No, not snow, but a beautiful carpet of snowdrops in the churchyard in my Mum and Dads village. Aren't they just spectacular? Hamish kept calling them raindrops which was so sweet!
This is just a quick post today but back again tomorrow with more Spring-like photos and tales of Burns night. Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.
x
My day at my Sisters ended up as three days at my Sisters! Well it was just too tempting when there was the offer of dinner and a glass or two of wine on Friday night. I just had to stop over. And then Saturday there was the temptation of a walk accross the common and into the woods to find pretty branches to decorate. It was bitterly cold but very beautiful.
Of course we had to go past the field to see the horses. Hamish loves the horses. They were obviously having a lovely day as when we got to the gate they were running round and round as if they were in a race.
So then I had to help with the decorating and my Brother-in-law said 'well you may as well have dinner again tonight Nonnie'. So what could I do but accept. Actually I think they were pleased for the extra pair of hands because poor little Hamish was sick so there was a lot of clearing up to be done as well as trying to keep him happy and decorate for Christmas.
It was lovely to have such an unplanned weekend though. Of course I didn't get quite as much done in my own home as planned but there was nothing of too much urgency. I asked my Sis if she would mind me sharing pictures of some of her decorations with you as they looked so pretty. As she is a regular lurker on many blogs she said she wouldn't mind at all. These are the branches collected from the common decorated with lots of lovely silver and white and pretty little lights.
And sitting next to the branches the cutest little house lit from within by tea lights.
This week I'm on a mission. Suddenly I realise that I have quite a few jobs left to finish before the weekend. I've written a list and I know that every lunch time this week I'll be dashing along the Kings Road grabbing last minute bits and bobs and every evening will be spent in a flurry of wrapping paper and baking of Nigella sweetie treats. I'm sure I'll get it all done! x
Sorry I haven't been around much this last week. I have to be honest that I've been very unmotivated to blog just lately. I have too much going on in my head and with work, life,etc. I will be back properly once I get the next fair out of the way a week on Saturday although I might manage a post inbetween. The light has been just awful for taking photos which doesn't help. I managed to get just a few photos last Sunday when I took a very quick and VERY cold walk in Kew Gardens. It was one of those days when the rain feels so icey it almost hurts your skin as it hits your face. I hurried home very quickly for hot chocolate and a warm bath. So here are a few images from the cheerful little flowers that are blooming away in the Alpine House.
Oh, I nearly forgot about something that made me smile while I was in the gardens. As I walked along a quiet path I noticed a series of humps and holes in the nearby rough grass and a sign just next to them. I stopped to have a read and discovered that there are quite a number of badgers living in the gardens and this was one of there sets. When I'm visiting Mum and Dad in the Cotswolds it always saddens me just how many dead badgers I see by the roadside as it seems their road sense is really not too good. So I'm pleased to know that just over the wall from my flat there are families of these cute black and white creatures enjoying the safety of Kew. I just hope they don't venture out from behind the wall!
Ahh, what a weekend. I didn't really want to leave the Cotswolds last night and return to dirty, noisy, smelly old London! Ok, so it's not so bad, but I just love being out in the countryside and me and my lovely Mummy had such a great time.
I arrived on Friday evening and after a warming bowl of soup, we made our way through the garden gate to the cosy pub next door for a nice glass of red wine before collapsing into a cosy bed.
Saturday morning we were up early and on our way to Stratford-on-Avon. Now, as I mentioned in my previous post, my camera is misbehaving so no pictures of Stratford I'm afraid. It is taking pictures, but the view finder is totally blank so I can't see the picture I'm taking to know whether it is in focus or straight. So the pictures at the end of this post were taken very randomly and I had to do a lot of sorting to find some good ones. Very frustrating!
We didn't spend too long in Stratford, just long enough for Mum and I both to buy a new top, for Mum to buy me a handbag which is to be a Christmas present so has been hidden away, and for us to have a very long look in Laura Ashley. Mum bought a couple of new lamps for one of the guest bedrooms, and I was very good and just looked. Tight budget this month so no purchasing! They had some really lovely things so this took a lot of will power.
We headed back via Shipston-on-Stour and popped into a lovely Interiors shop that had been badly damaged in the summer floods. They've worked like crazy to get the shop open again and had a grand re-opening on Saturday. Mum had an invite so we enjoyed a glass of bubbly while browsing the lovely furniture and accessories.
