Sunday and I am back .............Fingers crossed

Well slight technical issues have prevented by usual Sunday blog ramblings -" Your browser no longer supports" was the message and several calls later to my IT helpline ( my brother he is a star) and now
Google Chrome hopefully supports me !!!
Well so many things to post how utterly delightful - so where shall I start - in the middle I think - just back from a long weekend in the south of France visited Saint Paul de Vence a beautiful captivating medieval
town set up in the hills , artists abound amongst the cobbled streets - Chagall ended his days in this sunny
paradise . And the sun shone for 3 glorious days and no I will not start talking about the climate in England I

just wont ! So the pictures will tell a little of the story and hopefully I am now back to my at least weekly meanderings ............................

Its not Sunday !

I always blog on a Sunday and never in the week - however I was distracted this Sunday by my mission to be busy in my garden ... I painted garden furniture a beautiful "French" blue ,that, sort of faded blue that evokes memories of summers past spent in the South of France where the blues and pastel pinks and subdued yellows speak to you of a faded elegance . I then finished painting a garden fence ready to gild it with ( hopefully green fingers permitting ) an abundance of trailing clematis ... well I dream and then all of a sudden it was evening a long soak in the bath accompanied by a glass of chilled sauvignon and I was lost !!

So sis - do you like the colour - I did have a cup of tea mid afternoon - it wasn't yet wine time and the flowering cherry seems to have been transplanted happily - Enjoy the garden pictures you will see them soon..................

Joyeuses Paques...

Easter - sometimes early and sometimes late heralds the school holidays and hope of warm sunshine ! The roads are packed with travellers intent on getting away for the long Bank Holiday weekend - whilst others reflect on the true religious implications .
I was up early and in the kitchen - first was a spot of baking - home made scotch eggs ! Honestly they taste delicious but as you can see from the picture they are not instantly recognisable ......... then I attempted to make wax hearts - no picture as they didnt quite come off - hey ho back to the drawing board . I shaved wax crayons placed them between sheets of waxed paper and melted with hot iron - all went well till I tried to cut them into shape ........ another time !
And I still not have eaten my chocolate rabbit must be a record I hear my sister cry - I am toying with saving it to share with my nieces and Sis - only 25 days till they arrive - much excitement I can't wait !
Anyway Happy Easter - may God's love be with you ( Check out one of my all time favourite songs - In the Sun - Michael Stipe featuring Joseph Arthur - bliss! ) AND
maybe in 26+ days time I will be able to post the You Tube video and other enhancements will magically appear on my blog - thank you in advance Megan !!!

Afternoon Tea....

one of those great British institutions , and , Sunday seems to lend itself more than any other day to this most pleasing of pastimes . Ok I have foregone the cucumber sandwiches , instead I baked some rather delicious lemon frosted cupcakes a rather guilty pleasure to be enjoyed at around 4.30 - why is the time important I am not sure but it just seems the " right " time . So feet up and happily munching whilst dipping delightfully into one of my favourite poetry books - it is a little battered now from so much reading but never ever fails to please . And as its a beautiful sunny afternoon with summer beckoning the flowers were just peeping over my fence asking to be photographed and displayed for all to see ...........

The Weather......

well as is commonly known the "British" have ( and always will I am sure ) a pre-occupation with the weather ! We discuss it daily , or sometimes with even greater frequency , will it rain ,do I need a coat - is it cold - windy shall I take a sweater and a brolly - just in case ! The permutations are endless , we watch long range weather forecasts to plan our weekends - then bemoan the fact the weather turns out absolutely nothing like predicted ! We discuss the weather with people we have never met - why - because we can and because it is so " jolly unpredictable " !
Secretly I wonder if I lived in the warm climes of my dreams would I miss being able to wake up and wonder ?
So the weather topic is currently providing news headlines - we are having on the third day of spring the most balmy of temperatures to rival Madrid to quote just one - and it is just glorious beautiful sunshine and the english countryside is awash with daffodils and yes ok a few dandelions !
So I feel Summer has arrived - just a the back of my mind, and probably a few others is the nagging doubt that this will be the first and last sun of the year - and yes I know they are talking hosepipe bans and drought already - I fear having heard all this before we could have a monsoon summer yet ! BUT undeterred - we enjoy and BBQ's pulled out and shorts ( not me yet my legs aren't up to it ) being donned for the weekend and maybe beyond - if you believe the weather forecast !
Pictures are of southern France - I love it.........And the sun shines - a lot !!!

Hockney

I watched a culture show programme last week on which David Hockney was being interviewed on his new exhibition . I will not go writing reams but just post a few pictures - which speak so much louder than words !

Random Thoughts and Pictures ...

well its Sunday again , where does the time go I ask myself . I love this time of day its around 6pm and the light is only just fading - Spring is just around the corner - snowdrops have appeared like magic overnight and the little white pearls are dotted in small clumps and great swathes across the fields and then you turn another corner and the vivid yellows and purples announce that the crocuses are ready to show their colours to the lengthening days , which means soon the blossom of the cherry will be ready to show off every hue imaginable of dusty pink to deep rose.

I took a walk and picked catkins and a few daffodils to bring a little of the approaching spring indoors to savour and then sitting watching the night draw in the moon came out and so I tried to capture the picture - the sight made me think of a song " Wishing on a Star" I first heard it by Rose Royce and then Paul Weller did a cover which I love
"I'm wishing on a star , To follow where you are , I'm wishing on a dream , To follow where you'll be ...........

New York , New York ..

so good they named it twice !! Well having just returned from a four day break in the " Big Apple " I echo the sentiments entirely .Just a little jet lagged at present but have had an absolute ball - everything delivered ... Empire state building with its fabulous art deco decor ( my favourite film in the world Affair To Remember - says it all ! ) then the Grand Central Station , Brooklyn Bridge , Statue of Liberty never ending really , Broadway not to be missed and ground zero too . If you have a bucket list then this just has to be on it !

