My Favourite Things

Raindrops on roses, at my neices 18th birthday party.

Rainbows, outside our house yesterday.

Funny notes that my kids have written.

A cream tea, in the shade, by a large millpond after a long, hot, sandy day at the beach.

All an excuse to look back at old photos, and not feel so bad that winter is a-coming.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

A Marvellous Misty Morning Moment

A photo I took of my view this morning as I drank my first cup of tea.  We live on a hill and look down into a valley, the mist hadn't yet lifted and it lent the view a quietly, mysterious and beautiful aura.   

Have a great weekend.

More Bags Than Louis Vuitton

My old nemesis came back last night - insomnia.  This morning I look like my Granny - after a rampant night out on the tiles.

I tried the usual remedies; counting sheep and thinking peaceful thoughts, but it was persistent, it wasn't giving up the fight.  In the end I got out of bed and sat on the stairs to read my book - Out Stealing Horses.  It is a beautiful, lyrical book but one that requires concentration as it is translated from Norwegian, and jumps from the present to the past paragraph by paragraph.  I recommend it as a read but not as a sleep aid, I wound up more tired and quite confused.

So today I'll make sure I do some exercise, cut out caffeine near bedtime, take a bath before bed and only go to bed when I'm tired.

Any top sleep tips gratefully received.

ps Blogger has been playing hard to get for sometime, I am often unable to comment. Apologies if I have not acknowledged your comments, I read and appreciate all of them. Have a great Thursday.

Home Alone

For the first time in years I am home alone this weekend. The rest of the family are away, doing and seeing.  I deliberately haven't booked anything, I haven't arranged a thing, the weekend stretches out ahead of me in a lovely expanse of unfilled time. I can go see a film,  read a book, meet friends or stay home and wallow in the silence.  I'm not sure yet what I'll do, but I'll appreciate every minute of it until the dirty washing and noise comes home on Sunday evening. Enjoy your weekend whatever you are doing.

Something For The Weekend

As someone who loves looking at what others have done to their houses I thought I would share our own renovation.  Those who have read my blog for a while may remember me bleating about a broken boiler last January, and being a wee bit cold.  After suffering a cold house for 4 days I resolved to install a fire place by the time next winter came around.   At the time we had this hole in the wall filled with logs, when we bought the house it 'boasted' a gas fire with a wooden shelf, supported by curly iron brackets as a mantlepiece. Not attractive.

The fire place had never been used for a real fire, so we had the chimney swept and tested.   The sweep didn't look a bit like Dick Van Dyke, he didn't dance, at all.  I'll admit to a certain disappointment. He was also camera shy...

  Then the day came for our fire to be fitted. It was a messy. 

The house was built in the 1950's, the room itself is not large, so a contemporary plain fireplace was chosen. I know wood burning stoves are the thing right now, but for this old romantic nothing beats an open fire.  

The finished result looked great, the rest of the room did not. It needed a bit of TLC.

The original Mahogany floorboards - previously covered with carpet, were repaired, sanded and lacquered, the walls were painted a colour that warms up the north facing room.   The hearth rug came from a Scottish  company called Anta,  recommended by http://semiexpat.blogspot.com/2011/10/shopping-hunting-gathering-and-cooking.html. on my post http://lilacinmay.blogspot.com/2011/05/rugs.html.   The wooden coal scuttle you can see by the fireplace was a bargain find on e-bay.

I've had fun arranging things on the mantlepiece.

 It makes such a difference to the previously cold, bland room.  It almost makes me look forward to the colder months.  Winter weekends will never be the same, and if the boiler should break this year (heaven forbid!) I will have my lovely fire as a stand by.

  

 Have a grate weekend.

Case Closed

I hope that if you ever needed to change your mobile phone and sim card, and in the process ended up losing friends mobile numbers, and before ranting about the telephone manufacturer, network provider and swearing (loudly and literally) that mobiles are the devils instruments, you would first of all check the door onto the garden is shut, and that your brand new neighbours are not out in the garden.

I didn't.