Meet the boys!

Here they are, some of my favourite owls! There is Oscar the snowy owl and the biggest in the picture here who was given to me in one of those postal tubes very secretly for a birthday when the girls were small. I didn't suspect a thing and I am one of the best at finding out about pressies. It was such a surprise that I got very excited and the girls still remember it now. Next to him is Ernest. He really belongs to daughter no.4 , not that she really wants him at the moment but he has been very loved so much so that his fur is all lumpy and matted. In front of him is a baby owl, again given to me on a birthday, whose name is Archie. And at the very front is this little guy:

He was made by the very talented Amy at Lucykate Crafts who has just recently opened her own Etsy Shop. She makes some gorgeous toys and bags so do go and have a look for yourself.

Meanwhile if you came to my house you would discover that I liked owls fairly quickly because as you come through the front door you would see these:

And of course there are more but I won't bore you with any more photos, I am sure you get the idea.

So what do you collect? Do leave me a comment and let me know.

And come back around the end of the week because I think I might have something to giveaway - not an owl I hasten to add.

Tomorrow I am off to see my very good quilting friend for some advice on how to finish my first quilt in the best way. Hope you have had a good start to the week.

Simple pleasures - things that bring us joy

I have been challenged this week by the latest email newsletter from Cheryl Richardson who is such an inspiration. If you haven't discovered her then do go take a look. I have read a number of her books and am just reading The Unmistakable touch of Grace at the moment. It is excellent. Anyway each week Cheryl sends out an email of inspiration with a weekly challenge and this week was all about us connecting with the things that bring us joy, simple things not necessarily things that cost money. Her challenge was for me to make a list of the things that gave me pleasure and to connect with this whenever I feel stressed or out of balance. So here are some of my things not necessarily in any order:

1. Doing some crochet, knitting or sewing

2. Watching an episode of Frasier
3. Talking to one of my daughters on the phone

4. Reading crafty blogs!

5. Lighting a scented candle (lavender and rosewood are my favourites with clary sage coming in at 3rd place and grapefruit 4th)

6. Taking a walk in the woods or by water

7. Thrift shopping (see the latest little treasures below)

8. Making cards or other type of papercraft

9. Baking bread

10. Making soup

So I wonder what some of your little pleasures would be? Do let me know.

Not the best of pictures but these were delightful embroidered tray cloths and two pillowcases.

What a surprise!

To wake up to this which was at least an inch of snow turning into something more like 2.5 inches when we got back from church this morning. I knew it was forecast but usually we miss most of it even when it is forecast in Kent. However today it was obviously our turn and it did look lovely I have to say. Hubby was out taking photos of the church (a 13th century old building) ready for next Christmas' parish magazine.

It was so amazing to think that temperatures were so much higher here on Friday and daughter no.4 and I had lunch on the patio with the sun burning through my jeans!

Yesterday it was colder for sure although hubby and I paid a visit to Petersham Nurseries near Richmond which was my birthday treat. I 've never been there before and it was by recommendation from a good friend. I was not disappointed. A truly delightful spot with greenhouses turned into a cafe and restaurant with plants everywhere. There were fragrant lemon trees, jasmine, hyacinths and narcissus. We had homemade butternut squash soup and sourdough bread which was delicious. Here is a photo and one of the campanula I couldn't resist taking home with me:

And in the afternoon I set to putting a border on my granny square afghan which is nearly finished!

So tomorrow is officially my last day of the long commute having taken the decision to finish this contract earlier than originally planned - definitely the best decision given the health episodes of the last couple of weeks.

I hope you are having a great weekend and that if you are in the UK, the snow hasn't prevented you from doing all you wanted to today.

Playing

Do you like the new banner heading? This was courtesy of http://countingyourblessings.blogspot.com/ (not sure how to just get the title in here yet!) and was free. Do go over and take a look as there are others to choose from. I have also finally taken the time to add some of my favourite blogs.
I am at last feeling better and even managed to put in the delightful bay tree daughter no.1 gave me for my birthday and to rearrange some polyanthus along the border. And the big news is that I have decided not to continue with my far away assignment and therefore Monday will be my last day travelling on the long commute. I feel quite relieved about it all although it was a great place to work. Other freelance work is coming in so that will keep me occupied and out of mischief but hopefully there will be some time to get on with some crafting projects.
I did make a range of cards this week, mainly stamped images in a range of colours and spritzed to give a watercolour effect.



And what about these for flowers? Daughter no. 4 chose them on behalf of my mother-in-law who was keen to make sure I had some although she wasn't able to go and get them.
They are really exotic looking and make a wonderful display.
Thank you for the kind and encouraging comments over these last couple of weeks. I have really appreciated them. It is sooooooo good to feel better again.

This just about sums it all up!

Daughter no.3 bought this card for me for my birthday, knowing that this is probably how I felt about it all! Doesn't this little fellow look grumpy?!!

But I did have some delightful gifts and lots of flowers.

A very swish Cath Kidston basket and pair of gardening gloves amongst other lovely things.

I am still coughing and today I woke up aching all over but it just has to get better! The sun is shining and the sky is blue......

Oh, so poorly!

