letting go...

Recently I've had this stubborn idea that Summer was still waiting with all the glorious weather that she brings... This week I've realised this is not the case as a return to heavier coats and boots was needed and the mornings are slowly getting darker...

So I'm trying to embrace this change with a little list of the things i'm loving at the moment and I'm trying to think what I'll gain, instead of what I'll lose...


**Oh and for those who asked about photos from my new lens I've been busy playing so haven't had time to upload any photos yet! Soon I promise!

slow down and rewind...

Ok, so it took a little longer than I thought to get back to posting - partly because we've had the benefits of sunshine in the UK which makes a nice change!

This was me watering the plants not rain!
There's nothing like time in the garden to just make me take a step back and relax. I must say I'm a sucker for a little sunshine and lots of lovely greenyness to make me feel chilled...
Oh and I'm finally catching up with myself, (well as much as is usual for me anyway lol) so this should be me getting back on track...!

keeping it simple...

After my last post I wanted to say thank you for your suggestions relating to lack of time. I like the idea of doing a few posts at a time and then scheduling them to arrive at a later date. I also liked the fact that most of you don't quite know how you fit it in blogging along with everything else, so I'm glad I'm in good company!


This week was all about keeping it simple and not worrying about what I hadn't done but rather enjoying what I had!
So far this week * I managed to get to the gym *went to the beach *voted in the General Election *did some reading *took some photos* along with all the other ordinary day to day stuff, so not bad for someone with lack of time...!

the kindness of strangers...

Although last week was, 'one of those weeks' when quite a bit went wrong, (did I mention that I also managed to get a dvd stuck in my imac for 4 days?) there was some good stuff also.
A couple of weeks ago on this post i said how much I wanted this gorgeous book. A day or two after the post, I got an email from a lovely swedish blogger called Maria, who said she could make me happy, as she had this book but as she had so many books she would be glad to send it to me. Wow! Such generosity from someone who doesn't even really know me.


I emailed back to say 'thank you' but as I expected the postage would be expensive, (it's a hardback book) I asked Maria if she fancied doing a swap and I would send her some crafty goodies. She thought this would be lovely but put in her email that she hadn't expected anything in return.



So this is how this lovely book ended up in my mail this week and it couldn't have come at a better time as i've spent most of the week in bed with a sore back. Oh and what a book it is, such wonderful writing and the recipes look so delicious.

So thank you Maria for your kindness and your lovely postcard that came with the book.Oh and if you're reading this, your goodies are on their way...

bed rest and books...

Just a quick post tonight. After the clumsy day that was Monday, I ended up with a sore lower back and have been off work for a couple of days as I had pain when moving. I saw the physio today who said it was probably as a result of falling over, (see previous post!)and that the joints in my lower back were pretty seized and the muscle in my lower back was in spasm. So I haven't been up to much in the last few days, mainly resting in bed! On the plus side if you look at my sidebar, I've been catching up with my reading, (especially this brilliant book) so it's not all bad and I should be ok for work on Monday, fingers crossed...

snow uh oh...

So, the good news is that my test for Mono came back negative, so I must have just had some horrible viral thing. Tuesday was my first day back to work in about 3 weeks, so no sooner was I back and thinking about getting back into the routine when the snow came... Unfortunately since then I haven't been able to get into work because the of the weather, roads have been horrendous, the only bus service cancelled, schools closed and I have 18 inches of snow in my garden!


Still, it does look beautiful, even if it is freezing, (my neighbour said her thermometer was showing -15 degrees yesterday morning - yikes!)



Still, we have supplies and are warm, so that's a good thing and also pretty much everywhere in the UK is having the same kind of weather. The funny thing is, this kind of weather seems to bring out the best in people - everyone pulling together to help out neighbours and friends, so it seems much more bearable. I hope the weather is being kind wherever you are...

beginning again...

Happy New Year! I can't believe how long it is since I last blogged. After my last post, I thought I was on the mend and went back to work but unfortunately got sick again with a horrendous cough and swollen glands and ended up off again. Now normally I am pretty healthy, so this thing took it out of me.There is a very slight chance I may have glandular fever, (mono) even though I was sure I was far too old lol! and have to go for a second blood test tomorrow. The good news is that I am feeling so much better that I don't think this is the case and more probable that I just managed to pick up about three viral things one after the other...



So after having a super quiet Christmas and New Year I'm now ready to start again... my new imac arrived, (though it took me two weeks to open it as I felt so lousy, we are now firm friends!) and so all is good and I'm back online.



I hope Christmas brought you everything you wanted and that the beginning of this new year sees you healthy and happy. I'm still pondering on my New Year Resolutions and will post about them soon, anyone else made any resolutions?

coming out in sympathy...

