Attic24

Thank You

 

I've been crying this morning.
Yes, there have been tears.
And a little snot.
I always get a runny nose when I cry, even when the tears are tears of joy.

It has been joyous and overwhelming to go to my in-box this morning and find it absolutely flooded with your messages.
The comments you were so generous to write for me on yesterdays post have completely bowled me over.
And I mean Completely.
Yes, for once in my usual wordy life, I am rendered quite speechless.
Well almost.

 
There's a great deal I would like to say, yet the words won't come.
There's a great deal I am feeling, yet I cannot express it.
So instead of trying to grapple with words and phrases, I am doing what I do best and giving you pictures.
A Rainbow of colour.
A little something to Brighten your Day.

On the way home from school this morning I pottered through my little town.
It's market day today.
I stop at a couple of my regular stalls to buy local cheeses, free range eggs, apples.
It's very cold and grey today in North Yorkshire, very wintery.
I am at the plant stall and I deliberate a little.
More narccissi?
A pot of crocus bulbs?
A bunch of pink tulips?
And then I spot a small bucket of these anemones.
Ten wibbly stems tied with an elastic band, ten little closed-up flowers.

The buds were tight shut when Mrs Plant-lady wrapped them up in crisp paper and handed them to me.
But after a few hours of being in the warmth of the house, the petals have begun to unfurl.
They are utterly charming.
The colours, oh the colours!!!!
They instantly remind me of my Granny blanket, those quite deep, intense purples, reds and blues.
I am entranced by them, captivated.
I dance round them, arranging them just so, playing with them, admiring them set aginst my crochet blanket.
I twirl them, gaze at them, adore them.
And finally I photograph them.

And I give them to you.
With heartfelt love and thanks for all that you give to me.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Just so you know, I shall continue to be here in the Attic for the forseeable future.
With no changes to speak of.
Doing what I do.
Sharing what I share.
The Simple Pleasures of Everyday Life.
With no Direction, no Motive.
Just itsy-bits of colourful stuff.

See you again next week, have a fabulous weekend.
xxx

In Print

Oh it's been a funny old day today. On the one hand I am waaaaay beyond excited about writing this post, and on the other hand, well, I am very apprehensive.
I have almost just deleted it in fact. Almost.
I am not one who naturally likes to blow my own trumpet. I don't like to question things too much, I don't like to try too hard.
I just like to be ME. Just little old me, pottering about in the Attic, gazing out the window at the view, doing the odd bit of crochet, a  bit of baking, admiring pretty things.
It's not ground breaking stuff really is it, the stuff of Attic24?? It's just normal, everyday, domesticated, fairly mundane stuff really.
Bright and colourful, yes, it is that. Creative too? Well yes, it is I guess.
But to make it into a magazine??????????? You WhAt?????? Are you kidding me here???????

But it appears to be true.
The Attic is In Print.
Not once, but twice.

Firstly I was approached by the lovely Cara who is the creative editor of a well known scrap booking publication in the UK, called Scrapbook Inspirations.
And lo and behold, a little while later, PLOP!! The March issue comes through my letterbox and I find myself leaping off the furniture with delight.
Because there on page 10 are my crochet flowers!
And I am called an "Inspirational Woman"!!!
Oh jeez, you should have seen me when I read that.
Words cannot describe.

Secondly, day before yesterday, I start to receive one or two comments about me being "famous" and that the blog is mentioned in "Simply Knitting" magazine.
Eh?? What?? Are you sure??? Is it true????
I know nothing of this I might add, have had no forewarning.
I have to wait until today to go to the supermarket and buy a copy.
I rush outside and rip open the plastic packaging.
I stand in the middle of the supermarket car park, scanning the pages of Simply Knitting, no doubt looking slightly bonkers.
And then there it is, towards the back on page 77.
Attic24. My face. Me. It's me, my blog.
Sh*t!!! It really is true then!

A blog like a rainbow.
A blog like a rainbow.
I still can't quite take it in.
But I am chuffed, oh Lordy I certainly am.
I would be telling big fat fibs if I said this sort of thing goes over my head and means nothing.
I mean, it's not important in the big scheme of things, but just lately my friends I have been feeling a little off kilter, a little doubtful about my life, my abilities, my direction if you like.
You could say I've been having a bit of a wobble.

