April is Here

Early mornings are what I love the best!

All is quiet until the birds start to sing their pre-dawn chorus.

We had a few dull, rainy days, so I put a cheerful table-topper on my little round table,

made myself a mug of peppermint tea and had a peaceful read before breakfast.

I like to choose my mug according to my mood

and I have chosen spring flowers for this morning.

The yellow pansies are growing on my balcony.

Every morning, at a certain time, the sun shines in through my kitchen windows

creating pretty patterns from my heart-decorated net curtains.

I love seeing my spring flowers growing in pots on my balcony:

Yellow Allysum, red Camellia and three Begonia plants.

Here is the dark pink Begonia

After lunch, I went out for a walk in my neighbourhood.

I came across some cheerful dandelions and noticed some fallen pine needles on the path.

I'm wearing my comfortable lace-up walking shoes which are perfect for all the hills here.

The primroses have been wonderful this year, covering grassy areas in carpets of yellow.

I did like these very much growing next to some violets.

Tiny Anemone growing in shady spots among last autumn's fallen leaves.

The crocus are nearly over now. I do love their bright yellow centres.

So beautiful in yellow too.

On the first day of April, it snowed!

The pansies in my window box were a little surprised.

This purple one contrasts well with the white of the snow.

This chunky blossom is called Japanese Flowering Quince.

I saw this today on my walk.

The cherry blossom is one of the first to come into flower.

I saw the first ones in March, but these are flowering now in April.

There have been walks along the lake.

This was taken from the lakeside village of Cully.

The old wooden jetty taken from the same place.

The view was quite misty that particular day.

Last week was a challenging week with several electronic devices giving me problems:

my computer was frozen for several days until the technician could come and sort things out.

My iPad needed an upgrade and even my new landline telephone would not work.

As things sorted themselves out, I saw this little crystal angel downtown...

I thought that she would like to come and live with me - and so she did!

I made a collage of my latest crochet project.

It's going to be a couch throw called 'Granny's Secret Garden'

The pattern was created by Marion on her blog.

 You can visit her site by clicking on the name of the blanket.

I'll explain the pattern so far: on the upper left are the flowers which create the middle part,

then we come to a round of yellow and blue squares which represent Forget-me-nots.

The last round in pink and red are for the cherry blossom in flower now.

The plain coloured squares will be on the next round.

Here they are finished and attached. They make a pretty frame for the garden!

Right now, I'm making a second round of plain squares.

It takes quite a long time to do, but I work on it about an hour a day, sometimes more,

and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished blanket.

I hope that you are enjoying this month of April.

What are your favorite flowers at this time of the year?

Awareness

"Awareness is like the sun.

When it shines on things

They are transformed."

 Thich Nhat Hanh

Buddhist teacher and Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh left this life very recently.

He was 95 years old.

His teachings held so much wisdom and I have several of his books, like the one above.

There are so many beautiful quotations in his books:

" Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful."

On the table, you can see my Tingsha bells, or cymbals. 

I have had them for many years and love their sound.

Just listening to them gives me a feeling of peace.

If you would like to hear these bells you can do so on this link:

Tingsha Bells

My bells are the 3-inch ones with a slightly deeper sound.

I am not Buddhist, but their teachings resonate with me.

When we set a pretty table for breakfast, we eat more slowly and consciously

and appreciate each mouthful.

This morning I made an apple muffin made with almond flour.

Being in nature and literally becoming part of it through my shadow!

The Witch Hazel is a welcome sight while the spring flowers are still shy of blooming

after a return to colder temperatures. 

As I was walking back from the shops yesterday, I looked up to see this lovely

cloud formation, momentarily hiding the sun, but we can see some discreet

sunrays slightly above and below the cloud.

I am taking part in a private self-portrait group and this week,

our challenge was to take silhouettes. 

When I was walking in front of my glass-fronted bookcase, I noticed

my silhouette against the window.

I bet you didn't know that I lived in a bookcase in my spare time!

Another bookcase photo, with my focus on the frame and the contents, but less on my silhouette,

making it look more dreamy and contemplative as if I were looking out of the window.

I found it interesting to note that the shadow of my head highlighted the gold writing

of a book entitled 'A New Earth' by teacher and author Eckhart Tolle.

Space, lightness and simplicity.

Have you noticed, that when there's too much going on,

we just need to create some space around us. let in the light and return to simplicity.

Finding my centre

Space, lightness, simplicity

Show be how to be.

I hope that you are finding lightness and laughter in your own life,

remembering that our smile makes life more beautiful, both for others and for how we feel inside.

A New Year and Longer Days

Golden light for the grey days at the beginning of our winter!

This charming porcelaine candle-holder with bare branches and cheeful little birds

was given to me by a good friend at Christmas.

A touch of fairy lights and a pretty reflection in the polished wood of my sideboard.

When we were going through a series of grey days with wind and rain,

I thought it would be very cheering to take photos of the candle-holders

that have come into my life over the years.

This sweet house was given to me by my grandson a few years ago.

A fine porcelaine village scene with snow-topped houses and a church

and pretty pine trees.

Many of these photos were taken either in the early morning or late afternoon.

This is a flower-shaped faceted glass candle-holder.

The glass is neutral in colour, but it has taken on a red glow because of the red candle.

More faceted glass on a crocheted red mat and illuminating a beautiful snow scene

which is my son's Christmas card this year

A warm image created by a very pretty Swarovski crystal candle-holder

which my daughter gave me.

I made the three red crocheted little bells with silver edging this year.

I bought this Art Deco style glass heart-shaped container

from a Lausanne market stall many years' ago.

I like to fill it with some marbles and a candle and a muslin ribbon gave it a soft, flowing feel!

