Daffy's Garden

sunsets - and an announcement

2011-09-03T18:28:00.003+01:00

It seems fitting to use a post full of beautiful holiday sunsets to announce that I'm winding up this cheery little blog. This will be the last post here.

It's been nearly 3 years of jolly fun for me, and hopefully a little light entertainment for those of you who've read some of it too. I've read and appreciated every single comment made, and it's lovely feeling there's others out there sharing your life, so thank you.

The good news is that I'm not disappearing, just moving down the way slightly, to a new virtual home!

Please do pop over and join me, I'd love it if you would!

I'll be heading off on a cheerful living adventure...

Orkney in august - the sea

2011-09-03T08:31:00.002+01:00

orkney in august - the home life

2011-09-01T23:08:00.005+01:00

Please just indulge me while I stick up a few photos of our lovely holidays. This is the 'at home and eating' set mostly...

That up there at the top is my attempt to sunbathe on our first day - *under* a blanket as well as on top of one... I do so much love being outside! (wasn't a big fan of the midges though). Then we have the lovely Peedie, cheerful dog extraordinaire, who we're missing very much.

Couldn't resist a photo of my washing, blowing in the breeze, something it sadly doesn't get to do much of round here! And it got a nice view of the sea too - also sadly lacking round these landlocked parts.

And oh! chickens! How I love opening the back door and being set upon by a pack of marauding chickens, sticking their beaks into anything and everything. I even spotted one in the car one day... We did carefully check before we left...

Of course, there was plenty of sitting around in cafes drinking tea and eating scones, although bizarrely I seem to have only taken one photo of that in the whole fortnight I was there. Still, a mightily cosy cup of tea it was too.

Hmm, a bit of a mixed bunch now I've put them all here! But plenty colourful, I'm sure you'll agree. You'll have to bear with me, I've still got a sunsets post, and a beaches post, and a flowers post (oops, some little flowers sneakily sneaked in this one too...). And then we'll get back to normal, although there might be a few changes around this little blog too, you'll have to wait and see..

back home

2011-09-01T07:29:00.003+01:00

Goodness me, that was a lovely long break!

We've spent the last couple of weeks staying with the lovely Fay and had such a marvellous time that I never wanted it to end. Do you think she would have noticed if we'd have sneakily moved into her house, hiding amongst the chickens and the flowers? We could have been very quiet...

Anyway, we weren't quick enough, so we had to come home (after being housebound by some very rickety gales indeed). And it appears the tomato elves have been very busy while we've been away, turning a whole little pile of tomatoes red for us - how delightful! And there was me expecting the garden to wither and die every time I turn my back - seems it does rather better when I'm not here interfering...

So September (September!) means back to work, which I'd best do in a second. And a whole raft of projects and exciting things to do. I'll be back later with some lovely holiday photos for you to see.

sunday evening

2011-08-07T23:09:00.003+01:00

Well...

... let's just say I sat on a stool on a paving stone in the general vicinity of what will become my lovely new seating area, and leave it at that, shall we?

No point aiming for perfection I say!

sunday morning

2011-08-07T08:47:00.003+01:00

Generally Sunday mornings in this house are pretty lazy. Breakfast in bed, perhaps a call to or from a friend to suggest meeting up for lunch, then a mid morning, mid afternoon trip to a cafe, or a friend's house, to drink tea and while away a few hours nattering and plotting.

Today I woke relatively early, and sneaked downstairs. The house was pretty tidy, which is rather unusual, but felt good.

We don't have much of a view from our kitchen, and the sun only hits the window early in the morning, and I often miss it. Today I didn't.

It feels like a day for an adventures.

Getting-things-done adventures, these, though. Doing-of-things-that-have-been-hitherto-put-off adventures.

I've been inspired this morning, in a roundabout kind of a way, by a lovely friend who I met through the internet, and who I've only spoken to once in real life, over several cups of tea in a cheery little cafe (of course) at the seaside. I ambled over the fence to her blog over breakfast, and found this beautiful post, talking about following your dreams, in which, right there at the end, she says this cheery little blog is inspirational. I'm blushing! How utterly wonderful, and what a lovely thing to wake up to!

So I figured I'd best get on and do something inspirational, if you can call digging holes and visiting the DIY shop inspirational, that is, or else I'll be thought of as a fraud!

And so, my tea is in hand, my wellies are on, and I'm heading out into the garden to level the soil, ready for laying my pavings. I've not eaten Sunday breakfast out there, but I very much intend to eat my tea sat on that patio later this evening.

(of course, that involves a trip to the garden centre, laying pavings, building a fence and numerous other things, so we'll see, but that's my intention!)

There's also bikes to fix, and presents to make and wrap (just in case you thought it was turning into a little bit too much of a building site round here).

Progress report, with photos, later....

on saturday I drove to Wales...

2011-08-01T19:16:00.003+01:00

... I very nearly didn't, because I'd spent all week dashing about the country on trains, and I really didn't feel like doing more dashing.

However, sometimes you just have to, because you know that when you get there, you'll appreciate having made the effort.

And when I lay in the back of the car with the door open, looking out on this (slightly murky, I admit) view, I knew I'd made the right decision.

Bizarrely, the only other photograph I took all weekend were of breakfast.

Strange, that.

Today has been altogether more mundane - a working at home day, with a short break in the middle for shifting a load of soil over that there hand-built wall.

'it'll only take you 5 minutes to shift that lot love' said the driver, as he drove off.

I should have given him a spade.

Needless to say, it took two of us a fair bit longer than 5 minutes, but it's all in place now (good job as it was blocking half the road). I'm planning to eat my breakfast outside on Sunday morning - think I'll make it??

a week in photos

2011-07-27T23:43:00.002+01:00

Much as I'd love to spend a while waffling on about what I've been doing this week, I just don't have the energy right now!

So, here's a selection of photos so you can see what I've been up to... celebratory cakes, learning new wall-building skills (and finding out that putting cement on with your hands, er, isn't a very good idea), disco balls and fabulously painted ceilings, an evening trip through beautiful countryside to an old haunt (and an old friend), a walled pub garden, a whole-city free music festival, a picnic in the park, and a lavender cake in a little London cafe.

And trains. Lots of trains.

Speaking of which, I've got to be on another one in 7 hours, best go to sleep....

2011-07-20T16:10:00.001+01:00

Today I have been mostly swanning around looking like a bit of a pillock.

And being glad that this is (hopefully!) the third and last time.

And eating jam roly poly and custard, because you can't possibly expect me to spend the entire day looking like that without treats.

sneaking up early (and hula hoops)

2011-07-17T09:26:00.002+01:00

Would you just have a look at this adorable Viennese butter kiss I had at the Women's Institute yesterday morning! So tiny, and so perfect. That wrapper! Just when you start to think the WI is all jam and sturdy fruit cake, they pop something like this in to surprise you.

(although on the whole I do prefer a piece of sturdy fruit cake myself).

Anyway, that wasn't what I came here to tell you. I came here to talk about getting up before everyone else gets up.

Because that's what I've just done.

As it happens, there's only one other person here to get up before - and I do often get up before him, because I work a long way away, and he often works in the evenings rather than the mornings. But that's everyday getting up before someone.

This is sneaking out of bed trying not to wake them up.

I have no idea why it felt like that this morning, but it did, and I like it. I like that feeling of slipping downstairs, trying not to make the floorboards squeak (utterly impossible in this house, I tell you), looking around at the mess of camping equipment and wondering if you can tidy it before he wakes up, trying to catch the boiling kettle before it starts whistling tooooo excitedly, and then drinking tea and sifting through yesterday's photographs, remembering that I actually sneaked in a little fun project while he was having a nap yesterday afternoon.

(I should point out that obviously I do fun things when Peter is awake too, but there's something quite exciting about a furtive bit of sloping round with the house to yourself, not entirely sure when you're going to be disturbed).

So, shall I show you what I did yesterday?

First of all, I opened ALL the curtains and windows, so I could see and hear the rain.

Then I put Pride and Prejudice on the tv.

Then I pulled out the two bits of plumbing pipe I bought the day before and made a collapsible hula hoop.

Yep, that's right. I LOVE hula hoops. We have one hanging in our shower. But that one's a little bit too small for proper hula hooping.

I've got a friend with a HUGE hoop, it's so lovely to twirl round in, but there's just nowhere to put it round here, and it won't fit in the car for camping trips (if we ever manage to get on any, that is).

So I wanted to make a collapsible one.

I think the guy in the plumbing shop was a little bemused, but he played along gamely, even when his mate came into the shop while he was trying to bend the pipe round his waist.

The two blokes in the hardware shop took my requests all in their stride - they're used to me ambling in saying 'have you got any magnets? I'm trying to attach them to cardboard fish' and the like, so this was perfectly ordinary.

So - one length of waste pipe (cut in half), two easy (well, reasonably easy) quick-connector things, one roll of black electrical tape, and one roll of jaffa tape (*love it*) later, and I'm all set - for the princely sum of £8.

