Attic24

Rain and Shine

In a bid to fight the annual Summer Overwhelm and pretend that I've not been full of cold, full of hay fever, full of weirdly erratic hormones and full of not sleeping well, I've been turning my back on indoor life whenever possible and spending time outside. The house, my studio, work related stuff and anything that requires me to apply my barely functioning, sleep-deprived brain cells has been neglected and I am trying not to worry about it too much.

Rain or shine, I find such calm in being outside surrounded by nature and I am so so thankful that I can leave the house/Attic to run on neglect for short periods while I try and look after my own well being. 

J and I have been tramping familiar paths in all weathers....

....pottering around in the grey of warm, muggy afternoons. We've been making the most of these last few weeks of the term when we have a small number of child and work free hours to spend together. It's been lovely and very much appreciated by me I can tell you.

I've continued my evening outings with Little B too, as and when he's been willing to join me.

These photos were taken last week, around 8pm on Wednesday evening when we took a stroll up the farm track and into the woods.

The light was so beautiful at that time of day.....

....with dancing shadows.....

....and glowing sunbeams. 

The following evening we decided to make a picnic dinner and take it to Bolton Abbey which is something I wish we could do more often. It takes a certain amount of forward planning, but it's still possible to be fairly spontaneous with it when the weather looks promising. I marinated some butterflied chicken breasts (olive oil, wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, honey, mustard) then cooked them on a hot griddle pan until they were seared and cooked through, then left them to cool. I also boiled up some baby Jersey Royal potatoes then tossed them in a little butter, heavily seasoned them and left them to cool too. I packed up some crusty French bread and tortilla crisps with an avocado dip, and a big bowl of easy finger-eating salad (baby plum tomatoes, baby cucumbers, carrot and pepper sticks). What else? Hmm yes, some easy finger fruit (strawberries, cherries and watermelon chunks) and some chocolate biscuits to finish. I made up a big bottle of elderflower cordial and honestly, it was so summery and delicious, and I wish I had taken more photos to share with you. Actually I took lots of lovely summery photos of the Little People, it was one of those precious evenings that you don't want to end.

Today there was very little shine at all but the rain didn't stop us getting out and about.

We walked through Strid Wood at Bolton Abbey this afternoon, enjoying the sound of the rain drops as they fell heavily onto the leaves above our head.

The scent of damp earth and abundant greenery was lush, and helped me to feel like my head was clearing a little for the first time in ages. 

Ahhhh, raindrops on a blade of grass....such simple beauty, but oh so worth stopping for.

After a quick coffee, we drove home over the moors and I was absolutely blown away by the sight of this field right next to the road. I asked J to pull into the lane so that I could take a closer look. I wanted to find out what kind of flower was growing in such abundance.......

......oh, hello Foxgloves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I honestly don't think I have ever in my entire life seen so many growing in one place, they stole my breath clean away!

They looked spectacular en masse and I just stood there at the edge of the road with my mouth hanging open in wonder. Amazing.

Right now the rain has stopped and the evening is warm and clear, and I am thinking about sitting down quietly to do something soothing. Maybe knit a few more rows of my seascape socks, or crochet up a few more rows of the Yarndale stripes I'm working on. I finished the first one and am now onto number two and I'm so enjoying the simplicity of it....I'll show you more of that tomorrow I think.

See you soon! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Summer Days

We've not had the greatest Summer weather here lately, it's been incredibly wet and cool for June. The upside to all the falling wet stuff is the complete and utter lushness of the countryside, it's just so greeeeeeeen and beautiful everywhere, if a bit on the damp side.

On Monday morning J and I drove up into the Yorkshire Dales to walk around the picturesque village of Malham. This is only a short walk (around 4 miles), heading out of the village across lush green fields and into the small woodland that surround  Janets Foss waterfall. 

From there it's a steep climb up....

....until you eventually reach the top of the magnificent Malham Cove.

This limestone pavement is world famous (I'm saying that, but I'm not sure if that's actually true? It feels like it should be famous though!). Famous or not, it's an amazing geological feature and the subject of many school geography lessons.

It's not especially easy terrain to walk on and the "grykes" (the gaps between the limestone rocks) are pretty deep. But it's fun to hop from rock to rock, making a slow journey from one side to the other.

J really doesn't do well with heights, so I ventured on my own towards the edge of the cove to take in the spectacular view down the valley. It was drizzling with rain at this point so a little murky and grey, but nevertheless still very beautiful.

The descent from the top of the cove is via a very, very long higgledy piggeldy run of stone steps. Malham cove is 260 feet high, so that's a lot of steps....over four hundred of them believe it or not. It makes you very quickly realise you have a whole heap load of muscles in your legs that don't very often get a work out.

I took regular stops on the way down to admire the long distance views and to appreciate the close up details too. There was lots of wild thyme flowering amongst the rocks and the colours seemed even more vibrant that usual in the dull, grey light.

It always amazes me when we reach the bottom and look up to see how very, very high that limestone cliff face is.....and to realise that we were up there ON TOP just a short time ago. Wow....it takes my breath away. Every. Time.

The stroll back to the village is gentle and scenic.....

.....a beautiful meandering path through flowery meadows.....

....then a short jaunt down a quiet country lane.

It was lunch time when we arrived back into the village, so we decided on a welcome sit down in the local pub for a quiet drink and a very tasty light lunch.

It was a lovely day, and for the gazillionth time I said my silent thanks of gratitude for the six child-free hours that J and I get to spend together every Monday. It's such a blessing.

