Shinrin-Yoku *

Morning everyone,

Bit fresh today - we're bracing ourselves, here in the UK, for the 'beast from the east' (why do we have to give a weather event a name?). Any hoo ... let me chuck another log on the fire before the cat complains even more.....

Thank you all for your lovely link ups to February's Scavenger Hunt words - there were some cracking photos and stories as well as some brilliant 'think-out-of-the-box' pictures. I actually think this month's were the best we've done for a long while! Well done us :D and if you have not seen all 14 link-ups just have a look HERE for a catch up :)

Sunday was beautiful - wall to wall blue sky and a sharp breeze, it felt almost springlike.

Circumstances, homework, coursework, weather, chores, well - life in general, have conspired against our walking habits, so to be able to get out yesterday was beyond glorious.

To feel the tactile trunks of the silver birches, albeit with brittle numb fingers,

to take lungfuls of icy air, feeling it burn its way down to my lungs

and to hear the crisp crunch of the frozen pathway

was more precious that I ever thought it would be.

The light was beautiful - clear and sharp,

we took so many photos.

Almost an indecent amount ...... thank goodness for digital!

 

Of course Moss was in her element - she smiled from her very shiny black nose to the tip of her tail.

On our way back, we stopped and nestled down in the dead bracken fronds and stalks,

giving just enough shelter from the breeze. We must have stayed at least 20 minutes.

Watched two buzzards soar and twirl above us.

Listened to distant voices and sheep.

Bliss.

Took a few more photos,

some good,

some questionable....

Well, yes.

*Shinrin-Yoku


And for those who are eagle-eyed and bushy-tailed - our new list is up and running for March - let the madness begin :D

Photo Hunt List -March 2018

Scavenger Photo-Challenge starts here!

Hole

Making

Reading now

Black and white

Starts with an ... H

My own choice

The big reveal date is Friday 30th March

February Scavenger Photo-hunt Link up Party!

Welcome to the 2nd Scavenger Photo-hunt of 2018 -

I am looking forward to seeing 

all your photos and reading your stories1

Let the fun begin xx

If you have joined in with my

Scavenger hunt, please link

with me on your blog :)

Please add your name to the

link up tool below,

just follow the easy instructions,

don't worry - if I can do it so can you!

Please just add your Name or Blog Name in the 'Link Title',

Now, let the Link-up Party begin!

Don't forget to leave a comment when you visit :)

** **

February's Scavenger photo hunt 2018

Thought that, with it being winterish-sort-of-weather I would try and complete all my words in a winterish-sort-of-way! Little did I realise how difficult that was going to be - it got my photo-mojo all in a twitter.


White
Our pathway into the garden. This image I took a couple of weeks ago, it has since snowed a lot heavier but I preferred this almost monochrome look of the gate and pathway. This is the photo that kick started my winter-wonder-look-theme.....

Metal/metallic

These ornate metal gate belongs to the rec grounds we take Moss to play and run madly around. However, this particular photo was taken in January 2013. As you can see - it was a snowy January. These gates must have seen some action in their life time as they are rather battered and rusty and missing spikes in places. They probably were quite grand in their day but now, I suspect not many folk actually notice them.

Camouflage
This one only took a single fleeting moment to think about but a little longer to create!  It required not only compliance by the cat (not a given) but also the use of an amenable teenager (fortunately fed and watered and up for a game) and a fully charged battery in the camera (it conked out after this image). With the dog safely kept inside as she and this cat don't always see eye to eye - we set out. This is the only image I could use... the rest are mostly of a fat-furry-backside or a furry-blurry cat half out of shot.... you get the gist. Any hoo - this one was the best and she has 'cleverly' camouflaged her tail with the hedge and her fur with the snow - what a super model!

Begins with a ....J - J is for Jacket
When I wrote this, Youngest was home on half term. Not sure what happened but wasn't in a particularly good mood, so, using his love for his dog, I insisted that we get out and go for a walk. Which we did. Moss and I felt a whole lot better for it  however, Youngest was still feeling a little grumped ....so once home, he went off for a nap. Then he felt better.

