A New Year

☆Happy New Year!☆

I know I'm a bit late, but it is my first blog post of the year! I do hope you had a good Christmas. We had a great one here with all our youngsters together and my lovely sister-in-law, A. It really was one of the best I can remember with lots of laughter, chatting, games, seasonal fare and relaxation. It also contained some creativity. A is a talented embroiderer (-ess?) and designed and sewed this lovely fern while she was here. She is very crafty and only started embroidering last summer.

I even put my crochet aside for an evening and joined her in sewing a quick festive design. I've got until next Christmas to decide what to make it into.



I discovered a little seasonal project here at the Loop blog and fell in love with it - a mistletoe garland. I mentioned my love of mistletoe before, so as soon as I saw it I had to make it, even though I had only a couple of days to go until Christmas and a to-do list as long as your arm. However, I was very determined and seized a few quiet moments here and there with a cup of tea to pick up my hook and get crocheting.



I finished it in the in-between period before New Year, and like how delicate and simple it is. All the decorations were put away last week but my mistletoe garland is still hanging on our back door.



I love having some books to peruse after lunch on Christmas Day when I feel full and drowsy, and this year I was lucky enough to receive some gorgeous reading material. A lovely book of poetry for the coming year, an almanac, a foraging diary and a book of mindfulness. I'm going to enjoy these.



Now we're all back at work and school (both for me - term started on 2nd January, so that put and end to the festivities!), and J has returned to university, it's time to look forward. Going back to work the day after New Year's Day felt like a bit of a shock to the system, but once we'd taken the decorations down it felt good to move into the new year.

At this time of year I'm drawn to anything that can replace the sparkle of Christmas. Something is needed to lighten the gloom of deepest, darkest winter, and for me that takes the form of candles, fairy lights and flowers - three of my favourite things in all the world. This little Christmas cactus has begun to flower and I'm thrilled. Last year I had one and all its buds dropped off, so I'm paying it extra attention this year. Isn't it the most beautiful pink?



The bulbs which I planted back in October have been in the dark of the garage until I brought some out just before Christmas. Now hyacinths buds are pushing their way up through the leaves and I can't wait for that familiar heavy, rich scent to waft its way around the room, giving a foretaste of spring.

Clover has been enjoying herself over the holiday and likes to spend the winter curled up in various places around the house, finding cosy little patches of warmth. It's nice to come into a room and find her quietly snoozing somewhere. Here she is next to the radiator in her basket with some of her Christmas toys. She so loves the heat.

I've realised that I have not yet introduced you to the newest members of our family, which is very remiss of me, as they moved in to The House with the Blue Door last spring. They are the sweetest little guinea pigs and go by the names of Luna (black and white) and Ginny (brown) and they belong to J, who loves animals. Although he is away at university for much of the year we agreed look after them when he's away and we have quickly become very fond of them.

Luna is very sweet and cuddly, the quieter and calmer one of the two - she can be quite feisty when necessary, though.

And Ginny is a skittish little adventurer with a quiff, and fur which grows in all directions. J named them after Harry Potter characters, and we already can't imagine life without them. These photos are of them enjoying the garden last summer.

See you soon xx

Enjoying Winter

Hello again, and a Happy ✩ New ✩ Year to you! 

I hope you had a great Christmas - it does seem like quite a while ago now, doesn't it? We had a lovely one here - just the four of us, P, D, J and I. We missed B but she is having wonderful adventures on the other side of the world, so we enjoyed Skyping her instead. It takes me a while to adjust to the routine of everyday life after all the sparkle of Christmas, so I keep twinkly fairy lights up all year in the dining room and kitchen. You really can't have enough fairy lights in my opinion. It's been good to catch up with a bit of crochet in the evenings accompanied by candles (of course) and a cup of rose tea.

I'm making another mandala mat for the table in the soft cotton colours I liked so much last spring,

 and here's a wintry one I made in December. I have no pattern to share, as I make them up as I go, frogging back here and there to make them how I want them, and each is different as a result.





Back in November I did a fused glass workshop one evening, which I told you about here. I'd had a go at this a few years ago, making myself a pendant and promised myself I'd one day do more. Cutting tiny pieces of glass and laying them out like a jigsaw puzzle was such fun. My fused glass pieces came back from being fired recently and I'm thrilled with the results. Here's the sun-catcher that was inspired by heathery hills and blue skies.

And here's the hare coaster that I made using powdered glass. As a result of doing this workshop, I've finally realised one of my long-held ambitions and have started a stained glass course. I love the wonderful colours and light-changing qualities of glass and am so enjoying my weekly dose of glass-related creativity.

  A week or two ago there was snow for a good deal of the country, and we were greeted one morning by this not-very-spectacular sprinkling of icing sugar. It looked more like frost than snow, and despite the inconvenience it causes I must admit I do yearn for a bit of proper snow. It's been 4 years since our last snowfall here.

Once the festivities are behind us I start to look for flowers, and love the sight of them in the garden, on windowsills and in shops. Our hellebores aren't out yet, but this one called to me in the supermarket last week. I'm not usually a huge fan of white flowers, but the purity and simplicity of this flower was irresistible.

The little violas on our outdoor windowsill have been blooming away all winter, and in my parents' garden last week there was bright yellow winter jasmine and richly-hued skimmia, as well as heavenly scented viburnum. I'm crazy for its pastel-pinkness and talcum power fragrance.

