Autumn is creeping in ....

 

Hallo again lovely peeps.  Here we are on the 1st day of October.  My goodness me, another year is hurtling past. 

We are now approaching the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.  I have always loved that expression, and living here in my little corner of heavenly Devon, I actually see it happening, with the blackberries all around and the mists rising over the fields.  

I have a fondness for Oscar Wilde quotes, and I think this one is so lovely.  It describes the change of Seasons so well ....

Life sometimes can appear to be very complicated and often we tend to overthink things.  Perhaps we should try to concentrate on the simple things.   Not always easy I know, but we do need to try to block out our worries sometimes and think about what really matters in our lives. Life really is too short to sweat the small stuff. 

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 

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

Ride a bike (unfortunately I am unable to do this.. I have no sense of balance whatsoever!).

Hang twinkly lights

Enjoy being alone

Like sunshine and showers

Make time for the simple things and appreciate the beauty of your surroundings when you’re out on a walk

Decorating for Autumn is very popular over here now. I know how my American friends used to decorate their homes and gardens when I was staying with them.. it certainly helps to brighten up the darker evenings.  My mantelpiece looks very cosy in the evening when I turn on the twinkling lights. 

Talking about gardeners, here are a couple of photos of my Autumn garden. The leaves make a carpet of gold ....

I cannot really end this Post without mentioning the passing of our dear Queen.  Although she was 96, it was still very sudden at the end, and the whole Country was shocked. But what a wonderful send off we gave her. It was a fitting thank you from the Country for her 70 years of devoted service. 

This next photo was taken only a couple of months ago, to celebrate Her Majesty's Platinum Jubilee. We shall miss that lovely smile. She really was a constant in all our lives. 

Well, I’ll leave you again for now, and this is what I wish for you all as we enter the new Season (I’m talking here about Autumn, but I’m aware that many of my readers will be appreciating the onset of Spring and the promise of longer days to come!).  Oh!  Remember, it is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice ❤️

First Day of Spring

Hallo one and all, on this, the first day of Spring,  I always love saying that.... the first day of Spring!  It always fills me with hope, and, like the rest of you just getting through Winter, I'm sure you're thankful for the longer days ahead. 

On my personal Facebook page, along with my Instagram page, I am having a break from social media for the period of Lent, but I felt I had to celebrate the onset of Spring here on my Blog!

Am I missing checking Facebook and Instagram each day. Well, I suppose I am, as there is quite a little Community out there, and the majority of people are very supportive and encouraging. 

However, part of me thinks, are people REALLY interested in what I've been up to or, in the case of Instagram, when I've been out for a delicious meal, and sharing a picture to prove it?!  We live in strange times these days, when everything, it seems, has to be 'out there'.  

 But then, the same could be said of me writing this Blog - are people REALLY interested in whatever I may have to say?  Anyway, as you can see from these photos, the weather here in heavenly Devon has decided to be kind to us on this first day of Spring, albeit in between the showers, but I'll take that.

It's so lovely having daffodils fresh from the garden. They really do bring a splash of sunshine into the home. 

The other big news of the week, of course, is the spread of the Corona Virus, which is quite worrying. My eldest granddaughter, who is studying for her Masters at Madrid University, has already had a trip to Shanghai cancelled, and my eleven year old grandson is due to travel to Normandy in France, with the College, leaving this Friday. I think it will be a case of 'watch this space' on that one. 

Well, I hope you're all keeping well in your little corner of the world. Take care, and I'm sure I will be popping in again fairly soon. 

November is here....

Hallo again little peeps.  So! November is here and it won’t be long until my favourite time of the year is with us once again.  

For those of you that are in Autumn at the moment, have you got used to the clocks going back, and the darker evenings that are now with us?!  It takes a bit of getting used to, doesn’t it?!  To be honest, I don’t really mind the darker evenings, as we can make our homes as cosy as possible.  I’ve always got a book on the go, but I tend to read even more during these shorter days.  I just love how a book can transport you to another place and you can lose yourself for a couple of hours.  

I can never have too many books.  At this time of the year, I also love to settle down and watch a good, romantic Christmas film.  I know - soppy, but I love them.  Especially as most of these films take place in America, and there is always snow, and the houses are gorgeously decorated.  Deck the halls, and all that! 😊🎄.  Of course, the house is decorated with pretty candles, which all adds to the cosy mood.

I have to admit to putting up just a few Christmas things - the rest of them will go up at the end of this month .  Too early do I hear you say??  Not for this girl!

I really like to get all my Christmas cards written by the first week in December, at the latest, and my presents bought and wrapped.  That way, I can really enjoy the lead up to Christmas, and just spend the time eating mince pies and drinking sherry!  NO! I jest - honestly 😊.

Here are a couple of Autumn pics for you.  The first one is the colour in my own garden at the moment, and the second one was taken at Saltram House, a magnificent, Georgian National Trust property nearby. 

Well, I’ll leave you again for now.  Hope you enjoyed the pics. By the time I write my next post, I suspect the house will be fully decorated!  Bye for now.

Autumn Gently Creeps In ....

Today is the Autumn Equinox -  I came across this quote by Oscar Wilde this week, and I thought it was very appropriate right now ...

