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Category Archives: travel

Dahlias, The Grand Canyon and Singing

These beautiful dahlias from her allotment are a gift from Sue-next-door – just a glorious pompom of rich ruby red.

Gorgeous! Thanks Sue.

We had a lovely time at the North Rim – short walks, watching sunsets and one sunrise, meeting other travellers and reading on our verandah.

Our cabin

View from our cabin

The Lodge

One of the views from the lodge

Sunset

And – there was singing! What an enjoyable and funny evening this was! Click on the photos for all the words. The craziness went on all evening and the whole audience joined in with the new words for tunes we all knew so well.

Ad for the evening

Words by the Ranger himself

More crazy words

Jewels, Cake and Route 66

19 Sep

While we were away some dear friends visited next door for our lovely neighbour’s birthday and they left me a box of mixed ‘jewels’ for my glass work. I’m looking forward to getting back to it and creating some beautiful angels with pretty decorations.

Thank you C.

Our lovely neighbour Sue-next-door had an emergency operation yesterday to sort out a detached retina and today I made her the most delicious Rhubarb Cake, which we were introduced to in Arizona, to aid her recovery.

Rhubarb cake with freshly picked rhubarb from our allotment.

We travelled some of the old Route 66 on our way north to the Grand Canyon.

Route 66

Lunch at a diner where our waitress was happy to let me have a photo of her and her much-coveted t-shirt!

Long empty road

Church with red cliffs behind

The Navajo Bridge

The Vermillion Cliffs

12 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 19, 2023 in allotment, America, Arizona, baking, environment, friendship, photography, Postaday 2023, travel

We’re Back, Glimmers and Produce

18 Sep

Hello again Dear Reader!

We’ve been away having adventures, much of the time in a wifi desert but I have been spotting beautiful things for you and over the next few posts, as we sort our 100s of photos, I’ll share some of the ‘glimmers’ we have been experiencing in Arizona, New Mexico and Georgia as we have spent time with people we love for the first time since 2019.

Beautiful hanks of dyed wool at The Cameron Trading Post on our way up to the Grand Canyon, North Rim

Three weeks ago we left tomatoes in various stages of ripeness and came home to a bowlful of glorious ripened ones which are now all in a delicious tomato sauce for having with pasta.

There was even more wonderful produce to be harvested in our allotment!

Enormous courgette/zucchini, more tomatoes, rhubarb (for a special cake) and raspberries.

To explain Glimmers if the term is new to you as it was to me.

9 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on September 18, 2023 in allotment, America, Arizona, photography, Postaday 2023, travel

Super Moon

31 Aug

6 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on August 31, 2023 in Arizona, photography, Postaday 2023, travel

Bridge, Horse and Flowers

29 Aug

Today we crossed the Tamar Bridge and left Cornwall!

Taken through a very dirty train window on a very misty day

We love seeing the Westbury White Horse from the train.

Taken through a very dirty train window on a very misty day

There are beautiful flower baskets in the village of Stanford where we are spending the night prior to flying to Arizona tomorrow.

Taken through a very dirty train window on a very misty day

10 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on August 29, 2023 in Cornwall, environment, nature, photography, Postaday 2023, travel

More Bags, New Tool and Crinodendron

11 Jun

A cloudy day today so it has been perfect for spending the day sewing. I’ve made two more veggie bags for Roots and made a small modification which I’m very pleased with. The really bright fabric on the left hand side is fabric from Senegal and I love it. .

The lovely Mr S has been working on replacing our bird feeder station which had rusted away. He called me to see his new magnetic spirit level in action.

Our Crinodendron, otherwise known as Lantern Tree, is magnificent this year. The wind has blown lots of blooms down so I thought you should have a photo while it is still lovely. One of my blogging friends, Hey Jude, posted a fascinating piece about her tree which I have saved for today to share with you. Do visit. Her photos are brilliant.

1 Comment

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 11, 2023 in environment, friendship, garden, nature, photography, Postaday 2023, Senegal, sewing

Tags: community roots, Crinodendron Hookerarium, Lantern Tree

Tulip, Bluebell and Another Bag

09 Apr

I love these orange tulips that are scented. Sadly only a couple have flowered this year though I planted a dozen properly deeply a few years ago.

One of our beautiful English Bluebells is beginning to open.

I’ve been sewing again most of today and have two more bags nearly done. I have used some lovely bright fabric that I got in Senegal eleven years ago when we were there for our son’s wedding. If you’d like to see some of the colour and fun of that trip, look here.

Love, Match and A Poem

04 Dec

This came my way today. Thanks L.

It’s the England v Senegal match as I write. It’s a family Derby as we have people in both camps. LiveWire 5 supports England, his dad’s country and LiveWire 6 supports Senegal, her mother’s country. Right now, it’s England 2 and Senegal 0 but some of us still have hope in our hearts!

The following poem came my way some time ago. It’s one to make its readers think.

The Cosmic Dancer

I counted my years

and realized that I have

Less time to live by,

Than I have lived so far.

I feel like a child who won a pack of candies: at first he ate them with pleasure

But when he realized that there was little left, he began to taste them intensely.

I have no time for endless meetings

where the statutes, rules, procedures & internal regulations are discussed,

knowing that nothing will be done.

I no longer have the patience

To stand absurd people who,

despite their chronological age,

have not grown up.

My time is too short:

I want the essence,

my spirit is in a hurry.

I do not have much candy

In the package anymore.

I want to live next to humans,

very realistic people who know

How to laugh at their mistakes,

Who are not inflated by their own triumphs

and who take responsibility for their actions.

In this way, human dignity is defended

and we live in truth and honesty.

It is the essentials that make life useful.

I want to surround myself with people

who know how to touch the hearts of those whom hard strokes of life

have taught to grow with sweet touches of the soul.

Yes, I’m in a hurry.

I’m in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity can bring.

I do not intend to waste any of the remaining desserts.

I am sure they will be exquisite,

much more than those eaten so far.

My goal is to reach the end satisfied

and at peace with my loved ones and my conscience.

We have two lives

and the second begins when you realize you only have one.

~ Mario de Andrade

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on December 4, 2022 in Postaday2022, Senegal, Uncategorized

Tags: Cosmic dancer, Mario de Andrade

Allotment – Flowers and Fun

10 Jul

We had a shared lunch at the allotment today – lots of courgettes in evidence! My muffins (recipe to come as soon as I can) were joined by Courgette Fritters and more muffins and some delicious Cinnamon rolls. I took some photos of a couple of flowers around the plot.

Chatting together we talked about travelling and learning languages and I remembered learning some IsiZulu for our volunteering in Mapoch, near Pretoria when we first retired. I made flash cards to learn with and afterwards wrote a diary of our experiences. Here is the opening paragraph of my diary and some of my flash cards.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on July 10, 2022 in community, languages, Mapoch, nature, photography, Postaday2022, South Africa, travel, Voluntouring, Words

Tags: IsiZulu, volunteering

Dawn, Street Art and Beaded Tree

05 Jan

Lovely peachy clouds as we drew the curtains this morning.

Our walk today, allowed, was into town to collect the bread. It’s the last we’ll do in town for a few months. I spotted a new street art mask today on a tree outside the clock tower.

We have taken down our Christmas tree but we are leaving up all the twinkly lights, the greenery wreath on the front door and a small white tree filled with South African beaded decorations. They were made by the women, the gogos, the Grandmothers, in Mapoch where we did our volunteering in 2007. We helped build a new classroom and worked with the children and the teacher.