" The glamour of it all ! New York , America " ....Charlie Chaplin

Today ...........

is a very special day because today is my nieces birthday . So I am writing this blog especially for her !!!

Birthday tradition means that a cake must be made which of course has candles on - you must make a silent wish and blow out the candles - if you blow them out in one breath your wish will be granted .The other tradition is presents and love and especially love as you get double on your birthday ... so have a fantastic day Megan

"May you live all the days of your life " Jonathon Swift ( He wrote Gullivers Travels)

Snow.............

a little snow has fallen this weekend enveloping us in its winter cloak and spreading a hushed silence to the air. So i have taken this as permission to spend a completely lazy weekend cocooned in the warmth indoors and have spent many pleasurable hours reading and watching old movies - my most favourite "Affair to Remember " being top of my play list - so in love with the dashing debonair Cary Grant, I know that George Clooney has been compared to him in some ways but Mr Grant will always win hands down .
One of the pictures is a little reminder that spring is not so far away ..............really !!


"Advice is like snow - the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon and the deeper it sinks into the mind "

Music & Sunday..

well for me they go hand in hand . I wake at weekends and put on the radio for the first hour of both Saturday and Sunday , this is where I hear the clips of new music played and then I can indulge my passion by researching the artists and hearing more. This was how I discovered Bombay Bicycle Club a current favourite and also Michael Kiwanuka who could be a real find !
I found these fab pictures of the Fab Four the other day and whilst never being an avid Beatles fan I got to thinking that somehow we all probably have a favourite tune that belongs to them ! Mine - "And I love Her "which comes from A Hard Days Night album and then another that I can just sing along to the moment I hear it is "Hey Jude" , perhaps even now you are thinking of your own particular favourite

Reflections.............

a very cold frosty but beautiful winters weekend .So armed with new camera a practice session has taken place - not just a case of pointing and shooting I am met with an array of dials and knobs that can be twisted and turned to take advantage of all lights and shades and believe me this is only a slightly up from complete no need to do anything camera ! I wonder will I venture into another of my half finished projects - photography classes sound somewhat appealing and we all like to feel arty at times I think . A favourite canal side walk provide the material for this post , and , I must secretly admit I love the reflections .


"Reflect upon your present blessings - of which everyone has many - not on your past misfortunes " Charles Dickens

Watching Films..........

Well after the excitement of New Years Eve I had a date with the sofa yesterday and spent an enjoyable afternoon watching one of my favourite old black & white movies .
Roman Holiday - stars Audrey Hepburn - a real style icon oh so chic ! and Gregory Peck - well he is suave and just downright handsome !I have watched this film so many times but it never fails to hit the spot and I still cry copiously in all the same places .But , that is what movies are all about you can just be transported to another time and place and be completely and utterly lost in the moment - love it !!

Just getting ready...........

to go out for New Years Eve - party time !! And I got to thinking that somehow however old you get , a girl still takes so much pleasure from shoes and bags ,
well I do anyway .And if those little items have been acquired without spending lots of money well one can be just ectastic and then also rather secretive as you dont want to divulge to too many people the location of these little "aladdins caves " that have been discovered .
Anyway I hope whatever you are doing you all have a very Happy New Years Eve ..and I will look forward with much anticipation to blogging my way through 2012.
And that is without a resolution in sight !!!

Christmas Eve

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring - not even a mouse
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care ,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.................

"Clement Clarke Moore "

The picture is of a Crystal cave in Skaftfell National Park in Iceland
absolutely stunning isn't it .

Now how lovely....

Its dark and cold outside - yes - well it is winter.
But inside its like a summers day thats just how such beautiful fresh flowers make it feel .And the pleasure is only intensified by listenting to some more new music - Rebecca Ferguson fabulous soulful voice and the new release from Amy Winehouse , what a talent!

Christmas is coming......

today I attempted an alternative Xmas Tree - a few twigs , baubles and some lights
what could be simpler , nobody told me how long it would take for said twigs to look
naturally placed and as for baubles et al it was several hours before I was satisfied,and, now I am complacently sat in the warmth of my living room feeling that the effort was worth it and I am pleased - remembering though that beauty is in the eye of the beholder!! Oh and my real living Christmas tree is left outside in its natural habitat with the addition of some sparkly blue lights which strategically cover some of the stark branches which appeared to moult somewhat after their neglectful owner failed to water them enough in the summer months !!
Whilst all this was taking place I was listening to Andrea Bocelli now I have never really listened to much opera before but believe me I am now a convert his singing moved me to tears - absolutely stunning .

Weekends..

so looked forward too and then they seem to just vanish in a flash ! Saturday was full of glorious sunshine and then Sunday was a collar up against the wind and drizzle sort of day ! It somehow sparked into my head a fab little song by Crowded
House called "take the weather with you" - you can keep the sunny picture in your
head and sing or get immersed in the bleak and miserable - we all have a choice .
Walking round the room singing
Stormy Weather
At 67 Mount Pleasant Street
Now its the same room but everything's different
You can fight the sleep but not the dream ...
Everywhere you go always take the weather with you ,
Everywhere you go always take the weather .

Anyway several pleasurable hours were spent baking - and
today was Carrot Cake - a special most delicious even if
I say so myself cake just sweet and moist enough and elevated
to 4**** standard by a great frosting .I will post the recipe
at some stage but for now I am moving on to make some filo
pastry mince pies - just hope there is enough room in my freezer !!!

The snowman picture is from the German Markets in Manchester do go
they are sooooooooooo good and Gluwein is very warming !