Flowers in the garden . . .

 

The roses in the garden have begun to unfold their tender velvet hearted blooms, a sweet gift to us, the fairest and the best . . . crimson and apricot, ivory and gold.   They lift their pretty heads in Todd's rose bed, and of course they climb the metal arbor which surrounds the gate which separates out patio from the grassed area in the back.  By next year it will be totally covered . . . but for this year there remains a space still free, the very arch at the top of it.   Oh how wonderful it will be when they cover the whole thing and we can walk through a golden tunnel, so pretty and fragrant . . .

"Round the arbours of remembrance
Youths unfading roses climb,
And the hidden seeds of friendship
Grow between the stones of Time."

Thinking of roses reminds me of this little verse by Patience Strong . . . I do so love poetry as you know . . .

 

My favourite of all the garden flowers are the delicate and dainty sweet peas, beautiful and vivid as sunset skies . . . a mass of sweetness . . . like clouds of pink and crimson and purple butterflies.

Are they flowers, these moth-like things with brightly tinted wings of flame and cream??

 "Sweet Peas, on tiptoe for a flight,
With wings of gentle flush, o'er delicate white."
 ~ Keats

  

We've introduced something new this year and we have only the one . . . a pink oriental poppy . . .

Large and blousy . . . with ruffled petals and chocolate drop centres, they are supposed to be quite easy to grow and we are hoping that they multiply.  I wanted red ones . . . but we settled for pink, and they are quite charming really.  They look like little upturned ball-gowns or ballerina tutus . . . waiting to go on stage and dance a beautiful dance . . . and in the breeze as they bob their heads, they are dancing . . . so says my soul.

"Through the dancing poppies stole A breeze most softly lulling to my soul."
~Keats




We picked up and planted some of these as well . . . Dicentra Spectabilis, or Bleeding Hearts.   I love their dainty blooms.  I do not like to think of hearts that bleed . . . but I do think these blooms are very pretty.  They arch across the garden like a bridge weeping with delicate heart shaped blossoms that drip down along it's arch . . .

To me, they look like the back of a little girl's pig-tailed head . . . but then my mind is often filled with visions of little girls . . .

No other plant bears perfect heart-shaped flowers like those of the Bleeding Heart. If you press the flowers between the pages of a heavy book, you'll have papery-thin little hearts to adorn letters or valentines. If you turn a flower upside down and pull the two halves apart, you'll see a lady in a pink bathtub, or perhaps you'll see a white lyre with strings of silk.

There is a story within it's blooms . . .

The flowers  hold clues to a tragic tale of unrequited love. . Long ago there lived a noble prince who tried in vain to win the heart of a very beautiful princess. The prince had brought the princess wonderful gifts from his travels far and wide. Yet she had taken no notice of him.

One day the prince returned from a long journey with very special gifts to surely win the love of the princess. First he presented her with two magical pink bunnies. (Peel off the two outer petals and set them on their sides to display two little pink bunnies.) The princess only sighed and barely looked at the little bunnies.

The hopeful prince had one more gift saved for last - he presented a pair of beautiful enchanted earrings. (Remove the two long white petals and hold them next to your ears.)  Again, the princess hardly noticed the prince's gift.

Now the poor prince was utterly heartbroken. He could try no more to win the heart of the princess. He rose up, pulled a dagger from his sheath and stabbed himself in the heart. (Remaining in the flower is a heart shape with the stamen, appearing as a dark green line down the center. Hold the heart up, carefully remove the dagger-like line, and plunge the dagger through the heart.) 

The princess was overcome by the dedication of the dying prince and his unending love for her. She realized too late that she loved him also. "Alas," she cried out. "I have done wrong, my own heart is broken also. I shall bleed for my prince forever more!" And her heart bleeds to this very day.

 

A tragic tale for sure . . .



This was another little piece I did when I was in Canada.  It's a Birthday Card.   It's supposed to be a chef owl holding a birthday cake.   I like his little boots and colourful striped socks!



Then there were these two little chicks discussing the important of the meaning of life.  Just a bit of fun there.
We are hoping to go to the seaside today.  We'll see.  It feels a bit cold to me and it's always a lot cooler by the sea so perhaps we will give it a miss.   I'll see what Todd thinks when he gets up.

A thought to carry with you through the day . . .

"To be given a new day is to be given a new lease of life.  Don't snatch at God's gifts without a thank you as if your mere existence entitled you to expect a fresh supply of blessings every morning.   Accept the gift of the new day with reverence, grace and gratitude."
~The morning watch

  

Cooking in The English Kitchen today, something deliciously different . . . Chicken with Parmesan, Basil and Melting Berries.

Enjoy your Monday!