Have you got any idea how difficult it is to photograph a hula hoop?

Or how many dusty mirrors I have in my living room? (a lot, it appears).

(obviously it's entirely necessary to keep one's wellies on while making hula hoops - just in case)

So - by the end of Pride and Prejudice, and the end of the roll of jaffa tape, and the end of Peter's afternoon nap, I had myself a nifty tiger-striped hula hoop.

That just about twirls round in the living room, as long as there's nobody else in there too.

I wonder what little mini adventure I can get up to this afternoon while he's asleep??

Speaking of which, I should probably wake him up with a cuppa in a minute - we're off to our current favourite little cafe for breakfast treats and he won't want to miss that...

You up to anything exciting today?

an(other) attempted camping trip

2011-07-16T09:44:00.005+01:00

Here's me, at 11.15 last night, standing in the toilets at McDonalds, a place I haven't been seen for at least 13 years.

We were attempting to go camping in the Yorkshire Dales, altogether more pretty than a service station on the A1M, but, well, life kind of got in the way, as it does.

We'd planned to take our car, and sleep in it (because it really is Most Cosy for sleeping in, our car), but, well, it was making a rather peculiar noise, and the garage advised us not to take it anywhere far away because the wheels might fall off.

(those may not have been their *exact* words, in case you were starting to panic, but they had a similar effect, and we decided not to go)

Anyway - last minute, we realised we could get a lift with some lovely friends, which involved an hour of dashing round the house, finding tents, figuring out what to sleep ON (the futon out of the car seemed a bit extravagant for a tent), and generally packing.

And then, hooray! we were off.

For an hour and a half, at least, until there was a loud bang, and lots of smoke. And an hour standing at the side of the M1 (which was kind of like a mini (and very bad) camping trip itself.

The whole thing turned faintly ridiculous when we spotted a bloke walking towards us down the hard shoulder of the motorway (!) and then realised we knew him!

Anyway, the RAC man towed us to the industrial park, where we spent an interesting half hour drinking insipid tea and reading the Knaresborough Post.

Finally got back home about half past midnight, after a ride in a GIANT exciting rescue truck.

I'm thinking that somebody, somewhere, doesn't want us to go camping this weekend...

(still, plenty of other exciting things to get up to, and it'll give me a chance to catch up on a few blog posts of things I've been meaning to tell you about!)

weekend adventures (and more spring cleaning)

2011-07-10T21:33:00.004+01:00

Another weekend of fun and frivolity here. I do love the summer, altogether more sociable somehow than the other seasons.

Anyway, I've been trotting about all over the place! Hopped on a train for a mini adventure on Friday night to see the lovely Fay, who was only an hour or two up the road rather than the usual 13 hours away. Couldn't miss an opportunity like that! And I do love train adventures, especially ones to new places, that involve meeting some new people too. Altogether a jolly evening!

Then up early on Saturday morning to take part in the local park run - didn't take photos (too busy puffing and panting), but this is going to become rather a regular Saturday morning feature I think. I had a lovely time galumphing along at the back with an extremely cheery fella getting fit again after a triple heart bypass (yep, that's how slowly I was going). Anyway, he was very jolly, clapping everyone who went past us (which was, er, everyone), and also very chivalrous, and let me go before him through the finish funnel, so I wasn't *quite* last, which makes a nice change...

Then off to the WI (of course - can't let running get in the way of cake eating!)

And then a wedding! Busy as bees here!

So, after the wedding we sloped off for a little sneaky duck feeding...

There really is something Extremely Jolly about feeding ducks, I find. Their little beady eyes, their little legs waddling over when they detect the slight rustle of a paper bag, the gentle little quacking noises...

We finished off Saturday with the most glorious buffet, and a whole load of dancing (and then a nice cup of tea, of course).

Today has been rather more sedate - one of those days when I wake up slightly grumpity and petulant and decide that EVERYWHERE is a Complete Tip, and despite it not having bothered me for days and days, declare that Something Must Be Done - right now.

You know, one of those days.

Peter, fortunately, had a pre-arranged musical project happening downstairs, which pretty much restricted my flurry of activity to the attic so my banging and crashing and cursing didn't disturb the creativity in the kitchen.

The attic has several purposes in this house. I work at home several days a week, so my desk is up here, and the printer. It also houses all my sewing related paraphernalia, and assorted things-that-don't-live-anywhere-else. And it houses the spare bed.

So... I started by pinning up these ludicrously ancient and daft curtains that we found in a house that a friend bought (she declared she couldn't live with them, and I squirrelled them away with some vague plan for a skirt - which fortunately never happened). Bravo! A place to hide things - point 1 on the list of vital things for tidying up.

The shelves are looking a whole lot better too.

Of course, there's still several miscellaneous bags and boxes of things-that-need-to-find-a-new-home, but we're down to 2, rather than 8 or 9.

And you might notice that you can't see much of the floor in these pictures...

I also discovered just how much stationery I own.

A lot.

I had planned a little bit of sewing, which never *quite* happened. Maybe next week...

But I've had a lovely pottering day sorting things out, tearing things up, stashing things behind curtains, and I'm actually looking forward to spending the day up there tomorrow.

Hooray for spring cleaning whims I say!

a little amble around blog land

2011-07-07T20:55:00.002+01:00

It's an absolutely gorgeous evening here, and I've just been for a Most Marvellous run across the hills (which makes it sound far more strenuous and gazelle-like than the huffing and puffing around the local hilly park it was...). I'm all excitable and full of beans now, so while I wait for my tea to cook I thought I'd take you on a little tour around the strange hotch-potch corner of blog-land that I hang around in.

First of all, a confession. I don't actually subscribe to or follow any of these blogs - I actually haven't yet figured out how, and a seized by an irrational fear that my inbox will fill up with messages telling me to go and read such-and-such a blog, and I'll never get anything done.

Well, I never did say I was entirely sensible.

So, the way I mostly keep track of the things I read is using that blog list over there -------->

Which isn't to say that they're the only things I read, oh no. But they are the things I keep coming back to. They also keep changing, you might have noticed... Depends how I'm feeling at the time, and whether I've irrationally decided to have a clear out, or whether I've just found something new and am all excited about it.

The list is in order of who's posted the most recently - so when I pop in here I can see if anyone's posted that day, and pop over to have a look. Does anyone else use their own blog to keep track of their life?!

(this isn't going to be a giant blog review of who's-best, rather a little look at some things that I like and how I found them)

So, let's start at the top, shall we?

Down to Earth

This is the blog that prompted me to start my own blog. I have absolutely no idea how I came across it in the first place, but it's a lovely mix of tutorials for things like soap making, writing about simple living, and the occasional pep talk. I remember reading the entire archives (er, I think I was avoiding writing my phd at the time...), and then writing to Rhonda telling her how inspirational she was. She wrote a lovely email back, and I've read her blog ever since. There's a whole forum attached to it now too.

************************

Well, so much for that lengthy amble! The phone rang, and now the tea's about to come out of the oven, and we'll have to continue this little trip round blog-land another day! I was looking forward to that too (although I'm looking forward to food perhaps a little bit more....)

oh! weekend!

2011-07-06T23:35:00.004+01:00

The weekend started with a rainbow on the living room ceiling.

A bunch of garden wild flowers, herbs, er, assorted weeds, were galumphed across the city to a garden party (which housed much more beautiful flowers, but everyone was very nice about it)

I did manage to stop myself squealing with excitement on spotting the picnic table, but only just...

See that green stuff in the white bowl with the blue spoon? Fresh peas and cottage cheese. Try it - it's absolutely divine.

Really!

I'm also not sure how I managed to stop myself from eating ALL of those little fairy cakes, but I did.

Only just, mind you...

Sunday was a slightly less sedate affair, involving far more children - my youngest nephew's second birthday. Two, already! No idea how that happened (clearly - since I nearly won the World's Worst Auntie Award by FORGETTING his birthday...)

Lots of splooshing around in water, of course, and my eldest nephew, aged 5, asked if he could borrow my camera for a while...

Do you know, I might just do a whole post full of his photos, not only are they fabulous, but a cheery insight into what a 5 year old thinks is important ('I don't want to take pictures of people, Auntie Jenni, I'm taking pictures of things...')

LOTS of chocolate dinosaurs, of course (resulting in a few very chocolatey beards)

And fuzzy felt, and an impromptu beach on the living room floor..

Ooh, and speaking of beaches, a wrong turn on the way home found me at the seaside! I honestly don't know how it happened, really I don't, but I took full advantage of it and stomped around on the sand for a while. The sea was far too far away, and I felt a little like I was in a giant sandpit, but I'm pretty starved of beach round here, and I'll take anything I can get.

Oh I'd SO much love to live by the sea

I really don't know how it's taken me to Wednesday to get round to posting about the weekend, I had SUCH a lovely time, such a cheery variety of things happened, every one of them marvellous (yep, even falling asleep in the back of the car at the service station, that was marvellous too...).

and now it's nearly next weekend! And a wedding is looming (not mine, I hasten to add). Best dust off my party frock...

ooops, there I go again...

