Summer Living

Hello!

Summer is here!! I know this because there are plump and juicy little apricots in the grocers shop, with that beautiful rosy blush on them. It is little things like these (and donut peaches which I'm still on the lookout for this season) which bring a deep sense of delight and peace for me...these little fruits mean the weather is warm, its a succulent time of relaxed pleasure and exquisite flavours...its time to enjoy raspberries and strawberries at their best with heaps of glorious vanilla ice-cream - or better - with clotted cream, all piled generously on top of a freshly baked scone!

Mouth watering yet? Thought so!

Our little allotment patch in our tiny garden is beginning to show fruits of our labour, which began way back in January when there was snow on the ground and we eagerly looked through seed cataglogs deciding which tasty treats to try and grow this year.

We chose quite a few different things but planted only a few of each (due to space being small) and we are happily watching our crystal lemon cucumbers grow from struggling seedlings into strong little plants, alongside dwarf courgettes which are already showing off their trumpety yellow flowers. Runner beans are making an appearance amid the Love in a Mist, and the broad beans are full of flowers which we hope will make for a good crop!

There it is, our little patch behind the bench there - and already we have been enjoying the salad leaves and radish...oh my goodness, I've never eaten a radish like it!! Nothing like those watery and tasteless specimens in the supermarket - my goodness, these are crunchy and peppery and utterly delicious!!

Of course, this sudden spell of nice weather (after the appalling torrential downpours here) means we can eat outside!! Oh how I love eating outside!! There is something very relaxing about sitting and eating a meal to the sound of birds singing and the river gurgling away down the garden. It also means I can indulge myself with my napkin obsession (I seem to collect pretty packs of them when I'm out and about) and I love to bring out the brightest ones to enjoy! Does anyone else do this? Get excited about napkins I mean? I know, I'm probably ever so slightly mad for doing this, but putting pretty napkins in the basket for al-fresco dining just makes me so happy!

Anyway, that's enough waffling on about food and the like - I was really hoping to share some new crochet work with you today folks. Yes, the other evening I spent a couple of hours making a pot stand from one of my Japanese crochet books. I know a few of you have these books yourself, and will know that despite the instructions being in the Japanese language, the patterns with the crochet symbols are really quite easy to follow...sort of... :D

So I started...and a bit later on I realised my pot stand was getting a little bit TOO BIG.

Oh dear...I checked the pattern, and after a bit of investigation discovered that the Japanese hook number 4 is in fact a UK 2.5 (this took some trawling on the internet and a blessed discovery of a gorgeous blog called One Pink Plum which helped a lot)...and so, I had to undo the lot as it was starting to resemble a table cloth rather than a pot stand. I haven't had chance to redo it but now I have a bit of good Japanese hooky size info under my belt I am now ready to give it another whirl.

So I'm very sorry, but no crafty pics this week.

However, something else that has got me demented with excitement as you will perhaps know from last weeks post, is this camping lark.

Well, a pitch has been booked with some good friends from Devon in the heart of the Cotswolds!! WOooHooo!

We haven't actually bought our tent...yet...but we will! We have found it, its a beauty and we cannot wait to go and get it next week all being well. In the meantime to quench our appetite we have invested in a camping lantern, a good comfy blow up mattress and this:

...which is utter drool fodder it has to be said, and at this rate i'll be camping every week if the pictures are anything to go by!

Now, I have to say thank you to the ones of you who were most forthcoming with advice and stories of your own experiences - if anyone else would like to share any camping wisdom I would love, love, LOVE to hear from you!! I like that you all mostly think that camping in comfort and yes, even in luxury is necessary these days, and I have to confess to absolutely not being a Bear Grylls type of camper - no way. Its not me, I like to be warm, cosy, comfy and that's not a lot to ask. I want to roll off my humongous mattress from under my lovely duvet and eat a croissant of a morning with a pot of nice fresh coffee - I'm not going to be arguing with a camp fire and picking slugs out of my mess tin...hang on...mess tin? Oh my goodness, not on your nelly...we will be dining in style my friends, and somehow after a jaunt to John Lewis this week, this little lot came home with me:

I fell in love with it - there is something faintly retro and reminiscent of something we had like this in our childhood - can't quite think exactly what but it just screamed CAMPING at me, so I had to get it!!