Back on the home front and summer is still blooming....it's Peony Paradise right there on my table this week, and I am so happy about it! One bud is still to open, but the other four stems are putting on a spectacular floral show. I am enjoying these flowers so much and drink in their beauty many, many times during the day.

Yesterday evening I rounded up Little B and asked him if he wanted to come with me on an elderflower gathering expedition. He was overflowing with enthusiasm (sweet boy) and so at 7.30, off we went into the soft early evening to see what we could find.

We have a place that we visit each year to gather elderflowers - even though they are very common hedgerow trees and grow in abundance around our neighbourhood, I prefer to go somewhere quiet and out of the way to snip and gather (rather than the local park where folk can be a bit on the blunt side when they see you snipping at trees, say no more).

The place we go now is a very quiet little lane off the beaten track on the edge of town - we can easily walk there, but it's out of the way and there are about eight trees that are can gather from so that we leave plenty behind for the wildlife. 

I put Little B on snipping duty which he was thrilled about - you can see how big and blowsy those flower heads are....

....we had no problem gathering in the fifty or so heads that we needed for cordial making. In fact, there were so many flowers this year that I'm probably going to head back again at the weekend if it stays dry and gather in enough for a second batch. 

I did two batches last year so that I could stash away some small plastic bottles of cordial in the freezer. It was such a delicious treat to pull them out in winter and have an instant reminder of summertime.

I called into the supermarket after the school run this morning and lugged back the huge two kilo bag of sugar along with the lemons and oranges that go with the flowers to make Elderfower cordial. It's extremely simple to make and the recipe I use is one that I adapted from Sarah Raven (I use less sugar in mine).

There you go ↑↑↑ I made this for me to print and keep, so thought I'd share it with you too.

Citric acid is magic stuff and super-easy to find online....Amazon sell it (of course they do, they pretty much sell anything). Although you usually have to buy it in 500g quantities, it's not too expensive and keeps for years if you seal it up well. Find it on Amazon ((here)).

The scent of this flowery concoction is a bit odd as it's "cooking" and to be honest it doesn't smell especially good. But........oh the resulting syrupy drink is absolutely divine I promise you. It's floral, sweet and citrusy and refreshingly zingy. I love love love it, it's a taste of summer that I never tire of.

You dilute the cordial with water (sparkling water is especially good), or add a splash to a glass of prossecco or gin/tonic for something a little bit more weekendish. Oooo, now I'm really looking forward to my weekend summer tipple....it'll probably be the highlight of my Saturday!

The sun was in and out today, with a surprising fall of light summer rain catching me out on my way home from the shops this morning. The kitty follows the sun around the furniture, usually finding a warm patch of sunlit crochet to curl up on for her extended daytime naps. She isn't really a laid back cat (she is a feisty little diva) but there are occasions when she really does appear to be very mellow indeed.

Over on the sofa this morning I found a monster lurking - like you do. Little B is running on Summer time and is getting up pretty early in the mornings right now. It's not unusual for him to be pottering around at 6am, immersed in his own nine year old world of play. He goes through phases where none of his toys interest him any more and all he wants is screen time (insane cartoons mostly) but at the moment there is a lot of playtime happening and I have to say it delights me no end. Long may it last. We've got four more weeks left of the school year here, then we are into the six week summer break, so I'm hoping the play phase carries on for a good while yet. Please let it (silent plea).

I've not photographed my view for a while, so I took a quick snap today as we walked to the top of the hill on our way home. The light was so clear after the earlier splash of rain, and everything is looking beautifully green and lush. 

Summer time always makes me want to feel lighter, healthier and more energised, so I'm making an effort to curb my sweet tooth and am forcing myself to stay away from the calorie laden pastries and biscuits when I go shopping. Instead I've been buying extra fruit, not just the ordinary every day fruits that we always have in (apples, pears, oranges, bananas), but special fruity things like mango and strawberries and passion fruit. I really love fruit so it's not a hardship to snack on a plate of it, I've just not got to be so lazy about preparing it for myself. 

I am so in love with these long, light days. Even when it's been raining and miserable and I've lit the candles to banish the gloom, I still love that the darkness doesn't creep in until well past ten o'clock at night. It's a magical time of year - Summer Solstice tomorrow and I'm keeping all crossed for a dry evening so that we can head out and celebrate. I'm not sure what we'll do - I kind of hope that there's cake or ice cream involved, and possibly a glass of chilled prossecco, but who knows whether I can motivate the family to head out into the greenery and be mid-summerish with me? I've been remembering this day, gosh, six years ago now, how is this possible? Our family dynamic has changed considerably since then and I am so grateful for my blog and the beautiful window it gives me back into the past. Happy memories indeed.

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Golden Meadow

This light and golden time of year has me completely under it's spell and I feel like I can't possibly get enough of it. These early summer days are just so abundantly beautiful and make me very happy. It's just never, ever enough.

Last week I had my Dad and Lady B visiting from Dorset, and we had a lot of fun being tourists with them in our own patch. We took the train to Salts Mill to see Hockney's "Arrival of Spring" which was magical. We walked at Bolton Abbey, had brunch in one of our favourite places, wandered around Skipton market, pootled through local woodland and riverside meadows and drove along summery lanes through the Yorkshire Dales. It was really lovely, but mildly exhausting. Of course, school stuff and household stuff still had to happen alongside touristy activity and I also cooked us all an evening meal every day except for one (hello, very welcome and delicious curry delivered to the door!). It surprised me the difference it made cooking for seven people instead of our usual five, I felt like there was so much chopping and stirring in my life.