2011-07-01T09:15:00.003+01:00

Oh dear, yes, that's another cafe.

Betty's in York this time, super-posh, queues out of the door, waitresses in aprons calling you 'madam' (madam indeed!), and £3 for a pot of tea.

Needless to say I don't go there very often!

But they are well known for their delectable cakes (and piano player, no less), and this was for *work*, don't you know, so I had to. No avoiding it at all. Absolutely none.

No cakes on this day for me though, it was SO hot, we'd walked a long way, and it was the middle of the working day (ahem), so lunch it was.

Poached eggs on toast (£5.95! Gosh) - with the toast cut into little triangles with the crusts cut off, no less. Very tasty it was too.

Just not too often...

anyway.... it's been absolutely GLORIOUS round here lately, it really has.

I've been walking around the hills and fields pretty much every evening I can, this is so close to home, and it's so quiet up there, you can see for miles, and watch the sun setting, and I always come back feeling so peaceful and like everything's right with the world.

Can't beat that feeling really.

Exciting weekend plans afoot here, mostly involving lazing around in the sunshine I hope. Hooray! Are you up to anything exciting?

abundance, and spring cleaning

2011-06-26T19:57:00.004+01:00

Today has been utterly glorious. The weather, of course, but also the time, the whole day with nothing in particular to do, nowhere to be - that's quite a luxury at the minute!

I picked these flowers from the garden last week, and they've sat in a glass jar on the kitchen windowsill cheering me up for the last few days. What is it about flowers from the garden that just lift the spirits?

It's been a whole weekend of pottering really, although today was rather more calm than yesterday.

On Friday night we ate cherries, picked from a friend's tree.

And then a trip to the women's institute, of course. Lots of knitted things on sale this week, and a Most Delicious almond and apricot sponge cake.

Then off to the green fair, to hang around on the LETS stall. I'll talk more about LETS one day - maybe when I've pulled my finger out to use it a little more...

This morning, bizarrely, I woke up with an urge to do a bit of spring cleaning.

I know - very strange.

Maybe it was the sunshine streaming through the skylight, showing up all the dust.

Whatever it was, I thought I'd best take advantage, and I've ambled around the house washing and hoovering and dusting and clearing drawers and making space.

I'm not sure it meets normal folks' standards of cleanliness even now, but it's much better than it was.

I do love hanging washing outside, even if we don't have the traditional blowing-in-the-breeze washing line...

Oooh, speaking of washing, I realised I never did share this exciting parcel that arrived a few weeks ago!

A while back, I signed up to take part in a dish cloth swap, over at the Down to Earth blog, and was paired up with another Jennifer right round the other side of the world (hi Jennifer!)

I duly knitted my dishcloth and dispatched it (late, as usual) off on its little adventure, together with some home made soap.

Then, excitement of all excitements, a parcel arrived!!

Would you just look at those beautiful dishcloths! Five, all different colours! And such a thoughtful parcel! A copy of the local newspaper, so fascinating to read the local news from somewhere else, so different to here! And some locally grown pistachios - mmmm. And a big pile of leaflets for local attractions, and keyrings, and postcards, and all sorts of things!

I *love* parcels, they are just The Best.

Of course, now I'm concocting a more elaborate parcel full of local stuff from round here to post back. SO much fun!

for today...

2011-06-20T21:58:00.002+01:00

Outside my window... it's not-quite-dark, and the rain's falling steadily

I am thinking... about the poor young sparrow I saw get hit by a car this morning

I am thankful... for a quiet half hour, just me and the rain, in this busy week

In the kitchen... lunch is ready for tomorrow, and the washing up is done - a rare feat in this house!

I am wearing... gorgeous little button hair slides I got from the farmers market yesterday for 20p. 20p!

I am creating... an 18 month plan of Exciting Things to do and learn

I am going... on a train every day this week. Every single day

I am wondering... whether I will ever get bored of travelling on trains. I doubt it very much - I love trains. Good job really (see above)

I am reading... inspiring tales of people leaping headlong into new adventures even when they're a little bit scared

I am hoping... that I'll make it through this week without being too grouchy, and that Thursday will turn out to be as exciting as it could be

I am looking forward to... Wednesday, when I'll be staying with a friend I met through the internet, and who I now work in the next building to. And Thursday, when I'll be staying with a friend I used to work with, and now only talk to through the internet. Funny old world.

I am hearing... the rain. I love listening to the rain, especially in the dark. I'll be off to bed soon to listen to it pattering on the skylight.

Around the house... it's pretty quiet. Unusually, things are calm and still here tonight.

I am pondering... what the future will bring - and doing my best to make sure it's something exciting.

One of my favorite things... steady rain outside, while I'm all cosy with a mug of hot chocolate inside. Perfect.

A few plans for the rest of the week: trains. workshops. friends. maybe a little knitting. and certainly some plotting and planning.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing... (actually, my picture is at the top, and in no way reflects how I'm feeling right now, which is quite calm and pensive, and not at all swirly and lollipoppy. But I couldn't find a calm-and-pensive picture, and this one is after all rather jolly, so it'll have to do)

Sleep well! And pop over to the simple woman's daybook to join in!

2011-06-19T22:07:00.002+01:00

I've been smiling every time I've walked into the living room this week and spotted these flowers (rescued from the reduced bin at the florists), popped into two old china cups from a picnic basket. How extremely jolly!

I've finally managed to get out into the garden this week - I must confess to avoiding it, because it's still a mess of rubble and pavings, and it makes me ever so slightly grumpy every time I see it.

But what kind of an attitude is that for a cheery person to have?!

A daft one - that's what.

So, I armed myself with trowel, green bin bags (the council collects garden waste here and turns it into compost), and a camera (and a cup of tea, of course)

While staring in a slightly grim fug at the beetroots refusing to grow on the windowsill, and the basil that just won't get more than 3 leaves whatever I do to it, I had a revelation.

We've got a small garden here, and we are NEVER going to grow a substantial part of our food. Last year we had an abundance of yellow courgettes, and one broad bean pod. One. I like plants - but I never was very good at keeping them alive. Every year I plant things (late), forget to water them, then put them outside for the slugs to eat, while I stare on morosely thinking about what a terrible gardener I am.

The things that do best in my garden are the things that look after themselves.

So - my revelation. Why on earth do I do this to myself every year?? Because I want a beautiful and productive garden, that's why! Because I like the idea of growing my own food and I believe gardens should be useful as well as beautiful.

Well, guess what? The fruit bushes are looking great - they look after themselves. Maybe if I watered them more they'd do better - but they manage.

There's plenty of herbs that are flourishing, all on their own - sage, rosemary, chives, lemon balm, st john's wort, all come back year on year, as well as the rhubarb, and masses of mint. The honeysuckle spreads over more and more of the house each week, it seems.

So, as of now, my garden is getting low maintenance. Well, aside from the major seating project, that is.

I'm not going to try a big pile of annual veg any more. I'm going to plant the whole thing up with fruit bushes and perennial herbs, and spend more time sitting out there admiring the view, eating rhubarb crumble, sipping herb tea, and scoffing blueberries.

Why on earth didn't I think of that before??

And now, flushed with my own ingenuity, I'm heading for the bath.

2011-06-15T23:07:00.002+01:00

I've been neglecting this little space of mine lately, blaming full time work, and all manner of other things, for my absence.

Today I've realised that one of the reasons I've been staying away is because I haven't taken any nice pictures to post.

Ah, perfectionism rearing its ugly head yet again!

Not that I only ever post 'perfect' pictures on here, of course... but I do rather like them to be sunshiney, cheery, happy pictures, of colourful things, pretty things, not blurry round the edges, or gloomy, or have dust on the shelves and piles of washing in the background.

Well, guess what? As we established in this post, my life does have dust on the shelves (rather a lot of it, as it happens), and washing festooned over the banister, and the sun doesn't always shine, and sometimes I can't take a decent photograph to save my life.

What a shame to stay hiding away because of that!

I like pottering about in here, talking nonsense about what I've been up to! I do love to look back at the pretty photos, and the finished projects, and the flowers in the garden - but if I avoid popping in here until I've got something fascinating to say, or have completed the world's most wonderful project, or taken a fabulous photo, well, I'd probably never come here again!

So instead - here's to slightly blurry photos, that don't look quite as good as they did in real life.

Here's to half finished projects, slightly sunken cakes, flowers that are past their best, and walls that aren't decorated.

Here's to gardens that are still full of rubble, blackbirds that eat your strawberries, and slugs that sneak into the living room at night and slither their way across the carpet (hmmm...).

And here's to chasing tonight's lunar eclipse across the hills, and not finding it, but instead finding a very pretty sunset that, guess what? Looked much better in real life than it does in the pictures.

I'm practicing folks!

not that I'm starting a series of cafe-related posts or anything...

