Attic24

Tripping to Town

One of the things that I really appreciate about living where I do is the fact that it's less than a ten minute walk from the Attic to the centre of town. I can be sitting at home, dreaming of cream cakes and strawberries, or having run out of toothpaste, and within ten minutes I can be right there in the middle of Main Street fulfilling my dreams and needs. Ok, so it takes a little longer than ten minutes in the school holidays cos the Little People still require a considerable amount of work to get them ready and out the front door, plus they seem to make detours for themselves en route. You know, walls that need to be balanced along, cats that need to be stroked, bits of broken metal that need to be picked up off the pavement and examined, that sort of thing. But it's still a relatively quick walk and quite a pleasant activity to do with the LP in the holidays.

So yesterday, in the late morning, when the rain had stopped raining, I decided on a little Trip to Town.

First stop the chemist, for toothpaste and Miffy tissues.

Second stop the library, to finally take back The Overdue Book. Dear oh dear, has it really been sssoooooo long? Do I really owe That Much??? Crikey.

Third stop the fruit and veg stall on the market. And I have to say it was really interesting visiting the fruit and veg stall with the Little People.

I needed to buy some sort of green vegetable to have with dinner, and a small selection of fruit. So into my bag goes a head of fresh broccoli, 4 big juicy morrocan oranges (J's favourite), and a punet of sweet strawberries. If I had been on my own, then that probably would have been the extent of my purchases, but the Little People have other ideas...

....they are really eyeing up all the fruit, and it does look very tempting and delicious.

Little Lady begs for plums, that she says are her "absolute favourite-ist fruits". Oh, Ok then. So we buy a bag of deep purpley black plums just for Her.

Little Man pleads for fresh apricots. Are you sure? Are you sure you like them? I seem to have memories of him trying a fresh apricot before and spitting it straight back out again. But he insists, and so we buy a bag of plump, soft apricots just for Him.

I start to get a taste for this more spontaneous method of selecting produce, so I too begin to eye up what's on offer, begin to consider various other fruity possibilities. Melon? Too heavy to carry. Dragon fruit? hmm perhaps a little too exotic. Red currants? My eye suddenly catches Little Ladies fingers poking into a punet of red currants and squishing them one by one. Arrggghhh!!!! Quickly whisk her had away and decided against red currants.

oooohh I can't decide, I am parralised by all the choice. My eyes move across the fruit and into the salady bit. Huge pinky red bunches of radishes, ripe tomatoes, and then.....

 

....Peas. Ahhh how about some peas? Seasonal and fresh and possibly local? Yes, why not, I suddenly have a real need for fresh, sweet peas popped out of their green pods and straight into my mouth. So we buy a bag of fresh green peas just for Me.

 

We are done at the fruit and veg stall now as my bag is suddenly very heavy. And the Little People are suddenly declaring themselves to be staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarving hungry. So we make a fourth stop and call in to a local baker to buy some freshly baked hot sausage rolls for an early lunch. I suggest we take them home to eat, but no no no, they are staaaaaaarving and cannot possibly wait, need to eat Right There and Then.

So we cross over the road to the Town Hall where there is a little cobbled square with wooden benches and big tubs planted with bright flowers. All the benches are full so we end up sitting on the Town Hall Steps and enjoying a quick picnic lunch of sausage roll, fresh peas, apricots, plums and strawberries. Quite delicious.

We do happen to have made other purchases from the bakers, eh-hem, it's not all healthy fruit and veg with us you know, where's the fun in that???! But I do manage to persuade the LP to bring the Naughty's home to eat, cos I am quite desperate for a cup of tea with my purchase.....

 

There are gingerbread men for the Little People (essential to pick out their smartie eyes first don't you know)....

 

....and a Sicillian Lemon muffin for Mummy.

 

mmmmmmmmmmmmm, the muffin is delicious. As is the book I borrowed from the library.

 

The book is "Creating Vintage Style" by Lucinda Ganderton. High Grade eye candy indeed. I personally don't really do whole-hearted Vintage Style in my own home, but I know a great many of you in Blogland do love this style. I like small elements of it. For example, I do love old enamelware.

 

And you can never go far wrong with a pretty jug stuffed full of beautiful fresh flowers.

 

Oh and blankety things, yes yes, I do really love the blankety things.

I mean, whats not to love? A Granny Square blanket draped over a bed, why it's the stuff of my dreams!!

Talking of which, what has happened to the Story of BB I hear you ask? When is the Ta-dah post gonna be happening? Did I get more yarn? Is BB finished?

Well no, I have not yet been able to get more yarn :: trips to buy yarn seem altogether more complicated with Little People in tow. But I shall try very hard to go today. BB is currently sitting in a neatly folded pile on the arm of the sofa, waiting patiently for the End-of-The-Edge-of-The-Edge to happen.