 

Sunday Morning This and That . . .

 

As we walked to catch the bus into town the other day, I noticed fledgling sparrows flitting across the road and alighting on a car and then into the hedgerow.  I could tell that they were new to this flying lark by the way that they flew . . . they lacked the confidence of a full grown sparrow . . . a bit wobbly on the wing, but nevertheless they flew.

What is it that causes a baby bird to want to leave the comfort of it's nest and strike out into completely unknown territory doing something which it has never done before, but only witnessed others do?  Some would say it's just instinct.  And . . . perhaps that is a big  part of it . . . but I think that it's also something more.

It's all a part of becoming.   Becoming stronger.  Becoming better.  Becoming who they were meant to be.  Fulfilling the measure of their creation . . .  staying within the nest would never give birth to any of these things.



It works the same way with us.  As long as we are willing to stay within the confines of our comfort zones, and never venture outside of them . . . we will not grow, strengthen, become better and achieve what we were meant to do, or become the fulness of who we were meant to be.

You just can't do that by standing still . . .



We have another sunny day here today.   Yesterday was gorgeous.   We will enjoy it for as long as it lasts!  I think tomorrow we are going to go to the seaside if the sun still shines.   We didn't get there even once last year.  We didn't take advantage of the sun when it was shining, and alas . . . it didn't shine overly much.   You have to grab it when you can in this country!

Todd says he saw four overly large Tadpoles in our pond yesterday.  I looked but couldn't see anything.   Here's hoping we have a few new frogs this year!  I don't think we'll ever be able to fall asleep to the sound of peepers here . . . but the babies are so cute to watch, and Todd really enjoys his wild garden wonderland.

 

We bought a packet of seeds the other day for Foxgloves.  Hoping that we would be able to multiply on the one that we do get each year, all on it's lonesome.   The seeds were quite expensive as far as seeds go, but we were astonished when we opened the pack.  Six seeds, so very miniscule that you would have thought the packet was empty, but for the fact they were stuck into the bottom corners . . . and we were looking for them.   How do they decide how many to put into a pack.  Surely it doesn't go by weight?  There were so few it would have been impossible to gauge their weight.  Does a worker just take a pinch and drop it in?

I don't know.  But if that IS the case . . . it's an awfully small pinch!

 

We watched the finals of Britain's got Talent last night.  I can't be bothered to watch the earlier shows as there are so many dimwits just trying to get on the telly and they try my patience.   I find those shows a waste of time, but the finals . . . well, it's almost like watching the Royal Variety Show as the contestants are always very good and amazing.

I was a bit disappointed that the winner of the program wasn't actually British at all, but a European dance/gymnastics troup that did shadow dancing, which was pretty amazing actually . . . I guess it just goes to show what a melting pot we have become.  As we watched the show we remarked to each other that it was hard to tell just who was the best out of all the incredible talent that was shown!  I would wager the votes were all very close.

Well, I have not a lot more to say today.  Some days are like that, so I'll leave you with a thought for the day . . .

"One key to knowing joy . . . is being easily pleased."
~Mark Nepo



Baking in The English Kitchen today . . . Chocolate Covered Raisin and Oat Bars.  Deliciously different!

 Have a beautiful day!


 

Hello summer . . .

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
 ~F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

In June . . . the house is cool . . . quiet . . . serene.   Mitzie spends most of the day careening out the back door, down the garden and back again.  There is an alley way which runs along the hedge at the left side of the garden and she is ever curious as to the goings on in it.   I guess she is keeping guard . . . it's nice to know she cares . . .

We have had some beautiful sunny weather this week.   Days which called you out of the house and into the garden . . . not so hot that you couldn't stand it . . . just hot enough to enjoy sitting at the outside table with a glass of something cold, listening to the bees buzz and the grass grow . . .



Once upon a time people used to put their house away for the summer . . . rolling up carpets . . . changing the slip covers on the sofa to something cool . . .  putting away tat and bric-a-brac to save on dusting, banishing anything woolie and warm to a trunk in the attic, storing away blankets.

Some homes even had summer kitchens.   Kitchens which were outdoors and set away from the house somewhat.   We have a barbeque, and hopefully this year we will be able to use it at least more than once.  That's as close to a summer kitchen as we get.



We have a bird hotel in the back garden.  That's what I call our hedge.   If you look out very early in the mornings you see their little heads popping up and out of the top and sides, as if to greet the day and test the waters of what it will bring . . .  it's so cute.   They flit back and forth to the feeders . . . their little wings make a whirring sound as they pass . . . I love it when the fledglings begin to feed.   They're so cute.  We've tried putting up nesting boxes, but . . . sigh . . . they seem to prefer the greenery of the hedge.