2011-06-09T20:44:00.003+01:00

So, one day we were out in the street, admiring this gorgeous yellow scooter, when we got chatting to the bloke who owned it.

And he told us he was opening a new cafe on the other side of town.

And that it was going to be a great cafe, with a jukebox, and lots of other fabulous things, and we should go down to the opening celebrations, which we did - but we couldn't get through the door so had tea and cake elsewhere instead.

Last week Sunday morning was rather dreary and rainy, so we decided it was high time we headed back to the new cafe.

Oh!

The jukebox!

The music!

That combination of turquoise and red!

The most divine scrambled eggs!

I think you can probably imagine just how excited we were.

And just how many times we will be going back in the future.

I've also started a new campaign, having discovered that Peter *owns* a jukebox, which is currently languishing in a garage somewhere, because it won't fit in our kitchen.

Aarrgghh!

Can we get rid of the table?

The stove?

Build some kind of extension out into the garden??

You'll probably see me stalking about like a woman possessed with a tape measure in the weeks to come, figuring out just how we can get an enormous 1970s jukebox into our kitchen.

Because it's got to be possible, right?

Right??

writing letters

2011-06-04T08:52:00.002+01:00

Is there really anything more exciting than running to the door after the post has been delivered to find a letter, a real, handwritten letter, waiting for you?

A letter that's not inviting you for an eye test, or to the dentist, or offering you a credit card, or telling you how much electricity you've used, but a real letter from a friend, with news, just like a rambling chat over a cup of tea?

I'm hard pushed to think of anything more exciting than that.

Over the years, I've written a fair few letters, and received plenty, and they were all thrown haphazardly into a shoe box in a cupboard. This week I decided it was high time they got sorted out.

(this is part of a MUCH bigger sorting-out-of-the-house, which has FAR too much stuff in it, but that's not very interesting, so let's talk about letters instead).

It was interesting to look through all these and see who they were from.

I had a pen pal when I was young, a girl who lived near Newcastle, and was a year or so older than me. I found her through the pen pal section in a magazine when I was about twelve, and we wrote quite a lot (most of her letters, and I suspect mine too, begin with 'sorry I haven't written for so long...). That fizzled out when we were in our late teens I think.

A fair few letters are from friends at school - who I spent all my days with, and some of my evenings, and lived round the corner from - we used to write letters late at night and hand them to each other the next day. They're full of in jokes that I occasionally struggled to remember, Father Ted references (which have just got more funny over the years), and silly little drawings.

Some of the letters are from when I was at university. Friends I haven't thought about for years telling me things I'd forgotten about. Letters from family (including a memorable one from my sister saying something along the lines of 'ok, I admit, I was mean, but you shouldn't have been horrid first because you KNOW I have to do something back'). There's the odd newspaper cutting, bits of gossip about people we knew, and lots of idle chatter about what people were up to.

My grandma and her friend used to send me food parcels, tins of peaches, biscuits, a quarter of chocolate limes. SO exciting to get a parcel in the post, especially when it contains special treat food.

I found a card that came in between parcels from grandma's friend, a very well spoken lady who used to send boxes of Sainsbury's multi coloured pasta (I'd never heard of such extravagance before!) - it used both of my first names (I knew I was in trouble) and said 'a little bird tells me you a yearning for a letter from home. Get a grip! You are at university, not in the trenches!'

That's me told then!

Anyway, they're all nicely bundled up now according to who sent them, and I'm thinking that I need to get on the case with another letter writing campaign. It's so easy to send emails these days, or a quick phone call, and while they're marvellous things, they don't quite beat a letter...

In the meatime, more tea, and a nice home made jam tart by the river in the sunshine.

toddling off (and then back again)

2011-05-29T18:39:00.003+01:00

I'd love to tell you this is where I've been all week, lounging in a field in the sunshine, drinking tea and taking photos of my own reflection in the camping kettle.

Sadly not, although I was there for a short while yesterday evening, and it was ever so good. Lots more of it required I say.

Not this weekend, however. The rest of our 'weekend' away mostly looked like this:

... which kind of explains why we're home less than 36 hours after we set off.

We're also warm and dry, and not stuck on a bank holiday camping site with (what feels like) 500 raucous children and drunk people.

Still, a cheery time was had while it lasted, boiling up the tea on the picnic stove, and eating breakfast from a mug having forgotten to take the bowls.

We did try a little cycle ride, but, er, well, it was a tad windy (that's my stop-taking-photos-of-me-now-please face - I don't always look like that).

It was a very pretty reservoir we were meant to be cycling round, but since it's not that far from home, I reckon we can save it for another day.

Unsurprisingly, the sun came out on the way home, so we stopped for a picnic in Matlock Bath, which, despite being right in the middle of the country, and nowhere near the seaside, has a proper seasidey feel to it, with amusement arcades, chip shops, and 24 (yes, we did count) large plastic ice cream cones.

It's a haven for motorcyclists, and we escaped to the other side of the river to have lunch.

Now we're home, I'm feeling a little bit daft for having abandoned a weekend away half way through - that's really not the kind of behaviour I expect from myself! But I'm warm, dry, about to get in a nice hot bath and eat a tasty risotto, and nobody is going to be throwing footballs at us, or playing bad pop music late into the night, so I'm really feeling rather justified. Ah, bank holiday camping, I'd forgotten all about it....

Might even get out in the garden with the spare day I've acquired tomorrow!

a nice cup of tea

2011-05-20T19:50:00.000+01:00

Come with me to the other side of town, we're off to have a nice cup of tea in a fabulous little cafe.

Perhaps you'd like to sit outside in a stripy deckchair and watch the world go by?

Or snuggle up on the rocking chair inside with a book, and have a bit of lemon and rosemary cake?

Which is exactly what I did, in fact. Although it was a close run thing between that and the Guinness cake, I can tell you.

Anyway, there we sat, drawing hedgehogs, and watching people popping in and out. Lovely Sunday morning fun.

(I don't think they recognised me as the same person who, when in the upstairs room at a little tiny gig once, put the heel of their stiletto through the floorboards, and made a BIG LOUD NOISE in the middle of the beautifully quiet music. At least, I hope they didn't, and they were awfully nice to me anyway if they did. Just goes to show why I don't wear stilettos very often.)

It's a good job this cafe's not any closer to my house because I'd be in there all the time, and would be both extremely poor, and extremely full of cake.

what I don't do

2011-05-15T18:25:00.003+01:00

Ooh, just look at those scrummy redcurrants, all waiting to ripen!

My mum's been visiting this weekend, and we've spent almost all of the weekend in the garden. It was starting to feel a little overwhelming, but a weekend's work has sorted that out, and it feels half manageable again now, although there's still plenty to do.

Stupidly, I didn't take many 'before' photos, and now it's gone all gloomy so my 'after' photos all look like 'before' photos anyway...

In fact, I debated whether to share these at all, they're so uninspiring! And I do like to be inspired when I look back over my little blog.

But then I got to thinking that the reason I started blogging in the first place was to share photos of my garden as it changed over the seasons, and if I was only going to share pretty photos, then I wasn't going to share many photos at all, because my garden mostly *isn't* pretty...

And then I got to thinking about something I've been thinking about a lot lately, about how I witter on here and elsewhere about what I've been up to, and post photos of cakes I've made, and things I've knitted, and that, along with how I'm pretty good at spouting off with life changing advice for other people, sometimes gives people the impression that I'm up to something exciting all the time.

It all came to a head when I read this the other day - goodness knows how I ended up over there, but I did, and I read lots of people's lists about things they *don't* do.

So, for the record, here's some of the things that I *don't* do (and this is by no means an exhaustive list):

* I don't iron.

* I don't change the bed every day. Or even every week.

* I don't have a very clean and tidy house. There's one room I can barely get through the door of.

* I don't always remember people's birthdays

* Sometimes, even when I do remember, I don't get round to doing anything about it for ages (oh dear, this is the worst one!)

* I don't watch much tv

* I don't clean the car, ever

* I don't replace things when they break

* I don't go abroad for holidays. Not a big decision, I just generally don't

* I don't keep on top of the garden as much as I should

I'd best stop there before I start making myself feel bad!

I'm writing this list, not to beat myself with, and not because I think I give the impression that I have such a fabulous life, but as a reminder that sometimes we have more choice about how we spend our time than we might think we do.

Looking at my list gives myself permission to remember that I have choices about how I spend some of my time. If I'm tempted to feel bad because my house isn't as tidy as someone else's, or my vegetables are still all crowded in little tiny pots on the windowsill when they should be in the garden, I can remember that I threw the duster to the wind, left the seedlings to fend for themselves, and went for a bike ride instead.

So, if someone brings up even the (completely laughable) possibility of me washing the car, I will always think 'what else could I do with this time?'

Invariably, I think of something else I'd rather be doing.

Which is why my car is rather grubby, and I bake quite a lot of cakes.

Hmm.

