Incredible Joy - Around my Home

Felines and Flowers. . .

2011-06-05T08:41:00.004+01:00

"There is always music amongst the trees in the garden,
but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. "
- Minnie Aumonier

My apologies as I have been rather neglecting this blog of late. I seem to have migrated over to my other blog The Streaming Now where I weekly post a selection of photos for I Saw Sunday.

Please pop over and say hello. :-)

Up Close. . .

2011-04-13T09:26:00.002+01:00

Sometimes it pays to take a moment to see the little things.

Photos taken recently in my garden.

If you want to see more photos please visit my other blog The Streaming Now - it is updated more often than this one!

All photos by Susannah Bec

Spring is Springing - Yellow Everywhere!

2011-03-21T19:36:00.013Z

Well the sun has been shining here and it is really feeling like Spring. I have been out in the garden enjoying the blue sky and the glorious yellow of all the Forsythia in bloom.

Here are a few photos taken around my garden on Saturday. You can find more photos over at my other blog - The Streaming Now - Click Here to visit, and enjoy more images of a beautiful Spring day in my garden with me!

How is the weather where you are?

"At first a small line of inconceivable splendour emerged on the horizon, which, quickly expanding, the sun appeared in all of his glory, unveiling the whole face of nature, vivifying every colour of the landscape, and sprinkling the dewy earth with glittering light." - Ann Reacliffe

Bina joined me in the sunshine while the other two cats snoozed in the sun in their cat run (the big converted aviary you can see in the background of the third photo down)

"Animals are such agreeable friends -

they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms."
- George Eliot

May Spring bring you Sunshine!

Just An Inkling. . .

2011-03-06T11:22:00.010Z

But. . . with buds on the lilac and blue sky above, can it be that Spring is on the way?

... and visitors to my garden - long tailed tits.

I didn't know that these birds existed until they arrived at my feeder!

A Splash of Colour is Always Welcome

2011-02-24T19:21:00.022Z

"Color is the fruit of life."
- Guillaume Apollinaire

"I have always wanted my colours to sing."- Paul Delvaux

"Colour stops me in the street, invites me to breathe it in and take it with me."
- Suzanne Partridge

I snapped these pictures at a visits to my Mothers house a couple of weeks ago, how wonderful to see these splashes of bright colour. It makes a difference especially on grey days!

"I never met a color I didn't like." - Dale Chihuly

I thought about that quote, have I ever met a colour I didn't like?

Well I suppose it is all to do with context, a tiny dab of something in a painting or a rug might be acceptable, whereas a huge area of the same colour would be unbearable!

I love the majority of colours, but I must admit I am not fond of a certain shade of burgundy!

What about you? Have you ever met a colour that you didn't like?

I Have a Confession to Make. . .

2011-02-16T19:30:00.008Z

I have bought a new mat for just inside our front door. The old one was black and dull but perfectly serviceable.

The new one is a really beautiful colour, a Mediterranean summer sea colour, a gorgeous cobalt blue that lifts my spirits.

But here comes my confession.

I don't want it to get dirty!

So ever since it has been in place, whenever we come indoors instead of wiping our feet as we used to with the old mat.

I make us jump over it so we don't get it dirty! :-)

Sammy and the Squirrel

2011-02-06T13:03:00.028Z

Sammy had just woken up from his nap on the sofa beside my desk, when he looked up and saw the squirrel just outside the window. I didn't even have to leave my desk to watch this unfold right beside me. . .

He just had to get a closer look.

...the Squirrel was looking at him too.

They were really checking each other out.
Sammy was fascinated by his new squirrel friend.

Until all at once, he had gone!

Leaving Sammy peering through the window
waiting for his squirrel friend to return.

Pretty Cats All In A Row!

2011-01-29T12:56:00.011Z

Iwalked into the room and I was so surprised to find all three of my cats lined up in a row like this! I had to rush and get my camera, hoping that they wouldn't move before I got back. Usually this is the favourite spot of Ms. Mitz (the middle cat and mother of the other two) and at times I have seen her daughter Bina (the other tortoiseshell) join her - but to see Sammy join the line up too. . . now that was unusual!

You can see here that Bina couldn't believe her eyes! What is he doing here?

I think the sunshine through the window was just too much too resist!

The Beauty of Subtle Colour

2011-01-13T19:42:00.013Z

On a grey day we took a walk around our village and I was struck by the subtle colours I saw everywhere. They were so soft and beautiful! An interior designer could take that colour pallete and create such a soft restful space...

Accent colour too! Hmmm, there's inspiration everywhere!

We had a Special Visitor to our Garden....

2011-01-03T11:12:00.011Z

"The first act of awe, when man was struck with the beauty or wonder of Nature,
was the first spiritual experience." - Henryk Skolimowski

I looked out of the window as a flash of white caught my eye and there on the fence post was an albino squirrel. We have been seeing it around for at least five years now, scampering through those trees that you can see in the distance and it once visited our bird table where Joe managed to capture him on video - you can see it on youtube - click here.

But we hadn't seen it lately and it was a real surprise to see it in
our garden investigating and obviously looking for food.

It then took a giant leap and landed in the bush right outside the window
where we stared each other in the eyes for a few seconds.

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos, I really will have to clean my windows! ;-)

"We are a landscape of all we have seen." - Isamu Noguchi

Peace and Joy!

2010-12-25T21:15:00.004Z

"All we are saying is give peace a chance…" - John Lennon

"There is no way to peace; peace is the way." - A. J. Muste

"Peace, like charity, begins at home." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Wishing you PEACE and Incredible JOY!

I would just like to . . .

2010-12-21T12:05:00.010Z

Wish you all. . .

From my home to yours !

May this festive season bring you
good health, peace, happiness
and incredible joy!

Much love to all who visit here
Susannah x

Brrrr, it is cold!

2010-12-08T20:41:00.020Z

So, it was one of the coldest days of this year with temperatures still at minus 5C at mid day! and we decide to go shopping! There was freezing fog on the way and the countryside looked like a winter wonderland with all the frost on the trees.

We wrapped up very warm and enjoyed our trip but still managed to come home without what I went for!

I hope it is warmer where you are! :-)

I just found this photo. . .

2010-11-19T23:03:00.014Z

Sammy when he was a tiny kitten
fast asleep, curled up in a bowl.

Isn't he adorable!

Orange and Gold...

2010-10-30T13:34:00.014+01:00

Orange and Gold
...is the colour of autumn.

The beautiful trees that I can see from my window
when I am sitting at my computer

. . . and it's also the colour of certain CATS!

Sammy curled up asleep in the computer chair.

"The wind-blown leaves turn
Dancing the golden sunlight
across the tired floor."
- Matt Dimmic

I hope your autumn is full of colour too!

Talking Rainbows!

2010-10-07T20:19:00.016+01:00

I think anyone who reads this blog regularly will know of my love of colour! There are so many wonderful colours, especially at this time of year when the trees change into their Autumn ballgowns! And here in my garden I was stunned by the beautiful colour of this Acer as it begins to lose its leaves - Wow! what a colour.

Flowers!

2010-09-14T13:42:00.007+01:00

There I was in the supermarket admiring the big bunches of flowers, when I noticed the young man checking the dates and putting reduced price tickets on some of them.

He picked up two big bunches that were originally £5 each and stuck on labels for 20 pence each!!

I couldn't believe it and knew that it was my lucky day as I snapped them up and bought them home!

£10 flowers for 40 pence - sounds good to me!

Above them in the photo, the painting with the yellow flowers I got from a car boot sale a couple of weeks ago for 50 pence (I am a big spender aren't I !)

The other is an artwork I made several years ago, it looks wonderful as the light changes and alters where the shadows cast by the raised squares fall...the shadows give so much added dimension.