I have been in bed for most of the week feeling absolutely ghastly! I can't remember when I last felt this ill. All my plans for doing things in the house on my week off have had to be shelved and even today which was going to be a treat excursion to the Creative Stitch and Craft show at Olympia has to be abandoned!! Tomorrow is my birthday and plans for outings there will need to be postponed till another weekend!

I am now taking antibiotics for a chest infection so hopefully will feel better soon.

I'll be back with thoughts and photos hopefully very soon.

I hope you never get this 'lurgy'. Unfortunately daughter's 2 and 4 are both down with it!

Happy Easter!

Here I am at 4.30am sitting in the living room feeling pretty unwell. It would appear I have a virus which includes a hacking cough, the chills, headache etc. With guests here, it really has been a case of mind over matter these last couple of days but last night I had to excuse myself and go and lie down on the bed. However I did manage to accomplish what I had planned! Roast chicken dinner for 9 with all the trimmings followed by a dessert called Danish Peasant Girl with a Veil which is basically stewed applies, amaretti biscuits crumbled and whipped cream.

My sadness was though that I didn't make it to church yesterday as usual. I was scheduled to do the reading and felt it was a privilege to be doing it on Easter Day but alas I could not speak without coughing so dearly beloved hubby had to do it instead.

Here is a photo of our Easter table! I had to go out in the snow (not much here compared to others) to get forsythia for the table and had made an egg cosie for each person and filled it with chocolate eggs.

Actually it doesn't look much on the photo but the yellow and white theme did actually look quite nice and there were little chicks dotted about too.

I also made an Easter cake. This was one of Nigella's from Nigella Bites with a chocolate ganache icing (double cream heated to just before boiling, then add broke good choice chocolate and mix, leave to cool then spread and allow for drippage!, very yummy).

I gather from the rest of the crew that this cake tasted good. By the time we got to teatime I couldn't eat anything as my tummy felt so full of cough mixture, lemsip and paracetmol!

I am really hoping that I feel better as the day goes on today. I feel pretty weak and am racked with coughing so hard. We were planning an excursion with the older folk to a garden centre but not sure I feel up to it. I need to work up the energy to provide the much anticipated breakfast (well much anticipated by daughter no.4 anyway!) of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend and are free from the ills and chills of the season.

Raindrops on roses....

Think Sound of Music and Julie Andrews singing.....

(this is really a camelia in the front garden)
and whiskers on kittens

(and this was our beloved cat Alfie whom we miss)
Candlelight and fragrance- this one was grapefruit and clary sage

Add some Bach on the CD player and some newly crocheted egg cosies

and you have some of my favourite things, at least at the moment. Having felt really unwell for the last few days, I needed to do some serious self-care!

I was really hoping to get ahead of myself ready for company coming on Thursday - my mother-in-law who is 82 and a good friend of the family who is 69!! will be staying for 6 days but I haven't been able to do anything. Tomorrow it is off to work for three days far away leaving home at 6.30am and coming home around 8pm! Still, at least I feel better - not 100% but definitely better than I was so it is onwards and upwards...

Hope you have all had a good weekend.

Inspiration part 2

I found in our libary the book "Shabby Chic" by Rachel Ashwell, founder of the trend and it is delightful. This is a picture of her inspiration board - sorry the photo doesn't really do it justice but it is a combination of fabrics, sketches, ideas, embellishments etc as she began to rennovate her new house. I love the idea of an inspiration board and have already started collecting things to put on there - photos I love, fabrics, trimmings etc. Of course if you put 'inspiration boards' into google you will find a lot of other examples of things people have done which makes for very interesting and light reading, if like me, your head is tender and you are having to take life a bit easy!
Another inspiring image here from the book. A lovely dresser full of gorgeous china. Ahhhh..... one day....maybe!
And how about this lovely image from the current issue of Country Living magazine? Who wouldn't like to be ambling down a flower strewn lane like this right now?

Back in the real world I think it is time for another lemsip and then back to bed!!!

Inspiration

Here are a couple of shots of quilts I saw at the quilt show recently. There were one or two stunning ones but these were not allowed to be photographed and then I got so involved I forgot to get the camera out!

It's lovely to see others' work though and imagine all the time and effort that was put in. It's also interesting to see the different colour combinations people choose, some of which you think wouldn't really work but in fact do, amazingly well.

Not feeling so well.....

"Bella was ill and tucked up in bed
with pains in her tummy and pains in her head...."

So goes the little verses out of a delightful children's book I used to read to the girls and whose words often come back to me when I feel unwell. It is 4am and over the last two days I have had two very bad headaches, a variety of other ailments and now a cold has emerged and I am at the runny nose stage! Just cannot stay in bed a moment longer so thought I would get up and update here instead!
A visit to the doctor yesterday was quite timely although I had booked it over three weeks ago and now it appears a colonoscopy is the next thing plus a bone density scan!!! What joys to look forward to. However if we get progress on some of the ailments then that sure will be worth it.

So this week has been busy with a conference in London to run for around 50 people. I wasn't feeling great from the moment I woke up but it was mind over matter and just get on with it with the help of paracetemol etc. It went well, I think, and the joy for me is in organising something that helps others to get out of their situations and see things in a different perspective as well as the opportunity to talk with others.

I did also go to a quilt show at the weekend and perhaps we will have a separate post about that....