Daffodil Sunday

Hello Lovelies, 

I do hope you had a good Easter. It's such a lovely time of year I like to make an effort to add a few spring touches to our home.

I was rather last minute with the decorations this year. But it's O.K. to have less than perfect trimmings isn't it.

I didn't have any of my usual natural bare branches so I hastily grabbed some artificial blossom branches from elsewhere in the house, and added some of our Easter pretties as best as I could..........

 Home made crochet flowers and Mini Birds, along with plastic eggs. This may not be the most tasteful Easter Tree we have ever had, but it still makes me smile............

There are also pale yellow and cream Daffodils on my mantle.....with the most amazing frilly trumpets. Just look at that zingy green centre..........

Daffodils are the quintessential Easter decoration in my eyes.

I had a lovely quiet day on Sunday, with a few hours to myself, doing some gentle housework in the morning. The weather was dull. On such a day staying home and restoring some sort of order makes me happy ( though it doesn't last long!)

After cooking and enjoying a roast dinner with the family I felt the need for a little fresh air. Nobody was keen to join me, but that was fine.

I headed off to try and find a new path which my walking friend had told me about.......along the edge of suddenly-so-very-green fields, and down to the railway bridge..........

Where the birdsong sounded different this week............

And the branches were not quiet so bare.

Along the side of the railway track, and over the stream............

Where I turned to look back towards the hill.........

Before entering a little woodland.........

Where delicate purple Violas bloomed...........



And the low afternoon sun made the texture on the bark here look so dramatic...........

I was very happy to discover a new route that led to one of my favourite places.

 I entered the churchyard through the kissing gate..............

And smiled at the Daffodils adding cheer to long forgotten graves.........

How I love this simple old church made of a patchwork of rough boulders. I love it's simple lines and lack of ornate decoration.........

As I walked around the front I noticed the floral decorations in the porch.........

I was enchanted by the natural looking display of seasonal flowers and foliage.........

Magnolia branches, Euphorbias, Hellebores......and beautiful Daffodils with happy orange centres.......

As I sat quietly taking these pictures, lost in my own little world I was surprised by an old lady holding a huge key.

"Would you like to look inside" she said as she unlocked the door. I hesitated......."that's kind but my boots are muddy"

Then I couldn't resit a peek inside this lovely building, so removing my boots I stepped inside.

It was such a beautiful and simple space.........

everywhere there were Easter flowers and decorations .........

Just look at the thickness of those old walls.

But it was the stained glass window that really captivated me. The lady told me it had been fitted in 2000. A wonderfully crafted contemporary piece of stained glass in this beautiful old space.......

I loved the way it featured the church building and the lovely natural setting it sits in. With the local bird life and flowers featured prominently too..........

The light was not great to photograph it as the sun in the west by now, but I can imagine it looks stunning during the morning service on a sunny Sunday.

It was so lovely to get a glimpse inside this church and I happily chatted with the old lady who obviously loved it too.

As I walked home I smiled at the roadside Daffodils who were looking at their cheerful best.......

I Love Spring and I loved this memorable  Easter Sunday..........

Jacquie x

Good Friday

Hello Lovelies,
Yesterday I finally got round to putting up some Easter decorations. Each year when  Mr BM trims our Silver Birch tree I choose a branch to bring indoors. Usually it's a bare branch , or one with a few catkins. HERE is my first ever version.

This year Easter is quite late and my branch has leaves.......I LOVE it :0)

My home made MILK BOTTLE makes a perfect container so I can keep it watered and stop the leaves from wilting..........

I've added fewer decorations than usual, but I couldn't leave out last years make ...my MINI CROCHET BIRDS............

After the "tree" was decorated I was keen to go out somewhere as the weather was lovely and hubby was off work.
In the week I had mentioned the possibility of another National Trust adventure to my boys only to be met with objections.........sigh..........it's a tricky time these teen/tween years. I don't want them to resent our outings and I know they generally find it quite interesting once they are there. But they were not to be cajoled.