There is now a small pile of Camping Stuff mounting up in the corner of our dining room. I get such a marvellous feeling each time I see it and to think that we will soon be road testing it on our first ever jaunt, which takes place mid July and I'm just hoping that the weather is kind to us, but this being England, who can possibly tell?!

Anyway - it's almost teatime in our little house! I had no idea of the time but the Small Person has just told me in no uncertain terms that she is beside herself with hunger, so I'm off to cook something that we can eat outdoors, listening to the birds and the gurgling river....

Have a gorgeous weekend!

Much love

Julia x

Simple Things

Hello there! Is the sun shining on you today? From the 1st of March, Yorkshire turned a new leaf weather wise - well, this little corner of the county seemed to anyhow - and we have been basking in sun filled days with high, white cotton wool clouds scudding gently across an impossibly blue sky. Ahhh, we are hoping this is a taste of what is to come, and isn't the sun warm already? Just around lunchtime today as I stood in the back garden, it was just warm enough to feel upon the skin which filled me with a huge sense of optimism I can tell you!

Little things are what keep me afloat - like this jam jar of buttery yellow daffodils. I stopped at the lovely little florist/gift shop 'Hacketts' in nearby Penistone earlier this week and was rewarded with 3 generous bunches for just a couple of pounds. They have filled two jam jars in an abundant manner and are showing off all over the dining table and kitchen windowsill! But aren't they glorious?

Another flowery thing to fill me with delight this week, was the sudden opening of these darling irises, which never cease to astonish me each year that they appear. I love their colours, the blue is quite stunning and such a gift after all that gloomy weather! We have been teased for several weeks by their juicy green buds that didn't seem to do anything, until one day I happened to glance out of the window and 'voila!' there they were!!

And in our kitchen, on our sunny windowsill, the seeds our Little Daughter planted just a few weeks ago are growing in their propagator home at an alarming rate!

These are her dwarf peas, their neighbours, minature cucumbers (La Diva from Sarah Raven should you be curious or tempted to sow your own) are competing height wise, as are the munchkin pumpkins...and we still have seeds to sow!! Where are we going to put them? ( I do wonder out loud, and frequently as it goes), as we have nothing resembling a greenhouse and it is but early March - but I think in a couple of weeks time, these green babies will be taking over the kitchen so I need to get my thinking hat on, regarding a halfway house type of spot for them to go to when they outgrow their current abode!


But all will be resolved, I don't doubt it - most likely over a cup of tea and a nice bit of cake. Oh yes, we've been at it again. Baking. This time: Chocolate brownies crammed full of walnuts and pecans...

It is getting to the point where the Little Baker is demanding we make something every day, which is all well and good but Im running out of tins and slowly getting fatter. Im also out of butter until I visit the next village to do a spot of shopping and so to placate her we had a very messy finger painting session yesterday, instead.

And, Ive been doing a bit of painting myself! I finally found some time to make a start upon my next piece after a rather busy time of it doing lots of other things. Ive been heartily inspired by spring flowers of late and felt I must paint a picture which included a cheery jug of daffs - yet I also had a whim to do a bit of a coastal scene too...doodles and sketches followed and Ive set to work...would you like a peek? Its a work in progress with far to go as yet...but I don't mind showing you how its looking...! Would you like to see it?


Oh, alright then, here you go!

Ive not got a name for the painting yet, but for some reason it had to have a blackbird in it. As I progress, the blackbird will look as if he's spotted something tasty to eat - at the moment Im pondering what that might be! So, for now it just looks as if he's come to have a nosey at the rather nice pebbles doesn't it?! Im quite happy with it so far - any ideas of what treat the blackbird might be finding on the windowsill would be appreciated, so let me know your thoughts!


Well! Another week has passed - (doesn't the time go fast these days), and I want to let you know that next week, I will be officially announcing my Spring Giveaway! The reason behind all this, is that it is my own birthday on the first day of spring (21st March), and to celebrate I wanted to do a little givaway to coincide with my spring birthday celebrations! Hurrah!!
Im planning some lovely treats for you, so do make sure you stop by next week to find out more!