Anyway, as if you needed yet more evidence of how I'm not the perfect gardner, take a look (peeking through hands over your eyes if you like, which is what I'm doing) at this...

Bleurgh! Concrete and rubble, and a whole load more work left to do! Pah!

Still, one day soon I'll be sitting on top of all that, drinking tea and eating more of those cakes, and all this will be a distant memory.

Let's hope it's *very* soon...

has it really been that long??

2011-05-09T19:34:00.002+01:00

Has it really been that long since I was last here?

I blame the weather.

Or work.

Or perhaps just idleness. (Yep, that'll be it).

Anyway, I'm back now, and there I am grinning stupidly at my PhD certificate which arrived in the post (appropriately dated April Fool's Day...), which is now hanging proudly in the kitchen.

So, in amongst lots of other slightly-less-interesting things, I've been off having an adventure this weekend. I've been up in North Yorkshire, hanging around with a lovely bunch of people, and learning a few traditional Scandinavian tunes for no useful reason at all.

That poor old flute of mine has hardly been used for 15 years, and then had 8 hours of heavy usage in 2 days! I think it might need another 15 years resting now.

As well as being my first foray into Scandinavian music, it was also my first time sleeping in our new van, which is technically a car, and which is far smaller than our old cheery van.

As you can see, I wasn't altogether without comforts, and I was so cosy I very nearly missed breakfast.

More Adventures Coming Up...

Ooh, and speaking of adventures, we spent a happy morning on the other side of town noseying at a lovely little cafe our neighbours have opened up. How very lovely of them!

Somehow I seem to have failed to get a picture of the cafe itself (oops!) as I spent rather too much time outside ogling the old scooters that had turned up in style to celebrate the opening of the cafe.

What fun!
How many times now have we considered acquiring a terribly impractical, noisy and expensive scooter to toddle off on picnics with?

Oh, so many...

on a sunny saturday

2011-04-30T20:23:00.002+01:00

Look at that summery bag I made, lying in the sunshine on the living room floor.

And just look at that fabulous huge flower perched on the side of it!

A birthday present, and a Most Excellent one at that, from my fabulously talented auntie (who also made my patchwork quilt). What fun!

I've got one on my cardigan, and one on my coat too. A veritable bouquet!

And so, festooned with fabric flowers, we made pancakes this morning.

Some more round and pancake-shaped than others.

And then I spent the afternoon with a friend, ambling along the river, through the woods
and underneath the pylons.

Gosh those things are enormous.

And then things turned a little silly, and I took some photographs of the shower.

Because it's got a hula hoop in it.

Just in case...

birthday fun

2011-04-29T11:07:00.003+01:00

Look at those little furry chicks on those tasty cornflake nests!

I just adore their little expressions, the way they all look different, and the way they won't stay put anywhere, but sneak off for little adventures all the time, hurtling themselves with gay abandon from great heights.

Unlike the chicks, which are wheeled out at every opportunity, those cakes didn't last long, and swiftly following on the heels of easter came my birthday.

Hooray!

I love birthdays.

Off we toddled, out in the sunshine, to take in the view.

And a mighty fine one it was too.

I've never travelled up this road before, and on the way down I was mightily wishing I was on a bike not in a car.

Not quite wishing it enough to cycle *up* it, mind you.

Still, I could happily have joined the paragliders soaring about in the sky.

So, here we are, landed squarely at the start of my 32nd year, and wondering what adventures this one will hold. At least I know there's no PhD-related ones - for the first time in 7 years!

We've just started a four day weekend, thanks to the royal wedding, and the spring bank holiday, and there's plenty of plotting and scheming going on about what to do. Bit overcast today, and not much good for photos, but evidence will be produced one way or another...

hailstones the size of mice

2011-04-23T21:09:00.003+01:00

This is the rather tragic, if colourful, aftermath of a bizarre sudden hailstorm that hit us this afternoon, completely out of the blue.

I've never seen anything like it! It was incredible, standing at the window, watching it bouncing off the rooftops.

It was so loud, we could barely talk inside the house, and had to watch, marvelling, as the hailstones battered the strawberry plants, punctured holes in the rhubarb leaves, and ripped the lilac blossoms from the tree.

And then, just as suddenly, it stopped, and the sun came back out, and it seemed as good an excuse as any to don my wellies and get outside to see the damage.

I wasn't the only one taking photos (although I was the only one dressed in bright yellow wellies, bright green skirt, sparkly blue cardi, and a red polka dot scarf - a ludicrous combination that was commented on by a fellow photographer, and I'm convinced he got a sneaky picture of me as I was walking along...)

Strangely enough, I feel a lot more lively after the storm. I think thunder and lightning does that to you sometimes (when it's not scaring you so much that you have to hide under a blanket, that is). I spent much of the day before that lying in the sunshine on the living room floor, and eating cakes at the Women's Institute, so a little bit of energy was welcomed.

I used it wisely - to make chocolate cornflake nests, with chocolate eggs, and little furry chicks perched on the top, of course.

But then it went dark before I could take pictures, so you'll have to wait til tomorrow for that delightful treat (if any of them last that long, that is...)

the art (or not) of self portrait

2011-04-22T20:41:00.004+01:00

Hello!

Can you see me down there (or up there), reflected in the lake? What fun!

It's been ever such a sunny day here, and we've been ambling for several hours down a dapped wooded valley.

Absolutely ideal for experimenting with a spot of self-portrait-ing, which is this week's art of living cheerfully task.

As it turns out, it's more difficult than you'd think to take photos of yourself.

I've finally discovered the timer function on my camera, and now have 10 seconds to position myself in an elegant and artful pose before the lights flash.

Haven't quite mastered it yet though, and plenty of them end up like this...

... or, even better, like this...

(nice socks though)

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that it's best to interpret 'self portrait' to include pictures of *part* of yourself.

And that it's a whole lot easier to take photos of your shadow.

What's even easier than that, of course, is to get someone else to take photos of you.

I know, I know, that doesn't count as 'self portrait', but really, after seeing just how cheerful these pictures were, with my pretending-to-be-a-relaxed-otter pose, I think I might just leave it to the professionals (or at least people other than myself).

I'm absolutely tickled pink with these pictures of me floating in a lake.

(I wasn't actually floating, of course, but standing on the edge being reflected in the water, before you start worrying about my sanity)

I'm exhausted after all that posing!

Good job there's another three days off work really...

2011-04-22T09:12:00.002+01:00

we had somewhere else to be

but right at that moment, it seemed more important

to stop at the side of the road and take photographs of dandelion clocks

big folk, little trains

2011-04-20T21:07:00.002+01:00

Really, is there anything more jolly on a spring afternoon than taking yourself off to an industrial museum and having a ride on a little tiny steam train??

Really??

Well, I tell you there is not, particularly when it is coupled with lots of friends, a picnic, face painting, a spot of singing, and plenty of sunshine.

Would you just look at that!

Anyway, a very merry time was had by all (even if it was followed by a cinder-in-the-eye trip to the minor injuries unit).

I'm sure there was something more significant I was going to say today, but I've entirely forgotten it in the excitement of re-living the memories of the weekend.

Long live industrial heritage museums, I say, especially those hidden in tiny little valleys, that sell shortbread in the shape of steam trains, and invite you to sing in their forge.

digging holes

2011-04-16T23:47:00.002+01:00

My lovely friend took this (not very elegant!) picture this afternoon, after a good few hours digging those holes you can see by my feet.

Don't look very big, do they??

Well, they're not. But that's not exactly sand we're digging through there!

And the point of it all? Well, to rescue those most gorgeous, and enormous, ancient paving slabs that you can see lining the path.

Of course, having freed a couple of them after several days hard graft, I've realised that I can't actually lift the things, and have had to draft in a friend with a sling and a winch.

I thought gardening was meant to be all pottering-about-with-a-basket-collecting-flowers? (I did manage some of that too, as you can see).

So what with all that digging, and a late night party in another city, and only 5 hours sleep, I'm exhausted now! But instead of sensibly going to bed early, I've spent the evening dancing round the kitchen in amongst cutting and sticking for the latest daft project, the photo rainbow. This version's heading for the office, so photos when it's there!

Fingers crossed for sunshine tomorrow, I'm digging again...

making things

2011-04-10T19:02:00.002+01:00

What gorgeous weather we've had this weekend!

I've spent a fair old bit of in my wellies in the garden (not that I need wellies in this sunshine, of course, but they make me feel like I'm *working*). I'm still trying to dig up the path to make my beautiful seating area - it's going to be a while before I'm sitting on anything other than an upturned bucket, and I'm having to rope in some help this week, but it's getting there!

Anyway, I took a brief break from all that back breaking work to make myself a cheery little new spring-like bag. The pink and white stripes is an old cotton duvet cover I found in a charity shop. The pink and black material is from a dress I bought second hand ages and ages ago, intending to make into a bag, but then I the bizarre idea that one day I might actually fit into it, so I've kept it.

This weekend I've finally accepted the reality that I'm never going to fit into it, and turned it into a bag.

