It has been a day full of singing! First it was the Thursday session with The Suitcases which was brilliant as always and where we sang a couple of songs as possibles for the Wedding I am conducting on 20th July where the couple want a small choir to sing for them. We will need 10/12 to volunteer. Here is a taste of Shoshone Love Song for you.
Thanks to Kenn for the recording.
Our Choir-Baby E was engrossed in her drawing today.
Choir baby E
2 The Clematis on the front fence has been in bud for what seems like weeks and today, suddenly, there were lots of beautiful blooms.
Clematis flowering in the front garden
3 This afternoon, The Ingleheart Singers, my other choir whom you may have listened to on Monday, did a concert at a local Care Home and it was an utter delight. We sang some Cornish songs which were much appreciated and several of the old people joined in, all the words and the tunes coming back to them and obviously giving them great pleasure. We also have a war-time medley that we did for the Heligan event last summer and those too had people joining in. One old lady was laughing and singing along and clearly enjoying the concert. I was told later that she usually spends much of her day weeping but today we brought her laughter and some happiness.
Claire Ingleheart, our esteemed leader, chatting to one of the residents in the break between sets.
1 Portreath in wild winds today. My photos don’t do the force of the wind or the wildness of the waves proper justice so I’ve posted a couple of photos of the same place from a sunny day last July. They might show you the contrast and help you imagine the gusts that almost blew us over, the salt in our mouths and the spray with which we were doused!
Wild waves at the opening of Portreath Harbour
Portreath Harbour July 2012
The inner harbour today
Inner harbour July 2012, the splash is of a boy who has just jumped in
2 I learned this today from a comment on Penny’s blog “The quieting reflex: Take a deep breath in, and when you exhale, smile! This not only relieves stress, but if you are feeling negative yourself, it makes it disappear!” I tried it and it works.
3 I’m baking in good time to make funds for Comic Relief on 15th March. These Double Chocolate Mini Muffins with Red Noses are to sell to The Suitcases at singing tomorrow.
50 Double Chocolate Mini Muffins for Comic Relief
PS Is there someone out there who can tell me how I stamp my name onto a photo to mark it as mine? I’ve been made aware today that Google just help themselves to any image we post on our blogs (See Teepee’s post here) and I would like my photos at least to be identified as mine!
1 I have learned this morning from Cathy that today, the first Sunday in August, is Sister Day, a day for celebrating Sisterhood. This post therefore is for my Sisters
Daisy, my kid sister who lives in Hawaii whom I love so much but can’t see very often
My lovely sisters-in-law both of whom I saw only last week at the reunion but they live far away too, in Atlanta and Munich
My ‘Dearest Sister’, Kath, my friend of 30 years whom I lost last year to brain cancer and who is the inspiration for this blog
Sibongile and Grace, sisters-under-the-skin in Mapoch, South Africa
All my Sisters in the Suitcases
All my virtual sisters in the blog world
Happy Sister Day to you all!
Painting by Daisy – a present for you all
2 From pennycoho I have collected this beautiful Award which she has invented and for which there are no rules! She only asks that we please share it with all our fellow Bloggers! Have a look at her blog for her full explanation.
I BeLOnG
3 Mr S and I had an attack of the sweet tooths (sweet teeth?) this afternoon so I made some delicious Chocolate Cracklets using my Mum’s recipe. They are just the best – chocolatey, gooey, full of raisins and crunchy! What more could a sweet tooth want?! 🙂
1 This beautiful Day Lily flowered for the first time today.2 We went early to Miss Peapod’s to rehearse and this amazing rainbow appeared over the Penryn River.
Rainbow over the Penryn River
Double rainbow
Rainbow reflected in the river
3 Tonight’s gig at Miss Peapod’s was brilliant and Claire wore these beautiful shoes!
1 Singing with The Suitcases this morning was the tonic I needed. It was so good to sing in beautiful harmony with good friends.
2 All that rain has made the garden lush! The beans we planted to go up the old pan-stand I showed you ( http://wp.me/p1Ypl6-H8 ) have almost reached the top. The broad beans are almost ready for picking and the nasturtiums are gorgeous (and good in salad!)
Pan-stand, beans and nasturtiums
The teapots at the top are from Senegal. Ami got them for us when were were there for the wedding in April. The old chimney pot is one from Mum and Dad’s garden. The new arbour is an early Sapphire Wedding Anniversary present to ourselves!
3 I find this colour combination of Crocosmia Lucifer and Verbena Bonariensis very beautiful.
1 I go to Penryn every week to sing with The Suitcases and this beautiful view never fails to move me! We are so lucky to be living in this most beautiful county.
Penryn River from the Zed Shed
2 An artist (whose name I must find out) has been working on these mosaics around the door and the windows of Miss Peapod’s Cafe which is where we all gather after singing for coffee, delicious homemade cakes, perhaps Poached Egg with Spinach on Toasted Ciabatta or even, as this morning for Claire and Mandy, a full English breakfast!
Mosaics around the entrance to Pea Pod’s Cafe
3 One of the blogs I read is by a 16 year old in Australia who is the most amazing cook. She is in Year 11 and has exams coming up so has to give her time to study. She has invited Guest Bloggers to blog on her space Go Bake Yourself during this time and I am absolutely delighted to have been chosen by her! I now have to choose between Chocolate Torte and Lime and Ginger Cheesecake, both of which I am making soon for our Family reunion party in July.
1 Singing with The Suitcases and Claire is always beautiful, rain or not. One of our choir-babies was with us as well as the daughter of a very good friend and they had great fun together. If you look carefully, you’ll see the Sally-boots which have been pulled off!
Beautiful new friends
2 We’re keeping Jake’s lovely models until his next visit. (I know, he may have lost interest!)
Jake’s models – the hangar made with Mikki, the aeroplane made with Mr S and the rockets made with his Mum and me.
1 Waiting to do the Baby naming, I was wandering around Potager Gardens and spotted this very beautiful fungi on the woodpile wall. Just look at those patterns. Click to make any photo bigger. Do any of my readers know what kind of fungus this is?
Fungi
2 The Baby Naming Ceremony was truly beautiful and enjoyed by all – even though there were also some tears.
Lowen and her Mum
The Cornish name Lowen means Happy. What a lovely gift to give to your child. I wore my happyboots that my Sister had made for me in Prescott, Arizona. They are my special boots for Baby Namings.
Happy Boots
3 Just 10 of the Suitcase Singers went to Tremough University to take part in a concert of various local choirs. Tonight we were the Briefcases as we are such a small version of the whole Suitcases choir. Some of us were very nervous but it went well and we were well received.
1 Driving to Penryn this morning for singing with The Suitcases, it was a delight to see the trees all greening up with that beautiful vibrant lime green of new unfurling leaves.
2. Brilliant reading group session as there was so much to say about ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. We all found it to be a fascinating and unputdownable read that we also found very disturbing though touched with a sardonic humour.
3. We drove along the lane at Sunny Corner this afternoon on our way back from the Garden Centre. Mum and Dad lived along there for many years in a cottage they named ‘Chimneypots’ and it was a real journey down memory lane!
