Welcome 2017!

Hello and a very happy (belated!) new year to you! I hope it is off to a good start, I have unfortunately been laid up with a nasty flu-like virus since Christmas Day (fabulous timing!) so it's been bed rest and box sets, not all bad news! I was dying to get some fresh air so managed to stagger round the woods and admire the winter landscape, Mia was kissing the ground to get out of the house at last! These sunny but chilly days are my favourite, particularly when there's no need to de-ice the car (my least favourite domestic job after ironing, booooo!). I am hoping to get back to feeling my usual self very soon, with an army of vitamins and a rainbow or fruit and veg to the rescue, so I hope to be back with some news! 

After my Macbook decided to keel over I haven't been blogging as much in 2016 as much as I would have liked too, I find processing a blog post on an iPad very annoying, but I really want to be back chatting with you a lot more! Promise!

Thanks for reading,

Katie

A Sprinkle Of Snow

We only had a small sprinkling of the white stuff over my way, but it was enough to give the garden a much needed facelift after the endless rain ruining the lawn and turning the Shepherds Hut into a houseboat! Mia was less than impressed at the snow flurry and refused to saunter outside, so my "Mia's First UK Snow Day" video attempt was in vain! I love the Brit's obsessed with weather, I'm the first to warn others of black ice (bloody death trap!!!) or other such dramatics, I just can't help myself! Whereever I went this week, the topic on everyones lips remained 'OOOOH ISN'T IT COLD!" which I was more than happy to chime in with, I just wish I hadn't of misplaced my waterproof gloves, de-icing the car was most painful without them! (Have I mentioned how cold it was???) Meanwhile the rest of the week comprised of clearing out more clutter, long dog walks with Mia making lots of new friends, and trying to ease myself into some healthier eating as the Christmas food stock has nearly diminished - sad times! 

 Wishing you a wonderful weekend! Thanks for popping by,

Katie

Welcome 2016

Happy New Year! I hope you are having a great start to January, it arrived with such beautiful bright skies and the promise of crisp frosty mornings...but quickly descended into torrential rain and horrible mist, how jolly! It's always good to blow away to cobwebs between Christmas and New Year (even though I am always happy to be a hermit at home!) and luckily by living across from a nature reserve I get the perfect daily opportunity! I have been giving my plans for this year some careful thought, 2015 was actually a very content year for me and I feel I've come a long way compared to the last couple of years, so I am not overloading myself with resolutions yet! Although I am never a fan of New Years Eve, I do love waking up New Years Day with the potential of a whole fresh year stretching in front of you, and cracking open that brand new diary and using your very best pen for that first page, it's the little things!

No doubt I will be back soon to set some resolutions! I am currently in the midst of more building work at home so I doubt my week will be too peaceful, but I wish you a lovely rest of the week!

Katie

Beginning of December

Welcome December! The month when Michael Buble comes out of hibernation to croon Crimbo tunes, novelty knitwear is dusted off with pride, and port and mince pies are part of your five-a-day, hurray! And of course if you happen to work in retail, your sanity is put through its paces from noon until night - it can only make you a stronger, better person right? RIGHT??? Ok I'm calm.

Outside of work, things are looking rather beautifully festive already! The holly does actually have some rich red berries this year, could "snowmageddon" be on the horizon after all? Mia has been loving the bracing walks, nearly being blown off her feet with the windy weather, but she relishes the fresh air! She has been practicing her climbing after the squirrels, making it half way up trees sometimes, they need to climb faster! But luckily for me, she also loves coming home and snuggling in front of the fire, like anyone sensible, wish I could do that more too! 

There have been some late night Christmas crafting sessions in the shepherds hut (rock and roll I know!) as I attempt to get all the cards made and wrapping paper stamped, wrapping the presents themselves is a very different task and I will need to start that soon too, or I'll end up a flustered ball of sellotape with gift tags stuck in my hair, weeping under the tree...

To get in the festive spirit I've been reading my collection of Charles Dickens Christmas Tales which I received last year, I've been very much looking forward to settling down with it and a mug of something warm, highly recommend it as a present for a bookish loved one.

Have you got your decorations up already? Presents done and dusted? Or are you choosing the BAH, HUMBUG approach this season, I can see the appeal of all these!

Thanks for reading,

Katie x

Frosted January Garden

In what feels like a blink of an eye, gloomy old January has nearly shuffled off for another year, hurrah! Dear old Blighty has been feeling mighty chilly of late, much more so than last year don't you think? It's only when the frost has settled can you really see the graphic details and shapes of the winter garden, and I love taking time to enjoy these different views!

I have several willow and dogwoods that have been setting off the sparkling frost, but also the various sculptures I've been collecting in various areas of the garden. I've been trying to tempt back the garden birds with a variety of new seeds and energy filled suet cakes, I love watching the blackbirds springing across the lawn when I wake up, the little birds will come and sit outside the kitchen door now, they're getting braver! 

