1 Spotted in a tool box – aren’t these just beautiful things to work with?!
Tool box and sockets
Multi-coloured sockets
2 I walked down to the local allotments this afternoon to find my neighbour enjoying a cup of tea with other alottmenteers. All the following photos were taken around the plots.
Neat paths at the allotments
Beautiful ruby chard
Frog spawn
Calendula at the allotments
3 Back at home, my Three Wise Monkeys planter (made for me by local artist, Jeremy Beswick) always makes me smile, never more so when the miniature daffodils are coming into bloom.
Tete a Tete in my Three Wise Monkeys planter
P.S. One of my blogger friends is applying for the Big Blog Exchange and I would love her to win! If you haven’t any one else you are voting for, would you please consider voting for Noeleen? Thank you!
1 One of my birthday presents this morning was wrapped in this beautiful old paper that belonged to my much-loved Sister-in-law who found it in her Mother’s things. It must be at least 60 years old. The present was beautiful too!
Very special wrapping paper – isn’t it delightful?
2 My daughter’s lovely partner has made me a stick for stomping through the countryside. It’s made of holly and is so smooth and very beautiful.
Beautifully worked handle on my stomping stick
Beautiful knot at the end
3 We have just had the lovely news of the safe arrival of the newest Grandchild of our good friends J&M. It’s a lovely day for a Birthday. Much of the world is celebrating at Midnight and when I was little I thought the Cathedral Bells of Truro Cathedral were ringing out just for me!
4 In the UK the Queen always gives out Honours on her birthday in June. I have been lucky enough to be nominated for Blog of the Year by Renee so, on my birthday, I’m going to emulate the Queen by giving out some honours just before the year ends! The rules follow at the end.
First then, thank you so much to Renee for giving me a third star – much appreciated.
These then are the blogs that I want to nominate for Blog of the Year 2012. Some of you I nominated for an award recently but that was more general. This is for a Star! I do understand that some of you don’t accept Awards but just want you to know how much I appreciate your company in this blogging world and of course, some of you have probably arrived at 6 stars already!
1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award.
2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award.
4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them
5 You can now also join the award’s Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience if you choose to
6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…
Yes – that’s right – there are stars to collect!
Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once – this award is different!
When you begin you will receive the ‘1 star’ award – and every time you are given the award by another blog – you can add another star!
There are a total of 6 stars to collect.
Which means that you can check out your favorite blogs – and even if they have already been given the award by someone else – you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!
You can find the thumbnails for these awards at the Blog of the Year Award, address above.
1 Reading LouAnn’s blog about making resolutions for the New Year, I was reminded of this beautiful Sanskrit text which I found some 35 years ago when one of our twins was desperately ill and needing the first of three operations on his heart (coarctation of the aorta) These words helped me get the best out of each day with him to make good memories of that very difficult time. He survived! He’s the D who was married in Senegal last April!
Look to this day for it is life the very life of life. In its brief course lie all the realities and truths of existence the joy of growth the splendour of action the glory of power. For yesterday is but a memory And tomorrow is only a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a memory of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day….
It is still my philosophy today.
2 Grand-baby T needed cough medicine when she was here and I searched out the silver spoon we were always given medicine with. She wasn’t impressed! The back of the spoon is marked ‘Practical Kiddicraft’
Silver medicine spoon
3 Down the lane were these leaves. I love the contrast of the bright green new ones with the bronze of the old ones.
New leaves and old
and something not at all beautiful but which I feel very strongly about and in her blog, Anjig, of knitreadclick, not normally a political blog, examines the whole issue of the safety of women in India. Do go across and read. It’s not an easy read but a very important issue.
I love taking photos of the flowers in our garden, in rain or shine and love it when I catch an insect on there too! Click on any image for the full picture. There are a few whose names I can’t remember. I’d be delighted if anyone could help out.
1 When I sorted out the children’s room I discovered that the toys on the windowsill had all been sitting in condensation. I put them on the bathroom radiator to dry and they’ve given us smiles each time we’ve been in.
