A Sunday Outing

Hello Lovelies,

I'm failing with the "short sweet" posts, I know :0)

Here's a photo heavy post about my Sunday.

In the morning I loved flinging the window open wide and looking at my pretty Gerbera collection on the kitchen windowsill............

and spending some time in the garden, leafing through the latest edition of Country Living, which had just landed on my door mat the previous day.............

It did take a while for me to find something inspiring, but I LOVED this crochet blanket, well the whole photo.............

and I loved this converted windmill...........

and especially this chair..............

then I came across a small feature on the Botanic garden in Nottingham...........

There was a  lovely illustration of the walled garden and I'm very fond of old spaces like that............

oh look, it's open Sundays 2-4pm............

It's not too far from us.

and it's nearly 11am.............

Best make a start on the dinner.

After our usual Sunday roast we headed out to Wollaton Hall and searched for the botanic garden.........the article said it was hidden away, and it was. A helpful lady in the shop told us where to look in the end........

Through a dark passage we found a sun filled space...........

With plants all beautifully labelled ...........

Eryngium

Lovely old brick walls and stone troughs...............

Busy bees...........

and pretty flowers............

After I purchased a plant from the helpful volunteers we decided to wander a little further.........

The boys found acorns.........

and I found a pretty bench..............

Wollaton Hall is somewhere we have visited many times before, and it always looks stunning..........

It's owned by the local council and is set in beautiful gardens and parkland..............

The 16th century stonework is so ornate..............

and in the gardens there is a lovely Camellia house..............

This formal part of the gardens is beautifully cared for.............

and I loved the purple and pale yellow colour scheme the gardeners have chosen this year.......

It certainly felt like a calm and relaxing place to stop and enjoy the beautiful surroundings on Sunday........

To be honest we were in two minds as to whether we wanted to go inside the hall it's self. But I'm glad we did. It seemed much more well cared for than our visit a few years back, when it all looked a bit sad really.

This light filled hall is a highlight, with a gorgeous ceiling...........

and beautiful paintings.......

See a better image of this touching scene HERE

I do love paintings that tell a story, THIS has been a favourite for many years.

There are not many rooms set out as they would have looked in their heyday, but this one was beautiful........

I loved the embroidery and the wooden sewing box...........

And this is the view from a first floor window..............

Much of the first floor houses a natural history museum.

Wollaton is a wonderful estate that provides so much enjoyment to locals and visitors alike.

It's still free to access the house and grounds, there's just  a (reasonable) charge to park the car................and there's the temptation of yummy ice cream too..............

I hope you enjoyed your visit :0)
You can see loads of photos and reviews HERE if you are interested.

Thank you so much for all your super kind comments on my drawing.......they really made my day.
Jacquie x

Capturing a Summertime Moment ♥♥♥

Hello Lovelies,

I do love to have a few calendars to look at each month. I find my favourites tend to be ones with art images rather than photos. On Friday I turned over to this gorgeous painting of St Ives is by Emma Ball

I love her work and this beautiful depiction of summery seaside..............

 This was sold in aid of the RNIL and I'll certainly be on the lookout for next years calendar when we visit the seaside later this month.

 I decided to get out my watercolours and try and capture a little bit of this special time of year.........



Not the seaside ( though I may attempt that when we go) but this weeks staycation with my boys.

It's been a glorious week weather wise. Hot and sunny. Every day we have walked / scootered / skateboarded around to our friends to water their lovely flowers and vegetables while they were away.

Most days it wasn't just the plants that got watered. The hose cooled us down and was a source of much fun and games.
Much more effective than this watering can....if not as pretty..............

 Youngest wanted to be in charge of the hose and loved seeing the rainbows created as the water droplets cascaded through the sunlight that filled their gorgeous patio most afternoons.

 I wanted to create an image of the scene as it seemed in my mind. I'm no portrait artist, so a simple illustrative drawing seemed my best option.

Here he is, my "baby" :0)..........

 in is flip flops, holding his skateboard.

Making rainbows with the hose pipe................



and here's the whole picture........ta-dah............

Eeek, I am so pleased with how this little picture ( it's postcard sized ) turned out. I thought about going for my, more familiar, coloured pencils, but made myself brave paint and I love the intensity of colour it gives.

I had a little more fun adding the SUMMER letters, simply cut out of a magazine, too.

I even came across an unused Ikea frame and decided to frame it..............

 Double Eeek. I've never put any of my art in a frame before :0)

It's in youngests bedroom now.........

.......... and I know it will bring back happy memories of  summer for me.

Jacquie x

♥ Summertime Moments ♥ Gentle Walks

Hello Lovelies,

most evenings have been gorgeous this week and I've taken the opportunity to go for a gentle walk before dusk falls.

The geraniums in the roadside planters positively glow in the fading light......

The allotments are full of produce..........

and the fields bare after the harvest.............

The days are getting shorter once more and the sun peeps through a low gap in the trees..........

A Robin hops along the bottom of the hedge, looking for his supper............

And I pass the old church with it's patchwork of different stone work...............

A local history book I found in the library this week tells me it was built in the 11th century.

 We may still have some lovely long weeks of school holidays stretching out before us, and seaside jolly's to look forward to, but mother nature is already moving from flowers to fruit..............

How fast this year is speeding past.
Best make the most of August.

Jacquie x

♥ Summertime Moments ♥ Gentle Days

Hello Lovelies,

I can't say how much I love these summer days at home, with no work or school routine to worry about.

It's not always been this way. When I had three very small boys they were HARD WORK.....but now they are wonderful and I'm savouring them.

The harvest continues, bales appear and then disappear from the fields...........

The weather has been warm and still. Perfect for the boys to fly their home-made balsa wood planes.......

Wear flip flops...........

And skate board.............

Thanks to the boys getting a holiday "job" watering a friends garden we are enjoying picking fresh tomatoes...........

 And gazing at their gorgeous flowers...........

Days out have been simple and relatively inexpensive. We all enjoyed THIS slightly scary but actually very safe and well run new activity.

But a visit to the ice rink means a sit down to watch and enjoy a little reading for me....I'm scared of falling over on the rock hard ice....not to mention all those metal blades waiting to get your fingers when you do!

This lovely  book was recommended to me and I was so happy to find it in my local library earlier this week. Read about it HERE

These days summer holidays are such a happy mix of family fun and time for myself. When you wake to sunshine and you don't have to worry about small children it's wonderful to get outside in the early light .

I've been going for a short run before breakfast....well it's a one mile gentle jog really. Plenty of time to take my little camera and stop to capture the wonderful light...............

And pretty summer flowers that spill out of front gardens...........

This gorgeous lacy Hydrangea has been making me smile all week..............

So pretty.................

Happy times indeed.
Jacquie x