Sunday Solace

 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.

Simple things to think about...

Hold your family close and make time for them ❤️

Take time to live well

Eat ice cream

Pod some peas

Skim a few stones

Go barefoot

Read all afternoon

Tell a story

Find meaning in small things 

Gather your friends together

Watch clouds

Smell the sea

Be quiet

Feel the wind

Open all the windows

Count your blessings 

Bake bread

Climb a hill

Send postcards

Turn off your phone

Snuggle in

Have an adventure

Drink wine

Make a campfire

Ride a bike

Hang twinkly lights

Enjoy being alone

Like sunshine and showers

Make time for the simple things

It's quite easy sometimes to get upset about things - perhaps someone has said a wrong word. Perhaps you, yourself, have said a wrong word. It's so easy for misunderstandings to arise and then, before we know it, things can get blown out of all proportion. The one thing I have learnt now that I'm older, is THAT ITS JUST NOT WORTH IT.  Reach out to that other person. Even if it's not actually your fault, forgive and make things right again. Life is short and, as they say, tomorrow is not promised to us. Don't let things fester....

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. 

Enjoy your week everyone. Thank you for dropping by...

Image courtesy of Pinterest. I thought it went well with this particular Post 😊

Photos of Autumn...

October is fast drawing to an end, and I've seen so many wonderful photos of Autumn colours. This season must surely be one of the best for capturing images with the camera, and I thought I would just share a few of my own photographs with you today. 

This first one was taken at the Green Bay Botanical Gardens in America. 

 

This is another photo taken in America. The  pond is right behind my friend's garden, again in Green Bay. 

 

At this time of the year, the Farmer always puts his sheep back in the fields....

 

I love the October mornings when the sun is rising and the mist rolls across the fields next to my garden. It reminds me to be thankful for another day, and that I have blessings in abundance. 

 

 

 

I love this next photo, but I have to confess that it isn't one of mine!  It was actually taken by my dear friend, another Diane, just a stone's throw from her home in Green Bay. I just love the composition here, with the seat taking centre stage, the reflection in the water, the old tree on the right of the photo, and, of course, the colours! This, then, is Autumn at Duck Creek....

 

So then, I will leave you once again, but I'll be back on Sunday with another edition of Sunday Solace. Bye for now ...

Another Notebook?!....

 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.com

Wow! On Sunday, the weather suddenly turned much chillier here in deepest Devon, with a very strong wind. Too cold to be working outside, so I decided to tidy out a few drawers to keep me occupied. Yes, I know how to live!   

I came across quite a few notebooks, that I had collected over time. Does anyone else do this?  If I'm in a Gift Shop and I see a pretty little notebook, I'm afraid I just can't resist it! 

 

 

I've never really kept a Journal as such, although these days, I find myself wishing that I had. I could then look back and reminisce on all the places I had been and people I had met, and all the different experiences that had come my way. 

 

It's probably a bit late to start doing that now, wouldn't you say?  You can get Apps now that will make your blog posts into a book, and I had seriously thought about doing that. 

I started blogging in 2010, but stopped for a year. Imagine my disappointment, therefore, when I looked up my old blog posts, only to find that all my photos had disappeared?  Why would they do that?  A lot of the posts are meaningless without the photos to go with it.  

 

 

These are just a few notebooks that I found, but I'm sure I have more squirrelled away somewhere!  My eldest daughter lives just outside Paris, and one day a little package arrived from her. Needless to say, I was thrilled to receive it, especially when I opened it to look inside ❤️

 

 

I love the following quotes by two very famous women. Coco Chanel and Audrey Hepburn ... 

 

It's Half Term week here in Devon, so I shall be having fun spending some time with the little ones. 

Bye for now....and remember, whatever we possess, even the little things, become of double value when we share them with others. 

Sunday Solace

 

Well, where did that week go?!  The weather has been rather lovely here in deepest Devon for mid-October. I've managed to get a couple of coastal walks in, and also spent a few hours each day in the garden, cutting back and mowing and strimming. On Friday I dropped daughter number 2 to the airport, as she is spending a few days in Paris with her sister, daughter number 1, so it will be good for them to spend some time together. 

 Here are a couple of photos from one of the walks I did. My friend and I were fortunate enough to still be able to eat our lunch outside, overlooking the beach. It doesn't get much better than that.

 

 

The words for Sunday Solace today can be found on a Church wall in Upwaltham, here in England. 

"I will not wish thee riches, nor the glow of greatness,

but that wherever you go, some weary heart shall gladden at your smile,

or shadowed life know sunshine for a while.

And so your path shall be a track of light, like Angels' footsteps passing through the night."

For when all is said and done, isn't that what's really important in life?

I'll leave you with these words by Mother Teresa.....

 

Image courtesy of Pinterest.com

Wherever you are in the world as you read this, I hope you all have a good week ahead. See you again soon.

Just a little afterthought, I have started to do a Featured Post in the right hand side bar of my Blog. You might like to click on this to read a post from the past. 

Summer Colour In The Garden

Hello again. I can only hope that you enjoyed the first tour of my garden, as I now take you into Summer...

 

Quote courtesy of Pinterest.com

 

 

 

Years ago, I used to spend so much on bedding plants, but for a long time now, I have bought Perrenials which come up year after year. 

 

 

With the size of the garden, I decided to invest in a greenhouse about three years ago, and, really, it was such a good buy. All plants now are bought as tiny little plug plants and then re-potted until they are ready to go into the earth. 