Soon my friends, it'll be soon.

And thats a promise.

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Book Love

I received a very official looking letter through the post yesterday morning, you know the sort that comes in a scary looking brown envelope with transparent window, my full name typed out in Capital Letters. Turns out it was a reminder from my local library letting me know that I still had a book out on loan which was due back on 4th June and which will no doubt be costing me a small fortune in fines. But hey ho, that's the price to pay for a shot-to-bits memory such as mine. I blame the Little People. EnTIRely. Before they crashed into my world, I was one of the organised ones. I remembered things. I was on time for things. Not so any more it seems, I can't remember what it's like to actually remember things anymore.

Rather luckily (and unusually), this morning I did actually manage to find the book in question without involving too much bad language and searching. And as I'll be hopping along to my local library later on today to return the naughtily late book and pay the naughtily hefty fine, I suddenly thought I'd like to share this book with you all before it goes back.

It's called "Green Crafts for Children" by Emma Hardy.

And ohhhhhhhhhhh its one Beeeeeeautiful book!

 

As is my usual habit, I flicked through this book very quickly when in the library to see if it was suitably eye-candyish enough and therefore worth borrowing. And on deciding straight away that yes this book most definitely contained very high-grade eye candy, home it came with me.

 

I have to say I really, really appreciate beautiful styling and photography, most especially since I began taking photographs for my blog. I have learnt how deceptively hard it can be to take a supposedly simple still-life photograph, and how background props/ephemera/scenery can add such bucket loads of beauty and ooomph to fairly ordinary up front subject matter.

Take these fabulous tissue paper flowers for example...a simple, quite old fashioned craft, made to look extremely beautiful in my opinion. But just look at the above photograph :: it's not just about the flowers themselves see.....no no no, it's every other little detail that goes with it. The vintage jugs, the floral table cloth, the cutlery with the green and white polka dot handles, the distressed turquoise dresser in the background.....ahhhhhhhh I love, love, love it all. So beautifully, appealingly styled. And such gorgeously pretty colours.

 

And it's the same throughout the book. Page after page of pure gorgeousness.

 

The projects themselves are very appealing too, and are divided into five chapters ::

Salt Dough, Papier Mache and paper, Recyclng, Natural and Fabric.

 

The step by step instructions are clear and accompanied by photographs of children actually making the things. And very cute, adorable children they are too.

 

I just love those peg dolls.....but I equally love the bed they are so beautifully propped on, don't you?

 

Well....I do need to stop drooling now....those pages have got me all excitable. 

And in case you were wondering, no, I haven't tried a single one of the thirty five projects with the Little People yet, although I do fully intend to. I think they would love to make salt dough things, in fact there are many of the projects that I would like to try with them.

They probably won't end up looking half as pretty, but I'm sure we would have some fun trying.

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Weekend delights

Helloooooo!! Ahh Monday again, hopping and skipping into a new week and all is well.

I like Mondays :: typical of me to go against the norm eh, as so many people commonly complain about this particular point in the week. I enjoy the calm that greets me at 9.30am on a Monday morning when I walk back through the front door after the school run/market/shops. I like the space and solitude after the weekends which are often chockerblock rammed full of, of...of? Well of kids and toys and mess and noise, music and television and shouting and singing, laundry, cooking, outings, demands. You know, all that stuff-of-family-life, the stuff that needs to be done when one is a Mum-of-two and a Wife-of-one.

We just had a great weekend as it happens, really top notch. One of the best things about it was that it started early (Friday night as opposed to the usual Saturday morning), and as a result the weekend felt enoooorrrrrrrmously lengthy. And slightly disorientating in a very pleasurable way. You know that feeling when you wake up with a start on Sunday morning convinced that it is in fact Monday, then chuckle to yourself heehee when you realise that it's still the weekend...Love that feeling.

Yeah we drove to the coast on Friday night. Packed a small bag of overnight essentials, and off we went to Blackpool. It was all very spontaneous and quite exciting really. J was going there anyways to attend a 40th birthday bash of an old school friend, it had all been arranged and booked weeks ago. But right at the last minute, we decided I could perhaps telephone the little hotel and alter his booking from a lonely single room to a fun-filled family room. And so it was that on Friday night we all found ourselves on Blackpool's North Shore, in a small, neat little hotel, feeling quite holidaysish. J went off to his party, leaving me and the highly excitable Little People in the hotel lounge drinking wine/lemonade respectively and having a jolly good time together in unfamiliar surroundings.

I love taking the Little People away for the weekend, there is something so joyful about sharing their excitement in new experiences. Watching them explore, seeing them delight in running up and down stairs, in and out of doors, bouncing on unfamiliar beds, climbing up onto deep windowsills behind curtains to make "dens". I was more than happy that night to let J go out and party with his old school buddies, while I stayed in the hotel watching a little tv, sipping my wine and letting the Little People do their thing.