One golden evening last week I was hit with the annual pull to go and walk in the buttercup meadow. These seasonal rituals are so strong and I find it almost impossible to resist when they call. Little B and Lady B came with me, a short five minute jaunt up to the park and through the wooden gate into the meadow. It was utterly glorious, the perfect summer evening full of gentle warmth, low golden sunlight and long slanting shadows. Little B and Lady B spent an aaaaage searching for four leaf clovers (it always seem to be a thing we do when out with Lady B), while I pranced about with my camera swooning over the beauty of it all. 

The fairground was there in the background, setting up in the park ready for the towns' annual Gala at the weekend. It all felt very summery indeed, and hugely nostalgic and emotional somehow. I'm always so greedy for Summer to be way longer than it actually is. It's almost like I'm on the verge of a mild anxiety attack every time I happen to get a whiff of what date it is and realise we are so, so close to the summer solstice already and as such, these delicious mid-summer days are numbered. Wahhh!!!!! I am aiming to squeeze every last drop out of this summer, no matter what the weather throws I want to be out there drinking it in. Next up......elderflower cordial season, yippee for that little highly anticipated seasonal jaunt!

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ps, I've gotten a bit behind with my blogging, but will try and catch up this week if I can - I need to take you to Amsterdam and France, get your passports ready?! x

 

 

 

 

 

Green and Light

Twice this week I've had evening dates with Little B. At seven o'clock on the dot he comes to get me and no matter what I'm doing (crochet, knitting, social media-ing, blogging, laundry folding etc etc, the usual stuff that fills my evenings) I am not allowed to dally. Come on, come on Mummy, it's time to go! So of course I drop everything, grab a bottle of water and off we go, out into the beautiful early evening of our neighbourhood. We've created an hour long walking route this week which is uniquely ours and it's just so lovely. We start out along the canal, pass under the old mill bridge and follow the narrow footpath around the bottom of the castle. Entering into the woods by the bottom gate where the Huntress stands, the scent is overwhelming, oh my, I feel almost faint with emotion when I take that first deep breath in. Wild garlic and all the verdant growth, it's so fresh and light and green, green, green. We follow the path through the woods almost as far as the pond, then take the steep stepped pathway up, up, up into the trees which is something we've never done before (we are usually walking the opposite direction and coming down those steps). It's a huff-puff climb, but fun to go from the bottom of the woods to the top in mere minutes. Sunshine and shadows, laughter and chatter, it's just so precious, every single nano-second of it.

Just before Christmas, Little B (then aged 8 and three quarters) abruptly decided he was too old to hold my hand as we walked to school (well, walking anywhere actually). And once he decided on this he absolutely refused to go back on it. Sometimes I would catch him reaching for my hand without thinking, then a flash of remembrance and he would snatch it away super-quick. I understood it, but still, there was a persistent stab of sadness when I thought about the change and felt the loss. This week since I've been home from France he has started holding my hand again, and oh my heart feels like it wants to break free and fly up into the wide blue yonder. I haven't said anything to him about it, have allowed him to silently reach for me without the need to remark on it. It really has been the sweetest, most heart expanding experience. You hear the phrase "pulling on your heart strings" and never has this felt more true for me, I swear I can feel it happening.

 The weather has been delicious this week, truly May at it's best and I want to soak it all in and store up all the feels. My emotions are running high at the moment - I recognise it, and think it's in part due to this time of year. I'm not over analysing it, just holding myself together and allowing the days to pass gently, knowing that all is as it should be. 

Anyhow - Little B and I have so enjoyed our walks together this week, hand in hand, non stop chatter, it's an hour out of my day that feels like the greatest gift. I am so grateful......thank you for sharing it with me.

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Recent Views

It's been a misty, murky sort of a day today, with a view that was only half there. It's so strange when the familiar hilly landscape that I've become so fond of simply disappears, it's a bit of a visual shock to the system! In fact this week so far has been a bit of a strange one, and that murky dampness seems to have settled deeply into my system. I flew back from France on Sunday, traveled north from London on Monday, then spent yesterday floating around in a grey bubble of mild exhaustion.

Today has been better, I met a friend for coffee this morning and spent half of the time bending her ear about my fabulous French experience, feeling the need to verbalise my feelings to somebody who was prepared to listen and nod in appropriate places. The fam were glad to have me back, but mainly because household harmony seemed to be hanging by a thread. Nobody had any clean underwear, and I listened to the Little People tell me about The Running Out of Butter as if it were the end of the world. It felt nice to be missed, even if it was only in the capacity of laundry maid and grocery shopper. J did an amazing job of cooking and keeping everything ticking over while I was gone (although he clearly did not monitor the butter situation carefully enough, and one load of washing in 9 days was not quite enough either).

France was a-mazing, it was everything I had hoped for and so very much more besides. I have so much to tell you! However, I am mindful of the fact that I'll be repeating my crochet retreat again in a couple of weeks and don't wish to spoil it for the ladies that are still to experience it. I thought you might like to see a few photos though - the above is the view from my third floor bedroom, which had me so delighted each and every day. Hills that were more like mountains, buildings and trees that were centuries old, and the most glorious flowering wisteria that made me swoon and sneeze.

Before last week I had no idea that wisteria had a scent - I had assumed that it was all about the abundant flowery drape and glorious colour.

The scent of wisteria is utterly delicious I can tell you. It is sweet and floral and the very essence of late Springtime. Every day I walked past this doorway and would breathe in the perfume of these delicate flowers - it's a memory that I know will stay with me for always.

