52 Weeks Of Happy - 28/52

First things first. Thank you. No really, thanks ever so. For all your kind and supportive comments this week. It has meant a lot. And you are right. Of course you are, you clever people. The right place will come along at the right time. When it does it will be fabulous. Until then I intend to enjoy what we already have here, which is pretty good I must say. And hello to those of you who pressed the button, and joined. Is it wrong to get such a kick out of it? Does it massage my ego just a little bit? It can't fail to can it? It makes me feel good, so thanks. Again.

So I've finished my morning chores, am drinking tea and enjoying the peace and quiet of the house. Olly is at nursery today. Oh boy has he driven me to distraction this week. It's as if I've force fed him his body weight in E numbers. Bouncy, but not in a fun way. Not settling and clamped to my side like a limpet. Yesterday we went for three walks, just to curtail his energies. Up with the lark this morning (let me be with this 5.15am pleeease), demanding train tracks and yogurt. So I can't deny it, I am quite happy to see the back of him for a couple of hours today!

.........................................

Happy things from the week. Joining in with Jen at Little Birdie.




Yellow

The conservatory/playroom finally got it's third and final coat of paint at the weekend. The blinds went back up, and I had a happy hour or so of putting stuff back and re-arranging the place. Pottering heaven. I'll be honest, I was unsure about the hit of colour I'd decided upon. The whole house is white. I have stayed away from colour for several years. But I love it now. It's such a sunshiny happy room. This room works hard. We use it all the time. And I've finally been able to put my new oilcloth on the table. I bought it this time last year. Hooray!!



A Good Book

This month's book group read. It's good. I mean seriously good. The sort of good you want to savour. The sort of good that is so good, you feel a little in awe/envious of the talent behind it, and the mind that it sprang from. How happy am I that minds like these exist.



Fresh bed linen

Freshly laundered. Freshly ironed. On the bed. Can't wait to get in this evening.



Skip Find

I don't know about you, but I always seem to be reading articles where the person furnished their house from skip finds. I don't know where these skips are. I've never found one. Until last week. Olly and me were returning from a walk with Honey. Three houses up from me there was a skip in the drive. This chair was perched on the top. I know!! It's mine now. And yes I did knock and ask "may I, please?" Now do I paint it, or live it as it is? What do you think?


There you go. Happy things. Happy, happy, happy.

Leanne xx

Honeybell

Last year I was wandering around Sainsbury's, aimlessly putting stuff in my trolley, and then taking the same stuff out and putting it back again. I do this a lot. One thing about living in Cornwall - you ain't got much choice when it comes to browsing and shopping. I get pretty giddy when I enter a store that has different departments. We are a bit starved of it down here. And call me old fashioned, but I love to spend time just having a look around.

Obviously I was drawn to the bulb/seed section, and there were boxes of these bulbs at half price. Five bulbs for £2.50. I chucked a couple of boxes in the trolley, then took a box out again. I'd never seen or heard of these plants before. They looked at bit like a cross between and Alium and an umbrella.

I planted them in a new border that I had created at the end of last summer. I was so pleased with my cottagey corner, that I decided to extend it along the length of  the grass. It looks a bit patchy, this new bit, especially compared to the cottagey corner, which a year on is packed and plump with loveliness. I have high hopes for the whole border next year (if we are still here, that is. If not I will hand the baton to the new custodian of the garden). The Honeybells are at the back of the border, and look a bit lost. It's probably due to the sparseness, and maybe it's why I sort of overlooked them until this week. They don't have much around them by way of contrast, and blend into the background.
































But oh how I wish I had bought boxes of them. It's not for their striking colour, although it is a very pretty
shade of blush pink. It's not their perfume, because I don't think they have any. They have been steadily growing upwards for about two months, maybe more. It has taken ages for their flowers to escape its' encasement and open up. But this week the Honeybells must be giving off some sexy signals, because they are literally weighed down with pollinating insects, especially bees. The bees seem to be in a frenzy around them.  I can't tell you how much pleasure it gives me to hear that happy humming sound in my garden.

....................

So I was wondering whether any of you out there would like me to write a post about some of the bee friendly plants that I have planted? Or maybe you would like to share some of your own with me? Perhaps a post a week, giving some information and pictures, so that you could maybe be inspired and inspire me in turn? I am really only a beginner at this gardening lark, but my intention of attracting wildlife into the garden has made it much more fun. And it would be nice to share what I have learnt along the way. My garden is not big, but I have been amazed just how much variety can be grown given a little imagination and a lot of bravado!


Tell me what you think!

Leanne xx

Daring To Dream

"You are never too old to set another goal,

 or to dream another dream."

(C S Lewis)

Do you have dreams. Are they pipe dreams, or are you trying to make your dreams a reality? Or have you done just that - gone for the dream. Just went for it, and made it a reality. Well Marc and I have dreams. We dreamt that one day we'd live by the sea. An opportunity came up, quite unexpectedly, and we went for it. The odds were stacked against the move working, but it did. it has. Here we are in St Ives, living the dream.

