Today l've been busy washing jeans, towels and bed linens because the weather conditions have been just perfect for hanging it all out to dry. Seeing my washing hung out on the line and capturing that moment as it all flaps happily away in the breeze, well it just fills me with an inner sense of accomplishment.
I sat outside for a while after l'd hung the first lot up, enjoying the fresh scent of the wash powder as the sheets danced and made snapping noises in the wind. I lay back on the bench and watched the birds sweeping the vaulted sky above while listening to the soft rustle of Birch leaves; to neighbours mowing their lawn and bumble bees busy among the sage flowers. A symphony of sound- of buzz and whir, of rustle and snap...the soundings and rhythms of life.
Simple pure ethereal calm - a moment to take pause and treasure.
Today l woke up to another world- a world with very little sound. Unfortunately l've been stuffed up with a head cold these past few days and had hoped that by this morning it would have abated somewhat- but no. I feel like l have pillows covering my ears and l can hear a washing drum sound, most likely from the pulse of blood in my skull or blocked Eustachian tube – slosh and whoosh and whoosh and slosh. The only sound that l seem to pick up is from our wine fermentation bin behind me- the bubbles repeatedly coursing through the airlock and filling the room with a slight boozy smell - between that and the haze of cold medication it is a wonder that l can type!
On my last post l mentioned that l would post a movie – l had the most difficult time with Blogger on posting but FINALLY got there as you can see from the post below.
These past few months have been hectic for me and sadly the summer weather has been as elusive as ever at least for us up on the west coast of Scotland but nevertheless summer is upon us and it is a busy time. I am trying to savour the joy of this season and get out as often as l can so that these memories will see me though the shortening of days to come. Yesterday was the longest day of the year- sunrise around 4:30am and sunset after 10pm!
Wishing you all, love and peace this Midsummer Solstice.
With good intentions l started the spring cleaning last week see post below and got a lot accomplished but l've had to stop for the moment to concentrate on the many activities going on with Sam's school in this, the last month of his year.
Last week he took part in the Area Sports Day where all the schools in Cowal compete against each other at different sporting events. Sam was picked to run in the 100mtr for his school. In the running heats he came in second and so l thought he wouldn't have a chance in the final but... he came in second again !!! So this week my wee boy has had his picture in the local paper with all of the other winners – this is the first time he has won a medal.
At the end of last week he also took part in a play with his class – the play was based on the RMS Titanic which is the topic that they have been doing for a while. I was very impressed with all the children that took part, amazed at their knowledge of events and the work that was displayed in their classroom. They were all dressed up in period costume- even Sam wore a bowler hat.
Tomorrow Sam has swimming in the morning and then his own school's sports day in the afternoon so he will be very tired when he finally gets home. On Wednesday there is a Parent's evening at the school too- it is all go at the moment!!
As for the weather, well it has been fickle to say the least. Some moments the sun is shining brightly and the next the heavens open and we have a downpour- not the best for planning to hang out washings.
Sam spent time with Olwyn (granddaughter) out front this weekend - they blew bubbles, ate ice cream and played games. At 2½ Olwyn is really starting to enjoy interacting with Sam and it's lovely to see them together - Sam is so gentle with her and Ollie hangs on his every word.
I've also been tinkering around with ' i-movie' on my Mac computer- a relaxing thing to do in the evening- preferred by me to watching the television. I'm starting to get the gist of it now and will try and add a short video on my next post.
Take care all.
I've been ill and l've been worried but now l am neither!
This morning while getting wee Sam away to school l stood waiting on the kettle to boil thinking and starting to plan. I must have woken up on the right side of the bed because even the ominous weather forecast did not seem to dampen my mood. The calendar showed a few days ahead with nothing pencilled in so l figured – 'hey, why not start the spring cleaning?!' – better late than never!!! I've just had so much going on and when the weather was nice l ended up in the garden so now it's time to focus on the inside.