I have also used this little dish for homemade chocolates or biscuits. to serve to company.

This is the same glass dish in which we can see the glass stem, or stand.

I wanted something light and airy with a touch of gold to celebrate this first day of the new year.

The symbolic message I wish to share with this image is this:

Let's always rise above adversity,

 the flowing ribbons remind us to bring lightness and gaiety

into our lives and to nurture the child within us all.

The white candle makes me think of the white page in our book of life, 

waiting for us to write our continuing life story.

The flame of the candle shows us that whatever else is happening in our lives,

there is always a light shining somewhere to guide us out of the darkness.

For anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere, it's great to remember that right after the winter soltice. the days get longer by an average of 2 minutes and 7 seconds a day.

So that means between December 21 and December 31, we have gained 21.10 minutes of light!

Isn't that uplifting?

In the wise words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who recently died:

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together

that overwhelm the world."

I wish you all a Healthy and Happy New Year

filled with light, warmth and kindness, especially kindness.

Why Blog?

Rooibos tea and a homemade brownie

For some time now, for at least a year,

I have been asking myself why I bother to keep on blogging.

Is it for myself?

Is it for others?

If so, then why?

I started my blog with much enthusiam some years ago.

I met so many interesting people from all over the world.

But blogging has changed.

I can see that many people visit me here,

but very few of them interact or leave a comment.

It's as if the soul has gone out of blogging.

Do I want to continue?

Maybe

Maybe not.

I may decide to make my blog private, 

just for myself, my family and chosen friends.

After all, they are probably the only ones truly interested in the photos I show

or the words I write.

The above photo is some of my crochet work:

A new hearts garland

and the beginning of a heart-shaped cushion.

If you crochet and are interested, you can buy the pattern at at Apple Blossom Dreams

I have ordered a heart-shaped cushion insert as the one I have is not big enough.

Here is a close-up of the heart with the centre for the reverse side already done.

I have enjoyed buying potted bulbs which develop into lovely flowers for my apartment

like this tiny tête-à-tête Narcissus.

The tulips are always beautiful and exist in so many beautiful colour combination

The Peach Blossom is particularly dainty

One day, I went down to the lake to walk with a friend.

We both wore masks and kept a suitable distance from each other in the open air.

The day was dull and it was cold,

but it was lovely to socialize with someone for an hour or so.

The weather has been particularly gloomy, dull and cold

which makes the present situation  more difficult to bear.

One day, a strong north.easterly wind blew away the clouds 

and we got some sunshine.

I liked watching these bamboo leaves madly blowing all over the place.

On Sunday, our cold snap broke and instead of day temperatures of -5C

We suddenly warmed up to zero Celsius!

I'd arranged to meet the same friend at the lakeside and took down some brownies to share

and we bought a takeaway coffee.

The sparkles on the lake were particularly lovely

 even though the mountains on the other side of the lake were hidden by the hazy sky.

Unfortunately, the gorgeous weather attracted far too many people down to the lakeside.

Next time, it would be wise to go on a weekday and maybe get there rather early and take breakfast!

There are plenty of benches along the lake.

It is a pity to see all the restaurants closed, with the chairs on the tables.

One wonders how soon life will get back to normal.

I did love to notice the Magnolia buds swelling up in the sunshine

It won't be long till they start to open if this warmer weather continues.

A good blog should create a sense of community

It's also a living archive of what is happening in our lives-

A blog requires regular updates.

Am I able to fulfil these things?

If you visit my blog and don't leave a comment,

maybe you would like to tell me what you feel about blogging.

if you have one yourself and/or if you like visiting other people's blogs.

It might help me decide if I am to continue to keep my blog public

or if I shall close it to the public and just offer my photos and my words

to family and chosen friends.

Heartfelt wishes,

Always.

Christmas Day

It all started with early morning breakfast and it wasn't quite light outside.

I set up my fold-up table with a Christmas cloth and lit some candles

and my tiny Christmas tree

all to wish you a very

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

The Christmas elves came to the party

The Christmas Garland is in place

A little gnome joined me this year -

he just walked in and settled himself on the 2020 Temperature Blanket

which isn't quite finished.

A beautiful bauble arrived from England from a kind and generous

photography friend.

The little house lights up inside. 

Isn't it beautiful?

Here is the second lovely bauble: a forest scene which I set among 

pine branches and added some fairy lights.

We've had some beautiful sunsets

This one was taken in my neighbourhood.

One day, we even had a sprinkling of snow - followed by rain!

I prepared the Christmas stockings for my daughter and my grandson!

We met up in my nearby park to have some family time

and open our presents!

Quite a special Christmas this year

but fun all the same - just different!

A lovely touch to our little gathering, a lady appeared out of nowhere

bringing with her some cookies, lychees and a mandarin orange.

She said that we looked 'adorable' sitting there exchanging gifts in the open air!

Wasn't that a touching gesture?

We're guessing that she lives in one of the apartments overlooking the park!

This year, Swarovski came out with a beautiful crystal star

with an Aurora Borealis colour effect.

It's to celebrate their 25th Anniversary.

The first flower on my Amaryllis named Aphrodite started to open

The next day, two flowers opened up completely and they're still blooming now

one week later.

It wouldn't be Christmas without the cookies. 

These are everyone's favourites: Viennese Crescents.

So if your alone or with family

may your Christmas be merry!

I've been having a beautiful relaxing time:

watching classical old films,

listening to Christmas Carols

cooking a traditional roast chicken with cranberry sauce and my daughter's  stuffing!

and I haven't felt alone for one minute!

At 4 pm, I'm going to enjoy a Zoom meeting with my family!

See you all again very soon!

I'll leave you to listen this joyful Sussex Carol: