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Walking to the ice cream shack, I came across some umusual beach furniture.!   Did you see any shooting stars? A brilliant moon and a thin layer of cloud meant I did not see any last night, but perhaps tonight.. If you have listened to La Leendertz this month (you can hear her podcast here) She says of August- If you are able to take time off, the days spill into each other in a haze of nothing much  There is a suspension of expectation and activity in August  and it is good to see  how little you can get way with! I do hope you get some time off. Don't forget tonight you may see shooting stars..  Like many guest rooms I suspect, laundry and odds and ends land there. But it took less time than I expected to tidy and dust this simple room, put out fresh towels and flowers, and a selection of books to please my visitor,         We've had temperatures of a very pleasant 21 - 23 degrees and a gentle breeze, so the extra blanket was certainly not needed! All meals outdoors and short slow walks to Coronation Wood and the ice cream shack on the beach have been the order of the days - wonderfully relaxing...just what you want for summer guests.
Sunshine! At 4.30am  And at 4pm.  A beautiful day.
Two buses, two ferries to get there, the same coming back and sometimes when the weather and the rather complicated timetables work out, it's a breeze. Ardentinny to Clynder to a friends's house for lunch and a look round her magnificent garden. We all love the little girl Doon The Watter statue and it brings back fond memries for many Glaswegians.  There is a good bus service from my village to the town.  Anc CalMac run a passenger ferry to Gourock.  Weather permitting in winter...  Could be me!  The even smaller Kilcreggan Ferry  The weather imprroved as the day went on.  We are pretty well served by public transport here. ..to do on a very wet June day, but put on my waterproofs and pick the first sweet peas - such a strng scent!  Bake some Mary Berry scones..  And settle down to watch the tennis.  Harmony Tan! Spectacular!
From extreme heat and sunshine to relentless rain today - heavy rain, a moderate breeze and 13 degrees. However, the Scottish rain does produce a lush leafy green landscape and the first couple of days after I came home from holiday weather of continuous sunshine and 31 degrees, we had a couple of gentle days and I felt very fortunate to have a beautiful place to come home to, with the meadow at its best. Tsunamis and hurricanes, torndoes and flash floods and wildfires! Really I should not be calling this post extremes! Extremely grateful is what I should be for our climate here in uk - but we do like to grumble aboout our weather. It's a national pastime.  I loved Carry Farm. And I adore the image on this page of their website. They somehow manage to be both homely and sophisticated at the same time. No hype. Low key. Small scale. Caravans and eco lodges, hens arund your feet, donkeys and rare breeds, a sailing school, quality craft work, real coffee. The woods around full of primroses and bluebells.        A young Dad and his two small children passed us here - they were putting up a tent for the night on this bit of machair. Come with me on a day trip around Argyll's Secret Coast. First stop is the viewpoint over the Kyles of Bute.  Then a stop at in Tighnabruaich Gallery. Paintings, ceramics, jewellery in a frequently chaning exhibition. Bright, friendly and a great place to find a special present. I've shown work there over many years and several different owners. Ros, the currrent owner was given one of my paintings by her parents for her 21st birthday. We both lived in Yoek at the time but didn't know each other then.  See the online shop for a good range of originalceramics.  Lunch at the stylish restaurant at Portavadie Marina was delicious Freshest fish !    Are you getting out and about again? And having friends to stay? It is wonderful.
In tomorrow's post we we'll call in at Carry Farm. ..has resulted in a great rush of green! Plants have doubled in size almost overnight. A couple of beech branches, picked just before the leaves unfurl, will decorate the dining table for a week or more.  And it may be quiet on the blog for a few days while I help my visitors eat thrugh this lot. Have a lovely weekend, out in green nature if you can! Very early this morning, I heard the first cuckoo deep in the forest.   Never mind Wigtown, we are really lucky to have a great independent bookshop in Dunoon. See Bookpoint's website here.     Stationery, crafts and excellent gifts, and they serve a good cup of coffee. What more could we ask?! Short blog break now, but back soon. ..more than ever.  Looking after it lovingly, full of gratitude and taaking nothing for granted.
..on a dark morning in February..  first get the fire going  and the lights on     comfort food is sometimes required! I have recently come across Tattie Rose Flowers and inspired by a few videos, before my second cup of coffee I slipped out and picked a few tiny bits of hobeysuckle leaves just breaking through, ivy, snowdrops and a hellebore to nake a very very tiny collection. I would love to work on the scale shown here!!  sometimes February doesn't seem too bad at all.
Keep calm and carry on!  Storm Dudley does its worst, the long anticipated concert at the University has been cancelled, as are the plans for a long weekend at a friend's cottage. Do you find that if things around the house are calm and orderly it helps you feel calm? I have fuel and light and heat (and emergency supplies in case), all of which allay the disappointment to some degree... Or so I am telling myself! Light a candle and pour a glass of wine and prepare for storm Eunice! Wishing you cosiness and calm. How is the waether where you are? I hope you are cosy.. What's it like if you are in the southern hemisphere?    Excuse the rather grubby socks! I've been wearing them all day like slippers.. I don't know which smell won out..  the clementines  the hyacinths  or the broccoli I had with my dinner! A funny blend. The blends made by this perfumery sound wonderful. Thanks to Liz for the link (the podcast was delightful - see yesterday's comments). ..tulips are very lovely.    In other news - I have a project for February. I do love a project.. Elegant in it's simplicity. I bought this in Stockholm. It is simply a long wire with a weight at the bottom and some tiny magnets. Quick and easy to change the cards and photographs. Love it..   Try clearing off one surface and just putting one thing back.  I tend to have more things around in winter - ornaments, cushions, pictures, throws etc. It gives a cosier feel to the house, but there always comes a day in January when I want the calm feeling I get from a clear surface, or a surface with just one thing on it. There are two here but as one is a white folder against a white wall it hardly counts..
Does this work for you? Does it give you a feeling of spacious calm? Does it bring you a little sigh of pleasure? |
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August 2022
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