making things a 'hole' lot better!

Some years ago, when in a charity shop, I came across a modern punky interpretation of a woman's kilt in a dark grey, black and cream tartan. A heavy full skirted affair cut across the bias with a multi layered handkerchief hem.  

I loved her. She twirled and swirled and hung with a weighted and rebellious charm.

Then, for some reason she seemed to migrate to the back of the wardrobe. Quietly becoming invisible and then forgotten.  

One winter we had a terrible infestation of clothes moths and several items of clothing were rendered as holey as sieves. Some were given careful repairs, others thrown or repurposed and one or two mended very visibly with joy and defiance.

Couple of years later, now that I am at home and feeling feral and free (although my freedom slightly curtailed by truculent weather) I decided to continue with my 'operation de-clutter' and targeted my wardrobe. EVERYTHING was hauled out and piled on the bed, then the space was given a wipe down and refresh. 

Now I was ready to go through each item of clothing.

I was honest with myself - would I really wear that again? Does it still fit? Do I actually still like it? Did I like it in the first place? By the end I had a large pile for the charity shop, a small pile for the bin, a clean and surprisingly well arranged row of clothes ...... and my skirt ... which had inexplicably been missed when I did the clothes moth check.

My skirt seemed to have been feasted on by the clothes moth caterpillars and created a rather 'fetching' network of holes on one side. There was only one thing for it - reach for my embroidery thread and repair all the holes with love and defiance.

Randomly selecting a colour then enhancing each munch hole and adding little seed stitches around kept me busy for a couple of evenings (especially as I had to unpick several embellishments coz I stitched them inside out - duh)

15 holes later - I was done.  All my skirt needs now is a wash and a light press and she is good to go! 

I might just be wearing her again a lot more this year!

Have you been mending?
It is certainly a form of rebelling against fast fashion.

Did you also get 'mothed' a few years ago? - I remember the infestation even made the news!

Is it still raining where you are?

It is here and us three - Pan, Willow and I are heartly sick of it. We do all still go out but - enough now!

What did we get up to yesterday?

 A photo an hour 6am - 6pm - well, as near as I can get it.

6am (actually a little after)

Curtains thrown wide revealing the day before the weather turns

7am - back in bed

Pan having eaten breakfast, slipped out in to the garden, has now returned to bed.

8-ish am

Toast - food of the gods, 

especially with lemon curd or marmite and washed down with a mug of tea

9.30ish

The morning walk, post breakfast, with Willow.

It seems we are now part of the 'Women who walk' their dogs in the morning. 

More talking that walking seems to occur. 

Willow and I pass our greetings then walk on leaving them to natter.

10.30ish

In the greenhouse, tidying it in preparation of the new growing season.

11.45ish

Someone has found a rare slip of sunlight, whilst we are inside for lunch

1pm

Back outside and spotted some primroses in the wild part of the garden

2pm

Working in the garden with these two, 

tidying up the shredding from yesterday's garden hurdle making

2.45pm

Planting onions in modules to give me time to prepare their growing space

3.40ish

A precious half hour at my art desk,  

quietly working on a year long project following the seasons

4.40pm

Sewing on a butterfly patch whilst the pasta sauce simmered - 

I'd torn my trousers whilst working in the garden today

5.45pm

Our 'getting-on-a-bit' old lady - a proper heat worshipper 

Thank you for coming along with us through our day. Hope yours was as gentle and productive as ours.

Garden wafflings on a Wednesday

As I wove little step over hurdles in the garden from the brash left over from the tree removal on Monday, I whispered thank you to the erstwhile cherry tree.  

The tree team kindly left a pile of the longer and lighter branches for me to work with and with the dog's 'help' and supervision by the cat, I spent most of the morning cutting and hammering in stakes along the edge of the flower bed. 

Then after a much needed mug of tea, cat and dog treats, we returned to the garden where I attempted to weave wayward branches along the stakes. Cue a bit of swearing...... ok may be a fair bit.

