Thursday, December 26, 2019

Winding Down on Boxing Day



We've ate, drank and made merry.
Over-indulged in all the traditions of the season that makes this magical celebration.......magical.
Laughter was in abundance.
  
 


 
Recipe books are returned to their bookcase- home.
It's a ritual I go through every holiday,  drag out the recipe books, yet end up making  the same tried and tested dishes as the previous years.
Tradition prevails.



 
The gatherings are over, the house is tidied.
Time to enjoy a few hours of BritBox and  a nice pot of tea and biscuits.
I hope your Christmas was just as lovely.
 
 

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Peace On Earth, Goodwill To All Men

I've so enjoyed our visits back and forth throughout the year, all the sweet comments written, and well-wishes when a word of encouragement was needed.
We truly wish each and every one of you, friends and family, near and far, all the blessings of a Joyous and Merry Christmas.
 
May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;
The spirit of Christmas which is peace;
The heart of Christmas which is love."
 
~Ada V. Hendicks

 


 
When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow,
We hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago,
And etched on vacant places
Are half-forgotten faces
Of friends we used to cherish,
And loves we used to know.

 
~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox



Thursday, December 19, 2019

Sleepy Days

I requested the help of a certain ginger kitty in helping with a little decorating, so far this is the response.
It appears I am on my own.


Tuesday, December 17, 2019

We'll Leave The Light On For You

The sweetest little galvanized- house arrived today.
Lit with votives, in the fading light, it looks quite magical.
Perfect for that little Christmas table.


Friday, December 13, 2019

Winter Moon

 


 
 
Brightly the moon like a jewel is beaming,
White in the east, o'er a lone landscape gleaming,
Over the meadows and over the snow,
Glimmering, shimmering, silvery glow.

Low in the east, when the gloaming is ending,
Slowly this white winter moon is ascending,
Looming so large and appearing so nigh,
Satellite framed by a star-spangled sky.

High in the sky, with soft radiance teeming,
Nigh to the time when men, women, are dreaming,
Weird is her splendor on valley and hill,
Cold is her gleam upon river and rill.

Brightly the moon like a jewel is shining,
White in the west she is slowly declining,
Beautiful Moon ! Which beams gorgeous and grand
Over the homes of our own Native Land.
 

~Charles Nevers Holmes. 1926

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Thanksgiving Blessings





Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.

~Author Unknown

 
A Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving from our home to yours............
 

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Being Thankful

Rain has fallen on and off for most of the day, making for the perfect opportunity to gather my Thanksgiving recipes.
Our Thanksgiving is a low-key affair, since like most families, our little close family, now includes in-laws, and extended family members, and time has to be split between both.
That's ok too,  this way we all have a chance to enjoy family, food and fellowship, and be grateful for the many blessings.
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Oliver Love

"Oliver look this way and smile"

 
 
 
 
" You forgot to open your eyes "
 


"Perfect".

Friday, November 15, 2019

Silence





"When everything that ticked has stopped,
And space stares, all around,
Or grisly frosts, first autumn morns,
Repeal the beating ground."



 Emily Dickinson, Time and Eternity, LXXV

Monday, November 11, 2019

Lest We Forget

They fell, but o'er their glorious grave
Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save.

~Francis Marion Crawford

 
 
 

 God Bless  all the service men and women, without whose unselfish commitment, our lives would be forever changed.
 
 
 

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Garden Chores Await

                                         
 Remington the Horticulturist ~ Charles Wysocki
 
*******
 
"Spring flowers are long since gone.
Summer's bloom hangs limp on every terrace.
The gardener's feet drag a bit on the dusty path and the hinge in his back is full of creaks."-

~Louise Seymour Jones

Friday, October 11, 2019

Serenity

View of the local dam in my hometown. Autumn in England.
 
 
 
 
 
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,--
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
 
William Shakespeare "King Richard II", Act 2 scene 1 
 
 

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Ode To Autumn

There is a subtle change in the air.
Cool mist-filled mornings, and daytime temperatures are seasonably pleasant.
Trees are slowly changing from greens to oranges and browns,  Autumn has unmistakably
arrived.

 
 
 
 
 



 
"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells."

~ John Keats

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Morning Wake-Up

How loud does your alarm clock MEOW ?
 
 

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Crawleys Return

Well, it's  time to polish the silver, and put the kettle on, because today our favorite Yorkshire estate in early 20th-century Britain is back with a feature film airing today in theaters.
The opulence returns.


