Slow Flowers

Hello Lovelies,

in the depths of winter, when the garden is mostly dormant and not a very tempting place to be I get a lot of pleasure from watching  indoor bulbs, growing on my kitchen windowsill.

from a little shoot........

                                                               2nd Dec


the green leaves grow at a rapid rate and soon a promising flower bud appears...........

21st Dec

On Christmas day my red tulips were the star attraction , but I still loved the anticipation of the wonderful red Amaryllis flowers to come......

Soon the flower stalk was even bigger than the leaves and then the bud began to open up....

3rd January

Last week was super busy , but one simple thing that made me smile when I got home after dark each day was checking on the emerging flowers.......

Monday 7th

Getting bigger, maybe tomorrow they will be open .........

Tuesday 8th

No, but I love the progress shots anyway :0)..........

Wednesday 9th

 Oooooooh , getting closer.....

                  Thursday 10th

On Friday I had a day off so I carefully moved the wobbly,towering plant onto my mantle and got chance to enjoy the emerging flowers in the daylight........

I'ts huge

By Sunday the first flowers were fully open and they looked simply stunning with the winter sun shining through the petals...........that was worth the wait !

Ta-dah........

♥♥♥♥♥

I love this bright red version , though they do come in other colours , last year I had a very pale version.

They are super easy to grow . In the U.K. most supermarkets sell them as a kit in a box , which includes the bulb, soil and a pot .They are generally in the shops around November time, I think mine cost about £3 .

Then all you have to do is plant the bulb,water it occasionally and enjoy watching it grow........there's no hurry :0)

Jacquie x

Sunshine and a little Snow

Hello lovelies,

yesterday we woke to a very light sprinkling of snow..... " like the world has been dusted with icing sugar" was how my eldest put it. It was certainly not enough to go sledging, but was enough to tempt me and the boys to go out exploring. 

 As we walked along the edge of a field  a friendly horse appeared out of the mist and approached the fence.........

I was lucky enough to grow up with horses so I'm quite happy with them ( and I know to be careful ). The boys haven't had much contact with these large animals so they were understandably cautious. But with the reassurance of a separating fence and a bit of encouragement they were happy to say hello to this handsome chap.....

  Awww, what a sweet face and such a lovely chestnut colour.......

"bye Harold" .......we don't know what his name is actually but the boys decided to call him that...Harold the horse....suits him I think :0)

In the next field we spotted some highland cattle, thankfully they did not come too close.....

It turned our to be quite a day for animal encounters as just a little further along we met a herd of sheep.......

Another sweet face to say hello to.........

As you can see it was a very cold but bright , sunny day so when we got home and defrosted a bit I was pleased to be able to take some more photos of my welsh dresser to share with you lovelies, it's changed a bit since you last saw it.

It's in a bit of a gloomy spot , but thankfully the low winter sun was shining right into my dining room ........

Can you spot my "new" plates ?

At Christmas I asked Mum if I could borrow some extra plates from her and these were among those she lent me.
I couldn't resist trying them on my dresser and she has kindly said I can leave them there........

This design "Willow Pattern" reminds me of my childhood.  Our farmhouse had picture rails around the walls of the front room , on which Mum displayed willow pattern tea plates. It also had beams with horse brasses and an inglenook fireplace.

 But back to the plates.....I love this blue and white design with so much pretty detail.......

 These plates, Mum tells me, were bought in 1953 , when she married my Dad and they first set up home together.

I remember studying this picture as a child and being told the story behind it, which I had long since forgotten.

 The wonderful resource  that is the internet supplied THIS sweet little video  to remind me.


I'm still totally in love with my dresser. It's a constant joy and I'm really chuffed that it ended up here, to display my treasures old and new......

Thank you so much for continuing to pop in and visit me , all your comments  are a joy too .

Jacquie x

Super Duper Soup

Hello Lovelies, 

After the mild start to January it's turned very cold here this week. Most definitely soup weather.There is something wonderfully comforting about a bowl of steaming hot soup on a chilly day, don't you think ? 

I've always enjoyed good quality ready made soup , but just lately I've started making some of my own too.

 I've only had Butternut squash soup a couple of times before but I LOVED it and wondered if I would be able to make my own.
 Back in December I spotted some of these unusual looking veg ( or should that be fruit........it contains seeds , so that makes it technically a fruit I think ) on offer in the supermarket. I picked it up , confident that the internet would provide me with a recipe. 

Indeed there were lots , but THIS ONE appealed most , due to it's simplicity and beautiful photography. 

I then proceeded to forget all about my plans till yesterday, when the cold snap reminded me of my soupy desires........