I had the most wonderful time teaching last week and found it incredibly uplifting and enjoyable. I created a four day course which was a mixture of colour teaching and crochet and I was very, very inspired by the way the ladies applied so much passion, enthusiasm, thought and determination to their creations. We honestly had the best time together and I'm looking forward to showing you more in a few weeks time.

We had a very welcome amount of time each day to relax and socialise out of the classroom, and we usually spent it cosied up in the very atmospheric and comfortable bar with hooks/needles in hand and a glass of something chilled and sparkly within easy reach. We discovered the local sparkling rose wine which tasted like a fruity champagne......it was pretty irresistible and seemed to go very well with yarn.

I took along a bag of yarn oddments with me to France, left overs from the making of my Sweet Pea and Dune blankets. There are 30 colours in total and I'm so in love with the delicate feel of them all together. I'm making centres for some Summer Garden Granny Squares, putting the colours together in a very random fashion with next to no planning or thought. It's very liberating to be working in this way I have to say, and it's making me really happy. I've no idea how this is going to pan out, how many squares I'll make or what they will turn into - a small blanket, a back-of-the-chair throw, a cushion or maybe even a wrap/shawl? I'll keep you posted.

Yesterday in my murky bubble, I realised that I needed to work on the Dune Colourwash sequence for you. I'm sorry I didn't have time to do this before I went off to France and I know many of you have been waiting patiently for it. I finished it last night and J is creating a colour chart for me, so I'm going to share it on my blog tomorrow (Thursday) for those who fancy giving it a go. I have to say that it has turned out so beautifully, and I can certainly see the appeal of working colourwash versions of my blanket designs. They are just so soothing to look at, and this particular palette of soft coastal colours really looks great when ordered in this way.

Right now it's 10pm and I am pretty sure I need to be horizontal in my bed in the next five minutes or else I will most likely fall asleep right here and face plant into my keyboard. I'll be back tomorrrow with Dune stripey stuff!

Night night xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

April Feels

April is treating us kindly for the most part and it really does feel like Spring has finally sprung here. We took a walk at Bolton abbey on Sunday morning, just a shortish stroll through Strid Woods to breathe in some cool fresh air and stretch our legs a little. Little B was in fine form, a non stop chattering, noisy little mouthpiece on two legs. He could talk the hind legs off a donkey, as my Mum used to say. It's still a bit bare and wintry in the woods, yet I don't mind it too much as it feels right and proper for the time of year. There is bluebell greenery to be found look, but unlike my friends in the south we are still some weeks away from blue floral bounty.

I can't wait for the flowers! Come on little buds, shoot upwards!

In the late afternoon on Sunday I found a quiet window of opportunity to amuse myself with some gentle creativity. The Little Peeps were all busy with friends and J was wearing his blue and white stripy pinny and cooking up a delicious smelling curry for dinner. I decided to sit and stitch for a short while - I started this cross stitch hoop last summer but it's been tucked away in my project bag waiting patiently for me to return to it. Autumn/Winter generally means allllllll the crochet for me with my annual CAL blanket in progress, so I don't often feel the need to look elsewhere for a creative fix. 

Cross stitch is such a beautifully slow and meditative hobby, and I honestly adore it. If I wasn't so completely obsessed with my crochet hook then I could easily imagine myself designing with these little crosses. The above design is by Tiny Modernist on Etsy, in case you feel the urge to stitch up some Love letters surrounded by flowers.

Monday afternoon, J and I took a very quick jaunt into our local woods in the hour before the school run. It was one of those days consumed by mundane jobs and admin, and by 2.30 I'd just had enough of sitting at my laptop. It was such a tonic to get out into the fresh air and soak in some sunny woodland feel-good....

.....and oh the wild garlic is looking scrumptious. I gathered some young leaves and made wild garlic pesto last year (using this recipe) but this year I am fancying some green, garlicky soup. I came across this recipe today and it is calling loudly to my leaf-gathering soul, so I shall see if I can make it happen.

I've had a jug of narcissus on my table for weeks on end now, they've become an essential weekly grocery item that I pop into my basket along with bananas without even thinking too hard about it. They are always right there near the fruit, long stems held together with elastic bands and laid out neatly in cardboard boxes. I simply cannot resist their happy little faces, and the scent too of course. I bought these ones yesterday, and the lady who served me in the supermarket literally scrunched up her nose with disgust as she passed them through the checkout scanner, telling me that she couldn't stand the smell of them. Not me, I LOVE the smell!

Today has been bright and sunny, and when I came back home after the school run this morning I found the kitty lounging around on the sofa basking in the sun. She looked so completely content, and I thought : yes indeedy, I know exactly how you are feeling. Isn't it just the loveliest thing to sit a while in a warm patch of streaming sunshine and soak in it's gentle warmth?

Yes, it's enough to make you want to roll around and delight in the pure deliciousness of it all!

Despite the Spring sunshine, it's been cold these past few days. I was chatting to the Ice Cream Tug Boat Man on the canal yesterday as he opened his boat up for the first time this season - he admitted that he had misjudged the weather and was absolutely frozen. He did look a tad chilled around the extremities I have to say.

I'm still plodding around wearing my hand knit socks and boots, and I am very, very happy with that arrangement for the time being. I folded up these freshly washed socks earlier today ready to take them upstairs - well the top pair will go upstairs to join my Sock Pile, the bottom pair will be wrapped up very soon and gifted (finally, finally) to my super-patient father-in-law. I certainly hope his toes adore wriggling inside those cosy, woolly stitches.

I bought a new duvet cover and pillowcases yesterday, a spontaneous element of the regular supermarket** shop. I absolutely could not walk past and leave this behind - a king size 100% cotton duvet with a very beautiful Liberty-esk design - reduced in price to a mere £10! TEN!! I came home, washed it, hung it outside to dry and had the utter pleasure of that clean-sheet-smell when I went to bed last night. I woke up this morning thinking that I was in someone else's bed, being that for the past ten years we've always had a plain white duvet cover. The pattern is taking some getting used to, I keep getting a mild shock every time I walk into the bedroom and see my bed looking so overly flowery.

Little B is truly horrified by the sudden change, he just can't understand why on earth I would want to have flowers all over my bed. He also commented on the fact that my beloved Sunny Log Cabin blanket looks out of place now ("the colours are all wrong Mummy"). I took his advice on board and swapped blankets this afternoon.....................

............oh, that's looking a bit yummy isn't it just? A newly FOTH blanket (that's Fresh Off The Hook in case you wondered), there is honestly nothing more satisfying than darning in the very last end on a blanket project that has spanned many weeks.

YAY!!! My Dune blanket is finished! I absolutely love love love it, and can't wait to show you more.

As I was crocheting the border this morning I was also photographing my progress in preparation for making the tutorial. It's a slow, slow process but I don't mind it too much and good coffee definitely helps.

I'm really happy to tell you that I'll be ready to share my Dune blanket with you next week, on Tuesday 16th April. Yarn packs will go on sale in my shop at Wool Warehouse and will include a full colour printed pattern. I'll also be sharing it all for FREEEEeeeEeEee here on my blog, my usual full photo tutorial to teach you the Seashell stitch so that you can crochet up your very own breezy seaside stripes.

I hope April is treating you well my friends, and that you are feeling happy and content.

A big hug from me to you ((XX))

ps ** duvet cover is from Morrisons, it was heavily reduced in price, a real bargain x

 

 

 

Early Spring

It's been cold here today, an un-spring-like three degrees, and as I sit here at my desk I can hear J cleaning out the grate ready for me to light the fire. We are straddling the seasons it seems, with one foot tentatively tiptoeing into Spring and the other foot staying wrapped up in woolly hand knit socks and winter boots. I haven't taken a photograph of my hill view in ages, mainly because it has often been covered in low cloud or fog and has been very murky indeed. But as our days lengthen I'm beginning to notice more sunlight and shadows across the landscape and more subtle changes in colour as the winter slowly comes to an end. I'm so ridiculously happy that our clocks jumped forward an hour into BST (British Summer Time) at the weekend and we now have the beautiful pleasure of light evenings again. I popped outside to put some paper into the recycling bin last night at 8pm and it was still (almost) light......happy, happy, happy me!!

It was the Spring Equinox on the 20th March, so exactly two weeks ago. Since then we've had a whole mixed bag of weather thrown at us but there have been the most delicious signs of early Spring showing in my neighbourhood, and I'm mainly talking about the florals. 

This golden beauty is at the end of my street in someone's front garden and I walk right past it every day when I come and go up and down the hill. It's a Forsythia and is absolutely laden with bright yellow flowers at this time of year. In the late afternoon when I'm on my way down the hill to school, the sun is low in the sky and shines right through the branches - it makes the flowers look as if they are glowing.

Blossom season is usually May here in my patch, but some of the smaller more sheltered trees in my neighbourhood are already in flower. This beautiful pink offering is very conveniently in my next door neighbours front garden so I am treated to the sight of it up close and personal. It's only a small tree which was planted around 3 years ago so the blossom is actually at face level which I absolutely love! Usually I'm gazing up through blossom branches high above my head, but having these beautiful flowers right in front of my nose is wonderful. 

I was walking home from our knit and natter morning at Coopers Cafe on Friday and snapped this photo when I felt overcome by nostalgia. Walking along this narrow pathway next to the little beck always makes me smile and reminds me of the many times I've walked back from playgroup holding hands with a very small chattery Little B. We used to call this our "tricky way" home as it involved the act of walking very, very, very carefully as close to the wall as we could manage - it was a little bit nerve wracking for this Mummy, but how could I deny him this simple bit of adventure? Little B would beg me to take him this way home...."please, please Mummy, can we walk home the Tricky Way?" He absolutely loved this pathway as I think it felt a little bit dangerous to his three year old self. I mean, look! No fence, no hand rail, nothing to prevent a three year old Little Person from tumbling into the water below! How very risky!!

What you can't see in the above photo is the flight of well worn stone steps at the end of the path - these take you straight up to the canal tow path. Yes, that bridge at the end is actually an aqueduct and carries the canal over the beck below. Don't you just love quirky little pathways like this?

I've no idea what this Tricky Way tree is called, but it's newly unfolding leaves are absolutely beautiful. They emerge at this time of year a very, very soft and pale silvery green so that they almost look like blossom. I would love to know it's name**, it somehow niggles me when I can't bring forth this sort of vital information.

**edit** I sent a photo of the tree to Christine who has a huge bank of gardening knowledge in her brain alongside all the sock knowledge, and she told me it's a Whitebeam tree. I am SO HAPPY to know this!!! Whitebeam, whitebeam....I shall try my hardest to retain that information inside my chaotic scramble of a brain. I love this tree!