Life seems to stand still in June . . . the days begin with the early sun, which begins to show it's pretty little head earlier and earlier with each morning that passes.   The days are still drawing out . . . it was still light out at almost eleven last night, and the birds were singing their bedtime chorus . . . I lay there in bed listening to them through the open window.

I love it when we can keep the windows open like that at night . . .



The surrounding hillsides have turned to gold with fields of rapeseed . . . against the backdrop of clear blue skies.  I am thankful that I do not suffer from allergies and am able to enjoy the beauty of it all without streaming eyes and nose . . .

I wonder what it would be like to wander through them . . . the tips of my fingers brushing against all of that yellow as I passed  . . . would it excite my soul with more joy than I get just from admiring them from afar???  Do these golden blankets hum with the sound of a million bees at work???

I do have an inquiring mind, and I do ponder things such as this . . .



The first of our meals is eaten outside . . . al fresco . . . seated at the black metal table which sits on the patio, with the dark green umbrella opened up overhead, creating an oasis of cool and peace beneath the sun.  There is something quite appealing about this eating outside . . . it charms like nothing else.   Food suddenly tastes better when it is accompanied by fresh air and warming temperatures.   Glasses tinkle and cutlery clinks against plates . . . everything seems to have a golden glow about it . . . each meal eaten outside is like a mini holiday . . . a celebration of summer.

Even though it's not officially summer yet . . . we grab hold of it and hang on for dear life.

 

Nobody comes to England for the weather.   This may be the only summer we get, and so we take advantage of every golden moment of it . . . each and every one of us . . .

A thought to carry with you through the day.

"When every day seems the same, it is because we have stopped noticing the good things that appear in our lives."
~Paulo Coelho

 

Baking in The English Kitchen today . . .  A Simple Butter Cake with  Lemon Grass Syrup.

and just in case you missed it . . .

 

To celebrate National Picnic Week . . . Not Your Grandma's Potato Salad.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

 

Thursday prattle . . .

This is a photograph I took outside our back door a month or so ago before I went over to Canada.   I found it yesterday when I was doing some work on the computer and thought I would add this little verse to it.   I like to do things like that . . . it almost looks like an amusement part, don't you think?

When I was a child I was afraid of the dark.  I'm not sure why that was, but I can remember taking a flying leap from the doorway onto my bed, trying to get on top of the bed before anything bad had a chance to reach out and grab me from beneath the bed!

I thought there were some kind of monsters that lived under there you see . . . and not just any monsters either.   These monsters had very eclectic tastes and were not fond of eating heads actually, so I had myself convinced that if only my head was showing above the covers . . . I would be safe, but should anything else creep out from beneath the blankets, that would be snapped up and snuffled down immediately!

I shared a big double bed with my sister and I can remember very carefully making sure each night that only her head was showing above the cover line and that only the heads of our dolls and stuffed toys which we liked to sleep with were showing as well.   I remember waking up numerous times during the night to make sure nobody had moved and that we were all still safe.

I'm not sure when this irrational fear ended, but I do know I am not afraid of the dark anymore.   I think it must have ended sometime after I had children . . . you can't really be an effective mother if you are still  afraid of the dark yourself!!!



I think if I'd had a bed like this I might have been less afraid.  It somehow looks magical and wonderful . . . not like a place any monster would live.  What do you think?

What we did have though were little pictures of the Lords Prayer that hung on the wall over our bed.   My mother had a cousin in the states that used to send us little gifts each year, and one year she had sent us these.   They had glow in the dark Jesus (s) on them.   They would absorb light during the day and then glow at night.   They were somewhat comforting I think . . . it was kind of nice to think that Jesus was looking down on us and  helping to keep us safe.

I may not believe in monsters under my bed anymore, but I'm glad that I still feel like Jesus is looking down on me and helping to keep me safe, and I'm glad that I don't need a glow in the dark picture to bring me that comfort and peace of mind!



He is the good shepherd and we are His sheep.

As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. ~Ezekiel 34:12

It's nice to know that even when we are in the dark, His light can guide and deliver us to a safe place.

I wonder what kind of day we will have today.  I think it's supposed to be nice.  If it is we may pop into town on the bus and have a wander around, maybe even walk down to the Groves, which is what they call the area down by the river . . .



It's nice and peaceful down there.   We may even bring Mitzie with us.  I think she'd like that.

A thought to carry with you through today . . .

 “When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” 
~Rumi

 

There's something which is simple and tasty cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Bacon Wrapped Salmon!   Tasty, easy and just for two!

Have a nice Thursday everyone!   Bye for now!

