Live Simply Simply Live
  • Blog
  • Studio
  • Home
  • Cards
  • Coronation Wood

Simply..doing what we can....

18/9/2020

6 Comments

 
I am doing my best to focus on what I can do, within the rules and restrictions, and consider myself very lucky indeed to have taken a short holiday when I did, as from today, we in Scotland are being asked not to travel unless necessary!

Areas dependent on tourism are between a rock and a hard place as they say, and  areas such as the Black Isle are doing their very best to function in a safe way. Many holiday cottages are letting only alternate weeks to be safer, all the shops are well organised with hand sanitisers  and restricted numbers etc.

We stayed in Kelpies Cottage (owned by a primary school friend of mine!). It is really beautiful and filled with lovely things. Helen has a great eye for design and a wonderful antique shop in the town. Enjoy a leisurely browse in this Aladdin's cave here.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Have you managed  a holiday or an outing?

How did it make you feel?
6 Comments

Simply..the good news....

17/9/2020

2 Comments

 
Picture

I really liked the look of these structures in the Cromarty Firth, and I liked them even more when I learned that they are for wind turbines in the North Sea. They are being welded onto the deck of the ship which will tow them out to position. The centre of the ship can be submerged and the turbines floated off and anchored to the sea bed with concrete (produced in uk, instead of steel made in China). Only the yellow part will be above water.

Scotland is doing well with renewable energy production.  See here.

If I had been staying longer I would photograph them in different weather conditions and times of day..

Picture
Picture
2 Comments

Simply..fascinating.....

17/9/2020

4 Comments

 

Like a giant art installation!

Picture
4 Comments

Simply..rarely....

14/9/2020

12 Comments

 
..has a holiday done me so much good.

Company and four different walls to look at! Hurrah!  And time in beautiful nature.

Rosemarkie beach in The Black Isle (not really an island) was glorious.

Picture
Picture

Waiting patiently for dolphins..

Picture

They didn't come when I was there though my friends saw them twice.


12 Comments

Simply..Topping....

25/1/2020

12 Comments

 
Picture
Topping and Company Booksellers in Edinburgh is a very welcoming bookstore first brought to our attention by Karen of Cornflower Books.
Picture
Welcoming (though you are not really meant to stand on the tables..).

Beautifully fitted out,  an old clock, and rugs seats and tables, coffee, writer's talks - it has everything you would want in a bookshop. Mary found a few titles she had been looking for. It gets crowded at weekends and it's very easy to lose a friend in the warren of rooms!


Picture
The RSW exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy is very good this year. The luminous quality of Winter Sun, Cromar by Chris Bushe stopped me in my tracks.
Picture

Mary had booked tickets for the Joshua Bell concert with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in the Usher Hall well in advance. It was breathtaking. For me the highlight of the virtuosic performance was the exuberant Four Seasons of Buenos Airies by Piazzolla. You can get a flavour of it in this 4 minute mix...or you can hear the whole Piazzolla version by other artists on YouTube.

Loved it.

12 Comments

Simply..city buzz Edinburgh....

24/1/2020

5 Comments

 
We used the Edinburgh Hop On Hop Off tour bus too, and took in an exhibition and a concert and a visit to Topping's Book Shop (thank you Karen of Cornflower Books).

Click on first photo for full images.
Duke of Wellington without traffic cone (much more respectful in Edinburgh!).Original Leonardo drawings still on at the Queen's Gallery..
Look at that blue sky!

Candles and outside tables in January! Outside of Stocks where we had a very good meal.  I was surprised at how busy Edinburgh was - we couldn't get a table at Urban Angel where I had planned to have one of their scrumptious almond croissants for Sunday breakfast. But there are hundreds of places to eat.

We also ate at The Dome. Oh, the high life!




5 Comments

Simply..city buzz Glasgow....

23/1/2020

11 Comments

 

Have you explored your own home ground as if you were a visitor?

(Click on photo to see full images in this rather random selection.)
..


11 Comments

Simply..city buzz....

22/1/2020

14 Comments

 

I was lucky to make it to Glasgow as the ferries were off due to gales later last Thursday afternoon!

Picture
A choppy crossing!

I was meeting Mary. Many of you will know Mary from her comments on this blog. She is from Washington DC and I think I should persuade her to write a travel blog. She has travelled the world with family, but also independently and I picked up a lot of tips from her about what to take with you, how to pack it, what to wear to be comfortable and look good (those scarves work Mary!), how to be efficient but flexible about arrangements, pace yourself, and keep a sense of humour when things don't go as planned.