Bud
In the garden there is an indigenous honeysuckle growing on the fence between us and our neighbours. Years ago when we moved in we had to do a lot in the garden including removing a smashed up glasshouse thrown into the compost heap. At least, I think it was a compost heap, it was a huge pile of tree limbs, slimy mown grass clippings, soil and discarded plants. Once we'd started to move it we discovered the almost never ending shards of glass and broken frame. Carefully over a number of weekends we managed to clear the rubbish. Where is this leading to? Well, beneath the glass I found a single straggly twig with an equally sorry root. The honeysuckle. I planted it and it never looked back!  These buds are cheerfully battling the snow falls we have recently had.

My own choice
'Counter-camouflage' - you can't have one cat without the other...... Pepper in the bath.  (I love the row of little cat toes peeking out from beneath her tail - enough to make a mad cat lady go ... squeeeeeeeee)

So, there - my selection for February - hope you enjoyed them as much as I did hunting for them :) right, I am off now to check out you lovely lot's photos and stories!

a day in the life of the studio cat

Erhemm

Dear hoomans

I sees that she's not been on her blog-thing for a while

tsk tsk

 so typicals of her

....head full of butterflies

 ... gets distracted

 ... wanders off 

... chases flies on window ledges 

oh - hang on... is thats me?? 

not sure - prrrrr prrrrr prrrrr

But, backs to the matter in-paw 

I thoughts I would shares with you my working day prrrr prrr

It is very hards being the studio cat

I has to follow the sunshine around - lies on it to prevents it escaping 

I has seen so little of that warm yellow sky stuff that when I do 

I don't wants to lets it go

Problem is when that Miss-huffy-wuffy-waggy-Mossums joins in

Pah dogs ... cramps my styles

 they has no concept of purrrsonal spaces 

when it comes to designated cat-lying-down-in-the-sun-spots

Grrrr - I gives you the deadly cat-death-stares 

... is not working.... 

no good looking to our my hooman for help

May be a chomps on the paw will work ---- 

pppsssst spit spit gah 

dog foot does not leave a good taste in the mouth of a gentile puss-cat >^.^< 

such as myself...

Might trys and encroach and sees if that works......

Nope, may be all-in-cat'n'dog-wrestling will gets yous to move...

Stupid dog, will turn my backs on yous and yous will gets the message... or may be not.

Awwww - I is sorry - I do loves you in a 'feels-sorry-for-the-silly-creature-sort-of-way' .... 

but could yous purrrlease move 

I wants 'MY' sun-warmed-spots back.

Ahh better

 This is sun-warmed-spots is mine ... 

all mine ... 

.... as is this sun-warmed-spot...

I is a little warm, might stop in this little shady spots for a whiles....

bwahahahahaha 

(in a monstrous catsy sort of way!)

Best job ever.


edited to add:  My apologies for the cat-astrophic take over by Pepper and I promise no Miss Mosses were harmed in the making of this epic battle of wills for the sunny warm spot. As you can see there was plenty of it and the dog didn't seem to concerned that Pepper was being ... well ... being Pepper!  They are very fond of each other. I love the 'help-me' eyes that Moss kept shooting to me but she hung on to her spot as long as she could!

Valentine's day our way x

We don't do soppy

but he does do

roses x

This is how I know that I've a good man -

since 1985 he has not missed one year.

I, on the other hand, have been ...

 sporadic 

(oops)

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤Happy WEDNESDAY to you all❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

A Hygge-licious sort of day

Sitting on the settee, the fire quietly crackling away, half completed mug of tea next to me.

Actually, we are all sitting here, contentedly allowing Sunday to slide by. Eldest is frowning with concentration as he types out a report on the causes of animal extinction in the UK, Youngest is surfing the web looking at cars and motor bikes, Himself is doing something similar - occasionally they share their latest find and compare vehicle laden anecdotes with each other.

We are still on our new style of eating and Himself and I agree that we feel so much better for being on it. Not that we were particularly unhealthy before (at least I don't think we were) but omitting purchased breads, reducing salt and animal fats and trying to have as near as every meal cooked from scratch is paying off. I still bake for the boys - they would 'wither away' and wonder what the world had become without biscuits and cake. So - no - we are not 100% virtuous and I don't pretend to be.

