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Category Archives: Beauty

Emily’s Cake, Hay-Making and Pies

14 Sep

Regular readers will know that I love to use edible flowers in salads, desserts and cakes. This morning a blogger friend, Arkenaten,  posted one of the prettiest cakes I have ever seen, made by his daughter, Emily and with their permission, I show it to you here. What a beautiful creation with a rich abundance of colour and shapes! I’m not sure I would be able to cut into it – it’s a piece of art!

Wow! Emily’s edible-flower-cake

We’ve been listening to the local farmer harvesting over the last couple of days and loving the smell of the freshly mown hay. By the end of today, it is all in bales and the sheep are already enjoying it!

For our picnic tomorrow evening at The Minack Theatre prior to the performance, I have made some Rustic Mini pies, chicken and leek. Most of them will be frozen away for later!

Chicken and Leek Mini Pies

 
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Posted by on September 14, 2020 in art, baking, Beauty, environment, nature, Postaday2020

 

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A Wedding, A Dedication and A Celebration

02 Sep

On this day in 1939, my Mum and Dad were married.They were to have honeymooned in Paris but given that WWII broke out on September 3rd they had a weekend in Blackpool instead before my Dad went off to the army for five years.

My Mum at her wedding in 1939

My Mum at her wedding in 1939

My Dad retired early to write and dedicated his first novel to my Mum ( using a nom de plume as advised by the publishers as it was thought that women read more historical romantic fiction and that they like to read books written by women!) The novel is set in Cornwall in the late 1800’s and its background is the tin mining industry that was so important to the Cornish.

Dad's first novel, published in the US and the UK by Weidenfeld and Nicholson, in paperback by Sphere

Dad’s first novel, published in the US and the UK by Weidenfeld and Nicholson, in paperback by Sphere

The dedication

The dedication

Their Golden wedding in 1989 was a great big family reunion in Cornwall as by then my older brother and his wife and two children were living in Munich, Germany, my younger brother and his wife were in Atlanta, Georgia and my sister and her growing family were in Phoenix, Arizona and I was in Yorkshire with my family. The advance for Ellen Bray paid for everyone to come to the two week long party!

 
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Posted by on September 2, 2020 in Beauty, Celebration, family, family history, photography, Wedding

 

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Mist, Web and New Fabric

11 Aug

While the rest of the UK is apparently sitting under a heat wave, we are sitting under mist and murk but I do love this early morning effect on the garden and the fields and trees behind which have disappeared.

The mist droplets were everywhere on spiders’ webs and very pretty.

The fabric I chose at the weekend was ready for click and collect so I collected it this morning, washed it straightaway (so it doesn’t shrink later) and this afternoon I have almost made myself a new one with the butterfly fabric.  The green is for Christmas masks as I reckon we’ll be wearing them for a long time yet. The other one is just because I love the colours.

P.S. I am still waiting for my Lost Stock box to arrive but today when walking into town, across the road,  I saw a lovely stranger wearing the white Dorothy top (people have been posting photos of their items and I recognised it) and she looked so pretty in it, I had to go across and have a chat. She is delighted with all four tops in her box! Looking forward to mine arriving – hope it’s soon.

Lost Stock is explained here, in The Guardian

 
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Posted by on August 11, 2020 in Beauty, environment, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, Uncategorized

 

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Clematis, Day Lily and Lily Pots

09 Aug

We love our purple Clematis – this one is in my Suffragette garden but flowers more next door than for us!

Our side of the fence
Next door where the sun shines!

I love the colour combination of this Day Lily with the Agapanthus.

Lovely colour combination

Our Lily pots are at their best.

Lilies and more Lilies

 

 
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Posted by on August 9, 2020 in Beauty, environment, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, Uncategorized

 

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Sunset, Bee and Fish’n’chips

15 Jul

Last night’s sunset was spectacular and the colour was caught in the windows across the road from us.  My Dear SIL, with whom I share a love of special words (like petrichor and serendipity) sent me a beautiful new word a few weeks ago and today I can use it to describe that lovely colour caught in the windows – enrosadira.   It is used in the Dolomites where at sunrise and sunset, the rocky cliffs take on hues that vary from light yellow to bright red, to different shades of pink and violet, until the mountains disappear in the dark of night. Enrosadira is a ladin term literally meaning “turning pink” (Ladin is the ancient language of the inhabitants of the Dolomites). We get the same beautiful effect here in Cornwall!

What beautiful colouring on this bee and how glorious he looks as he searches for nectar in the Eryngium flower.

As the New Year started, work began on our local Fish’n’chip shop, just around the corner. Everything stopped during lockdown, building continued recently and today they opened so that was tea sorted! As an English teacher, the sign pleased me with its apostrophe, a little fish, in the right place!