So between the magazine print and your generous comments left here on the blog, I am beginning to feel very much better. I am realising that it's OK to just be Me, that possessing Direction is not necessarily essential, that it's OK to muddle along, to wobble every so often.

Thank you, as always for your support, enthusiasm and friendship, it means a lot.
Thank you :: thank you :: thank you.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Dream v The Reality

I've been home-dreaming today. Do you do that? I do it often, I am a renowned daydreamer. I often find myself looking around my home and trying to envisage the changes I could make, the way that I feel my home should look (arty, homely, cosy, eclectic, beautiful, tidy, warm) as opposed to the way it currently looks (messy, untidy, chaotic, shabby, disgraceful). I can transform it in my mind into a beautifully styled interior worthy of a magazine shoot. Yet in real life it is nothing of the sort. It's a mess.
It's The Dream v The Reality.

And the reality is that I am ashamed of the state of my house right now. Yet rather alarmingly, although it is making me feel wretched to see everything in such a state of disarray, it is not seemingly bad enough to motivate me to get on and actually deal with it.

Of course I should be tidying, de-cluttering, re-arranging, sorting, doing right now, right this minute......yet I am not. I am procrastinating and daydreaming (and blogging), which offers light relief but ultimately doesn't deal with the root of the problem.

Amongst the mess, the accumulated stuff of everyday life, I create little oases of escape and prettiness. Painted pebbles, a little stripy chicken with wire legs, pots of leggy narcissi. Fresh flowers, stripy things, crocheted things.
I can zoom in on these details and make believe that the whole place has this simple, colourful, homespun, pretty freshness. I wish. Oh I wish!

I wish I was better at keeping house. I wish I could be given a means to make the place tidy and keep it that way. Better storage? A Filing System? A ruthless clear-out?
Ah well, I will not dwell on such matters, will not bore you with my faults (primarily extreme Idleness). Lets stick with the home-dreaming shall we?

March issue of Country Living...wasn't this a fabulous issue? Did you see it? Love it?
I absolutely adored the house featured this month, the home of Jette Arendal Winther, a Danish potter.

I love what she said about using the home and interior style of Matisse as her inspiration. It made me look at the rooms in her house in a different way after reading that, seeing them almost as paintings, as compositions of pattern and colour.

I love this phrase, describing her kitchen where "the organised disorder has it's own intrinsic charm".
Oh that tickled me so much!! I love the idea of Organised Disorder!
I think that could be my catch phrase, if only I could make my own disorder appear organised somehow.

I am obsessed with this turquoise colour paint. I just adore it. I would like to paint the legs of my coffee table this colour, keeping the top wooden as Jette has done.

Ahhhh....I so enjoyed my dreamy visit to this magazine-house. So inspirational! So diverting! I breezed through this home and felt uplifted and inspired, truly I did.

Now the question is, do I ::
a) have a coffee and browse through this delicious book yet again?
b) roll my sleeves up and go make a start on tidying the awful mess?

The Dream v The Reality?
What's a girl to do??

Crochet Flower Brooch

Do you recall my post on Friday, the "B words" one?
Do you remember the last B word?
The little Buttony crochet something or other?
Well today, I am sharing more of that.

This is my latest passion :: teeny tiny flowers and leaves.
They are my own design.
They are quick and easy to make.
They entice you to sit for just a fleeting moment and whip one up.
Just one more in another colour, to join the rest.
It'll only take a few minutes.
Cook dinner?
Well, yes in a moment after I've made just one more flower.

And what does one do with a heap of teeny tiny flowers and leaves?
One admires them, enjoys their very teeny-tinyness.
One can arrange them in different formations.
One can line them up, create pretty flower posies.
But hold on, teeny tiny flowers are very pretty, but wouldn't they benefit from some buttony goodness??
Should I go and get my button tins?

Oh Look!
Tins of beautiful buttony goodness!!

Oh how i love these little discs of coloured plastic!!