Monday, September 16, 2019

Say Cheese



My home county of Cheshire, England is known for being the birthplace of famous author Lewis Carroll, of Alice in Wonderland fame.
It also holds the bragging rights to making some of the best cheese in the land, Cheshire Cheese.
The making of the cheese dates back to the early 16th century, and is considered the oldest in Great Britain.

Cheese was mostly stored in a cheese-keeper, as refrigerators were uncommon.
My grandmother's cheese-dish sat on her kitchen table, always with a nice piece of Cheshire cheese beneath, and a jar of pickled onions close by.

I fell in love and purchased this Royal Winton cheese-dish some thirty years ago, at an antique sale in Cheshire.
It's from the 'Country Diary Collection' and the delicate display of flowers reminds me of my grandmothers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheshire
 
 

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

A Moment Of Silence

 
 

 
Together we pause to remember the victims,
to grieve with the families and friends of those who died,
and to honor the heroes of that day and each day since,
who have sacrificed to save lives and serve their country.

 

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Summer's Last Smile

The last of the Summer flowers are giving us one final show.
The temperatures fell into the fifties last night.
Sweater-grabbing crisp air, the likes of which has not been seen since early Spring.
We're enjoying a day of quiet time , keeping those affected by hurricane Dorian, in our thoughts and prayers.

 

 
 


 





 

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Hello September



 
 
"By all these lovely tokens
September days are here
With summer's best of weather
And autumn's best of cheer."
~ Helen Hunt Jackson ( 1830-1885 )

 

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Cat-Astrophe

Tom-Tilly is not a happy camper.
She took a trip to her veterinarian today, in order to get an allergy problem resolved.
It completely stresses her out, being out of her comfort zone, and to add insult to injury two shots in her bum before she's finished.
I'm in the cat house.
 

Monday, August 19, 2019

Little Moreton Hall

An amazing piece of historic architecture stands proudly on display in my home county of Cheshire, England.
 
 


Little Moreton Hall is arguably the finest half-timbered manor in England.
Built by Sir Richard de Moreton around 1450.
This spectacular like a fairy-tale manor, protected by a narrow moat. The house is built around an inner courtyard, reached through a projecting gatehouse. At the far side of the courtyard is the great hall, built by Sir Richard de Moreton around 1450. To the left are service wings, and to the right a chapel and solar, or private quarters for the lord and his family.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Moreton_Hall

Friday, July 26, 2019

Memories



Not one day passes, without I reflect on how I was raised.
I was fortunate to spend endless hours with a grandma who loved to take me along wherever she went, as  a result of that,  I was able to experience a grown up world through a child's eyes..

My grandma Ciss owned a bakery for thirty six years, each morning at seven sharp, she began her bread-baking, and sweet confectionaries. The tea-kettle whistled on the hob all day long, serving endless cups of tea to visitors throughout the day.
Policemen (bobbies) walked the foot-beat back then, and "Cissy's" bakery was the place to offer a sit-down, and enjoy a custard tart and a nice cup of tea. She was well loved  for her generosity.
I helped in her bakery since I was old enough to walk, doing all kinds of chores, from peeling bucket loads of potatoes for the meat and potato pies, serving the customers,  to delivering the freshly baked loaves of bread each day.




On Monday, her day off, we would ride the double-decker bus into Liverpool, and deposit her weekly earnings into the Littlewood's Bank. My grandmother loved Liverpool, it was her place of birth, a bustling city, with all that a city has to offer.




After shopping and eating lunch in John Lewis department store, we would make our way to the Pier Head at the River Mersey, and board a ferry boat to New Brighton, I'd play in the sand with my bucket and spade, and Ciss would sit and feed the seagulls. As the sun dipped below the horizon, we'd make our return ferry ride back to the mainland, and head home on the bus.
Simple days spent with my grandma, nurtured and loved, innocence and childhood going hand in hand.
I miss her with a passion.





Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Summertime Napping

 
 
 
Cats sleep, anywhere,
Any table, any chair
Top of piano, window-ledge,
In the middle, on the edge,
Open drawer, empty shoe,
Anybody's lap will do,
Fitted in a cardboard box,
In the cupboard, with your frocks-
Anywhere! They don't care!
       Cats sleep anywhere.     
                    
~ Eleanor Farjeon (1881)

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Heat-Lover




The Crepe Myrtle bushes are in full bloom, their flowers will put on this show for the better part of a month.
The bees and Hummingbirds are drawn to their huge Watermelon Red blooms.
They love the summer heat, I have offered them my portion.