Happy Christmas!

 With all my best wishes for a peaceful

 and blessed Christmas for you all.

May the wonder of Christ's birth 

continue to strengthen us in the busy-ness of the next few days.

Trelissick decorated.

 You have heard me talk about our nearby National Trust property, Trelissick, I think. Overlooking the water and surrounded by parkland, it's a favourite place to visit.

This morning a friend and I went to see the main house, not always open, decorated for Christmas.

The spectacular wreath adorns the front door.

The entry Hall is beautifully decorated with mantel swags, and trees.

We had a very nice cup of coffee, sitting in comfortable armchairs in one of the many rooms overlooking the open waters of the Falmouth Bay.

Christmas trees were in every room, swags decorated the mantels and stairs, and the whole place was beautifully Christmassy. Here we are looking through to the Orangery, which has the tallest Christmas tree in the house.

So much time and thpught had been put into the decorating, and we thought the stairway was stunning.

Can't you imagine living here and having a huge family Christmas in such a lovely place?

One last look...

We enjoyed our visit. I wish you could have been with us!

Cold weather clothing.

 Here in Cornwall we have suddenly hit Winter, an English Winter that is. Compared with the climates in Canada and USA our Winter is laughable. Our temperature here this week has been around minus 3 degrees, which of course does feel very cold. But I remember visiting my daughter when she lived in Canada, and the temp was a chilly minus 30!

I've been pulling out my Thermal underwear, and treated myself to some leggings from M/S, which are lightweight but oh so warm under a pair of jeans. I think in the 'old days' these would have been known as Long Johns, but Leggings does sound nicer.

Coupled with thermal top, big coat, woolly scarf and gloves, I'm ready for our Winter!

And these too.

This is not me.

Colours of December.

 This Christmas will be a low key one, but I felt that my Advent wreath and candles would be far lovelier than decorations.

It's many years since we bought the wreath, now a bit battered, from Liberty in London. It's gone on and on, losing bits here and there but still giving a colourful sense of Christmas.

My Christmas cactus is excelling itself, probably because I remembered to feed it. Those shiny pink petals are a delight.

I am not sending cards this year, but will instead give a donation to the Marie Curie charity, whose night nurses helped me so much in Malcolm's last weeks.

Now we are in December. There's a smell of pine trees in the air. Bunches of holly and greenery are on sale in our local Farm shop, so much more appealing than glittery plastic.

I hope you all enjoy decorating your homes for this wonderful season.

A morning out.

 Taken out for lunch today, to Malpas, a beautiful little hamlet about 2 miles from Truro. It lies on the water and is a very popular place for visitors. There's a very nice inn and also a Marina. Malpas lies at the head of the Fal Creek.

Needless to sayI forgot to take my camera, but the rain came down, so photos wouldn't have been much good. I have taken these photos from an article written by Alan Murton, who describes the place so well.

 Looking up into the village from the water.

There used to be a little ferry boat, oar propelled, acoss the water to St Michael Penkivell where you can see a small white cottage

.

Now you call a motorised ferry, by ringing the Bell.

The road to Malpas gets narrower and narrower, till it stops at the yacht club. If you can't find a parking space you have to go a long way back and walk.

We were fortunate that there was a space to squeeze into, and enjoyed a very pleasant lunch overlooking the water...despite the heavy rain. It was so good to go out and do something a bit different.

At rest.

 

Yesterday my husband's ashes were laid to rest in theis beautiful woodland area, which is part of the grounds of our local Crematorium. In the Spring it will be full of primroses, bluebells and other wild flowers.

We spent many hours walking in woodlands, particularly in France, and I think he would have loved this.

Now, onward, slowly and carefully, into a new and different life.

Autumn colours

 Autumn colours have suddenly appeared in Cornwall. We will never be as amazingly beautiful as parts of the USA in Fall, but I think the trees here are trying their best to compete.

This is Treverbyn Bridge, a scheduled monument not far from Bodmin. It's a 15th Century bridge on the medieval main route linking Bodmin and Liskeard.  It is written that in 1412 it was almost a complete wreck. However, the Bishop of Exeter granted an indulgence providing a pardon of 40 days penance from the sins of anyone who contributed to its repair.

Apparently it wasn't until the 18th Century that further repairs were necessary, so there must have been plenty of pardons given!

I chose the photo because of the leaf colours.

Even in my garden the Cherry tree leaves are in that in-between stage, some red, some dropping, looking rather lovely,but heralding a colder Winter season.

So many thanks....

 There are times when no words will properly express what one needs to say. It's hard to explain what your kindnesses and messages meant to me in this last sad few weeks. Cards, letters, messages of comfort and support. 

All I can say is 'Thank you' from my heart, and show you the flowers from our Service on Monday.

Rest in peace.

 

Malcolm passed peacefully away 

into his Heavenly home today.

Malcolm George Dunford

1933 --2022

Time out

 

I am taking some time out for a while.

See Tracing Rainbows post. Thank you Angela.

The quilt show

Every other year our church hosts an exhibition of patchwork and quilting, all made by a local group of quilters.

This caught my eye, with its representations of wildlife in the countryside. It must have taken hours to do.

This was more difficult to photograph as it was hung rather low on the wall. I liked the little Chateau with the tiny pictures of the garden  and the things found in it, the apple trees, the wheelbarrow, flowers.

Do you see the little dogs?

The show did inspire me to come home and dig out a half finished lap quilt which is intended for Project Linus.

It's been waiting a while.

Autumn colours

 It's hard to believe that these Hydrangeas were a lovely blue during the Summer months.

This deep crimson is so Autumnal.

Not quite the last rose of Summer.