And I'm rather pleased with it!

This week I've also been making soap again, using Rhonda's soap making tutorial. Sadly, I've broken my sugar thermometer, so had to guess with the temperatures, but as with cooking, I'm learning that stuff generally turns out alright in the end (even if I did have to remelt it and set it again). It's looking good so far.

(those brown bits are lavender flowers, in case you're wondering!). It's the first time I've used silicone moulds, given to me by a friend, and I'm really pleased with the way they worked out, so much easier to get the soap out than the glass dish I generally use!

Lots of thinking and plotting going on here this week, the weeks of learning the art of living cheerfully are rolling by at a rolicking pace, and I don't want to lose any of the opportunity to think about things, so I'm going to make sure I spend time with a notebook this week, planning and scheming.

First up on the plotting list is a weekend away by myself. Possibly at the seaside. What fun!

how can you not love a bookshop with a harpsichord in?

2011-04-08T18:36:00.002+01:00

I snuck off for an hour this morning and went to Scrivener's bookshop in Buxton. I've been before, of course, but never fail to be overawed by this place.

When I arrived, a white-haired man in overalls was outside sawing wood. He said hello, asked if I'd been before, and told me he'd pop and switch the lights on in the cellar in case I wanted to head down there to see the Victorian museum. Obviously I did, and meandered through the other four floors as well.

I could have happily moved in.

In fact, the place is so big and rambling that I'm not sure anyone would have noticed if I did.

Missed an opportunity there!

But, oh, how much would I love that to be my living room! (Not that my own living room isn't pretty cheery, but still). I could have spent hours in there, curled up on the sofa in the sunshine, reading and reading, occasionally making myself a cuppa (yes, really), and watching the world go by out of the window.

And up in the music section there's a harpsichord! And a rocking chair.

I'm not entirely sure how they make any money. I tried to buy an old ordnance survey map for £1, and when I told the bloke I wanted it because it 'looked pretty', he raised his eyebrows and gave it to me for free.

So there we are, my new favourite place, and one I'll be heading back to whenever I can.

And really, how could you not love a bookshop with a snogging corner?

pondering photographs

2011-04-03T16:44:00.002+01:00

So. I had a little idea. Partly prompted by being pointed towards this beautiful photograph (which I've happened upon before in my forays around the internet), and partly by being invited to think about inspiration walls as part of the ever-gorgeous art of living cheerfully course.

The thing is, I take a lot of photographs.

Some of them even turn out quite nicely.

In the past year I've been leaning towards photos of colours, quite close up pictures of every day things, fruit, flowers, cakes (of course), tea pots...

and I've been wondering what to do with all these photographs.

And then yesterday I found some photograph paper in a charity shop, and a weekend project was born.

This is where you come in...

Now, you'll have to excuse the quality of these next three photographs. Much as I like clicking away with my camera, I'm no expert, and standing towering over my creations while trying to get enough light on this dingy day but not cast a shadow - well, it doesn't make for a very interesting picture I'm afraid.

So. I printed off my 36 photos, 3x2 inches, and what an absolutely delightful little pile of cheerfulness they made! Gosh, I was skipping with happiness when I'd cut them all out.

In fact, I was tempted just to keep them as a little pile of photos, because they were so charming.

I'm not going to (not this time anyway) - but the question is, what to do with them instead??

First of all I put them all in pairs, moving through the rainbow of colours. I'm thinking this is my favourite actually.

Then I tried them in threes, all squashed together.

I quite like the colourfulness of this one, but don't know whether the individual pictures all get a bit lost...

So I spaced them out a bit, but kept them in threes, which is cool, but I think I kind of prefer the pairs...

Hmm.

Then I got to thinking, maybe I should just have little individual colour cards.

I'm quite taken with that idea too.

And then I started thinking about what on earth I was going to *do* with whatever-I-ended-up-with...

... until Peter pointed out that creativity comes first, and you deal with the practicalities later.

Right ho.

So. What I've got now is a pile of delightful mini photographs in the middle of the kitchen floor, ready and waiting to be turned into something fabulous, just as soon as I figure out what that fabulous something is.

And would you look at that? The sun's come out, so I think shoes on and out for a walk first.

I love sundays.

chickens and photographs

2011-04-01T21:51:00.003+01:00

It's been a strange old week, weather and mood both dull and grey, and not much to take pictures of really.

But all that's about to change - I am meant to be learning the art of living cheerfully after all!

So, an evening walk today, and we spied this cheery chicken just up the road, handy for popping in to see every now and again. I do like chickens, and feel a special affinity with them since we looked after a few for a friend over Christmas. This one, with its beady eye, and cheerful curiosity, cheered me right up.

This evening I've mostly spent going through my old photographs (over 17,000 of them would you believe - goodness!) I'm feeling in need of some crafty achievement, and since one of this week's cheerful suggestions was to think about inspiration boards, that's exactly what I've been doing.

In fact, I've been hatching a bit of a plan for a weekend project.

Not going to tell you what it is just yet though... But hopefully it'll be done by the end of the weekend!

Lastly, and because I'd very much like to end on a cheerful note this evening, I spied this gorgeous lemony scooter on our street this afternoon.

How much would I love to have one of these?? Oh, very much indeed. One day, we'll see... Lemon yellow, two seats, whizzing off for a picnic, I can just imagine...

So, I shan't be abandoning this poor little blog for an entire week this time! I'm planning lots of crafty goodness over the weekend, with plenty of photos, so do pop back and see what I've been up to!

taking advice from a tea bag

2011-03-27T20:17:00.003+01:00

I love these teabags. So full of flavour, smell absolutely divine, and there's a little bit of advice on every label. Walk tall.

Ok, if you say so.

I've been not so much walking tall as dancing this weekend. My eldest nephew has just turned five (five!) and so, in the spirit of cheerful living, we danced, and ate Star Wars cake, and got prodded repeatedly by a "light saver".

And so it's probably time to share number 12 from my 100 gratitudes list:

12. small nephews, for having birthday parties and inviting aunties, who don't mind *too* much when they're jumped on

(but who might ache a tiny bit the next day).

An entire week of work beckons this week, punctuated by a little music, a little dancing, a little digging, and a whole load of looking forward to the next course installment.

communing with a pickaxe

2011-03-24T17:55:00.003Z

One of our living cheerfully assignments this week is to think about what makes us beautiful, inside and out, and to write about it and take a picture of ourselves.

I'm not entirely sure what I was thinking about when I took this picture! My wellies, mostly, which have somehow hardly made it into the picture at all. Mind you, this was the 71st picture, I believe, and by that point I was so carried away with the excitement of taking a picture of myself in the giant mirror and was concentrating so hard on not having a stupid expression (oops, didn't manage that one) that I'd forgotten that the whole point was my wellies in the first place.

Still, you get the impression. Today I'm beautiful because I'm strong enough to pull on my steel toe capped wellies and get out in the garden and wield a pickaxe.

I've spent the whole day communing with this pickaxe, which belongs to a friend, and this rather fabulous green enamel bucket, which belongs to ME, after Peter rescued it from a skip.

I took plenty of photos of piles of rubble and soil and stones that are now covering most of the garden path (the bits of path that I didn't attack with the pickaxe, that is). But they mostly just look like any old building site you'd care to imagine.

So instead, here's a couple of photos of the old stones that are lining the path I've just demolished. The idea was to free them up and use them to pave my new sitting-out-for-breakfast-area.

Rather beautiful, don't you think?

I've dug down 18 inches, and still haven't reached the bottom. This is going to be a longer job than I imagined...

Still, I'm hot and sticky, I've spent the day in the sunshine listening to the birds, feeling first strong, and then tired, and now achey. I've worked to change my world today (the garden part of it at least), and it feels good.

Cheerful living indeed.

scones in the sunshine

2011-03-24T10:56:00.003Z

I'm having a lovely few days off, I tell you, and trying to full embrace the idea of living cheerfully. The sun's shining, and there's been scones and hot chocolate and tea, a ducks and trees and water. What more could you ask for?

And, while I'm at it, can I say how much I appreciate all your lovely comments that you leave here? It really is so heartwarmingly gorgeous when people say cheery things! I have no idea how to contact people who leave comments directly, so will often reply in the comments themselves - if anyone could enlighten me that would be great! (I'm sure it's really easy...)

Today's excitement involves a pickaxe, a pneumatic drill, my fabulous steel toe capped wellies (see, I KNEW I'd need them one day!), and a concrete path.

Also tea, coconut cake, and sewing.

I fully intend to eat my breakfast in the garden, in the sunshine, for the whole of the summer, and that involves work, now, and plenty of it. Photos to follow, although I can assure you they won't be beautiful ones just yet!

the art of living cheerfully

2011-03-20T15:27:00.003Z

Today is the start of me learning the art of living cheerfully, and I'm jumping up and down with cheeriness already!

I dressed in a ludicrously colourful outfit in honour of the occasion - red and black stripey tights, green skirt, blue velvet jacket, polka dot scarf...