As you may have noticed in the picture above, I'm not afraid to use  old veg. The potatoes were sprouting and the squash had gone past it's  "best before" date .

But the still looked yummy once chopped up, and it really was a super quick, easy soup to make.

It turned out just as tasty as I remembered........ creamy ( though it contains hardly any fat ) and sweet ( though not overly so ) and just, well ....really delicious. The recipe made a big pan full , enough for about six servings. It was a big hit all round..........

Butternut Squash as in season from October to December here, but they may still be in the shops. I'll certainly buy another one , and make more yummy, thrifty soup , if I come across them.

Today, after another lunch of my warming soup, I ventured into our rather chilly conservatory to take the pictures for my owl decoration tutorial. I didn't think it would take so long to get around to this but HOPEFULLY next week will be quieter and I'll be able to complete it for you lovelies.......

Hope you have a super Sunday
Jacquie x

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 2/52

Hello Lovelies,

 thank you for all your kind comments on my recent posts. I'm so happy to see some more of you joining in with Jen's wonderful project. Anything that helps to focus my mind on happy, positive moments has got to be a good thing. Especially in a busy, back to school week.

So here goes with my second post celebrating the joy in small things 

( no mosaic this time :0)    )

1. Mr BM putting my bird box up in our Silver Birch tree, keeping my fingers crossed it's useful for a birdy family........

2. My new calendars' January picture. A perfectly pretty snowy image. This calendar is also my running "diary" , where I record all my runs. I hardly did any  in December so it makes me happy to see three, admittedly shortish, runs already this month..........

3. Baking Apple pie with my eldest at the weekend. He has always loved cooking and was bought this pie dish with Blackbird steam vent for Christmas....reminds me of my own childhood.........

4. Getting an extra long lunch break on a study day yesterday. There was even time to go for a walk in the park and enjoy the sunshine. We came across this funny looking Duck , which I've since found out is an Egyptian Goose ........

I haven't come across this breed before.

Now I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hope this week has been O.K. for you, with lots of happy moments.
Jacquie x

Winter Sun

The past couple of days have been sunny and very mild. Such a welcome relief after the grey, wet days we endured over the Christmas period. I suppose we would not appreciate the sun nearly so much if it shone every day.

Yesterday I was determined to get out and enjoy it, for at least a little while, so myself and two boys ( the third was helping his Dad ) headed out on our bikes. 

After a while you come to a single track road which has very little traffic..........

I've brought you along here on previous cycle rides, so if it all looks a bit familiar , that's why. I love the light ( it's only 3pm but the sun is already low in the sky) and stop to take lots of pictures while the boys disappear up the hill............

At the top we catch our breath and enjoy taking the odd close up , like these bright red Rose Hips.......

Here we are , me admiring the countryside on such a wonderful , calm and sunny afternoon........the boys saying "not more pictures Mum, you've taken loads already".........

Of course I ignore them and enjoy taking a few more. There's no rush and it's so mild I'm happy to linger....breathing deeply , filling my lungs with fresh air and really noticing the colours and beauty that is all around us. How green the tree bark is in this light.........

Soon though, we decide it's time to turn around and enjoy whizzing back down the hill......well the boys whiz and I make a steady descent :0)

The fields look golden brown and the shadows are even longer now.........

The horses enjoy the last rays of the day ........

And I take one last look at the wonderful sky , with clouds disappearing into the distance.......

We head home after our simple outing........

and I count my blessings yet again, life is good.

Jacquie x

My tips for better blog pictures

Hello Lovelies,
I've had quite a few comments over time complimenting me on the photos I take for my blog, and (while I don't think I'm any sort of expert on the subject) it does make me happy to be able to take a pretty decent photograph.

So today I thought I would share some of the tips and wisdom I've picked up along the way. It's a different sort of tutorial and I hope you find it helpful :0)



1. Take lots of Pictures
I feel  so lucky to live in the age of digital photography . Remember having 24 exposures on a roll of film and half of them turning out to be duff !
In those days you had to ration your pictures to one or two of each subject due to the cost of photo development, but not any more. I will generally take half a dozen shots of the same subject from differing angles ..........

This goes for all subjects....not just crochet :0)

It's easy to delete any I'm not happy with later.

2. Good Light This is such an important factor in getting good images. I always try to take pictures on bright days and I know the best spots in my home to get good light.  It's great to take your projects outside to photograph when the weather is kind . Or choose a well lit part of the room .



 It's best to be patient and wait for good light if you have a completed project to share.
 If you finish it a 11pm don't take a hurried flash photograph and then expect your readers to really be able to tell how lovely it is .
Wait till a sunny, or at least bright day, then have fun taking lots of pictures in different positions.
You have put a lot of effort into creating your project so do it justice with some detailed, well lit photos.