We had an early start to Saturday morning (err, 5.05am, yes, thats quite early isn't it?)..but no matter, it was OK. We were out in the freeeeeeeezing cold shortly after 8am, being blown along the deserted promenade of the North Shore in a ferocious wind. Bracing is the word. The sky was blue, the sea was grey (it always is here abouts) and the air was sharp. And it was fun! J, feeling a little delicate, stood and watched as the Little People and I raced along the prom (no gentle strolling for us, we go with Pace), slowing down to skip and catch breath then more running....I am not athletic you understand, no, not accustomed to running normally, but oh I do love to dash about like a big kid when I am beside the sea.

Back to the hotel at 9am for a scrumptious breakfast, then straight back out again and into the depths of Blackpool we go. It's not a place I care for a great deal, it has to be said. Blackpool is  a typical old fashioned English seaside resort. Tacky, bad taste, shabby, garish. Huge amusement arcades, rundown tourist attractions, neglected shops. It lacks charm in my opinion, but hey, the sea is there (even if it is a dirty shade of grey) and I try not to let myself feel disappointed at the ugliness of the place.

The morning was spent at Blackpool Sealife Centre, which was great fun actually. Something wonderful about observing fish (some very big fish there were too), sharks, seahorses, coral reefs and our favourite rays....the Little People really did enjoy every minute of it. Afterwards we drove out of Blackpool, further down the coast to Lytham St Annes , which is altogether more genteel and picturesque than neighbouring Blackpool. Here we strolled along the prom and then settled ourselves in a cosy pub with a sea view for a late lunch.

Then finally towards the end of the afternoon when we were all tired out, we set off  homewards...oh such a fun day being beside the sea!

 

Sunday was altogether more run-of-the-mill, more leisurely, more homely, more predictable. And I was so happy with that. Love love spending time at home, pottering about, enjoying the pleasure of nothing-in-particular.....

: a cup of coffee and time to stroll in Magazine-wonderland, oh it was lush!! I adore the Easter issue magazines soooo much, need to chatter to you about that in a separate post I think ::

:: the pleasure of hanging laundry out to dry on the line for the first time this year, followed by  the hugely enjoyable experience of getting into bed on Sunday night and sniffing and snorting the pillowcases, breathing in that freshly-laundered-air-dried-cotton scent ::

:: noticing the first fresh green shoots of chives re-appearing after their winter sleep, followed by a hugely enjoyable time spent browsing gardening books and dreaming up all sorts of gardeney floral/herbal plans for my little back yard this year ::

:: late afternoon, having worn crocs all day with bare feet, I begin to feel chilly. I go and find a pair of the most beautiful hand-knitted socks to pull on, made for me by a lovely, generous visitor to Attic24 called Susan. These socks give me so much pleasure, there's something simply wonderful about snuggling cold toes into warm socks and settling down on the sofa for a spot of crochet ::

:: crochet, yes, of course. how could my weekend not contain any hooky goodness? Yesterdays hooking was a little experimentation after this new book arrived on my doormat a few days ago. I'll write more about this book at another time, surfice to say for now that it's beautifully photographed and oh-so-tempting, but the patterns are oh-so-damn complicated! I almost gave up with it, but jeez I refuse to be beaten by a bunch of goobledeegook words! So with some serious concentration, a little bad language and a bit of perseverance, I eventually got the hang of it. Had to get my head round working Triple-treble stitches, Double-treble stitches, carrying stitches across, working out of the base of stitches, working up and down the stems of stitches, making chain bars, taking the hook behind petals and working from the back etc etc etc. But then again, I was in the Advanced Design section. And I did indeed manage to create not one but two Advanced Flowers ::

Not quite sure what to do with my advanced flowers yet? At the moment I am enjoying just fondling them, but might try and dream up some sort of floral something-or-another to make use of them. Perhaps with a little insect life thrown in too (there are patterns for crochet butterflies and a bumblebee in this book, too cute for words really).

Hope you all had a great weekend, whether you were home or away...I wonder what Weekend Delights you enjoyed?

