Christmas 2019

I may not get a chance to do a blog post again before Christmas so thought I would comment here before I get overwhelmed with tasks!  Thank you for your good wishes on my last entry here.  I had to have a large molar removed at the dentist and I was really scared.  I even asked the dental nurse if she would mind holding my hand!  At least it's over with now so I can focus on other things.

So far I have not thought about making plans for next year but I think I will make a list of things I would like to do - maybe just one thing a month so I don't get bogged down with stuff I feel obligated to do.  Some possibilities are block printing my own fabric and making things with it - I imagine a beautiful table runner and place mats, continue with my jewellery making and wire work and paint and draw and paint some more.........

Hopefully I will be on here again before Christmas day but if not I will catch up with you in 2020.

Introspective

I'm in a quiet mood right now.  I have to face a fear on Wednesday and I am trying to calm myself and prepare mentally.  It involves a trip to the dentist.

I had a lone walk about today.  The air was fresh but it was quite mild.  I like how this unplanned photo turned out with the silhouette of Forty Hall and the lake and the old cedar tree to the left of the picture.  The late afternoon sun is reflected on the water.

Another Baboushka

It really is quite addictive making these ornaments.  The best part is choosing the face and then the felt, thread and sequins accordingly.

This little lady looks a bit pensive.  She has a touch of the Frida Kahlo about her eyebrows and expression to me.

I like how the sequins catch the light.  I am getting to like sparkle more and more.............

Baboushka Decoration

I made a tree decoration using a lovely glass face cabochon.  I made her up as I went along but think that next time I make one I will put a lot more planning into the decoration.

There is so much enjoyment to be had from using a needle, thread and beads.

I am itching to get on and make another one as I have a stack of felt and faces to choose from. Deciding the colours is the hardest part!

A Life in Patterns

I was thrilled to find a folder full of vintage and a few newer knitting patterns in one of my local charity shops.  It was pleasing and nostalgic for me to see the old style fonts and retro images. 

The patterns were individually priced and as I couldn't make up my mind I bought the whole lot!  When I got home I went through the patterns one by one.  I got a sense of the previous owner just by looking at the patterns, the notes made on them, names of who she was making them for.......many school style cardigans and dolls clothes for bazaars.

I was saddened to see personal notes interspersed between the pages - important numbers and contact details. It was as though she had died and her personal things had been dropped off at the charity shop without anyone going through them.  Little snippets of a person deduced by their knitting correspondence.

I can sense that Ethel was a kind person.  She had requested the Teddies for Tragedies knitting pattern which is used to knit teddies 'for children in third world or war torn countries.'   Thank you Ethel for all the cardigans, jumpers and toys you have made over the years.  I bet you was much loved by your friends and family. x

Retro Birth Announcment

 After my Nan died a few years ago I inherited some of her personal belongings. 

It is hard for me to believe that I was born when Queen Elizabeth II looked so young!  Isn't that a pretty stamp too?  Look at the price of the stamp.  Born pre-decimalisation when ha'penny's, shillings, crowns and threepenny (thrupence) bits were the currency in use.

 Yes.  The announcement is of my birth way back in 1963. 

The card epitomises the 1960's of my childhood.  New shiny modern things, time of joy, taking minor risks, a world of colour and hope and hippy freedom.  I do look back with rose tinted glasses and know that my reality wasn't the same as many others born in the UK at that time.  A happy childhood has grounded me for life and having a solid foundation helps me navigate the murky waters of today's society.

Be Your Own Guru

I have spent years searching for someone to look up to, to inspire me and teach me.  When I left primary school back in the early 1970's my form tutor wrote down a  personal message for each individual child to read and live their life by.  To me he wrote and said 'seek and you shall find'. 

A lifelong quest, I have been searching for my life purpose ever since keeping an eye out for people to guide me who I aspire to be like.  I have been slow to realise that many of the things I seek are within me.  I don't need to go on a journey looking for outside mentors.  I am my own mentor.

Many of us think we are not good enough or other people are better or more worthy of praise and adulation.  Why do we put these self imposed restrictions on our thoughts?  I think we have been conditioned by society to be self-effacing.  In addition I am born of a time when children were to be seen and not heard. 

I no longer feel the need to find a person to stand on a pedestal.  I am my own guru and will learn from my own life experiences and be guided by them.

Catching Up

I thought I would drop by before you forget me.  It is a sobering thought to know how quick we are forgotten and replaced by other interests and priorities.  One reason for my absence is my time has been taken up with selling on line - choosing, photographing, uploading, weighing, wrapping, going to Post Office etc.  As I don't have a job I am looking for ways to earn an income and selling my outgrown or less loved items is a way of generating some pin money.  The little rag doll above was bought on a whim a few years back but she spends her time packed away so it is time to let her go.

October is fast approaching and I feel like I am being swept along the year.  I have so many projects I want to start and a couple of new hobbies to try too. The trouble is I am never in the right frame of mind to do anything.  Today in particular I feel so lethargic.  I hope this is temporary.

