Not that I desperately NEED them...........

........ but sme of them were so pretty I couldn't resist lol A nice mix of French, Italian and Kilner jars, 9 in total, plus most of the lids/rings - what isn't there I can make up from the stock I hold of such things.
£2 for the lot.

I couldn't resist the little hydrangea - suffice to say it didn't look like this last night when I brought it home. The poor thing is potbound in a tiny wee basket, was drooping, on its way out; I gave it a thorough soak overnight and it's perked right up, a beautiful shade of blue. I shall repot it, and when it's sturdier and settled in, I'll find a spot out in the garden for it, where it'll be allowed to find its feet and grow how nature intended.

The kindness of sort of strangers

Just when things really annoy you (see post below lol), something inevitably turns up to make you smile again. a lovely internet friend read about my search for non-baked biscuits and sent me down this lovley wee booklet from Shetland,  filled with the most delicious and decadent and CHOCOLATEY biscuits imaginable....................
I'm going to have a really good time trying some (ok, all lol) of these out!
As if such a wonderful thing wasn't enough, she included an exquisitely worked crochet bookmark to go with it.
Thankyou H, you made my day :))
x

Blimey...........

Don't some people have big mouths?!

Sorry, but I'm spitting feathers here.................

First things first.............

The cabin is all cleaned out, swept and dusted, ready to go. First thing is to fit the insualtion. I did quite a bit of reading on the net - seeing what was available, how easy it is to install, etc. I decided against the rigid types as I felt the squashy 'woolly' type ones will be easier for me to deal with. Part of all this is doing as much of the work myself as I can, so it has to be do-able by me. I'm willing to have a go at anything! Another criteria is that it should be as 'green' (for want of a better expression) as possible.
One consideration was sheeps' wool, either bought in or made myself.
I ended up having a look in the local B&Q depot, where I spotted this HUGE roll of loft insulation, 100% recycled from plastic bottles, for £12.98 - result!
I now need to have a look on the net for some hints and tips on getting it in place, but research and note taking is half the fun for me, so I'm fine with that. When it's up, it's time for lining and painting. Ever the optimist, I came home with some paint charts as well lol
The other things I came home with are the components for making my off-grid fridge. Watch out for the next post when you'll get a look at that!

Dungeness

A friend mentioned Dungeness in a conversation last night, and it rekindled a long-held desire of mine to go there. I need to go there to see if the place is how I imagine it to be - how it looks, how it feels, what its place is like in the universe. I think my interest was piqued a while back when I came across Derek Jarman and Prospect Cottage, and saw the garden he and his friends had made there. It's one of the gardens I feel would be a privelege to visit, to stay a while in, to absorb and to remember. I don't why this should be the case over and above many other gardens I have visited/want to visit, but so be it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/feb/17/gardens


Imagine living there..................

I think it's a place for reflection and thinking, remembering and wondering, perhaps alone or with a close friend; for solitary being, for time out, for retrospection.
I know I will be there one day, and will come back and tell you if I was right after all.

Roses

Christina Rosetti

Found a very beautfiul book of her poetry at the tip this morning. Dating from 1908, it has the beauty of handcut pages, all riffled along the edges, and the inscription 'To my dear wife, xmas 1908'. This is the portrait in the frontispiece:

For the princely sum of only 50p, and for that I got a good piece of grill for making my smoker, and a big pot of viola labridoricus, complete with an as yet unidentified sapling in the middle as well!