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Words on a Simple Life

Late on Sunday afternoon, when the rain briefly stopped raining and the sun peeked out, we pulled coats on and strolled ten minutes up the road to visit our town's local castle. You know how it is, you live somewhere a while and quite often don't really think to do the touristy things sitting on ones own doorstep. Don't really think to pop along the street and have a mooch around a 900 year old medieval castle (one of the most complete and best preserved medieval castles in England, apparently) which stands very conveniently at the top of the High Street.
But on Sunday the castle was open for free to residents of the area and so along we toddled, and mighty fine it was too.
As with all fine Tourist Attractions, as well as the ancient attraction itself, there is also a lovely looking tearoom and a souvenir shop. It was the latter which we decided to call in to, even though visiting these sort of shops with eager Little People can be something of a strain. The Pester Power is enormous, the sudden desperate need for Castle Pens, fridge magnets, badges is urgent. I got away with limiting the purchases to two very small soft cuddly toys @ £1.50 each and a bag of chocolate raisins, but boy, it was hard work getting Little Fingers to leave the other merchandise alone.

Anyhow, I am babbling, I am sorry....get to the point Lucy, chop-chop!  Yes the point of this is to tell you about a little book I spotted in the castle souvenir shop and purchased for myself. Its called "Words on a Simple Life", by Helen Exley and can be found here along with other delightful sounding titles in the same series.

If you click on the top picture there, you'll be able to read the description written on the back of this dinky little book :: it's basically a collection of images and quotes, celebrating the "quiet joys of life".
Now this is not normally something I would go for, I have never owned any books of this nature before. But something about this little golden book really touched me.
I keep coming back to it's pages, keep reading and re-reading the words :: words on a simple life. These words are so appealing, so meaningful, so wise, they touch my heart. Yes, they do!

Take these daffodils for example. So very simple.
A bunch of 20 stems cost less than a pound.
They can be purchased without guilt, brought home and enjoyed wholeheartedly.
To me, they capture the essence of living a Simple Life.
The joy they bring me is immeasurable. Priceless.

I have split them up and distributed them around the house....

....simply displayed in an empty milk bottle on the hall shelf to make me smile as I pass through one of the most stressy times of my day (getting Little People out the door at 8.30am with polished shoes and all relevant school paraphernalia).

I've also put little bottles holding a few blooms on the kitchen and bathroom window sills, for providing joy when ones hands are in the kitchen sink and brushing teeth.

And beside my bed too, for providing joy when I drift into my dreams at night and greet the day each morning.

It seems somehow so luxurious to have flowers beside ones bed, don't you think? Yet so simple at the same time. I would urge you to go out today and buy yourself a small bunch of flowers to put beside your bed, Arrange them in a little jar, a pretty mug,or a small vase and enjoy the pleasure they bring.

I thought over the coming days and weeks I might share some of the quotes with you from this little book. Some are very short, just one sentence, some are longer. This is one of my favourites, it was written by a man called Thomas Dekker (c 1570 - c. 1641), so he was around dispensing wisdom a pretty long, ancient time ago...

"To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face;
to greet the day with reverence for the opportunities it contains;
to approach my work with a clean mind;
to hold ever before me, even in the doing of little things, the ultimate purpose toward which I am working;
to meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart;
to be gentle, kind, and courteous through all the hours;
to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep and the joy that comes from work well done -
this is how I desire to waste wisely my days."

Have a great day everyone, waste it wisely.....
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Simply Sunday

I guess there are many reasons why people decide to blog, and once started, why they continue to blog. I know that there are a great many little itty-bitty reasons that compel me to take photographs day after day and sit here and write day after day. I won't waffle on at you today (lucky escape for you) about my reasons for keeping this little bit of colourful cyberspace up and running, but one thing I can say is that I like my blog. I like it a lot. I like thinking about it, I like the creativity it involves and I like reading it. Yes, I often do read back through my own archives, not in a oh-look-how-wonderful-my-own-blog-is kind of a way, but in a daydreamy retrospective kind of a way. Often I will find myself thinking about something or another and my mind will settle on a particular remembered image, or an outing, or a recipe, or a crochet project and I will attempt to search out the blog entry, to find the words and images that accompany the memory.
And for someone with a memory that is as shot to bits as mine, this blogging lark is MARvelOUs! So many things I had forgotten about! So many images, memories, thoughts :: things that would otherwise be quite lost if it wasn't for my documenting them. I find it really wonderful to know that I have created this pocket of memories, and to be able to dip and dive into them whenever the mood takes me.

Take todays photographs for example :: images from yesterday (Sunday) which was a very normal, weekendy, family day in our house. Nothing extraordinary, yet somehow I look back at these photos, now a day old, and I am so happy to see them there! I recall the happiness that was there when I opened my eyes and saw that little jug of flowers beside my bed :: flowers that came from a huge surprise bouquet which J brought back from the supermarket for me, along with a packet of Lemsip and some Ibuprofen (yeah, I am fighting that cold, it has not taken hold of me quite yet). I remember the simple pleasure that accompanied my morning cup of tea in bed at 7:09am, and a bit of new-book browsing (both deeeeliicous). And I think this :: a cup of tea, a jug of flowers, a new book. Such small  pleasures, but how fabulous all the same. How simple life can be at times, how ordinary yet how extraordinary.

