Category:

Simply..deeper into the season..

5/12/2023

I do like what Lia Leendertz has to say in her December podcast As The Season Turns about our desire to hibernate in winter, and I also plan to take up her suggestion of preparing a nature table for the solstice on the 21st.

We have had little snow as yet and some brave sunny days.

I love the way the villas and large houses on the shores of Holy Loch give scale to the hills. Large areas of the forest have been felled recently.

A winter blog break coming up - hope you will stay safe and cosy!

Simply..journey by moonlight....

20/11/2023

Simply..gypsophila,,,,

18/11/2023

There is something celebratory about it. I just love it. It's not expensive, it lasts for ages (though it has an unpleasant smell, which fortunately fades). It makes me feel happy.

Here is last year's..

I couldn't bring myself to simply throw it away.

Is there any thing makes you feel happy just by looking at it?

Your comments on yesterday's post made me very happy. Thank you so much!

Simply..a new dawn....

17/11/2023

..a new day. A misty start. Got a little gentle gardening done.

The twenty buddleia plants for the butterfly walk have come.

Simply..step eight,,,,

13/11/2023

..in the wardrobe sort.

So very trivial in the light of current wars, writing about my wardrobe and recipes for biscuits has beem feeling like there was the proverbial elephant in the room, which I didn't dare mention. The very ordinariness of our lives seems extra precious just now.

I still use the same notebook I began in 2013. It has a few pages left and I just love the cover. I have it in my bagg if I am going clothes shopping, but since I have accepted that at present I have too many clothes there is only one item I am looking out for. I would like a slightly dressier pair of navy boots, with a little bit of a heel. I also check out Hobbs every now and then for a replecement of the pink linen scarf featured in a recent post. This has been such a favourite and is so well worn that any day now I will put my finger through it!

You may of course prefer Pinterest or similar for your notes, but I do love this small notebook. and having my own persoanl style book is of no great import, but rather nice.

Simply..

11/11/2023

..still moving things around. Since I put the new rug down I keep bringing out things that chime with it - a bowl, a candlestick, a postcard from my big colllection, a few autumn leaves... by the time it all settles down it will be time to decorate for Christmas!

Simply,,the heron....

10/11/2023

..waiting for lunch to come along

while enjoying the view.

Simply,,when is a scarf....

8/11/2023

..not a scarf?

I bought this large warm reversible scarf in H&M because I loved the design, but I knew even as I purchased it that it woud wear me, rather than me wear it, if you know what I mean..

but it looks great on the back of the sofa.

Simply..outside and in....

2/11/2023

Busy outside

and cosy inside.

Simply..all change....

18/10/2023

With the change of season comes a restlessness and a need for change at home. Do you feel like this?

I have bought a big new rug for the sitting room in a style very new to me. I am experimenting with pattern on pattern, pulling out different cushion covers, paintings, ornaments....each small change leads to another idea. It will all settle down eventually! Perhaps I will too.

There is enough to keep me busy as Storm Babet passes through - I hope it misses you.

Simply..inspirations....

14/10/2023

I have red gingham curtains in the bathroom in winter and changing them the other day I noticed how very faded they are. It crossed my mind I should make new ones but then I realised I actually like that they are faded, and I remembered wabi sabi.

Beautiful images in this video of peaceful sanctuaries that you would wish for everyone.

Simply..the recent....

12/10/2023

..clutter clear was quite cathartic. I felt a little bereft as the jeep load drove away but as the day went on and I moved about the house I found myself shifting and changing some small things and having some fresh ideas .

Do you find the headspace it gives is even more important than the physical space?

I browsed a few videos..and allowed myself to dream a little. I simplified the surfaces in the living room even more and found it soothed my soul. Home is my sancruary.

Simply..so many rainbows!

11/10/2023

There must be hundreds of pots of gold between the red gatte and the loch..

Simoly..free fun....

9/10/2023

I use prunings to decorate the table. They may last only a day, but they do spark joy!

Simply..colour and clearing....

20/9/2023

More sunptuous colour! A most generous gift (thank you K) will brighten up the autumn table.

A big clear up in the studio has got me going. I threw out 27 things today..it's all about the right mindset isn't it.

Simply..home thoughts....

17/9/2023

..and the last of the summer flowers. The weather is cooler and wetter here and thoughts turn to the indoor life, and to Marie Kondo!

Did you ever use her method?

Did it spark joy?

Simply..preparing....

16/9/2023

The garden furniture has been given another coat of Cuprinol Silver Birch stain to preserve it through the winter, as has the base of the shed, and I had a good worlout stacking the first load of logs..

A job I really enjoy.

Simply..rugged....

13/9/2023

This will give you some idea of the character of the landscape I live in. The line on the left represents the coastline of France, that on the right the coastline of my county, Argyll. Many single track, winding roads hug the coastline.

Simply..bunting repair....

19/8/2023

Simply..late swallows....

18/8/2023

Can you make them out?

Simply..North Points....

27/7/2023

Here are just a few of the many North Points we have made over the years. It's a fun thing to do. Why not give it a try the next time you are out for a walk? You just have to use whatever is around - berries in the Botanic Gardens, fallen leaves or petals - I rather wish I had photographed them all.

The top photograph is I think the first one . I made it with my daughter on the shores of a lake in the Lake District.

The second was on a pristine beach on Islay with friends.

The third on a far from pristine beach at Rhu on the Firth of Clyde - so much blue plastic! I should add that I am lucky to live near clean beaches.

The last one is a South Point made in New Zealand.!

Oops! I may have got some of my memores and photogrraphs mixed up there....sorry..

Simply..how come....

12/7/2023

little triangles of cloth can make us feel happy?

I smile every time I come round the corner of the house and see this.

Simple!

Simply..sparking summer joy....

23/6/2023

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!

Simply..flowers in the house....

22/6/2023

..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.

Simply..flowers in the house....

20/6/2023

Even when they are over...

How will you celebrate Midsummer?