Saturday afternoon was spent chatting over a late lunch, waiting for B&B guests to arrive then down to the church for Mum to do the flowers for Remembrance Sunday. It was late afternoon as we walked into church. The church yard looked quite magical in the dusky light and as we opened the door to the outer porch of the church we heard the sounds of organ music coming from inside. The organist was practicing for the next day so while I sat watching my talented Mum arrange her flowers I had lovely music to listen to as well. The organist left and finally Mum and I were ready to go. I carried the empty buckets down to the front door, and as I opened it I got quite a shock. Neither of us had been aware that while we were inside it had become completely dark. When I say completely dark, I mean completely dark. It was pitch dark. I couldn't see the path leading away in front of me, never mind the gate and road beyond. And this was with a glimmer of light coming from inside the church. Once Mum joined me at the door and we turned the church lights on it was even darker. We could see faint light coming from windows of the cottages down the lane but that was all. With a lot of giggling and stumbling, we managed to find our way to the gate as our eyes slowly became used to the dark.
We finished off the day with a lovely dinner of salmon followed by lemon meringue pie, more wine and curled up on the sofas watching the festival of remembrance from the Albert Hall which was lovely and very moving as always.
Yesterday we had a lovely day again, starting off with the Remembrance service at Church then down to a nearby village for Sunday lunch in a lovely pub called the Red Lion. We had a table in a cosy room right next to a big log fire. I just adore the smell of woodsmoke so was very happy to be almost sitting in the fireplace! We enjoyed lovely roast beef with all the trimmings and a yummy pud of pavlova with hazlenut cream, banana and toffee sauce. As you can imagine, after that lot all we were capable of was going home, lighting the fire, taking a sofa each and snoozing, with Smokey the cat on Mums knee and me doing some very slow knitting. Dad returned home to find us in a very sleepy state to entertain us with tales of his sailing trip.
So as I mentioned, the photo taking was not easy but of the dozens I haphazedly took, a few came out. I thought you might all like a little look at some of Mum and Dads cosy home. It's the loveliest place to be.
Open the front door and walk into to the cosy and welcoming hallway.
You'll find the lovely green dresser full of pretty blue china and see the window which used to be the stable door when the house was the coach house for the pub next door.
Though the door into the stone corridor which leads through to the dining room
Or into the Sitting Room....
If it's a gloomy day the lamps will be on
Bed and Breakfast guests are lucky enough to eat breakfast in the lovely dining room
Climb the stairs and turn into the first cosy guest room
You'll notice that a few NonnieHome cushions have made their way onto the bed!
Down the corridor
You might want to have a little sit down to admire all the pictures.
Into the second guest bedroom or as it's usually know 'the pink room'.
I hope you've enjoyed this little tour around The Old Coach House. Not too bad considering the camera problems. I hope I can get it sorted as I don't think I can manage to take pictures of product without seeing what it looks like first.
I have a busy week ahead as I really need to make more progress in making stock for the next fair. I'm suddenly panicking that it's not actually that far away. Infact, has anyone realised that Christmas itself is only six weeks away?! Got to go......lots to do!!
xxx
Sorry it's taken me over a week to take you on a walk around Kew as promised last week. I've spent the last week off work and away from any computer due to the fact that I developed a really nasty inner ear infection which made me extremely sick and dizzy. I even had to cancel doing my second fair in Stow on Saturday. I felt very sorry for myself but luckily my lovely Mum and Dad came to the rescue on Thursday with home made soup, chicken casserole, cake and flowers. I'm still a little wobbly on and off, but back to work and hopefully normal again. I think what I need is a holiday! No chance of that unfortunately so instead I will remember my lovely walk around Kew Gardens over a week ago. Come along with me.
I hope you enjoyed the walk. I don't know about you but I'm rather tired now and in need of a good cup of tea. See you later in the week. x
I hope you won't all be too bored with more autumnal images from the Cotswolds! I escaped to Mum and Dads again this weekend and couldn't resist going into their beautiful garden with my camera again yesterday afternoon, even though the weather was a little overcast. Not exactly ideal photo taking weather. But I just can't resist capturing Autumn. The colours are beautiful at the moment and I even found a few roses still blooming.
Mum had put one of these in a small vase next to my bed but there were still a few outside. I love the faded colour.
I know I'm copying Jane here, who has already posted images of her wood pile but I couldn't resist a photo of this satisfying looking pile. I can't wait for visits in the coming months when the sitting room will be snug with the heat from the wood burner and there will be the fantastic smell of woodsmoke in the air. There's something so cosy and comforting about that smell.
Don't Mum's newly replanted pots look lovely? I think pansies are so cheerful in the autumn and winter months. Like little smiley faces bobbing in the breeze. They look really cute sitting around this lovely lady.
I love some of the views that are created by objects in the garden. These are two of my favourites.
Work on the fair items is going well. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to show you by the end of the week. I took a little break from it this weekend in terms of making but the ideas were still flowing and being noted down.
I'll leave you with a little splash of summery colour in this autumnal garden. x
Oh, I nearly forgot. I've added a link on the right to my sloe gin instructions. Give it a go, it's really easy and totally delicious.
