Category:

Simply..Doon the Watter....

1/7/2022

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.

4 Comments

Simply..what else....

29/6/2022

6 Comments

..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!

6 Comments

Simply..extremes....

28/6/2022

1 Comment

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.

1 Comment

Simply..

12/5/2022

14 Comments

Simply..Carry Farm

10/5/2022

2 Comments

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.

2 Comments

Simply..loving where I live!

9/5/2022

14 Comments

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.

14 Comments

Simply..a few days of gentle rain....

5/5/2022

0 Comments

..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!

0 Comments

Simply..first thing....

28/4/2022

4 Comments

What is the first lovely thing in your day?

4 Comments

Simply..early this morning....

19/4/2022

6 Comments

Very early this morning, I heard the first cuckoo deep in the forest.

6 Comments

Simplly..Bookpoint....

15/3/2022

2 Comments

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.

2 Comments

Simply..appreciating home....

12/3/2022

8 Comments

..more than ever.

Looking after it lovingly, full of gratitude and taaking nothing for granted.

8 Comments

Simply..breakfast....

17/2/2022

2 Comments

..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.

2 Comments

Simply..staying calm....

16/2/2022

6 Comments

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.

6 Comments

Simply..outside and in....

6/2/2022

6 Comments

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..

6 Comments

Simply..the scented kitchen....

2/2/2022

0 Comments

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).

0 Comments

Simply..even as they fade....

26/1/2022

8 Comments

..tulips are very lovely.

In other news - I have a project for February. I do love a project..

8 Comments

Simply..simple....

19/1/2022

6 Comments

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..

6 Comments

Smply..contrasts....

15/1/2022

2 Comments

Outside

And in..

2 Comments

Simply..minimal?

14/1/2022

4 Comments

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?

4 Comments

Simply..an unusual sighting....

12/1/2022

3 Comments

..of the very shy robin

3 Comments

Simply..in the bleak mid winter....

18/12/2021

11 Comments

More film noir than Christmas cheer in Dunoon today!

The Old Coal Pier Christmas tree

Looking back towards the town

11 Comments

Simply..nice work....

16/12/2021

8 Comments

A satisfying task. I still have bulbs to plant too! Elemental, basic, simple. No need for government guidance or mandate, no online registering or mitigating protocols. I don't even need to wear a mask!

Whew.

While I have so little to say (imagine!) you might like to browse my 10 year archive. I think that's what I will do.....

8 Comments

Simply..not so nice....

27/11/2021

6 Comments

..things about November! Roaring 50mph winds from the north, ferries suspended and power cuts from mid eveining thrugh the night. I was cosy with stove and candles and the power went on long enough to make a hot drink at one point.

Earlier in the day I opened the window to fill the bird feeder and a strong gust of wind blew down a large painting which was sitting on the table, propped against the wall. It knocked off plants and papers and a lamp all of which ended on the floor - nothing broken thankfully, but the birds had to wait till this morning for more seed...

Pots blown over and a bit of fencing down but no other damage. It would seem we got off quite lightly.

I hope you are all safe and well wherever you are.

6 Comments

Simply..nice things....

26/11/2021

0 Comments

..about November.

There is hygge, which I associate with winter, though the book How To Hygge shows lots of summer scenes.

As I batten down against strong winds and dire forecasts, it's time to bring out my favourite throws and dishes and biscuits. I am listening to The Snow Child on Audible and feeling very grateful for the positively luxurious levels of comfort most of us enjoy today, compared to those early pioneers in Alaska.

0 Comments

Simply..nice things

25/11/2021

10 Comments

..abut November.

The fragrance of quince. Cool, and sweet and unlike anything else. A bowl of them in a warm room scents the whole space. When I come down to the sitting room in the morning it's the first thing I notice.

I love it.

10 Comments

<<Previous

Simply..Doon the Watter....

Simply..what else....

Simply..extremes....

Simply..

Simply..Carry Farm

Simply..loving where I live!

Simply..a few days of gentle rain....

Simply..first thing....

Simply..early this morning....

Simplly..Bookpoint....

Simply..appreciating home....

Simply..breakfast....

Simply..staying calm....

Simply..outside and in....

Simply..the scented kitchen....

Simply..even as they fade....

Simply..simple....

Smply..contrasts....

Simply..minimal?

Simply..an unusual sighting....

Simply..in the bleak mid winter....

Simply..nice work....

Simply..not so nice....

Simply..nice things....

Simply..nice things

Categories

Categories

Categories

Author

Archives