The Magic Armchair Traveller

Long time, no see

2011-11-18T17:09:00.000Z

It was not my intention to disappear off the face of blogland, but getting over a major operation and used to living with a bionic hip is extremely tiring. Things are going well, even if I do keep overdoing it and needing to rest to recover from the pain from healing tissues.

I'll post a bit more soon, but thought I'd share news of a rather splendid blog giveaway, which you can see more of by clicking on the button below. Silverpebble makes some lovely jewellery herself using silver clay and you can also link to her Etsy shop, if this interests you. What is attractive is that you can fire your silver clay on an ordinary domestic gas hob, so no special kiln is necessary. It certainly appeals to me.

Life goes on and my lovely husband has shared his latest virus with me, so I've had a day in bed to rest up. My 15 year old son wants to go to a friend's house party this evening so we've been having a chat about appropriate and responsible behaviour at such events. He sees it as a rite of passage and, of course, he is right. I guess I'm old enough to have a youngest child going to teen parties as well as a new hip!

After the Operation - Day 8

2011-10-10T12:56:00.001+01:00

It is exactly a week since I woke up in the recovery room following my hip surgery, and it is hard to believe that it is only that long.

My husband collected me from the hospital in my Zafira, which is high-seated, and getting in was not too difficult or painful: we used a plastic supermarket bag to help me slide in, and pulled it out from beneath me once I was in the right position and ready to do up my safety belt. The ride was a little uncomfortable - not the bumpiness of the roads, but simply being sat in the same position for however long it took - maybe 40 minutes. I was able to get down from the car with only a little pain, and walked with my two sticks into the house, managing to negotiate the two steps in without a problem.

Since coming home, I have spent quite a lot of time snoozing, either upstairs or in a chair or on the sofa downstairs. My lovely man very kindly went out and bought me a special cushion to help me sit and lie more comfortably, as I was getting a little sore on behind and heels. I have been using pillows in bed to help get better support, either under my feet, knees, between my knees and to support my back. I can only sleep on my back at the moment and pain prevents me rolling onto my side in my sleep. The sofa is a little low but using the special cushion helps by raising me a bit more, and I can lie on it once I am upon it.

The stairs have not proven a problem, remembering to step up onto my operated leg but down onto my good leg. I am so glad we had the walk-in shower installed as that is easy to manage to get access to. We have a non-slip grip mat installed on the shower tray. When I washed my hair on Saturday I moved my perching stool into the cubicle to sit upon, but normally I can stand comfortably long enough for a quick shower, and use the perching stool outside the shower to help me get dry. I was provided with two loo frames as part of my care package, which certainly help with sitting upon and getting up from the toilet (one of which needed a seat raise as well, whereas the other was high enough not to requite one.

Sitting at the dining table is, for some reason, quite uncomfortable, even with the special cushion, but is manageable for the length of a meal - then I am very happy to move elsewhere to sit in more comfort.

I can dress independently, and it is just the compression socks which I need assistance to put on and take off. I am taking care to wear loose, stretchy clothing so that no unnecessary pressure is put on my wound.

As far as walking goes, I have not yet ventured outside the house. I am generally using my two sticks, and now am beginning to be able to use them in opposition (move one stick, then opposite leg and so on) rather than move both together, then walk bad leg then good leg into the space between them, then repeat). I have used the walls and furniture for support when moving from bedroom to bathroom upstairs. Clearly there has been a massive improvement in weight-bearing and balance since I was in hospital.

After the Operation - Day 4

2011-10-10T12:25:00.001+01:00

So here I am, sitting in the Patients’ Lounge, waiting for my husband to arrive and take me home. My case and bags are beside me, and my bed bay Is being prepared for a new patient who is having a knee joint replacement this afternoon. I have my TTAs (prescribed medicines to take away), I’ve said my goodbyes to the lovely staff and my fellow ward-mates, and it’s like being in limbo! I am discharged but still in the care of the hospital until my husband arrives. For some reason I cannot connect to the hospital wi-fi any more so I’m typing this to post later.

Today I enjoyed another shower and dressed myself (apart from the compression socks, which I needed help with. A breakfast of very delicious vanilla flavoured prunes and a banana plus a mug of tea went down very well. I was a bit dozy and kept falling asleep, and I still experience a fair bit of pain after moving around, so was content to sit on my bed with my feet up. Ironically, I had finally learned how to use the bed controls yesterday evening, so could raise up the back as desired, and also the foot to help the circulation of my feet and legs, sticking carefully to the “no bending more than 90 degrees” rule to protect my healing hip. I wanted to rest while I could, in order to avoid my ankles swelling as they had yesterday after quite a lot of time on my feet.

My two fellow hip replacement on Monday patients are staying in a bit longer than me, probably to be discharged tomorrow. It was lovely to see them feeling much better and more mobile today. My next door neighbour managed the stairs with the supervision of the physiotherapist this morning, and thought she would go home today, but it was decided that the wound was still oozing enough to present a potential infection risk, and she would be better off in the hospital environment for another night. Both ladies had had blood transfusions last night, which really seemed to perk them up. The lady opposite me was today able to walk to the bathroom and back using a zimmer frame, so this meant that she no longer required catheterisation but she was not yet strong enough for walking further to perform the stairs test. The Consultant was hopeful that by tomorrow she would be able to do this and also maybe go home. She is 80 and my friend next door is in her sixties, so I guess I have age working in my favour.

Walking using the sticks has been going very well, and it feels so much more normal as I usually use two sticks outdoors due to my iffy balance. I’m happy not to have needed to learn how to use the crutches for support. The long reach grabber has been invaluable in helping me to retrieve various things which have gone flying, and the long-handled sponge certainly makes washing much easier. The other gadget I have found useful is the leg lifter, as it is hard to lift my operated-on leg still, but the long shoe horn and a device which I think helps to put on socks have not yet been necessary.

The ward seems a very safe and protected environment and it will be interesting to see how being at home feels, whether I will feel as safe and secure there or instead more vulnerable. Time will tell. I am expecting to feel very tired and to need a lot of rest for the first few days but might be wrong about this. Certainly being back in my own bed will be a delight.

The staff at the hospital have all been so delightful, charming and kind and all say they enjoy working there. Their assistance and attitude have contributed greatly to maintaining a positive attitude to recovery and I feel so fortunate to have been cared for here.

After the operation - Day 3, afternoon

2011-10-05T15:37:00.004+01:00

Well, there's just been a ward round and, all being well, I can go home tomorrow! Isn't this amazing?! I am thrilled.

After the Operation - day 3 in the morning.

2011-10-05T10:42:00.001+01:00

I slept really well last night, despite being woken for observations to be made, then I managed to go back to sleep until nearly eight. Prunes and an apple for breakfast with a cup of tea. Then I walked to the bathroom for my last specimen collection for output measurement, returned to my bedside and was asked if i wanted to shower. This felt like a wonderful treat, so it was back to the bathroom and I managed to wash everything without difficulty - we have all been issued with a long-handled sponge. I needed a little help drying my legs, but was able to dress myself entirely independently using the grabber we've all been given - great gadget, although I did need my compression socks to be put on for me. I'm now sat up in the chair beside my bed and am reasonably comfortable. One of my ward mates is having problems with sickness and anaemia, and the other is not so well either. We have a new admission coming in shortly to the bed which was vacated last night by a ladt who had a post-hip haematoma so was in for eight days. No photo in this post - maybe later. We are due to have our hips X-rayed this morning to ensure everything is OK.

Edited to add: Maddalena the physio just came and got me walking with my sticks - bypassing the crutches. It went so well that we walked to the physiotherapy room and I managed to do the stairs using the two banisters there. I'm as high as a kite with happiness at the moment with my new achievements, although my hip is more painful now.

After the Operation: Day 2

2011-10-04T19:58:00.000+01:00

Didn't sleep badly once I got off last night, but activity on the ward woke me at six am, we all had bloods taken, and I felt too alert to go back to sleep. Breakfast came, then the ward manager and head of nursing did a ward round, and then an anesthetist did a round, then my surgeon did one. My dressing was changed and the wound cleaned and checked - it looks very tidy but is bigger than I first thought.We were waiting for the physiotherapist and I kept dozing off - I think the three of us operated on yesterday did this. Eventually our physio de jour, Maddalena, arrived and one of us was got out of bed and sat up in her bedside chair.

Then, it was lunch time and afterwards it was my turn. Initially it was hard to move my operated-on leg, but with the assistance of a leg-mover (see below) I managed to move it a bit, and practiced some exercises before I got off the bed.

Then it was the turn of the walking frame, and I managed to use it to walk as far as the bathroom and back to my bay, to sit in my bedside chair. It wasn't as difficult as I had feared, nor as painful, The most painful element was getting of and onto the bed or chair, which I guess involved the most traumatized muscles. But, I managed to do it! So this meant the catheter could be removed, and I could be less encumbered. It was tiring and so I managed to keep dozing off during the afternoon and was woken again for dinner which I ate on my chair. I used the frame again to visit the bathroom and then ventured out of our room and down the corridor to the nurses station to tell them I had left them a gift in the bathroom (output is monitored for a while pot-op and post catheter0.).

I was heartily relieved when the drugs trolley came round and I was given this colourful collection of medications: analgesics, anticoagulant and a potassium supplement, as this morning's blood test showed I was a little deficient. I'm back on the bed now, but really quite pleased with my progress today, and very thankful for all the messages of support I've received - it so helps morale.

After all the dozing during the day, I hope I will sleep well tonight, but I suspect I will! It's been hard work.

After the operation: Day 1

2011-10-03T22:04:00.000+01:00

Today was the day of my hip replacement here and I thought a post or few on my experiences might help others facing this procedure..
We had to arrive at 6am as I was first on the list. The first hour was spent completing essential paperwork, including the selection of foods for my meals today and tomorrow, then setting up my laptop to log onto the free wi-fi here. I also donned my attractive open-backed gown and hospital dressing gown, cutely accessorized with foam theatre slippers and a white compression stocking on my good leg (top tip: a small plastic bag placed over the foot helps the stocking on). I walked down to the lift and go up to the theatre suite and into the preparation ward. It felt much better than being wheeled up. I went all low blood pressured and faint in preparation so my shy veins (thanks to the low BP) presented an extreme challenge to the anaesthetic nurses caring for me. The anesthetist succeeded where two failed attempts had not, and I had my pretty pink cannula in situ
Now things went faster and I was equipped with a catheter, then the spinal needle was introduced into the subarachnoid or intrathecal space of my spine, and soon my legs felt warm and numb. I was carefully positioned for surgery, using various supports bolted to my trolley, before something was injected via my cannula which sent me gratefully to sleep.

I woke up maybe two hours later in recovery, where I was cared for attentively as my blood pressure was low. I was grateful to have water and tea to drink, as apart from a couple of sips of water to help me swallow my usual morning medication, I'd had nothing since yesterday. I felt alert, cheerful and in no pain at all. my operated-on leg was velcroed to a wedge shaped cushion, to prevent rolling onto my side, especially in my sleep. Two hours later, my bed and I were returned to my windowed bay.

This is what I can see around me in my bed bay - it will enlarge if you click on it. I have a personal telephone and TV with headphones, an automatic monitor for blood pressure, pulse and blood oxygen saturation levels, an automatic foot and calf intermittent pressure massager to assist blood circulation in my lower limbs, in addition to free access to wi fi broadband. I also have a standard bed table on which I place my laptop, meal trays, water bottle and glass, etc. I also feel very lucky to have the only bed bay with a window: it may not be an especially scenic but I can see daylight and feel less cut off from the world. It
is very conducive to a high morale, as are the phone and internet access. I returned to the ward to numerous messages of support in my in-box and on Facebook. I spoke on the phone to my elder daughter and husband, Facebook-Skyped my younger daughter in Denmark, who had not managed to sleep at all last night, and also my son. I knew my mother would be out today, but was able to phone her this evening, and she sounded so relieved to hear me sounding so perky, and sent e-mails and facebook messages to others.

Here I am looking soooo glamourous!

The food is excellent! I had an omelette with tuna and salad for lunch, followed by a nice crunchy apple and a cup of tea, while dinner was a fricassee of pork and celery in a herbed cream sauce, with long grain rice followed by a banana and another cuppa, I have since enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate..

I was thrilled to see my elder daughter and son-in-love and they came bearing gifts: sadly the fresh flowers were not allowed on the ward so they had to go away again, but some lovely fresh fruit was permitted so I have fresh pineapple pieces, ripe figs and some nectarines or peaches and some chocolate (for the iron!) and almonds (for calcium). I feel very spoiled. Then my lovely husband and son arrived, the former looking exhausted after only 2 hours sleep last night. We enjoyed catching up on the days events, and then they went off for a quick evening meal out before going to their homes for an early night.

So far, so good.. Today is a day of bedrest: physiotherapy. I am still experiencing no pain despite n top-up analgesia. I'm now beginning to feel a bit sleepy so I'll finsh this post here. Thanks so much to my frins and family for their love, support. good wishes, kind thoughts and prayers: all very welcome and appreciated,

Sweet Peas

2011-09-05T18:44:00.000+01:00

An essential part of my summer is the growing and harvesting of sweet peas. They remind me of my father, a skilled sweet pea grower, in the garden and on the allotment. I realised that I hadn't recorded this year's outstandingly colourful and perfumed display, and must admit that a fortnight's absence on holiday means that they have gone slightly over, though my husband is hopeful that we might be self-sufficient in sweet pea seeds for next year, and meanwhile we have started picking them again to enjoy indoors.

These, in my pretty jug bought on a trip to Dunster a few years ago, are decorating the living room window sill and their perfume is delighting me as I write. The petals are so delicate yet so vibrant in colour, and I hope there will be a few more vases left to go before the end of the season.

Here are some of the plants, as seen from my living room window.

There are more at the bottom of the garden, cheek by jowl with our carrots,onions and garlic.
As someone said,
"A Garden is a thing of beauty
and a job forever".

Postcard from Paradise

2011-09-04T23:10:00.002+01:00

This stunning paradise is Pelistry beach, on St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly, UK and I was lucky enough to be there last week to take this photograph. I'm missing this glorious paradise and so happy to be able to share it. If, like me, you need more of a Paradise fix, follow this link.

Skyline Sihouettes

2011-08-30T11:19:00.000+01:00

These amazing skies were seen during a walk I took yesterday.

Aquatic Abstract

2011-08-30T10:53:00.000+01:00

A Good Day for Wildlife

2011-08-22T21:07:00.001+01:00

A remarkably friendly thrush decided to allow me a picture,

As well as two little sparrows

While this blue butterfly was sunbathing on an osteospermum

Just long enough to let me capture its image

before flying away.

Walking to Nowhere, and beyond.

2011-08-21T21:20:00.000+01:00

One song I like is Paolo Nutini's "Last Request" which has the lines,

"Sure, I know we're going nowhere,

But one last time, let's go there...."

This afternoon we took the opportunity to walk to Nowhere, as evidenced by the signpost pictured above, but we did not stop there. Further on, there was a cafe serving the luxuriously delicious ice creams produced by Roskilly's of Cornwall, with superb views in addition.

In fact, my indulgence was not ice cream, but iced yogurt - peach flavour. It was so good, tangy and refreshing and not too sweet. Not good for the diet, but what a treat!

Tea Party for Sparrows

2011-08-21T14:02:00.000+01:00

Does Snow White live here? It looks as if these sparrows are determined to clear up the remains of a delicious cream tea.

Maybe it's a good example of symbiotic existence.

The humans had disappeared inside for shelter from the elements, but the birds weren't about to let a few drops of rain spoil their al fresco meal.

Skies

2011-08-21T13:27:00.000+01:00

They fascinate me, do skies. Ever-changing, so many variations....

One day, there are the silken traceries of white against the blue.

The next, subtle irregular striations of grey, suddenly climbing steeply into a blurred mass.

We sat and sheltered from the rain, watching the lightening show whilst sipping iced tea and spicy ginger beer,

Wonder what skies await me and my camera today?

My Sunny Meadow Painting

2011-07-17T19:13:00.000+01:00

Un prato soleggiato - a meadow basking in the hot Italian sun, as seen from the shade of an olive grove - is the subject for my third art class painting, and which is complete except for an isolation layer and varnish to protect the paint. The colours are a little warmer than this photo shows but it is proving impossible to achieve the correct shade through digital adjustment with what I have available to me. I must try again when it is a dry, sunny day. I learned a lot about achieving and working with texture and colour in this painting, and layering by cutting in to gain a sense of depth. It looks well on the rich blue wall of my dining room.

So, no class until October - woe is me! Hopefully by then I will have a new hip joint as I am awaiting the date for a joint replacement operation and will know when I go to the hospital this Thursday. I need to be able to manage quite a lot of stairs to reach the studio where the class is held, though. Meanwhile, I am contemplating a "portrait" of my husband and myself - I ought to prep a board in readiness for this. And make a couple of cotton nighties in preparation for my trip to hospital.

Roses

2011-07-02T13:37:00.000+01:00

June in an English garden means roses (scented ones, of course!) to me, so I wandered around taking portraits of some of the lovelies brightening up my world.

Such delicate colours in their luscious silky petals, pretty as a picture and fragrancing the air as well.

Clearly, I have a preference for the peaches and pale pinks, although I have some beauties in other shades as well, just that these ones were the ones revealing their beauty on this occasion.

When we married, my bouquet contained the palest, barely-there apricot creamy petalled-roses, so some of these are chosen for sentimental reasons.

There are pretty, shaded frills and complex ruffles with a very special elegance of form.

Some reveal their fringed and beaded centres, inviting in the bees and other insects to enjoy their nectar sweetness.

Others are more shy or coy, a spiral of tightly furled petals hiding, for the moment, their golden centres.

Some appear almost muddled in their layers, crimped edges wrapped in a complex, chaotic geometry.

Some are just voluptuous, rich and velvety pinkness.

While most of my roses are shrubs, standards or bush, I do have a lovely rose climbing an archway. accompanied by trachelospermum jasminoides and a wisteria album. I love how its flowers hang down to be admired.

These photos were taken at the beginning of June, a month ago. Life got in the way of me posting them - but fortunately did not prevent me enjoying the flowers.

Sun on sea 1

2011-06-28T21:03:00.001+01:00

Another few weeks, another seascape, in acrylic paint on board. I learned a lot from working this image, including more on glazing, and using palette knives as well as brushes. It has a very different feel to my Brighton West Beach piece, more like a sunny Mediterranean sea - it evokes memories of a holiday we took some years ago on Cephalonia. I think it has a serene as well as sunny feeling, and it makes me feel happy to look at it.

I feel so privileged to have the opportunity to take classes which support me so well in producing art I can feel so pleased with - it has been quite a while since I have been able to take such pleasure in creating art. I hope it helps me back to using textiles, too. It does me lots of good to get out of the house and work alongside and learn from others working in our own styles and ways.

Picture the third is well under way too - not a seascape this time, and with different challenges. I am having such fun with painting. It strikes me that this is a different form of magic armchair travelling, too.

On Brighton Beach

2011-06-06T20:31:00.000+01:00

Last November, just as the snow came, we spent a weekend in Brighton. The purpose was to see a production of MacBeth at the Brighton Dome/Pavilion Theatre to support my son's English Literature studies, but it was good to spend some time away from home in fresh surroundings. I hadn't been to Brighton for decades, and it was interesting to see what I remembered and what I didn't, and how things have changed.

Apart from the theatre, we explored the Lanes a little, and enjoyed some lovely meals. We also visited the Pavilion, a first for all of us, and took a wander on the beach.

This photo shows the snow-heavy clouds over the sea between the piers, and the sunlight fighting valiantly to shine through.

It was recently our local Arts week, and despite my health being poor again, I managed to get to one exhibition, of paintings. It was a thrilling show with a wide range of different styles, media and subjects, by a group of artists all taught by one tutor. I decided to make contact with him and there was a vacancy in one of his classes - on a Monday afternoon, which suited me very well as the afternoon is when I tend to have most energy.

I took along some photographs and decided to work my Brighton beach image in acrylics on board. Today, the painting was finished, and here it is:-

I'm really pleased with it and am looking forward to getting it framed, as well as thinking about my next subject. I'm also really, really enjoying painting again. I'm not good at working on my own at home, so the opportunity to go to the group, to socialise and to see the stunning work produced by my fellow students, is proving very fulfilling and enjoyable. As for my tutor, Andy, he's lovely and a great teacher for me.

Visiting my Deutzia

2011-05-20T17:45:00.000+01:00

When we first moved to our house, this shrub was in the front garden. We liked it very much, but it did not fit in with our plans for the little piece of land. Eventually, we dug it up and, with fingers crossed, replanted it by the back fence. I'm glad to say that it took, grew and thrived, and gladdens my heart every year when it bursts into a white froth of springtime flower. I think it is some kind of Deutzia, but would love to know more about it if anyone can tell me.

This year, bring in the right place at the right time in the right weather has allowed me a closer look at this lovely plant.

Much as I love it, I did not realise it had other fans.

The bees have been buzzing contentedly among the flowers, foraging away.

Their industry and concentration between the frills and folds of the flowers reminds me of the dress designer arranging the dress at a certain big wedding in this country!

I'm glad to have captured these images to return to and enjoy once the flowers are over for another year.

Sign of the Times

2011-04-27T11:11:00.001+01:00

Seen this morning on the magazine shelves of our village general store:

Your Chickens

Home Farmer

Time for a remake of "The Good Life"?

And the latter actually looks worth a look, to me!
(I don't have chickens).

A Walk in the Woods

2011-02-21T20:13:00.000Z

What better way of celebrating the continuance of public access to forestry land than to take a walk in the woods on a Sunday afternoon in February?

This was an opportunity to visit Stockhill Wood near Wells on the Mendip Hills, run by the Forestry Commission which so nearly lost the right to run it before this week.

The trees are so beautiful and the air so fresh and clean. It is good for the soul to be reminded of the power of nature and that even in the winter there is growth and greenness.

Last year's burdock mimic flowers in form if not in colour.

The coniferous trees make wonderful silhouettes against the grey skies.

A herb robert is already growing vigorously in the shelter of a moss-bedecked fallen tree trunk.

Paths curve away into the wood, choices to be made about directions to be taken.

The grass and the green of the trees glows against the grey browns of the paths and tree trunks and branches.

Other paths are mere tracks between the trees, the paths less often taken...

Dried stems that once bore seedheads mark the spot for the coming summer's growth.

Dried leaves clinging on to branches create a delicate tracery of lace work against the sky.

A different scale: moss, leaves and fungus flourish on the dead wood left to decay on the ground

Catkins remind that spring is on its way.

Moss is growing on the ends of logs piled up beside our path.

Clearly these stones have not rolled for a long time, dressed as they are in their mossy coats.

Stone and tree: the moss does not discriminate.

Ferns are already growing from this mossy stump.

Thistles are pushing through the autumnal carpet of shed leaves in search of the light.

Another tree is adorned, bedecked in catkins like strings of prayer flags for the new year.

A tussocky green mounded clearing appears

and affords views of the little lake across the invisible road.

The trees show glimpses of the terrain beyond their boundary, a hilltop moorland sort of place where once lead miners used to work.

It looks bleak at this time of year, but we are sheltered in amongst the trees.

The glorious trees, reaching for the heavens, reminding us to look up as well as around.

On Chestnut Farm

2011-02-03T23:18:00.000Z

This afternoon I drove to Cheddar - not to buy cheese, nor to see caves or a gorge. The occasion was the first meeting of a Stained Glass workshop, being taught by Richard Pelham of Glastonbury Stained Glass . There were twelve of us, so my fears that the class might not be adequately subscribed were not realised, and I spent a very happy few hours revisiting the pleasures and frustrations of cutting glass (it being nearly a decade since I last practiced this activity). Practice is definitely required, but how enjoyable it was! Richard is a very good teacher who demonstrates and explains the processes very clearly. The company was also excellent, and the surroundings delightful. As I was leaving, I noticed this piece of recycled metal art and a bit of interesting fig topiary across the courtyard,

Wisdom

2011-01-18T17:49:00.000Z

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to paint a rose, because before he can do so he has first to forget all the roses that were ever painted.
Henri Matisse

A New Year

2011-01-04T12:47:00.000Z

Well, I am shocked that I've not written here for so long - but the last part of 2010 was a miserable round of viral illnesses, so I didn't have much to share. We did have a weekend in Brighton so we could see Macbeth at the Dome Theatre (it being Ben's GCSE Shakespeare play) and that was lovely except he became fluey while we were there (and then generously passed it on). We'd not been to Brighton for over a quarter of a century (!) so naturally it had changed a lot, and I'll talk about it in another post.

Christmas and New Year were quiet, family, home based festivities and I have no photos as I've mislaid my camera.

However, I do have this to share: an except of a music programme we watched on New Year's Eve, which had me laughing until it hurt: Henry Dagg and his amazing Catastrophony: not a bad way to start off a new year.

More Autumn Flowers

2010-10-28T19:05:00.000+01:00

And spot the dragon fly.....!

Sunshine through the autumn-painted leaves

2010-10-26T23:14:00.000+01:00

Sunday, in my garden. Lovely colours and light.

Now Showing

2010-10-17T23:39:00.001+01:00

In my garden: still lots of flourishing colour out there

Return to the Abruzzo

2010-10-13T17:59:00.000+01:00

I was very lucky to be able to return to Atessa in Abruzzo last month and to stay once again in the Casa Pietro, where I enjoyed a week's painting course under the tutelage of the lovely Marco di Marinis, who showed me how to work with watercolours more effectively.
I now realise that I was using them like gouache, or poster colour, without really exploring their characteristic use as transparent washes.

