Part two - a happy ending.

The building work is finished in time for the holiday.

To recap, the space as it was before

and after, as it is now

I love it, as you make your way towards it there is a powerfully evocative smell of new wood.   The fact that it has been a wet and cold couple of weeks and yet it was still finished on time, is something of a building trade miracle.

Thank you for stopping by in 2012, and taking time to leave your thoughts and comments, it is much appreciated.  Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas.  

I feel so foolish

...I've completely ignored the end of the (Mayan) world.

What if the Mayans were right?

I've got a nearly complete office, 

a freezer full of food,

video I still haven't transferred to imovie,

an unfinished book,

an enormous uneaten bar of chocolate

and a 2013 calender I just wrote all of next years birthdays on.

Just in case, tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1989.

The Office Part 1

Day 1 - The Space

Despite having a large Lime tree with a preservation order next to the proposed site of the new office, progress has rocked on.  We needed to use special pad foundations (that rest on the surface) and don't damage or disturb the roots of the tree.  The building work is being supervised by an arboreal consultant to ensure the builders do their job without damaging the tree. I'm not kidding.  So the tree is fenced off and boards have been put down to stop soil compaction.  

Then, and only then could work commence.

Day 2 - The foundations and footings are complete

Day 3 -The walls go up

 Despite the ferocious cold, by the end of the day the roof was on, but by then the light was so low I couldn't capture it in a photo. 

To be continued.

The Joys Of Working From Home

This morning I planted a beech hedge before work!

We needed to plant a hedge due to moving a shed on a boundary, it had left a big gap.  The beech whips will establish their roots over winter.  I look forward to seeing the new leaves in the spring. 

We have other changes going on in the garden over the next month.  A garden office will be built under our large Lime tree.  Does anyone else work from home?  Do you find it liberating or distracting?

What A Shame

On (No) Women Bishops

What an opportunity missed

What a chance they had

What a shame

October in pictures

I love the colours that dominate this month, the sheer amount of orange which seems to be everywhere at the moment is compensating for the diminishing light and warmth outside.  The car picture was taken at the RAC club, I don't believe it's the car in the Bond movie but a replica. Speaking of which, if you are thinking of going to see Skyfall, do. It will leave you shaken and stirred, even Mr Bond showed emotion.  The only time when I have been in a cinema and the film has had a round of applause at the end.

Walking On Sunshine

My achilles is on the mend!  I can walk again,  properly walk.  Walk through woodlands, by rivers and across fields.  I have so missed the fresh air and the smell of the seasons, whether it's the dry scent of summer or the smell of wet leaves and decay.

This week I have been on my first long walk for 7 months.  It was bliss.  I forgot my camera, but made do with my phone.  At the beginning of the walk we passed this hedge, at the bottom of somebody's garden. What a master stroke the boots are.

My (well groomed) friend spotted a slow worm on our path, it did move exceedingly slowly.

It was such a bright Autumn morning.  Towards the end of the walk we had to climb one last hill; charmingly nicknamed Heart Attack Hill, it was a big push.  But the feeling of having earned a sandwich and a slice of cake was fantastic.

It was a circular route, so we ended up back in the village where we started; Hambledon in the Chilterns.  It was being used as a film set that day.  A regular occurrence, it has appeared in The Vicar Of Dibley, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Nanny McPhee and North and South amongst others. 

It's a very picturesque village, nestled in rolling green hills.  I hope it's not ruining the romance by sharing this shot of a 'snowy' cottage.  I asked the crew what they were filming; something called Endeavor, a spin off from Inspector Morse.

This month I Read

This month I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. It's a short book, but an intense one.  The story of Esther in 1950's America teetering on the precipice of adulthood, but overwhelmed by life.  Fighting a battle; her desires and expectations vs societies expectations of a woman in that era.  The characters and situations are minutely observed, and beautifully written.  The analogy of a bell jar for depression, the lowering of the jar bringing on the deadening of the senses;  sight, sound, smell and joy.  Plath's own battle is written here, it feels overwhelming just reading it.  The feeling of being cut off from those around you, but watching as they carry on as normal, or their own version of normal.  The book made me want to read all about Sylvia Plath.  To understand her early life, her marriage to Ted Hughes, her literary successes, her children, Hughes then leaving her and Plath's final battle to the death.  Her own tragic ending is at odds with the more hopeful ending she wrote for Esther. The Bell Jar is a beautiful piece of writing. Have you read any good books lately?

*The photo above was taken in Rome, lovely window isn't it?

Some Flowers For You

For my birthday last week, a dear friend too far away sent me this autumnal display.  

Aren't these scarlett pom pom Dahlias beautiful? And bonus, bought from a car boot for the grand sum of £1, they lasted a whole week. Not an earwig in sight.

These geraniums are Italian, and don't they look it in their lovely terracotta trough?

These were wild flowers in the olympic park.  I heard they dead headed everything after the olympics, to rejuvenate them in time for the para olympics. I hope it worked.

and this shot is of the 'hot' bed at Cliveden.  They have deep, sloping, hot and cool coloured beds, either side of a large expanse of manicured lawn, in front of the house.

That's the end of my flowers for this year.