Rainy Days

Hello Lovelies,

I'm not loving these short, wet days. But I'm feeling lucky we have not suffered the terrible flooding that some parts of the U.K. are enduring, and I'm cheering myself up with pretty flowers on my kitchen windowsill.........

 The first bunch of Daffodils of the year are always something to smile about ....especially when they are a kind gift from my mum in law.........

But yesterday I didn't want to stay inside all day. It was walking group day, so I pulled on my waterproofs and walked past my favourite garden to the meeting place..........

Just a small group of mad keen people had gathered, and we set off hoping the promised dry weather would materialise........

The poor countryside is not looking it's best and the conditions were pretty awful really.........

I've never seen the stream so full........

Everywhere was a sea of slippery mud and greyness. I'm very lucky my kind friend lent me a walking pole for this walk....otherwise I'm almost certain I would have ended up on my bottom ( or worse)......

This stream was even bigger....I've never seen it look like this before..........

On the way home we had a strong head wind to add to the fun....but thankfully I wasn't cold or wet, and I did rather enjoy the walk despite the conditions.  It would not have been so pleasant alone I'm sure.....

 Back home I paused to look at my flowering Amaryllis .......

white is ok....but I miss the red.

It's been a while since I did and rippling , but yesterday afternoon the colourful yarn called to me.........

There are things to like in all the seasons, and I'm so enjoying  my seasonal diary.........

This weeks illustration is a delight, a beautiful, dream like image , with amazing detail..........

 You can read a bit about the artists inspiration HERE

And I love the short poem to accompany it......Yes, how often does that happen in winter. The sun appears fleetingly at the end of a grey, wet day.......

I was taking these photos in my bed room to try and get the best light, and as I turned around....there it was..........

A beautiful and serene end to the windy, soggy day. 

And six more miles for me to tick off this years 1000 mile challenge :0)
I love Thursdays.
Jacquie x

Gentle Early January Days

Hello Lovelies,

I'm beginning to wonder if this winter will be like the one the year before last....when I kept waiting for it to get cold and it never really did.

Mother nature is confused, yesterday I even saw a snowdrop.....

Today was dull and damp, but hubby and I braved a little walk round the park....to avoid the muddy footpaths near home......

by the lake you could see the Daffodil leaves emerging.......

This is my favouite part of this walk. Love these safe stepping stones........

The waterfall here is man made and pumped, but I still love it. Last time we were here is turned on at 10am. This was 9.58, we waited........

Chatted to the locals.....Lovely weather isn't it Mr and Mrs Duck........

Then, the sound of running water....yay.......

only a couple of minutes late :0)

The Heron looked a bit fed up really, maybe it's not good fishing weather......

We carried on a bit further.......

I liked the reflections and the dried grasses..........

and the plump looking squirrels, who enjoy lots of nuts left by visitors........

one loop of the lake is a mile and I though hubby would want to leave when we got back to the beginning, but happily he agreed to go round again..."as long as you don't keep stopping to take photos". OK , it wasn't really photogenic weather anyway.......

I just sneaked one shot of the Chinese Lions :0).......

Today's coffee had no view.........

 but the banana loaf was yummy.

Back home my Amaryllis is nearly flowering.......

It's huge and a bit unsteady so some support has been added.......

I'm a little disappointed as I bought a Red Lion..........

 But maybe a white flower is appropriate for the fresh new year.

It makes a change I suppose, and I have been painting with red....sketching that sweet Robin from our new years day walk.........

Thank you all so much for the congratulations and kind comments on my latest posts.
If you are returning to the work / school routine tomorrow I hope it goes well.
Jacquie x

A Slow start to the New Year

Hello Lovelies

How was your new year? Ours was quiet...just how I like it. We spent the very end of 2015 enjoying good food and pleasant company at my brother and sister in laws house. At midnight we watched the fireworks in London on the telly....what an impressive sight they are these days. Somewhat less impressive was our own attempt at pyrotechnics....

this says 2016....well that was the idea :0)

As the years go by and the children get older it seems more and more precious to all link arms and sing auld lang syne and welcome the new year together.

This morning I had time to make pancakes for breakfast.......

And later hubby and  I went for a walk up a hill.........

I love to see the geology of this area........

I have never seen Beacon Hill so busy, but there was still plenty of space...and a bench to sit and share a flask of coffee and a slice of my home made Lemon Drizzle together..........

It was a rather dark and dull day, but I was surprised by all the colour you could still see if you really looked..........

In the woodland further down the hill the Beech leaves are retuning to the earth..........

and horse riders enjoy the quiet paths.........

Today this wonderfully imaginative wood sculpture caught my eye. Many families were out enoying the open space here...some even having barbecues.........

In a corner of the car par there are bird feeders I like to stop and watch for a little while........

The Great Tits were enjoying the peanut feeders..........

And it was hard to spot Mr Robin on the ground below..........

Here he is.......

Back home, after lunch I had time to use up some over-ripe bananas that my sister in law had given me........

And I also had time to write out THIS favourite recipe in my the file I've been using for years.....

My handwriting and spelling are not the best but there is something nice about hand written things, don't you think?

It's one of the things that attracted me to this diary I have treated myself to this year.........

Look, lovely handwriting and line drawings..........

I happened upon this diary as I was feeling a bit sad that calendars these days rarely seem to have the moon phases on them. I'm not even really sure why I want to know the moon phases...but I do.

This one has them daily, and the significant days in the seasonal calendar that I like to notice.
Oh look...Spring equinox....my favourite :0)

These days I put important stuff  I need to remember in my phone, simply because my memory is bad and the phone flashes an alarm to remind me!

This will mainly be a place to record a few thoughts and things to be thankful for. A slow, nature centred, inspirational place. 

It's already making me smile........

It's ring bound and printed in the U.K.  too.........

This evening I'm slowly eating home made cake......

Smelling my lovely hyacinths.......

and chatting with you kind people. Here's to the simple, gentle things in life.

This little blog of mine has given me so much mindfulness and joy over the years. Of course it would not be anywhere near as enjoyable without being able to share with you lovelies. I'm always uplifted and touched by your thoughtfulness. Thank you.
I sincerely hope 2016 will be a good year for us all.
Jacquie x