Yes, yes, yes, buttons and crochet flowers are so very very good together. 

I have an idea to make a brooch for myself.
I should be cooking dinner, but no, I have to make this instead.
Have to do it immediately.



I crochet three teeny tiny flowers from Rowan cotton yarn.
Select just the right coloured buttons for the centres.
Crochet 3 teeny tiny green leaves.
Stitch them to a circle of green felt, in posy formation.
Stitch a brooch pin to a smaller circle of green felt.
Stitch the smaller felt circle to the back of the bigger felt circle.

And ta-dah!!!!!!!
A Crochet Flower Brooch is made!!
I leap, I jump, I run up and down stairs.
I show the Little People what I have made.
They ask me for the unpteenth time when will dinner be ready.
They are hungry.

They don't care for pretty, flowery, buttony goodness.

But I do.
I care for it very much.
I pin my hand made brooch to the lapel of my scrumptious Boden Coat.

I wear it with pride and joy.
And I think of you my dear blog-readers.
I think that you might like this brooch.
I think that you might like the pattern for the teeny tiny flowers.
And the teeny tiny leaves.
So you can make your own.
 
So I sit and hook and write and photograph for you.
And the pattern will be in the usual side-bar place later on this afternoon.
Have a wonderful leapy, jumpy, inspiring day!
xxxxxxxxx

Edited to add :: the Teeny Tiny Flower pattern is now in the left sidebar, listed as a Page.  Go on, you have to try these, it'll only take a teeny tiny moment :o)

Walking as Four

Hello! Ahhh back to school for the kiddiwinks today, and I am missing them actually. We had a lovely, lovely half term week together, I really enjoyed it. It was relaxing, laid back and enjoyable, and apart from the Left-side-of-the-sofa drama, oh and some Barbie-related friction, my two Little People enjoyed each others company and enjoyed being at home together.

Yesterday, on the last day of the holidays we decided we wanted an outing all together as a family, and as we've recently purchased child-sized walking boots for the LP, a days walk/picnic was planned. It was the very first time we've all been walking together as a family of four :: Little Man came with us on this same hike last spring, but back then Little Lady's legs were just a bit too weeny to tackle five miles of hill and dale. 

Not so any longer. She did brilliantly, well both children did, with only a teensy bit of tired complaining just before our lunch stop. It was a pleasure to make this familiar walk as Four, as a Family. So different to walking as a Couple. Slower, more stops, more observations, more excitement, more running/jumping/climbing, more games. Walking as a Foursome was altogether More in many ways.

Here are some pictures from the day :: the walk is in the Yorkshire Dales, a five mile circular route beginning and ending in the picturesque village of Grassington.

:: big grey skies and cold winds as we start the walk ::

 

:: looking down the Dale as we climb up ::

:: these "squeeze" stiles allow us to pass through dry stone walls ::

:: the sun begins to shine as we cross the high moorland ::

 

:: walking down through Grass Woods to reach the River Wharfe  ::

 

:: a "moss hedgehog" becomes a new friend ::

 

:: the grey skies change to blue and we feel the sun on our faces ::

:: down at the river side to stop for a picnic lunch on the flat rocks ::

 

:: we watch a local canoe club sail down river ::

 

:: steaming hot tea with lunch ::

 

:: further down river is this beautiful river beach ::

 

:: we stop to play in the afternoon sunshine ::

 

:: selecting stones to throw into the water ::

:: selecting stones to put in pockets ::

:: selecting stones to carry home and decorate ::

:: the stone-decorating in progress before breakfast this morning::

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

When I was tucking the Little People in bed last night, I asked each of them in turn if they had enjoyed the day, if they'd had fun on the walk. Because I had really, really enjoyed it enormously.

Little Lady said yes, she had enjoyed it very much because I had bought her a packet of fruity sweets at the end of the walk.

Little Man said no, he had not enjoyed it because his legs got tired.