3. Turn off the Flash. Cameras often flash automatically when it's not really advantageous . I hardly ever publish a flash photo on my blog as I really dislike them. They wash out colour and make everything look so harsh.

4.Get to know your Camera and take it Everywhere. Play about with your camera , test out different settings to see if you can improve your pictures. My own camera is a  Canon IXUS  simple compact.

 I chose it because Lucy has the same make and I so admire her pictures.

 It's not perfect and struggles to capture red clearly .

It also hates too much contrast ....like capturing the true colours in the sky and land at the same time . But despite those shortcomings I still LOVE it. We are like old friends.It's great at Macro pictures, has a setting called foliage that heightens the colour in most pictures ( I leave it in that setting most of the time as to my eyes it makes the colours more true to life).

For pictures in low light I've found the "Aquarium" setting works well. Your camera will probably have something similar though it may use different names. 

It's small enough to carry everywhere ( in a protective case ) and still works well after nearly three years of blogging and several thousand photos. Including getting shaken around when I take it running !

Part of me would love a digital SLR but I know I would still end up using a compact most of the time when I'm out and about.

5.Think about the Background If you are taking a picture of something movable then  position it against a pretty background. Or if the subject doesn't move take your picture from an angle that has the best possible background.

6.Staging This follows on from background. It's not cheating to make up a bit of a "set" to add interest to your pictures. My home has lots of clutter,family stuff and boring bits, but I don't think my readers want to look at them.....this is my pretty space.

 I choose my angle carefully and maybe add flowers,ornaments,books,crockery, magazines,food, crochet or fabric to my pictures .
Staging is  creative and fun in it's own right and all the home magazines are experts at it. It simply gives your readers more pretty things to look at...........

7.Get Close up. If your camera will take macro images ( it's the button with a flower on mine ) then make the most of it. It's wonderful to be able to enlarge tiny details on so many things. I especially love taking close ups of flowers.Mother nature is amazing viewed close up............

8.Interesting Angles As I mentioned before I take lots of pictures from different angles. Things look completely different viewed from different perspectives.........

9. Copy those that Inspire you. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that. Really look at photo's you love and think about what it is that attracts you about them.

10.Upload Tips.....THINK BIG I visit many blogs that have lovely pictures but they are tiny so just don't have the impact created by a larger image. I write my posts and upload images in Bloggers "compose" option. The pictures are small but if you click on them you can re-size...I choose "extra large".

11. Enjoy as you practice and find your results improving hopefully you will get real enjoyment from this simple , free (once you own a camera obviously) hobby.

My top blogs for wonderful Photography
Attic 24
The Quince Tree
Posy Gets Cozy
Country Rabbit
Curlew Country
Tales from a happy house
Foxes Lane
Of course there is more to a blog than just  photographs, and these beautifully written blogs are so much more than just a series of great photos. I'm just concentrating on the photography aspect of blogging for this post.

I hope these tips will help any of you lovelies who struggle with photography to get better results this year.
I'm always happy when I can record pretty things or family moments.
Like my craft , being able to share pictures here adds greatly to my enjoyment of photography....so thank you :0)
Jacquie x

Edited to Add :- Since June 2013 I have mostly been using THIS camera. It's picture quality is very similar to my old IXUS but I do love it's better Zoom.
Jacquie x

Edited again :- Since January 2105 I have been using THIS camera. Not quiet as good a zoom as I would like, but I'm generally very happy with it's pictures....and I love the purple :0)
Jacquie x

♥ 52 Weeks of Happy ♥ 1/52

Hello lovelies,

 this first week of 2013 I'm starting a weekly themed post.

I'm joining in with Jen's wonderful idea to celebrate the joy that small things can bring .

These posts  will be short and simple.....four happy moments I've captured on my trusty little camera, with a brief  explanation of each image.

So here goes with week 1.....

1.A beautiful sunset on New Years Eve, captured while waiting at a red light.

2.My new veg steamer, a very practical Christmas prezzie from my kind Mum in Law.....it's great and so frugal.

3.Looking in to my kitchen when  I went out to the bins after dark. I love our colourful  little home...despite the mess and clutter.

4.Spending New Years Eve with my brother and sister in law and their girls. We played board games and enjoyed good food as well as watching the stunning London fireworks in the telly.

The start of a new year seems to be a good time to embark on a fresh project and I hope you will enjoy sharing these simple, happy moments too.
 Lot's of other lovely bloggers have already joined in with this wonderful idea so if you feel like joining in too do:0)

I may not always post the pictures as a Mosaic....just enjoying the novelty of finally figuring out how to do them .
Jacquie x