It seems ages since I last blogged. The sore throat took a lot longer to sort than expected. After a week,(I know a week!) in bed feeling rough, I went back to work last Thursday. Big mistake...after doing my best impression of the living dead that day, I crawled into bed at 5.30pm feeling worse than I had previously! A visit to the GP the next day confirmed that I now had Laryngitis and I've been off work this week feeling tired, no voice a cought etc etc.



The good news - is although my throat is not 100% sorted I feel sooooo much better - yay! and I'm back to work tomorrow.




The bad news, is that sadly my laptop has come out in sympathy with me and is on it's last legs. I've googled the problem and it pretty much looks as though any day soon my screen will die. It's flickering like crazy and has a horrible red glow on one side. I just know that some day soon I'll switch on my laptop and there will be nada - just a black screen.

Because of this laptop problem, I'm in the process of ordering an iMac. I know that this will be so much better for my photos, bigger screen, memory etc etc but I am a little scared. I've always used a PC. Any tips from those who have made the change?

Oh and if I disappear again, it probably just means my laptop has died and my Mac hasn't arrived - so bear with me!

simple things...again

Once again, Christina is hosting a return of the simple things. (check out her blog and see what delights are there!) A celebration of all the simple things we love... This time my 'simple things' is a celebration of Autumn.



* the golden leaves that fall and reveal a landscape
* the crunch of leaves underfoot
* raindrops that glisten on winter berries
* seedheads and weeds that shimmer in the sunlight
* the way the evening light just fades into darkness
* the promise of magic in a forest

Most of all, Autumn is a celebration of the fading light and dreams that are just beginning...

think pink...

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and across at Soul Aperture Christina has been encouraging us to post pink on Thursdays in October,



so come and join us and think pink...

simple things that make the heart sing...

Yay! Once again the lovely christina of Soul Aperture is hosting a simple things day today, go and take a peek! Here are mine...



* Walking in the garden after the rain when everything is still
* Ordinary love - you know the day to day stuff rather than grand gestures
* Sitting somewhere comfy with my embroidery and just going with the flow...
* Baking - especially making cupcakes at the moment! (coconut ones - yum!)
* The fairy lights around my bed which shine like stars in the night
* Dreams of flying when you can float and swoop to your hearts content!
* The view at dusk from my sitting room window with my clematis silhouette
* Bubbles! Hands up who doesn't smile when they see them!
* The moment you go through the sand dunes and finally see the sea - yipeee!

what are yours?...

a little bit of madness and baking...

For the past week here in the UK we've been lucky enough to have some really nice weather, the flipside of this has meant I haven't spent much time in front of the computer and so haven't been blogging - ooops! It couldn't last though and now we have humid and showery weather - so I'm back again!

One thing which has been driving me mad this week, is trying to get to grips with colour profiles - (* insert loud scream here*) as I've been doing some tester photo prints, (from a lab) to put in my Etsy shop and they're not turning out the same as what I can see on my screen, so I'm having to keep tweaking. I know the answer is to have my monitor profiled but the idea of spending money on software to do this when I keep reading conflicting reports about how good this is, is driving me nuts! Truthfully my brain is fried with all this knowledge - who knew that I would become so geeky as to want to try and understand this stuff!



Never mind, I'm sure it will all become clear, (at some point!) and I guess I'll just have to keep tweaking! After filling my brain with monitor profiles etc etc... I managed to soothe my frazzled brain with some baking - cupcakes to be precise. It's just as well I'm doing more running these days, as I have a thing for cupcakes at the moment!



Oh and bread also. Delicious bread that smells so comforting...



For those who asked about a recipe - here it is in a nutshell - it really is so easy.
Firstly, let me say I have no problem with doing things the easy way if it tastes good, which is why I use dried yeast as it's so quick, (as only one kneading and proving is required). Makes one large loaf.

500g / 1lb 2oz strong bread flour (I use half white, half wholemeal)
25g/1 oz butter (I never weigh this, I just guess and scoop some with a teaspoon)
1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 and a half teaspoons fast action yeast or 7 g sachet (check on the yeast you are using, you may have to adjust the flour amount a little)
300ml/ 10 fl oz warm water

I use a food processor with a dough hook and put the flour, sugar, salt and butter in and whiz for a few seconds, (if you are doing this by hand you rub in butter to the flour then add salt and sugar) then add the yeast (and whiz) then add *** the water until it comes together into a dough, ( about 4 mins in the machine) and voila!

***Usually at this point I add extras such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds - whatever I have really, in whatever quantity - usually a handful of each but this means you need to increase the water so you can mix it into a dough.