... and then Peter found this silver lightbulb, and I caught sight of myself in my daft outfit in the lightbulb, and we laughed and took far too many photographs...

So... here's to living cheerfully, to multicoloured clothes, and silly photographs, and fine tea, and plum pancakes, and breakfast in bed, and reading in the sunshine...

where did the time go?

2011-03-17T18:27:00.002Z

Anyone care to enlighten me where the last week and a half went?? Goodness, the time really is just flying by at the minute!

Time for a sneaky little update on what I've been up to I think. This time last week you could have found me and my mother up here in the sky...

... looking out at the sun setting over the city on the London Eye. Then there was dinosaur-watching to be done, parakeet-spotting, eating and ambling around, and generally exhausting ourselves walking miles and miles in the sunshine.

Work has been rather pesky this week, taking up far too much space in my head, and causing me to not be my usual efficient self in the rest of my life.

Like the day I took the car to the garage, and got home to find I'd left the house key attached to the car keys - which were in the garage.

Nice excuse to spend the morning in my favourite little local cafe I say.

There's been lots of building and sawing and hoovering and moving things going on in the house too, and I came home the other day to find I had a new desk! It's still waiting to be filled with lovely things (as is that new cheery little shelf above it), but my little attic is shaping up nicely I'd say.

I've been doing a spot of palace creation myself this week too (a very little spot mind you!). This bookshelf is one Peter built to fit in a specific place in my old house, and it's been kind of hanging around a bit here. It didn't have a back, as it didn't need one in the other place, but the floors here are all wonky, and the walls aren't straight, and, well, I wanted a back on it.

What better than a 30p fabric remnant and a staple gun?

And just how good are staple guns for quick cheery projects?! Oh, ever so good!

Oh! And would you just look what's peeping its little head up on the living room windowsill! Beetroot! That means I'm going to have to get out and do something in the garden soon...

So, there you have it, a whistlestop tour of my week. The next few weeks are going to be fun, I'm signed up to a cheery little online course, the art of living cheerfully, which starts on Sunday. I'm so excited!

sunday afternoon

2011-03-06T19:59:00.002Z

I feel all rosy cheeked and worn out this afternoon, after a good long walk through the woods in the sunshine. It does do the spirit good to walk in the woods.

We also managed to squeeze in a quick tea-and-a-teacake picnic in the car on the way back. Not entirely sure how, as the woods aren't actually that far away, but there we are.

Just the right balance of cheery activity, sociableness and relaxation this weekend, I think. I'm nicely ready to face the week (and gosh, it's going to be a busy one!)

sunday morning

2011-03-06T11:23:00.003Z

Ah, Sunday morning...

thinking I really need to sleep in the guest bed sometimes...

eating teacakes, pancakes, leftover crumble for breakfast...

reading Trubloff, the mouse who wanted to play the balalaika...

plotting a rescue of the reduced supermarket basil...

listening to this

What delights is your Sunday morning holding?

a jolly (exhausting) weekend

2011-02-27T18:56:00.003Z

Oh what a jolly weekend it's been! Today I've been out for the first bike ride of the year with some lovely women, round town and through the woods, and plenty of cafe stops. I got thoroughly wet and very muddy, and had an excellent fun! It felt so good to be out, even in the rain.

And even after only 4 hours sleep. Ahem.

My mum, auntie and cousin visited yesterday, as my auntie wanted to buy a pair of shoes from this fabulous shop, which is not far from here. I've walked past plenty of times, but never been in, so it was a little adventure in itself.

Look at those sewing machines! And really, is there anything more fabulous than purple shoes?

There's been quite a bit of baking this weekend too, although goodness knows where I found the time. Fairy cakes, a lemon drizzle cake, and my second attempt at bagels, which I'm sure would have been as lovely as the first attempt if I hadn't forgotten they were in the oven...

They were rather crisp when they came out...

So all that, plus a post-phd fancy dress party, and an afternoon of tea and toast with a friend, has meant I'm rather worn out. Do you think they'll notice at work if I take tomorrow off to sleep?

working at home

2011-02-24T13:50:00.001Z

It's not so bad, this working at home malarkey...

photobooth silliness

2011-02-22T18:15:00.003Z

I'm feeling quite giddy and silly today - no particular reason, other than having got lots of work done, having a lovely new place to store my wellies, and having picked up my cowboy boots from the menders with lovely new heels on.

So in honour of that, and the fact that it's Tuesday, and because, well, why not? I'm sharing a little photobooth silliness with you.

I've only recently discovered photobooth - if you don't know it, the laptop takes photos of you!

So here's me, with a cup of tea (naturally) - four times, because I didn't realise I'd pressed the button that takes four photos. I can see a lot more of this daftness coming in the future!

printing

2011-02-20T15:02:00.002Z

Look what Peter pulled out of an old hessian sack this week! Leaving aside the fact that hessian sacks in themselves are Very Exciting, never mind what's inside them, this one really did bring about a fair bit of happy-skippy excitement.

Can you tell what they are? Old wooden printing blocks, literally hundreds of them, all different sizes and shapes and letters, all with decades-old ink still on them.

Peter's dad has been a printer all his life, and Peter worked with him for a while, and at some point rescued these blocks from being thrown away. His dad, so I'm told (and I can believe it), said "what do you want those for?? They're rubbish, we used to burn those in the stove to keep warm when we were apprentices!"

But Peter, with an eye for things-that-future-girlfriends-will-find-interesting-in-twenty-years, rescued them anyway, intending to cover an entire wall with them, but never quite getting round to it because our house is 110 years old and there isn't a straight wall in the place.

So. Here we are with an entire sack of the things, and now I have no idea what to do with them either. Apparently they're too worn out for printing professionally, but that wouldn't stop me printing on card with ink I wouldn't have thought. But I'd only want one of each, so there's still plenty left for a Project.

Did I tell you we're busy turning our house into a Palace?? Well, we are. Which mostly seems to involve Taking Things Apart, building shelves, and sawing things in the middle of the kitchen, but which is also unearthing some lovely forgotten treasures, and setting us off on all kinds of bizarre decorative adventures.

So, any suggestions for what we can do with all these?

sunshine and spring

2011-02-17T19:37:00.002Z

Well, I'm not entirely convinced we can say it's spring yet, but there's been some gorgeous sunshine around the place this week. I just couldn't resist taking this picture in the corner of the kitchen the other day, with the light streaming in through the living room window. Our kitchen is usually quite dark, and it just felt all lit up and colourful and spring-like.

I've also been hanging out of the attic window taking photos of the sky...

Hmm, a bit of a grey cloud sneaked in to that last one, see, we're not quite as far as spring yet!

(I'm still rather giddy at being PhD-free, so I'm sure there'll be a few more 'isn't everything great?!' posts to come in the next few days...)

it's a beautiful day

2011-02-13T21:31:00.002Z

It has indeed been a beautiful day today. I've run in the rain, danced rock n roll around the kitchen, baked bread, made a roast dinner, read, pottered, listened to Radio 4, and created a notice board.

Although now I've done it, I'm not entirely convinced I can put anything on it, because I'm too busy enjoying the background fabric...

would you just look at that

2011-02-11T17:43:00.002Z

I've had rather a sense of deja vu today.

This afternoon I picked up my thesis and handed it in for the final time. It felt rather different to when I handed it in the first time. I didn't have the same sense of 'good riddance!', more a sense of tying up loose ends, which is much more satisfying.

Of course, I was met with rather a lot of bureaucratic nonsense and form-filling that left me so frustrated and feeling so flat that I just *had* to go to the museum cafe, and then couldn't help but burst into tears when they told us they were closing... But, you know, it's been an emotional day!

Still, I'm smiling again now, and as I went looking for that blog post about handing the thesis in the first time round, I ended up ambling through a whole load of other posts about the PhD too. It's actually quite interesting to have your life compartmentalised according to little blog post tags, and I rather laughed at some of the stuff I came across.

For a start, I sounded every so sensible after I was told I'd need to spend another year writing. I'm sure I've done a whole load more childish tantrum throwing in the months since then! And I found this cheery post, about what I was going to do after the PhD, which set me all to thinking about what I *was* doing after the PhD, and how I really want to sit down and think about some nice shiney new goals for the coming months.

Out of those goals I wrote back in August 2009, it's nice to see I've actually achieved a few. I've got a lovely new job, which uses the PhD, and is fabulous and interesting and worthwhile. I was 2 days a week for a while, and now it's full time, which I said back then I didn't want, but which has its advantages, especially since it's only temporary. I've written on this blog a little more, although I'm not sure I can say it's been consistent or regular just yet.

Oh, and there's a mention of those trapeze lessons again...

One thing I've been planning to do for a while, but don't think I've mentioned yet, is this course. Entirely frivolous and unnecessary, but what fun! And really, after the last 7 years, I'm very much feeling in need of a few weeks of 'living 'meditation' of presence, aliveness and cheery connection'.

a phd-free week!