Are you finding that Autumn is quietly creeping into your garden?

Our Queen.

 

Remembering today,

our late Queen and her family.

What an example she set to our nation.

Rest in peace, Ma'am

Downs and ups . (Shed project)

 

There is always a risk when you employ an unknown 'Handyman'.

Suffice to say , without going in to all the details, I had to ask him to stop the work after 3 days. 

Yes, he put insulation up, badly, and yes, he started the plywood boarding.

Even I, a non DIYer, could see that there were gaps where there shouldn't be, there were panels not placed properly, there were badly cut joints.

I felt so let down and so sad that my project seemed to be failing.

However, a few days later, stepson and son in law manfully came to the rescue, repositioning panels, recutting pieces and generally improving things. As they said 'We cant leave you like this'.

Onward  now. It's going to take a little longer than I had thought but at least it will be done well.

I am so grateful to the rescuers.

Coffee break.

 A brief moment tucked under the gazebo by the back door.

Quick coffee and back to 'work'.

The tale of a shed (ongoing)

In our garden is a shed. For ten years it has been a repository for 'Things'.

There have been boxes of books, boxes of pictures, some tools, gardenchairs ...and so on.

Now it looks like this., due to some serious decluttering.

I had a Plan.

I have recently been funded two afternoons 'Carer-sitter' for my husband, to give me free time. I thought about what I would do in those hours, meet a friend, go walking, shopping....

I don't always want to go out, so my plan is to make this shed a space for me. It's going to be insulated and lined, and then painted. There is already electricity there.

When it's ready I'm going to bring my sewing machine/table/fabric here, together with my painting things.

Or as my daughter said ,'Mum, just take a chair and a book up there'

To   be continued.

 

Butterfly

Red Admiral in all its glory.

I wonder if it felt camouflaged amongst the French marigolds?

I have often wondered about the name, so googled it, as you do, and found that it was once known as the 'Red Admirable'. So just a shorter version.

 Her scientific name is Vanessa atalanta, which I think is rather pretty.

The marigolds, incidentally, have gone completely wild! I use them as companion planting for the tomatoes and never have any greenfly trouble

A restorative walk. (with a lot of photos)

 Take a walk with me through our National Trust gardens. I took myself for a stroll  this afternoon , leaving a very lovely carer in charge.

At one end of the car park is the Water tower, dating from the 1860s when it was an actual water reservoir. Now it is a four storey holiday cottage, with one room on each floor, beautifully decorated.

Across the yard is the little shop which looks as though  it's built into the lovely old wall.

From the shop you can access their little garden within the walls, where plants are sold.

Then wander past the tiny scented garden where jasmine climbs the wall, lavender bushes buzz with bees, and every plant is a delight to the senses. Flowers grown at Trelissick were used as models for the Spode Copeland china made by one of the original owners of the estate.

The entry to the Gardens is through this lovely old stable barn, which at Christmas is decorated with so many Christmas trees. Can you hear the clop of horses' hooves on the cobbles ?

Where does this little door go?

The Long walk leads past some very old Rhododendrons which were planted many years ago. There is a majestic feeling about the trees here. They have seen so much history.

So many years ago I brought my mother here, to an evening performance of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', all taking place around that huge tree in the centre of the lawn. Can you imagine the fairies and Puck climbing in and out of the branches? It's a Japanese Red Cedar planted in 1898.

Rhododendrons en masse.

And Banana plants.

There is so much more than I have been able to show you today, but for a finish let's go the the courtyard where tea is served under a shady parasol.

My birthday

 Another year has gone by.

I'm grateful for lovely children and grandchildren who have made this year easier, (and brought birthday cake and strawberries!)

Friends who came with flowers and beautiful shower lotions and soaps. 

Carers who brought a teeny tiny cake with candles!

I feel spoilt. 

But there is a grief in my heart that my lovely husband isnt well enough to celebrate, or even know what the day is.

It's in God's hands, He knows the plan.

A school project

 

A while ago I was asked by our local school if I would take part in a letter writing project. Children rarely, if ever,  write letters today. Actually not many adults do either. 

Each child is 'given' an adult to whom they write. No addresses are exchanged and only Christian names are used. 

I received a recent letter from 'Penpal E'. She is nine years old and a very chatty little girl. Her letters are full of questions....'What's your favourite colour? Mine is blue. Do you have any animals? I have a cat'. Great excitement this week when she wrote that she was going 'to an island called Monorca for the Summer holiday....and staying in a VILLA!!!!'

The school is putting emphasis on sentence structure, proper address of the school written in the top of the paper, the date given. It's not perfect, but the point is that they are learning to correspond....and dont we all make mistakes?

Having written a letter and addressed the envelope,the children go to the post office to post them. It has so far been a success with all the writers and recipients enjoying the correspondence. Except for one person , who opted out, saying she 'found the letters a bit too childish'. I guess when you are a child you write as a child

Sitting in the shade.

 Here in Cornwall we are all staying indoors. The heat is reaching extreme levels, with 40 degrees forecast this coming week.

I spend a little time, particularly in the early evening, on this little bench under the apple tree. Here there is dappled shade, and I'm  surrounded by my favourite rose, and a bed full of Cosmos and Snapdragons (Antirrhinum).

A pale lilac Clematis climbs lazily up the tree and every year seems to reach a higher branch.

The tissue paper rose petals of Pierre never cease to delight me. Most of my roses are suffering from the heat at the moment, with buds dropping and flowers falling.

A garden table outside the back door holds a colourful array of Pelargoniums and Petunias. They are a little joy every time I go out into the garden.

What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade.

Gertrude Jekyll