A little later on and I sit to do some colouring with the Little People. The picture above, started by Little Man, abandoned by Little Man, picked up by Little Lady, abandoned by Little Lady and consequently taken up by yours truly. The water is my handiwork, as if you couldn't guess, right? This is a new Christmas colouring book (eh-hem, yes, I confess, bought by me for Little Man because I loved it so). Ahh how I love to sit with a  good colouring page in front of me and an array of felt tip pens! Its pleasure overload!

I am ridiculously pleased with my concentrated colouring efforts, and my Sunday Sun is now proudly stuck up on my mirror to shine down on us all.

Ten-thirty and we are miraculously out of our pyjamas and out of the house. We've had a lot of stay-at-homes during this holiday (partly due to illness, either full blown or impending), which has been rather luxurious actually, but the time had come to get out of the house.

J chivvies us into action :: Cummon, lets go, lets go, boots on, jumpers, coats, hats, wrap up warm, lets get out into the Wintry countryside. Follow the path up and up above Bolton Abbey, shall we visit the Money Trees? Yes? No? The Little People excitedly suggest Buffers, so that is where we head off to.

Do you recall our discovery of Buffers in the Summer? We had always meant to go back again but had not made it until yesterday. The Little People are thrilled to be showing their Daddy this place, they rush on ahead and show him where to go, lead him up the creaky wooden stairs to the train gallery. We take in the dusty nostalgia, play with the trains and then head back down to the cosy cafe to eat lunch.

Lunch is as lovely as I remembered it from before, and we do not much want to leave the warmth and cosiness. But eventually, when lunch is done, when coffee and cake is done, when a second play with the trains is done, we set out and head back down from the hills to the river beach.

There is paddling, and tree climbing. It is freezing cold but the Little People don't care. The tree becomes a hotel. The river gives up heart shaped stones and remarkably a pound coin. It's a lot of fun, but oh so freeeeeeezing cold!Take me home, I want to go home, I am whining like a petulant child. Oh honestly, I have to laugh at myself sometimes :: so utterly childish :: fourty going on four.

I do get my way in the end and we come home to a warm house for an afternoon of tea and chocolate biscuits and laziness. I take up position in The Chair and carry on with my current crochet project. The crocheting is complete now and I'm just starting to bring it all together. 

There are twenty five bluey-green granny squares...

...and twenty five pinky-red flowers.

Squares and flowers. I'm calling it "Granny's Flower patch", and I am really liking it. Can't wait to see it all finally come together. Its only a small project, a second cushion cover to go with this one. 

When it's done, I think I'll be ready to embark on my next blanket, although I'm still finalising the plan for the blanket-to-be. I think I almost have it set, I have drawn out a rough plan on paper, and have chosen which type of yarn to use. But I am still stumbling over yarn colours, still debating Random v Planned, still debating Bright/Deep v Bright/Soft, whether to include yellow, whether to include white.

Ahh decisions decisions. Making decisions is so hard for me, even if they are deliciously coloured ones.

Domesticated Sunday

I think we've forgotten how to go out. Another weekend and another stay-at-home fest for the Attic24 family. Well a part of it was spent at my in-laws eating junk food (pizza and chips) and drinking sparkling wine and allowing the Little People to sit wide-eyed in front of endless choices of children's channels on Sky TV. Fun of sorts, but oh I did enjoy coming home again :: there's only so much junk I can take in one day.

Sometimes on a Monday morning when I sit down to blog, nothing much springs to mind. If we've not done anything riveting over the weekend, the camera usually contains a hotch potch of Domestic images :: nothing specatcluar, just the Stuff of Life. But I love it, I continue to delight in all things domestic, I get my thrills from such simple, homely things these days. Trips to Paris? Wild Parties? Nightclubs? At one time in my life, yes, but these days, nope.

I am aware that my blog is showing repeat patterns, well it is bound to isn't it, to some extent? I am trying not to apologise for this, as the wonderful Mrs Magpie once said "blogs follow life and not vice versa", and I do try and remember this.

And I really enjoy photographing my home life. I've been inspired by some blogs recently that have been showing a series of photogrpahs documenting "a week in the life". I just love this whole idea, love that the ordinariness of life-at-home can become something special when photographed and shared :: warm, cosy, friendly, intimate. Have a look at Notes from my Days, The Ecstasy of Being Ordinary and Garden Nymph for some beautiful images of Domesticity.

So here for your perusal,  are some little snippets of my own Domesticated Sunday....

Sunday morning :: I bake banana bread, ((click)) I photograph it hot and fragrant as it comes out of the oven. Butter melts on the still-warm bread, just moments before it is devoured by the resident locust-children (and their father).