Today's lunch was a thick and warming soup we affectionately call 'Skye Soup' with hunks of soda bread. It is good watching three hungry menfolk wolfing down bowls of steaming soup. 

The soup is so named for a couple of reasons. We've been up to Skye on holiday and discovered and visited the Isle of Skye Bakery in Portree. The food there is to die for, home made, rustic, filling and very very tasty. The following year, when a dear friend went up to Skye, she was clutching a list of places to visit which we'd pressed into her hands, of which this bakery was fairly near the top!

So she did, and like us found the food to be filling and wholesome and ordered a take-away of a thick and warming butternut and lentil soup. We both did a little internet delving and found a version which we think is as near as the original Skye Bakery recipe - hence the name 'Skye Soup'.

The recipe I use is HERE - the only difference is I usually add a red pepper but today it was a glossy yellow one :)

The soda bread - now a staple which I bake every second or third day - comes from HERE and is as simple as simple can be. My only addition is a generous tablespoon of chia seeds for good measure.

As for the baking for the boys? Well seeing the oven was hot for the bread, seemed a waste not to utilise that heat and baked a batch of the all essential bird buns and a pile of peanut butter cookies - which I am still experimenting with. The original recipe is far too sweet for us so I have reduced the sugar by more than half and added loads of oaty goodness! I will bake them again (all in the name of science of course) and shall share the recipe once I get the proportions correct :) In the mean time the boys are happily eating the results of the test kitchen baking :D

 Any hoo, Sunday has turned from a snowy cold day to a crisply cold evening. I'll have to return to the kitchen shortly to start the evening meal. Eldest has requested a frittata and roast veg before he sets off back to uni. Just need to finish my mug of tea and chatting with you first - what a good way to end the weekend :)

One Word Wednesday

PROCRASTINATING*

thanks to this blog for the inspiration (or in my case - the lack of it ....)

Monday's a good day for gratitude

I was reading a new-to-me blog early this morning (it was is still gloomy and grey outside) and one of the posts really reached out to me - 'Abundance'. (Thanks to Aril from EAaRfGBT)

I have been quietly working away at practising gratitude which has certainly helped me when ever I feel a dip in my mood. 'The more you are grateful for, brings more to be grateful about'.

It is one of the reasons I write my present blog. To remind myself of all the small and precious things that happen on a daily basis - the sort of things that easily get forgotten over time.

My original blog started as year long photographic exercise to mark the first year of senior school of my eldest son.  I looked back to see when the first post was and it is dated 09.09.09  ...   nearly 10 years ago ....   it has evolved somewhat and transformed to my present format. 

Where is this leading? Well, I have a lot to be grateful for.

Like my husband who, with my boys, built me a beautiful summerhouse and converted it into a the most wonderful personal space where I can paint, draw, listen to music, watch birds, drink tea.  And for all of summer and autumn that is exactly what I did. 

Then winter came and the summerhouse struggled with persistent winter rain seeping in constantly and despite checking all the obvious routes - we were left scratching our heads. I had to move back into the house. I was left surprisingly bereft and combined with the downturn of the weather to the most dreary wet and dull winter I felt like I'd fallen down a hole.

Himself every weekend (weather permitting) would work on another theory where the rain was getting in, then we would have to wait for it to rain to check ..... no joy. As the water rose and receded, I drew a line around the mark, logging the waxing and waning of the leaks. 

We continued like this for weeks.

But, (carefully dancing with joy) this last ten days or so - the tide seems to have turned, both figuratively and literally, despite the rain, the wood is drying out and there are no new water marks. (Woop woop). 

His dedication and persistence to mend something for me was above and beyond the call of duty.  SO today, I go back out and tidy my summerhouse studio, move back in - in a temporary sort of way, we still need to replace all the inner wooden panels now they and the floor are drying beautifully and relay the carpet - BUT I can get out and and be in my  wonderful personal space where I can paint, draw, listen to music, watch birds, drink tea.

Like I say, I have a lot to be grateful for. xxxxxxxx

Thank you too for all the lovely comments you take the time to leave and hello to more new followers - welcome to my small part of the world - thank you for joining in :D