Not quite the answers I had hoped for, but still. You can't have everything can you?

xxxx

B words

:: a lovely new Book arrives in the post, just in time for weekend Browsing ::

:: Noticing the Bud of Amaryllis "Vera" is about to Burst open ::

:: Baking lemon drizzle cake and wrapping it in old fashioned wax paper to take on a picnic with friends ::

:: Little People's muddy Boots after a fabulous day spent walking, picnicking, paddling, digging, climbing, bike riding and ice cream eating at Bolton Abbey ::

:: a little Buttony crochet waiting to be shared with you next week ::

Books, Buds, Baking, Boots, Buttons.....

.....BEAUTIFUL!

xxxxxxxxx

Saltaire and Salts Mill

As children go, my two are fairly low maintenance during school holidays, and thankfully most of the time they get along just fine together. Every so often there are little spats, and very occasionally the little spats become full blown fights.

You know the way that children have of taking a very simple dilemma and blowing it up out of all proportion until all hell breaks loose? Yesterday morning was just such an occasion. Firstly  a game went wrong (cheating and suspected  foul play), then a hideous row began over who gets to sit on the left had side of the sofa. Queue the mother of all tantrums (Little Lady) and a stubborn refusal to give way (Little Man, who's backside was occupying the coveted left-hand side of the sofa) and it was not very nice for a while in the Attic24 house yesterday.

I knew we needed to get out of the house because I absolutely hate myself shouting, and I could feel myself very close to it over the Sofa Situation. So I quickly checked train times and formulated a little after lunch diversion to get us out and about on what was a very dull, grey, uninspiring day.

I chose Saltaire :: a 20 minute train journey down the branch line to this quaint little place. We've been here once before, the Little People and I, co-incidentally exactly one year ago during the February half term holiday last year. Its one of those impossibly un-real sort of villages, with row upon row of cute little perfectly preserved purpose-built mill workers cottages. I am in love with little rows of houses as you know, and could quite happily have spent the whole afternoon walking these dinky little streets taking photographs of bright painted front doors, amazing stained glass windows, cute chimney pots and garden gates.

But the Little People, staring in disbelief as I run up and down streets taking these photos of other peoples houses would not let me get away with this activity all afternoon. No :: when in Saltaire there is another big attraction :: Salts Mill.

Salts Mill is a rarity these days in that it is free to get in. And it's an amazing building. Its the scale of it more than anything else which is so amazing. It's amazing to me, a full grown adult, so I can only imagine seeing it through the eyes of my children. Huge rooms with massive pillars holding up ginormous ceilings. Exceptionally tall windows with huge, deep windowsills. Fantastically oversized plant pots with great towering plants reaching up to the ceiling.

And stuff. So much stuff to look at!

This is not a particularly child-friendly place I might add. Its a combination of art gallery, museum, shop and restaurant. All aimed at cultural, artistic grown-up people. Everything is at child height though :: the books and art materials that are for sale are displayed beautifully laid out on old wooden tables. There are enticing and curiously designed sofas and ancient chairs with DO NOT SIT signs. Beautiful and ancient ceramics displayed worryingly at child level with DO NOT TOUCH signs.

As a parent bringing children here, you need to be particularly confident and trusting in your relationship with your offspring, and in their natural behaviour in such a place. I am undeniably proud of my two Little People. They love this place, and understand without me saying that it is a place where they need to Behave, and they do so. Impeccably.

 

They look at every single thing, they are excited. They exclaim, they call me over to see. We talk about colours, about how old things are, how much things cost :: there're some very expensive items for sale in this place, we ooooooooooh at a single book costing one hundred pounds, ahhhhhhh at a vase costing one thousand and twenty three pounds.

I really enjoy the artwork here, I love David Hockney's paintings of which there are many. The colours are awesome.

 

I need to tell you about the smell of this place too. Throughout these massive rooms there are huge glass vases of white lilies. Dozens and dozens of them, on tables and windowsills, amongst books and artworks. The scent of them is incredible. Can you imagine it?

We are on our way through the second gallery/book shop, making our way towards the Main Attraction as far as the Little People are concerned. I stop to admire the looooong line of coloured pendant lamps, I really, really like those.

The Main Attraction is Salts Diner. As with everything else in this place, it's huge. And colourful and Designer-ish. And I love it.