Sunday morning yarn :: after a visit to a little wool shop the previous day, I get the pleasure of opening the bag again on Sunday morning and force-feeding myself eye-candy. Gobble it up and then ((click)) take a  photograph.

A little lull in the afternoon :: I sit drinking tea and making hexagons. After showing off my blanket to the lovely ladies in the wool shop on Saturday, I have renewed enthusiasm for it.

Little snippets of yarn :: for some reason I just adore seeing these accumulate almost as much as I love seeing the hexagons themselves grow. ((click)) and capture it on camera.

I opened a new box of tissues yesterday :: I loved the design on the box when I bought it (roses again, my rose-fest shows no signs of letting up). It was only when I opened the box and took the first tissue out that I realised each one is decorated with rose petals. How thoughtful, how delightful! To blow ones nose on such prettiness! ((click)) that too, that rosy loveliness.

Browsing through the Laura Ashley catalogue :: we are gearing up for some major home renovations/decorations after Christmas and I am enjoying planning it out in my mind, thinking of paint colours, curtains, lighting, furniture...

Domestic chores still needing to be done :: early evening and I fold clean laundry in the bedroom, put away the piles, re-clothe beds with clean-cotton bedding. Think how I adore my ripple blanket and the smell of clean cotton laundry and ((click)).

And so to bed :: I go early (9pm) and sit to read a while.

A birthday present :: such a generous and unexpected gift from my friend Lovely C, this book is beautiful, interesting and thought-provoking. I love "nesting" in bed, snuggled up amongst crisp white cotton, CK roses and my ripple-stripes. Such warmth and happiness ((click))

And so to sleep :: thinking of roses and lavender, and looking forward to the week ahead.

It's half term week here, and right now I'm drinking coffee, typing this on the laptop at the dining table while the Little People are watching a film. I've been really looking forward to this week, I love the ease-up on routines during school holidays, the possibilities of simple fun with my Little People. 

Here's to a happy Domesticated Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday for us all. Enjoy!

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Bags and Balls and Bowls

Hello my lovelies, having a good day? Oh good, yes me too, I do love Thursdays. I've been to the cafe to crochet with Lovely C this morning which is indisputedly the highlight of my working week. Although shhhhhhhhhhhhhh don't tell J but it is not the first morning this week I have spent drinking coffee and nattering with friends.  I've  remembered what I have long known about going out about town and meeting friends for coffee ::  it sure beats staying home and wingeing about housework.

So :: yesterday was my calenders and the weather, and today it's bags, balls and bowls. Gosh, you can always look forward to such IMporTanT things when you visit with me, can't you?! Don't I just dazzle you with a variety of subject matter?!

On Saturday, a big box arrived in the post, covered in brown paper and smelling of fresh lavender. It came to me from the lovely Kim of Ragged Roses, and was the PIF gift that I had been picked out to win back in the summer.

She had warned me not to get too excited about the gift, had said that I might be disappointed.
I said that she could not possibly disappoint, that I would be excited to receive a screwed up newspaper because I just love the whole experience of receiving and opening parcels regardless of what's inside. I am quite, quite sad and childish in this respect.

Kim's handmade items are truly beautiful, and this parcel was an absolute delight to behold. Crisp white tissue paper, a little bundle of fresh lavender tied up with white ricrac. Yes, I would have been happy with just that (I know, I know, only I could adore lavender wrapped in tissue paper this much)

But of course there was more :: nestling inside the tissue I found a CK postcard, a bar of chocolate, a lovely hand made lavender sachet, this gorgeous, gorgeous linen bag with it's own little matching flower corsage (awwwwwwww), and inside the bag, four of Kim's wonderful rag balls.

The ragballs had scented themsleves with the fresh lavender, but I have also added some droplets of rose oil to them, so they have the scent of a summer garden. I was not sure how to photograph them, so ended up putting them onto my pink glass cake stand, but I think they will be destined eventually for my bedroom. I think the combined scent of lavender and roses is very restful and bedroomy, don't you?

The lavender sachet is already in my bedroom, I like to sniff it when I get into bed, much to J's horror actually, I'm sure he thinks I've completely lost the plot sometimes. I tell him the scent of lavender before sleep is bound to give me the most beautiful dreams, but he remains unconvinced. You can imagine him silently shaking his head at me can't you?
So thank you Kim so very much for your generosity, I love your gifts and shall treasure it all (including the white tissue paper). xxxx

Hey now, onto the crockery :: I bought myself some new bowls yesterday, and oh, I do love them! I already had the two spotty ones with the blue insides, so was delighted when I came across the flowery ones to go with them.