I am SO pleased with my flowers and I am sure I will be obsessively checking for more flower bargains every time I go to the supermarket now! :-)

The Last Day of August in my Garden

2010-09-03T09:03:00.009+01:00

"When summer gathers up her robes of glory,
and like a dream of beauty glides away."
- Sarah Helen Power Whitman

We have had some beautiful weather over the last few days and I finally ventured outside into the garden again. It is wonderful to walk around looking at what is new when I haven't visited it in what seems ages. Flowers have given way to berries and seed heads and there are some other flowers that are only just coming into their own, lots of things have been late to bloom this year.

So in the warm sunshine and with three cats following me as I walked. . . I took these photos.

I will be the gladdest thing under the sun!

I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
- Edna St. Vincent Millay

Ducks and Narrowboats

2010-08-23T00:07:00.021+01:00

After my birthday celebration party we went for a stroll along the canal to walk off some of the food we had eaten.

The Canal is only a few hundred yards from J's parents house and is always a nice place to visit with narrowboats moored alongside and of course all the lovely ducks. This time, there was also this adorable duckling I managed to get a photo of.

<-----Isn't it sweet!

(We also visited other canals when we were exploring in our camper van last year and the cats came on lots of trips too!)
You can see photos of those adventures and lots more too!
If you visit here --> Journeys Close To Home.

I love the Blue of this boat and the pretty pots and flowers on top.

Such a peaceful place, I should imagine it would be wonderful to serenely

float along amongst all the trees and countryside.

There were lots of boats moored along this stretch - I love the name Bluebell
(though I think it would have been a better name for the Blue boat in the first photo.)

I really like the rope buffers? at the front of these boats.

Do you have Canals where you live?

Pleasure in Pictures

2010-08-15T08:09:00.008+01:00

These three pictures give me pleasure every time I pass them in my hallway, the one to the right (only partially seen) is called sea view and the one on the left is called wave, the middle one that I bought from a car boot sale a couple of weeks ago seems to link them perfectly. . .

"I live in my house as I live inside my skin: I know more beautiful, more ample, more sturdy and more picturesque skins: but it would seem to me unnatural to exchange them for mine." - Primo Levi

What pictures in your home give you pleasure?

I am celebrating today!

2010-08-13T10:30:00.000+01:00

Well, I am . . .

so, shall we have cake?

Please take a piece!

Thanks for visiting, it is always good to see you!

Birthday cake image courtesy of DailyClipArt.net

Mid July In My Garden

2010-07-25T19:25:00.005+01:00

"The hum of bees is the voice of the garden."
- Elizabeth Lawrence

An Ocean in Miniature

2010-07-20T12:56:00.020+01:00

Those of you that know me will know of my love for the ocean. Well, the other day I was walking around a car boot sale, when from a distance a tiny flash of sea green caught my eye and I walked over and picked up this little lump of fluorite and held it up to the light - inside it looked like an ocean in miniature!

I saw a wave and felt the wetness. It contained the sea! I bought it home and I love it. . .

"Life’s enchanted cup sparkles near the brim." - Lord Byron

Take Time To Smell The Roses

2010-06-27T18:27:00.014+01:00

Wow, it seems so long since I updated. Sometimes that happens! I go through times when I have lots to say and then times like recently where I keep going to start a post then get distracted and never seem to get around to it. Well I am here now and I hope you are well.

Nothing revives the past so completely as a smell
that was once associated with it.
- Nabokov

Everything is blooming wonderfully in the garden, two roses that I bought a couple of years ago are throwing out lots of flowers and the most delicious scents.

When I was a child and my Mother used to collect me from school, we used to walk home past some glorious flower beds planted with all sorts of Roses, I loved the smell and I would stop and gather the fallen petals and fill my pockets and then my t shirt - I would hold it out in front of me and fill it with my multi coloured Rose petals before carefully folding it back to my body to keep them safe until I made it home.

Once I got these fragrant Jewels home, I would make Rose petal perfume or just leave them scattered around drying and filling my bedroom with the most delicious smell.

Even now I love the smell of Roses and can't resist leaning in to smell them, they bring back so many memories of my childhood.

The gardens of my youth were fragrant gardens
and it is their sweetness rather than their patterns of their
furnishings that I now most clearly recall.
- Louise Beebe Wilder

Here is something that I wrote a couple of years ago explaining how I felt about Roses.

"Lately I have been stopping to smell the flowers, the Roses in particular. Everywhere I go just lately seems to be littered with beautiful blooms just begging me to smell them. Wonderful huge flowers that could be displayed in the finest art gallery in the land and all in the most delicious of colours.

I must admit to feeling a little let down though, when after being summoned by some vision of loveliness I brave the stares of passers by and walk over some neatly manicured lawn edge to find that the beauty has no fragrance.

It is like talking to a pretty girl or handsome man and finding that their beauty is only skin deep, it feels you have been misled, cheated, I don't just want surface beauty, I want it to be built into every fragrant molecule. Roses should smell like Roses."

Take time to smell the roses!

Here comes the time when, vibrating on its stem,
every flower fumes like a censer;
noises and perfumes circle in the evening air.
- Charles Baudelaire

Do You Know the Names of These Plants?

2010-06-08T12:10:00.008+01:00

There are some things growing in my garden that I don't know the names of.

I thought I would post photos in case any of my readers could tell me what they are called.

This was originally all variegated but since I have moved it, has reverted to mainly green.
It dies down to nothing each winter and comes up again in the Spring, eventually
it will have small yellow flowers up each stem. - any ideas?

This pink flowered plant in the foreground grows everywhere around here.
I bought it from a plant sale outside someone house last year
but didn't register what it was called?

This is the plant that I bought with me from the old cottage we used to live in.
It has small star like flowers and the berries eventually turn red. - Any ideas?

These are everywhere! They come up every year and are quite beautiful!
Such lovely colours but I have no idea what it is called. Have you?

Now this looks like some sort of nightshade?
It was here when we came and gets quite rampant,
so I dug it up and put it into a pot - its berries turn a really dark shiny red.

Thanks for any identification you could help with!
They are still beautiful without names but it
would be nice to know what they are called.

Finally

A photo I took of Ms. Mitz yesterday!

Isn't it wonderful!

About a Cat - Ms Mitz

2010-05-26T22:49:00.020+01:00

I had made my mind up during childhood that I wasn't a particular lover of Cats. I didn't appreciate them killing things, or their sharp claws and surprise attacks and their fur irritated my nose.

So, many years passed in which I gloried in canine company, such wonderful creatures! So many lovely dogs shared my life over the years. I even smiled at them in the street. I was most decidedly a 'dog person'.

Then one day through my window I spotted a young scrawny cat eating bits we had thrown out for the birds, we lived in quite an isolated place and I knew it didn't belong to anyone who lived nearby. It looked hungry so I put some dog food on a dish and went outside but as soon as it heard the door it was gone like a streak of lightning!

We started to see it in the garden more frequently and my lovely and very patient man took it upon himself to try and gain the trust of this young feral cat, who obviously hadn't had any contact with humans before. He would put out food for her and sit quietly yards away as she warily walked very slowly to the food and bolted it down before turning tail and disappearing.

She eventually became more confident, as long as he didn't move she was more at ease when she ate. Then we noticed her swelling belly! She was hardly more than a kitten herself.

Weeks later, we found her in a tiny old run down shed, wedged in a corner with a pile of her kittens. . . she was wild eyed and hissing so we retreated. Later we checked back, she had gone, moving her kittens to safety. That was the first of three litters she had. She disappeared between times and evaded our attempts to catch her and get her neutered, we managed to get one batch of kittens and with the help of a local animal charity they were taken and rehomed. Two other lots, we never found out what happened to them.

But she was still visiting for food and we had gained her trust, she would now wind herself around your legs while you were putting the plate down, but if you touched her, she would hiss and swipe at you, as though your hand was some strange creature out to get her!

It was then we noticed she was pregnant again.