So after this post and another cup of tea l'll make my check-list, find some up-beat music to sing along loudly to and go throw all the windows open - very therapeutic in its own way!
My daughter, Mel also has some new spring bunnies- 6 in total and all doing well. Some photos below.
Seeing the beauty in the everyday things around us is easier said than done, especially when we've had weeks of relentless rain and gale-force winds. But beauty is not always as we imagine- like in a painting or even a small flower, sometimes it's as simple as an old stone wall full of moss and lichen or a weathered shed door with rusted handle, sometimes it's the scenery that we take for granted around us or the canopy of trees that form a dappled shade below. Wherever we look there is always beauty to be found in the most ordinary of places – beauty to be found in the quality of light just after the rain or beauty to be found in the stillness of an early morn.
There is a vitality of greenery this year – certainly one added benefit from the abundance of rain we've had to endure. The trees on the hillside, so lush with so many different shades of green that you are suddenly drawn to the textures; the Creeping Jenny with bright yellowy foliage spreading and filling out in every direction- always a wonderful complement to any neighbouring plant.
Down at the beach l love the shades of the rocks and could stand for ages watching as the waves lap gently over and around them. For me, it's the light- the quality of light that makes everything come alive!
There is nothing more beautiful than a kind spirit – a gentleness and empathy that shines out from the inside. Treating others the way you would wish to be treated – this beauty manifests itself in all sorts of ways – through words and deeds – neighbourly gestures and so on. Sadly however not everyone reciprocates in the same manner, some people hold back and have a coldness inside. I have told my oldest son to not just go for the looks in a girl but to see the beauty that lies beneath – a prerequisite for any of my daughter-in-laws to be – lol.
And lets not forget the most wonderful of moments- sharing and caring. The holding of hands with your partner, the hug from your children or grandchild, a caring word from a friend – that is beauty to warm the cockles of your heart!
So these are the moments in my life that l try to focus on- especially when things are not always easy.
I am drawn to the people who care and to my family who love me.
Love, life and the everyday beauty of things.
I wish you all the very best of weekends and will get round to visiting soon. Thank you for your kind thoughts and wishes.
"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee,
the small child, and the smiling faces.
Smell the rain, and feel the wind..." Ashley Smith
Last night l was awake for ages – just couldn't sleep. The house was so quiet except for the wind which blew fitfully against the windows. I sat in my wee craft room wrapped in my old cardigan with the fire on and busied myself making a birthday card for my father-in-law- Hubby is going to post it today. Ironically l used sunflowers as my theme on the card - perhaps subconsciously l was trying to let in a little sunshine.
Anyway, from my window here l can see the freight ships going up and down the river – the local ferries also seem unaffected by the wind gusts. Long ripples are forming across the surface of the Clyde – like finger rolls when you smooth the sheets on a bed. I'm enjoying watching the gulls soaring, hovering - it's almost a game for them- bowcurving wind currents. I'm envious. Life seems to be going on as usual even though it's all wet and grey...and l'm stuck indoors.
I've added the poem below by James C. Welsh. It just seems to fit.
A PICTURE IN GREY
Waves on a cold grey shore,
Sea birds on heavy wing,
Mists all the headlands o'er,
Grey thoughts the soft winds bring;
Far out, the white birds cry,
Sigh of the wave and wind,
Ships passing out, and l
Dreaming along behind.
Bleak, bleak, the shore and lea,
Soft stirs the yellow grass,
Grey sand and greyer sea
Change as the shadows pass;
Still out of all the pain,
Out of the misty sea,
Out from this threat of rain -
Shall break the sun to me.
Not much to report this week. The weather has been atrocious so the gardening has come to a bit of a standstill although l did manage to get a few more seed trays done and bought some Lavender and Lobelia 'Queen Victoria' at the weekend.