We have had a couple of gorgeous weeks here in ye merry olde England, with clear blue skies, and amazing sunsets. Is anyone else looking forward to Autumn 🍂, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness? I quite like to be all warm and cosy in the evenings, with the lamps switched on and scented candles flickering away. It can be quite a romantic time of the year if you think about it. Yes, even if you are on your own.  Play some of your favourite music or settle down and watch a favourite, soppy film.  One of my favourites is Beaches with Bette Midler, about female friendship. I'm usually crying buckets by the end!

Talking about Autumn....these two pics taken in my garden last year sum up the season very well, I think. There's always this wonderful light in Autumn, when everything  seems so crisp and clear. 

Going back to the Oscar Wilde quotation at the beginning of this Post,  there is another one of his that is a favourite of mine, and I actually have it on a little plaque here in the home ...

Most of my long term bloggy friends, know how much I love quotations, and I'm always looking out for new ones. Pinterest is a wonderful source for doing this. Sometimes you read a quote, and you just think, 'yes', that's exactly it!  

I'm sure most of us love taking photos, be it of our family, times spent with friends, our gardens, places we have visited, or just anything that takes our eye.  This quote fits the bill exactly, for we truly are capturing a moment in time and, of course, these days most of us carry our phones with us, so there is no excuse to miss a magic moment!

I'm hoping for a lovely, dry Autumn so that I can get out on some walks here in heavenly Devon, and really appreciate the beauty of the upcoming Season, with all the amazing colour yet to come. Isn't nature wonderful?! 

Well my friends, I'll leave you again for now with another little quote, and these are my wishes for you today.  Take care. 

Any images today that are not my own, are courtesy of Pinterest.com

End of August is here!

Well, here we are on the last day of August.  Hopefully we will have some more warm, sunny days to look forward to in September.  I seem to have gained some more Followers to my Blog just recently, so I would like to welcome you and thank you for deciding to ‘follow me’.  It was nine years ago that I started blogging, encouraged by my number 1 daughter, who was running a successful Fashion Blog at that time. Since starting, I have made wonderful friends from all over the world - friends that encourage and lift you up.  I’m afraid I just can’t understand all the negativity in the world, which seems to have been encouraged, in many ways, by social media.  

It seems that many of you share my love of notebooks, as mentioned in my last Post.  In fact, I was given some great ideas as to how to make good use of my own Notebooks!  I’m sure most of you also love books, and reading. I’ve loved reading since I was a young child, and my two daughters and three grandchildren also adore books.  Now that the evenings are starting to pull in again (over here in the U.K. anyway!  I know that many of you are now starting to look forward to LIGHTER evenings in your own part of the world!) I’m sure that I will be reading even more. 

I can still remember, as a young child, feeling the excitement the night before my birthday, as I knew I would be receiving a new book.  How simple life was back then.  I still have a few of those books, dating back to the 1950’s! To me, reading a new book is a joy, and I love getting to know all the characters, and completely losing myself in the story. There has never been a time when I’ve not had a book on the go.  They have certainly helped me through sad times in the past.  

I hope you have all had a lovely Summer, and I’m sure many of you are looking forward to the Summer yet to come.  At the moment, I have a little harvest in my own garden. The apples have all been pressed, and made into pure apple juice. 

 So then, life is good.  Enjoy your weekend everyone ❤️

Where Does The Time Go?!

I see that I last wrote a Blog Post on the 21st March, and here we are, almost at the end of April.....my goodness, time passes so much more quickly than it used to.  I suppose it must be because everyone seems to lead such busy lives these days.  I’m sure I’m not the only one that would just like to hold back time. So if that Magic Geni with the lamp suddenly appeared in front of me, that would certainly be one of my three wishes. My second wish would be for my mum and dad to return just for a moment in time, so that I could ask them all the questions I never got round to asking when they were still alive - and my third wish?  It would have to be that all my little family would have healthy and contented lives.

I’ve decided to post a few photos of my garden today - all these photos were taken in the last couple of weeks, and you can see that it has suddenly burst into life once again.  Am I the only one to feel really thankful at the start of each new Season?  Thankful that I am still here to see new life appearing everywhere and to take in the beauty of the garden at this time of year.

One thing is for sure - life is very fragile and precious.  You only have to look at the atrocity that occurred in Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 on Easter Sunday.  Easter Sunday of all days.  But then that is why that day was chosen by the terrorists, to cause maximum death and bloodshed with so many people attending  Church Services.  Of course, they also targeted the tourists, which has happened so many times before, elsewhere in the world. Families sitting down for breakfast, and in an instant, half of the family was blown away. These attacks are always indiscriminate- no-one is immune.  I’m thinking here of the Billionaire who lost three of his teenage children.  Wouldn’t he give away every penny, just to be able to hold his children in his arms again?  How do families recover from such terrible losses?  It just doesn’t bear thinking about, does it?

That’s why I always say “I love you” to my children and grandchildren, whenever I see them, or whenever I message them.  You can never say it too often and you can never love them enough.  Never.

I hope you have enjoyed the little snapshot of my garden today, and I’ll be in touch again soon.  Look after yourselves,  wherever you are reading this.

This last image courtesy of Pinterest.com