Due to poor weather (a deluge which hid the lovely valley views) our first sessions were in Marco's Atessa studio and I used one of his photos of the trebocchi - gloriously Gormenghast-ish fishing platforms characteristic of the Chieti coastline. The photo is showing the painting greyer than it is in reality.

By the weekend the weather had improved, and we had a morning date with Marco at the San Pasquale monastery to start a painting en plein air. There was a lovely view of Atessa from the park across the road from the monastery, so we pitched the easels and got stuck in.

This is my version of it:

My third piece was a view of the hill across the house from Casa Pietra: it's a lovely view to enjoy while washing up at the sink in the kitchen. The sun was so strong that it melted the glue of the masking tape into the paper!

It was a lovely time away and I learned a lot. I saw some wonderful places while I was there and hope that I will be able to return one day to enjoy this lovely area again.

Happiness

2010-10-12T15:57:00.000+01:00

“The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.”-- William Morris

Italic Temples at Schiavi d'Abruzzo

2010-09-07T12:46:00.000+01:00

The Appenines are described as the backbone of Italy, and we discovered an army marching for power across the brows of the mountains in a long file.

These wind turbines did not, to my eye, detract from the landscape - they never do. Clothed in clouds, they looked as if they belonged.

Driving from Carunchio to Schiavi d'Abruzzo showed some majestic scenery.

And as the town appeared in the distance, I wondered if the clouds would catch up with us.

Our destination was, in fact, past Schiavi, as we were hunting the Italic (Pre-Roman) temples built nearby.

This bush - a type of broom? - grew by the layby where we parked the car.

This was clearly one of nature's gardens.

The vegetation was lush.

The ground beneath our feet was squelchy. I think there must have been springs to create such bogginess as elsewhere was dry.

It transpired that we had entered the temple site by the back door (an easier path from a parking place lay downhill of where we stopped)

I am very partial to a bit of ancient wall

and this was certainly well up to standard!

This is a temple reconstruction

while these more ancient remnants are somewhat protected from the elements.

Wonderful change of scale in this terracotta floor.

and a hint of more pillars.

We were the only people there, and the site was very peaceful. It was easy to imagine why it had been chosen as a sacred place. The majestic views of the cloud-clad Majella Mountains was awe-inspiring and the atmosphere was contemplative and special.

We were surrounded by the treasures of nature.

Eventually, it was time to leave and set off homewards

Past Schiavi d'Abbruzzo once more,

Past more mountains

and glimpses of Lago di Bomba to tempt another excursion on another day.

Carunchio

2010-09-07T11:32:00.000+01:00

We arrived at Curunchio during the sleepy siesta time and parked in the square (by this church) where there was also a cafe open for liquid refreshment and ice creams. After taking our ease there, I wandered over the church (which might have been dedicated to S. Margaret, I don't remember properly), wherein I found some beautiful frescoes.

I did not like to assault them with my camera flash, so the photo is rather dull, but they were beautiful.

This gives an idea of how much this village is built on the hillside - the piazza is about haf a storey above these houses which skirt it on one side.

Curving lanes turned off the piazza and ran down the hill.

A balcony bought Romeo and Juliet to mind.

We determined that it was possible to drive out of the piazza to the high point of Carunchio, so we carried on up the hill to the top and the Chiesa de S. Giovanni Battista.

This archway was the gateway to a viewing platform affording stunning views of the village and countryside around. Carunchio is said to be one of the 100 most beautiful villages in Italy, and I could well believe its worthiness of this reputation.

The glorious terra-cotta roofs dripped down the hillside to the verdant valley below.

The roof tiles are interlocking half-cylinders, as we saw in Venice, and the rocks upon them help to prevent damage when the sows come in the winter.

Unfortunately, this church was locked up, but there was still plenty to see.

The magnificence of the landscape

and more

gratuitous

roof shots. To live here, you have to be very fit - or maybe living here makes you so.

This handsome couple is my son and daughter.

Then it was my turn to be snapped, outside the decaying magnificence of the Palazzo Camillo.

Doorway to past glories.

A picturesque wood-pile, ready for winter fires.

Looking back at the church bell tower.

What can I say? I have a thing for old doorways.

Sun and shade by the Palazzo Tour d'Eau.

Another display of brotherly love.

Ancora, Palazzo Camillo.

Room with a view?!

Open window.

Door and ghostly messages.

No entry here.

Abruzzan vista.

More sun and shade.

Church flowers 1

Church flowers 2

Church flowers 3

Splashes of colour in planters beside S. Giovanni Battista.

Looking back at Carunchio as we set off for the next part of our adventure.

Two weeks in Italy: The Road to Carunchio

2010-09-07T09:06:00.003+01:00

Leaving Casa Pietra, we drove inland towards the Appenines and another hilltop settlement, Carunchio. The landscape was quite rugged, the mountains looming in the distance playing hide-and-seek in the clouds.

You can see the dryness of the grass, but the land is still remarkably green and the trees tell the story of reasonable levels of groundwater.

The crops had already been gathered in in some parts, the ground turned ready for further sowing and growing.

There were groves of olive trees everywhere. I believe everone who has land in this area must grow olives on some of it.

Then, occasionally, we would see communities of colourful beehives in a sheltered corner of a field, busy bees flying to and fro above them.

I found the colours and forms in this landscape absolutely irresistable.

Such a mixture of green and dried straw.

Rolling hills fall away steeply in places.

The mountains and the massive skies make you feel very small.

The mountains high enough and the clouds low enough to play disappearing tricks.

Two weeks in Italy - what lies beneath (and around)

2010-09-04T12:04:00.000+01:00

Casa Pietra is a lovely, traditional old Abruzzan farmhouse. When its owners, Robert and Marcia, bought it, it had not been occupied for 40 years, and it has taken them four years to get it to its present lovely and more functional state in which it comprises an apartment and a villa, both of which are available to rent. It is still a work in progress, although this did not intrude upon our holiday there. In the past, farmers would accomodate their livestock in the basement of their home, and I believe there are plans to turn these previous animal quarters into another small apartment. With the lovely stone walls and arched ceilings, there would be loads of atmosphere and character in such a transformation.

The house is on an unpaved road in an agricultural valley and National Park woodlands (where hunting is forbidden) within easy reach of several villages and the town of Atessa. I never tired of the view of the town across the valley, which changed constantly according to the time of day and weather conditions. The surroundings are glorious.

Again, Atessa.

To the south-east.

Across the road.

I love this hill and the colours here.

Two weeks in Italy - A visit to Pescara

2010-09-03T14:23:00.002+01:00

Another day, another view of the town and a new sky over Atessa. Such a peaceful place to be, just the chugging of a tractor tilling the fields around us and the odd bird call. The driver of the tractor had a great technique: he would drive up the hill (whichever he was working that day) and then plough down to the bottom, using gravity to help him.

We needed to find an internet connection for academic reasons, and the Web is not yet a large part of rural life in this part of the world, so we decided to go off in search of an internet cafe. One of the larger towns in our region of Chieti seemed a good idea, so we set off for Lanciano, with Pescara as back up. We had managed to lay our hands on a guide book to the region and the author, Luciano di Grigorio, waxed lyrical about the shopping in Pescara. We'd not really gotback into the swing of the siesta habit, so while Lanciano was a very lovely town, it was also very closed when we got there. We decided to return another day, and drove on to Pescara, on the coast and where the nearest airport to Casa Pietra in located (with flights from Stansted, not so useful for us West Country folks).

I was actually very underwhelmed by the shops of Pescara, though I must admit that my limited range for walking did get in the way of a determined shop crawl. We managed to find an air-conditioned cafe in which to eat a very welcome late lunch and rehydrate ourselves. Then an internet connection was sought and eventually found in an internet cafe - there is a road containing several near to the railway station. The necessary academic material was duly downloaded onto a memory stick, and we were free to see some sights.

The Piazza Italia was a pretty urban breathing space, with its fountain and trees, by the Provincial Library and Offices, and we managed to find some parking there for a while.

Unfortunately the clouds gathered and it began to rain: a showery day.

We decided to return home along the coast road, the SS16. This coastal area is known as the Costa Dei Trabocchi for the wooden fishing huts on stilts which can be seen. The clouds were also creating some amazing skies:-

We decided to stop at one of the Fish Restaurants along the road for supper, but it was hard to spot them before we had gone past them, so we had travelled down to Fossacesia before we found the one we dined in, Ristorante Il Pescatore. It was delicious, although it was hard to choose for the one of us who does not like fish. The seafood was so fresh and delicious and the prawns could be eaten, shells and all. I'm glad to say that they also served the semifreddo di torrone, for which I had developed a bit of a taste.

Then it was back to Casa Pietro, ready for our beds.

Real Travels: Two weeks in Italy

2010-09-02T17:08:00.002+01:00

I have just had the shock of my life, to see it is more than two months since I last posted here. Summer has (more or less) happened, Autumn whispers in the wings. For two weeks we made our (very much last-minute) escape to a corner of paradise in the south of the Abruzzo region in Italy and, no, I had not heard of it previously, either... Or to be more truthful, it had not lodged in my memory, for Abruzzo is the region in which one finds L'Aquila, badly hit by an earthquake last year. L'Aquila is in the north west of the region and we were staying in the south east, near the hill-top town of Atessa.

I found the house to rent on the internet and we flew to Rome from Bristol, then hired a car to drive across Italy to the east coast, boggling at the first hill-top towns we passed. Gradually it dawned that these are far from unique as we crossed the Appenines. Our sat-nav did not cope well with finding the address of the farmhouse, so we found ourselves in town (Atessa) where some local men tried to come to our assistance. They knew of "Robert and his 4 bambini" but didn't know where he lived, so we phoned him and rendez-voused outside the town hospital around the corner, as suggested by our Italian Knights in shining armour. Robert (and the 4 bambini) met us successfully and guided us down the unpaved road to the house. He showed us around, then guided us back to town so we could eat, in the lovely restaurant "Al Duka", where my offspring fell upon their pizza meal with great enjoyment and I ate a steak before rejoicing in a torrone semi-freddo dessert. We found our way back to the Casa Pietra and slept well, to wake up to this view (above) of the town.

And this was the view in one direction from the house terrace. It was a lovely, sunny day and so warm, too. Now it was Monday morning and we had no food for breakfast, so it seemed best to head out to explore and shop. We actually did our shopping in the nearby village of St Luca, where they had a supermercado, Conad, which had a fabulous stock of goodies. Then we went back to Atessa...

This is the first bit of the town we would come to, opposite a modern piazza with water feature which topped off a multi-storey car park. There was a nice cafe behind the signpost on the right, where we enjoyed liquid refreshment a number of times.

Through a narrow alleyway, between an excellent gelateria and a delicatessen, there was another piazza. backed by an ornate war memorial. I noticed the forgotten but familiar hard stare of local people which initially seems a little hostile. It isn't, though. Smile and say "Buorngiorno" and you receive a friendly response. I can't recall where I first came across this subtle difference of behaviour - but I did remember not to get paranoid!

There is no escaping that the town is atop a hill - everthing slopes either up or down!

Not surpringly, I experienced architectural echoes of both Venice and Florence despite the differences.

And there was evidence that this was once a walled town, with gated access - or possibly two walled towns, now joined together by the slaying of a dragon by the redoubtable local saint, S. Leucio.

But the rugged countryside is never far away in this region, even by the modern town library:-

Outside the library was where we found this modern homage to the squid.

Medieval and modern lie almost side by side in Atessa.

And always more steps to climb, another corner to turn to discover another secret place.

At the top of the road opens another piazza, the church basking in the sunshine.

At the top of the hill was also a palazzo, its open door and arched hallway inviting the curious (me!).

While its windows were ornately barred.

So, back down the hill to this quatrefoiled building, which would not look out of place in Venice.

The street lights came on

And the sun set on the first full day of our holiday.

Where does time fly to?

2010-06-25T19:16:00.005+01:00

Some time has admittedly gone in reading a totally delightful book, Wildwood by Roger Deakin. Is was a slow but intensely pleasurable read (I can rip through a novel in less than a day very often). I would have started it over again had it not needed to return to the library, but I have my own copy on order because it is the perfect bedside companion with so many wonderful tales and anecdotes that can be visited and revisited over and over. How sad that the author died soon after completing it.

I tried to order some more of his books from the library, but I wasn't allowed. I've made it a habit to try and order books from the library as a way of previewing and auditioning to see what should be added to my bookshelves, but the computer said no. Today I visited my local branch library and was told it was because I owed too much money and I could not even borrow any books until I paid up! This was not owing to overdue loan fines, but the fact I had so many books on order, so I had to hand over a sizeable amount of dosh "on account" for books I've requested in order to be allowed to take some which had arrived home with me. Luckily, I found this quite funny and I could manage to find the money to do it. It's those interlibrary loan requests - they do add up!

I've found another way of enjoying books without adding to the bookshelves - and it's not another electronic device, either, because I like to curl up with my paper tomes. I visited Silverpebble's lovely blog and learned of her Pass the Book giveaway. I am reluctant to mention it here really, because I really would like to win, but doing so gives me more potential to succeed, so, swings and roundabouts!

