Sunday 30 September 2012

Flexing the muscles and limbering up …


… in preparation for a week of rummaging, delving and diving into boxes, cases and stalls of treasure just waiting to be rediscovered. Yip, it is that time again but this month we have two collectors fairs in one week. So it’s elbows sharpened and my beseeching ‘’what is your very best price’’ face - scary yes, but with enough persuasiveness to make even the hardiest of stall holders submit.
I will be on the trawl for the customary goodies: linen and lace (my stash is getting seriously depleted), haberdashery and usual tiny treasures as well as the quirky and the unique. Optimistically, I hope to come back loaded, exhausted but inspired with some new treasures to sit and gloat over.
In the meantime though, I am kept out of mischief with other more seasonable chores.  There is a lot to do in the garden in preparation for the cold weather so, wellies donned (prettily decorated with sweet peas - a surprise pressie from His Nibs) and yielding my secateurs I cut back, dead head, trim and take cuttings - I love it all. Although still fairly green, there is a  definite turning here and there in the trees and hedges of yellowy gold but there is still a tadge of colour about where summer blooms have repeat flowered and the light today is perfect for capturing them.
 
 
Still a few butterflies about ...



 
... and the odd damsel fly ...
 
 

 
A stray still flowering Ragged Robin in the woodland garden ... 
 
 
... neighbours a teeny ballerina rose.
 

 
A beutifully fragranced old rose is on its third flowering

 
The alpine strawberries have a delicious perfumed sweetness and make the most exquisite jam. I planted them all over the garden.
 
 
A beautifully pure Japanese Anenome taken from a cutting of a very special friend who is no longer here. It flowered for the first time this year.
 
 


I cannot remember the name of this shrub but it has flowered non stop all Summer and is still covered every day with bees.
 


 
 This Rudbekia is going over now but is still beautiful
 
 
 
 
 This Hydranga starts off a delicate white and matures to this glroious lime green.

 

Another Hydranga - this one starts a soft white and lime green but turns sugar pink as it matures.

 
 
Whether you are relaxing or pottering I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.
 
XXX
 

Thursday 27 September 2012

I long to be in a house where the sheets smell of lavender

''I long to be in a house where the sheets smell of lavender''
- Isaak Walton

 
I am creating hearts.
Lavender filled hearts to perfume your sheets ...
 
… or your ‘smalls’ drawer.
Or to dangle prettily from a door handle to scent the room.
 
I love creating hearts.
The air is filled with the sweet perfume of English lavender
Picked from my own cottage garden.
 
 
I love to sort through mounds of lace to adorn the heart, selecting the exact piece

 
 
 
To complement the linen, which  is lusciously soft and deliciously slubby ... 
 
 
 
... and choosing a piece of vintage jewellery to embellish the heart.
 
 
 
Filling with lavender.
 
Completing finally, with linen buttons to secure a pretty ribbon loop.











The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot
be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart

Helen  Keiler

 XXX

Sunday 23 September 2012

The Simple Things


I came across a new magazine (out this month) called The Simple Things (thesimplethings) which celebrates the things that matter the most; slowing down, enjoying what you have and making the most of where you live. Sentiments especially close to my own heart so I bought the first copy to see what it is like.
 
 
 
It is the type of magazine that you dip in and out of and find something new every time that you read it. 
 
 Phtoto taken from The Simple Things
 
Phtoto taken from The Simple Things
 
 
It is full of beautiful photography, simple recipes, and interviews, celebrating local food, home gardens and nature.
 

 
 Phtoto taken from The Simple Things
 
 Phtoto taken from The Simple Things
 
 
 Phtoto taken from The Simple Things

 
 Phtoto taken from The Simple Things
 
 
One of the things that made me smile is on the back cover – a list of some of the simple pleasures that we all enjoy …..

Walking barefoot through the grass

Licking the lid of a yoghurt pot

The cool side of the pillow

The smell of bonfire on the air

Receiving a handwritten letter

Putting out a new bar of soap on the basin


I can add a few simple pleasures of my own to that list .....


Sliding into a bed freshly made with crisp lavender scented linen

An early morning walk round the garden before anyone else is awake

The scent of rain on parched earth after a long spell of sun

A long walk on a crisp winter’s day

Watching the first snow fall and being the first to step into it

Beach combing on a deserted beach

Wrapping your feet round the hot water bottle on a winters night

Collecting fruit from the hedgerow

Eating a sun warmed pear straight from the tree

In a world that makes endless demands on our time and the stresses of everyday living it is good  to slow down, take stock and enjoy the simple things that life has to offer.

What are your simple pleasures?
X X X