 

The Simple Woman's Daybook

 FOR TODAY June 4th, 2013

Outside my window...
It looks like it is going to be a beautiful sunny day today.  Yesterday was gorgeous.  I told Todd I brought the sun back with me.   It's hard to believe that the last Woman's Day post I did was way back in April.  Talk about time flying!

I am thinking...
Your life can change forever in an instant.  None of us know what lies ahead for sure.  I guess it is hope in a better future which keeps us putting one foot in front of the other.

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” 
Bill Keane

I am thankful...
I am thankful for my faith which keeps me grounded and the direction it gives to my life.   I know who I am and where I've been, and I know where I am headed.  I have a purpose in being here.

In the kitchen...




Yesterday I baked some white bread which turned out lovely.  First time ever I didn't bake a door stop!  I also turned half of the recipe into this . . .



Tear and Share Greek Bread!   Kind of like Cinnamon Rolls but not sweet and filled with feta cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes, garlic and herbs.  Delicious.   You can find the recipes and a whole lot more on
The English Kitchen

I am wearing...
Nothing new here!  Except today it is a light cotton nightie.  I've put away the flannel for now!

I am creating...
I was able to do some artwork at my mom's while she was in the hospital.  It helped to while away the time.   I didn't get any done after she got home, but here is a bit of what I did while I was there:


 A little girl and her cat sitting on the front porch waiting for the sun to come out . . .

 

The Faithful Prayers of Righteous Mothers



Seeing Stars in the Dark

 

The Stars Make me Dream



Do You See What I See?



It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.


What Can I Give Him?



Angels We Have Heard

 

Dashing Through The Snow



Places of Enchantment

I did some more as well, but will show them to you once I get them scanned.   In any case I think I have a nice head start on my Christmas Card line for this year!

I am going...
We are taking Mitzie to the dog groomers today.  She is looking like a little Yeti!   She was so happy to see me when I got home, she practically turned herself inside out!  She was galloping up and down the back garden in a frenzy she was so excited!   Todd didn't gallop up and down the back garden???   Hmmm . . .

I am wondering...

Why didn't Todd gallop up and down the back garden.   hahahaha  He says he doesn't know how he managed to drive anywhere without me whilst I was away.  He missed my front seat back seat driving!  NOT!

I am reading...




The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson
 As teenagers Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed ‘The Ice Cream Girls’ by the press and were dealt with by the courts.

Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while married mother-of-two Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried – and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again . . . 

I guess there was a television mini series of this book whilst I was away that I missed.   I would have liked to have seen it.

I am hoping...
My mother has been experiencing quite bad dementia since all of her operations.   I have been reading about it online.  Apparently patients who have undergone General Anesthetic over the age of 80 have a one in three chance of developing permanent dementia.  I  am hoping and praying that my mother's improves.   She had General Anesthetic three times in less than two weeks.  Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

I am looking forward to...
Getting back into the swing of things.   A nice summer for a change!  (Enough of the rain!)  Times and walks with Todd and Mitzie.  Picnics, picnics and more picnics!



I am learning...
I am learning to be more patient with myself.  It's not easy at times . . . because I am a rather impatient person!

Around the house...


(Source)
I just love the clean looks of this living area.  It's so pristine, and yet at the same time warm and welcoming.   I would love to do something like that in here.  Our walls in our living area are magnolia, which is cream . . . I long for some colour, but then again the carpet is a horrible ruby colour so this pale blue would never work.  Maybe a tan colour . . . or a light golden brown.   Food for thought there.


(source)

I think this is a fabulous idea don't you??   It makes a great use of corner space!


I am pondering...
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” 
~Paulo Coelho, the Alchemist

I think love is the great lesson we have been sent to learn here on earth.  When we can love unconditionally, without prejudice or judgement, without having to think about it, we will have cracked it.

A favorite quote for today...
“Maybe everyone can live beyond what they're capable of.” 
~Markus Zusak

I like to try to push the boundaries of each day, to make everything count for something, to learn something new, to do something new or to create something new.  Then none of it will have ever been in vain.

One of my favorite things...


I don't drink tea, but I do so love tea pots.   They are one of my favourite things.  Always have been.  Actually I love everything to do with taking tea . . . pots, cups, cosies, strainers . . . 

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Dog Groomers today, Presidency meeting tomorrow night, Boiler man is coming tomorrow to service the boiler, a bit of work, a bit of play . . . just normal stuff.  Normal is good.

A peek into my day...




I like to spend some time each day feasting on the Word of God.  It helps me to stay grounded and gives me direction.  I always find exactly what I need to find.   That is amazing to me.  I know it shouldn't be, but it is what it is . . .

A thought to carry with you through today:

“It is often in the darkest
skies that we see the
brightest stars.” ~Richard Evans

Have a wonderful day everybody!