Category:

Simply..a backlog....

31/8/2023

of photos..

Issues still not fully resolved but I miss you! Writing a blog post is so much part of my daily routine that I find myself all at sea without it. As I drift around on my day I am on the lookout for something beautiful/funny/unusual/interesting/thought provoking, something I want to share with like-minded friends here. I like to think it keeps me alert, in a gently challening way. I love it when your comments make it a conversation rather than a monologue.

The swallows have fledged and the garden was full of them when I opened the back door this morning. I wonder what it is like to leave the dark warm nest and find yourself in the huge sky with sunlight on your wings and a dozen or more swallows weaving and wheeling around you with joyous cries. I must have watched them for fully five minutes, mouth agape (mine as well as theirs. Truly.) It was the most beautiful start to the day.

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Simply..sky magic....

4/8/2023

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I glanced up from my morning coffee to see this enormous heart-shaped cloud rising up from the forest like a birthday balloon! It made me laugh out loud, and run for my camera.

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Simply..as ever....

2/8/2023

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..beauty sustains me.

As do your thoughtful and kind comments. Thank you.

What sustans you in times of loss and sorrow?

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Simply..summer nights....

18/6/2023

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So beautiful.

I love the candlelight on the rose petals.

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Simply..a summer sunrise.

25/5/2023

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I chanced to waken at 4.42, glanced out of the window at this dappled, brindled sky and knew the dawn was going to be especially beautiful, so threw on some clothes and was down at the shore by 4.52. Dawn.

I was back in bed with a tray of tea and toast by 5.08.

I only started noticing what time dawn is by listening to Lia Leenderz.

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Simply..simple....

17/5/2023

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Simply..dawn....

15/4/2023

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From the shore this morning.

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Simply..breathtaking....

10/4/2023

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Simply..remembering....

19/3/2023

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..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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Simply..in the city....

16/3/2023

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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.

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Simply..quietly snowing....

14/3/2023

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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.

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Simply..inspired....

8/3/2023

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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.

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Simply..aurora....

3/3/2023

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Seen on the ferry, but not by me unfortunately! I have never seen the Northern Lights. Have you?

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Simply..romantic February 14....

15/2/2023

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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.

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Simply..romantic February 10....

10/2/2023

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Romantic Films

Pure escapism on a winter's night.

Top of my list forever is Il Postino.

Your absolute fabourites please!

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Simply..deeply moved....

23/1/2023

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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.

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Simply..curtains of rain....

20/1/2023

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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!

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Simply..beautiful....

18/1/2023

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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.

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Simply..so very cold....

15/12/2022

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..so very beautiful.

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Sinply..elemental beauty....

8/12/2022

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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.

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Simply..uncertainty....

6/12/2022

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..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?

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Simply..turning....

22/10/2022

1 Comment

Have you listened yet to this month's podcast of As The Season Turns? You can hear it here.

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...

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Simply..beautiful....

21/10/2022

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Even on a very grey day..

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Simply..contemporary....

18/10/2022

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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.

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