I then take it out and knead it by hand for a couple of minutes and then pop it into a greased tin, shake a little flour over the top, cover it with a tea towel and leave it to double in size.

Once this is ready I pop it into a pre heated oven, (removing the tea towel!) at 230c (450 F, gas mark 8) for roughly 30-35 mins. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped underneath. Remove from tin, (resisting urge to gobble up) and leave to cool.

As I said, so super easy - it usually takes me about 15 mins from the start point, (ie weighing out) to the point when it is in the tin ready to be doubled in size. Sometimes I ring the changes with herbs, sundried tomatoes, seeds etc - just remember that if you add anything to the basic recipe you may need more water.
Result yum! - fresh baked bread and it smells so delicious when it's baking. Eat and enjoy :)

sadly no cupcakes...

I had planned on making cupcakes this weekend after being smitten looking at all the gorgeous cupcake photos there are, floating around the net, but what can I say? It just didn't happen! Instead there was bread...



Pumpkin and sunflower to be precise, and no sooner was it made than it became part of a scratch lunch with cheese and olives and tomatoes, (there was also avocado but it turned out not to be ripe enough - grrr - I hate that when it happens!)



There was also gardening, well weeding really, as the garden has started to have a mind of it's own with all the damp and warm weather. The garden also gave me the first swet peas of the summer. I wish you could smell how fragrant they are.



As you can see my approach to flower arranging is a little informal, with a few heads of grasses and even a seed head from my parsley plants to add a little something. I love, love, adding random bits of the garden to my flowers and making something unexpected pretty.
(Also I think it's nice for the rest of my garden to have a chance to take centre stage and not just the flowers lol!)



Hope your weekend was lovely whatever you got up to!

starting to enjoy...

So far this week I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself as since we last spoke, I've been out running two more times and my legs are getting, (slightly) more used to it, even if my lungs are not! It's a little strange but I'm starting to enjoy myself and think maybe I could grow to like this running lark!



I took this on the drive back home after my run, (I was the passenger!) it reminded me of a picture you would find in a story book...

This weekend I have nothing organised but plan to include bread baking, some crafty fun, another run, some decluttering and making cupcakes in there somewhere...I guess we'll see what happens! Have a lovely weekend!

more simply happy...

I had so much fun participating in the 'simple things' post over at Soul Aperture that I can't stop!



Funnily enough, today Christina also has a photo of a peony on show. Today I am simply happy that the peonies that I bought yesterday are just beginning to open - such simple beauty that I could just spend so long looking at their intricate petals



I could have sat playing with the camera all evening looking at their loveliness, if it wasn't for the small matter of needing to get other things done this evening - like eating! ;)

The other bit of news, is that I'm finally getting my Etsy shop on track - (look I even managed to add a widget to my sidebar - woo hoo!) maybe you'll pop over there and take a peek, even if it's just to give me a little feedback... :)

simple happiness...

Today the lovely Christina from Soul Aperture is hosting a 'simple things that make you happy day' today June the 10th, for no other reason than, well, just because... :) Here are my thoughts...




I had to reign myself in, as there as so many simple things which make me happy!

* things that are handmade, especially made with care and love
* fresh flowers, (especially in jam jars)
* books in any form but especially library books because they're free! (yippeee!)
* fresh bed linen and lie ins! (something so nice about a bed freshly made)
* home made granola, so tasty and just the thing to start the day
* string - because it's lovely to look at, (who doesn't love string?!)
* lovely, lovely light, (oh how I love the light!)
* the scent of washing drying outside
* seedheads - as much as I love the fresh flowers, there's something so beautiful about what comes next...

other things...*fairy lights*the magic of seedlings*fireworks*being brought tea in bed*nature in all forms*sunlight through leaves*the scent of oranges*daisy chains*eating outside*fresh bread*sunshine*blackbird song*taking photos*tattoos*wooden floors*art galleries*the seaside*plain paper journals...and the list goes on and on...what makes you happy?

a little bit of happiness and a winner!

Hello and happy Monday! It's been a busy week and sadly the sun has stopped shining but still things could be worse!


If you're interested in a little happiness at the beginning of the week, why not head over to Soul Aperture a lovely blog that I've come across recently, belonging to the lovely Christina. Tomorrow for no reason at all, (10th June) she wants us to celebrate the things that make us happy and post them on our blogs. I know I'm in, are you?
Talking of being happy remember this post when I promised i would do a giveaway if you left me a comment. In the interest of fairness if you left more than one comment, you still only went into the draw once, (lol! but I admire your trying!) also, even though I myself left a comment, I didn't enter my own name, (though I was tempted ;)


I was going to get Sparky to draw out a name but A. as you can see, he wasn't that interested and B. his paws are a bit too furry so in the end I got M to do it. I was going to do the whole random number generator thing but I prefer the low key version myself! Drumroll please...and the winner is Hanna - yay!