A sign of the passage of time is the arthritis whch is giving me a bit of a hard time at the moment, especially affecting my dominant hand, my right hip and giving me a tailor's bunion and cyst on my right foot. It's a literal pain, but at least it seems right to relax and read as much as possible.

And I'm taking time to smell the roses - and the sweet peas!

This is not a food blog -

2010-06-11T17:32:00.004+01:00

but you'd be forgiven for beginning to wonder! I blame my daughter for my current experiment, as she discovered a recipe she thought I might enjoy trying.

One of the problems with a gluten free diet is bread. Purchased bread that is also gluten free is usually costly and often not very good. Some resembles madeira cake more than bread and is so spongy it is hard to swallow, others turn to crumbs if you look at them, which is a costly way of making breadcrumbs. Genius is the best I've come across and I feel churlish saying this, but it tends to have over-large air holes which make the slices fall apart, and also it comes in white or brown only - I long for something with a bit more substance and fibre.

I have tried making my own bread and, again, have had some success after a lot of testing and perseverence. We bought a (Panasonic) breadmaker and a number of books. I tried using gram flour (chick peas). The best ready flour mix I have found is made by Glebe Farm Seeded Brown Bread Mix. The snag with this is that the breadmaker paddle leaves a big hole in the bottom which makes the slices of bread fragile (as does the lack of gluten), but I should try to make the dough in the machine and then bake it in the oven. It requires the addition of egg or egg substitute to make it work, so it does not taste altogether authentic, either.

Spelt is a primitive form of wheat and I can tolerate it fairly well (I'm not coeliac). My daughter forwarded this recipe for Three-minute Spelt Bread from the Guardian's blog post on making wholemeal bread, and the idea of quick natural bread mde it seem worth giving a go. The rest of the Blog entry is really interesting and gave me some further ideas to pursue.

I used a mix of 400g wholemeal spelt to 100g white spelt flour. I mixed the dough with my Kenwood Chef mixer. The dough was quite wet and did not form a clump, so I decided I might as well also use the idea of cooking in a well-oiled cast-iron casserole (it is suggested that the trapped moisture encourages rising). So, I oiled my casserole and used a spatula to transfer the dough therein, and proceeded to bake as instructed having placed the lid on the casserole.

The oven has a bread baking setting, so I used that, and left everything alone for an hour.

The loaf looked wonderful when I took the lid off the casserole, and had risen somewhat more than the photograph suggests.

However, the oiling of the casserole was not sufficent lubrication to allow an easy release of the baked loaf and I had to dig it out, leaving most of the bottom crust behind. The flavour, however, is wonderful.

I need to try some further variations on this theme, but oh! The pleasure of eating bread that tastles like bread is a great joy indeed.

Scotch Eggs

2010-06-10T22:10:00.004+01:00

I have been eating a gluten-free diet for some time now, and I am fairly well-adjusted to it, but from time to time I really miss something from my wheaten days. At the end of last month, my eldest daughter celebrated her birthday with a trip to Bristol Zoo, and my younger daughter picked up a Scotch Egg as part of her lunch for the occasion. I felt very envious, but decided I needed to find a way of making them that did not involve wheat or gluten and preferably baked rather than fried - deep fat frying is just not a way of cooking I am equipped or desire to use.

Where would we be without the internet? So many recipes to choose from! I referred to this and this. I bought minced pork from the butcher, and processed it with sage, thyme, ground cloves and black pepper while my free-range hard-boiled eggs were cooling and shelled. Now I know how to make my own, rusk-free, sausage meat for Christmas stuffing! I divided my meat into six portions, one for each egg, and made a sort of egg-sized dip in a portion before mouldng it around the egg. Once the six eggs were all enrobed in meat, I blitzed three slices of gluten-free bread into breadcrumbs, and beat another egg. The eggs were first rolled in the egg, thenin the breadcrumbs. I sprayed oil onto a baking sheet and put the eggs onto it before giving them a little oil spritz and placing them in the preheated oven.

The result:-

Really delicious they were, too, with salads, for all the family. Definitely another recipe to keep and repeat.

Elderflower Cordial

2010-06-10T21:59:00.004+01:00

I have been playing at being a Domestic Goddess again. Yesterday I managed to find some accessible off-road elderflowers, plus citric acid, granulated sugar and fresh lemons in the local village shops. Syrup was made, lemons had their zest peeled off and were then sliced and steeped overnight in the syrup with the elderflower heads and citric acid.

Today I found clip-top bottles at the hardware shop in the next village and now the cordial is bottled up. A tip - if you are sterilizing your bottles by washing them well, then sterilizing in a warm oven, remove the clip tops first. I found out the messy way that the caps are no longer ceramic, but plastic. Luckily more bottles were available.

Loads of recipes exist on the internet - I used this one as a basis but deviated a little in quantitites. It tastes wonderful and I'm looking forward to finding ways of using it - it's wonderful with gin on the rocks! Now I feel like exploring more elderflower recipes - but first need to gather more blossoms. Anyone got any spare?

This photo was taken using flash and the colour is a bit more truthful, but I loved the light and contrast of the previous one, with only natural light.

It looks as it it will be a good year for blackberries, too.

The bramble bushes are absolutely smothered in buds - I've never seen the like before. Definitely worth a return visit later in the year!

Summery Supper - Salad Days

2010-05-25T21:22:00.009+01:00

This week's warmer weather has caused us to make a transition to summery salad suppers, and I've been trying to think of different dishes to add to the salady bits to make a meal. Yesterday we had smoked mackerel fillets, which were delicious. I fancied a quiche today, so hit Google to find a gluten free recipe, as I've not yet found a very successful pastry crust method. This recipe caught my eye, as we have Polenta in the larder, so I gave it a go. The polenta crust was delicious, although I had to vary the method of making a little: I ended up kneading it into place in the quiche tin, pressing it out into a smooth layer before blind baking whilst making the filling. I would definitely repeat this recipe soon.

For some reason I cannot get this photo into landscape format, the quiche seems determined to be a half-moon!

I also made some muffins from the wonderful Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook: Maple and Pecan, again gluten free. They don't look like the ones in the book, but they taste excellent. I don't often bake because I really don't need the calories, but once in a while it's good to practice methods and try out some recipes. I enjoy the occasional cakey treat, too.

A little of what you fancy does you good!

Blue Skies and Armchair Travels

2010-05-18T16:50:00.002+01:00

At the moment, when I leave the house by the kitchen door to go to the garden, this is what I see and smell: the glorious wisteria growing in next-door's garden and arching over the path beside the study. It is so glorious a combination, the two shades of blue in flower and sky and the subtle,heady, sweet scent as you pass below the plant.

We have been thinking a lot about summer adventures and travels, and what we can do for a holiday this year. It seems harder to plan than usual. For starters, the ash cloud effects on flying cannot be ignored, and neither can the parlous economic state of the country and its local effects on all of us.

Then there are the limitations I am experiencing due to health problems, which sap my energy so severely and also are causing extreme pain when I walk the shoert distances I can manage.

At present we can fly from our local airport to New York, but that service will be ended soon, and part of me feels we should try to take advantage of it while it is there. I've been looking around the internet but its so hard to find out information about accessible travel. So can anyone tell me how accessible New York is? I'm not confined to a wheelchair although I have the use of one, but I do use two walking sticks or a rollator walking frame with integral seat. Any advice, suggestions or comments would be ever so gratefully received. When I think of New York I think of busy traffic, the subway (which I don't use in the UK due to the amount of walking involved to get to it), yellow taxis (are they costly?)...

What are must-sees?

Then there's the rest of the world! I yearn to return to Venice, and to go to Turkey/Istanbul and to Granada in Spain, but I'm missing Greece and open to other suggestions. Am I spoiled for choice? Maybe. Over the past few years we've tended to take self-catering properties which are more family-friendly and flexible. I'd love to visit the Scilly Isles but you need to book up sp far in advance - years not months or weeks - because they are so popular. Rome has been suggested but I don't know how easy it would be to get around and I suspect hiring a car would not be a relaxing option there!

So, please, give me some information and ideas! Meanwhile, I'm glad not to be missing the glorious sight and smell of the wisteria over the fence.

Picture Puzzle

2010-04-28T22:38:00.002+01:00

These photographs were taken at the V&A yesterday. I had a delightful day in the company of friends who had travelled into London from Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent and Northumberland, all by train, and the focus of our gathering was the Quilts 1700 - 2010 Exhibition, although as well as each other, we hoped to see more exhibits.

This images are not from the quilts exhibition, nor any of the other galleries. Can you hazard a guess yet? I think the patterns and colours are exquisitely fascinating and very inspirational.

They put me in mind of these gilding flakes, especially those lower down the page,

The only solution I will give is the photo below, which I hope Gill will forgive me publishing here (she kindly took it and sent it to me today). My friends insisted I must see this wonderful tiled convenience by the restaurant rooms before my visit could be considered complete.

A Trip to Bath

2010-04-26T19:01:00.006+01:00

Last Thursday I was reading Threadspider's excellent blog, and learned about an interesting exhibition taking place, finishing last Sunday. My younger daughter is home from university at the moment and she was up for driving me there, so off we went, on the most beautiful sunny afternoon, through the Somerset Lake District to the splendour that is Bath. We parked near to Pulteney Bridge and this lovely Victorian Post Box, and made our way to the gallery - except I'd got the wrong gallery! But, it wasn't really too wrong, because it was hosting another excellent show, by Edwina Bridgeman. I love the way she is able to envisage extraordinary potential hidden in driftwood and other found objects to create wonderful figuative sculptures with simultaneously a very stylised but primitive element. One day, perhaps, I will own one of her creations.

We then made our way to the Octagon Gallery, where our original objective was located. We passed this alley, home to the Sausage Shop, among others, and somehow managed to walk past the entrance below - I thought it was a furniture shop!

Anyway, eventually we found our way inside and saw some amazing textile exhibits by Carole Waller (who curated this show), one of Alice Kettle's massive embroideries, covetable wraps and felted hangings by Liz Clay, wonderfully-cut women's clothes by Terry Macey and other artists were showing a very varied range of textile works.

Then it was time to return towards the car, stopping for refreshment at the Bridge Coffee Shop, where we were able to enjoy drinks and chat at a table looking out at this view of Pulteney Weir.

The late afternoon spring sun made fabulous contrasts on the newly-greening tree branches

and lit up the water flowing from the fountain. There was plenty to gladden the eye.

I really should go to Bath more often! Thanks, Threadspider, for the nudge.

Spring has Sprung!

2010-04-22T01:20:00.002+01:00

After our long, cold and miserable winter, it's such a joy to see the season change into a time of blue skies, birdsong, sunshine, buds bursting into blossom and leaf, and colourful flowers appearing all around us. The narcissi above and forget-me-nots below are in our village library garden, a lovely surprise beyond the black tarmac carpark there.

The akebia on the side fence by our front door is in flower, it's pretty chocolate-maroon flowers in shy, subtle clumps contrasting well with the rich green leaves it sports.

These snowflakes are blooming away in the front garden, around the base of the deep secret rosebush, like something from the flower fairy books of my childhood.

Two more pictures of the akebia, because I love it. It looks so exotic.

Of course, spring would not be complete without bluebells. There used to be a lot of them in my garden when we moved here but they are few and far between now, sadly.

My purple Snakeshead Fritillary seems to have gone the way of most of the bluebells but the white one is looking gorgeous. I think some new bulbs would be a good idea when the time comes, because it's another favourite of mine.

Why do weeds grow so much better than anything else? You can see that the dandelions are flourishing! Will have to get to work on those!

Bindweed is growing faster than anything else at the moment - it needs a daily patrol to pull out the new shoots and every year it proves a losing battle - it would be great if this year was the exception to the rule!

Yellow and blue - colours of spring

2010-03-28T22:30:00.002+01:00

Daffodils are flowering in the garden,

Trumpeting heralds for the new season.

They brighten the corner under the hazel bush, where the pond used to be and may well be again.

The sky is not the only place to see intense blues -

this gleams from under the still-bare walnut tree.

Spring at Lydiard House

2010-03-24T15:32:00.005Z

Lydiard Park waslooking very green and full of promise yesterday, with plenty of evidence of the new season's growth.

There were some delicate Hellebores waving in the damp breeze.

The clumps of snowdrops were much more abundant than the last time I visited.

New cyclamen leaves pushed up through last year's pine cones.

Even the moss growing on the stone walls looked lusher, greener and more abundant.

Supper in Swindon

2010-03-24T14:59:00.002Z

This is the School House Hotel and Restaurant in Hook, just outside Swindon. I spent Monday night there in this lovely converted building, which was built to educate the children of estate workers at nearby Lydiard House, coincidentally where I had a date the next day.