That's all Im saying for now, Im going to do a little bit more work on my painting before I have to go and collect the child - toddlers and acrylic paints don't go very well together you see :)

So I hope you have a delicious weekend, oh - and thank you to everyone who is stopping by to leave such nice comments - I want you to know that I read each one and really appreciate the time you take to pop in and read. Im endeavouring to visit all of your blogs in turn, and look forward to catching up with you soon!

Till next week...sending you a nice cup of chai tea, your favourite song, a spring walk and drifts of snowdrops to smile at!

Much love
Julia x

Busy Busy but so much FUN!

I've had the lovliest weekend - pottering and pootling about - visiting places, spring time projects with the little one, helping at the first annual Craft Candy spring fair...let me start at the beginning, which was friday evening and I decided on a whim to make myself a long yearned for pin cushion! A tiny scrap of lovely vintage fabric, pretty cotton ribbon and a shiny shell button and hurrah! Pin cushion lovliness all ready to be covered in the silvery things!

On saturday afternoon I helped out at the Craft Candy first annual Spring Fling event. I am lucky enough to belong to this wonderful group but as I wasn't having a stall this time, I didnt want to miss out on any of the action (or lovely things for sale) so spent a rather delicious afternoon down at the Workstation in Sheffield city centre. It was a grand turnout and I didnt come away empty handed either...I had spied these precious beauties on Yvonnes gorgeous folksy shop and vowed to myself if they were on her table at the fair, they would be birthday money well spent and coming home with me.

Well, as you can see I was very, very lucky to find them on her table and I swiftly took them off her hands! You can find more of her lovely things here, at Mymiyel.com, she's a very talented lady :)

It was hard work not spending alot of money at all the lovely stalls, there was so much talent there and too much temptation, but I really couldnt resist this little purse for my daughter to keep her pennies in and this unusual and very unique owl hanging (which has found its way into my kitchen and looks quite at home hanging from one of the cupboard door knobs!). These were made by Lucia, of Betty Joy and you really ought to go see her stuff, shes brilliant!

The day ended in style, my other half ringing up to say we were off to the pub for a tasty meal! Hurrah again!! A nice meal and a good glass of wine was just the ticket after a splendid afternoon at the fair!

Sunday, was a rather more laid back affair...

I decided we ought to be getting around to the business of planting some seeds...

We are planning to give over some of our flowery garden space to vegetables this year, and so on Sunday morning me and the tot got busy with compost and trays, planting peas, echinacea flowers, sunflowers and plum tomatoes. A great start to things we thought! In the next couple of weeks I am hoping to lay my hands on a little grow house to accomodate more seedlings as the weather turns warmer - we will need the space as we don't have much in the way of sunny windowledges in our little house.

So here they are, trays of dark compost with hidden delights emerging under the soil...fingers crossed!!

Later in the day, we went over to Wentworth village and enjoyed a gentle stroll around the garden centre before walking back down the avenue that leads to the village church, either side of the little path was covered in bright yellow drifts of daffodils that stretched on as far as the eye could see! The little one was delighted to be let loose and it took us at least 40 minutes to walk up the path, acknowledging each daffodil and pup that happened to pass us on the way.

We popped out in the George and Dragon pub garden - a delightful looking place for a summers eve we thought and made a mental note to return when the weather was a tad warmer, even though British Summertime officially began this weekend, the breeze had an arctic chill in it and fingers were in need of the gloves we'd all left back in the house.

Back home, little one bathed and put to bed we finally sat down and I got to relaxing with some therapeutic crochet. Ive blocked three squares and it looks, so far, like this! Im immensley pleased and proud of it, Ive never attempted anything so big before. I worked out that I need 40 of these blocks if Im making it as big as I want it...but theres no hurry to finish it!

So that was that!! And today, I did my first workshop at the Sheffield Childrens Hospital. I had a really lovely time there, and the children that I spent time with making Easter pictures were an absolute delight. Im looking forward to going back again soon.

Hope you all had lovely weekends, sending love, sunny corners, chamomile tea and a comfy chair to you...oh and a good book - enjoy your week, see you soon!

Love J xxx