The Shepherds Hut is still usable this time of year because of the little stove, I have enjoyed hiding away in there with a piping hot thermos of tea and the radio to keep me company! I have been crafting with my new BigShot machine which I will show you soon, trying hard to keep being creative on my days off rather than just collapsing in a heap in front of a 'Four In A Bed' omnibus! 

The only thing I can't abide about this time of year is having to defrost my car morning and evening, I was extra unlucky this week as I was defrosting it in INSIDE as well! My own personal snow flurry, which set me up in a proper grumpy mood, frozen fingers and a soggy car, grrr! Ok, I'm ready for Spring now!! Hope January has treated you kindly!

Ice on the INSIDE of my car -horrendous! 

Thanks for popping by!

Katie

Goodbye November, Welcome December!

December, welcome!

Driving home yesterday, I noticed plenty of homes had put their Christmas lights up already (everything from icicles to nodding reindeers and waving polar bears) which always raises a smile! There has been the official first mince pie, but I have yet to enjoy a glass of mulled wine or the first song off my Christmas Playlist  (Elvis singing 'Merry Christmas Baby' is a personal highlight of the season!)

It does seem to have snuck up on us this year as it has yet to feel properly frosty here in the South East, but filling the evenings with candles and firelight has managed to bring plenty of festive cheer! My Pinterest Christmas board has plenty of inspiration for crafting, decorating and feasting but there are also several books I'll be turning to over the next couple of weeks:

Sarah Raven's Complete Christmas - Food&Flowers

You can always rely on Sarah Raven to provide the best inspiration for bringing nature into the home in the most tasteful manner! If you haven't looked through her online shop yet, there are plenty of gift ideas for the gardeners in your life! I have been saving all my dried Allium heads for spraying silver just like the one below, as I always try to use as many natural decorations as possible, not just the holly and the ivy! The recipes in the book are also fantastic, lots of ideas for making ahead and freezing too! The cranberry cookies went down a treat last year, and I also highly recommend the Boxing Day set menu. The recipes are for fresh, rustic dishes using all the finest seasonal ingredients, I can only wonder if my Sarah Raven 'Rubine' Sprouts will actually be ready in time as they suffered a terrible Cabbage White Butterfly attack!

Scandinavian Christmas by Trine Hahnemann

This is my go-to winter baking book, stuffed full of delicious recipes from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. There are plenty of gorgeous photography of perfect snowy scenes and festive decorations that will bring out much house-envy, not a sprig of tinsel in sight! Picking up this book will ensure your home constantly smells of cinnamon and spices, as you won't be able to resist getting baking! My particular favourite section is the 'Christmas Party' entertaining ideas, the mini pork belly&apple sauce cups are going on my menu. The main celebration in Scandinavia is on Christmas Eve, with the Christmas Day menu becoming a Smörgåsbord of classic dishes, if you fancied a similar approach the recipes for beetroot cured salmon, classic meatballs and kale bruschetta would go down a storm at any party!

Something about the Scandinavian approach to Christmas really resonates with me. Trine Hahnemann mentions in her introduction the Danish word for cosiness 'Hygge' (that is almost untranslatable) encompasses comfort, camaraderie and good food and drink. This seems to particularly include stuffing your friends and family with cakes, cookies, chocolate and warming booze, what could be better than that?

We've designated this weekend to decorating the house, hope you're weeks off to a great start!

Katie

Beginning of December

Last weekend I helped Bruce with a shoot at Natural With Horses. Natasha is a qualified horse whisperer, passionate about natural communication and therapeutic healing. Her two horses Jack and Pepper were delightfully curious about the 10x8" camera - and as you can see, very happy to pose! The paddock is left as natural as possible, and from what I have seen, the photographs are going to look gorgeous!
It also happened to be next to the Spa Valley Railway, so we had several turns of the steam train too! It was a really lovely morning.

Animal lovers will appreciate the Nativity at St Pauls Tunbridge Wells (obviously it's too early in the month for anyone else to be at the stable!) There's some beautiful stained glass in this church too, Kent is lucky to have several churches with windows by Edward Burne-Jones - I'll take some proper photos soon!

Back at home, the evergreens were brought in as soon as frost hit the ground, I couldn't wait to get started this year! My room is very limited on space, so my tree is rather mini (it's two fallen branches from the nature reserve), but it's certainly very cosy! I also managed to make the wreath, Mollie is obviously very impressed at the efforts!

I'll save the 'Winter Garden' photographs for the next post! The change in weather is certainly startling, brrr!

Hope you've had a good weekend, have you written your christmas food list yet? I'm just about to start!

Katie

Winter Woodland Wanderings!

I'm sad to say that my faithful Yashica T3 has given up the ghost this week! There may still be hope if we take it apart...but at least the last roll in it was a good one! These were from Mine and Bruce's and Thom's woodland walk after New Year, Thom was trying out his recently purchased (from Bruce) Mamiya! Its our usual Hargate Forest route in Tunbridge Wells, you can't beat it!

And then the snow came of course! So here's the last picture the poor little Yashica managed to take:

Lets hope it makes a full recovery! For now, the Olympus will come to the rescue! Hope you're having a good week....it's just started snowing again!