A Heart-Shaped Day

Heart Shapes are always lovely to create and I love to make mine in crochet. 

This one is attached to a small branch of cherry blossom.

The pretty pattern comes from

Anabelia Craft Design

I made another one in pink which is next to my Sonny Angel doll

dressed in cherry blossom clothes.

I received these beautiful pink and red roses in a bouquet

which tempted me to make a garland of mini hearts!

There's something special about anything heart-shaped, don't you think?

We have had many sunny days this month and I have been enjoying them to the full.

I liked this little leftover leaf from autumn, still hanging onto the branch.

Now I have to take you for a walk along the lake. I have been there several times

in the last week and the lighting has been perfect.

The mountains were slightly misty and the lake was a lovely shade of blue.

A slight breeze ruffled the surface of the water.

and there have been fresh snowfalls.

The bright sunshine created a myriad of sparkles on the surface of the water.

I was so glad that I was down by the lake that day.

What peace on this particular day.

I walked a lot and sat on a bench for a while, soaking up all the beauty and peacefulness.

We can see the tower of the hotel and restaurant called Le Château d'Ouchy.

I really enjoyed observing two Great Crested Grebes doing their courtship display

It was all quite enchanting

If you would like to see a short video clip of them doing their dance.

You will see it HERE

I always find this sailing boat very elegant.

Another small boat and a pretty misty background shrouding the base of the mountains.

Sunbursts and sparkles on the water after a night of rain.

I've joined a group of photographers to practice self-portraits

and our challenge of the week was to take reflections.

Hello to you all!

The first spring flowers are starting to appear.

The Snowdrops and darling little Violets, winter-flowering Viburnum and Primroses.

Two hearts for you for Valentine's Day!

We are in for a mostly rainy week, but we have been so spoilt with sunshine

and we must be happy for the flowers and the whole of nature

who need rain as much as they need sunshine.

***

Remember to click on the photos to see them in a larger size.

Longer Days

The days are getting longer by several minutes each day

and that is what allowed me to witness this beautiful sunset when I crossed a bridge

to the other side of town at 5.30 pm.

This is the silhouette of the St. François church steeple in Lausanne.

I shall be looking out for more sunsets!

A mini snowstorm in my street

Winter is still lurking

while the spring flowers sleep.

But the tulips are here 

bringing wonderful colour into our homes!

They didn't want to open and so I put them out into the rain

which seemed to suit them very much.

It was worth the wait.

The garland of hearts is finished and looks fresh and cheerful

above the couch in my living room.

Here it hangs underneath the lithography of one of Magritte's paintings.

The painting is called "La page blanche" (the empty page)

which it isn't!

I like Magritte's surreal quality and his humour!

This reminder and quotation from Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne:

"Promise me,

You'll always remember:

You are braver than you believe

 stronger than you seem

and

smarter than you think."

Words spoken by Christopher Robin to his favourite bear.

***

For the beautiful pattern of the heart granny square

HERE

Bringing Colour into Winter

Do you know the Flower Fairy books

by Cicely Mary Barker?

I opened the page on the Primrose Fairy.

Isn't she lovely?

There's a poem to match each fairy too!

I really appreciate the fact that we can find beautiful potted flowers

during these winter months.

I picked three of my primroses to put on the Primrose Fairy page!

Of course, we're getting light snowfalls here in town and it looks so pretty

when it settles on the trees and bushes and in the gardens.

I just love this garden gate. Don't you?

The red berries got a good covering of fluffy snow.

and the evergreens in the nearby park looked beautiful.

It's the perfect weather for Cheese Raclette!

It's a combination of small potatoes in their jackets

and a special kind of raclette cheese which is tasty and melts easily.

I used two types of cheese:

Bagnes and Alpages.

A nice crunchy carrot salad on the side and a turn of the pepper mill on the cheese.

You can read more about raclette when I did an evening cruise on the lake:

Raclette Cruise

More colour to bring into the home in the form of a beautiful bouquet of tulips.

They are still in bud and will bring me great joy as they open up.

I chose this photo for my new blog header. The frame is bright and cheerful

to bring you some happy colour in these winter months!

There's always something on my crochet hook.

I'm going to make a garland with these hearts and I'll be posting the finished decoration

in a future blog post.

This lovely pattern comes is called Sunburst Granny Hearts and comes from

Bunny Mummy