Despite the formidable pile of brash and branches, it was difficult to find long slender and supple branches to wind along the edge of the bed so it is not as neat and as picturesque as it was in my imagination however it is doing the job it is required to do - Keep Willow on the pathway and out of the flower beds.

Want to finish the first one then attempt a second one today. However, having just looked out, I suspect that the weather will stop play - it is miserable out there - oh what a shame! It means I will have to stay indoors and paint 😆 and - TBH my hands are rather painful today, they still need to heal from years of strain from gardening. 

And to finish on a good note - the amount of sunlight that flooded the garden yesterday morning was utterly utterly glorious - removing that cherry tree has given me soooooooooooo much more sky and  that has lifted my heart 💚☀️

Sleep or the lack of it!

I'd had one of those nights when at about 2.30 the eyes opened then the brain woke up and that was it. No amount of me trying to persuade my head to stop wittering would end the mental debating society enthusiastically discussing the pros and mostly cons of having a shady garden. So I gave up, joined in and pottered off downstairs. 

I sat nursing a mug of peppermint tea while the cat insisted it was cat breakfast time. I decided to quietly read about cottage garden plants, eventually returning to bed around 4am and drifted off just in time to hear the alarm at 6am .... drat.

Having waved Himself off to work, I dragged myself back upstairs and decided that I would go back to sleep - something I very rarely do. I was so tired I fell asleep instantly only to be woken up by my phone.  It was the tree surgeon - 'are you home? We can be there in half an hour'........ 

When I originally spoke to the company they said would get in contact when they could do the tree - to which I said that would be fine, never did I think I would only get 30 minutes notice!

You have never seen me leap out of bed so fast, the dog thought this was a brilliant new game and joined in as I hopped around the room, toothbrush in mouth, one foot in a sock as I kept an eye on the clock. Rushing downstairs I went straight out, there were plants that needed rescuing and access to the tree to be cleared! 

It wasn't until the tree team turned up that I actually began to feel awake and offered them a brew. I am now sitting inside and I can hear the crunch and thud of a tree being brought down to size - I think tonight is going to be an early one .... yawn!

You can see how big the tree is in comparison to the others - 

it towers above everything else

However, it does mean more sunlight in the garden and that can't be bad!

Pigs, hearts and dogs - what more could you want?

 We sat, Himself and I, mug of tea each and ginger biscuits for three (Willow) and as we cronched them we both agreed that they were not particularly gingery - Willow on the other hand just cronched and wanted more declaring them the most delicious thing eaten EvEr!

So we (and still eating biscuits) reminisced about the collies that we have had and how they all seemed to love ginger biscuits then Himself remembered it was actually our second 'bordering on a collie' (pretty sure she was just barely a hint of collie) Cleggy came with a predilection for the gingery snack. Moss who was full on, top notch registered border collie but worth nothing to the farming community due to her inability to be a working dog, she too said that yes - ginger biscuits were yum.

Now Willow, who was sitting quietly minding her own business, leapt up and asked could she too have a biscuit as they were of the ginger type and scoffed them and inhaled the crumbs. Any hoo - where this is leading to is -

1. Are ginger biscuits generally less gingery and seem more sweet than before?

2. Do all collies have an affinity for a cronchy ginger biscuit?

SO!  I then remembered that a couple of years ago I made a load of Swedish Pepparkakor - Ginger biscuits and decided to do it again. When adding the spices I tasted the dough (which was yum BTW) I upped the ginger from one teaspoon for a heaped tablespoon and suddenly it tasted right!

A small and red dog decided that being in the kitchen Was.The.Place.To.Be whilst things smelt warm and gingery and now that the biscuits are out she keeps popping in to 'check if they are cool enough to eat' - well that is what she has told me.....

If you fancy making some here is the link and I didn't bother with the 'let it sit for 24 hours' I just bunged it in the fridge for the time it took to wash up, wrap three birthday pressies and make a brew -then I rolled the dough out and voila - Sweddish(esqe) Pepparkakor Pigs and Hearts.