The large windows mark the spot of what was the school hall, now transformed into a restaurant where I enjoyed a really superb meal with my friends Maggie and Penny, and Penny's husband, John (who took the photo below of we three girls enjoying our main courses). Great company makes an evening go well, but so did the scrumptious dinner - I had a starter of salmon and scallop terrine on salad leaves, followed by loin of venison with mixed seasonal vegetables, and completed the olfactory adventure with a fabulous pannacotta with kirsch-steeped cherries - ecstacy!

The gluten free breakfast was equally excellent the next morning. We were looked after very well there, and I look forward to having the occasion to visit there again. The restaurant is open to non-residents - shame it's over an hour's drive from home!

Keema Mutter

2010-02-26T14:54:00.000Z

Yesterday I posted on Facebook that we were having Keema Mutter for dinner, and one of my friends asked me what it is. Well, it's delicious, and my leftovers, which were my lunch, looked like this:

The recipe I use is in a wonderful recipe book now sadly out of print, Indian Low Fat Cooking. This book contains the highest proportion of recipes tried, enjoyed and repeated than any other I possess, I think (with the possible exception of Delia's Complete Cookery Course, which is so used and battered that I rebound it when I took bookbinding classes and is looking sorry for itself again now). This one used minced beef but it is also good (and more traditional) with minced lamb, and minced turkey works well and very economically, too. A similar recipe can be found here but my version omits the bay leaves and peppercorns, and also the oil: you add the meat, onions, tomatoes and spices (garlic, ginger, chilli, turmeric, garam masala and cumin seeds)all at once to the pan without fat/oil or browning and cook for about half an hour, then add frozen peas, chopped green chilli or pepper and coriander leaves about ten minutes before serving, and we serve with basmati rice.
My local excellent Indian takeaway uses chick peas instead of green peas, which makes a change, but I like green peas with it very much.

So now you know what Keema Mutter is, if you were wondering; if not, no one asked you to read this anyway! But if you want a delicious home made indian style low fat supper, give this one a try some time!

Green Day: Charity Shop Haul

2010-02-26T13:33:00.006Z

Such is the economic climate that the village next to ours, where I go to use the bank, has not one, but two, charity shops. Yesterday I visited both and came back somewhat laden!

First was this sweet glass vase which may be cut lead crystal. The design is of ears of wheat, and it's a great size for a few flowers from the garden, when the time comes.

I think this pressed glass dish is so pretty, it was totally irresistable and had to come home with me. I don't know why, this pattern looks somewhat Victorian or eastern European but I'm probably wrong. If anyone knows anything about it or the vase above, please let me know.

It's on the table at the moment but I should clear the sideboard to make space for it there. It looks pretty on the table, though, as it catches the sunlight coming through the window.

Another item I couldn't resist was this owl pot. It was sitting on a shelf holding knitting needles so I wasn't sure if it was for sale, but it was so I bought it. I think it could hold my knitting needles or crochet hooks instead. I have quite a collection of owly bits and pieces andthelittle cupboard I keep most of them in is full to bursting, but I'll find a place for this because I love it.

I also fell in love with this kingfisher blue knitted lace scarf, which suffers a little from being square rather than rectangular, but is lovely and soft on the neck. I couldn't leave that behind either.

I found this vintage embroidered linen runner languishing on a rail and have ideas for it, too.

I also brought home some mending!

This stunning crochet lace tablecloth is dazzling white but some of the joins between motifs have come undone, so it needs some tlc and attention.

One day, when the chicks have all flown, I harbour ambitions to use proper table linen instead of oilcloth - which may be misguided, but maybe the dream will be realised!

I have also struck very lucky on Freecycle recently, which may help with the display of my treasures.

I was frustrated by a lack of storage in our refurbished sitting room, and was delighted to succeed in freecycling this cupboard/display cabinet. The people we obtained it from had freecycled it themselves from someone in a neighbouring village, and although it is rather battered and needs some refinishing, it is a handsome beast with proper wooden drawers and backing.

The following week a similar item was advertised on Freecycle and it sounded very like. Again my bid was successful and I went to collect it, expecting it was one of the pair that had been offered but refused by the people we'd collected from the previous weekend. In fact, not. It was identical, but the new donors had bought it from new in the place of manufacture, J. Sutcliffe and Son, when they first married. Isn't that the most amazing coincidence? So my best beloved has another project lined up for him now, when the weather warms up a bit, and then we will have somewhere to display some treasures and store games and other entertainments. It's been a good month for recycling!

Suffolk Walls

2010-02-22T22:48:00.000Z

A trip this weekend to Kedington near Haverhill in Suffolk meant a number of treats, but unexpected or forgotten was the prospect of seeing pargetted walls on houses. These traditional patterns and textures on plaster walls can also be seen in North Essex, and I'd not previously associated it with Suffolk for some reason

I liked this traditional festoon of grape vines transected by a satellite television dish wire. I had noticed signposts to a vineyard not too far away on my journey.

This pattern reminded me of scallop shells, a motif sometimes adopted by pilgrims, but now I look out into my hallway I see a similar pattern on the embossed wallpaper out there.

This last photo might show up better if you click on it to enlarge, but it was hard to get a good image in the light if the late afternoon on my way home. It was really spectacular to see. Then I travelled back home as the sun dropped, sad to miss other photo opportunities of a stunning sky backlighting lines of naked trees in field-dividing hedgerows as I sped back towards the motorway and London, and the home of my childhood.

Magic Dining Chair Travelling

2010-01-11T15:58:00.000Z

This weekend we braved the snow and ice to travel to Japan. Well, we ate Japanese - in Weston-super-Mare, at Yo-ji restaurant. Yum was the verdict. I especially recommend the grilled scallops and the black sesame seed ice cream. I'm looking forward to visiting Japan - at Yo-ji - again, soon!

2009-11-05T12:13:00.000Z

Last week we spent a few days with my Mum, and enjoyed visiting her new local supermarket. It is not one of the national chains, but a small London-based group of shops which specialise in Cypriot products.

The visit gave me the opportunity to eat some fresh figs, and these are the before pictures. The satisfied smiles that would have been in the after pictures you'll just have to imagine!

Stunning Skies

2009-10-25T18:47:00.002Z

Driving from Enfield towards Edmonton in London today, we travelled under a dramatic cloudscape, with the sun concealed but rays radiating from the gaps. These photos are taken from a moving car so do not catch the true beauty or drama of what my eyes saw, but, oh my, it was beautiful.

Later, this was the upward scenery in Lloyd Park, Walthamstow, London, behind the William Morris Gallery: prettier, more delicate, another type of beauty.

The trees are really hanging onto their leaves this autumn!

Happy Egg Producer

2009-10-23T13:38:00.000+01:00

I got off my sofa today to go and see my doctor, who pronounced my throat typical of one with a viral infection so to keep taking the analgesics, warm drinks and rest. Before returning home, I made a visit to the farm where I buy free-range eggs fresh from the hens, who like to see who their customers are. Now I'm back to the sofa, my Christmas knitting, and armchair travelling.

British Museum

2009-10-18T22:58:00.000+01:00

Last Sunday my Mum and I made a visit to the fascinating British Museum.

We were there to see the fascinating Garden and Cosmos exhibition on its last day - art from the Court of Jodhpur, a collection of exquisitely detailed and coloured paintings which deserved much attention and close examination, so we made a slow progress.

Afterwards, we sat in the covered Courtyard - a first time for both of us - and enjoyed refreshment and people-watching while we decided what to do next.

Drinks consumed, we concluded that seeing anything else would be too much, so made our way back through a sunny London late afternoon, with part of our imaginations still in Indian palaces and gardens...

Gorgeousness in the Garden

2009-10-18T22:21:00.005+01:00

It may be autumn, but the wonderfully sunny and mild autumn we are having is allowing an extra period of colour and loveliness in the garden. The kaffir lilies are always welcome at this time of year, but how good they look bathed in sunlight, which reveals a pearlescent quality to their petals I'd not noticed before.

Astrantia is another favourite of mine, and here is one plant, blossoming its little heart out.

In contrast, the dahlia shouts out its fiery colours and flame-like petals, a patch of intense heat in the flower-bed.

The delphinium has spent the summer sheltered in deep shade under the walnut tree and, now that the leaves are falling, has decided that its time to shine has come. I think it might need to be moved next year: it is very leggy and the lovely delphinium blue is rather unseasonal right now.

Close by, this rose is having another flush of flowers, another flame red pool of warmth.

Love in a Mist is triumphing in the high jump over the rest of the "field" - of weeds.

Of course, it is harvest time. The roses are forming lovely red hips.

Apples on the tree - we harvested them today. Last winter they provided a winter feast for a family of mice in the garage, so we won't be storing them in there again.

The strawberry tree is flowering again as its fruit ripens, still yellow rather than strawberry red.

Another glorious swansong of pink, rosy lushness gladdens my heart.

Magic Sickbed Travelling

2009-08-24T14:41:00.002+01:00

Flu is never fun, but flu in the summer seems particularly unjust, when you have to be tucked up in bed while others are out enjoying the weather, the countryside, the Festival of Quilts, Fibrefest.... Flu plus Tamiflu is especially not fun, but I won't go into further details: it beats flu and asthma and chest infections, just about, on balance.

My best-beloved hasn't been able to do the necessary tucking in, either. Just before we left our idyllic interlude in Austria, we heard (via Facebook!) that his mother had taken a fall on arrival in Istanbul for a week's package trip with her two daughters. She is 87 and had broken her hip. After a few days of agonising, he made a trip to see her. Happily, she was given a joint replacement and a new lease of life, and he was thrilled to see her and his sisters again.

Facebook was amazing, actually, putting us in touch with two people in Istanbul, friends of virtual friends, who were available and happy to give what help and support they could, and we are so grateful. Facing the unexpected in a country where you know no-one and do not speak the language is a terrifying ordeal, especially when it is more or less life-and-death serious. It helped so much to have contacts on the ground.

Anyway, back to my sickbed... Laptops with wireless internet certainly make coping with illness far easier, even to the extent of conversing with one's teens downstairs! I even got my diagnosis and medication prescription on line. Interludes between sleeping and misery have been spent catching up on such delights as "Jam and Jerusalem" and "Desperate Romantics" via BBC i-player, I've kept in touch via Google Reader, e-mail and news websites. I've even indulged in a very modest amount of shopping on-line in compensation for missing FoQ and Fibrefest.

I have always taken comfort in a good book or ten during spells in bed, and I've just finished a brilliant read: "The Telling" by Jo Baker. Is it a ghost story? It is well-written, engaging and thought-provoking, but not in a heavy way. I requested it (on line) from my local library, or I'd offer to lend it out, so I'll just have to recommend it. I'm now starting her previous book, "The Mermaid's Child", which promises to be similarly pleasurable.

My best beloved returned home on Saturday, relieved and happy that his Mum is doing so well and full of promises that we should return to visit Istanbul soon (and after all my Ottoman reading earlier in the year, that would be such a joy and fulfil an ambition). He returned to take a big bag of laundry to the launderette in town, some miles away, as of course the washing machine came out in sympathy with me, unblock the vacuum cleaner (ditto) and replenish the larder and fridge, much depleted by our mile-a-minute vine of a boy and going-to-Kent-Uni-in- September daughter, but not much by me. However, I did get a bottle of Lucozade and a bunch of red roses. What a star!

Restful Retreat in Austria

2009-08-03T17:21:00.001+01:00

I'm lucky to be staying on a farm in Lower Austria, complete with artist's studio where my friend, Sara Lechner, makes her wonderful textile creations. The air is clean and fresh, there are fresh vegetables and fruit growing around us and the hens scratch around the house, then lay richly-yolked eggs. We are close to alpine countryside and lovely lakes. We are sleeping too much but it is good! I will blog more soon. It is good to be doing more real travelling instead of the magic armchair variety,and I am so grateful that this visit has been possible.

A Retreat

2009-07-24T12:58:00.003+01:00

I spent last week, with thirteen friends, at Urchfont Manor in Wiltshire. We are all keenly interested in textiles and art, and we all craved an opportunity to devote to developing our friendships, learning from each other, and having time, away from other duties and distractions, to devote to our own creative journeys.

Urchfont proved a wonderful opportunity to do all these things, in wonderfully inspiring surroundings. The gardens are glorious, the grounds spacious, and there is room to be together and to be in one's own space, when that is wanted.

The food we were served was superb, quite apart from the luxury of being fully catered for throughout the day, with no worries about what to prepare, or clearing up the dishes. A week free of domesticity - what delight!

All too soon, it was time to return to our everyday lives, but with our creativity well-refreshed, new techniques to add to our armouries and the knowledge that friendship is one of the greatest gifts of all. Thank you, my friends, for the good times shared.

Youthful Spirit at Glastonbury

2009-07-07T23:32:00.003+01:00

Anna Plays Glastonbury

2009-07-07T22:17:00.002+01:00

Is this the Pyramid Stage we see before us?