They come from Woolworths would you believe, and for the bargain price of £2 each, I think they are great. Woolworths is such an odd-ball shop :: more often than not it is full of such tat and rubbish that I almost cannot bare to look. But every so often there will be some really unexpectedly nice things sitting on the shelves amongst the distasteful stuff, and it's always a lovely surprise when this happens. Its like the high-street version of a car-boot sale.

I ended up buying all three of the flowery bowls which were on the shelf at Woolworths, and am using one to hold my little miniature rose plant on my bedside table. I don't know how long the rose plant and I are going to be together, because the rose does not seem to like me. I'm not especially good at caring for house plants, especially any that have flowers on. I'm not sure if I over water them or under water them but I am remarkably good at killing them off, although for the time being, this little rose is just about holding it's own (I had to relieve it of its yellowing foliage for the photo)
Sorry about photo quality by the way, the light is not good in my bedroom until very late afternoon. I know this for a fact, yet I still try and take pictures in the mornings.
In the foreground there on my bedside table, you can see my latest crochet experiments :: this week I have mostly been going to bed around 9pm and cosying up with my hot water bottle and working through some flower patterns from this book. It's been fun to try new things and learn some new stitches (I mastered a popcorn stitch flower last night, surprisingly easy to do despite the pattern sounding terribly complicated and wordy).


And this last picture is just a small snapshot of my lunch time today :: I usually sit at the dining table to each lunch but today I chose the sofa because the light was so beautiful in this part of the room. My rainbow maker had sent a flurry of little rainbows into the room and one just happened to be on the coffee table next to my plate.
It made my heart skip with happiness.
I hope you find a heart-skipping moment to savour today too xxxxx

Week 39

Did you know that we are currently in week 39 of the year? And did you also know that in the UK this week, the sun is officially rising at 6.44am and setting at 7.03pm? I am in possession of such knowledge because I keep a diary, and diaries generally keep you informed of week numbers, sunrise and sunset times and moon phases (next full moon :: Tuesday 28th October in case you need to know).

Remember back at the beginning of July when I began my Academic Year Diary in an attempt to get myself organised? Well I'm pleased to report that 2.75 months on and I am still using it, still writing lists, and still attempting to chivvy myself into action.
Yesterday's to-do list consisted of the following IMPORTANT reminders :

1. make buns
2. cut grass
3. De-clutter 2 Hotspots (kitchen worktop, hall shelf)
4. Buy plug for basin
5. Go to Recycle

So as you can see, my life is very serious indeed right now :: many, many important, pressing things to be done.

I am doing  a lot of thinking at the moment, a lot of pondering and contemplating is taking place in the jumbled little space inside my head. There is change on the horizon.
After today, I have only Seventeen days left of being a Thirty-something. Yes, the big Four-oh looms large and I am having a minor wobble about it. I am feeling like there is a lot I need to get done in the next couple of weeks because I do not want to become forty surrounded by chaos and clutter. I feel a need to get busy, to make everything ship-shape as I prepare to enter my fourth decade. Yes, there is a lot to get done around here. I have been free-wheeling my lazy-arse through the summer months and now it is time to start getting busy and hauling this house (and myself) into shape.

Last week I was introduced to the FlyLady. Wow. That really opened my eyes as to how things can be achieved if there is a schedule and the will to do it. I am beginning to take some of the things she says on board. I have discovered my Hotspots (I have TEN of the bleeders, not including the Attic which is one HUmungous Hotspot all to itself). So this week I am attempting to clear two a day :: nothing drastic, its babysteps for me. Next week, when the hotspots have been de-cluttered and cleared, I am going to embark on a major clean. One room each day. Can't be too hard, surely?

I am sincerely hoping that all this de-cluttering and cleaning will settle my restlessness because I am finding it hard to concentrate on things at the moment. I am two thirds of the way through Elizabeth Gilbert's book "Eat, Pray, Love" which I'm reading with my book club group (it was my choice for this month). I'm enjoying it enormously and it has really made me think about  a lot of things, made me think about my life, made me question myself more than I am used to doing. But I'll chat to you more about all that when I've finished the book and De-cluttered my Hotspots.

For now, in week 39, lets not get too deep and meaningful.
Hope you've enjoyed these pretty flowers from my garden today.
Simple, pleasurable beauty to take my mind off the Clutter.

My Thursday

Thursday today, and I do really like Thursdays. Something about this precise point in the week which makes me feel glad. I like that Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are behind me and the weekend is almost in sight.
The weather here today in my little part of the world is just glorious. Early this morning the air was crisp and the sky was misty and the light was ohhhhhhh-so-beautiful. It was most definitely, perfectly, beautifully Autumnal. I took the above photo from the Attic at 7.30am, it really made me so happy for the day ahead.

It was lovely to read all your comments on yesterdays post re the housework situation, ahh I did so love you all for making me feel better! Two phrases that have stuck in my mind are "better a homemaker than a housekeeper" and "my home is clean enough to be healthy and messy enough to be happy". Oh you are so wise and wonderful my friends, those words are so simple yet so true.

