..my mother on Mother's Day. My sister made a small repair on the beautiful Shetland shawl knitted by our Mum. It was knitted in one ply wool so fine it could be pulled through a wedding ring. She also knitted Aran and Fair Isle patterns.
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Ater an excellent (rather expensive) lunch in Sylvan with a lovely friend and neighbour who has just moved back to the city, we wandered around the Park Circus area looking at the elegant houses and interesting juxtapositions of old and new and at the converted mews lanes. And at the Mercedes, Aston Martins and Ferraris!       I like this house within a house.
The West End of British cities is the posh end becasue the prevailing winds in Britain are from the west, so the more desirable houses were away from the smells and noise of the factories and mills and tanneries which in many cases would have created the wealth to build them. It snowed quietly most of the morning. Mesmerising, and so peaceful.      The new mug with its sunny Mediterranean vibe. I didn't expect to chhristen it with hot chocolate in snow! It was delicious. I was inspired to make more of my winter garden by this witch hazel in my friend's garden. She nurtured it from a little sad sales table specimen and shaped it carefully. It has been in fuull flower for weeks and in our recent sunny weather it's perfume has been enjoyed to the full.   Seen on the ferry, but not by me unfortunately! I have never seen the Northern Lights. Have you? I first heard this when working for the National Trust at Beningbrough Hall near York. I was teaching a watercolour class on a perfec smmer day in the walled flower garden and this song came floating out of the shop! Idyllic! Utterly romantic. I felt I was in heaven. This beautiful image is from Anna Potter's book Flower Philosophy.  Romantic Films Pure escapism on a winter's night. Top of my list forever is Il Postino. Your absolute fabourites please! I am so deeply moved by yesterday's brilliant image I am finding it hard to get beyonnd it. It works on so many levels and tells at least ten stories. I will leave it up for another day. I think it will become iconic. Not today thankfully - it has been sunny and very cold. This is the title of one of my favourite paintings by another artist in the village - painter Jackie Stevenson. I am sure you will enjoy her watercolours of the local landscape. See here. She is particularly good at capturing the ever changing weather, and you may recognise some of the scenery! One of the talented artists who lives in our village is Guy Elder who built this wonderful pavilion in his garden. I am sure you will enjoy browsing his website here. 
Without  and within.  The moonlight on the frosty ground in the night has been so bright, and the warmth from the stove so comforting. I hope you are cosy. I am listening to The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Her desctiptions of deep cold in Alaska and it's physical and psychological effects are riveting. ..is what we are all having to deal with, isn't it? I am, like you, naking all these plans for events which might not happen! Friends and family are affected by Covid (still arounnd), jury duty, rail strikes, cancelled flights, changed or even cancelled appointments, sudden hospitalisations, and sheer exhaustion coping with it all. Here on the blog I am focussing on the certainties and the small beautiful things which are happening around me I am pretty certain that this extravagant bunch of gypsophila will delight me every day for the rest of December and maybe beyond.  And that sunlight on cold water will continue to mesmerise,  and that the birch against the blue sky will look amazing for a while yet.  and that there will be blue skies!
What things can you be certain of? In this episode Lisa Leendertz reminds us that we are moving into the darker season and that night and datkness will soon dominate, but I find myself aware of the quality of the light, diffuse and mysterious on misty days...  There is a wonderful collection of ceramics at The Burrell and I was struck by how very modern many of the vases and bowls looked. This could have been made by a skilled contemporary studio potter. I particularly like the asymmetry of the glaze at the foot.  In fact it was made during the Tang dynasty some time between 618 and 907. Next time I go to the Burrell I plan to take a longer look at the porcelain which seems to me to have a very modern aesthetic, and that makes me feel a closeness to those makers of so long ago. Beautiful. 10 out of 10 for the refurbishment of this fabulous collection! See it if you can.         Beauty sustains me. Even in the worst of times there is beauty all around - a comforting gestrue, a sympathetic glance, a snile. I remember being struck by writings and poetry from the first wrld war about people in truly hellish situtions stopping, even at great danger to themselves, to notice something beautiful. Violets In Plug Street Wood by Roland in Vera Brittain's Testamennt of Youth comes to mind.  Here is my first post under Simply Beautiful And I wonder how this beautiful project is going? I do hope you wil have time to browse Simply Beautiful. I have had a lovely morning looking through these happy memories. Thank you so much Susan in Dorset for this link. I loved this podcast in particular - Yarn, Yarn, Yarn
..and blue blue skies.  We are having glorious weather!
We are havng beautiful butterfly weather. This male orange tip obligingly waited while I went to fetch the camera.  I heard this poem on Radio 3 the other morning. I absolutely love the imagery, and have read it over and over. A new favourite! ...the scene in moonlight. I woke in the night and found the snow was thick above the tree line (much of it has melted in lovely sunshine today). The sky was a rich blue and dark enough to be starry, the forest was black and the moon shone on the brilliant band of snow. Dazzlingly beautiful.  I hope you have all been spared storm damage.. ..feeling good. A few dry days, more birdsong, and this on my doorstep. And the uploading problem fixed itself! Do you find yourself feeling more positive?    |
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