We knew she slept in one of our sheds, so we made a bed up in there and hoped that she would stay close this time. She got bigger and bigger and we knew that her time was near. One morning we gingerly peeked into the shed and there she was, laying in the bed we had made for her, with her kittens. . .

This time we were prepared, my lovely Man had made a mesh inner door for the shed that reached almost to the top, so that she could jump over it, but wouldn't be able to move the kittens this time. When we saw her leave to hunt, or to eat food we had put out for her, we would sneak in and look at the kittens, we were determined that they would be used to humans, so they could find homes and not have to live a feral life like their Mother.
She no longer ran when she saw us and welcomed the food we gave her too. We took to sitting on the floor in the shed on old cushions, with the gentle light of a lamp, lighting up the dingy space. She would eat the food we gave her and we watched as the kittens grew and we stroked them at every opportunity. She too started to like being stroked, she watched as we stroked her kittens and seemed to sense that it wasn't harmful! and enjoyed it herself as long as she didn't see your hand! :-)

The kittens were getting bigger and wandering around, climbing and playing.
It began to get really cold at night and I began to worry for the kittens, when we went in there, they huddled close to me for warmth - it was then we decided to bring them indoors!

We set up an area in our spare bedroom with plastic on the floor covered with newspaper and a fenced in area and of course a litter tray! and set about bringing them inside.

We had a cage and we put a little food in that, and in she went. followed by one of her five kittens. My man quickly shut it up and threw a cloth over it, as I (in not one of my most thought out plans) put the other four Kittens in a shopping basket! We opened the shed door and both made a dash through the darkness. It was icy cold and pelting with rain and I hadn't bargained on the kittens trying to climb out of the basket I was carrying them in!
Well we made it! They were inside, and the kittens settled fine, exploring their new surroundings, the Mother cat was a different matter she started up a continous distressed miaowing.

The plan was to rehome the kittens when they were old enough, and then get the Mother cat done so she didn't have any more!

So, flash forward - we found homes together for two little golden girls and off they went to their new home. Three kittens left! I didn't like the idea of one being homed on its own, so was trying to find homes for all three but people only wanted two, it was heartbreaking and I had fallen in love with these beautiful little creatures! So they stayed and so did their mother! (once she had visited the vet and made sure she wouldn't bring home any more kittens!)
So now eight or nine years after we first met that skinny little feral cat, Ms Mitz is now a fat exceedingly friendly cat and a much loved member of our family. She and her kittens totally changed my views on cats and I am forever grateful that she came into our lives. Patience paid off!

A Message from Nature - The Story of a Heart

2010-05-14T18:43:00.025+01:00

"Bluebells filled the woods with sweet fragrance, shiny bark and twisted limbs catching sunlight, ground soft underfoot welcomed our feet. Out of the shade and into a clearing, we followed a path to the now fenced meadow and looked back at the place we used to live."

- The passage above was written last year - just after a walk in 'our' woods. The first visit back since we left.
Taken from My Name Is Zing

Seven years ago we were living in a country cottage surrounded by nature. We had deer and foxes visit our garden and rabbits hopping around on the grass, it was open on one side to a three acre wild flower meadow that led to the bluebell filled woods beyond.

It was while living there that I became attuned to nature, I had never lived so far from a town and all it contained. Here nature was almost palpable in its presence and I grew to love the space, the garden, the animals. The wildness of it all.

It was rented from an old lady that lived close by, and we had lived there for seven years when the old lady died, and out of the blue a letter arrived from solicitors acting on behalf of the family. We had one month to move out, as her family wanted to sell up. I was in shock, it should have been expected but it wasn't. So the packing and goodbyes began.

I said goodbye to the big old stone workshop attached to the house that had been my art studio. I emptied the three outbuildings and remembered how our once feral cat, had given birth in the metal shed a year before to the kittens that now lived with us. I walked into the meadow to the spot we had buried our old dog Harvey just a few months before.

I strolled around the garden, that magical place where I had learned so much from trial and error and from just loving it and allowing it to bloom. Then I went to sit on the huge flat rock/stone that had been here long before we came. . . it was then that I saw it.

A perfect heart made out of moss growing there on that big lump of granite and through the burning tears that immediately leapt to my eyes, I smiled because I understood the message from this house, this space, from Nature. It loved me back.

The photo that I took of that special message, sits in the header to this blog, (among other things from my life) its story untold until today when I decided to share my heart, my story, here with you. . .

More of my memories can be read over at The Streaming Now

This post was inspired by a post over at suz's blog begin again I saw her heart shaped puddle - her message, and remembered mine.

As the light began to fade - a walk around my garden

2010-04-25T08:50:00.014+01:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day and I was busy in the garden again! As the light began to fade I walked around with my camera and took a few photos, I thought I would share them here with you. :-)

"Colours change: in the morning light, red shines out bright and clear and the blues merge
into their surroundings, melting into the greens; but by the evening the reds loose their
piquancy, embracing a quieter tone and shifting toward the blues in the rainbow.
Yellow flowers remain bright, and white ones become luminous, shining
like ghostly figures against a darkening green background."
- Rosemary Verey, The Scented Garden

Tulips and Pansies are blooming in my front garden.

I really love how these Tulips are edged with Orange!
it looks like someone has highlighted the edges with a paintbrush.

Come through the open gate that leads into my back garden. . .

Where the Forsythia is still blooming,
it looks startlingly Yellow as the light begins to fade.

"One eye sees, the other feels."
- Paul Klee

More Yellow here brightening up a dull corner

on a shelf in the kitchen, young Courgette (Zucchini) plants . . .

soon they will join the Curly Kale in the vegetable patch. . .

"I am a part of all that I have seen."
- Alfred Lord Tennyson

On the bench are Busy Lizzies waiting to be planted. . .

SOON SOON

an empty pot waiting to be filled
next to a lovely lemon scented conifer

The Busy Lizzies now planted up in pots by the back door
SOON THEY WILL GROW
the light is beginning to fade now, time to go indoors. . .

Until tomorrow. . .

"Connection with gardens, even small ones, even potted plants,
can become windows to the inner life. The simple act of
stopping and looking at the beauty around us can be prayer."
- Patricia R. Barrett, The Sacred Garden, 2001

Come and see some close up photos I took of Tulips in my garden - here.

It Has Started! - Car Boot Sales and My Magpie Nature

2010-04-19T16:39:00.042+01:00

"Oh, beauty, ever ancient and ever new." - Saint Augustine

Well a new season of CAR BOOT SALES has begun and I am REALLY trying hard not to bring too many lovely things home with me this year - which is something I find SO difficult to do!

I am afraid that a few things have already slipped through my I really haven't got the space safety net.

I just couldn't resist these things!

It was way back in July of last year that I first blogged about my dilemma caused by my Magpie nature! - See this post - at the time I was certain that I had come up with a solution that would allow me to continue collecting and adding to my abundant stash of treasures . . .

But as you can see, I didn't follow the idea through.

Instead, I was harsh and purged all but the most glorious and loved of my treasures and promptly packed them carefully away back in the boxes, stacked them in a big cupboard and forgot about them.
Until I started treasure hunting again. . .

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach; one can collect only a few,
and they are more beautiful if they are few." - Anne Morrow Lindbergh

So, the situation has come back around again - as situations tend to do when you don't deal with them!

Two choices - I shall either have to totally ban myself from bringing any more things home! - (bursts into floods of tears!) or perhaps I should reconsider my earlier idea and occasionally post a treasure here in the hope that someone may fall in love with it and want it to come and live with them!

What do you think?

Early April in My Garden

2010-04-11T00:30:00.013+01:00

"All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today."- Indian Proverb

Here are some photos taken around my garden over the last few days.
We have been having some glorious sunny weather and everything is really starting to grow!

I also wanted to show off my new metal chicken -
I saw him the other day and couldn't resist bringing him home with me.

"So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers."
- Author Unknown

The Forsythia is such a wonderful splash of colour!

Soon there will be tulips!