Toys drying off on the bathroom radiator
2 I was told that there is a pattern for the Snowman’s Snowdog in Women’s Weekly magazine so off I went to buy it. There was enough blue sky to make a sailor a pair of pants as my Aunty used to say so I didn’t take an umbrella. Mistake! The heavens opened and I was drenched but I did get my magazine. Next knitting project now decided!
The Snowman’s Snowdog
3 As I arrived home, the stormy shower stopped as suddenly as it began and left us this beautiful sky.
These are the photographs that I have had made into a calendar for my family who all live away from Cornwall – in Munich, Germany; in Atlanta, Georgia; in Volcano, Hawaii; in Warsaw, Poland; in Exeter, Devon; in North Finchley, London; in Barcelona, Spain; in Dakar, Senegal and in Chilla, Devon.
Please click on any photo to reach the enlargement and to read the full caption. I have used the rectangular gallery setting but it won’t put the photos in chronological so I’ve given you them not in a gallery as well. Which do you prefer?
January 2012 – Walsingham Place, Truro, a beautiful curved Georgian terrace in Truro.
February 2012 – Godrevy Lighthouse from Hayle Towans
March 2012 – Daffodils in Trelissick Gardens
April 2012 – thrift on the cliffs at Chapelporth on the North Coast
May 2012 – Bluebells down the lane on the way to the Duchy Nurseries to buy a tree.
June 2012 – St Michael’s Mount from Mount’s Bay. The best ice creams in the world can be found in the tea-shop here!
July 2012 – From St Mawes looking over the water to the St Anthony Lighthouse. The annual regatta was in full sail.
August 2012- Looking out to Restronguet Creek from the pontoon of The Pandora Inn.
September 2012 – Kynance Cove, a favourite place for the family for many years.
October – Coming back into Cornwall over the Brunel Bridge over the Tamar, after our holiday in India and Nepal
November 2012 – Looking towards St Ives from Hayle Towans
December 2012 Pill Creek , where we first lived when we moved to Cornwall from Birmingham when I was 6 years old. Is it any wonder I fell in love with the County?
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February 2012 – Godrevy Lighthouse from Hayle Towans
March 2012 – Daffodils in Trelissick Gardens
April 2012 – thrift on the cliffs at Chapelporth on the North Coast
May 2012 – Bluebells down the lane on the way to the Duchy Nurseries to buy a tree.
July 2012 – From St Mawes looking over the water to the St Anthony Lighthouse. The annual regatta was in full sail.
August 2012- Looking out to Restronguet Creek from the pontoon of The Pandora Inn.
June 2012 – St Michael’s Mount from Mount’s Bay. The best ice creams in the worls can be found in the tea-shop here!
September 2012 – Kynance Cove, a favourite place for the family for many years.
December 2012 Pill Creek , where we first lived when we moved to Cornwall from Birmingham when I was just six years old. Is it any wonder I fell in love with the County?
October – Coming back into Cornwall over the Brunel Bridge over the Tamar, after our holiday in India and Nepal
January 2012 – Walsingham Place, Truro, a beautiful curved Georgian terrace in Truro.
November 2012 – Looking towards St Ives from Hayle Towans
1 A brief walk this afternoon down Lovers Lane and back up Chapel Walk and we found this lovely old cut-down tree trunk with moss. Looking up at the tree there was beautiful bark and a tangle of branches.
Looking up the tree
Bark and ivy
Cut section of trunk
2 There’s a Periwinkle flowering in the front garden.
Periwinkle
3 J and I spent a happy half hour watching the birds at the feeders in the back garden He can identify all of them! The highlight of the afternoon was a tiny wren who stayed around long enough to have its photo taken.
1 Lovely walk in the rain this morning, all togged up and all cobwebs blown away.
Pink wellies in the rain
2 We wondered where this beautiful gate might lead to.
Beautiful old gate
3 Our eldest daughter, M, is with us today, for Christmas lunch no 2, silly games and easy tea of cheese and crackers, L’s homemade sausage rolls all followed by Christmas pud and brandy sauce. D&A were on Skype again so we were ‘all together’ today.
