A Birthday

15 years!  15 years of being called 'Mum', 15 years of being responsible for this bundle of joy who now towers over me, 15 years of watching him grow up into a teenager and all the angst that comes with it.  From the moment my 'baby blue' was born, I have protected him, nurtured him and loved him.  Motherhood changed me to the point of me not knowing what life I had before.  He has grown into a sensitive, intelligent and reasoning lad and I have become the protector, counsellor, nurse, teacher, chef, taxi driver, cleaner and on occasion, enforcer.  Nothing prepares you for the road ahead when it comes to parenting, but I wouldn't ever change it.  My 'baby blue'  was the first grandchild and great grandchild in the family and to see my Grandma cradling him and looking at him was luckily captured on camera.  She has now very sadly passed away but the love in her face was quite clear to see.

There are going to be two new mums in the family this year, what an adventure they have to come.

Memories of Summer

I brushed past my little lavender plant this evening and was instantly taken back to the memories of last summer and the couple of dry days we had.  I have a number of these deliciously scented plants, my favourite being the old English lavender whose scent reminds me of my very happy childhood memories of being in my Grandparent's garden.  Another variety I have is the French lavender which is slightly sweeter and has a beautiful colour.  I love the petals on top which remind me of butterfly wings.

I can remember the bees being so hard at work trying to collect the pollen before the next shower descended upon us.

And my flowers being so hospitable in helping them gather their prize.

I can remember the beautiful subtle scent of the different roses dotted around our patch.  On the gazebo...

 On the fences (this one being my favourite, the Geoff Hamilton)...

and over the garage roof...

I would escape to my beautiful pergola, built by Hubby, which gave me the shade I needed on a very sunny day (we did get some!), covered in the heady jasmine, the bountiful grape vine, passion fruit and figs, early yellow roses and an evergreen clematis.  The contrast between light and dark has really worked.

And then spending evenings under this glorious canopy with the latest project.

These are just some of my memories of summer in my garden last year.  Autumn is my favourite season, but on these dark, dismal and damp days, the urge to get outside and pick up a fork and spade makes me very impatient.

Happy gardening everyone.

Take care.

I'm sharing with Simple and Sweet Friday, Cottage Style Party, A Favorite Thing, Pink Saturday, Sunlit Sunday

A Bit of This and a Bit of That

It's been a bit of a 'nothing' week (what a positive way to start a blog post?!).  A week to just plod, take stock of situations and prepare for the months ahead.  The roads into work have cleared and it's as though everything is waiting quietly and patiently to sprout into colour and life.  This photo was taken on my Friday evening journey home, no cars, no people, just me and my camera and a beautiful sunset to finish the week.

Now, because of the type of week I have had, this post is a bit of a ramble, a bit topsy turvey, back to front, forwards and backwards, a hotch potch of things, no real purpose but I hope you get something from it.

A Bit of History:
I really wanted to get to the Katharine of Aragon Weekend last week at the Cathedral but with the snow and the effort of driving back into Peterborough with an awful headache again, I decided not to,  but I have put a couple of photos from last year to share with you.  The actors that come to the Heritage weekend, and last year's Christmas Fair also act out the parts of Henry VIII, Katharine and their entourage in the Cathedral.

A quick history lesson...

Katharine was the wife of King Henry VIII's brother Arthur and after his death, became the first wife of King Henry VIII (the one he divorced to marry Anne Boleyn), she died in 1536 and is buried at Peterborough Cathedral.  This is her actual burial place and yes they are pomegranates on her grave (which was her symbol).

History in a nutshell I know but I like to keep you interested and the link to a more detailed version of events is here!

A Bit of Gardening:
Now, It was very weird last Sunday morning...the deep snow was eradicated in one night!  We went to bed with still a white glow outside and woke up with a green glow and birds singing.  Had I hibernated and woken up in the Spring??  Well, an opportunity had arisen to get out there and finally do some work in the garden!  On went the wellies and jacket, out came the bulbs, lining and compost and I set to work with the sun beating on my back while I busied myself working out how to line the window baskets (recycling some Christmas left over bubble wrap...yes I resisted the exquisite popping!), getting all the bulbs in, tucking them in and then finishing the lining.  I am SO pleased with the beginnings of my window baskets.  The bulbs probably won't be showing their faces until next year, but the preparation is there and I can now concentrate on the plants that will be placed on top.  My idea is to have herbs, salad leaves, tomatoes, maybe an outside cucumber, peppers and chillies.  The baskets are on a south facing wall and it gets very hot there (well, in a normal summer!), so I think they will do well as long as the birds leave them alone this year!!  I'm going to try the method suggested by one of my G+ advisers, by collecting lint from the tumble dryer and put it in tights, hang these near the baskets and the birds should take this rather than my lining.  Anything is worth a go!

A Bit of Crochet:
During the evenings I have been working on my square blanket.  Just three colours, very plain and I feel 'grown up' making this as they are not loud colours but sedate and reserved.  I'm confident with this one and making it for the main bedroom, it will be brighter than the multicoloured granny stripe that is currently on the bed, and again, I feel it will look grown up and classy.  Very quick to make too!  The pattern is from the absolutely fantastic Sandra at Cherry Heart.  If you haven't already found her blog...do!  You won't be disappointed.