The Magnolia tree by the front gate is just starting to open its blooms.

Bina has been enjoying the sunshine too.

"Be like the flower, turn your faces to the sun." - Kahlil Gibran

There are more garden photos over at The Streaming Now
(one of my other blogs) if you would like to pay a visit.
It would be good to see you over there. :-)

The Gifts That Friendship Brings

2010-04-06T18:23:00.020+01:00

"To know another is not to know that person’s face, but to know that person’s heart." - Chinese Proverb

Right there on my window sill sits a pretty five sided container, made from glass and brass and with little brass ball feet - it holds treasure.

So close, that I can reach out my hand and touch it with my fingertips, it is always there to remind me. . .

I love the ocean, I have an affinity with that big, swirling, tumultous world of waves and depth, and foaming spray. I live too far away from the coast and have learnt to deal with my longing to walk along quiet shores and towering cliffs, with the sounds of crashing waves echoing and bringing peace to my soul.

Through the vast limitless space of the internet. . . people find one another, whether by chance, design or synchronicity, kindred souls are drawn together. It was in such a way that I met a special lady, who though living on the other side of the world, understood and empathised with my love and longing for the ocean.

"There is magic in long-distance friendships. They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond being physically together and is often more profound." - Diana Cortes

She knew the ocean well and walked its shore every day, collecting beautiful things and writing beautiful words. . . words that moved me. We became friends, and without the barriers of formality became close, and for a while we spoke deeply - one soul touching another.

Then came my birthday, and I finally opened the slightly squashed package that had arrived with a thud through my door the week before. . . I carefully pulled away the box and gently pulled open the big tightly shut plastic bag inside.

I plunged in my hand and with tingles running up my arm, the tears came to my eyes.

She had sent me her beach! There inside, were exquisite things she had collected day after day as she walked by her ocean, shells, driftwood and pebbles - a crabs claw, a feather and there filling the bottom of the bag, the finest silver sand.

She had shared her beach with me, and it was beautiful . . .

It sits beside me every day, so I am always close to the ocean.

I don't know if she ever realised just how much her gift meant to me.

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born." - Anais Nin

Treasures

2010-03-30T18:41:00.012+01:00

If you walk around my garden you will find all sorts of things hanging from trees and bushes. Brightly coloured hoops adorn the tree, glittery balls dangle from twigs, an angel blows in the breeze.

There are wind chimes and bells swinging from hooks, Sparkly things wedged into the crooks of branches.

I love the forgotten suprises hidden by verdant foliage only to be rediscovered as the leaves fall once again.

I adore my garden with its dark places and wild corners and all of the little treasures that I have buried there.

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
- Roald Dahl

I Just Love Colour

2010-03-24T12:31:00.027Z

I guess we all have favourite colours and mine have definitely changed over the years. I remember when I was a child my favourite colours were Orange and Purple! I loved bright colours.

I have also been though patches where I didn't want colour - where I wore black and was attracted to things in Black and White - perhaps I needed the clarity - to literally be able to see things in Black and White?

I then went through a subtle phase where I enjoyed neutral tones, I loved their delicate shades and the way light moved over their surfaces, making shadows and creating gentle hues.

I then moved on to the colours of nature, greens and browns and lots of real wood, as though the outside was inside with me. I felt I had bought a forest indoors.

But through all of this and starting right from when I was small, I have loved the colour Turquoise! I love pairing it with shades of cobalt blue or a richly saturated yellowy green - In my bedroom it is paired with lots of white and gives the room a feeling of being by the coast. There are traces of these colours all over my home.

I just love Colour!

Have you got a favourite colour - has it changed over the years?

"Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form,
can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways." - Oscar Wilde

I Just Found This. . .

2010-03-19T22:17:00.011Z

I just found this adorable photo of Bina (one of my three Cats) taken when she was a kitten!
I had forgotten how tiny she was - Isn't she lovely! She used to curl up on this Pink scarf on the corner of my desk. She is 7 this year and still sleeps on my desk, though she takes up a lot more room these days!

Saying Goodbye For Now

2010-03-17T18:17:00.007Z

"Artists are just children who refuse to put down their crayons." - Al Hirschfeld

The weather is warming up and Spring is on its way, so I guess I can put my cosy scarves away until next autumn.

I shall miss the lovely colours and the warmth they bring - but I am sure I shall soon forget that, when the garden begins to bloom and there is colour everywhere!

"Colors are the smiles of nature."
- Leigh Hunt

Goodbye scarves - see you next time!

More of My Favourite Things - No.4

2010-03-08T19:16:00.017Z

"A smile can brighten the darkest day." - Author Unknown

Every day as I walk into my bedroom I see this Sun smiling at me and I smile back involuntarily - it has that effect on me!

When I wake in the morning and throw back my curtains, the early morning light hits her face and makes it glow.

I look into her eyes and feel that creeping sense of happiness making its way to my lips for another one of those Sun induced smiles.

"Most smiles are started by another smile." - Frank A Clark

She started out with the original paint faded and worn and to tell the truth - a slightly weird expression!

So I decided one afternoon, rather than throwing it out, I would repaint it.
I sat with my paints and as I worked I saw her appear, glowing and with a look in her eye that caused me to smile before she was even finished drying.

"Life is like a mirror, we get the best results when we smile at it." - Author Unknown

I was going to varnish her and put her in the garden peeping out from behind some greenery but something about her and the smile she pulled out of me so readily, earned her a place beside my bed - where I see her every morning as I arise and every evening before I climb into bed.

This earns her a place among my favourite things!

Such A Beautiful Blue Sky !

2010-03-02T20:07:00.013Z

There have been some beautiful skies here the last couple of days, and after all the snow and grey weather it has been like a tonic. I find myself struck by the beauty of that delicious saturated blue!

"If I really wanted to pray I'll tell you what I'd do.
I'd go out into a great big field alone or into
the deep, deep woods, and I'd look up into
the sky - up - up - up - into that lovely blue sky
that looks like there's no end to it's blueness.
And then I'd just feel a prayer."
- L.M. Montgomery

'Time' For Another Makeover!

2010-02-23T22:56:00.022Z

Before and After - Clock Makeover!

To go with my newly revamped room (more photos coming soon) I decided I needed a small clock to put on my new floating shelves. It had to be cream or another pale neutral colour to blend with the other things displayed - here's a close up photo of some things in that corner, so you get an idea of the colour scheme.
Well, I had a look around a few shops but I couldn't decide on something I liked. Then I remembered the old clock that I needed to replace, it was originally a charity shop find and was only a cheap battery clock that now looked very tatty - plus it had that dark wood look that I was longing to be rid of

Aha, I thought - perhaps I could give it a makeover!

Within 10 minutes I had taken it to bits and it was laying on my desk.

I gathered old newspaper and my box of paints and set to work. I had in mind a sort of shabby chic paint effect - so first, I gave it a coat of caramel coloured paint, which I then left to dry.

I then began dry brushing on various shades of cream, being careful to leave the caramel colour showing in the mouldings etc. I also painted the black outer ring of the clock face with gold paint.

When it was dry, I went over some parts and gently highlighted them with just a hint of gold. I also dry brushed over the clock face outer rim with cream paint - leaving just a little of the gold showing through.

Then it was time to reassemble the clock and finally see the finished makeover!

Well I was very pleased, it was great!

It looks just right on my new shelves - and best of all I didn't have to pay for a new clock!

Here is a BEFORE and AFTER picture so you can see the results!

Move Things Around!

2010-02-16T14:38:00.012Z

Just by moving things around it can make a room feel like a whole new space. Paintings that blended in to a light coloured wall suddenly stand out and look vibrant against a dark one. Things take on a new life when they are put into a different place.

GO ON MOVE SOMETHING!

After a while we tend to stop seeing things when we get used to them, they just seem to fade into the background but if you move them somewhere new, because your eye isn't used to seeing them there - you notice them again!

