Sweetbriar Dreams

So where shall we go on our journey today?

Saturday, 8 April 2017

Spring in a Bottle

Looking across the Fen in the morning, it is evident that spring has sprung.  The Rape Seed fields swaying their pungent perfume to fill my nostrils and the inevitable hearty sneeze to expel the heady pollen.  Today, I kept away from those fields and took a potter around the garden to fill up my vases with far more local produce that had grown pockets of colour around the house.  Spring showing off its splendour to be displayed in a bottle.


Blossom circling the house like fireworks popping all around and attracting the smaller wildlife for pollination .


The garden has suddenly sprung into life, some plants a little stubborn, but most waking up and entertaining with their show.


The eight legged monsters that scare me to death have even produced their own art work, some obviously had alcohol last night and got a little lost with their webs, but producing a natural stained glass effect with the various colours in the background.


Blues...


Reds...


Vintage...


Fresh white and green...

  
 The fragrances sensual and heady.


More trips are planned over the next few weeks and my camera eye will be very busy, but for the time being, sitting down and relaxing the produce of my garden is enough...but keeping away from those eight legged monsters!!


Have a wonderful weekend and week ahead.

Sunday, 16 October 2016

Capture and Share #14 - Bringing in the Herbs


The kitchen windowsill begins to get greener at this time of year.  Time to bring in the sensitive herbs!  Basil being a firm favourite of ours, along with other regulars like parsley, thyme and rosemary.

Friday, 14 October 2016

Capture and Share #12 - Making Apple Sauce for Winter Roasts


There is nothing more satisfying than picking the apples from our tree and making apple sauce that will accompany our winter pork roasts.  I think the freezer will be full this year!

Thursday, 13 October 2016

Capture and Share #11 - What's for Tea


The morning rain muddies the garden containers but the chives have clearly enjoyed this wake up shower.  Perfect for cutting and mixing in with mashed potatoes for tea this evening.

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

Capture and Share #9 - The Eyes of Autumn


I love collecting autumnal trinkets for the house.  These exquisite conkers will fill a glass vase to give a real rustic feel to the dining table.  Don't you think that the one still in its casing looks like a lizard's eye?

Wednesday, 21 September 2016

Almost Wordless Wednesday - Time is Ticking


The time is ticking... the 22nd September is a few hours away...

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Life is precious and sometimes something will remind us just how fragile it is too.  Enjoy every moment.

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Wednesday, 7 September 2016

Wordless Wednesday - Keeping the Spiders at Bay


Don't forget to collect conkers and put them in the corners of your window sills to prevent spiders coming in and setting up home for winter!

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Friday, 2 September 2016

Five on Friday - Autumn's Here


And so September is here!  I wait the whole year for this month and the welcome changes it brings with such anticipation.  It's an organising month for me, the month that my creative juices start to flow in abundance.  So with a happy heart, I am now well into the rhythm of blogging once more and it has been so uplifting to hear from you with your comments and emails, you have made my return so happy, and yes, I have missed you too!!  Today I am joining the lovely Amy at Love Made My Home's Five on Friday which has also restarted.  If you haven't joined this link up party before, I highly recommend you do and meet other bloggers doing the same thing.

What five little treasures have appeared on my camera card this week? ...

1.  The changing colours of hydrangeas.  Oh my goodness, I LOVE this shrub.  The colours, the differences in seasons, just beautiful.  I've started picking them to adorn my house during the autumn and winter months.  They are adorable as they dry out.


2.  Harvest time.  We have enjoyed an early harvest round my way which meant that the pesky corn flies made an appearance for one week and then were carted off.  Phew!  My picture frames and laptop screen were safe!  In a way I am a little sad that this happened so early and that the sunsets won't be bouncing off the hay stacks, but it has been such a good year for the farmers around here so can understand.


3.  Grape Vine.  Our vine has slowly spread over my pergola over the years and now, with a bit of training, the green fruits and luscious leaves have worked their way over to the house and along the wall.  We usually leave the grapes for the birds and use the leaves in Dolmades (a family favourite).  However, I may just have a go at making some wine, or grape juice this year as they look too good to waste (back off sparrows!!).


4.  The Great British Bake Off.  It's back!!  Straight away I visited Amazon and bought the book so there may be some experiments on here over the next few weeks.  Remember the Spanish Windtorte last year?  My post is here, enjoy mocking me!!


5.  Gardening.  It was a bank holiday here last weekend and time to re-design the front garden.  The joy of going into a garden centre when there is about to be a change of season warms my heart.  Beautiful heathers, red and white roses, lavender, hebes and, yes, more hydrangeas were going to replace the overgrown herbs and conifers.  Hard work but I am bringing a touch of Scotland into my Lincolnshire garden (bringing the dream of one day living there a little bit closer!).


So that's my five for this week.  Please go along to Amy's blog (here) to visit, and maybe join along too.

Have a wonderful weekend.


