Category: House and Garden

May in the Garden: the Mixbury bed

Who knows how it came to be there but it said ‘flower bed’ to me.

With the advent of better weather, I’ve been busy in the garden.  They do say to leave a garden alone for the first year and see what comes up.  I did plan to do that, but I’ve brought some plants with me and homes must be found for them, plus there are certain must-haves which were not evident here when we arrived, so they had to be bought and planted, and while I was ordering those, a few other things slipped into the basket.  One things just leads to another… Continue reading “May in the Garden: the Mixbury bed”

April in the Garden: making a start

I’m a fair-weather gardener and we’ve not had a lot of fair weather this month

Time and weather have been stacked against me this month.  There’s so much to do in general, plus I’m a fair-weather gardener and we’ve not had a lot of fair weather this month.  Also of course, they do say (whoever ‘they’ might be) that it’s best to live with a garden for a full year before making any changes.  Not sure how well I’ll manage to follow that advice… Continue reading “April in the Garden: making a start”

April in the Garden? Eventually!

Springtime is … surely the very best time to inherit a garden

I always intended to write about the garden on a monthly basis at the very least.  But the month is gathering herself to a close; a great deal has been awakening outside and I’ve yet to start recording what we arrived to and what April herself has achieved.  Continue reading “April in the Garden? Eventually!”

The View from Here: rain, pongs, and problems solved

The view from here is dank, dismal and dripping. … the valley is poised to pull out its summertime splendour but that won’t be happening today.

Harri pulled me from sleep this morning.  Her persistence finally overcoming my resistance, I left the warmth of B and the duvet and climbed upstairs.  I knew from the light – or lack of it – that it must be wet outside and it is.  It’s raining.  Continue reading “The View from Here: rain, pongs, and problems solved”

Homemaking at Highfield: mixing, matching and making do

…what I’ve created works perfectly. I love it!

Before we moved I tried to persuade B to dispose of some of our furniture, which in my opinion would obviously not work in the new house.  Nothing expensive or meaningful: things we had agreed we would replace anyway and/or bargains collected from charity shops.  It seemed silly to go the trouble of transporting them but B said no, we should take the lot and if it wasn’t needed we would dispose of it later.  How wise he was and how wrong I was Continue reading “Homemaking at Highfield: mixing, matching and making do”

Homemaking at Highfield: a toy cupboard

I’ve never thought of myself as a real homemaker

Surely one of the great joys of making a house move is the pleasure in making a new home?  A house is a building which shelters you from the elements; a home is a place of warmth and welcome.  To create a home is to alchemise the essential structure of a house into the very personal experience of a home: making it unique to your wants and needs, to the personalities of those who abide beneath its roof. Continue reading “Homemaking at Highfield: a toy cupboard”

The View from Here: wuthering and rainbows

The view from here is magical, mysterious and multi-coloured

Today has been a touch frustrating.  We still have no phone line and the mobile signal is not great.  The internet is so intermittent that it seems to dominate everything as we monitor it in order to catch it when we have the chance.  It has taken all day on and off to research and source a fridge/freezer and I still haven’t been able to contact the company and check delivery.  It occurs to me with our access issues that I should check what size vehicle they will deliver in.  And we’ve both been tired.  I’ve still achieved a reasonable amount but it feels like a wasted day somehow.  Perhaps because of the early morning highlights: maybe everything had to be downhill after that…  (Apart from our driveway of course 😉 ) Continue reading “The View from Here: wuthering and rainbows”

Birds on the Balcony and bats in the garage

I was much too busy giving silent thanks that it hadn’t been me who surprised the bat.

Locking up here is a long-winded business.  Every door, internal and external, locks with a key.  Three doors on the ground floor, three on the first, plus the garage door.  Hopefully that’s everything covered.  I’m glad B seems to look upon this as his job!  Continue reading “Birds on the Balcony and bats in the garage”