Celebrating Home 2014 :: Part 4

Hello Lovelies,

I'm continuing to make a concious effort to enjoy time spent making our home a nicer place to be. It seems that focusing on one area every Thursday is the  way forward at the moment.

 Now I've realised that the best way to structure this day is to  spend the morning  cleaning and them do my weekly shop in the afternoon. When I shopped in the morning my enthusiasm for housework had faded by the afternoon. 

Yesterday I started at 9.30am and stopped at 12 midday. With no distractions it was easy to get quite a lot done.

This week  the front room got a good spruce up. Many small items were returned to their correct home and all the furniture was moved and vacuumed under.

It always makes me feel better to see it all clean and tidy, even if it's hard to keep it that way. 

I took the time to notice and appreciate the things here that make me happy, like the crochet made by me, and the stripy patchwork cushions made by my boys...........

I polished all the wood, cleaned the mirror...... and felt happy with the tidy room it reflected. Everything is a bit worn and mismatched but that doesn't worry me.

 Middle sons blanket, which was intended for his bedroom , still lives on the back of the sofa. I doesn't really go with anything in this room , but it's well used and I kind of like to see it here..........

When he was ill one day last week he laid on the sofa , under his blanket, and said "this blanket is really nice Mum" That made me happy.

While I was on a roll I tidied the kitchen and polished the kitchen sink with cream cleaner.....I do love a shiny sink..........

My Tulips are past their best but I hadn't the heart to throw them in the compost bin. The rest of my indoor bulbs are from Lidl. There are some strange stunted  orange tulips which have opened up in rather odd shapes. The hyacinths look promising and  The 50p pots of Tete-a-tete's are really nice .

I'm trying to de-clutter our space this year but I couldn't resist this huge stripy mug, spotted on the shelves of unloved things at the charity shop on Wednesday.
 It may not be as wonderful as the stuff made by T.G. Green , but it still makes me smile...

The day was dull and grey so I lit a candle while I cleaned to cheer up the room and scent it with cinnamon..........

On my mantle are some old postcards of Wales and Yorkshire that  Mum brought over to show me. I think I need a pretty memo board to display stuff like this.

She also brought these latest watercolours along to share with me. I know Mum has always painted  for pleasure, but it's also nice to share your handiwork with others isn't it lovelies...........

I liked this local scene of pretty cottages and a church.

And I loved this Lake district scene. It's of Yew Tree  farm which was purchased by Beatrix Potter to preserve the hill framing in this area............When she died she left 14 farms and 4000 acres of land to the National Trust.....

and I've just realised you can stay in this beautiful old farmhouse....details HERE 
Wouldn't that be wonderful.

Sorry about the delay with the wrist warmer tutorial lovelies. I was hoping to take some photos yesterday afternoon but the day turned even darker.

Jacquie x

February Flowers and Calendars

Hello Lovelies, 

this past week I've been I've been enjoying a £2 bunch of Tulips immensely. They are on my kitchen windowsill and make me smile every time I walk into the room...........

The petals are so delicate and I love the way the light shines through them . When I bought them I would have said they were red , but they have faded slightly to a wonderful deep pink..........

I keep sniffing them, hoping for some scent,  I can't say I've noticed any.......but the inside of the flowers are truly stunning when you take time to notice them.......Oh Tulips, such wonderful happy flowers ..........

Their beauty is greatly appreciated at this time of year when the weather is cold and the garden is not very inviting.


On Saturday I flipped over the pages on my five ( ahem ) calendars..........Here are the best ones this month.
My Emma Ball calendar shows a lovely painting of Conwy and its Castle...........

Visiting a castle or two is high on my "to-do list" when we visit Wales this summer. Maybe THIS one, or THIS one, or THIS one.....they all look fabulous.

My free "Country Homes and Interiors" Calendar shows Stormy Coastal Skies .......It's a lovely palette, but a rather chilly image.......

For February my thrifted "New Zealand" calendar shows high summer........when it's cold and grey outside it's rather lovely to have such a colourful and sunny image to look at........

And Katie Daisy's artwork is always so cheerful and happy..........this month is delightful........

Speaking of delightful things, I'll finish this post with a sunny photo of some more indoor flowers. I popped my latest Hyacinths in the porch.........they love this sunny spot and haven't gone all leggy looking for the light.
I'm also delighted by a  their intense perfume whenever I pass through this small space.........

Here's to finding many small things and bursts of colour to cheer the winter days this February.
Jacquie x

A Waterfall Walk

Hello Lovelies, 

yesterday we took advantage of the sunshine and mild temperatures and enjoyed a family outing. All the water I saw on my Saturday walk with Eldest made me long to see a proper waterfall, not just muddy puddles.

I didn't know where to find a waterfall in these parts but an internet search turned up NEWSTEAD ABBEY...perfect, it's somewhere I'd wanted to visit for a long time.

When we arrived I was charmed by the huge lake and pretty buildings....I think this is a private house....

From where I took the photo above you could hear the roar of rushing water........ we soon located the waterfall I'd been hoping to find............