On Saturday we ventured out as a family of four (sadly no matter how much I plead, I cannot persuade our 16 year old BoyTeen to come with us any more). It was a sunny day and as Little Lady was due to work on Sunday at her waitressing job, we loosely called this jaunt a day-early Mothers Day treat. We are very lucky to live on the very edge of the Yorkshire Dales national park, and have an enviably large number of destinations/walks we can choose which involve only a short car journey. On Saturday we picked one of our favourite family walks, an easy riverside meander with the added bonus of a top notch refreshment break built in. 

The walk starts at Linton Falls (there is a small car park there) and follows the river Wharfe (in the direction of Burnsall) as far as Hebden suspension bridge. Here you turn off and follow the half mile footpath to the small village of Hebden which is home to one of my most favourite rural cafes {The Old School tearoom}. If you live around here or are planning to visit in future I can highly recommend this easy walk - it's not circular, but with the tea-room stop in the middle, the return walk still feels very pleasurable even though you are effectively walking back the way you came. 

There are some huge Horse Chestnut trees growing along the riverside, and I was delighted to see the "sticky buds" already beginning to open. Spring is here, even when it feels like Winter still has us in it's grip.

I wish I'd taken some photos of our tea room stop, it was soooo good! It was just about warm enough to sit out in the garden (along with the goat, chickens and guinea pigs) and as well as the very, very good coffee, the home baked cakes are to die for. It was midday, so the rest of the family opted for brunch style sausage and bacon rolls while I went my own unique way and chose carrot and orange cake. It was utter cakey perfection and I enjoyed every single mouthful.

Our return walk along the river was slower (bellies full of good stuff!) and included a stop at one of the pebbly river beaches. The water was beautifully clear and dappled with dancing sunlight, it made me happy just to stand and gaze at it.

Little B won the prize for the very best river beach find - I was a tad jealous until he gifted it to me without a second thought. I've kept it in my coat pocket and every time I get a hold of it I'm reminded of this sunny afternoon and the joy of spending time with family.

How about that ↑↑↑ for an impressive set of roots??!!

It was around 3.30 by the time we returned to the falls, and all felt ridiculously happy in my personal internal world. I do so love where I live, and getting out to enjoy the countryside with J and the Little People is one of my all time bestest most favourite pleasures (especially when you add in coffee, cake and pebbly beaches).

And here I am, engaging in one of my other favourite pleasures - a little spell of fireside crochet. Actually, this was Sunday afternoon and I don't think we'd lit the fire by this point but I still like to sit on the floor there. I've got a couple of surprisingly comfy, boxy square floor cushions and when my blanket has reached full-body length it's lovely to sit crocheting on the floor with the blanket stretched out in front of me. It's a visual feast!

Dune blanket is coming along beautifully and I am so very happy with it. It's hard to put into words - saying "very happy" seems rather lame when I look at those soothing yarny colours worked into cute little seashells and feel an overwhelming sense of joy. For me, this blanket is chockablock full of the best kind of seaside memories and I like to think they surround those stitches like an invisible magical aura. Crochet blankets are just fantabulous, in every way. Love love love making blankets!

I need to chat to my friends at Wool Warehouse and settle on a date for the Dune yarn pack - I've got to finish making the blanket (four more stripes, then the border), work on the printed pattern (which will be included in the yarn pack) and create the full photo tutorial to share here on my blog. I'm thinking it'll be in about two weeks time.......I am also thinking........scenic photos of the blanket at the beach will most definitely be required......sea fever springs to mind......!

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February Good Times

It was our half term break last week. We seemed to have it a week later than pretty much the whole of the country and we were all so ready for some idle days of rest and relaxation. It was sooo good, all of it, even the low key days where we forgot what day it was and didn't bother to get dressed until after lunch. 

With the brood returned to school today and our daily routine restored, I've thoroughly enjoyed the gentle silence here in the house. It made me sit quiet and still this afternoon catching my breath (if you can have an emotional breath to catch) taking some time to reflect and think about how this year is going so far. I took a look through my February photos and reminded myself how very good this past month has been.

February can be a tough ol' month and I find that unless I make a conscious effort to seek out the things that make me happy, the days tend to drag by in a slow, dull blur. I really find bluuurrr days very trying so I do my best not to allow them to take hold. It honestly doesn't take an awful lot to make me happy right down to my toes - a short walk by water, a good coffee, a jug of fresh flowers on my table, something colourful and yarny in my hands. All those things would be at the top of my personal feel-good anti-blur list, and instinctively I incorporate them into my days as often as I can. 

It takes effort to get out for a walk in the winter months, and the Little People can be hard to persuade. But I find that when we do make it happen it's soooooo worth it and without fail I always return home feeling uplifted. 

These photos were taken mid month, a cold, brisk stroll around the reservoir one Sunday morning. I wore my short floral wellies and paddled in the shallow water, thinking that if I can't be beside the sea then this sandy little reservoir beach is not a bad second best.

It was one of those walks where we constantly felt like we were only a few minutes away from a torrential downpour that would ruin everything. The sky was so dark and heavy with the threat of rain, but despite the ominous clouds and eerie light it never actually came, and I was thankful for that simple thing.

February was pretty much consumed by the Sweet Pea CAL for me and there wasn't really any time for much else. I spent some days in the studio tidying up and taking stock of things, clearing my table, re-jigging my very full shelves and generally faffing around making everything feel good in there. It's been a while since I had flowers on my studio table so I treated myself to some tulips from the supermarket, and oh they did make me happy!

Over the days that I was working in the studio I had the pleasure of watching those petals gently unfurl in the warmth of my cosy room. Such a beautiful visual pleasure, I couldn't stop drinking them in.

Flowers reached a peak on my mantel last week, with red hyacinths flowering at one end and bridal crown narcissus reaching for the ceiling at the other end.