Possibly, but relocated to the glorious Glastonbury Abbey for a day of celebrations on the occasion of the 1100th Anniversary of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Youthful Spirit, the gospel choir my daughter (fourth from the right) belongs to, was requested to perform by the Bishop, Peter Price, and this photo was taken during their third set.

A wonderful time was had by all, performers (Adam's Apple, an excellent jazz trio who played very different arrangements of hymn tunes, and Lyrica, who paid homage to the Andrew's Sisters as well as Youthful Spirit) and audience (of a number of bishops, church dignitaries, friends and families of the performers, and local people. The weather was kind to us all, too.

This all took place within sight of the famous tor (despite this prominent waymark, we managed to get lost by taking a wrong turning at Wells, and made the journey via Shepton Mallett, which meant we passed through the village of Pilton which had, the previous weekend, hosted the more highly-profiled Glastonbury Festival, and saw the barriers still snaking across the hills).

The abbey must have been amazing before it was ruined. As it is, it is majestic, and the atmosphere is usually beautifully peaceful and conducive to contemplation.

These ancient stones must have witnessed a great deal over the centuries. The music that echoes off them on 4th July 2009 was truly a joyful celebration.

The light was beautiful, too. I'm so glad it stayed dry for the occasion.

Anna and her backing singers

2009-06-30T11:25:00.001+01:00

My daughter, Anna, was very brave and sang a solo at the Singer's Concert held by her singing teacher, Elizabeth Glen, at St. Andrew's Church in Congresbury. They performed "Midnight Train to Georgia" and it was amazing. So was the whole concert - so much varied talent from one small area. What a shame we only realised she had this wonderful voice so late in her school career. I hope she'll have the opportunity to continue singing and learning this discipline at university.

Anna is wearing the purple satin dress I'd spent the previous few days making.

Sarah's Graduation

2009-06-30T11:05:00.000+01:00

Last Friday we went to attend Sarah's graduation ceremony at Oxford Brookes University, accompanied by her brother and her boyfriend, Joe.

We drove through heavy rain but luckily the afternoon remained dry: it was very hot in the marquee and it would also have been a crush if everyone had had to crowd in out of the rain.

There were a lot of proud parents, grandparents and some very relieved and high-spirited begowned and bemortared students.

Also a lovely flower arrangement!

Anna sadly didn't come with us, as it was her Year 13 Ball in Bristol that evening.

About New York: Plates

2009-06-12T18:37:00.000+01:00

About New York: Plates

Plates

2009-06-12T16:52:00.006+01:00

I'm breaking my blogging hibernation once more at the behest of Elizabeth. This time, her invitation was to share our tableware: "Somehow our choice of plates says things about us. We all have ones we love for sentimental reasons or maybe they are to do with aspirations - or whatever". Now I'm expecting some perfectly gorgeous and exquisite crockery will be displayed during this serial tour through the display cabinets, sideboards and cupboards of this world-wide virtual community, and am a little abashed by the ordinariness of mine - but I guess that "everyday" is the point. I recall reading an article about the wonderful potter, John Leach who said he enjoyed, in choosing which mug he was going to take his morning tea or coffee in, deciding which potter he was going to have a conversation with. I know that one wonderful feature of our holiday in Skye, some years ago, was having the use of plates and such made just down the road at the Edinbane Pottery, and indeed my husband bought a mug for himself there, which is one of his favourites to drink from.

So, here are my usual dinner plates, Blue Imperial by Denby. I like their clean lines, the pure white field on which to place the food we eat, and that they have a blue rim (I love blues, in case by now, dear reader, you had not guessed).

We have quite a collection of various items in this design but have never manged to have a full set...

The plates below are part of the Portmeirion Botanic Garden range. I have owned a number of the side plates and sort of collect the different designs, but over the years and the children a lot have been broken and I would like to replace them but haven't got round to it - they are not cheap. I like the pretty flower portraits they portray and used to dream of having a kitchen dresser in a country cottage to display them on, but that's not what life has brought me, nor is it what I want any more (dusting - yeuch!). I use these every day, for lunch, breakfast toast or cakes, and they still please me.

Last Satuday I had cause to visit the little seaside town of Clevedon, and called in at the Fizz Gallery, where I saw the most delightful plates and mugs. I have a liking for images of owls, so this plate:

and this mug

came home with me as a special treat, for me to enjoy using. They are decorated by an artist called Nadia Sparham, with whom I foresee some pleasant lunchtime "conversations".

The plate below is for walls rather than tables, and has sentimental value. It belonged to my Gran. She had a great sense of humour and I think of her whenever I see it.

Another plate/bowl, which I believe to be beautiful rather than useful, to paraphrase William Morris. I love the contrast between the metallic slip and the plainer stoneware, and the sinuous, graceful spiral which adorns it.

It is by Simon Rich, in a style he now seems to have moved away from. I'm so glad to have it to enjoy.

So there you have it - these are what you'll have food served upon if you visit my humble home, and an everyday part of my life. I don't know what they say about me...

Thanks, Elizabeth, for suggesting this theme!

Haiku Festival

2009-05-11T21:47:00.004+01:00

Elizabeth of About New York invited me to participate in this festival today, so here is my offering:-

leaves luminously
green the land in fresh raiment -
birdsong rejoices

Visit About New York to see other contributions - why not have a go and write your own, then leave a comment on Elizabeth's blog so others can visit you to see it? Enjoy!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T17:48:00.000+01:00

Visiting Rousham

2009-04-10T16:04:00.023+01:00

For three years, my daughter and I have promised ourselves a trip to see the gardens at Rousham, and last week we had the opportunity and the good weather, so off we went. We drove through the archway above into the car park, after driving through the Oxfordshire countryside and Costwold stone villages which looked their best in the spring sunshine.

We walked back through the passageway to the ticket machine and to pick up a guide leaflet.

The ceiling was beautifully vaulted in the mellow golden stone.

A grand house it is at Rousham, not normally open to the public.

Within rolling parkland, the house has a manicured "island" providing sheltered spots for planting.

There are many niches containing statuary of a classical nature.

We saw mysterious doors leading who-knows-where,

plenty of architectural detail

until, having walked some way around the house

We came to a gap in the well-trimmed yew hedge and

A glorious ornate iron gate which led into a large walled garden.

We walked under the pergola

And enjoyed the water music of the fountain playing in the pond.

There were views of a dovecote

and a church spire from the path by the fruit trees.

It was early in the season but, here and there, were lovely spring flowering bulbs, like these muscari, or grape hyacynths.

Whoever designed this garden liked to frame views.

Luscious hosta leaves seemed untouched by slugs.

Steps with primroses led up to a higher level.

In the next garden area were furry-budded magnolia trees

and paper bark maple trees.

This seemed a highly desirable and picturesque residence for doves, as well as a useful source of guano as a natural fertilizer.

The knot garden was well-kept but, as yet, a little bare.

More doves viewed the estate from the weather vane on the main house roof.

Another view of the pergola, with a flowering ribes in the foreground.

There was a row of auriculae sheltering on the windowsill of the potting shed

and some pretty pots of tulips by the greenhouse.

An obelisque/odalisque led the way to another part of the gardens

dotted with more statuary

beautiful still-bare trees towering above the river

and a path divided by a rill

leading to a pond overlooked by a grotto

and then on to a stone arcade

with places to sit and enjoy the sylvan views under more vaulted roofing.

Mercury showed off his balancing skills.

This long-horned cow escorted us back around the house on the other side of the haha.

There was an intriguing staircase leading upwards

and a gatehouse resplendent with its own knot garden and some extremely elegant chimneys.

On this Thursday afternoon we nearly had the place to ourselves, enjoying the birdsong, fresh air and sunshine as well as the specific delights of Rousham itself. I'm so glad we got there at last.

Breathing Space in London

2009-04-02T10:15:00.001+01:00

Some of my work is on exhibition in London today!

Here is the lovely Emily Wyatt and some members of the Yeo Dance Company, who will be performing at the Mermaid Theatre this afternoon and wearing costumes designed by me and made by me with the assistance of a dozen volunteer stitchers. This project has taken over my life for the past six weeks. More photos of the costumes can be found here. Now I have a breathing space of my own, in the magic armchair with my knitting, as I plan my next creative escapade.

Hellebores

2009-03-23T18:07:00.001Z

Aren't these lovely? Our local nursery is running their own breeding programme for Lenten Roses and had these gorgeous blooms on display yesterday when we visited. Spoilt for choice, we actually brought home some hollyhocks, a lupin and two camellias (one white, one red, to join the pink one currently delighting us in our garden). However, the hellebores are very seductive and I may yet succumb to a few

Change and Progress

2009-02-27T14:04:00.003Z

I have been a very remiss blogger recently. However, here is one of the things that has been keeping me occupied: the long-overdue redecoration and refurbishment of our living room. It is a long way from finished, but I thought I'd reveal how far we've got in the process.

The living room is the largest in our 60s chalet bungalow. It overlooks the back garden and is south facing. Visitors have, over the years, been witness to squareas of paint on the walls as we auditioned various possibilities while living with the increasingly worn and grubby buff or magnolia walls and cream beige carpet we'd inherited when we moved in. We could no longer ignore that the carpet pile had worn down to the backing, and the underlay in heavy traffic areas had totally disintegrated. The time had come to bite the bullet, reconsider our options and get on with it.

This is not quite a "before" collage, but shows the room in January, when we had removed the carpet to the dump and started filling the cracks and imperfections on the walls.

We had previously made some choices: we replaced the dominating stone fireplace with something more compact and modern, with a lovely slate hearth. We had also purchased some Anaglypta Fibretex wallpaper, as I fancied grass paper but decided that this was a good, tough textiley alternative (it is no longer available under this brand as far as I can tell, but googling glass fibre wallcoverings will come up with similar, if not identical, products). At the same time,we had scrim-taped the cracks in the ceiling between plasterboards, then papered with a textured paper and painted it in a silk finish white paint to try to reflect more light into the room. At that point, the process ground to a halt for whatever forgotten reasons were relevant at the time and we procrastinated once again.

Spending a lot of time in this room (home of the Magic Armchair, indeed), I felt the combination of patterned paper on the ceiling with patterned "paper" on the walls would be too much texture, and the textured ceiling married to the paint finish created an oppressive surface.

Now, we decided to strip the ceiling and repaper with a thick, plain lining paper before painting it with the Dulux Light and Space paint in white. We took advantage of the sales to order some leather seating in navy and an axminster carpet in a lovely colour named "Clay Pot". A number of tester pots in shades of creaminess later, we fixed on a warm pinky-yellowish shade of Light and Space called Sun Swirl. Flu and a bad back made us see the sense of getting someone in to do the paper stripping and hanging, which was done over five days by the lovely Bernie. Then came half term (and a trip to London).

We just managed to complete all the painting before the men came yesterday to lay the carpet, and today we had oak doors fitted (which will be oiled to match the finish of the mirror on the chimney breast). These replace the flush panel original doors of the house, which were much battered and cracked by misuse (slamming).

This weekend will hopefully see (apart from some much-needed relaxation and recuperation) the installation of new lighting and playing with the layout of various key pieces of furniture as we do not expect the seating for about another month to six weeks or so. We are also awaiting delivery of a roman blind rail before we can install the curtain rail we have in readiness for the curtains I will make after other, more pressing, sewing projects, and we need to look out for some storage furniture and lamp tables and some art pieces for the walls.

I also need to do a very large amount of sewing (which is another story) and also investigate bathroom fittings, thanks to a leaky loo and its consequences. Never a dull moment!

Farewell, 2008

2008-12-31T16:18:00.002Z

Another year has rushed by, a new one hovers just over the horizon. It's fascinating to see and read evaluations of the year in blogland. I'm not going to do that here. Instead, I'm sharing my photos of a recent sunset, which seems quite appropriate for today.

I wish you all a very happy, healthy, creative and contented 2009.

Happy Christmas and a Joyful New Year

2008-12-30T11:13:00.000Z

Oh, dear. Six weeks have passed since I last took you travelling with me in the magic armchair. The armchair has been languishing because I've been tucked up in bed for a lot of the time, in the company of a couple of fluey bugs which have made the tail end of 2008 rather miserable. I'm hopeful that now this episode is over and I can start anew with 2009, with careful pacing, being more productive and having some fun. I am grateful that 2008 has given me opportunities to visit some wonderful places and meet treasured friends as well as rise to new challenges. We may be in an economic recession, but I am rich in the things that matter, for which I am grateful.

A Week in Essaouira - 3: Doors 2

2008-11-16T18:57:00.012Z

Many doorways have doors-within-doors, as above and below.

My husband told me that this was the door into the women's mosque but, as a non-moslem, entry was still forbidden to me.

Lovely carved plasterwork (gep) above blue and white tiles and studded blue door.

A door to a shop or a workshop, close to the ancient ramparts - matched by my son's t-shirt!

Another beautiful pair we stumbled upon in the maze of medina streets.

The entrance to the artisanal school and workshops by the Bab (Gate) Marrakesh.

And a lovely defunct doorway arch in an alleyway by the old (pink) medina walls, beside the Villa Maroc.

