1 My very good blogging friend, Marilyn, has sent me a present of some Christmas clings, something we don’t have in the UK. I liked the look of her Hallowe’en clings and she sent me some delightful ones for Christmas. The Grandchildren are going to love decorating for Christmas! Thank you!
Thank you, Marilyn
2 I bought this beautiful plate in New Hampshire.
Cherish the simple things
3 Needing biscuits this afternoon, I was delighted to find this cookie sausage in the fridge!
1 The golden glow of the duck eggs I was about to use for lunch was very beautiful.
Glorious golden Duck eggs
Naturekitchen Herb Salt
Duck eggs with Cornish Herb salt
2 An omelette with the duck eggs and mushrooms and salad was our simple lunch today.
Light lunch
3 The lovely Mr S has finished sanding the 100+ year old floor in the dining room, removing years of grime and varnish and it looks so softly beautiful. Now to decorate and then to put the furniture back.
Gorgeous floor
P.S. You will all, no doubt, be aware of the terrible murder of a young soldier in London last week. Such hatred has been stirred in some people by this. Russell Brand has written with eloquence, love and tolerance here and I thought you might like to read his words that I echo. With love to all my readers of all religions and none, wherever you are in this beautiful world that we share.
1 I love how the frost has highlighted the veining on the Primrose leaves and the hairiness of the leaves on the Alpine Strawberry.
Frost enhancing the veining on the primrose leaves
Frosted strawberry leaves
2 When my Mum was a little girl of only 11 years old, she was sent away to boarding school in 1925. To help her accept this, someone ( and sadly I don’t know who this lovely person was, not her parents, I think) made her a little trunk like the one all her own things were packed into. In the trunk were miniature versions of her school uniform: tunic, blazer, shirts, tie, even underwear and socks. Mum kept this little trunk all her life (though the doll and the little clothes are long gone) and in its two layers, kept ribbons, elastic, bias tape, name tapes and cords for her sewing. I still have the trunk and am slowly using up the contents, though they will never all be gone. Wasn’t that a beautiful thing to do for a sad little girl?
Mum’s miniature trunk – not her dolly
3 I wish there was a dragon like this on our roof!
1 Pouring with rain today but we went out anyway to Falmouth, got soaking wet and had a lovely lunch at The Gylly Beach cafe. I made the best choice, Cornish Cheese and Cherry Salad – scrumptious!
2 Jake and I made sun-dried tomato and herb bread this afternoon. He became an expert at kneading and the end result was beautiful.
3 We made jelly eggs too. These were great fun and the little people thoroughly enjoyed eating them.
1 The French lavender is still beautiful even as it fades.
Fading French lavender
2 I had cooked Lettuce with Peas the French way before but never tried Little Gems grilled or fried. I did them in just a smear of butter in the non-stick pan and served them with Halloumi Peppers and they were delicious!
Little Gem lettuces fried
Halloumi Peppers with Little Gem Lettuces and Spring Onion
3 At almost 10pm after the match (which we won!) the light was still good and I took this shot up the garden. The pinks in the foreground smelled absolutely lovely.
1 Going into the kitchen very early this morning, the sun was streaming in and just caught these beautiful baby tomatoes in their bowl making them glow.
Early morning sunbeams on the Pomodorinos
2 I love the smell of washing dried outdoors in the wind and sun. I take in lungfuls of the smell!
3 As you can see, I’m just a bit obsessed by the sunshine today! Here’s the setting sun on the fence making that glow.
1 Lovely cards and phone calls today for Mr S and my dear Dad (1916-2004) in my head all day.
2 Purple is one of my favourite colours (along with green – which with white, makes up the Suffragette colours, of which more in another post) Do click on the photo to see the furriness of the centre section, it’s so beautiful!
What’s left when the poppy petals have all dropped
Beautiful French Lavender
I wish you could smell this as well as see it – so lovely.
3 Singing tonight with the Treggies blew a touch of the blues away! We laugh, we sing and we sometimes cry! One song, ‘The Soldier’s Farewell’ is particularly moving and was, apparently, also sung by Cornish tin miners on the station as they were about to emigrate and leave their families far behind.
1 Heavy rain all night and I went out first thing to take these gorgeous photos of raindrops. Click to enlarge.
Raindrops on a poppy bud about to open
Raindrops on a poppy
Fallen sepal with raindrops. This is my favourite today.
2 Today, Lucy and I used our Christmas present vouchers from KJ to have a massage each at St Michael’s Spa in Falmouth – beautiful smells and a great sense of relaxation.
St Michael’s Spa, Falmouth
3 While I was out, Mr S put the baby gates, the fireguard and the buggy back in the attic but he left the toys and the wet-suit that stay here on the stairs for me to see as I came in. Beautiful!
Toys and a wet-suit waiting to go upstairs until the next visit
1 Waking up to baby chuckles from the next door bedroom is just beautiful.
2 After shopping for new shoes for Tabitha and new socks for Jake we came home with Cornish Pasties for lunch. As usual, Tabitha enjoyed her Cornish treat!
Tabitha and her Cornish pasty
3 First we made a kite, then we flew it in the park. When the string broke, we played and then Jake had a piggy-back home and I managed to get our picture in a reflection in a car window.
1 Another rainy day so baking was the plan. Jake helped KJ make Toffee Apple Muffins which were amazing and will be on the recipe pages soon.
Jake mixing and testing the Toffee Apple Muffin mixture
2 I ordered a book from Amazon ‘Good Night, Sleep Tight’ by Kim West to see if we could get any more advice on how to help Tabitha sleep all night rather than waking up three times.We’ve tried every trick we can think of. We only managed to read a bit but Tabitha had a good look! Hope the advice sinks in!
Tabitha reading ‘Good Night, Sleep Tight’
3 Cheese fritters for tea, made from a friend’s recipe (Thank you, Carrie) were absolutely delicious with a salad and some beautiful Spicy Tomato Chutney. Tabitha ate three! I’ll post the recipe as soon as I can.