It wasn't the prettiest construction, but the gushing water was certainly impressive

The best bit was that it had been designed to incorporate windows that let you get up close to the flow of water........

And even walk behind it safely.......

brilliant :0)

This is Newstead Abbey, though it was never an Abbey. It was a priory founded in 1163 and was later converted to a country house, before eventually being gifted to  the local council in 1931..........

The house and gardens are open to the  public and the only cost is a car parking charge....how wonderful.

From the big waterfall the water flowed towards a second lake. There was another, slightly  more natural looking  waterfall. I though it was lovely........

This  part of the Abbey is now used as a coffee shop.......such a  pretty sheltered spot.........

As the weather was glorious we were keen to stay outdoors and headed for the gardens.

A Peahen stalked past us in a hurry.........

We soon found out she was looking for her mate.........

The colourful feathers of this beautiful Peacock were simply stunning in the sunshine..........

This is the other side of the Abbey........ I thought it looked so much nicer from this angle.........

We wandered along catching glimpses of interesting views everywhere.........

By the lake I was intrigued by this Oak tree with green leaves.......it was an amazing sight in February.

It turns out it's a Lucombe Oak and it wont loose it's leaves till the new ones appear, if the winter stays mild.

At the far and of the lake I loved the reflections and the glimpse of the house through the trees...........

Behind us we could hear more running water......yay more waterfalls :0)

I think these in the Japanese gardens were my favourite.

There were bulbs beginning to emerge everywhere. I would love to come back here in spring or summer.

But it was still lovely in Winter. Everywhere you turned there was more to see, so many tiny hidden paths, bridges, stepping stones and stairs  to explore......

Next we noticed a  glimpse of a walled garden filled with sunlight.........

This was the Rose Garden.....there were no Roses but I loved the topiary and the warmth of this sheltered spot..........

There were also several of these amusing models.....made from wire mesh....very impressive.......

we wandered through a smaller walled garden.........

and came upon a sunken pond..........

Here we found a super friendly cat that just wanted us to stroke it all day..........

And there were more gardens to explore. This is the Spanish garden.....I love the texture created by the box hedges and the balls of Lavender.........

Here's my lot peering into the well.........I wonder what they were wishing for........

As we were deciding to leave I stumbled upon this wonderful Snowdrop display...........

It was a real treat to see masses of these tiny beauties.........

We never got to explore the house, but that gives us a good reason to return on another occasion.......

Goodbye Mr Peacock...see you again some day.........

I hope you lovelies enjoyed this little trip to a magical spot as much as I did.

Jacquie x

A January Mosaic and Other Photos

Hello Lovelies,

thank you for all your kind comments on my wrist warmers...they really made my day.

My computer tells me I took 568 photos in January! yikes...I guess I'm a little bit addicted to snapping away on a daily basis.

I thought I would make a mosaic out of my favourites from this month, like  a few other bloggers do.

I think you have seem all these images, except the centre heart...which is a painted version of my heart drawing.....I got brave and tried out the wet stuff....I think it turned out O.K.

I've also been uploading a photo a day to Flickr since the new year..... seen as I have so many to choose from. It's just a bit of fun.
Flickr was my first internet sharing experience and I loved it. Back then there was a low limit of the amount of photos your could upload for free....but now it's changed so I'm happily making a set of 365 images for this year....you can see how it looks so far  HERE 

This week I've been trying to keep up with my "Celebrating Home" goals. On Thursday I gave the boys room a thorough clean.....moving all the furniture and finding mountains of dust. While I was dusting a high shelf I found these old books from my own childhood..........

There are only two books in the series, this one and "More tales from the end cottage" which I also have.

I read them out loud to my boys a few years back and I was delighted that they loved these charming tales of gentle domesticity and animal adventures ..........

Written in 1970, they are about a lady called Mrs Apple and her pets. The stories are so descriptive of life in a cottage in the days before electricity and running water........

I love this drawing...and especially the patchwork curtains :0)

Sadly they are not in print any more, but you may be able to pick them up second-hand.

This week has been rainy and cold....perfect reading weather. But yesterday the sun came out so eldest and I braved the watery world . I love walking with all my boys, but the other two are a lot harder to talk into joining me.

 The puddles were even bigger than last week. I feel so sorry for people who have suffered flooding.............

In the sunshine it was good fun to explore the footpaths. The sledges may not have seen any use yet this year but wellies certainly have.

 I admired the sunshine on the fields............

It was certainly squelchy and slippery underfoot. My boy made me laugh by doing a sort of "mud skiing" through this lot......

This water was too deep for wellies and I didn't fancy slipping off the muddy bridge into it but I loved the blue sky reflections......

 We wandered along chatting happily and  ooohing at all the water everywhere



and when we got to this little bridge, we played Pooh sticks in the fast flowing stream.........

Then we turned around and squelched our way back home..........

It was such an enjoyable part of my day.
I hope you enjoy your Sunday Lovelies.
Jacquie x