I only had two eggs so couldn’t make a cake for the volunteers at Roots so I made Choc Chip Cookies instead.
We followed a car with a bumper sticker that made us smile.
Our garden has bloomed in today’s very welcome sunshine.
Cookies, Bumper Sticker and Flowers
Cherry Blossom, A Poem and A Song
In the market on Saturday there was a beautiful flowering cherry tree for sale.
I’ve been searching for a poem for today and came across this one written by an American poet, Angela Morgan, early last century. She had lost all her family and home in WW1 and wrote about finding hope in the darkest of times.
In Spite Of War by Angela Morgan
In spite of war, in spite of death,
In spite of all man’s sufferings,
Something within me laughs and sings
And I must praise with all my breath.
In spite of war, in spite of hate
Lilacs are blooming at my gate,
Tulips are tripping down the path
In spite of war, in spite of wrath.
“Courage!” the morning-glory saith;
“Rejoice!” the daisy murmureth,
And just to live is so divine
When pansies lift their eyes to mine.The clouds are romping with the sea,
And flashing waves call back to me
That naught is real but what is fair,
That everywhere and everywhere
A glory liveth through despair.
Though guns may roar and cannon boom,
Roses are born and gardens bloom;
My spirit still may light its flame
At that same torch whence poppies came.
Where morning’s altar whitely burns
Lilies may lift their silver urns
In spite of war, in spite of shame.And in my ear a whispering breath,
“Wake from the nightmare! Look and see
That life is naught but ecstasy
In spite of war, in spite of death!”
And I give you this song by Peggy Seeger again and how I echo her words.
Happiness Calendar, Community Roots and St David’s Day
Today the allotment is no longer ours but our fellow allotmenteers from the last few years came to visit Community Roots to hear about no-dig and to learn all about the garden. It was a very damp and fascinating morning which was greatly enjoyed by everyone. Here are some of them after the tour and after having worked in the new orchard.
It’s St David’s Day and here are more daffodils to honour my Welsh heritage. My Mum’s father was Welsh. They really were nodding in the breeze and the rain as I took the video through the window.
Spaceman, Flowers and Cathedral
We loved the Spaceman in the Lemon Street Market in Truro today.
In one of the shops were these lovely felt flowers.
I love Truro Cathedral in all weathers but on a beautiful sunny Spring day like today, it’s even more lovely.
Today is our last official day with an allotment. From tomorrow it will be cared for by a lovely young family.
Curtain, Garden and A Poem
Having finished the curtain for the back door, I had reason to go to my box of bits to make something else and re-discovered a piece of the Laura Ashley fabric I showed you the other day. There was enough to make a curtain so I have made another one for the back door in a fabric we love more.
This was the view from the dining room window as I was sewing this afternoon. 
If you have seen the film, Hamnet, you may have wept over the twins. Having twins myself, when I read the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, I found the chapter heartbreaking. One of our twins was very ill as a tiny baby and when we visited him in hospital every day, I always put his twin sister in the cot beside him. I love this poem by Helen Farish.
Porcelain, Dumbbells and A Word
I have two beautiful little porcelain boxes. They were given to my parents on their Ruby wedding anniversary by the man who was their Best Man and who became my Godfather, Maurice Oldfield. These little boxes became mine in due course and I love them.
In November last year I joined an online exercise class designed for women over 60 and I am loving it! Feeling stronger and fitter and far less arthritic pain. We have just graduated from using cans of beans as weights to little dumbbells weighing twice as much and mine arrived in the post today!
We have rain again today, a soft mizzle and I turned to my beautiful book , Ninety-Nine Words for Rain and this one describes today’s drizzly stuff. I just wish I knew how to say these lovely words. 
Sewing, The AGM and Reading
I’ve been curtain making today using some wonderful vintage Laura Ashley fabric from 1983. It’s fabric which we used for kitchen curtains in our penultimate home before moving back to Cornwall so it is full of lovely memories of our children growing up, family dinners and birthday teas in that kitchen. I’ll show the curtain in place when it’s hung..
This evening was the AGM for Community Roots which was full of information of what we have all achieved and what we will be aiming for over the next year. One of our directors is leaving and we were all asked to give one word to describe her. As you can see, she is much loved and will be greatly missed. She is the essence of Roots. 
I spent the afternoon reading the latest book from The ShelterBox book Club. It’s both harrowing and full of love and hope. I’ll tell you more when I’ve finished it.
Raindrops, Primrose and Knitting – February 21st!
Just found in drafts! Whatever happened? Who knows, just forgot to press publish I guess.
February 21st
‘The rain it raineth every day’ as the Fool says to King Lear – and so it goes, but in a dry moment, I managed a photo of a primrose with raindrops.
I was looking at some photos of knitting that I’ve done and found this delightful balaclava I made for LiveWire no 3 ten years ago.
Crocuses, Tomatoes and Ukraine
My Suffragette garden is coming into bloom, purple, white and green crocus plants.
You may remember that last week we sowed many trays of tomatoes of various sorts. Today they were up and ready for transplanting and I was so busy doing that I forgot to take any photos. The following photo of Gardeners’ Ecstasy is from the internet, not mine!
We send our love to our friends in Ukraine as the war reaches a 4th anniversary. We remember with great fondness the friends we made among the Hooligan Art Community. Here are some photos from 2023 when they were visiting.
Slava Ukraine!
Amaryllis, Catkins and Daffodils
The last of the blooms on our Amaryllis is almost gone. The plant has been remarkable, two stems and nine blooms in total. I hope I can look after it properly so that it’ll do the same next year.
Spring is on the way, more rain and mizzle but also Catkins. The image is a bit blurry as it was windy and all five photos I took were out of focus!
I wish I could show you the daffodils lining the lanes all over the place. The yellow blurs by as I drive around to choir and it makes me smile. There were some in the car park too so here’s a taste of the loveliness.