So I managed to buoy myself up on those words and squash down the guilt and Potential-Stroppiness-from-the-Management and decided to make today a my-time-Thursday. Housework can wait till tomorrow. Today is for me, me, me.
So off I toddled to my weekly Knit and Natter at the cafe this morning, feeling bright and breezy and carefree. Oh I did enjoy my morning! I was crocheting, Lovely C was doing her wonderful hooking, S was knitting and M was needlepointing. And while we stitched and hooked and drank delicious coffee, we talked children, school, flowers, allotments, chickens, magazines, Country Living Fairs, London shopping, crochet, hooking, recipes.
My flowery circles of crochet are looking fabulous (can I say that about my own work?) and I have begun to crochet them together into blanket form. I'll try and remember to show you some more pics of how it's shaping up next week.

It was so sunny and warm by the time I returned home at lunch time that I decided to eat lunch outside. Not all that many flowers out here now, but my geraniums are still flowering their little hearts out. I do so love their stubbornness and failure to give in to the weather. 

I made a hastily tossed together salad with a bit of smoked salmon thrown in and a glass of elderflower lemonade.

Whilst I was eating, I browsed through a library book I have out on loan at the moment. It's called Cheap Chic by Emily Chalmers and I love love love it. So far I have only looked at the pictures, but I do fully intend to read the words at some point very soon.

It's the one "style" book I've come across which seems to be close to my own personal style. The pages are delicious and inspirational. I think I must be a Cheap-Chic kind of a girl at heart.



Sadly it doesn't look like it's available to buy new, but I am going to buy myself a second hand copy because I love it so. I see from Amazon that she also has another book called "Flea Market Style" :: does anyone have this one, do you think I would like it? I think it might already possibly be on my teetering, toppling pile of Wishlist-I-want-books on Amazon . One can never have too many Sources of Inspiration, can one?

Book love

I'm a very visual person and I love to absorb visual things, it's like Food for the Soul if you like and essential to my wellbeing. Whether it's my own surroundings or someone elses, I just love looking at visual details :: colours, textures, cushions, blankets, pictures, vases, flowers, collections, rugs, shelves, china, lamps, tiles, stuff. The stuff that gives personality to a home. And if I can't get this visual stimulation in person, then I like to read about it. I find that blogs, magazines, books and certain on-line stores (like my beloved Greengate) perfectly feed my addiction for this sort of thing. I like to eat it all up, gobble gobble mmmmmm!

Yesterday after writing about my sweet peas, I was reminded of one of my favourite books. Like Jane at Posy, I have a huge love for interiors/styling/decorating books and magazines. I devour them, savour them, adore them. I totally love these sort of books, I love everything about them :: the writing is so evocative and the images so inspirational they make my heart squeeze.

My collection is not huge, I think I own about fifteen or so, with the same amount sitting wishfully in my Amazon Wishlist. One of my favourite things to do when I want to relax is to select a book from the shelf, make a mug of tea with perhaps a bun or some buttered banana bread and settle myself down to absorb the content of the pages.

I own several Country Living publications, and this one is an absolute gem ::
its called Country Colour Combinations.
I came across it one day whilst browsing in Borders BC (Before Children) :: now normally when I'm in Borders I browse away and if I see anything I like the look of I jot down the details in my Hello Kitty notebook so I can order it from Amazon. Saves money see? But on this occasion I simply could not walk away from this book, I had to have it there and then.

OK, let me tell you a bit about how the book is set out ::
There are five chapters which give "an irresistible palette of decorating schemes inspired by the natural shades of landscape and garden."
Take a look...if you click on the images they should pop up large in a window for you to have a good long look at the lovliness ::

Above picture is from the first chapter called Field and Hedgerow, which then goes on to show schemes inspired by things like berry and holly leaf, chestnut and copper beech, wheat hay and meadow.

Then there's the Sun, Sea and Sky chapter with schemes such as chalk and sky, storm cloud and sea spray, rockpool and driftwood. (I am swooning by now)

Next up is the Flowers and Blossom chapter, with some beautiful palettes such as mixed hydrangeas, sweet peas and stocks (ohhh bliss!!!), jasmine and honeysuckle.

And then comes The Kitchen Garden chapter and some yummy schemes based on vegetables, such as peapod and asparagus, aubergine and courgette flower, radish and tomato. Mmmmmmmmmm.

And finally the Slate and Stone chapter (my least favourite, but still beautiful), the schemes here include plaster and terracotta, marble and flint, sandstone and clay.

Its an absolute feast for the eyes on every poge. Can you tell how much I love this book? You can? Yes, I suppose its obvious really.