Most things did go to plan for us and the weather was kind as we began a tour of Glasgow. It's interesting seeing your own city through the eyes of a visitor.

On the way to Rogano's for dinner we meandered through Merchant City admiring the architecture and a gorgeous hat shop, Looked into MOMA and smiled at The Duke of Wellington - can you make out the traffic cones on the heads of both the Duke and his horse? I don't know who started this joke and for a long time the cones were removed by officials, but they finally gave up and the image has become a Glasgow icon (which perhaps says something about Glaswegians irreverent attitude to figures of authority). Better images here

Picture
MOMA
The next day we used the City Sightseeing Hop On Hop Off bus - a really neat way to get around and I learned a few new things about my city! But first we had breakfast at Mackintosh At The Willow. Most Mackintosh interiors are private or in museums with an entrance charge so to be in this restaurant and enjoy the experience of sitting in and using the surroundings as they were meant to be used is well worth the price of breakfast (or just a coffee if you wish, but the breakfast is very good). They have a good website here.

Hopped Off for coffee at Kember and Jones and bought some food to take back to the apartment for supper.

And as I am sure you can imagine talked and talked and talked.....
14 Comments

Simply..on the street, Venice....

23/11/2019

8 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
8 Comments

Simply..on the street, Christchurch NZ....

22/11/2019

4 Comments

 
Picture
4 Comments

Simply..recreating....

30/9/2019

12 Comments

 
that holiday high.

One of the highlights of my stay in York was a visit to Salts Mill in Saltaire. My favourite part has always been the Hockney Gallery on the ground floor.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
The strong structure, big space, large jugs of headily scented lilies, displays of gorgeous books (some titles to put on my wish list) and art materials, and most of all the loud opera (the first time I was there Wagner was being played very loudly). All this and the energy of Hockney's work bouncing off the walls leaves me feeling exhilarated.

It's sublime.

Remembering the feeling once I was back home it occured to me I can have lilies!

Picture
Heavenly scent as I work

I can have music! (I checked with my neighbour today that I was not playing it too loudly!). Le Nozze Di Figaro is playing, loudly, as I write. I have beautiful books I have not looked at for ages and several blank notebooks and sketchbooks waiting to be used.

Picture
Gifts and bought because I liked te covers
Picture
To look at when I have a coffee..

If you are remembering a good holiday feeling can you do anything to re-create the feeling now that you are home?  I'd love to hear any ideas you have about this!
12 Comments

Simply..quintessentially English....

25/8/2019

8 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Coxwold and the gardens at Shandy Hall.


I love both the English and the Japanese look. Why has it taken me so long to realise that I shouldn't be mixing them in the garden!

I will keep the Japanese aesthetic to the perimeter and the English look close to the house - I can see this will work better. Have started already...
8 Comments

Simply..Cool;....

22/8/2019

6 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Picture
This development under a motorway flyover is made of old shipping containers. There is a stage, table tennis, a cafe in an old bus, small smart shop/business units, a green wall and lots of healthy looking plants.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Vibrant.

Do you know of any developments which make imaginative use of what is usually dead space?


6 Comments

Simply..The Whitworth....

21/8/2019

4 Comments

 
From the welcome in Urdu
Picture
to the parents lying on mats with their babies on a gallery floor or playing games outside
Picture
Picture
Picture
beautifully proportioned vistas, quality materials
Picture
Thought provoking exhibitions - contemporary and from the collections.
Picture
and the most elegant drainpipe ever seen
Picture
I love what they are doing at the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester.

Take a look at their Natural Cultural Health Service.

I could have spent the whole weekend there: in the park, the gardens, the cafe, the galleries, the shop. Free, family friendly, well-used on a sunny Saturday - well done my old University of Manchester! I liked to go to the Whitworth when I was studying but it was darkish, and old fashioned with a played out park outside and very few people inside and the cafe consisted of two tiny tables in the entrance way.
4 Comments

Simply..country and city....

20/8/2019

14 Comments

 

I love a holiday that includes both!

A North Yorkshire market town and village, a glimpse of medieval York and a look at Manchester.
A week of contrasts in the company of good friends.

Lovely.
Picture
Grey's Court, York
Picture
Coxwold
Picture
Manchester
Picture
Sunflowers with robotic lawnmower, Tatton Park

Nice to be home too.
Do you feel that after a holiday?
14 Comments

Simply..the British seaside....

7/8/2019

6 Comments

 

I don't know if it could be anywhere else..

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

what do you think?

Could it be in your country?
6 Comments

Simply..flying....

7/5/2019

4 Comments

 
.. I love flying. 