I absolutely adore narcissus, the scent of them is so sweet and beautiful and so very much a February joy.

Out in my front garden and the crocus patch all of a sudden woke up after its winter slumber. We had a welcome amount of sunshine last week and these flowers bloomed their little hearts out. I'm sure they are early (I think of them as March flowers?) but I'm not complaining, they have been a real treat to see every time I come home and climb the stone steps to my front door.

The starlings continue to murmur above our house each and every evening, and my goodness, it is a spectacular sight. During the past few weeks the numbers have swelled dramatically and the flock is now absolutely mahoosive. Being that they fly (at great speed) right overhead here at number 24 it's impossibly hard to photograph and hard to describe the true scale of it. I found a beautiful bit of video footage on YouTube - do go and look ((here)) to see the full murmuration effect. The downside is the mess - our street is a bit of a poo zone, our car liberally decorated for the season. Not complaining though, I don't think I'll ever forget this Starling Winter.

At the start of our half term holiday last week we were blessed with a short burst of the most incredible weather. Cloudless blue, blue skies and warm hours of sunshine, it was absolute bliss. 

Last Monday we took Little B on his bike to the park and even though it was February (truly a Winter month here in North Yorkshire) the temperature reached a balmy 18 degrees. EIgHtEen!!!!! It was t-shirt hot, lay on a blanket and soak in the sun hot, close your eyes and make-believe it's Summer hot.

It made me think of this....

.....I saw this online somewhere a while ago and it proper made me laugh! So I kept saying to J last week, this is Fool's Spring we're having you know, and he didn't have a clue what I was on about, but still.......it was glorious, an especially good memory as we appear to be firmly into the Second Winter this week. Won't be long until we can enjoy the Spring of Deception. Ha!

Coinciding with Fool's Spring, we were fortunate enough to enjoy a couple of short trips away from home at the end of February. The weather was utter perfection and we couldn't believe our luck.

J and I took off for a twenty four hour one night away from home just the two of us - we didn't go far, driving just 20 miles into West Yorkshire to visit the quirky little town of Hebden Bridge. We booked into a cosy little pub B&B high on the hill above the town, and spent our time walking and pootling in the sunshine.

During half term week, we decided very last minute to take a short family holiday over to St Anne's on the Lancashire coast. We've stayed here a few times before and were able to book the same house which was delightfully relaxing and familiar. I won't bore you with more weather details (just look at that sky!!!), but well, it was bloomin' wonderful. We celebrated J's Big Birthday (he reached the big 5-0 like me) and it was just the best little holiday. 

The tide very rarely comes right in at St. Annes but occasional storms bring the waves right up the beach to the base of the sand dunes, leaving behind a strandline rich with seaside treasure. I just can't resist the urge to collect and gather when I'm by the sea, it's such a deeply ingrained habit that has been with me since childhood. 

You can see how my creative coastal playtime took a hold.........got lots more to show you very soon!!!!

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Wintering

I seriously love the above photo in all it's faded, wintry mellowness. It was one of those misty, murky mornings that we seem to have experienced quite often this winter, when the days have felt very slow to get going. This type of weather makes me want to cosy up inside and drink endless mugs of strong, frothy coffee, and yet there is also something refreshing about being out and about and breathing in that damp, cold air.

Its snowdrop season, and our tiny clump of front garden flowers have pushed their way back through the earth for another year. Earlier today, we drove past the huge patch of snowdrops which always grow wild at the top entrance to the woods (see this post) and I made a mental note to walk up there very soon to see them. Whizzing past in the car just isn't good enough, these sweet flowers deserve to be given a thorough dose of heart-felt appreciation.

Top of my to-do list :: Go Appreciate Snowdrop Patch.

My weekend was slow and quiet, just the way I like it at this time of year. I spent much of Saturday sat at the dining table drinking coffee, knitting bits of sock and drooling over the pages in the latest Sarah Raven catalogue, specifically pages 4 - 21 which showcase the Exclusive Dahlia Collections. Oh my heart. Dahlias are just the bees knees, and I've been swooning over them for a great many years (just re-reading this post where I quite literally "fell" for the dahlias at Cragside - ha! True story, I do get giddy to the point of not being able to remain upright at times.

It was so nice to get back to a bit of knitting after such a lot of Sweet Pea-ing of late, and I did enjoy being quietly industrious with all those neat little knitty rounds. I turned heels and knitted gussets and made great progress on these belated Christmas gift socks for my patient father-in-law. For anyone interested, I knit my socks using the continental knitting method which allows me to tension the yarn in my left hand in exactly the same identical way as I do when I'm crocheting. It's absolutely marvelous and allows my hands to almost think they are crocheting when in fact they are being very clever and knitting instead. You can read more about my methods in this post. 

Something amazing has started to happen here in Atticland this winter, and it is SOoooooOoo amazing that I'm still feeling a bit in awe of it all. We've been living here for eleven years and have never witnessed it before - a daily starling murmuration. It's an absolutely incredible natural display (you can read more about it here, which includes a short video clip) and the fact that it's started happening literally right over our house is just mind blowing. It starts just as dusk is beginning (around 4.45pm at this time of year) and lasts around half an hour. The birds gather gradually and the flock gets bigger and bigger as the minutes pass until there are literally thousands and thousands of birds fluttering overhead. They fly together in the most mesmersing of ways, in twists and turns and undulating waves, it's impossible to take your eyes away and inspires you to take around 267 gazillion photos of the sky.