Except not quite. Because for one of us, the dream is a weekend pit stop. In order to live here, Marc works away through the week. He does it without complaint. He loves the fact that his boys are growing up down here, even if they don't always appreciate it, or take advantage of the open spaces and freedom St Ives is able to give a child. We live within walking distance of beaches, hills, countryside and cliff top adventures. It is all that we could ever hope for.....

Lately we have found ourselves wanting more. We have found ourselves missing each other more. Marc misses whole chunks of family life, and I know that he finds it hard. He wasn't able to be present at any of the scans when I was expecting Olly. He has seen maybe one school play. He doesn't get to help the boys with their homework. He misses those every day things, the stuff that creates depth within a family. We have started to dream about another possibility. One that could take our family in a whole new direction, with Marc along for the ride full time.

Oh I know we are so lucky. To be living in a place like this at all is a dream come true. And nor do we think that we are more deserving than anyone else. In fact I can think of several people close to me that deserve their dreams become a reality. I should tell you that my husband is one of those people. He is a good man. He deserves his dream to become a reality.

We want to own our own campsite. But we also want to develop it into a place where families can come on holiday and collect their own eggs in the morning from the chickens that we will have. We want to develop a kitchen garden, so that there could be seasonal produce available. We want to give these families a wonderful holiday. We want to do this together - a husband and wife team - while we are still young enough to go for it.  

We visited a site on Saturday. It was perfect. Marc spoke to the bank today. It is out of our reach. Marc is gutted. I feel a little more pragmatic. Not that I want it any less. But because I know that somewhere out there is a place that we will call home. There is a place that will tick all the boxes, and welcome us in. We will have our lodges and our chickens and our roses round the doorway.

Because we are daring to dream.

Leanne xx

Full steam ahead

Hello to you all this, well, miserable morning. Thank you for all your lovely comments on recent posts. I have calmed down about the local school. I put my faith in a trouble shooting head who comes with an excellent calibre, and who will no doubt see the wood for the trees very quickly. And hello to all of you that have pressed the follow button. It's ridiculous how happy it makes me, that you care to hang around!!

..............................

Busy weekend? Father's Day go with a bang? We don't go in for huge gifts and declarations here. A lie-in and a bar of chocolate from the boys is enough. Although Sam had to replace the bar of Toblerone, having eaten it all while our backs were turned. That boy is a lanky one man plague of locusts.

chocolate for breakfast? Don't mind if I do.

So... surf school, coffee and a catch up, road trip in Betty, lots of steam engines and machinery from days of yore (stifles yawn), an exciting turn of events (which I am desperate to talk about but can't. Not yet anyway), drinks with my sister in law, walking home in zig zag formation, up with the lark, laundry, ironing, so much ironing, rain, wind, rescuing plants, feeling sorry for bedraggled chickens, but also alarmed at their stupidity of sitting and shivering in the wet when there is a perfectly good shelter for them both, curry for tea, watching Luther and then being too scared to put the refuse bin out.

That just about sums up our weekend I think. Actually the steam stuff wasn't so bad. I got a huge kick out of seeing Olly's face when he saw the steam train, and his trepidation turn to excitement when we went for a ride. I loved hanging out in Betty, eating hot dogs and reading my book, while the kids did the same. For once, no photos were taken. How remiss of me.

Once again the weather dictates our lives to a greater extent. The wind has played havoc in the garden. Everything looking rather bedraggled and sorry for itself. Even though I have staked and tied, some of the Alium heads have been snapped off. The Sweet Peas keep toppling over, and there are bruised petals everywhere. I hope we get some more sunshine, so that I can enjoy what is happening in the garden more. So that we all can. The colours are changing. The blue and purple tones of Spring are slowly being replaced by hotter colours. There are orange, purple, yellow, red and pink hues everywhere. The vegetables are robust and strong this year. They at least have benefited from the rain.

Today I am twitchy and excited. I can't seem to settle on any given task. Even this blog post is dis-jointed and aimless. My mind is elsewhere. It is looking to the future. Our family future. I know I am being cryptic, and I really am not one to tease. But can I ask you all to keep your fingers crossed for us this week. I know I'm not saying why, but if I know there are others out there rooting for us, it may make ll the difference!

Leanne xx

Nature In The Home

A difficult one this week. 'Your favourite plant,' suggested Lou.

I don't think I have a definitive favourite, but at the moment I adore the Aenenomes that are popping up in the garden. Also know as Wind Flowers (gorgeous name), they come in an array of sumptuous colours. They rise from nowhere into this elegant flower nodding in the breeze. Their leaves are pretty too; feathery and delicate. I think that's why I like them so much. They look so fragile, but are actually very tough.They curl up tight in the evening, and unfurl their petals when the sun shines. A very sensible flower. The pollinators love them.