I have just eaten one - hmmm - not bad, but not quite what I was looking for - the quest continues!

Do you have a suitable punchy ginger biscuit recipe? Or am I just chasing a ginger pimpernel 😆

Thursday's glimmers

The sublime delight of feeling the warmth of the sun

soaking through to your bones

as you eat toast and drink tea in the sunshine.

The softly smug smile as you hang out the washing on the line 

and watch it gently drift with the light breeze 

while the sun plays across the folds and flaps

Noticing the light play through the petals of the tete a tete daffodils and purple crocus 

while an impatient dog reluctantly waits for her walk

Finding dove feathers on the pathway below the tree they nest in

Buying a new eyeliner, trying a different style of applying the facial warpaint and suddenly feeling rather French and fashionable - then wondering if Himself will notice!

Liking your shadow - whilst feeling the sun on your shoulders

Seeing the cat breathing in the early morning air before she sets off to patrol her patch

Walking by the prettiest of camellias on the morning dog loop

What has made you smile today?

What filled you with the springiest of spring feels?

Fields and footpaths

This morning we walked with the sound of bird song filling the hedgerows. The usual silly memes which are rehashed every year round about now call this a false spring or a fake spring and yes it does feel very springlike. Garden edges and lane sides are filled with the promise of daffodils while snowdrops are still abound, they are beginning to fade a little and crocus are shooting up only to be flattened by the wind or the rain. Even if this is a false spring - I'll take it, I have had my fill of a wet winter.

My mind is a whirl of debate and discussion as I try to drag myself out of my head and listen to the birds and the scrunch thud of my boots on the stony track. Willow also in a world of her own, follows scents - lead free - occasionally throwing a look over her shoulder to check I am still there. And I am.

The sky sinks lower as the clouds drag their bellies over the hill, a passing walker clutching a brolly quips up that she thinks that it will rain again - she is beautifully dressed with not a hair out of place as she happily strides down the muddy track to meet the main village road. Whereas I am togged up in my dog walking jeans, mucky wellies, old coat with a scratchy beanie perched above my eyebrows making my forehead itchy.

As we reach the furthest point of our 'dog loop' I impulsively lengthen it by turning left through the marsh field where Willow and I pick our way between the deeply muddy puddles, dark chocolate brown earth glistening with retained water. Ducks are startled by our appearance having thought the marsh field was theirs and theirs alone today. With wings clapping and a chorus of disapproval - three or four take to the air, curl round through the damp air around our heads watching as we slip and slide around the path and then with a noisy clatter land back at their original spot to continue whatever they'd been doing before we appeared.

Willow - who a few short weeks ago would have been startled in fear at the sound- now just glances up, watches briefly then returns to the serious business of following a sticky scent which is calling to her. I am relieved when we finally reach the stile and hop over back on to the stony track. We are not far from where we'd turned off however it added much needed interest and stimulation for Willow Walnut Brain who is loving learning things new.

I can hear little voices through the stand of trees between us and the primary school - play time - which seems to have a fair bit of screaming and shouting involved. Instantly we turn away, choosing another lane to make our return journey. This one narrows to a footpath edged by wildflowers and in summer is beautiful. Now, in simplified late winter garb, it is bare earth with tiny shoots, snowdrops, tete a tete daffodils and crocus drifting down between brambles and moss. At the end we reach a tumble of stone cottages jostling for space along the lane and it is time for Willow to put back on her collar and lead.

As we walk back home, I can feel a pin prick of rain on my face, glancing up I can see the clouds are definitely promising more rain, we only just get home in time, boots off, kettle on when the cat comes in with fur sparkly and wet. She stalks off to dry by the wood burner and in a few minutes, Willow, now towelled down and in bed watches me as I open the laptop and sip my tea.

photos from the weekend - 

Top - Willow in her walking harness - loving her first 'proper' miles and miles walk - most of it off lead, one very tired little doggums that evening
Bottom - wild and windy moorland walk behind the village, with a small dog who wanted a cuddle.