We've had a few spells of sunshine between the downpours where l managed to get outside and snap some photographs. I love the smell of the damp earth after the rain, the colours in the garden seem so much richer and the droplets of water on the Alchemilla (Lady's Mantle) bead and sparkle like tiny reflecting worlds.
It was Gerald's birthday on Saturday so we took the ferry and headed over to a wee shop in Glasgow called, Glenbrew – a little Aladdin's cave packed full of all types of wine/beer making supplies. Hubby got completely kitted out- buckets, airlocks, Hydrometer, thermometer, syphon tubing, sterilising and neutralizer solutions, bungs and corks! That's all l can remember for the now anyway. At home we've got quite a few demijohns in the shed so it's just a matter of getting them cleaned out and we'll be ready to go. He also got a Blackberry phone so has been as happy as a pig with Truffles!
I am so pleased to hear that Merle from Merle's third try is out of the hospital after a serious blood infection that went from bad to worse but this lovely lady managed to fight the odds and has pulled back through – delighted to see her blogging again!!! Another dear friend, Connie from It's a Doggy Dog World has had knee surgery again and so l am wishing her all the best for a speedy recovery.
I've had a few visits to the Doctor myself this past week and am now waiting on a date to take a trip across the water to the bigger hospital for a biopsy- another story but as you can imagine this has destroyed my blogging muse of late, hence the short break away. I'm not going to worry about anything though until there is something to worry about and l'm hoping there won't be.
So, no loitering about and as it was raining l used the time to work indoors thrashing my way through the built up clutter, clothes and toys outgrown, gadgets unused, etc. I have amassed quite the pile of boxes already in the hall by the front door – now we're just waiting on a good day to join in the car boot sale and get rid of the lot! My daughter also has stuff to sell so we're going to do this sale together. The house is starting to feel a bit haphazard between the boxes by the door, seed trays lining the windowsills, winemaking equipment in the kitchen. Just add shopping to that, laundry or lego and it quickly builds to a chaotic crescendo!
I am so missing all that good weather we had last month.
I'm up late tonight so l'm going to post this quickly and get to bed – will post some photos tomorrow.
Back home once again from our well trodden pilgrimage down to Cornwall to visit with dad. We had fantastic weather and got loads caught up with in the garden – had a bonfire, strimmed, mowed, weeded and l even planted tatties and tomatoes. This photo was taken just after we got started- you can just make out the smoke from hubby's bonfire.
We also took a few drives down to the beaches and did some shopping but now it's back home to 'auld claes and parritch'. This is such a typically Scottish expression and can be said once you get back from a holiday away, in our case a working holiday but nevertheless it means coming back home to your old clothes and usual porridge breakfast. All good things much come to an end.
And just like the sunset in the photo l also must get on- too nice a day to stay inside. I'm away to get caught up in our own garden now.
For the longest time l've been ogling this mixer called the Kitchenaid. It has a really stylish retro design and you can even colour co-ordinate!
I have no doubt that it would accent my kitchen beautifully as you can see from the picture but.. LOOK at the price - around £400!!!
I've had a small hand mixer for ages and it's done really well, that was... until last week. It broke down with all the 'thumps, bangs and whistles' you can imagine- quite frightening really. I blame it on my son(22ys) who was using it at the time and didn't seem to notice the smoke billowing around him – he's an engineer for goodness sake!!! He blamed it on the ingredients l was using, hmm - cheeky boy. No more Brownies for him!
Anyway, here l am now – mixerless and torn because l can't justify spending that amount of money on a kitchen gadget - however nice it might be. I keep thinking, "that could buy me a new petrol mower!" Arghh!
And what if l did buy it and my 'so called' ingredients blew it up! 'Adventures of the runaway whisk' - now that would make for an interesting story.
Night all. I'm away for some sleep.
