Hello, all you lovely people out there in Blogland, who have visited Planet Penny so often over the years commenting and generally joining in with projects and other jollities.
I’ve found it hard to keep the blog posts coming lately, and I think it’s time to admit that I’m struggling. If I’d fallen over and broken my ankle I would be perfectly open about it, so admitting another part of my body is in need of repair shouldn’t be a problem. It’s ingrained in us, isn’t it, to feel we have to hush up mental health issues? Certainly when I was growing up those sort of problems were talked about in whispers.
So I’m letting you know that I have been diagnosed with severe depression. With medication and counselling, I’m confident I will beat it. I know that many of you out there will be similarly affected so I don’t want to pussyfoot around and be coy, it’s nothing to be ashamed about.
A break from Planet Penny will mean I can put all my energies into regaining my equilibrium and spirit which I need to do for my nearest and dearest. My goal for the blog is to come back in good form in the Spring, and I really hope you will be around when I do!
Meanwhile, thank you all for just being out there, wherever you are. I wish you a joyful and peaceful Christmas and New Year and I hope to back here again before very long.
xx
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But then the sun came out, and after a couple of hours battling with a large overgrown honeysuckle in the garden, Higgins and I headed off to the seaside to catch the last of the Autumn light…
It’s amazing to get there when it’s completely deserted, just me and a little dog, who just runs and runs and runs, and get a bit frustrated when I don’t join in!
I spend a lot of the time with my head down looking for treasures, sea glass which is a rare find here…
Brightly coloured seaweed…
just appreciating the colours of the sea…
The clocks go back this weekend, I hate losing the evening light, don’t you, so these Autumn excursions will become even more precious.
You might have to zoom in a bit, but I hope you find it useful.
…but opens up into a handy little magnifying light, perfect for keeping in your workbox when you need to get up close and personal with your work.
(This one gave my camera a funny turn trying to focus!)
That September ‘new term’ feeling never goes away really, does it? All those years of seeing the ‘Back to School’ displays in the shop windows, the new school sandals (yuk!) and the new pencil case.
The hedgerows are full of berries this year, I don’t know when I’ve seen so many. It’s a sign of bad weather to come so they say… memo to self: Knit more socks!
Just such a fabulous colour, aren’t they? I always think the Nightshade berries look like necklaces the way they twine through the hedgerows…
Having a supply of poo bags when out for a walk is jolly handy if you want to do a spot of spontaneous blackberry picking…
But there are still summer flowers…
And bees…
and a fairy ring…
But the fairy dogs weren’t interested…
…until I mentioned the word T-R-E-A-T-S…
Higgins gets quite bossy about treats!
Meanwhile, back home and I’m crocheting up a big warm sweater with cold days in the studio in mind. After my lovely weekend at the 
I’ve customised it (because I’m not a sylph-like twenty year old) and I think it’s going to be very cosy. It’s a brilliantly simple pattern, no shaping and only the one stitch all through. What can go wrong? Picking up the wrong hook and doing half a sleeve with it before noticing, that’s what went wrong! 