2011-02-10T23:00:00.002Z

Ooh, I'm enjoying life without the PhD! This week has been ever such fun so far. Nice, cheery, gentle fun, starting with fairy cakes at the Women's Institute on Saturday, of course.

And I've been working at home for the last couple of days, up in the attic, which has got a very different feel to it now it's not full of PhD-related paperwork. I can't quite believe I've never had hyacinths in the house before! I'm very much enjoying their bright pink stripiness, and the smell!

Ooh, and can you see what's in the background there? That quilt, on the bed? My lovely auntie made that for me for Christmas, and I'm very much enjoying seeing it laid out on the spare bed in the attic while I'm working away at the desk. Not a fabulous photo, it's been rather grey and dreary round here of late. I'm sure it'll crop up in the background of plenty of photos this year.

I've also had fun playing with my spirograph this week. It's surprisingly satisfying - as is colouring in the little swirls and squiggles.

Tonight, however, I'm working to a tight deadline. I somehow appear to have replaced the PhD with an Urgent Knitting Project - arm warmers for a friend who's heading to the arctic circle tomorrow morning.

I'm thinking she's going to need more than arm warmers.

Best get back to it though, I'm only half way down the second arm, and it's not going to knit itself...

bravo!

2011-02-04T22:21:00.002Z

Look at that blue sky! Those tulips! That newly painted bright yellow kitchen wall! I always wanted a yellow kitchen, and now I've got one, hooray!

I've been full of the joys of spring today, and thoroughly ignoring the howling wind and rain (or rather, using it as an excuse to wear my wellies...). And what's the source of all this jollity and cheeriness??

Why, the end of the PhD, that's what.

Yep, that's right, after 7 years and 4 months, I've finally finished.

And my goodness, it feels great. I'm quite giddy with it all. It's been rather difficult to concentrate today.

Tonight we will mostly be drinking champagne, planning a party, and looking forward to the first weekend for 7.5 years when I will be able to do whatever I want, without the underlying feeling that I should be doing something else.

As I said, it's jolly exciting!

I'm looking forward to so many things. Gardening, for one. Baking. Drinking tea with people I haven't seen in a while. Drinking tea with people I see all the time. Sewing. Lying around and doing absolutely nothing. Reading. Running. Lazing around in the bath until I go wrinkly.

Oh, and I seem to remember that A Long Time Ago I promised myself trapeze lessons when I finally got to the end of all this...

Hmm.

Let's just concentrate on the Women's Institute in the morning, shall we??

wellies

2011-01-18T23:02:00.002Z

I just can't think how I've managed to not show you this picture until now. I was just so excited last weekend, and now it's all got lost in the rough and tumble of life-near-the-end-of-phd.

Anyway, these are my new wellies. Technically, I suppose, they're just my wellies, as I didn't have any old ones. I didn't really think I needed them, what with living in a city, and not having much of a garden to speak of. But then my feet did a lot of getting rather cold and wet in all that snow, and walking boots, while very useful, just weren't doing it in the style stakes.

Then we went on holiday, and our lovely friend left us some wellies to wear while we were there, for feeding chickens, going to the beach, and generally stomping about in the mud and several inches of snow. And, oh my, they were just marvellous. Bright yellow, Proper Wellies, with steel toe caps, and moulded soles, I walked for miles in them. My feet just slipped in so easily to feed the chickens, and it was almost a shame to take them off again when I got back in the house. I enjoyed those wellies Very Much Indeed.

Of course, I left them behind, and thought of them fondly on the way home. And I didn't think of them at all the night we got home, I was just busy enjoying being back. But in the morning, it was snowing again, and I went to slip my feet into my wellies, and realised I didn't have any!

A small Wellie Hunt ensued, and we found the exact wellies I'd been wearing all holiday. And which cost £52. Hmm. Another small wellie hunt ensued, and we found these ones - which look very similar, are also very structured and supportive, and have steel toe caps (not that I need steel toe caps, mind you, but it does help with the overall shape of the welly, and it means if I ever *was* to drop anything on my feet, it wouldn't matter). They're also resistant to blood, and acid (again, I'm hoping this won't ever have to come in handy...). And they cost £16, which feels like a lot of money for an entirely unnecessary pair of shoes, but I have worn them A LOT in the last two weeks.

Far more than was strictly reasonable.

But, really, have you ever seen anything so fabulous??

Christmas 2010

2011-01-06T20:07:00.007Z

Phew! Made it home in one piece, after a most excellent holiday that felt like some kind of spiritual retreat in the far north. There's so much to say about it, and I know I'd be waffling on all day, so instead I thought you might quite like to see some photos... A varied assortment, but they pretty much sum up the holiday - sunsets, sea, and chickens. Enjoy!

chicken sitting by the sea

2010-12-27T20:18:00.003Z

Would you just look at that view!

I'd say that's worth the two and a half days we spent travelling, wouldn't you?

(yep, it really did take us two and a half days to get here. Enough time to get to the other side of the world and back!)

Well, we're not on the other side of the world, although it feels so far away from normal life here that we might as well be. We're actually in Orkney, just off the north coast of Scotland, 600 miles away from home, and house sitting for a friend. I'm seriously considering refusing to leave when she gets back.

We're also chicken sitting - a heavy responsibility for folk like us not used to looking after animals, and one we were a bit worried about.

But, it turns out, they mostly look after themselves, and don't need entertaining at all (did I really think they'd get bored??).

In fact, they're providing us with rather a lot of entertainment, with one escapee hen determined to hide in the most unlikely places, and a cockerel leading a breakaway faction of hens on little mini adventures to the furthest reaches of the garden. There he goes, with the hills of Hoy (the next island) in the background, and the sun lighting up his feathers.

I must say I'm enjoying the whole-lot-of-not-very-much that's going on here right now...

disappearing act

2010-12-24T19:15:00.002Z

Oops, sorry about that, I didn't mean to disappear so unceremoniously without saying goodbye, but you know how things are at this time of year, events sometimes take over a little.

I'll be back in a couple of weeks with many festive photographs, plans for the new year, fingers crossed for a nearly-finished-phd, and no doubt a fair bit of wibbling over starting full time work (gosh, did I really agree to that??).

In the meantime, enjoy the snow if you have it, and I wish you all plenty of fun-filled festive frolics!

breathing deep

2010-12-14T17:46:00.002Z

Oooh, look at the sun on the snow. How sparkly and lovely. And a nice reminder of cheery things on a gloomy day.

I took this a couple of weeks ago, everything's rather muddy and wet round here now, not half as picturesque.

And it's not just the weather that's gloomy! I was pulled up short in the middle of the last of the Christmas shopping to be told the garage can't fix our car. Yep, that's right, we're driving 600 miles away in less than a week, and we have a car that won't go faster than 15 miles an hour. By my calculations, that means it's going to take us 40 hours to get there, which is quite a long time.

Might be quicker to dust off the bicycles!

Anyway, all is not quite lost, because the nice men at the garage sent me to a nice man at another garage, who said he would fix it before Monday. I dread to think how much it'll cost - especially since he now knows I'm rather desperate! Fingers crossed hey?

For now though, cards to be written, presents to be wrapped, tea to be drunk, and packing to be done - I'm off to London tomorrow!

Christmassy preparations

2010-12-12T19:52:00.004Z

It's nearly Christmas, are you excited yet? I am, I love Christmas. Although this year, I'm feeling rather not-in-control of the preparations. Today I've had a minor breakthrough, and actually found the Christmas tree. I thought we'd thrown it away, so last year we had a 'mystic branch' instead. Today it just turned up in the cellar, must have been hiding all along. Pesky thing.

I haven't got a picture, because I also discovered that the fairy lights don't work. Eek! (should I tell you I managed to get a small electric shock trying to *make* them work while they were plugged in? Perhaps not...). So our poor tree looks rather dismal in the dark. I'm very much looking forward to putting lights on it tomorrow, I do love a tree with sparkly lights.

I've also been enjoying the festive baking in the bakery up the road. These enigmatic 'shortpaste shapes' have been given woolly hats and scarfs for the festive season, and rather jolly they look too.

The Christmas cards are nearly made, although I haven't written any of them yet. I've got some presents, but not all of them. I'm all prepared for travelling though, and on the Christmas party front, well, two down, three to go, and I'm currently in the middle of one that only three people turned up to (and they've now gone home). I'm glad of the rest!

The other thing I'm enjoying at the minute is our advent calendar. Look at the little animal pictures! We found this in a charity shop a few years ago, and it gets pulled out each year. Behind the windows are little animals, going about their Christmas preparations. It's all most cheerful.

Anyway, so here I am, with lots of leftover biscuits, and a large tasty cake, and two bottles of mulled wine, and only the two of us to finish it all off. What a job! But someone has to do it, I suppose. The candles are lit, and I'm listening to carols, and sewing linings for the living room curtains. A lovely and peaceful way to round off the weekend before a hectic week.

I hope your festive preparations are going well!