All my photos were pretty rubbish (I was doing the giddy thing again and leaping excitedly across the furniture), but I enjoyed myself trying. I really, really, really hope this is going to be an annual winter thing around here. 

We walked at Bolton Abbey on Sunday for the first time in a while, and it was just lovely. A bit cold, grey and dull but still so good to get out and about amongst the trees. We left the Teen in bed, waved Little Lady off to work (she has just started her very first weekend job waitressing in a cafe), and set off to walk with Little B in tow.

Despite the leaflessness of the winter season, I was overjoyed to see so many fresh new bluebell shoots already peeking through the undergrowth.

And moss too of course, I'm always excited to see how well it thrives at this time of year.

Mossy trees are just super aren't they? Kind of fairytale-ish and magical.

Sunday was also a day of doing allllllll the laundry which I didn't manage to do on Saturday because I was too busy knitting my gussets and slavering over photos of dahlias. I worked through four whole loads, washing and drying, then up to the bedroom to fold and stack on my bed. I am so in love with my bed, and can't tell you how much I look forward to climbing into it each night. I mean, I really do enjoy my days, but bedtime is always such a highlight! With the chilly weather I've got a double layer of blanket warmth on my bed at the moment, and as I was sorting through all the laundry yesterday I found myself really appreciating the spread of colour and pattern. The bottom layer is my beloved BB which is almost ten years old now - you can see more photos of it here). It's a big 180cm square beast made from Rowan Pure Wool DK and is extremely heavy and warm. On top of that I've got my Sunny Log Cabin blanket, and this stays on my bed all year round as it's quite light and is OK for the Summer months. Gosh, I do so love this blanket, it's one of my all time favourite makes. It uses 18 balls of Stylecraft Special DK which is called the Sunny yarn pack. I made this blanket as a CAL project at the end of 2015 - all the CAL installments are still on my blog if you fancy creating your own dreamy blanket.

Back downstairs and I've got a new candle on the go this week. It's another one from Next, I do so enjoy their scented candles as they are very economical and burn for aaaaages (50 hours in this jar, seriously!). Oh, and they smell gorgeous too - this one is Bergamot and Green Tea which I think I had last winter too. It's fresh and sweet without being overpowering and makes the living room smell really good.

We're still lighting our fire every day and appreciate it very much. The kitty is often sprawled out on my floor cushions right next to the hearth (one of my favourite places to sit and crochet) and I never have the heart to turf her off. So I feel as if I've not had the real benefit of quality fireside time just lately, although I do so love to see it (and hear it) as much as I like the warmth and comfort it provides.

This morning, and another outing to Bolton Abbey, just J and me this time. We hadn't planned on going seeing as we were only there yesterday, but after school drop off and a quick supermarket shop I just felt like I wanted to be back there again. The sunshine was calling me to go tramp those winding pathways....almost impossible to resist!

We walk further and faster when it's just us two, crossing bridges and taking a big loop around on both sides of the river.

I adore this tree and always feel compelled to photograph its magnificent roots every time I walk past it. Have to say, they were looking mighty mossy and even more magnificent than usual. #mossaddict (yes, this really is a bonafide hashtag, I tell you, I'm not alone!)

Another tree which caught my eye with its fabulous bark - it looked like it had been smocked! It reminded me that I went through an obsessive smocking phase when I was in my mid teens, painstakingly embroidering a whole collection of hand stitched and smocked dresses for a ragdoll that I made at school. I would so love to see those handmade things again, I was such a shy, quiet, daydreamy, stitch-obsessed type of teenager, always away in my own little private, creative world. Don't suppose I've altered all that much, come to think of it.

As well as mossy roots and smocked bark I spied catkins galore, gosh they are putting on a spectacular show this year.

I find them so charming - little dangly reminders that Spring isn't too far away. I dearly wanted to pick some to bring home, but didn't feel that it would be acceptable to steal from the trees so I left them hanging in the morning sunshine.

We stopped off at the farm shop on our way home to pick up a joint of meat (I'm making smoky barbecued pulled pork in the slow cooker tomorrow), and rather predictably I found myself drawn to the floral offerings before I could make it anywhere near the meat counter. I decided to treat myself to a small pot of Narcissus "Bridal Crown"which I know from past experience will smell divine when they flower. Having pots of bulbs growing in the house is such a pleasure, I can highly recommend it if you want to bring a dose of Spring cheer into the winter time.

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Icy Cold

 

Oooooooooo it's a cold one here today! When we set out to school this morning there was a thick blanket of icy fog covering the landscape and my weather app was showing a -6° temperature. Minus SIX!! This is very cold for us Brits and not something we get to experience very often, even in the depths of our wintertime. Our hill view was completely invisible under the fog blanket for a while but it didn't last long and it was amazing to watch the white slowly lift and disappear. Once the fog was gone the temperature remained below zero for the whole day, but it's been so very lovely to see some blue sky.

One thing about freezing fog is that it leaves a remarkable dusting of delicate ice crystals over absolutely everything.....it's so very, very pretty! Humble spiders webs are completely transformed into delicate glimmering lace creations. The small patch of grass in our front garden was covered in frozen ice crystal beads. Even the dead plants growing along the footpath beside the canal were transformed into beautiful frosty things (sorry, couldn't think of an appropriate word for dead stuff).

I didn't need to walk along the canal but I did it anyways, taking the opportunity to crunch along the frozen narrow path which is usually very muddy at this time of year. This extra bit of walking added on maybe ten minutes to my journey home, and I enjoyed every single second of it. It was icy cold perfection.

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