL. 10 years in the making, this signifies the beginning of amazing new scientific research possibilities and no doubt, an unprecedented contribution to the greater good of mankind. Such amazing news in this turbulent climate we are now living in. Congratulations to the entire team, amazing!

Cringing: at the prevalence of socks and sandals.
Needing: to get moving, but waiting for a package – so finishing this post off instead.
Questioning: pretty much everything about the world right now. I’m not convinced we’re moving in the right direction, for future generations or the environment.
Smelling: Freshly ground coffee beans in the morning, never gets old. Wearing: lots of Summer dresses, one of my favourite parts of Summer!
Noticing: How few people smile at strangers anymore. At least that’s how it seems.
Knowing: I am contributing to the universe and my own well-being & that it’s important. 

Thinking: how nice it is to have a studio day, with no other commitments or appointments. Just go to the studio and stay until I’m ready to leave for the day. Heaven!
Admiring: those who work and work and work at something, that’s so much bigger than them – and watching them succeed. It’s truly inspiring.
Getting: ready to head out into the sunshine.
Bookmarking: lots of new recipes and natural cleaning products you can make yourself very inexpensively, which are better for us and better for the environment.
Opening: the floodgates of ideas. They’re coming hard and fast.                                                                              
Closing: After a very productive afternoon with the American Womens’ Club of Hamburg, we have 90 newly handmade heart pillows to sew closed. They are made to help relive the pain of breast cancer patients. I will be blogging about this in more detail at a later date.
Feeling: Pretty good. I have more energy these days and feel stronger than I have in a while.
Hearing: a few more ambulances, helicopters and police than usual. I guess it’s all about the build up to next week.
Celebrating: mostly my Hubby this month, as it’s his birthday month and all they have achieved at the lab. Incredible.
Pretending: to not worry about next week in Hamburg. I really hope this beautiful city of ours remains unscathed by terrorism.
Embracing: festival season and those loooooooong Summer days and nights.

Here’s a list for you to copy and paste, if you feel like doing your own list.

Making :
Cooking :
Drinking :
Reading:
Trawling:
Wanting:
Looking:
Deciding:
Wishing:
Enjoying:
Waiting:
Liking:
Wondering:
Loving:
Pondering:
Listening:
Considering:
Buying:
Watching:
Hoping:
Marvelling:
Cringing:
Needing:
Questioning:
Smelling:
Wearing:
Noticing:
Knowing:
Thinking:
Admiring:
Getting:
Bookmarking:
Opening:
Closing:
Feeling:
Hearing:
Celebrating:
Pretending:
Embracing:

Happy Tuesday! I hope this finds you well and happy and doing something you love,