Yesterday was Red Nose Day and the theme at Sam's school this year was 'clowns'. All the children had to take in home baking and dress up either as a clown or in bright colours. The home baking was sold by Sam's class at a stall to raise money for Comic Relief. Red Nose Day is the highlight of Comic Relief's appeal- a charity founded in the UK (1985) to raise money for children in this country and Africa – based at the time on the famine in Ethiopia. On this day people can dress up and exhibit their own sense of humour in odd and creative ways, raising money to help transform the lives of children both home and abroad. One of the women at my husbands work came in in her pyjamas- she raised over £50 just in the office! My son had to dress up for his work too and later went out in the evening to raise more money.
Most all schools participate, places of work team together and there is an all day telethon held where loads of singers perform, TV actors do daft things and we see where the money raised from the previous year was used in charity projects.
This year the UK raised over £74million pounds!!! A staggering amount when you think of the size of our country and the economic situation for most at the moment - so many out of work and yet such an incredible response. I wish the people that ran this country had as much compassion and generosity for the plight that most of us are in!
I went across the water on Thursday to do the shopping (and scout around for a clown wig :) and was lucky enough to get the last spot on the ferry. The weather was lovely so l got out and took a few photos. Last night l downloaded another photo editing app from the Apple store and tinkered around with some of the photos. See below.
Looking forward to the SUPERMOON tonight! Yesterday evening, just before bedtime, wee Sam and l sat on our front steps wrapped together in a blanket looking up at the moon. It was so bright that you had to keep looking away and then back again. We had a cuddle under the moonlight and l told him that the next time the moon would be this close to earth he would be around 27yrs old!!! I tried to take a still frame of that moment in my mind - a snap shot to remember us sitting there so close. It would be lovely to think that 18yrs from now l might be sitting looking up at the next Supermoon with my husband and all of my children and grandchildren together.
Today l went to the local community theatre to watch my son participate in the Scottish Country Dancing with other village schools in the area, a total of 260+ children (7-9yrs) – even a school class came from across the water to join in! There was live accordion music and the event was piped in by two young lads.
It was a wonderful sight to see all of these primary school children dancing the strathspeys, jigs and reels – l felt like l had stepped back in time to my own childhood and beyond.
They danced The Highland Fair, Virginia Reel, Reel for Jeanie, Fun in Argyll, Flowers of Dunbeg and more- some children wore their kilts and not one child shied away from joining in. Local volunteers from the country dancing group helped to run the event and were fantastic in organising the children.
I took my mum along with me and we sat up in the balcony with the other spectators- all clapping and toe tapping to the music. :)
What more can l say, it was just a fantastic sight to see.
The lighting was not the best as you can see from the photo above - blobs where l caught the dust as the flash went off. At least you can see the movement and hear the music from the video below. Sam is dancing in the 'white shirt' group farthest from me in this footage.
It's happening gradually, of course, but l'm starting to feel the beginnings of spring! We've had another strange week of mixed weather, even snow, but through it all the Crocus, Snowdrops, Primula and Tom Thumbs (mini daffodils) are out.
As l walked home along the road this morning the trees were filled with so many birds - their warbled singsong just gladdened my heart. One tree had over 30 Siskin and on the neighbouring tree there was a single Robin hurling abuse at them. Robins tend to be very territorial but to me it still sounded beautiful!
This flock of Siskin roost nearby and arrive in the treetops when it is still dimpsy (twilight) - they enjoy making a bit of a commotion early before attacking the feeders, including ours, when it starts to brighten up. We've been watching them from the kitchen window over the past few days - lovely wee things.
For me, the real countdown to spring can be seen in the London Pride that grows by our gate – it grows in other parts of our garden too but because we pass this area so often we tend to notice the changes - at present it has started to stand to attention. It's period of growth will now guide us all the way into May.
'London Pride' came into its own in the Second World War, where it appeared as a hybrid on bomb sites in London and all over the country. In the garden it does better if it has its own space as it likes to spread out forming a mat of ground cover but it is not aggressively invasive. It grows great under our Rowan tree- enjoying this shady spot and on the wall around back.
Below are some other photos taken this morning.
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