A Week in Essaouira - 2: Doors 1

2008-11-16T17:19:00.001Z

Essaouira is a town of white and blue. Doorways often feature these colours, though not invariably....

A coastal town, it's buffeted by the Atlantic winds and this results in wonderfully weathered paintwork - although the door owners might not agree with the wonderful...

The streets are quite easy to navigate as Essaouira as we now know it was built on the European grid system, but the town maintains a certain mystery, secrets behind its doors.

There's something so organic about the colours. They echo the colour of sky and cloud, of sea and foam.

You never know what lies around the corner, let alone behind the doors.

The lovely zellige tiling is less commonly seen in Essaouira than in the Cinnamon City, Marrakesh, but still it exists here and there.

A Week in Essaouira - 1

2008-11-10T11:49:00.007Z

The door to Dar Zette

After the wet and grey summer in England (and Wales, where we spent a fortnight) we were feeling very sun-deprived. We decided to push out the boat and have another break away from home, hoping to boost our vitamin D in preparation for the winter. A new flight route between Bristol and Marrakech made Morocco an easier possibility, and some research turned up a lovely and available villa, Dar Zette. Essaouira appealed because it is on the coast, it has the reputation for being more laid-back than Marrakech, and without the pushiness and mopeds in the souks, and because my blogging friend Elizabeth loves it there, and she has wonderful taste.

We actually took the very first flight to Marrakech from Bristol, and there were celebrations: Ryanair had provided Morrocan pastries and hors d'eouvres by the check in desks (sadly with no gluten-free options) and also belly dancers, whose music we heard as we queued for security but regrettably otherwise missed. I'm not sure that we were really expected when we arrived at the other end, as traffic control required us to circle the city some six or so times before we were allowed to land. This was actually quite interesting as I was beginning to find inspiration in the patterns on the dessert and the cultivated areas of land, and was about to request my camera from the overhead locker when we were given clearance and a slot. The first passengers off the plane were filmed for local television so maybe the cameraman was delayed getting to the airport.... The air was pleasantly warm as we stepped out of the plane and onto Moroccan soil.

Anyway, we were there and all went smoothly if slowly. I had wheelchair assistance at the airport and was whizzed through passport control but then was parked for about three quarters of an hour while the rest of the family made their way through the queues at immigration/passport control. Eventually we were reunited and we found our driver for the journey to the coast.

The drive takes about two and a half to three hours, through a slowly changing landscape. The city gives way to the garden centres of the suburbs and then to red-soiled land punctuated by farms, settlements and little towns, trees and earth-built walls, the odd berber tent and goats. Eventually the earth began to turn paler with flecks of white. We stopped for a comfort break in a small town whose name I never discovered, and a bite to eat (most welcome, after breakfast at 4 a.m.), Then on, through roadworks due to an upgrading of the road surface, and pausing at a viewpoint to admire the lovely view over Essaouira and the sea. Essaouira reflected the colours of the locality: most buildings are white with blue paintwork, within the red medina walls. We arrived at Bab Marrakesh, to be met by Foued and fought over by two porters who wished to carry our baggage the short distance to the Dar. Foued sorted out this squabble and we were duly whisked along the street a short distance, to turn off the street into a covered alleyway and at the end stood the door to our home-for-a-week.

Moroccan houses contain secret treasures inside plain trappings, and Dar Zette was no different. The door opened through an arch into the courtyard, a quiet haven despite being only a few yards from one of the Medina's main streets. The white-painted walls, blue fountain, pretty central olive tree and warm terracotta floor tiles created a cool and calm atmosphere. We were welcomed by our maid, Sadir, and through Foued we arranged for her to cook us a tagine for dinner that evening. We were a little alarmed to be told that the water was cut off due to an explosion, but this turned out to be a mistranslation and there had been a burst water main, which cut off the water supply to all the town. We were assured that work was underway to restore the water, and meanwhile we had bottles of drinking water in the fridge.

So now all we had to to was to choose our bedrooms, settle in and make ourselves at home, explore and relax and look forward to eating the delicious tagine of chicken with lemons and olives being prepared for our delight.

Waltham Abbey

2008-10-24T18:39:00.005+01:00

Waltham Abbey is a very special place to me: it is somewhere I have known and loved for most of my life. I used some of it as inspiration for my City and Guilds Design Study on walls, and I love the visible history of repurposing demolished areas in building new walls, rough edges evidencing previous structures and the way that different elements have weathered and worn.

It is a building that has a lot of history, as you can read on Barbara's blog and here.

On this occasion, I visited in the company of two princesses: Sara Lechner, who was visiting the UK for the occasion of the Knitting and Stitching Show, and my own Sarah (elder daughter). It's always good to share special places, especially when those being introduced get why it is special, and that magic was with us on this occasion.

We went inside as well, but I do not have photographs as my daughter was doing photographer duty. The interior is lovely, and also lovely is the fact that it is a very obviously living church as well as a historic monument.

I feel that I must soon revisit the artwork I produced in response to the Abbey and see what it inspires now, nearly a decade later.

It was a wonderful visit.

Looking Up

2008-10-20T10:13:00.002+01:00

I had a long weekend away from home, staying with my Mum.

The weather was remarkably sunny and warm for the time of year.

I went to the same place two days in a row.

Some shading was definitely necessary.

So where was I?

Alexandra Palace, for the London Knitting and Stitching Show

A Night Out

2008-10-01T15:23:00.003+01:00

Because of my health problems, I don't get out a lot, but DH and I have been trying to get out once a week for a "date". We've seen films and had meals out together, but we decided to try a concert/gig as Sam Sparro was playing at the Colston Hall, and I've been enjoying listening to his album recently.

On the way in, I saw this graffiti portrait on a wall opposite one of the entrances to the Colston. It reminded me of a series of faces we used to see around Bristol a few years ago. (You can click on the picture for a bigger image with more detail).

There were two support acts, starting with a few numbers by MPHO, and then the very lively Sneaky Sound System, who really know how to work an audience. Like Sam Sparro, they originated in Australia. We weren't quite the oldest in the auditorium, but even I had heard some of their songs before.

I really did feel old, though. I'm no stranger to the visceral experience of pounding bass levels at live gigs, but unless the sound engineers are all severely deaf but lacking in insight, I cannot understand the reason or the point of balancing the sound channels in such a way that the vocals are all but lost in a cacophony of sound so extreme that it seems close to white noise.

By the time Sam Sparro was into his third number, the levels seemed to have been somewhat sorted and it was less painful, but the damage had been done to our ears, despite makeshift ear plugs to reduce the penetrative volume, and the tinnitus persisted for the rest of the night.

It could have been so much better, if only the sound levels had been appropriately managed - or is it just me? But I still enjoyed Black and Gold. I just need to replace the painful memories by listening to the CD again.

Oh: so true

2008-09-12T09:45:00.000+01:00

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
- e e cummings

Food Festival

2008-09-08T20:16:00.002+01:00

This last weekend Bristol hosted The Soil Association's Festival of Organic Food, which took place on the Harbourside.

There were many visitors. Apparently on Saturday, there were more visitors despite the rain, but it seemed busy enough to me. There were many stalls providing tasting samples: everything from chilli chocolate to green tea. Dove's Farm had run out of wares to sell in all but a few of their lines, and most vendors were doing a roaring trade. I had the excitement of being able to buy a burger in a bap for my lunch - because these were no ordinary baps, but made from spelt flour, and totally delicious.

As well as food products, there were textiles, too. There were glorious tweed and woollen products from the Isle of Mull, Fair Trade clothing, organic knitting wools... Even an opportunity to do some knitting.

I have to say that this knitting required great determination, and a certain amount of upper limb strength. It felt rather like rowing, so provided a workout as well as an output. These were no ordinary knitting needles, but Guinness World Record Knitting Needles. I was proud of my achievement of completing a whole row of knitting on them!

It's not surprising, in retrospect, that I awoke with painful shoulder joints this morning. Perhaps using these needles should be incorporated into the Olympic Team's training for 2012!

Village

2008-09-05T13:21:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, between showers, I popped in for a chat with my friend.

She has been here for 18 months now, but I like to keep in touch. It's also an opportunity to revisit the memories of others I have known within our community but who are no longer with us in the flesh. There is a wooden bench situated under the oak tree, where I sat for a while and communed. It seemed fitting that I could hear the children from the village primary school enjoying their lunchtime play on their first day back, separated from the graveyard by just one little field of grass. All of life was there.

On the grass, pearled by the last shower, was this small twig of oak with turning leaves, presumably pruned from the tree by the winds of the previous night. I thought it lovely. Clare would have appreciated it, so I left it on her grave.

Back towards the church and my car, I passed the memorial stone to another friend's parents, who died a year apart, and spent a moment remembering them.

The church itself bore witness to happier celebrations, with this lovely floral arch decorating the doorway (somewhat buffeted by the wind, but still glorious).

Heavenly Drama

2008-09-02T16:54:00.000+01:00

We're not getting the best weather this summer, and now the days are growing noticably shorter and the walnut leaves are browning and beginning to fall. I am always nostalgic for summer, especially when we've not had much of one, as this year. However, this sky reminded me of one of the benefits of autumn, which is a tendency for dramatic sunset skies to appear. I love the contrast of the peachy day-glo pink with the deep,rich blue grey of the clouds and the paleness of the bare sky beyond, and the wispy cloud forms layered textile-like into a collage of colour and texture.

Home for Two Weeks

2008-08-21T14:12:00.001+01:00

We spent two weeks in North Wales for our summer holiday, and these are pictures taken of and around our home for that time. The cottage is in a small village set in a beautiful verdant valley, with hills grazed by sheep and a bridge over the River Elwy, which we saw was enjoyed as much as a beach, with people paddling, fishing, picnicking and sunbathing.

The location was only a few miles inland of the coast but sufficiently isolated to have no mobile signal reception - except if you were on Vodaphone, which we weren't. There was no computer connection, either, so it was a very peaceful, away-from-it-all fortnight.

The cottage was once two, and built one room deep so that we could enjoy views in two directions from most of the rooms.

We were very comfortable there and it was a most restful place to be.

Animal Crackers

2008-08-19T13:10:00.008+01:00

We recently spent two weeks in North Wales, and during that time made an excursion to Liverpool. Our objective was the Klimt Exhibition at the Tate there, but we took advantage of our route to stop off at Port Sunlight and the Lady Lever Gallery. Port Sunlight is, like Bourneville in Birmingham, an amazingly spacious and pretty housing estate built to accommodate factory workers, in this case at the Sunlight Soap factory. Unlike Bourneville (for the Cadbury family supported the Temperance Movement) there were even local pubs, and additionally the amenity of this wonderful Art Gallery. I suspect that, these days, the houses go for a pretty price and that the estate is solidly middle class, but I'll need to investigate that history another time.

To my disappointment, the wonderful collection of embroideries was not on display, although I enjoyed seeing some Pre-Raphaelite paintings and sculptures. In the grounds, we encountered a strange modern sculpture, like an animal which resembled a sheep with a kangaroo's tail, painted all in sky blue, with white clouds dotted across its surface. It reminded me a little of Jeff Koon's Balloon Dog, which we saw in Venice on the Grand Union Canal two years ago. Inside the Museum Shop, I bought a book of the collection which included pictures of some embroideries, and as I queued to pay, noticed a booklet about the Superlambananas (for so these creatures are called) and added it to my shopping basket. As we were leaving I noticed a companion creature in different colours, across the road outside the Heritage Centre.

On the journey into Liverpool, I began to notice more of these creatures. We managed to park close to Albert Dock, and on our way in (outside the entrance to the Beatles Story) came to face to face with this:-

I have since discovered that the original Superlambanana was 17ft high, and created by Taro Chiezo as a protest or comment about genetic engineering. I think he was very generous to allow his idea to be translated into 2 metre high canvases for artists to decorate and they certainly inject colour and fun into the city landscape and engage people of many ages in this art-form. The variety is wonderful. It is even possible to buy your own Superlambanana to decorate or enjoy as is!

Last Friday, we had a mini outing to the City of Bath, and as we drove in, a sense of deja vu came over me. Small, colourful and decorated creatures appeared on pavements and in the playground at Victoria Park. We arrived in the city centre and soon made a closer acquaintance with one of these sculptures, and learned that, in Bath, they are not Superlambananas but King Bladud's Pigs.

Again, this was a community art project. Pigs were sponsored by local people (including Jamie Cullum) and businesses (the one above was sponsored by Wessex Water) and then decorated by artists (including Kaffe Fassett, Candace Bahouth and Brandon Mably).

Sometimes the sponsors had a say in the decoration of the pig,

(this one was sponsored by Norland Nannies)

while others left it to the artists to choose how to colour and embellish the pig-canvas.

I like this Roman Pig with attitude - his name is Pignacius!

Again, it is possible to purchase your own pig to decorate and enliven your house or garden. I am quite tempted - I'd like one of each, really. There are also little ones for sale - piglets, I suppose.