So Hanna if you email me your address, I'll send you a little gift in the next week!
Oh...and an update on my Etsy shop, I've only got one thing in there at the moment, (lol!) as it has taken me so long to sort the pics of the pouches as Etsy keeps desaturating my photos when I upload -grrr so I'm trying to get a handle on that. I should finish uploading the rest of my pouches tomorrow! Here's a little sneak peek of my first item! In there as we speak!

one down...

The weather was so fantastic and sunny this past weekend that all I wanted to do was lie on the grass and read and pretend that I was on my holidays. Sadly I was super busy on Saturday helping relatives move house so I had to wait until Sunday.


On Sunday the sky was sooo blue and the sun so hot that I could have been somewhere exotic, instead of in my back garden. All I did was read and laze and read and laze...and eat strawberries and cream and read a bit more.



...while explaining to Sparky that really, it was too hot to go on another dog walk and if he could read, he would understand why it wasn't wrong to be reading the same books as my 13year old niece.

So that's the first book finished and I'm already onto the second...

secret gardens and boats shaped like swans...

We had a lovely few days away visiting relatives down South. The sun shone, which made a nice change! My sister in law has a gorgeous garden which is really large but my favourite part reminds me of a secret garden, as you have to go through a lovely iron gate with an old fashioned bell at the side to get in.


The garden itself is so lovely, (my photo doesn't do it justice) with trees and flowers, all surrounded by an old brick wall. (My photo only shows the path down the middle of the garden but there is a path each side also.) At the very bottom it opens up into an arboretum. It's such a lovely place to wander around especially in the sun, almost like being in a story book, miles away from the real world!



Yesterday I was back home again and so went to see my sister and my lovely nieces who are 13rs and nearly 15years. Our day involved a walk in the park, a trip on a boating lake, (in a boat that was shaped like a swan!) followed by an ice cream. Then back home to theirs to play on this . Ok I confess I must be the only person in the world who hadn't played on this until yesterday - but seriously how much fun?!! Obviously helped by the fact that I managed to increase my fitness age by twenty years in the space of an hour, so I felt like i'd achieved something,(not to mention the indignity of starting with a fitness level 8 years older than I am!!) and I managed to top the leader board in a couple of things!!


I had such a lovely day full of laughter and fun and the best bit, is that I came away with these books, (thanks to my lovely niece, who has promised to give me the 4th one also!). I hear they are a little bit addictive...

on not taking things for granted...

This past weekend brought with it dull and grey weather - the kind that makes you restless and want to blow away the cobwebs, so we headed off to the coast with our dog. When we got there it was rather more bracing than anticipated but in a good way - that you can really only appreciate, if you are wrapped up warm and snug, as it was so cold!





After our walk we felt refreshed and were glad we'd made the effort to get some fresh coastal air, even if it was freezing.

The next day, (Monday) we woke up to snow, which was lovely except our heating wasn't on. After much gnashing of teeth I went to the boiler, which happens to be outside, to see if I could relight the pilot light but no joy. Then we discovered we didn't have any gas - I mean - how do you not have gas? I tried phoning the gas company to be told that their office didn't open until 8am grrrrrr - this was at 6.30am so in the end I just went to work.
The journey took longer than usual and I hadn't been at work for more than half an hour when my other half phoned, to say that because of bad weather there was no work - so my boss let me leave in case I got stranded with the weather - so we ended up going all the way back home. When we got home we then discovered that the whole of the village I live in was without gas, so no heat and no hot water on the coldest day of the year so far...

We did have a nice walk though with our dog. The countryside always looks so pretty when it snows...









Once back inside, it was a case of getting the log fire going and keeping warm and making food on a camping stove - quite cozy really.

Yesterday (Tue - I'm now writing this on Wed as my internet got cut off as I was doing this yesterday!)when I got home after work most of the snow had gone and then at about 6.45pm they came to turn my gas back on, (as everyone in the village all one thousand and forty houses had to have their meters turned off individually by a gas engineer) - I could have hugged the engineer as it was pretty cold by this point. Oh the bliss of having central heating again so lovely - until at 7.15pm we had a power cut with no electricity - so no heat, hot water, light and internet etc...until it came back on at 11pm. It was quite nice to have candlelight - though it's always nice if you have a choice in these things!



So I'm feeling pretty thankful about all the things it's so easy to take for granted, especially as some people in the place I live are still without gas. Sometimes you only really appreciate these things when you've gone without...