The outdoors is calling more and more and yesterday was my favourite weather of all, crisp, wintry sunshine and sparkling frost, so we set off for a walk at Stourhead, a place we have been to many times, and which formed part of our children's lives when they were little. As the National Trust's nearest large property, it was a great place to take them to burn off steam, so much so that it got to the point where the suggestion of a visit was greeted with wails of "Nooo, not Stourhead again!" Luckily, that response is long gone and J, who was home for a visit from university, accompanied us yesterday. Annoyingly by the time we arrived the sunshine had disappeared, but it was nevertheless a perfect day for a walk.

On such a freezing day it was sheer delight to discover that these hot pink rhododendrons were already in flower. They looked almost tropical against the frosted lawns.

The first of the snowdrops had emerged too,

as well as some very early primroses.

All around us the palette was one of white, green and brown, but on closer inspection the delicate details of moss, bark and leaves were very beautiful, despite their subdued colours.

Classical Greek and Roman-style temples abound around the lake, making beautiful reflections.

Inside the temples there are impressive statues, but we didn't stay there for long, much preferring to be outside.

My favourite building at Stourhead is the sweet, tiny Gothic cottage.

In the winter a log fire is always lit inside, and you can buy a hot drink or a snack there. It was bliss to stand for a moment or two to warm ourselves in front of the flames.

There are man-made features all around the lake, including this 'ruin', and a grotto.

Deep in the grotto Poseidon was looking suitably imperious, if a little chilly. 

This view was taken yesterday, and on the right 3 years ago on a warm early October day. How the colours change with the seasons.

The upper lake was frozen over and looked beautiful, edged with faded bullrushes. J enjoyed skimming stones across the ice, creating a weird sci-fi sound effect (there are lots of videos of this effect on the internet, but I don't know if it has a name).

After our walk around the lake we stopped to warm up with refreshments in the cafe - hot chocolates and flapjacks, which were very welcome. We drove home as the sun was setting, looking forward to more of these sorts of days in the coming year.

After all that wintry scenery I shall leave you with this lovely little iris which opened on our kitchen windowsill last night. 

Its deep, dark blue flowers are best photographed from above, I discovered.

Hope you're keeping warm and enjoying winter too. 

See you soon x

A New Year and a New Start

A Happy New Year, and a big thank you to all you lovely fellow bloggers/blog-readers for your kind thoughts and good wishes! I know I already said it in my last post, but this as this is my first one of 2016 I thought I'd say it again, especially as the weather is so very gloomy and wet outside and I've been taking down the decorations today. That always makes me feel a bit downcast as I miss all the sparkle and twinkliness. However, I am very lucky in having a dry, safe home which is free from flooding, so I do count my blessings.

To get the year off to a good start I have made up my usual calendar from last year's blog photos online and it will be delivered soon (I'll show you it when it arrives), and I have bought a couple of diaries for the coming year. One is for carrying in my bag and contains all my appointments etc. I know I'm a bit old-fashioned in not using my phone for this, but I do like to keep all my addresses and useful details in one place, and I like diaries as objects in their own right.
The other diary is my mindfulness diary for the coming year. I plan to write down something that I've enjoyed during each day, a kind of positive moments diary. I did this a few years ago and I find that it helps me to be 'in the moment' as well as looking for the good bits in each day. Being mindful is a way of embracing and enjoying what's going on in the present moment instead of thinking about the past or the future, and focusing instead on the things I can do and enjoy right now.

I'm not a great one for New Year's Resolutions and don't usually make any as I often find that mine are vague and unrealistic. However I have made three for this year. I plan to: 

1) Have my own craft stall. In the past I've held one at summer fairs etc, and love deciding how my stall will look and presenting it in my own style, as well as meeting people and having them think my creations are worth buying (hopefully).

2) Find more time during term-time in which to blog as I so enjoy sharing things and finding out what you've all been doing and creating. Blogging is such a happy and friendly thing, and I miss it very much when I'm away from it.

3) Keep looking after myself. I've already started this one, and by this I mean I'll continue with eating healthily and going to the gym. I bought some new clothes in the sales this week and was thrilled to discover that after 12 gym visits (3 a week) clothes are already fitting me better and I have lost a good few inches from places I'd hoped to lose them from. I was delighted as I thought it would take a long time to see any real difference and it's the perfect incentive to not give myself a choice over whether I go or not. It certainly gets those endorphins going too. 

I have received some thoughtful Christmas presents from my family this year. P gave me a pretty silver button necklace and a fresh and floral Julie Dodsworth bag. I recently discovered her designs when we were on holiday in Yorkshire in the autumn. Do you know, I still haven't shown you that post yet? I'll do that this month.

I was also lucky enough to receive Simon Armitage's latest book 'Walking Away', which I've been looking forward to since I read 'Walking Home', and this DVD (yes, I confess I am a Poldark fan).



 There's something of a Cornish theme going on here, I notice, and it's continued in B's present to me - these gorgeous Cornish oyster shell candles.

J gave me a very pretty hot drink holder which I can use when I'm out in my shed, and D gave me a sweet-smelling clementine and honey candle, also destined for the shed. My family do know me well.

I've also picked up the scarf I was knitting again, and will have it finished soon. I so love its chalky blue colour and softness, and can't wait to wear it. Once January arrives, more neutral colours at the cooler end of the spectrum appeal to me: whites, pale blues, greys and soft browns.



Perhaps I'm needing a break from all the bright colours and dazzle of Christmas. I wouldn't mind a bit of sunshine, though, instead of all this rain! Right, I'm off to finish putting away the decorations and enjoy our last day before school/work begins again tomorrow. I shall leave you with a mosaic of some of my favourite bits of 2015.

See you soon x