On this occasion I decided what would make me happiest was to see them outside somewhere. Balancing the screen time with some green time. Getting some exercise and not missing out on the natural beauty that is so abundant at the moment.
So we ended up at our local park.....somewhere they are usually happy to go, thank goodness...not quite the adventure I had hoped for but lovely all the same.

The tiny Speedwell looked pretty in the sunshine..........

Such a gorgeous blue.

And the open areas were a mass of Daisies and Dandelions.........

I walked with eldest while the other two played ball with their Dad. It was warm out of the wind and once again I spotted really lovely woodwork that I hadn't noticed before............

These trees were looking wonderful with their pale green leaves just opening up. I'm sure some of you lovelies will know what sort of tree this is............

We fed the Ducks and I loved the warm afternoon light............

It made all the ripples so defined and the water looked wonderfully clear...........

Then in the early evening we got a call from my niece.........would we like to meet them at the pub? It was a beautiful evening, we were happy to say yes.

The pub is about one and a half miles from home and we decided to walk the footpath way. I've brought you lovelies here before, but it was so nice seeing it in the evening light..........

And walking as a group of five..........

Thought I can only see four shadows here.

The crops are already getting tall..........

We climbed stiles..........

And wandered through this quiet glade, the Willow Trees are already looking lovely...........

I loved our unplanned and spontaneous adventure........sometimes they are the best sort..........

And at the end of it was a refreshing drink :0)

The beer garden had some new play equipment and the boys and their cousins had a great time. I lined them up for a group photo ....as I usually do. My how they have grown. Once again I felt surprised that our children are changing so quickly.

We walked home the road way as dusk fell. It was chilly

 but a  lovely end to what turned out to be a really good Friday.
Happy Easter Lovelies
Jacquie x

♥ Happy Easter ♥ 13/52

Hello Lovelies,
I seem to have quite a bit I would like  to share with you lovelies at the moment, so my 52 weeks of happy has changed into a bit of a longer post this week....hope that's OK  :0)

1.My  Welsh dresser

I'm still loving having this wonderful piece of furniture. Every so often (when it gets dusty) I take everything off the shelves and, after a good polish, I change things around a bit.
It's such good fun to play about grouping different bits and bobs, trying out various arrangements .
At the moment the bunches daffodils I'm buying  in the shops seem to have very short stems ( I guess the bad weather may be the reason )
But short stems are ideal to fit on the shelves of my dresser........

A simple thing like having fresh flowers on my dresser is making me very happy at the moment..........

2. Baking, having a go at making my own Hot Cross Buns......well I suppose they are crossless buns, as I didn't have a piping bag to add the crosses.........

Flavoured with orange zest, grated apple, cinnamon and sultanas ....they are yummy.

3.Books and Magazines

My Christmas present subscription to Country Living magazine continues to delight but I'm also enjoying some great charity bookshop finds.......

 I was so Happy to find a copy of " The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady" for less than the price of a magazine.
 If you have been reading my blog for a long time you may remember when I shared each months images from this books sister title " The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady " back in 2011.
I really love Edith Holden's work and I may have to share some more of this book here as the year progresses :0)

Here is an illustration from March........

and a couple of extracts from April.........

A book about " Summer wine" country caught my eye as the t.v. programme " Last of the Summer Wine " was filmed close to where I grew up and this book does not have pictures of the characters , just sweet views of this corner of the world..........

Another cheap second hand book I'm really enjoying is this one about Beatrix Potter

As well as some of her very familiar and adorable illustrations, like these..........

There are some of her other paintings of the lake district landscape she so loved..........

And some stunning photography ............

4. I'm still enjoying doing my own drawings , this time a snowy picture inspired by some photos I took last Saturday.
I like how this picture turned out . It doesn't have as much detail as some of my other drawings , but I really tried to get the perspective right....



And I like the figures , but I  especially like the cute little dachshund dog in his tartan waistcoat and the birds at the bird table..........

I hope you enjoyed all the images in this extra long " happy post " and what ever you are doing this Easter I hope you have chance to slow down a bit and enjoy the little things ( and some yummy treats....cadburys mini eggs are my weakness )

Jacquie x