I love the multicoloured butterfly chairs, the intense blue of the table legs, the painted radiators, the colourful photos on the walls, the different colours of the fresh flowers on each table. We order from smartly dressed waitresses :: a pot of tea and carrot cake, fresh fruit juice and ice creams. We enjoy is enormously. The ice cream in particular is a delight. It's homemade, and is served in a big over sized glass dish with a wafer jauntily stuck in the top. I am so happy to sit and observe my two eat and enjoy, it is worth every penny.

After the diner, we are suddenly in need of fresh air and a release from all the controlled behaviour, so we come out of the mill and walk down the short hill to the canal and the small Roberts Park. We spend a while swinging and climbing and roundabouting, before taking a walk/run around the park itself. The Little People run, run, run like dogs. I love watching children in large open spaces, the way they rejoice in the freedom of all that space is just lovely to watch. It fills my heart with happiness.

Coming home on the train, tired and happy, and they tell me what a great afternoon they've had.

Me too kids, me too.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

Rainy Day Baking

 

This happens to be a very appropriate book for this half term holiday, the weather has left a lot to be desired around these parts. Yesterday morning it was bloomin awful, and today is looking even worse. Along with the drizzle, we've got thick fog to contend with :: I'm up in the Attic and I can barely see my town, let alone the hills today.

But still, I am trying not to complain, because in actual fact I'm loving being home with the Little People, and the dire weather does kind of narrow down the indecision of the  what-shall-we-do-today question. 

Baking seems to be the In Thing in our house right now. I mean, I am always baking, and have often involved the Little People in this pleasurable activity. But as they grow older, baking is increasingly becoming something they want to do for themselves. Which is simultaneously great and alarming. 

Can you remember Little Man a few weekends ago, concocting his very own bun mixture in the kitchen All By Himself?? Well since then, he has really taken an interest in baking. I've written out a few simple recipes for him on squares of paper so that he can easily read the ingredients with their quantities, and the order in which they go into the bowl. He is doing great. He weighs meticulously, to the exact gram. He uses a wooden spoon vigorously, beats with gusto, so his buns end up light and airy. Of course, it's a little messy. Sometimes it's a lot messy. But oh, the joy! How can any Mum not be proud of her six year old almost daily begging to make buns, flapjacks, cookies??

Anyhow, back to the book. This is "The Rainy Day Book" by Jane Bull. I'm not sure if this book is still in print (we've owned it for quite a few years now) but I see on Amazon that she now has many other titles too, including a Baking Book, which will be a definite future purchase for my little Baker.

This book, and this page in particular has been so very, very loved over the years, not only by my Little People, but by various visiting Little Friends too. I've made this sweet dough recipe countless times when my two were little, and its a fantastic activity for children of all ages.

The ingredients are easy to remember, and the proportions are 1:2:3

1 part :: sugar (normal, white granulated sugar)

2 parts :: soft butter or margarine

3 parts :: plain flour.

For the quantity of dough pictured below in Little lady's hands, use 25g sugar, 50g butter and 75g flour. This makes about 8 medium sized cookies.

Simply put all the ingredients into a bowl together (make sure the butter/margarine is soft or it'll be hard work), and rub together with your fingers until the dough begins to form. For a little while it may seem like it's not going to work, it looks quite crumbly at the start. But the trick is to really work the mixture so that the butter warms up.

It ends up like a sweet, edible play-doh. Small children can just pull bits off, roll it into balls in the palm of their hands and then flatten/bang it into a cookie shape. when they are at pre-school/playgroup age, they are well accustomed to shaping and manipulating play-doh, so this comes naturally to them. Its a joy to watch.

For my two they will not entertain this slap dash method any more. Far too babyish.

No, they want a rolling pin and proper cookie cutters.

Ok, we can do that.

Little Lady chooses hearts, and little man goes for stars.

He does his completely unassisted and the cookies vary a lot in thickness, but it still all works out OK.

I resist the urge to neaten them up, to flatten the thick ones, to re-roll the thin ones.

The cookies get decorated before they go into the oven. Use whatever you fancy :: choc chips, sugar flowers, smarties, sprinkles.

Bake at a low temp 160/325/gas 3 for 15 mins.