Again, on Cherry Heart you will find her new tutorial on an African Flower Pin Cushion.  I had to have a go last night and this is my result.  Her tutorials are really easy to follow and so beautifully photographed.

A Bit of Knitting (teensy bit of knitting!):
Knitting?  Oh dear, I am really not getting on with this!  Crochet is like picking up with a friend each evening.  I really need to be sold on 'knit one, purl one'!... and it takes so long to make any real progress...I will persevere!

And Thank You!
Thank you to everyone that commented and read my blog last week, I really enjoyed reading your comments, it's like opening presents when I see one appear, and so kind.  I have just started looking at Link Parties and some of the blogs on these, such wonderful, talented people - amazing!  Can I fit in my full time job?!  Maybe I need to invest in a tablet and go to work by train in future to fit it all in!!

So there we are, a bit of a journey this week and you've had a history lesson along the way.

Have a wonderful, peaceful and happy weekend.

Take care.

I am linking to A Favorite Thing, Serenity Saturday, Sunny Simple Sunday Link Party, The Homeacre Hop, Sunlit Sunday

A Bit of Blue Sky Thinking

Today we saw the first signs of a blue sky.  It seemed so strange first thing in the morning looking out of the window as the sun shone on the snowy rooftops.  It made me realise just how monochrome the world had been for the last couple of weeks.  It had snowed again in the night leaving a lighter dusting on top of what remained of last week's pounding, but thankfully this didn't last too long.

The lanes around here are never gritted so to get to my parents, we took the long way round onto the main roads, however we did have to go past Moulton Mill as it's sails were turning.  We couldn't miss that!

The fields were still white, but again the blue sky was peeping through.

After a lovely visit to my parents, we headed down to Baytree (the local garden centre).  Now, one of my projects this year is to revamp my kitchen window baskets.  They are bare...I mean REALLY bare!  The birds last year used all my coir lining for nests and subsequently everything fell out, plants died and with the one day of summer we had, I thought better than to waste time trying to do anything with them.  Don't they look awful?

So, with my order for coco fibre lining arriving I just needed some compost.  Well, am I glad we went!  They had a bulb sale, and not just a little bit off...a whole load off!  Bags of bulbs for 40p, and £1.00!!  Just look at my bargains...£4.20 for the lot!

I know that I won't see their cheery faces until next year, but I am determined to be totally prepared this year.

Also, I have a Ta Dah moment!!  The baby girl pram blanket has been finished.  I'm ok with it, I just think it may be a little too pink.  What do you think?  The brighter shots were taken outside (remember I said there was blue sky?!).

I've now put away the pink and bought some gorgeous stony toned wool to make a more 'grown up' blanket which I'll post on my progress when it really gets going.

But, I will leave you with a couple of photos I took in the garden today with my new camera (I was at last able to play a little with it).  It was nice to see the snow melting, but also lovely to see the last bits of ice that had settled on the trees.

And as winter starts to turn a corner to head into spring it was beautiful to see that Mother Nature was still in control with the bulb shoots peeking out through the snow.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and thank you so much to my new followers and lovely people that leave me comments.  You all brighten my day.

Take care.

Today I'm linking up with:

Sunny Simple Sunday Linky Party
Sunlit Sunday
Market Yourself Monday

Charcoal Trees and Beautiful Ice

I'm sorry for another monochrome post but I just couldn't resist.  The long difficult journey into work, the sense of achievement I felt when driving under the Cathedral barrier...I was here, I had arrived, I hadn't had any scrapes along the way.  Yes because I love my job, but also because of the visual delights that awaited me.  I knew the Cathedral and grounds were going to be spectacular and they didn't disappoint.  I promise this will the last of these majestic building photos for a while, but I just had to share the winter wonderland with you.

The trees were so magical, it felt as though an artist had made a charcoal drawing with the trunks and branches and nature had done the rest.

My walk continued around, along with other people taking advantage of the fresh snow and untouched look to take as many images as possible.  All commenting on how beautiful it all looked.

Narnia was well and truly here!

I took so many photos until my fingers couldn't feel the shutter anymore.  They were frozen through!

When I got home that afternoon, Mr Teenager was really excited about something he had found in the waterbutt in the garden.  Now, I was a bit trepidacious (is that a word?) following him outside, he does like to shock me with spiders and such like but this time I was very impressed.  Look at what had formed inside the edge...

Aren't they amazing!

Now then, no more monochrome, let's have some colour starting with my gorgeous Coco by day and by night.  During the day she has been surveying the garden, eating bits and pieces left out for the birds (really annoying!) and getting suitably mudded up!  By night, well, butter wouldn't melt would it (I can you hear you...'ahhhh') as she cosies up in her bed and snores  sleeps to her hearts content.

My wrist warmers are now finished!!  Ta Dah! So warm, so cosy, so practical...so don't want to take them off!  The pattern is here.  Have a go...they took me a couple of days and I am a novice at crochet.

The pink baby ripple blanket is almost there.  In fact I think tonight is the night of the bobble stitch around the outside and it will be another 'Ta Dah' moment.

Did you catch it?  Yes, a shot of pink in this very plain post!  Here's another pink moment for you.  Whilst composing this post there is a heavy scent in the air from one of my hyacinths.  I leave this beauty with you and I hope the rest of your week goes well.

Take care.

I'm linking up with Weekly Top Shot