The large painting on the wall were painted by me. :-)

Makeover - Sofa's and a New Rug

2010-02-12T22:33:00.018Z

For a while now we have been feeling that our living room needed updating!
BEFORE - The old sofa and rug
Lots of the things we had furnished and decorated with when we moved here six years ago, was stuff that we bought with us from our previous home, an old cottage with small windows, thick walls and dark beams.

At that time I loved wooden things and dark subtle colours, the sort of things that were in keeping with the cottage we lived in.

The last couple of years I had felt claustrophobic surrounded with all that stuff, especially as our new place has huge windows and is filled with so much light. So gradually the wooden things I had collected were consigned to boxes and brightly coloured things took their place, but there were still things about the room that had that same look.

The old brown chesterfield sofa's were covered in cat scratches and puncture holes and the whole room had a tired feeling.

So we bought a couple of sofa's from ebay and set about giving the room a bit of a makeover!

AFTER - The new sofa and rug

The sofa's were a lovely blue colour that instantly made a difference and livened up the room after the dull brown ones we were used to.

Though I am afraid the arms already have puncture holes from one of our cats jumping or should I say climbing up! I have put a throw over the arm to hopefully stop it becoming a pin cushion too quickly!

Once the sofa's were in place, I then decided we needed a new rug for the floor, to replace the nice (but brown!) one we already had.

Well I have never been afraid of colour and I think I proved it with my choice of rug! It looks great and already the room looks so much more colourful and vibrant - it looks as though it has had the kiss of life! :-)
THE NEW COLOURFUL RUG
The only trouble is, all these new things have really shown up that the floor needs re staining and varnishing! Never mind, that will be a job for another time!

Of course, by changing one things it leads to a whole series of changes! so this was just the first in a whole chain of events. I have taken lots of photos of the other changes that we have made - but I will save them for another post!

The room feels so much better now - and it has started me thinking of moving on to redecorate the hallway!

Shhh, don't tell my lovely man, he has only just recovered from these changes. - Lets just say, he doesn't enjoy the makeovers quite as much as I do! ;-)

More of My Favourite Things - No. 3

2010-01-29T15:40:00.044Z

Here's another of my favourite things.
I just LOVE the colours, design and decorative glaze of this beautiful pot.

" Surround your self with colour "

I get so moved by colour - I adore it!
It makes such a huge difference to both our mood and our surroundings.
(I have also noticed that my favourite colour seems to change, as I change.)

"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can." - Danny Kaye

How do you feel about colour?
Have you a favourite colour?
What colours affect your mood?

Come and say hello at my new blog!

2010-01-22T11:52:00.017Z

I have recently started another blog, it is called -

The Streaming Now

I plan to update it regularly with photos and random day to day snippets and it would be great to see you there! So please come and visit and say hello!.

Very best wishes
- Susannah x

Life just gives you time and space, it's up to you to fill it. - Anon

Red against White - Robin and Snow

2010-01-13T20:30:00.008Z

Well the new year came and the snow kept falling!

Outside - a clean whitewashed world.

So, you can imagine how welcome the sight of this little Robin was!

His flaming red breast was beautiful against the snowy white scene.

I watched from my window as he filled up on food
to keep him warm in the icy temperatures.

"When snow falls, nature listens." - Antoinette van Kleeff

More of My Favourite Things - No. 2

2010-01-01T10:47:00.013Z

A couple of years ago I went through a phase of buying moulds and filling them with cement/concrete to make my own garden ornaments. This was one of my favourites!
I intended to make lots and maybe set them into some paving or into decorative gravel - but I never got that far!

I made this one and when it was finally dry,
I hand painted it to give depth and a little bit of colour, then I promptly fell in love with it and it never got to live outside. It has sat proudly on many shelves and even decorated the mantelpiece for a while. I love the organic shape, the subtle colours AND best of all the fact that I made it!

It is about 9 inches across and VERY heavy! - Who knows, maybe one day I will get to carry out my original intention and make more for the garden - I still have the mould!

Snow - Sparkles - Solstice - Seasons Greetings!

2009-12-20T12:18:00.021Z

Well, we got half way through December and then the snow blew in! It quickly covered everything and the blustery wind turned the view from my window into a pocket snowstorm!

As soon as it paused the Robin and Sparrows continued eating their fill at the bird table, stocking up against the cold temperatures.

The cats (Bina and Mitz) watched from the front window, enjoying the snowy scene.

Outside the front window, the other bird feeder was covered with snow.

I left a nice surprise in the snow outside the kitchen window, for a certain someone to find when he next made us a cup of tea! - aren't I romantic! ;-)

So, while I filled seed feeders, piled the other bird table high for our feathered friends and did my bit for romance! Inside was quickly becoming a living testimony to my Magpie tendencies! Making it a warm haven from the icy conditions outside! Decorated for winter and the festive season, it is a nice place to get cosy on these long winter nights.

Sparkles and stars and shiny things abound, while a lucky cat (Sammy) curls up nice and warm in the chair in front of the heater.

Pretty twinkly lights decorating the mirror and fireplace - Sprigs of evergreen clipped from the lovely lemon scented conifers outside the front door decorate the mirror.

Left: More stars, baubles and lights .

Right: Close up of the mirror surrounded with silver bells, pretty little parcels, more stars! and sprigs of greenery.

And then on a shelf, stands a slim yellow Santa Claus holding a present, a reindeer and a tree with cut out stars for candle light to shine through, golden baubles too.

Well that is the end of my December tour. Tomorrow it will be Solstice and the sparkly lights and candles that will be lit will show my happiness at the return of the Sun, as each day from now onward we will have a little more light. So from a snowy longest night of the year here in England, I would like to . . .

Wish you all a very merry whatever you celebrate!
May PEACE, JOY and HAPPINESS be yours!

Noticing The Background - Art Everywhere!

2009-12-12T11:20:00.009Z

Everyday life can be transformed by looking at things in a different way. Years ago, when I first got a digital camera and took it everywhere with me, I noticed that carrying a camera changed my perception, it made me aware of the things that normally become 'background' as we go through our days.

Once you begin looking for things to photograph, your subconscious takes that on board and brings things to your attention that you perhaps would not have noticed previously. Everywhere you go there is something exciting, interesting or beautiful.

A few weeks ago I was passing a supermarket that is not my usual one, I needed a few things and decided to pop in while I was passing. I was immediately struck by the trollies outside - they looked like a modern art installation to me. . . So I fished out my camera and started snapping. I am sure the other shoppers wondered what on earth I was doing! :-)

"I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because
it makes you see the world rather than just look at it." - Author Unknown

Bug Hotel

2009-11-30T19:33:00.005Z

I bought this pretty 'bug hotel' a while ago and it has been happily hanging in the same spot now for at least a year.

Now that the weather is turning colder, I hope the bugs are checking in to the hotel and finding somewhere warm to snuggle throughout the Winter.

It would be lovely to have a mini fibre optic camera and to take a look and see what is going on in there.

For now I can just imagine Beetles lounging around in dressing gowns, Ants calling room service, Flys dressing for dinner and Wasps emptying the mini bar. In fact I have been keeping a close eye on the 'hotel' from the window, and this morning, I thought I saw an earwig with a bow tie walking quick toward it, I suspect he may be the manager. :-)

What A Gift

2009-11-15T08:30:00.007Z

"Now is the time to know that all that you do is sacred."
- Hafiz

We don't need to climb mountains. We don't need to run marathons. We don't need to invent great things. We don't need to save the World.

. . . For just to be ordinary and love our lives and the people around us, to appreciate the beauty that is everywhere. To enjoy and be grateful for our friends, our loved ones, our homes. To do good where we see it needs to be done. To realise that it is all ok, that life is good and that everything is perfect just the way it is.

What a gift to ourselves and to life itself.

