Tuesday 17 February 2015

Good Morning!

Good morning! And a lovely one it is here at The House With The Blue Door - frosty and bright, just calling me to go outside. It's taken a few days for me to recharge my batteries, now that we're in half term, but I've got a bit more energy now and even managed to crochet a whole thing yesterday! Yes, I actually completed something, albeit a small thing. I'm a bit late coming to manadalas I know, but decided that my dining table could do with a little round mat to put under my jug of flowers, so experimented a bit and came up with a very simple one in my favourite cotton yarn.


 The pastel colours go well with the pink tulips which are looking like they've seen better days, and I'm now thinking I'll make another to go with daffodils too. I could have a whole collection in different hues to match whatever flowers are in the jug! Hmmm - perhaps I'm getting a bit carried away here.


After a morning of rain yesterday it's wonderful to see the sun today and a luxury to be able to plan the day ahead. Today is Pancake Day here, or Shrove Tuesday, so we are ready to make pancakes for tea. I've bought some maple syrup (my favourite) and we'll have the traditional lemon juice and sugar too. D likes Nutella on hers so we'll have to make sure that we buy some more today.


The end is in sight now on J's blanket as I've joined all the granny squares together and am now darning in ends, a dull but necessary task. Once I'm on the border, I'll be nearly there - hurrah!


 We're quite busy making some changes here at the moment, as we're having some damp-proofing work done soon and then a new kitchen in coming months. We've also been moving furniture around and generally tidying, sorting and catching up with jobs. I can see that life will be a bit topsy-turvy for a while, but it'll be very worth it, and I think that small creative projects are better for me for the time being. Before I go I have a few more flowers to share with you. These are the lovely variegated red and yellow roses that P gave me for St Valentine's Day.


And here in the garden is a little, hidden-away clump of pale purple crocuses about to bloom. (Looking at this photo I can see some weeding needs to be done!).


Finally I thought I'd show you these shy hellebores, one in bud and the other in bloom but, as always, with a drooping head. They are members of the buttercup family and seed themselves freely in our garden. As a result we have quite a few of them dotted around mostly in varying shades of mauve and deep pink, but a couple of white ones too. 


How wonderful it is to have some flowers to look at again in the garden! I do so miss them in the winter months. Right, I can't stay indoors a moment longer in this glorious sunshine!
See you soon x



10 comments:

  1. Hi Cathy! Thank you for your kind words on my blog. I like to read your: beautiful mandala, beautiful colors you choosed for it, beautiful flowers! Today i'll do pancakes too...with Nutella ( mr Ferrero died yesterday :( He was the one Who invented Nutella ) have a nice day!
    Isabella

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  2. Oh such beautiful makes !!!! Gorgeouq colours ! Have a lovel day !

    http://woolandcats.blogspot.fr/

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  3. Love the mandala, I've come late to them too & are still trying to fathom out the making!

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  4. Pretty colours!
    We're having pancakes for supper here as well: the big, fluffy North American style with maple syrup or (my favourite) peaches and whipped cream!
    Enjoy the sunshine:)
    Jenn

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  5. I haven't made a mandala yet but have also been thinking of one for under a vase on the dining room table! Yours is beautiful; I love the colours. Your blanket is looking fantastic - I can't wait for its Ta-Dah moment. Hope you enjoyed the pancakes - maple syrup is my favourite too! x

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  6. What a pretty mandala, I haven't got around to making one yet either. I really must rectify that as yours is stunning. Your crochet blanket is looking good too. I bet your pancakes went down a treat, I am not sure why but I didn't get myself organised to make any this year. xx

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  7. Hi I've really enjoyed my first visit to your blog :) The mandala is beautiful, it fits perfectly with the jug! Good luck with darning the ends in it will be worth it :) I loved seeing the flowers in your garden, we don't have any yet but hopefully it's only a matter of time! x

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  8. Lovely photos! Our hellebores are in full bloom now, but there's no sign of the few crocuses that I know should be there somewhere - perhaps the mice found those last remaining bulbs too! xx

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  9. The pics of the flowers are delightful! I got some roses from the boyfriend this week and I love them!

    All your crochet works look great! :-)

    Take care
    Anne (Crochet Between Worlds)

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  10. Beautiful makes and colours and flowers.....just lovely!! Suzy x

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