Thursday 10 April 2014

Lately


We have been: Watching the weather (bright sun, stormy skies, sharp showers, gusty winds - all within moments of one another)...


Displaying little finds from our Tweed Valley walks...


Making - and sending - Easter cards (Joe did the painting)...


Bringing home hedgerow snippings...


Admiring these beautiful frilly daffs (they look like two flowers in one)...


Growing on a little gift: a cutting from a lemon-scented geranium (gorgeous scent when pressed between the fingers)...


Planning to re-pot a recent purchase: a deeply purple succulent which could not be resisted.

In other news, we have been:

Eating double ginger cake (I baked two: one for my mum, as ginger is helping with the nausea caused by her current treatment, and one for us - on Jay's insistence);
Drinking a new flavour of Fitzpatrick's cordial: sour cherry, red grape and hibiscus;
Spending lots of time outdoors with Joe.

April is so far proving to be a bit rainy but still lovely. There are primroses in the garden, ferns beginning to unfurl and the hosta is putting forward conical shoots from the soil. There is also much feathered activity outdoors (blackbird fights) and not-so-welcome visitors in the form of snails and caterpillars...

Oh, and lambs everywhere!

14 comments:

  1. The scucculent is fab! April has been very changeable weather wise, as I guess it often is. I love the sky in your photographs. We've been rewarded with some stunning rainbows here. Although I'm glad today is beautifully sunny. It really does perk up my mood and make life easier when you're dashing about! The cake sounds delicious!! Hope your Mum (and you) is managing with her treatment; I know how tough it can be xx

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    1. Thank you. My mum's doing OK, the whole thing has been very gruelling for her but seeing Joe at the weekend cheered her up no end. One day at a time, I suppose...
      We set out this morning to go walking and it was deceptively sunny. I didn't bother with coats, just jumpers, and we ended up at the supermarket instead - too chilly!
      S x

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  2. oh what a beautiful post, full of promise and beauty, I hope the ginger cake works its magic and soothes a sick tummy,

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    1. Thank you. The cake is a good recipe and the whole thing tastes better after a few days - it just gets stickier and stickier:) I'm looking forward to some slightly more predictable weather around here, although I do like taking photos of such dark grey skies...

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  3. Love the scent from those geraniums and they remind me so much of my parents' shop (also our home when I was growing up). My dad had big pots of them on a shelf near the front of the shop. Nearest thing we had to a garden! That ginger cake is sure to make your mum feel better.

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    1. Hopefully - along with copious amounts of ginger tea, ginger beer and cordial and ginger biscuits! I love how nature provides us with such effective remedies.
      I'd gladly have a whole room full of the lemon geraniums. Anything geranium-scented, like soap or bubble bath, always appeals to me. And it's always nice to be taken back to your childhood by the sight, feel and smell of particular plants and flowers.

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  4. Beautiful photos, I really love the succulent and the lemon-scented geranium. And how pretty those branches look against those dark skies. I hope that you're having a good weekend.

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    1. Hi CJ - I am indeed (despite cleaning the house from top to bottom this morning!)... I'm hoping the geranium thrives so I can take cuttings and have them all over the place :)

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  5. Your photographs are stunning. Hope your Mum is feeling better with your cake.

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    1. Thanks, Gina! My mum's doing OK... her appetite's improved which is a good thing. As for cake, I'm making a rhubarb and almond one this afternoon and am looking forward to tasting it!

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  6. Lots of April showers here too but we have had some lovely sunshine occasionally ... the purple succulent is beautiful ... so rich looking and I can almost smell the lemon geranium ... hope all is going well for you mum and that she enjoys the ginger cake ... Bee xx

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    1. Thanks Bee! I have to say, my stepdad is a huge cake fan but theirs still lasted an awful lot longer than ours did... I suppose the only answer is more baking ;)
      We're hoping to pot up a lot of plants over the coming weeks so are on the lookout for some nice containers. It's still a bit chilly out there though so I'm staying indoors and drinking tea. Hope you're having a lovely weekend.
      S x

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  7. Lemon geraniums are my favourite and I nearly succumbed to the identical succulent the other day and afterwards kept wishing I had.

    That cordial sounds delish ... is it only available locally to you?

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  8. Lemon geranium are lovely - quite plain to look at but that smell just does it for me. A conservatory or greenhouse full of them would be heaven. As for the cordial, it was originally only available in Fitzpatrick's Temperance Bar but seems to be a bit of a hit in delis and farmer's markets all over the place. Here's a link - you can order online or find your nearest stockist. Not cheap but it's nice with sparkling water (or prosecco)... http://www.mrfitzpatricks.com/
    S x

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