Saturday 25 February 2017

Fabulous jobs

These people have the best job titles EVER.... who wouldn't want to be a Contaminant Fate Scientist or a Biogeochemist.
Fabulous.

Thursday 23 February 2017

Thank you John Gray

 
Ok I admit it - I've nicked this link from John Gray over at Going Gently.
If you haven't visited John please do - he writes wonderfully.
 
This song is a beautiful rerendering of an old favourite.
Light the fire, switch off your lights, pour your favourite drink and just listen.
 
 
It sounds like the calm before the storm.

Wednesday 22 February 2017

At Home

Today...
 
...the Nu and I admired the kale,

offered prayers of thanks to the God of Brassicas for this baby Romanescu,

and started crocheting a pair of socks in this lovely yarn.
 
Nothing too exciting but gently satisfying.


Bank Hall

A cold wet February Sunday.
 
Mournful, damp and unprepossessing, until we see this......

...it's snowdrop season at Bank Hall
 
 An old ruined Jacobean Hall that the Friends Group is trying to restore.
 
One of the ways they do this to have open days to go Snowdrop Viewing.

Drifts and drifts of lovely, elegant and delicate blooms.

It felt like walking through a cathedral.


Monday 13 February 2017

Returning Home

Hi! Anybody still there.  Sorry I've been away so long. 
I didn't mean to be but it's been almost a year since I last wrote anything. 
 A lot has happened in that year. 
I took voluntary redundancy; I had my first ever sabbatical from paid work; I had my hair cut short (well above my shoulders short); I gardened; I sewed; I made cheese; I grew veggies; I preserved a lot of veggies; I crocheted; I taught a crochet class for the local WI (possibly the scariest thing I've ever done - scarier than speaking at a European conference}; I read - a lot; I made a courtyard area in the garden and then sat in it and drank coffee - a lot; I joined an art class; I got menopausal; I got depressed; I doubted my sanity; I got/ am getting better - whatever that means; I went to Crete and fell in love with the wild flowers and herbs; I watched my country Brexit whilst sitting in an airport preparing to fly to Europe (and my heart sank); I watched Donald Trump become President of the USA amidst concerns about foreign influence on the election race, email hacking, concerns about conflicts of interest between his businesses and office; his links to the KKK; his attitude to women, people of different races and people of different sexuality; his aggressive stance to international conflict; his behaviour on twitter - in fact concerns about everything; we bought a log burner and we paid off our mortgage - it took us just over 2 1/2 years and some strong budgeting and saving to get there. 
It was a weird year and not what I anticipated when it started.

Yesterday was my 53rd birthday and today was a new day.
 
The sky was blue.

 
The magnolia is in bud.
 
Spring was in evidence.
 

And the Nu and I got out into some sunshine to do some gardening or in her case enjoying some sunbathing and of course supervising works.  The lawn has finally dried out a bit and we didn't have to wade through a swamp to reach the veggie beds.
 
 
In the meantime Jean-Luc has been enjoying his new shed and has built this wonderful bookcase/ linen cupboard in our bedroom.