Can you spot the little ant>

I haven't picked any this year, preferring to buy them from the greengrocer in Hayle. I'm intending on planting even more during Autumn. I dream of a huge swathe of them in the garden. You can buy a bag of corms very resonably. If you live in the UK, I would recommend Morrisons or Poundland. I have found that bulbs and seeds from supermarkets and discount stores grow as well as more expensive options. And you get more for your money. Seed maths! Like fashion maths. Have you ever applied this philosophy to your expenditure? I do it all the time. It justifies my seed stockpile quite nicely.

Have a great weekend. We were going camping, but heavy rain is forecast. Oh well.

Leanne xx

52 Weeks Of Happy - 27/52

Hello to you all. Bit windy, but sunny here in St Ives. My plans revolved around Crocs shopping for Olly (he wanted pink ones. I baulked. He has bright blue) and taking Sam to and from school in Penzance. Oh and reading St Ives Senior School's Offsted report. The school has been put into special measures, citing inadequate teaching as one of the factors.

Alfie will be starting the school in September. On the one hand, it should mean that the school will get the shove it needs, and the children living in St Ives and the surrounding areas will have access to an acceptable standard of education. The children here deserve nothing less. Cornwall is one of the poorest regions of the UK. Wages are low, unemployment high. We all know education is a way out of poverty.

I'm trying not to sound too melodramatic here. I'm trying to see the positive. My hope is that Alfie will benefit from this. He is flying out of Junior school. I want him to continue. He is a bright lad. The senior school should be able to nurture him further. Not stop it dead.

.....................................

See, once more I digress. Happy things from this week. As always, joining in with Jen.

New Trug

Marc built me this beautiful trug at the weekend. I have planted all the Dahlias that I have been growing on in the greenhouse. I've put some Snapdragons and Lobelia in too. I'm not sure whether to pack anything else in. I'll plant bulbs in the winter for next Spring. I was thinking of loads of Tulips. It needs to be given a wash of paint, but I'm super chuffed!

Flip Flops

Pink flip flops! (Perhaps that's why Olly wanted pink crocs). I usually go for black or brown. Perhaps I'm having a crisis. Oh and sandy feet. No nail polish. No pedicure. Sorry about that.

Enjoying A Moment

Firstly apologies that you have to turn you or your computer sideways to watch this. I don't know how to rotate it. Any help or suggestions will be gratefully received. This was a moment yesterday. Olly was cutting and sticking. I was watching his ability with the scissors. His concentration. His enjoyment. I just sat back and smiled.

Tickets

For Camp Besstival. Sooooo excited. Me, Marc, Alfie and Olly. This is going to be such an adventure. I'm particularly looking forward to Mr Tumble. Sad but true.

A long time ago, I went to festivals with the name Glastonbury in them. I watched Paul Weller, Lenny Kravitz, The Beatie Boys, Peter Gabriel and so many more. I drank Red Stripe at 11am. I wore very short shorts. I sat down in a dusty tent ready to have my nose pierced. I may have indulged in other things too (my memory is rather slective about this). Aaah those hedonistic days of my youth.....


Happy things. And a trip down amnesia lane. Two for the price of one. Can't be bad.

Leanne xx

Endings

Sam sits his last exam this morning. Then it's over. His school days are at an end. The end of uniform. The end of school dinners. The end of the school bus. The end of seeing his friends every day. The end of what he has been familiar with for five years.

Sam is like me at that age. Hating endings. Scared of beginnings. What will happen to me now? How will I ever start again, in a new place with new faces?

He was stood waiting to leave this morning. He looked sad. "I don't like to see you so sad, Sam." As a mother there is that deep within urge to make everything alright for our kids. To make sure that they are happy. All. The. Time.

It's a harsh realisation - you know the one. That you can't make them happy. You can create a happy space around them, but you can't make them be happy. That's the truth. It hurts knowing this. Knowing that they will trip and stumble through their life. They will experience happiness. And sadness.

And even knowing that you need the sad to appreciate the happy. And even knowing that deep gut wrenching sadness is a part of the tapestry of our lives. Knowing that the thread of sadness weaves it's way through our life experiences. Even knowing all that, I still want to protect my boys from sadness.

When I was training to be a counsellor, it was the endings that I struggled with. For a person that didn't like endings, it was the hardest part of the counselling relationship for me. The end. The last session. The goodbye. I looked at unsatisfactory endings in  my own life, and how they had affected me. I had run away from endings. Lots of times. I'd not really acknowledged that endings are there for a reason.

"All endings are just beginnings.

 We just don't know this at the time."

 (Mitch Albom- The Five People You Meet In Heaven).

I showed this quote to Sammy this morning, as he was stood there. Tall he may be, but he looked so small today. He read it and smiled. I told him it will be okay. I told him that it was alright to feel the way he was feeling. I left it at that, even though I really wanted to go on and on in an attempt to comfort him (as is my way). I didn't. I allowed him to have his ending in private. I didn't hijack it.

It wil be ok though, wont it?


Leanne xx