Today I shall be mostly...

plastering. That is, if I get the hang of it. So far it is not too messy and quite a lot of fun. Not sure we have the right kind of plaster though. The label on the pack says 'one coat' but it seems to be quite gritty and is very grey. I was expecting something altogether finer and orange in colour - more like plaster of paris (nothing to be scared of) and less cement-like (yuk). Discussion with DH to follow...

I tidied my desk. This is a major step forward in self-organisation. I framed some photos and cards, and painted up a couple of old picture frames to make them look a little smarter. It's not finished, but it is so nice to have a little space of my own again for thinking and dreaming, and I thought I would share it. I suppose, now I am no longer working I don't really need a desk. But it is nice. (Oh, and you might be able to spot that copy of Quilt Design Wizard - to be listed on ebay. I didn't really find it that useful...perhaps I should invest in the real thing?)

Encouraged by this, I set to work in the dining room. I've had a notion, ever since we came to live here, that this would not be a room for dining in; we're not in to formal dining at all, and there's plenty of other eating space with a dining kitchen, a breakfast room and a dining table in the garden room - and when it's the two of us we usually just eat in front of the TV anyway. The dining room had, in fact become a wasteland filled with all kinds of furniture and homeless junk. Not any more. I moved, I tidied, I reorganised, I binned, ...and now I have a corner to sew in! Well quite a lot of space actually! And the sun shines in from mid afternoon onwards.

I can't describe how great it is to have a place to sew permanently (much more work to be done before it is the perfect space, though). But just to sit and ponder the creative options. And how nice it is, if I have a spare ten minutes, to have everything at hand, in its own place so I can sit down and do something useful immediately (the moment is everything here!)

There are ominous clouds on the horizon, though. The sun is strong and we really need blackout blinds, for this room and the sitting room which faces the same way. This translates in my mind to the horror/joy of a trip to Ikea. Also, that little sewing machine is making a strange noise that I think does not bode well... However, I spent a couple of happy hours running up these 4 patches for the grandson of some neighbours, who has not been very well. Some coordinating sashing and binding, and backing is en route.

More recently I made a start on a new log cabin. Brown and cream is cosy, and not too adventurous, and some of these prints remind me a lot of the dresses I wore to church as a child.
Anyone fancy a quick look round my garden?

In the greenhouse, 'Tomgirl' has come into flower. You can't see it very well in the photo, but this geranium is a very beautiful deep and velvety red.



These red tulips are joyful, and catch my eye as I go in and out of the house. They just spill out through the edging stones of the bed they are planted in.


One of the last narcissi, in a shady spot.
I love the colours of cultivated anemones, the combination of blue and red and green is so refreshing - I saw some today on YankeeQuilter's blog. Unfortunately we have only blue ones just now. This is one of the colour combinations I think of at night before drifting off to sleep!

It wouldn't be spring without drumstick primulas - we bought these ones in Morrison's, and my mother has promised to give LittleSis some of my grandmother's white ones, to bring back from Ireland with her when she comes this week.
Wallflowers. Someone told me that they bloom 12months after sowing, so I'm making staggered sowings to check this out. Next time I buy seed, it will be just orange/red - the yellows looked washed out beside our daffodils.

'Marguerites' I think - at least that's what my mother-in-law calls them. One of the first early summer flowers.

Waiting...somewhat impatiently... (clematis)

Hawthorn, almost in flower.

I'm not sure what this plant is, but it grows in masses, appears to be perennial and self seeds everywhere - hopefully not the defining charcteristics of a weed!

In the vegetable garden, the peas I sowed right at the beginning of March are looking for something to grab onto now. DH constructed this with some left over chicken-wire. Lucky peas! No old pea sticks for you! I am sowing more peas every 10days now.

We are getting lots of broccoli these days, I think it was Pam who was asking about it. I'm a little confused about the broccoli/calbrese terminology, but I think that what we generally call 'broccoli' in this country is more correctly called 'calabrese'.

Purple-sprouting broccoli is much more of a delicacy. It is a cut-and-come-again crop - clever cutting can greatly increase the yield - and tastes much superior to calabrese - sweet and I think it is described as 'nutty'. Very yummy, raw in salads or very lightly cooked.


Well, it's been a long post. I must remember to blog more frequently, and maybe at less length!

I'm thinking I may well relinquish my Q4P ring membership; I'm not quite sure I like feeling under pressure to blog at regular intervals...although I understand why the request has been made. I think. Anyway, I am mulling it over.>

Catching Up with myself

Piecing is coming along slowly. The pattern is 'Shimmer Stars' by Joy Hoffman, and the kit came from Seams So Sweet in Viburnum. I like the colour choices very much (photo taken with flash so not as bright as it looks here), and enjoy playing with the combinations as the top grows.

We had more snow shortly after my last post, and we took the dogs up into the hills to play.



We had another trip out west, just after the equinox....with fish and chips from the gourmet Seefresh in Ullapool ...and ending with a sunset at Achiltibuie.

On Easter Sunday the dogs took us for a walk in the woods...

...lichen fascinates...

and we ended up at this local landmark.

We applied for a firewood permit from the Forestry Comission, so we're off-roading some places we wouldn't normally go.

Thank you to Chris for her Thinking Blog nomination. There are so many inspirational and thought-provoking pages, especially amongst the crafting community that it seems impossible to pick just a few. I also would feel a bit uncomfortable assessing which bloggers think more than others! I would like to mention a couple of blogs that I especially look forward to reading, and find regularly provide food for thought... Jen Clair, who leads me to peculiar arty pages that I would never otherwise visit, and Judith who is showing how she is creating a quilt that I think is magical.

Cathi, another favourite blogger, asked what kind of gardening I like. It's difficult to answer briefly...I like simple pleasures; just being in the garden. Feeling sun and air on my skin and hearing birdsong. Being in tune with a greater rhythm.

Our garden was neglected by the previous occupants (they proudly showed us the vine in the greenhouse. A vine can get pretty brown and cumbly if you don't water it for two years!). It is not, nor ever will be 'perfect' in that I generally like plants to grow in a natural manner, but it is becoming a place of beauty, at least to me.

One of the things I love most is to watch seedlings emerge and to nurture them into grown plants, whether flower or vegetable. It is reffirming and joyous also to see the herbaceous plants erupt from slumber, less so when shrubs and trees come into leaf and flower...but then again some of my favourite signs of spring are hawthorn, birch and larch coming into leaf. I also like to prune, and although pretty fearless with my loppers, have a great deal to learn, especially with neglected plants. It satisfies deeply to see the effect of my labours in patterns of living shape, colour and texture.

Rhubarb, one of the easiest plants of the kitchen garden, and one which the previous occupants of our house did not manage to get rid of, has been supplying us for a couple of weeks now. Is it really a 'superfood'? You can find a wealth of recipes at the Rhubarb Compendium, but we just eat it stewed with yoghurt or in a crumble.

We also have been eating purple sprouting broccoli, a favourite in our house. Next year's seedlings are starting to harden off, apart from the broccoli as we had germination failure and needed to get more seed.

I've had plenty of 'help' in the garden, too. Here the hens are helping me plant Cox and Charles Ross apple trees in the orchard.

and here they are helping me reclaim flower beds from lawn . Maybe they're just eating the worms, though!

To my surprise, in our second spring living here, I found in an unexpected corner some Snake's Head fritillaries, which I have longed to have in my garden for a long time

Bella has been keeping me company on beach excursions,

where we have been collecting uglier pieces of diftwood

to help feed our new Squirrel log burner on chillier evenings.