Slow Living Notes • April 2026 • A Gentle Month by the Sea

I didn’t mean to start April with a sabbatical from the socials. It began from avoiding the Easter family photo snaps and just kind of extended day by day. I have found the longer I leave socials, the harder it is to return. This time was no exception, but I’ll get back to that later.

Less time on socials, more time for exploring and creating

April has always been a hard month since mum’s passing, with her anniversary at the end of the month. Anniversaries of passing is always hard on me, as I guess they are for everyone experiencing the pain. I get so caught up in the anger of how her passing occurred, but this year I wanted to honour mum in fond memories about the times we shared and I loved. These are the times that I miss.

So I went out to the shops and pottered around window shopping. This is something I never do, I shop with intention. But mum loved to spend time doing this.

Then I stopped at a lovely cafe and had coffee, in a cup, our shared idea of heaven.

I went to a market and slowly moved along the stalls, stopping at the handmade stalls. Mum loved markets and when I first moved from home, mum joined a market community and had her own stall creating beautiful painted glass and wood wares and adorable little fairies with lots of glitter. Mum would always credit the markets with helping her overcome the ‘empty nest’. Can you see any similarities?

I then bought a Chinese takeaway, and ate half of it while watching telly. Finishing off with a cuppa and a sweet biscuit. Gosh we shared a lot of Chinese meals and cuppas over the years. And then I curled up on the lounge with my book, so thankful that mum taught me the love of reading.

This year this really helped. Although it did not stop the sadness, it was lovely to recreate and think about the wonderful times we spent together.

It has been six months that we have now been in our Bay house rental. And we, my husband and I love it. We signed a twelve month lease, so it’s on our minds of what will happen at the end of that time. I do hope we get to stay. Not only because I still have a lot of yarn left to use (my promise to reduce the amount of yarn before we move again can be found here).

With daylight savings finished and some days are now cooler (Although yesterday we were swimming and had the whole beach to ourselves) our routine has changed a little. We just try to squeeze as much as we can during the daylight hours.

One morning hubby woke me early and said “Let’s go watch the sunrise over the beach” (Yep, I never know what I’m going to be doing each day living with that man) And it was delightful ~ the sun magnificent as it popped onto the horizon.

Later that afternoon we went to a different beach to have dinner and watch the sunset. Again it was magical. How special it is to live life at the Bay.

sun set on the beach, slow evening moments

The Studio has been keeping my mind and hands busy. I was pleased to release another free tutorial, the Sunflower Book Cover, which is comforting to make and very handy with Mother’s Day coming up. I have also finished another project that has been knocking around in my brain, my larger granny square bag. This is a lined bag with the option of a added secret message (of course). I’m a little in love with them, what do you think?

My slow granny blanket project is growing, it’s actually been lovely that I can snuggle under it as I make the squares. It is very heavy and very warm.

My Slow Granny Blanket Project ~ you can join in any time

I have watched some great tv shows in April. My favourite has been the Walsh Sisters. If you are fan of Marian Keyes books, you will love this tv adaption of her books. Already I am looking forward to next season.

I am so pleased to be reading again ~ truly reading, not just one chapter at a time. I love when I can feel my body relax into a gripping story. Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman was one of those books that had me riveted, so much more detailed than the tv series.

Are you a fan of crime stories? Previously I have avoided them due to my over imagination. But after listening to this great podcast interview with Candice Fox, I was intrigued to order one of her books from the library. And Troppo did not disappoint ~ had me hooked from the beginning. So I’ll be reserving a few more titles from the local library in the near future.

Saltwater Cure by Ali Gripper was an important read. Both

Wintering by Katherine May and Phosphorescence by Julia Baird reignited my dream to move closer to the water. Now Saltwater Cure has reinforced the importance of swimming and the ocean being part of my life. I now know of the power of the ocean and its healing properties in just these past six months. I recommend these books to everyone, especially if you are in need of some self love and healing in your life.

As I mentioned I didn’t mean to have a social detox at the beginning of the month. I started by removing notifications from my phone. After a few days I realised that every notification that lit up my phone, sent a shock to my nervous system. And without those repeated shocks throughout the day, I started to feel calmer.

I am back ‘on the social’s. I check in morning and night. Sometimes posting, sometimes just checking in with my favourite accounts. And for now I am not putting the notifications back on. I am enjoying a more softer and gentle nervous system experience.

My April Intention was to check in with myself daily and scrutinise how my body is feeling. I'm pleased to report that I actually went one step further and booked in for a therapeutic massage (my first one in 2 years) The feeling of relief after the massage was incredible. Pain in my arms, shoulder and hands has been considerably less and what a joy that has been. Not to mention the release of muscles in my neck and face (yes, my face!)This has been the ultimate reminder that I have ignored my body for far to long. Please don't ignore what your body is trying to tell you.

I’d love to know how your April has been for you. You can reply to this post.

Please remember to do something just for yourself today,

Melissa 🌞