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry."
- E.B. White

Candyfloss and Triggered Memories

2009-11-04T18:20:00.012Z

"What we remember from childhood we remember forever

- permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen."

- Cynthia Ozick

When I was growing up, I lived a very safe, secure existence but secretly I longed for colour, sparkles and magic. Most of this desire was satisfied by losing myself in books, with tales of The Magic Faraway Tree and the adventures to be had in the ever changing worlds that appeared in the clouds at the top of the branches. Many hours were spent curled up on my bed lost in these enchanted lands.

So imagine my delight when a travelling funfair chose the large playing field in front of my home to set up its annual visit. From my vantage point on my bedroom window sill, I could see the lorries and brightly coloured fairground equipment arrive and quickly begin transforming an empty patch of grass into a colourful kaleidascope of lights, colour, music and smells.

Laying in bed at night I could smell the diesel engines and the fried onions. I could hear the sirens, as the rides slowed down to let off the hoards of screaming girls, mixed with the sounds of the latest pop records played loud. All accompanied by the flashing lights that I could see through my closed curtains, lighting up my safe little bedroom with the excitement I craved. I felt I had pulled this bright, edgy, impermanant world into my experience, and I loved every moment it was there.

As I became a teenager and wandered through this sparkly noise filled mirage that appeared annually yards from my window, I saw a girl not much older than me sitting in the glorious pink candy floss booth edged with flashing lights. She serenely twirled a stick on which quickly built a cloud of pink candyfloss. I remember being seized with longing. I wanted to be that girl, to live amongst the sparkle and noise and every two weeks to pack up my things and to travel to the next stopping place and do it all again.

Seeing this Candy Floss stall (in the picture above) at a recent event triggered these memories and bought them flooding back.

Memories of the girl I once was and of her craving for colour and adventure.

Making Mandala's (A Tale of Glitter and Glue! )

2009-10-23T18:43:00.018+01:00

"Back on its golden hinges, the gate of memory swings, and my heart goes into the garden, and walks with the olden things." - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

I was just going through some old discs when I found some photos of a forgotten project. It was about ten years ago that I got lost in for a couple of days in the making of these mandala's.

I started with 4 pieces of hardboard cut to 12 inches by 12 inches square, which I then painted with an undercoat and left to dry. While they were drying I raided the kitchen cupboard for some round things in a variety of sizes, I think I ended up with assorted small plates, a can of tomatoes and a small lid borrowed from a bottle of vitamins.

I carefully carried my haul back to my desk and with my various 'circles' a soft pencil and a ruler, I set about making my designs.

I tried pretty much to go with my first attempts, as too many alterations could start to make my nice white squares look grey and confusing.

So after I had completed the first design I was hooked! I still had other ideas that I wanted to try, so moved quickly on to the next. By the end of the afternoon I had all four pencilled out designs.

The next morning I began to fill in the flat colour, I worked on all four at once to save on brush washing between colours.

I had no plan in mind just kept working with a quite basic colour scheme so that all looked right together. Once the base colours were finished, I added some shading and texture with pastels.

Then came the messy bit! I have never quite got over my childhood obsession with glitter and sparkly things.

So with my pots of glitter in a multitude of colours, lined up in front of me and the little round mirrors (three of them have a mirror in their centre) layed out on the newspaper covering my desk - I reached for the glue!

Much later, there before me, were four beautiful sparkly squares, and they and my glue and glitter covered self! were finished.

I eventually turned them all diagonally and hung all four on my bedroom wall as shown in the main picture.

They are now languishing in a box somewhere but it is nice to remember the fun I had on the day - and the clean up operation afterwards. :-)

"Happiness...it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort." - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Happiness

2009-10-20T22:36:00.022+01:00

"But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?" - Albert Camus

"The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things." - Henry Ward Beecher

"Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling." - Margaret Lee Runbeck

"Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not to be picked in strangers' gardens." - Douglas Jerrold

My Favourite Things - Number 1

2009-10-15T22:39:00.007+01:00

Well, I was happily snapping away with my new camera the other day, when I had the idea to take some photo's of some of my favourite things from around my home.

So I am starting with this pot.

It is a beautiful piece of West German pottery and stands about 12 inches high.

I have quite a collection of pots and I absolutely adore this one and its glorious colour - I love turquoise!

Car Boot Treasure - (Stained Glass My Way.)

2009-10-04T22:32:00.018+01:00

At the car boot sale this week I came across a glass chopping board (though when I first saw it I had absolutely no idea that that is what it was).

I was attracted to the colours and from a distance I was convinced that it was a painting. It was amongst other things on the floor and casually leaned up against the leg of the table.

When I picked it up and felt it I realised what it was supposed to be. I then held it up to the light and saw the colours come alive and at that moment I knew exactly what I was going to do with it!

So I paid my £1 and carried it safely home where it has been placed against the frosted glass in my bathroom window - it looks wonderful when the light pours in.

Stained glass my way. :-)

Car Boot Sales

2009-09-21T22:09:00.010+01:00

Car Boot Sales - I admit it - I love them! But I really have to try to rein myself in to stop myself arriving home with lots of things that I really have no room for!

In the early days with a new home and plenty of space I was in my element and was mesmerised by the wonderful things that my Magpie nature managed to find. Little gems of beauty overlooked and unseen, it was wonderful and I always returned home laden with my sometimes weird and wonderful finds.

I have managed to gain some measure of control :-) and these days I am a lot more selective in the treasures that I bring home. But it is such a pleasure on a sunny morning to wander around and see what goodies may be lurking, just waiting there for me to notice them!

I Think . . .

2009-09-14T12:58:00.008+01:00

I think . . . I will stop trying to paint, put my brushes down and pack away my colours. Canvasses can remain white, they have no need of my embellishments. Paint can stay in tubes. The assorted brushes displayed like dried flowers splayed in their sturdy pot, have stopped dreaming of thick paint and swirling water.

It had its moment, when inspiration and colour were a heady mix, creativity poured and splashed onto surfaces, it couldn't be contained it had to flow. The pictures needed to be seen, the colours absorbed, it was a joy, a primal urge.

I have carried the memory like a crumpled photo of a long gone lover. Awaiting the day when that fiery desire would once again run through my veins and beg to be released onto that virgin page. Creativity unleashed on a white canvass, pictures and stories appearing in the paint in front of my smitten eyes.

That golden moment has never returned and I'm not waiting any more. It's time to put down this torch I have been carrying, say my final goodbyes and mourn for that time when it was easy and paint and I were lovers. - Taken from my blog Out Of My Ocean

Saying Goodbye to the Willow Tree

2009-09-09T10:39:00.030+01:00

Photo below taken from the top end of the road, before the wind felled the first branch.
The talking oak to the ancient spoke. But any tree will talk to me. - Mary Carolyn Davies

I see from the window, framed against the ever changing sky the huge old willow tree standing sentinal at the top of the road.

For years I have watched its graceful branches dancing in the breeze its leaves magically lit by the afternoon sun. It has become a landmark, a thing of beauty.

Recent winds have bought one huge old limb crashing down. This week we will say goodbye to this magnificent old tree, as he is taken down, removed.

He grew too large for his birthplace in a tiny garden. The homes that crowd his base have become afraid. I understand, but I will be so, so, sad and will miss seeing the huge old tree everytime I open my front door.

I wrote this first thing this morning and decided to go outside and take some more photos to accompany this post. It was then I heard the chainsaw - today is the day it comes down.

Of all man's works of art, a cathedral is greatest.
A vast and majestic tree is greater than that.
- Henry Ward Beecher

The view from my front door
Going
Going
Gone
Limb by limb the beautiful branches of the old Willow Tree are removed from the sky. Blue instead of green now seen from the window. All things change. Life moves on. - link

"Thank God, they cannot cut down the clouds." - Henry David Thoreau

Goodbye old tree and thank you - you will be missed.