Last week I revisited an old haunt - the vineyard.  I've not been for a few years and I went to help out with the harvest, volunteering on a couple of days.  We worked in pairs and chatted our way along the rows snipping off the bunches of grapes - Ortega and Pinot Meunier.  There is still grapes to be picked over the next month but I doubt I will return.  It was a non profit organisation when I started back in 2011 but it has become very corporate and doesn't feel the same to me anymore.  It was back breaking work and I wondered why I was even there (apart from catching up with an old familiar face.)

That is all I have to say for now.  I hope that Saturday is dry.  I have windfalls to collect, leaves to be swept and a general garden tidy up is required. 

The Folly in the Park

We returned to Hatfield House Park and Gardens once more and followed the woodland walk.  During the walk we came across a castle folly that dates from the 1780's. 

Peeking in from the closed wrought iron gate in the centre of the folly, I managed to squeeze in my camera to take a couple of pictures of the room inside.  A neglected room with a couple of  'modern' wicker chairs and a fireplace each end.

 Most of the windows were boarded up.

A lovely tiled floor with a chequerboard design.

Straight opposite me was another gated doorway that led to the secret garden beyond.  So secret that all we could make out was water and another building in the distance.

The wall around the secret garden, which was once a vineyard, was built much earlier than the folly back in 1633.  I wonder who, if anyone, visits the secret garden today.

Hatfield House Gardens Part Four - The Final Part

I hope you have enjoyed these last few posts about Hatfield House and the gardens.

I was certainly inspired by my visit and have taken ideas from the house and garden to apply in my own home.

I didn't grow any nasturtiums this year and this display of them in the kitchen garden have reminded me to grow them again.  I think the cream ones are especially delightful.

They were growing various varieties of runner beans including purple podded ones.  Next year I think I will grow them up a framework like that shown above.

Great face on the a pillar of a gateway.

I think this plant is eryngium or sea holly.  The insects loved it!

 A lovely entrance to the gates.  Look at all that perfumed lavender either side.

 A gently bubbling water feature.

 A beautiful modern sun dial.  We couldn't see a shadow due to cloud cover.

 Calming water ripples.

Flower beds inside the kitchen garden and some lovely painted hen houses.  Chickens were seen but were elusive when it came to taking their pictures.

Hatfield House Part Three

A section of the long gallery.  The ceiling was originally white but covered in gold leaf by the 2nd Marquess after seeing a gold ceiling in Venice.

The Library. This is just a small part of the library which was full of over 100,000 books going back as far as the 16th century to the present day.  It;s a pity that we couldn't explore the shelves!

 A replica of Charles I death mask on the right.

 A suit of armour.  I was half expecting it to walk!

Stained glass windows in the private chapel depicting scenes from the Old Testament.  The chapel is still used by the family each Sunday.

Garden in July 2019

The garden has a few splashes of bright colour at the moment.

Gizmo sits daily overlooking the wild area hoping to catch whatever torments him.

My husband planted up some runner beans in late spring.  Hopefully we will be harvesting in a few weeks time.

I've been happy with this begonia called fragrant falls peach.  It flowers profusely and smells of roses.

The petals are tightly packed and just looking at it makes me smile.

Staying Productive in a Heatwave

Long time readers of this blog will know how much I hate hot, humid weather.  I tend to get up early and keep the curtains drawn for most of the day only opening them much later on.  I've been flagging these past two days but today decided to use my time productively.

I tried to ignore the heat as I watched YouTube videos on the desktop computer.  Focusing on how to make a beaded wirework bracelet I totally immersed myself on learning how to do it.

I'm very happy that the day wasn't wasted and looking forward to making more bracelets like these  and developing my skills further. 

*You may have noticed that I have made my font larger so that it is easier to read.

Cosmos

The plant above is a Cosmos.  Hues of bright pink and deep crimson.  I rather like the black and white photo I took of it.  The shapes are more clearly defined and I can pick out various textures.

Still not much to say on here.  Nothing I can share other than to say that my favourite seasons are the spring and the autumn.

Life and Death in the Garden

Last year I put a large plastic container, filled with rain water, in the garden with the view to attracting wildlife.  I put some large rocks in the bottom and purchased a tiny water lily (frog-bit).  Not much happened apart from the proliferation of water snails. 

Late yesterday afternoon I was delighted to see that a toad was quite happily immersed in the water cooling off in the humidity.  Patience paid off and I think the container pond is here to stay.

Here is a close up of toady.  The water is so clear.  I haven't seen him? today.  He is probably hiding among the shrubs in the garden.

It has been a good early summer for the tayberries. They came free with some fruit trees a few years ago.  I planted them up against the washing line post and the fruit has been a bit hit and miss until this year. 

My 'new' water feature has had a few casualties.  I tried to save this damselfly? when I saw it lying sideways on the water.  Unfortunately it didn't survive. 

A new addition to the garden is this small but perfectly formed argyranthemum.  It is only tiny at the moment but I hope it will spread and fill out.