A few days before I left for New Zealand I was on the beach watching a gull effortlessly soaring high in the air and I thought I'd soon be up there with her, though to get me up there would take the efforts of thousands of people, millions of pounds, hundreds of gallons of flammable and polluting fuel, and systems so complex and amazing that they blow my mind. I've flown in a balloon, gliders, a sea plane and various small aircraft, a Hercules and the usual commercial planes, but this long haul flight was the first time I'd flown in an Airbus. Emirates Economy Class is pretty luxurious.

I always have a window seat ( I gave up learning to fly a glider when I realised that all I really wanted was to look down. I don't think I'd have made a very safe pilot!). My favourite feature of this comfortable and quiet aircraft with its 14 flight attendants speaking 18 languages, is the flight information panel (forget the zillion films). I am up here looking down on the earth. Real geography, maps come alive, names conjuring up history and memories as I fly over Europe including Dresden where my husband's father was born, mountain ranges and deserts, the flares of the oil rich gulf states in the darkness, place names which are familiar only because people there are at war.....

In the quiet and almost empty early morning airport in Melbourne, a family have made a little camp. Mother and baby lie on a yoga mat on the floor, equipment and luggage are spread out in an orderly way over 5 or 6 chairs and father is entertaining a toddler who has such a delightful and infectious giggle that I move a few seats closer to hear him better.

On the way home we follow the night. Fourteen hours of dark is challenging but I get this shot of sunset on the wing over Sydney

Picture
We are not going to stop flying.

It's not going to happen.

More tomorrow...
4 Comments

Simply..a Yay! moment....

29/4/2019

5 Comments

 
Picture
I am astonished that a building can make me feel like this!

What makes you feel like this?

Do share..
5 Comments

Simply..in one day....

27/4/2019

5 Comments

 
 ..to see these two buildings in Paris was mindblowing!

We saw Sainte Chapelle in the morning and Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton building in the evening.

Neither building has anything to do with shelter from the elements!  They are about power, wealth and status, poetry and spirituality, and skill and daring and large egos - and they are both exciting to see.

Both buildings are outrageous in their own ways, in their audacity and extravagance. I think that's what we respond to...

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

I want to know more. It was built in only seven years, it was built to house holy relics brought from Constantinople as it then was, many ordinary people were living miserable lives in Paris in 1248, it employed skilled often itinerant engineers and craftsmen some of whom worked all over Europe. Literally awesome!

Awesome could also describe Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton, which is a gallery and concert hall.

In a (rather grudging) review in The Guardian Oliver Wainwright said that Frank Gehry 'doesn't know when to stop'. The same may well have been said of Louis 1X.

Here are Heather and I reflected on the skin of this extraordinary building. It was open until 9pm, not busy  and there was a beautiful sunset.

Picture

Tomorrow LOTS of photos of this building....
5 Comments

Simply..got the bug....

24/4/2019

13 Comments

 

The travel bug that is!

Picture
Classic York

Did you go away this Easter?
13 Comments

Simply..moved to tears....

17/4/2019

10 Comments

 
..by Les Nympheas in L'Orangerie. (Be there when it opens.)
Picture
Here's what Monet said about them..............

..Nerves strained by work would relax in its presence...for he who would live in it, this room would offer a refuge for peaceful meditation.

I was also charmed by this fabulous lightshade in the cafe.
Picture
It's about 5 or 6 feet across and so lightweight it moved slightly.

Love it.

As for the stunning Musee D'Orsay, words fail me so here are 10 photographs!

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

It was marvellous to see the originals of so many Impressionist paintings familiar to me in reproduction. Do you have an artwork you long to see in the original?

The real thing.

There's

nothing

like

it.


10 Comments

Simply..some new words....

15/3/2019

16 Comments

 
have to be added to my little New Zealand souvenir book.

Shock. Disbelief. Dismay. Grief.
16 Comments

Simply..a few last snapshots....

10/3/2019

14 Comments

 
..and some souvenirs.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

The favourite sandals I took with me to New Zealand literally fell apart when I got there - they looked fine on top but great lumps of sole fell off around the flat and we wondered what all these bits were...I found a lovely pair of shoes in a sale in the nice (air conditioned) department store Ballantynes.  I just know I'm going to love these.
Picture

I could have spent a lot in the beautiful Art Gallery shop but just bought this little bit of silly decoration because the colours are so lovely..

Picture


And I could not resist this tiny tiny notebook though I don't know what I am going to put in it.

Any ideas?

Picture
14 Comments

Simply..we went on a road trip....

2/3/2019

20 Comments

 
to Abel Tasman National Park where we heard this.

