Do you ever have a spell when technology seems to ba against you? For no reason that you can decipher?



There was this..

There was the online transaction where my card was rejected, the store which couldn't provide a receipt without going through the transaction again, and an effort to purchase an online exercise programme which woud not let me proceed to completion. All in 24 hours.

Meanwhile nature decorates the plain  wreath I hung on the wall a few days ago, and I am taking a short break from this particular technology (the blog) though different technology will be required to work well for me..

Have a good week.

..is nealry over. I have spent most of it in the garden, and a lot of it in the hammock. Enjoying the meadow areas which I have extended to cover almost all of the back garden. Counting orchids, watching a family of chaffinches and the swallows which nested for the firs time on the end of the shed.

Weebly is being really glitchy tonight and won't let me load more photos! It does that sometimes..will try again tomorrow.

..have been especialby abundant this year.

Abundant enough to pick some..

..the country best.

The deep silence at night. Maybe the sound of an owl further up the glen, or the piping caall of the oystercatchers which feed not according to daylight, but according to the tides - so they sometimes feed down along the shore in the darkness.

..is the spice of life!

Back up to the city with my visitor from France and an artistic bowl of soup in the elegant surrundings of The Anchor Line.

Then a brief visit to Moma where there is a Banksy exhibition. It is on until late August so we looked at an exhibition on the third floor called Taste. (Lovely modern stained glass on the way up the stairs.) The highlights for me were a stunning photograph by Cartier-Bresson, a Hockney, and an interesting comparison berween a Stanley Spencer and a Beryl Cook.

Lots of things I liked in the gallery shop too, but I resisted the temptation..

Do you live in a city and enjoy trips into the country? Or like me, live in the countryside and enjoy trips to the city.

I love the variety.

after a day of rain.

My very favourite outfit in the Mary Quant exhibition at Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow. Well worth seeing..

What is sparking joy in your house this summer?

A pimbpard with holiday plans attached

Some pots of fresh herbs in the kitchen for inspiration

Different china - a pretty cup and saucer from the charity shop

Some new perfumed soaps in the bathroom

Some fresh photographs by the bedsde

All of the above?

Whyever not!


More ideas welcome...

Aplogies to southern hemisphere readers!

..are one of the joys of my life.

When I was a child flowers were a luxury we could rarely afford. We did not have a garden,. Maybe that is why it thrills me to be able to buy a bunch (or even two!) with the weekly shop, and why to pick my own from my garden seems like heavan.

Tiny posies or extravagant bouquets - you will know from this blog how much I love them all. To me they are the height of romance and sophistication.

Yesterday's foxgloves or this tiny jar of daisies, they all spark joy.

About 11 pm.

Too many photos!

Enjoy the music..

Even when they are over...

How will you celebrate Midsummer?

Where does the first light of the day come into your home?

So beautiful.

I love the candlelight on the rose petals.

The cupboard was bare! Oh well, no dessert tonight then.

The cake shed is obviously proving to be very popular.

Waiting for rain. Thunder rumbled and echoed round the glen all late afternoon and the garden and I waited, and waited, and eventually great big drops of rain fell on the parched ground - for all of three minutes!

Not enough. More is forecast for tomorrow...

Th garden enters it's most colourful phase.

Thank you so much for your kind comments yesterday.

..there are no words. Just feelings which can't be expressed n a blog post, so I posted a simple picture last night.

I had been to a funeral yesterday which happened to be on the anniversry of another death.

It is important and beautiful to celebrate a life and equally important and necessary to mourn the loss, but I don't think both can be done at the same time without messing up my head!

Neither can they be rushed. The heart sets it's own pace.

The mind follows.

If I am wise, and let them have their way.

Rose Timeless Purple seems to have quadrupled in size alnost overnight (compare to yesterday's post).

The perfume is amazing these hot days.

I wanted June to be a gantle month and a prologed spell of beautiful weather has made that easy to achieve so far.

Cool in the mornings, 20 - 23 degrees in the afternoons (siestas in the hammock), gardening from early till late and all meals outside. A perfect staycation.

Here are some of the best bits in the garden. I only show you the best bits of course!

I hope your June plans are working out well, or perhaps you are just letting the month unfold?

A few months ago I came across a 3 day fitness challenge by Goodnick and as it was only 10 minutes a day (the most appealing part) I thought I would give it a try.

Much to my surprise I quite enjoyed it, so I just kept repeating the 3 day programme, and I am so glad I did. Who knew that 10 minutes a day could make a difference to stamina, strength, balance and flexibility! (I expect lots of you knew, but I didn't.)

I had the stamina to walk around 10 miles on our first day in Paris, the strength to carry my suitcase up and down the interminable Metro steps, and the balance and flexibility to navigate the open sided staircase in our apartment and several flights to my bedroom.


Back home I want to navigate public transport, carry my own shopping, push a wheelbarrow and a lawnmower, kneel down and get up again easily and not fall over when I get dressed!


So I'll be keeping up this new habit - I might even increase it to 15 minutes, or hlf an hour..

Do you like to eat outside?

On the porch, in the garden, on a picnic, in a local cafe or up in town, I love to eat out of doors.

My best used old cookbook.

Not so healthy, but the occasional brownie from the Cake Shed will probably feature in my diet this summer.

A new venture in the village, chocolate brownies and an honesty box.

This is going to be very tempting!

'Too blessed to be stressed.'

Maria.

NB  I really like it when you talk to each othr in the comments but Weebly can't seem to cope and the replies recently got all mixed up. Sorry about this glitch!