Sunday, 17 July 2016

Time to Take a Summer Break


The end of July hovers on the horizon and those who have being reading my little corner of Blogland will know what's coming... my least favourite month of the year is about to start.  It is the time I call my S.A.D time (summer absolute dislike). My creativity and inspiration completely abandons me for the month of August due to...

 flies buzzing around, 
heat (which is NOT good at my age and time of life!!), 
flies buzzing around, 
humidity, 
flies buzzing around, 
teenagers saying they are bored and... you guessed it...
flies buzzing around!!!


Yes, I know that Britain has only had a taster of summer so far, but those pesky flies still survive!!



Yes Mr Frog, you need to be busy rather than basking by the pond!


And leave these ones alone!


Reading past posts at this time of year, I seem to be following a pattern (nearly to the day!) so it seems the perfect time to have a little blog break and occupy myself with a huge change in my life that begins in August.  I am changing my work role so I am going to focus on re-programming my mind and taking on new challenges.  I will be saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new.  New working relationships, new friendships, new challenges for my two teens and new hours that will free up time to let me be me, catch up on reading, re-focus on my writing and revamp Sweetbriar Dreams and its content.  


Of course, Big Bertha (the camera) will be with me to capture moments along the way and, once I have put all my 'ducks in a row', I will be back in September (the BEST of months!) for a summer catch up... without the flies!


I will be finding my dappled shade that greets me under the gazebo and enjoying the shadows it forms.


And the fragrance from my Grandma's lavender in my corner hidey hole.


Little snippets will appear on the Sweetbriar Dreams Facebook page and my favourite... Instagram, I won't be completely out of touch, so follow along and I can follow you too! (Just pop over to my side bar under "I'm over here too").


But for now my dear and faithful readers, have a wonderful Summer and I will see you in the most inspiring and uplifting season I know - Autumn! (which I class as the first sunrise of  September!!).


Have a happy and fly free Summer

Monday, 28 March 2016

Snippets of a Bank Holiday Weekend

Snippets of a Bank Holiday Weekend @ www.sweetbriardreams.blogspot.co.uk

It's a Bank Holiday in England and Wales and true to form the rain returns.  Bank Holiday = Rain, we should just accept it.  I sit here tapping at my keyboard just as the storm 'Katie' taps away at the window panes.  I think it's going to be a cozy day inside.

Snippets of a Bank Holiday Weekend @ www.sweetbriardreams.blogspot.co.uk

At the end of a very busy week at work, I needed to get my home looking more like a place to live rather than a place to collapse.   Luckily I knew Good Friday was going to be a good weather day so the housework was done, the washing had been line dried, the ironing mountain had been conquered, the surfaces were polished, Tia had been bathed and the weekend was now mine!   I had such plans for each day, but the only good weather day was Good Friday and another ridiculously 'named' storm was coming our way - those of you around the world that have real storms stop laughing now (why the met office have had to feel to name them I don't know).  Knowing that this would make the Fen a very soggy place to walk, I took full advantage and me and Tia enjoyed the firm pathways before the storm hit - nothing better!  The daffodils are about to turn, so seeing them still dancing in the fields and against the backdrop of the ever swelling ditches was satisfying to see.

Snippets of a Bank Holiday Weekend @ www.sweetbriardreams.blogspot.co.uk

In the distance the wind farm stood steadfast waiting for the winds to start.  It was already blowy and the sails were all turning, along with the waves of yellow rippling like the sea.


The wind was blowing Tia and her gorgeous long ears.  She loves this place so much, including the car journey to get here.  The back window of the car gets rolled down and from the wing mirror I can see that happy little face looking out with ears and jowls dancing in the air as we make our way down to the Fen.

Snippets of a Bank Holiday Weekend @ www.sweetbriardreams.blogspot.co.uk

The horses at the side of the path were far too busy enjoying their lunch to notice any changes in the weather.


Mind you, they did look cozy in their coats.



Saturday was going to be Mother/Daughter time and lunch was decided in Peterborough at the Handmade Burger Co with Miss Teen followed by some retail therapy.  We don't get enough time together lately so we thoroughly enjoyed lunch and then hurriedly searched for Easter eggs!


Being the bad mum that I am, I had sorted everyone else out with Easter eggs but Mr Teen and Miss Teen!  All the major stores were telling me that they had sold out (hmmm, I thought, let's see how many magically appear on the shelves on Tuesday!).  Luckily a smaller store had a couple of little beauties left, so panic over!  Yes, yes, I know, they are old enough to survive without this level of sugar on Easter Sunday, but traditions are hard to let go sometimes for this mum.


... along with a bit of baking!


Unfortunately this holiday means that Miss Teen will be at Easter School.  Each day she will have to go in and study with her fellow GCSE class mates.  I know it is a good thing for them to do, but she is so tired and with no break now until after her exams, it is a little unfair.  Other schools have study leave, but not her one.  So, early mornings and late nights for the homework to be completed is just too much and I feel that many will burn out before their big days.  She will eventually be an Art student, and I am going to do my very proud mum moment and show you just one piece of her art work for her GCSE project.  Every piece she does has me speechless, so talented.


And so, before another busy week, I will my third cold of the year to pack its bags, and settle down with the blanket that is driving me slowly mad, and make lists for when the weather actually cheers up a bit.


Have a great week - here comes the storm!


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