Many of New Zealand's native birds are ground nesting (and some are flightless), and in this National Park they are increasing the numbers by getting rid of introduced predators like possums, rats and weasels.

There are no roads and you can only reach the eco lodge we stayed in by boat -a gorgeous trip dropping people off at several idyllic beaches, a somewhat rougher trip coming back!  The boat drops you on the sand and you walk along the beach to a board walkway and some steps and as soon as we were among the trees we heard the bell bird and the tui. And the loudest cicadas I have ever heard. There were also eels and glow worms in the wetland below our balcony. We took ourselves out at night using the torches on our phones along little paths, listening to many strange noises in the bush (intrepid adventurers that we are!) to spot the glow worms. - I loved this place.

See more about the conservation projects here.

Picture


The road north ends at the small resort of Kaiteriteri and from here it is boat or helicopter or by foot on the huge network of hiking trails.
Picture
Picture
The wetlands from our balcony.
Picture
I liked the architecture
Picture



Tree ferns everywhere

..and agave, cordyline, eucalypts, hebes.
Picture



The outdoor part of the restaurant..

Picture
The kind of place where you dress for dinner by putting the laces back in your sandshoes!

Fantastic.
20 Comments

Simply..a February adventure....

27/2/2019

28 Comments

 

When a dear friend who is living in Christchurch for six months in a beautiful flat with a spare toom invited me to stay in February, it took mere moments for me to change the New Windows label on the savings to New Zealand.

Right decision!

The fact that it is summer in New Zealand in February added to the thrill.

Picture
Coffee shop garden, Amber;ey
Picture
Iced coffee here. Temperatures in upper 20's.
Picture
Christened the new swimsuit!
Picture
Breakfast yards from the beach.
Picture
Loved Christchurch art galleries.
Picture
Vibrant urban art scene.
Picture
Probably the best coffee shop view in the world!
Picture
Wooden buildings everywhere, this one in southern Alps.

I'm not quite down to earth yet, but give me a few days and I'll sort out my photographs and my head (and my sleep patterns).

Have any of you been to New Zealand? Or followed the sun in February? It is sunny at home too and quite warm, and I have been grounding myself with some gentle gardening.

Thank you for the lovely welcome home messages.
28 Comments
<<Previous

    Categories

    All
    Live Simply
    Live Simply
    Simple
    Simply Beautiful
    Simply Bin It
    Simply Chill
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Do A Good Deed
    Simply Draw
    Simply Draw
    Simply Eat
    Simply Fitter
    Simply Fun
    Simply Get Rid
    Simply Grow
    Simply Headspace
    Simply Holiday
    Simply Home
    Simply Home
    Simply Inspirational
    Simply Laugh
    Simply Learn
    Simply Listen
    Simply Live
    Simply Low Maintenance
    Simply Money
    Simply Move
    Simply Move
    Simply Organise
    Simply Paint
    Simply Routine
    Simply Seeing.. Or Not
    Simply Stylish
    Simply Venice
    Simply Write

    Categories

    All
    Live Simply
    Live Simply
    Simple
    Simply Beautiful
    Simply Bin It
    Simply Chill
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Do A Good Deed
    Simply Draw
    Simply Draw
    Simply Eat
    Simply Fitter
    Simply Fun
    Simply Get Rid
    Simply Grow
    Simply Headspace
    Simply Holiday
    Simply Home
    Simply Home
    Simply Inspirational
    Simply Laugh
    Simply Learn
    Simply Listen
    Simply Live
    Simply Low Maintenance
    Simply Money
    Simply Move
    Simply Move
    Simply Organise
    Simply Paint
    Simply Routine
    Simply Seeing.. Or Not
    Simply Stylish
    Simply Venice
    Simply Write

    Categories

    All
    Live Simply
    Live Simply
    Simple
    Simply Beautiful
    Simply Bin It
    Simply Chill
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Christmas
    Simply Do A Good Deed
    Simply Draw
    Simply Draw
    Simply Eat
    Simply Fitter
    Simply Fun
    Simply Get Rid
    Simply Grow
    Simply Headspace
    Simply Holiday
    Simply Home
    Simply Home
    Simply Inspirational
    Simply Laugh
    Simply Learn
    Simply Listen
    Simply Live
    Simply Low Maintenance
    Simply Money
    Simply Move
    Simply Move
    Simply Organise
    Simply Paint
    Simply Routine
    Simply Seeing.. Or Not
    Simply Stylish
    Simply Venice
    Simply Write


    Author

    An artist seeking a simpler life - (but not too simple!)

    All words and images copyright Freda Waldapfel 2010 - 2020

    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.