 
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Posted by on July 15, 2020 in art, Beauty, bees, Cornwall, environment, flowers, Food, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, Uncategorized

 

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Meeting Friends at the Allotment

10 Jul

Just the best afternoon with friends in months! We laughed and shared stories, we sang and we made videos – great fun! We met in Wendy’s allotment, surrounded by fresh air,  beauty and friendship. Enjoy our moments.

Rose arriving at the allotment, wearing one of the masks I made for her

Graham awaiting his treat of a freshly picked pea pod

Californian Poppies, Cornflowers and Honesty

Screen Shot from a video I made of us singing, well spaced, at the moment when the round went wrong!

Wendy very generously gave each of us some produce from the allotment – mine was rhubarb so I have made our delicious family recipe, Different Every Time Pudding for our tea.

 
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Posted by on July 10, 2020 in baking, Beauty, community, environment, nature, Photography, Postaday2020

 

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Mum’s Chimneys, Full of Colour

03 Jul

I said yesterday that I would show you Mum’s chimney collection which I inherited  so here they are in the order in which you would see them if you were to visit us in our garden. You would be so welcome, Dear Reader!

Steps up to the garden, lined with various Mints, Lavenders and Vanilla Nemesias – scented all the way

Heliotrope and Vanilla Nemesia at the bottom of the steps leading up to the garden
Heliotrope and Vanilla Nemesia at the bottom of the steps leading up to the garden
Chives and Garlic Chives
Heliotrope and Vanilla Nemesia at the bottom of the steps leading up to the garden
Petunias, lime green on bottom patio
Begonia on the slate patio
Dwarf Buddliea at the top of the steps
Dwarf Buddliea at the other side at the top of the steps
Begonia at the back of the vegetable garden path
Begonias on the way to the vegetable garden
Begonia on one side of the arbour on the back sitting area
Begonia on the other side of the arbour on the back sitting area
 
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Posted by on July 3, 2020 in Beauty, environment, garden, Happiness, nature, Photography, Postaday2020

 

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A Visit, Eggs and Feathers

19 May

One of our very dear friends came by today now that we are allowed to meet outside. We spent a very happy couple of hours in the garden. N brought with her some wonderful gifts and a pile of beautiful story books for us to borrow to read over Skype to our three year old LiveWire twins in Barcelona.

There were freshly laid eggs, two of which which we will have for breakfast and freshly dug new potatoes which we have enjoyed this evening.

  • The eggs
  • Eggs laid by Witney, Wendy, Mildred and Ruby
  • Freshly dug new potatoes

N also brought me some delicate feathers for a very special purpose. I have a wonderful collection of Samantha Bryan’s fairies (Did you know all fairies have to learn to fly?) and a couple of them have disintegrating wings! They were made of skeleton leaves which are not as long lasting as feathers which many of my fairies have. We are going to try to replace the leaves with feathers – after getting advice from the maker herself.

That was a very precious few hours as we haven’t seen each other for almost three months and at the beginning of that time, N suffered with C19 and we were so very worried. It was just wonderful to see her properly again not just on a screen even if we couldn’t hug.

 
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Posted by on May 19, 2020 in Beauty, friendship, Happiness, Kindness, Photography, picture story books, Uncategorized

 

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Bias Binding, A Thank You and Unknown Plant

15 May

The masks that I am now making need bias binding so I raided Mum’s haberdashery box again and found it full of treasure – of course – lots of different colours and widths, some brand new like this one!

A thank you card arrived today, such a beautiful, happy card with a painting by Carl Lawson entitled “The Boy With The Knot ” Thank you, Ti, it’s lovely.

Our walk often takes us along Church lane where the wild flowers abound. This one has grown so very  fast, now at least 3ft high but I don’t know its name. It looks like Angelica but that may be a fantasy!

 
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Posted by on May 15, 2020 in Beauty, environment, friendship, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, sewing, Uncategorized

 

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Sunset, Dylan Thomas and Earrings

14 May

Last night’s sunset was absolutely gorgeous! The crimson and golden glow crept across our sitting room so we went upstairs to capture the beauty of the setting sun sinking into the sea.

Today is International Dylan Thomas Day. I love the works of Dylan Thomas especially Under Milk Wood which I used to teach to GCSE students many years ago. I was brought up on this version on two long playing records with Richard Burton as the First Voice and here, for your delectation, is that wonderful voice with the inimitable words of Dylan Thomas.

Some time ago, I was offered the chance to have some earrings made, as a gift while in lockdown. The maker was unknown to me but here today, in the infrequent post, came a beautiful little pair of handmade silver and crystal earrings which I shall treasure. They are just 1″ long and very pretty. Thank you very much Karen.

 
11 Comments

Posted by on May 14, 2020 in Beauty, environment, friendship, nature, Photography, poetry, Postaday2020

 

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