Why pigs? Well, legend has it that King Bladud developed an unsightly disease of his skin (probably leprosy) and was cast out of court and the city and left to live his life in isolation as a swineherd. Unfortunately, the pigs developed the same disorder and were very uncomfortable. They found ease in bathing in mud and in water. They came across one particular spring and, when they bathed there, their skin healed. Bladud observed this and copied their example and was cured. He was able to return to his city, and the people made him king again. Thus Bath's reputation for healing waters was assured and many people have since followed the example of King Bladud in taking the waters there.

Following the Links tab on the King Bladud's Pigs site will introduce you to other, similar community art projects - including cows - now in eight cities(!), Elephants in Norwich and Bears in Berlin.

At the end of their exhibitions, in the autumn, the Superlambananas and Pigs of Bath will be auctioned off to raise funds for local projects.

Meanwhile, they've certainly brightened up a very dismal summer.

Overwhelmed

2008-08-11T13:32:00.002+01:00

Back from two weeks in North Wales, overwhelmed is what I'm feeling. Google Reader has caught 1000+ posts for me to enjoy. My e-mail box has over 300 messages. The piles of laundry, ironing and mail are all massive. I've many, many photographs to download - hundreds and hundreds. The landscapes were overwhelmingly beautiful. Meeting two of my friends was almost overwhelmingly pleasurable. Exploring has overwhelmed my energy reserves. Our house is overwhelmingly untidy and in need of some serious cleaning.

But it was very good.

A Bouquet of Roses

2008-07-19T12:01:00.000+01:00

From my garden.

Revisiting the Tadpole

2008-07-18T23:40:00.000+01:00

This little chap was hunting in the long grass of the lawn this evening, so was mustered for an inspection. So cute!

Hiatus

2008-07-12T10:53:00.004+01:00

Goodness me, it's two weeks since I last posted here, and my disappearance does not mean I've been off on travels, regrettably. It's been two more weeks of no energy and little voice, not to mention increasing frustration and fed-upness with myself.
The view from the Magic Armchair has often been like this:-

It's not so difficult to endure being almost housebound when the weather makes outside so uninviting.

I've been doing a lot of thinking work on textiles but not felt up to physically working on them. The rusted fabrics are calling to me and I would like to do more.
I have also been knitting a simple cardigan: one back and front are done so far. Also I've been doing a fair amount of armchair travelling on the laptop, trying to find out where we might be able to go for a holiday involving lots of rest and recreation, but we are having difficulties finding convenient dates for everyone, and accomodation availability. Hopefully that will be sorted soon. My poor husband is feeling very stressed at work and his back keeps playing up, so I think he needs a break rather urgently.

Next week Anna is off to Austria via Venice, for a singing tour ("Blessed")with her school Gospel Choir, Youthful Spirit, after they perform tomorrow at Wells Cathedral by request of the Bishop, at a garden party and service being held to celebrate a visit by Bishops from Africa.

Ben has a non-curriculum week at school too, with special activities including a visit to the Forest of Dean, so he'll have lots of fun.

Sarah, meanwhile, has completed her portfolio work and submitted everything, so is finished at university. She'll be in and out every few days for the next ten days or so, before needing to get down to the serious business of finding work. She has the misfortune of graduating just when the building trade is having a massive downturn, so this is easier said than done, but she has gained a scholarship place on a month-long international architecture forum in London, which is good for her CV, and has been putting out many feelers to find a position as an architectural assistant as well as looking at other related work experience she might gainfully take. Maybe it will be easier when her degree award is ascertained and finalised.

Another choral experience I will be enjoying is the new Saturday evening series on BBC1, Last Choir Standing. Last week we saw the audition stage, and it was thrilling to see so many enthusiastic choirs in such diverse styles. Some of the judges' choices may have been controversial, but there was some extraordinary talent revealed. I won't be able to sing along, but I'll enjoy the show anyway.

Tagged

2008-07-02T22:14:00.004+01:00

I've been tagged with a meme, by Jeni and it's taken me ages to complete.

1) LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATRE?

I saw some of Indiana Jones at the weekend but wasn't feeling well and kept falling asleep. I'm ashamed to say I woke myself up with a snore! Didn't fall asleep when I watched Proof on rental last week, though. Thought that was excellent.

2) WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?

Literally just finished "We Need To Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver. I found it a very slow read - it should have been one to take on holiday for that reason - but really good, different and thought-provoking. I'm sort of sad to have finished it, too - always a good recommendation for a book. I'll have to go to the library for some more books now. I'm also enjoying "Alabama Stitch Book" by Nancy Chanin for inspiration about stylish recycling of clothing, "From Image to Stitch" by Maggie Grey for inspiration for creating art and "The Art of Byzantium" by Thomas F. Mathews for inspiration.

3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?

I like Scrabble: much prefer word games to others. Also like Boggle, though it doesn't have a board.....

4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?

Are Blogs the new magazine? I sometimes think so. I like Embroidery, and often buy Stitch, too, and sometimes Classic Stitches. I subscribe to Workshop on the Web, too, which is an on-line equivalent, and I like the Thr3fold journals.

5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?

Honeysuckle, Roses, Ylang Ylang, Jasmine, Olive oil, the air when the rain stops, washing dried on the line, dinner cooking, Dior Addict, Dior Fahrenheit, babies.

6) FAVOURITE SOUNDS?

Birdsong, waterfalls, children playing make-believe games.

7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

Helplessness.
Also looking forward to doing something and then having to cancel or miss out due to being ill. (Because this happens a lot).

8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE?

What's the time? (I can sleep for Britain and through almost anything).

9) FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE?

Fast food is a difficult option when you can't tolerate wheat/gluten. I guess I tend to drop by a Sainsbury's salad bar to go, or find somewhere that serves baked potatoes or salads.

10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?

Been there, done that, got the stretch marks....! No more children, I've been pruned!

11) IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D……

Have a housekeeper. Build a house to my own design, incorporating the closest to carbon-neutrality I could get. Buy art. Travel (to India, Syria, Mauritius, Maldives, Granada, and lots of other places). Set up my in-laws with a home and a business near to us. Give to charity and fund effective research into ME, MND and Kidney Disease. Plant trees. Take lots of courses and workshops.

12) DO YOU DRIVE FAST?

Sometimes, but like Jeni, less so now that petrol costs so very much.

13) DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?

DH is sometimes an animal and he's very cuddly but I'd not call him stuffed.....

14) STORMS – COOL OR SCARY?

I've always found thunder storms exciting but I find strong winds increasingly scary.
Don't know why.

15) WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?

A red Vauxhall Viva.

16) FAVOURITE DRINK?

Tea. Apple juice with ginger. Rum and coke. Rioja (red or white).

17) FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…

This is a difficult one. Because I have so many problems with energy and fatigue, I tend to have the time but not the oomph to do things....

18) DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?

Yes

19) IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?

I'm not sure my colouring would work with another colour, but I'm sometimes attracted to the idea of purple or fuchsia hair. My pal Pauline has lovely white hair with turquoise (my favourite colour) extensions and that looks great. If I had white hair,I'd have fun with it, too.

20) NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN?

Highams Park (London), St. Katharine's Dock, Wapping (London), Stone (Aylesbury), Stewkley (Bucks), Bristol, Congresbury.

21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

I'm not a great sports spectator at all but will sometimes enjoy a good football match or the tennis if I'm in the mood.

22) ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

A clever, inspiring, creative and funny lady who dyes stunning fibres and I wish I saw more of. If I'm restricted to one thing, I'd have to say she's lovely.

23) WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?

Built in drawers with clothes and stuff in them. Doubtless dust, too.

24) WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??

Yes, but without the health problems, please.

25) MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?

Definitely a night owl.

26) OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?

I hate runny whites so it's over easy for me.

27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?

Bed, bath, sofa, Magic Armchair, garden, jacuzzi, steam room, in the sunshine, by a lake or the sea.....

28) FAVOURITE PIE?

Pies are another problem with a wheat/gluten free diet. So it has to be home made pear frangipane tart.

29) FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOUR?

Walnut, Almond or Pistachio, or rum and raisin. Or my home-made Greek yoghurt, almond and honey ice cream.

30) OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

Crumbs, I have to tag some people, too. Who is most likely to respond first? I don't know.

Two weeks later - still can't work out who to tag, so if you fancy answering these questions, please accept a tag and say so in a comment, then link to here when you make your post. Thank you! It doesn't take much to befuddle my brain at the moment, so any help is most gratefully received.

Invited to A Party!

2008-06-28T19:39:00.009+01:00

Well, I was going to give it a miss, reluctantly, because of my very sore throat and poorliness, but I can't miss out on all the fun. So I'll huddle up in the Magic Armchair with my mug of tea and quietly enjoy the celebrations for a little while.

I think the occasion warrants my wedding hat - almost a vintage Laura Ashley straw and lace, now!

Forgive the inelegance of a mug rather than cup and saucer, but I need copious quantities of warm liquid to soothe my sore throat: it's medicinal.

I think the party could last until Monday, so there's still plenty of time, even if I can't stay very long on this occasion. Check out here for details, and follow the links from there...

That Mad Hatter is one cool dude! Thanks for the invitation and for going to so much trouble, Vanessa. Happy Bloggiversary!

And Then the Sun Came Out

2008-06-28T16:39:00.005+01:00

I went to the hospital and it was quite a curious experience to hunt the clinic (for reception and even the WRVS shop were closed and boarded). The consultant was very pleasant and told me that there is nothing nasty going on with my throat. However, I've got into bad habits with my voice box and need speech to learn the good ones again to get my proper voice back rather than that produced by the false vocal cords. I also have an inflamed throat and it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation between that and the voice problems. So back to patient(ly) waiting, this time for speech therapy.

Meanwhile, the sun had come out. I decided to call at the venue I'll be exhibiting at next year for North Somerset Arts Week on the way home, to try to get a photograph for the Header of the Blog I'm setting up for us. It was a successful mission, as can be seen here. I met a lovely man called David who was planting out the Community Centre's garden for this year's Britain in Bloom Competition, hence the beautiful flora featured above, and the equally lovely Carol, Centre Manager, so was able to apprise them of my mission.

Then home again, for a rest and and a late lunch including some ice cream for my sore throat. There have to be some compensations in life!

Life in the Now

2008-06-28T09:48:00.002+01:00

Still here, still with little voice and sore throat. On Monday I had a letter inviting me to contact the local health services to arrange an appointment at an Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic. I was delighted to see an on-line option (because of the aforementioned voice problem) for the more convenient clinic location, only to discover that there were no appointments available. So that was very helpful, and I had to resort to the telephone and the other location. After five calls resulting in the engaged tone, I got through. Silent cheer! Held on for ages, trying not to mind the muzak regularly interrupted by the electronic lady telling me that their operatives were all busy and I could either hold on or call back later. After all the engaged tones earlier calls had resulted in, I decided to keep with it and eventually the phone gave me the voice of a real person who told me that I needed to call another number and ask for Clare! So I call the other number, get through first time, speak to not-Clare lady and then - oh joy! - Clare herself. Who tells me that there are no appointments available for the next five weeks, so they cannot give me an appointment until the consultants arrange more clinics.

:-(

In my innocence I assume this means I will not see a specialist for the next five weeks and that means perhaps another five-plus weeks of voicelessness. I wonder what to do, research local private provision and resolve to discuss this with my beloved.

I happened to need to visit my GP surgery, and decided to (whisperingly) tell them my tale of woe, as I understand the strangely random-seeming magic five weeks is associated with the contract requirements that currently govern our health services.
The lovely administration ladies tell me that, in fact, I should now be contacted within two weeks with an appointment, or their contract will have been broken and I should then let them know so that they can complain/sort it out. I also discuss (hoarsely) the possibility of writing to complain to the powers-that-be.

The very next day, I received a phone call from a lady from appointments to offer me an appointment on Saturday morning (today) as an extra clinic has been set up. What time would I like to attend?!

Yesterday was a miserable day as Anna and her Dad went off to Nottingham University for an open day and Ben had an in-service day off school, and wanted to be out doing which his Mum didn't feel up to. We got through all that, then I had a meeting in a pub in Worle about next year's North Somerset Arts Week, which was very good but very hard on my voice(lessness) and I returned home with an outrageously sore throat and a pain in the neck, too.

Last night I had lots of those strange, rambling dreams, involving strange but familiar-in-my-dreams houses and difficult situations, and my beloved says I was crying in my sleep. I presume, therefore, that I am in fact feeling anxious in respect of the appointment at 12.30.

One valuable displacement activity is consulting Google Reader to visit my favourite, updated Blogs. On one, Patty's Autumn's Meadow, I found a quiz to do, another useful distraction. The result was:

124

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!

Although I must admit I cheated, in the sense that I was best-guessing what would be expected of a wife in the Thirties. It's an amazing commentary on society then vs now.

Better go get breakfasted and washed and dressed, in readiness for finding out if I can get my voice back soon!