 

 

You might have noticed little statues dotted around. I do like to have lots of little things of interest to catch the eye. If anything ever got rusty, I used to throw it away, but have you noticed when you visit Garden Centres and the like, 'rust' is all the rage now. So I hang on to them and, and find that I actually really like things that have an aged appearance. Bit like me really. Oh! Talking of moi....

 

I look very composed there, don't I?!  They say that the camera never lies, although these days with all the editing tools that are around, that's not quite true!  Anyway, I was bending down trying to take a Selfie whilst trying to get the garden in the right position behind me, when I fell into the plants! My glasses came off and I was ten minutes or so looking for them in amongst the foliage. But...ever the trooper...I managed to get my photo!

 

 

The following photo was taken in the early evening, as the sun was going behind the trees, and it was evening in the next photo as well. I have to say that I love catching the garden in this light. It is so much softer - I just love it!

 

 

Aren't the Lupins glorious?!  I was so pleased with them, as they were only put in earlier this year. As they faded, I took a lot of seeds, and new plants are coming along nicely in the greenhouse, even as we speak.

 

I think, and this is just my personal opinion, that I left the best photo to last. The above photo was taken at dusk and, to me, actually being there, it was absolutely magical. If a couple of little fairies had appeared, I wouldn't have been a bit surprised. The colours of the plants and the sky, the warmth of the air.... or was it the glass of wine in my hand ....  no, no, I'm kidding. There was no glass of wine - just me, nature, and one of those perfect balmy, Summer evenings. 

I do hope you'll pop over again on Sunday, for the second edition of Sunday Solace. Take care ....

Snapshots Of An English Garden

Hi everyone,

 

Well, it's that time of the year over here in England, when we start 'putting the garden to bed'. I do still have quite a bit of colour in the garden here in Devon, with a lovely second flush of roses, but the perennials that have well finished flowering, I am cutting back to the ground, before Winter sets in, and it gets too cold (or wet!) to be working outside. 

It occurred to me that you lovely people who may be new to reading this Blog, haven't seen my garden here in heavenly Devon, so I thought I would post a few photos that I have taken over the past few years. To start off with, which one of us cannot be cheered by 'a host of golden daffodils', heralding the start of Spring, and the promise of longer days ahead, as the garden starts its new season once more. 

 

 

 

Following the daffodils, other bulbs soon start appearing, and I do like to have lots of pots around. In the last photo above, you will see pretty coloured pansies. I do love their little faces!

 

Roses do feature heavily in my English garden. I have just picked out a few for you today. Maybe I can publish a Post just on roses if you would be interested 

 

 

The rest of the photos were really just taken during the Summer months. 

 

Well, that last photo was just a taster!  I suddenly realised that if I posted any more photos today, it would be an overkill!  So I will post the Summer photos in a couple of days. I do hope you have enjoyed the little tour of my garden.  If not, I don't mind if you all Boo and Hiss - I won't be offended!!

If you double tap on any of the photos, it should bring up a larger picture for you. 

See you soon. 

Sunday Solace

I used to run a feature on my Blog called Sunday Snaps, where I featured a variety of photos that I had taken. 

I have been thinking of a new feature and come up with the idea of Sunday Solace. Each Sunday I will publish some words that might make you smile or just provide some easy reading, and I hope you like the idea. 

 

So then, onto the very first edition of Sunday Solace!  I have chosen the poem, "If I Had My Life To Live Over", which was written by the American writer and humourist, Erma Bombeck. 

I hope these words will resonate with many of you ....

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER....

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains. 

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. 

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's' More 'I'm sorry's.' 

I think what she was trying to say was.... stop sweating the small stuff, and concentrate on  what is truly important in our lives. 

The following quotes are courtesy of Pinterest.com

 

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this new feature.  Have a lovely Sunday, and amidst the hurry and scurry, I hope you will find some time to relax. 

Bye for now ....

Time For Those Cosy Nights....

I love Summer.... Long, lazy days, eating outdoors, glasses of chilled Rosè, walking along the beach, feeling the sun on your face.... But those longer days are behind us once again and the days are getting shorter with each passing week.  

What do you like about the season of Autumn?  I confess that the child is still inside me, and I love kicking up the leaves when I'm out for a walk.

 

 

The evenings are starting to get a little chilly now, so I've been making up the wood burner and lighting the candles to make the house look nice and cosy 

 

For the past three years, I've been lucky enough to have been visiting friends in America at this time of year and let me tell you .... They're into pumpkins in a BIG way! Drive along any road, and the houses are all decorated with displays of pumpkins and brightly coloured 'mum's'.  They use pumpkin in all sorts of things....pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, marshmallows, soup, candles, cookies, ice cream, and, of course, latte. They even have pumpkin dog treats!

 

 

Did you know that Starbucks introduced their Pumpkin Spiced Latte in 2003?  It is Starbucks' most popular seasonal beverage, and they have sold over 200 million since it was first introduced. Gosh! 

Over here in the UK, the pumpkin is mainly used at Halloween, when the insides are carved out to make a face, and a candle put inside. 

This morning it was quite dreary here, so I decided to make a batch of home made soup. Tomorrow I will make another batch, using the last of the tomatoes from the garden. 

 

 

Well, it's getting late as I write this, so I will close for now, and I'm sure I'll see you again soon. 

(All photos are taken by me unless otherwise stated).