The View From My Desk

2009-09-05T15:22:00.038+01:00

"All the windows of my heart I open to the day"- John Greenleaf Whittier

As I sat at my desk yesterday, drinking coffee and looking out at the sunshine, I picked up my camera and snapped a few pictures of my view through the window. (click pic for a larger view).

I love this view with the beautiful big trees and my busy bird table and it often features in my writing on my blog - My Name is Zing - where I try and capture the essence of certain moments from my life. Just little snippets that sum up the fleeting impressions of times and feelings. When I look back at these recollections they trigger memories, frozen in time on a blogs page, moments that otherwise would be lost for ever. This was a recent 'moment' taken from there . . .

Blustery winds and black, black skies have relinquished their place outside my window. This morning I see sunlight sculpting the limbs of the huge old tree in the distance, the bark of the silver birch glistening white, leaves still in the morning sunshine. A flock of busy sparrows dart back and forth to my birdtable. Calm has returned to my garden.

What do you see when you are sitting at your computer?

A Familiar Feeling

2009-08-23T16:24:00.012+01:00

For so long now the urge to paint, to see colour transforming a blank canvas has just been a memory.

Other things seemed to have stepped into the foreground.
I just no longer had the inclination. The spark wasn't there. The colours weren't calling me. The pictures and shapes had been replaced by words arising, as images once did. . . .

Then today I felt a familiar feeling, just a twinge but I recognised it immediately. Will it lead anywhere? We'll see.

"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way... things I had no words for." - Georgia O'Keeffe

Shop, Blog Makeover and Getting Started

2009-08-09T21:46:00.009+01:00

Well, everything has been on hold for a while in regard to the shop.

Sometimes, things need time to grow, to attain their shape. An idea has energy and the seed is planted and watered with the initial spark of inspiration and then needs time to allow it to germinate, to put down roots and begin to grow.

This is what happened - and today was the day the idea broke the soil and caught my attention again - so here I am.

I intend to blog about the 'treasures' as I unpack them and felt I needed more space for the photos, so gave the blog a makeover too - I hope you like it.

Now, to fish out the first box from under the bed and get started - stay tuned! - Susannah :-)

My Dilemma - Solution Coming Soon!

2009-07-17T14:59:00.017+01:00

Well, when I first started this blog my intention was to share some of the beautiful items I find on my travels and just can't resist bringing home! You see, I find it difficult, no, REALLY difficult to say no to lovely or unusual items. I am like a Magpie and it brings me great pleasure to collect all these little treasures. Now, this was fine for a while! until my home started disappearing under all this lovely stuff.

This is when I got tough with myself and chose a few (hundred :-)) really extra special favourites that I just couldn't imagine not being able to look at and then quickly and carefully packed up the other things in boxes and put them in the cupboard and when that was full, stacked the rest of the boxes under the bed.

This gave me a temporary feeling of space and control! :-) I liked the new sparce (for me) look and vowed that for a while I would stop falling in love with all these gorgeous things - and I did! I walked away, shielded my eyes, forbade myself to look. Occasionally things slipped through the net and made it home, where I loved them, like I did all the others.

I adore beautiful things, quirky things, unusual things and I have decided that not being able to collect them if I want is inhibiting me!
(Screams and stamps her feet like a petulant 3 year old! ;-))

So a solution is needed - this is my first tentative step in that direction. I have signed up with a place online that lets you have a free shop in return for running ads in the side bar. It means I can securely accept payments through paypal and best of all it won't cost me anything to find out if my solution will work in reality.

The plan is that I will open the boxes up, one at a time and pick 5 of the beautiful items and offer them for sale to others who appreciate 'treasure' too, through the Incredible Joy Shop. Once an item sells, another lovely item will take its place.

Now I have no idea how/if this is going to work but I am going to try!

So, as I figure out the workings of the shop, the countdown to opening begins. . . .Wish me luck! :-)

Part of the Garden - Before & After

2009-06-26T21:43:00.027+01:00

Our home was previously inhabited by an old couple who had lived there for many years, when we moved in the garden was very overgrown though contained lots of beautiful mature plants and fruit bushes too - though we had to clear a lot of stuff to find them! I wrote about it in the post A Reminder Of Summer.

There was one part of the garden, to the back of the house that had been used for storing the rubbish bins and had become a general dumping ground.

It gave the impression of being an unloved, dark, damp area, being North facing and its only saving grace were two mature plants, a lilac bush and another that is smothered in white scented flowers at this time of the year (maybe a mock orange? I am not sure) and although most of the garden is surrounded by a nice thick hedge, this side was open to a neighbours garden and the small woodland behind.

At first we concentrated on transforming the main area of the garden bit by bit and used the ramshackle old sheds and the area at back for storage. Though as we could see the shrubs from the kitchen window I did hang small glittery mirror balls from one of them. :-)

We eventually put up a fence to mark the boundary and give us some privacy, we painted it green to blend in with the backdrop of trees and then set about transforming it from an unloved area into a garden.

When the rubbish had been removed and the fence had been erected. This is what we started with.

After lots of thinking, planning, digging, laying paving and bricks, finally the transformation was complete! and when things had started to grow - this is what the damp, dark, unloved area became!

The old sheds were eventually taken down and replaced with one big spacious building.

Paving was laid, curvy beds marked out and edged with old salvaged red bricks.

Covers were made for the ugly drains and plants were placed on top of them.

Plants were moved from other parts of the garden and settled into homes in the new beds.

We added a table and chairs and a pretty bird table for our feathered friends. You wouldn't recognise it as the same space!

A real transformation I think you will agree. :-)

Since these photos, it has matured even more. I wrote about it in the View From My Kitchen Window -

"Clematis smothered with huge cream flowers, cornflowers at its feet piercing the grey morning with colour. Burgeoning nature bursting from the confines of the brick edged beds, a riot of green energy vital, vibrant, alive. I observe from my kitchen window, mesmerized by it seemingly growing before my eyes - behind me the kettle boils."

Quite a different view these days from the kitchen window. :-)

Other garden views - Here

Home is Where . . .

2009-06-12T10:30:00.006+01:00

"Only cat lovers know the luxury of fur-coated, musical hot water bottles that never go cold." - Susanne Millen

"There is, incidentally, no way of talking about cats that enables one to come off as a sane person." - Dan Greenberg

Waiting Outside The Post Office Yesterday Morning

2009-05-30T13:29:00.012+01:00

I noticed . .

Sunlight on dry stone wall
The sounds of a lawn mower
B I R D S O N G
a childs ball bouncing on hard pavement
Sunglasses and Ice Cream
Old dogs walking their elderly owners
Daisies Everywhere!

"This day will not come again.
Each minute is worth a priceless gem."
-Takuan

Mid May In My Garden

2009-05-16T00:37:00.006+01:00

The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.- Basho

Good Advice

2009-05-08T11:59:00.001+01:00

Waiting Outside The Dentist

2009-05-01T12:43:00.023+01:00

I went with J to his dental appointment this week and as he was likely to be a while, I took a book and said I would wait in the car.

Our dentist is situated in a really beautiful spot called Godswell (one of the reasons we chose it.)

It is situated off the road in a courtyard surrounded with trees and next to an old church with a towering steeple.

It was too hot in the car with the sun pouring through the window, so I decided to sit myself down on the grass under a wonderful blossom tree.

As I sat and contemplated the beauty all around me, I was inspired to write, I scrabbled around in my bag and found a pen and the back of a leaflet.

Heres's what I wrote. . .

"Sitting under a blossom tree, pale pink blooms tightly clustered on spreading boughs - love personified - fragrant and beautiful. Old stone wall, golden in the sunlight, shadows dancing on its surface. Petals floating on the wind.
Lush green grass embroidered with daisies.
Signpost proclaiming Godswell - yeah, I thought, I'll vouch for that."

A mundane trip made beautiful.