 

You will undoubtedly have a battle on your hands trying to get the cookies from the baking tray to the cooling rack without little hands/mouths intervening.

They are perfect for a little Morning Snack with a glass of milk.

You may or may not wish to sample your Little One's baking efforts.

These are not the tastiest cookies ever made.

And somehow, the fact that the dough has been pounded between Little Palms and slapped around rather brutally kind of sticks in ones mind as one is chewing and swallowing.

But the Kids love 'em.

And thats what counts.

Sharing the Moment

Morning all...no, we don't have snow today, these photos were taken a week or two ago now, on the 6th February.
The weather here today in North Yorkshire is disgusting. Quite honestly, there's no other word for it. Its cold and grey,  with very low cloud (this view of my beloved hills has practically  disappeared) and there's that pesky drizzly rain.The sort of rain that doesn't look much, but makes one very wet if one is brave enough to venture out in it.

If you've been following my blog a while, you will be familiar with this view of mine.
You will know that when I'm up in the Attic, sitting in the little window seat, I look out over the rooftops of my town to these hills beyond.
You will have seen this view now in various weathers, at various times of day, through all four seasons as I have often shared it with you.
Spring, summer, autumn, winter.
Sunshine and scudding cloud, sparkling frost, glistening snow, fog, mist and rain.
Morning, afternoon and evening, sunrise and sunset.
I've watched in awe as the weather and the seasons have played out so beautifully across these hills.

6th February, around 4.45pm, a Friday.
A time of day when I am usually in the kitchen cooking, or potterng around downstairs with the Little People.
A time of day when I am busy, and usually oblivious to the world outside my window.
But on this particular day, I had run up to the attic to find something, and the moment I came into the room I could sense the light. It was golden. And as I ducked down to take in the view, the beauty of it almost took my breath away.
I ran down two flights of stairs to get the camera, back up two flights of stairs to get back to that view. To drink it in, to lose myself in the moment.

It was such a magical moment, I can't quite find the words to describe it to you.
It was a feeling of such gratitude for all that is around us, for the simple beauty of life and nature which is right there, right outside our windows if we can only take a while to stop and observe.
We so often take our world for granted, or else the beauty of certain moments is simply missed as we hustle and bustle through our days.
Yet sometimes we do get to catch the moment.
Get to hold it, cherish it, appreciate it and share it.

Thank you for sharing it with me.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Red Lion

Do you remember when I planted up my three Amaryllis bulbs?

It was January 8th.

The above photo was taken twenty days later on January 28th.

Its been a source of enormous pleasure watching these bulbs grow.

Every day, a little taller.

Up, up, up.

Above photo, 9th February.

This is Amaryllis Red Lion in the lead.

It far outruns it's competitors Vera and Minerva in the race to take centre stage.

The first glimpse of that colour offers a  delicious promise of what is yet to come.

Sweet suspense as I continue to watch and wait.

11th February and the flowers are getting ready for the show.

I continue to be entranced, to watch, wait and almost hold my breath in anticipation of the performance.

13th February and I decide to move Red Lion. 

The windowsill where it has grown so tall suddenly doesn't seem safe.

Too near to Kid Level.

So I choose a tall shelf.

It will be safe here, and I'll be able to watch the show unfold.

Today :: 16th February and I am in the front row, gasping with pleasure and delight at the performance.

That colour!

That Flamboyance!

The sheer drama of this flowering beauty!

Rather tragically, the high shelf was not as safe as I had hoped.

Two of the eight flowers were removed before they could open.

One was knocked by me as I was repositioning Red Lion.

It fell heavily to the ground.

"*&[email protected]$*^&!!!!!!!" (insert foul-mouthed expletives)

Another was carried carefully in little hands and solemnly presented to me.

"Mummy, this flower fell off. All by Itself."

Later, under scrutiny, we uncover the truth...

"Actually, it didn't come off by itself. Barbie knocked it."

Naughty Barbie.

Now these two fallen flowers are blooming in a small jar where we can watch close up. 

It lifts my heart and soul to observe such colour and beauty.

Vibrant, radiant, intense colour on the greyest, wettest, most miserable of February days.