"ALWAYS TAKE THE SCENIC ROUTE"

(THERE'S BEAUTY EVERYWHERE)

The Making of a Vegetable Patch

2009-04-18T10:53:00.009+01:00

A couple of years ago we were reading about small space gardening, and decided that we had room in the area just in front of the fruit bushes for a small scale, raised bed growing area.

So, as we like to reuse and repurpose things, we started to keep our eyes open for materials. It wasn't long before our eagle eyes spotted just the opportunity we were looking for.

A house in the village where we live, had been sold and the new owners were doing extensive work to the house (an old converted chapel).

We drove by one day and saw the huge skip outside, almost full with decking boards that had been removed from the garden. They were still in great condition so rather than them end up in a landfill, we asked if we could have them.

Great, we now had the materials, we also had some paving slabs (also reused) that we collected from someone on our local Freecycle group that could be used as a path around the edge and to lead to our newly aquired compost bin (also from freecycle).

So one sunny day after laying out the paving stones roughly where we wanted the path, Joe got to work digging the vegetable patch.

The raised beds and a middle walkway were skillfully constructed and the beds were dug and filled with more soil.
Planted, and with compost bin in place, we are all set.
Now just to watch it grow!
A successful project! the curly Kale was delicious, the lettuce was good too.

Just shows what can be done with things that other people are going to throw away, some good design skills and hard work! (thanks Joe).

Planet Earth - Art in Public Spaces

2009-04-10T22:56:00.016+01:00

Whenever I see a clear blue sky full of enormous and beautiful white clouds, all in the most sculptural of shapes and just floating serenely by, I am totally awe inspired. There is beauty everywhere!

Planet Earth - Art in Public Spaces.

A Reminder of Summer

2009-03-30T19:03:00.014+01:00

Today I walked around my garden, marvelling at the new life sprouting forth. Things I had forgotten from last Spring peeping their head out of the thick dark soil. Oh look! I kept exclaiming, delighted with each new find and the remembrance it triggered of previous years.

Our garden is an inherited one, we moved here 5 years ago and took over an overgrown but well planted mature garden, we had to wrestle back control and give it shape and meaning, and were constantly amazed at what we found growing among the brambles.

We didn't plant anything ourselves for a couple of years, just cleared it enough to let it breathe and to see what was growing there.

Every season was a new suprise! In spring came the crocus and the daffodills, tulips too, primroses tucked in places that would be hidden by the abundance of Summer.

This morning, I saw the fresh green leaves on what were to become the biggest gifts of the garden to us.

The first year I had hacked through a thicket of brambles and nettles at the back of the garden to reveal a row of fruit bushes and a young Ash sapling. I gave them space and watched as the redcurrents, blackcurrents and two types of gooseberries grew and ripened.

We shared the harvest with the fat blackbird and its young and the hungry thrushes. Sweet summer goodness, unexpected, but so appreciated, and the cycle is beginning again.

These photos were taken of a previous years bounty, reminding me of summer on this overcast afternoon at the end of March.

. . I can almost taste them now.

Happy Spring Equinox

2009-03-19T21:21:00.004Z

May the increasing light bring you happiness, abundance and so much joy! - Very best wishes and love to all - Susannah xxx

A Good Reminder

2009-02-19T01:10:00.008Z

Gifts from the Ocean

2009-02-11T13:19:00.014Z

Gifts from the Ocean are all made from things found on the ocean shore.

Their creation came about one summer, as my partner J and myself, were living a very simple life close to the beach.
I have a love of the ocean (and all things natural), and while walking on the shoreline, found beautiful pebbles, shells, pieces of driftwood, wonderful rocks containing crystals, and lovely flat slate pebbles in amazing aesthetic shapes. I called these my Gifts from the Ocean

With just a hand operated drill, jute string, small pieces of mirror, a tube of glue and of course, imagination, I took the slate pebbles, shells and tiny bits of driftwood and I created these beautiful little reminders of the ocean, of the beach, of the simple life.

In the years since, lots of these were sold, or given as presents, but recently while sorting out a cupboard, I came across a box and when I opened it up, there carefully wrapped inside, I found the remainders of that creative summer and the memories came flooding back. . . .

I still have quite a few of these little mirrors for sale (both the hanging ones and a few little standing ones with shelves). If you are interested and want to know more please leave me a message - Susannah :-)

Bathroom - Before and After

2009-02-01T21:55:00.012Z

Well, our bathroom is tiny! it has one smallish window that faces north so doesn't get any direct sunlight and though a small room it has always been a pleasant space. Then back in the summer the landlord wanted to update the fittings and install a shower (lucky us!) so our old familiar bathroom was stripped out and new fittings installed.

BEFORE

We were really fortunate in being able to choose our own paint colours and flooring, and I made a very daring choice for such a small space. I had totally fallen in love with the colour I chose as soon as I had scanned the paint chart. This mouth wateringly deep saturated yellowy green jumped out at me, and I was hooked!

With the choice of very light flooring and the wall of white tiles over the bath and shower area I felt (hoped) that the room could take it.

AFTER

After lots of worrying about whether or not I had made the right choice, the transformation happened and I am glad to say I love it.

Thank goodness for that!

First thing in the morning...

2009-01-21T14:45:00.010Z

This is what I see as I first open my eyes.

At the side of my bed, on the white chest of drawers, is my glossy white bedside lamp - two hands holding a light filled globe.

Next to that sits a lovely little studio pottery vase, glazed with a beautiful cobalt blue and filled with dried Lavender picked from the garden.

Then my beautiful serene white cat nonchantly keeping watch.

On the wall, two of my paintings, both reminding me of the ocean, a giant wave at the top (again with that beautiful cobalt blue) and beneath that 'paddling on a windy day', both pictures give me a feeling of freedom and remind me of the ocean that I don't get to visit often enough.

For me, this is a wonderful sight to see as I awake in the morning.

What do you see when you open your eyes?

Taking its place...

2008-09-17T20:32:00.006+01:00

Well, the revamped cupboard is now proudly sitting in the corner of my room and guess what, I haven't filled it up yet! It looks so nice and spacious when it is empty that I am having trouble 'cluttering' it up with all the random things that need a home.

Perhaps I should just dedicate it to storing just one kind of thing, like sewing equipment....only I don't sew, or my art stuff... only I don't want to get it messed up with paint. It needs to store something neat and stackable (preferably in pretty fabric covered boxes (I can dream can't I!)

OK, so it is just going to get crammed with junk that is useful but needs keeping out of sight, I had just better start getting used to the idea I suppose. :-)

Well, we needed more storage...

2008-08-22T11:51:00.015+01:00

We decided that we definitely needed more storage. Even after we had spring cleaned and shipped out what seemed like lorry loads of things to the local charity shops or offered it on our local freecycle site. there were still piles of stuff without a home, and under the bed was full :-) .

So when an old pine cupboard appeared in our freecycle emails we thought it would come in very useful. We picked it up and bought it home and though a little rickety it had plenty of space inside.

Cupboard 'Before'.

After staring at it for a while, inspiration struck and I had an idea for its transformation. So with the help of my lovely man Joe, handles were removed and it was made less rickety. It was then rubbed down slightly to take off the varnish ready for painting and some timber was cut to make little legs 4 inches high. Joe then cut and shaped some wood we had in another of our stockpiles! to make a top with an overhang of two inches on the front and both sides. Then over to me, ready for painting!

First I gave the whole thing a coat of a soft beige colour, when that was dry, I painted into all the grooves and around the edges with a soft pale green. I then dry brushed both a warm cream and ivory colour to highlight areas. When I was happy with the results and while I was waiting for it to dry, I rummaged through my stash of handles (OK, OK, so I am a hoarder ;-) ) and found some nice curved chrome ones that I thought would look nice. As Joe was screwing them on he twisted the tops of them out and I thought, wow, that looks perfect! and that's how they stayed!

So in an afternoon, our new storage cupboard was transformed into this....

Cupboard 'After'.

It now sits proudly in the corner of our room, new storage achieved!