Dress rehearsal for spring

It was as excited as a child on Christmas eve; spring was coming, how could it stay in the bed?!  Yes, it was still dark but in the first few days of January, up it shot to bring beauty to the tiny patch of border.  It's the same every year; the first of a small clump of daffodils showing up in the dead of winter, without fail.  There is hope... just wait... brighter days are coming.

An icy wind from the sea was a deterrent - I couldn't match the daffodil's enthusiasm by nipping into a warm house for a proper camera - so this was snapped quickly by phone - on the 6th of January.

Today, other spring bulbs have caught up.  Snowdrops and crocuses don't do well here for some reason, but the dwarf irises peep up for a few inches in a raised stone trough near the later-to-appear daffs.  Tiny bursts of blueness that make me happy!

The light was beautiful this evening when I nipped round to the harbour chippy.  A  sunny September day was giving way to a misty evening, the tide was out and there wasn't a breeze - does the Beaufort scale have minus numbers for super-still weather? 

It's a feast for the senses tonight too - the air tastes and smells tangy.  Salty.  The streetlights near the path to the beach are hazy through the mist and the sound of a fog horn hangs in the air.

This is 'my' little stretch of coastline at its autumnal best. 

Tonight, with windows wide open, I will snuggle under a quilt, ever thankful for family, food, clean water, health, a roof over our head and a safe, secure place to sleep.  

I'll fall asleep surrounded by the scents and sounds and sensations of a cool, misty, night by the sea. 

Enough is all that's needed, yet I have so much more.  I'm grateful.

oops.... note to self... .read the recipe.

Tried a new loaf recipe today... spelt with mixed seeds and some dried fruit.  Enjoyed it a lot, but thought I'd like it a smidgeen sweeter... then checked the recipe and realised I'd forgotten the molasses/treacle.  Oops...   get it right next time.

Thanks Mrs C - this one's a keeper!

All change!

So I turned 49 at the end of November.  Time for a mid-life crisis methinks.  49 is a sort of a key number I reckon - my "seven Sabbaths of years" - a "super Sabbatical" before the big Jubilee.  

Time to change a few things in anticipation of the next 7 years (and I have things brewing in my head on that front.....)

So a new year, fresh diary and the fastest way to get a bit of control over things was to allocate themes to each month.  

January = "deal with it" month - tying up urgent loose ends;  two tax returns (yes TWO) - the IR "misplaced" the 2010 return.  Then it was pantomime time at the Ulster Hospital (it's behind me...) I had a brilliant band this year - great music.  Looking forward to next year already.

February = "Dump it" month.  Dumping from the study, the wardrobes, the fabric stash, the roofspace etc.  One thing I hadn't quite factored "dumping" was my job...  (thanks auntie beeb).  They say it's "restructuring" - the same old same old.... we're all the same and too old....   10 of us in the pot to go and 6 have already gone. (i still can't work out how that adds up to the "7 posts only to go" thing... maybe I need fresh batteries in my calculator.....)

March?  "Technology" month... though it's started early - dad come over all technological on us yesterday and insisted on loading up a database for his choir.  Brilliant!!  March will be for gutting out the picture and video files, changing internet/phone provider here and up north and silencing the tedious talk talk - which apparently is all they do.  I'd be happy if it was "do do" although in childish language, it sums up their service.

April I'm planning to spend finishing all the UFOs so it's "Sew and Sew" month - though if I've been pushed off the shelf in the office, I may get to this faster.

Any lonely millionaires out there?!

365:143 Stationary stationery.

Spring tidy in the study ... my shiny new home for the essential stuff... where it won't "move".

365:142 24 in the shade

It was a hot day... and even though the garden's cluttered (planters and furniture have been moved for the painters, we decided to have mini bbq. Why does life seem to slow down and food taste better when it happens outdoors? Feels like I'm on holiday today.

365:105 Running out of inspiration...

Not very original, but it was on the desk and it's getting late!

365:101 happy days

Here comes the sun... and the wild garlic along the road into the village. Is it my immagination or is this a little earlier than usual? I always associate the garlic with bluebells and May? Anyone else locally spotted the bluebells out yet?

365:087 A nice cup of tea and a....

Sometimes, life's little pleasures are all a girl needs at the end of a long, busy day.

365:081 getting desperate

Desperately dusty keyboard (any tips on de-gunging them?) and desperate for a photo of something - anything for today.

365:080 Ouch - I've got piles

How does this happen? You turn your head for two minutes and the stuff leaps off shelves and out of drawers...

Anybody got a deliverance (of clutter) ministry?

365:079 More ahhhhs.....

Today is just one of those beautiful spring days you long for - cold, yes, but sunny and in the sheltered spots, just lovely. On the way home from a long, leisurely lunch with a friend I hadn't seen for ages, I spotted this lovely mare and foal.

A field further up the lane, a farmer was ploughing much to the delight of the terns (?);

By the drive-in at home, the dwarf daffs in the wall planter were still looking fresh despite having been out for a couple of weeks.... ... and a suprise bouquet of roses and lillies was waiting for me in the porch - from American friends who enjoyed a concert in the Belfast Waterfront Hall - Sharon Shannon and the Ulster Orchestra (St Pat's day).

Could you want a better day. (Ok, a win at Croke Park would have been nice!)

365:068 No red sails in the sunset

Groomsport harbour with the Copeland Islands in the distance - taken on the way home from work - around 6.30pm. I love this clean cold spring light. Still too Baltic to be in a boat mind you!

365:059 Toolips

Spring is in the air... toodlepip February.

365:056 Marmalade

Not strictly "signs", but "labels" - same principle though? Now, anyone for hot buttered toast and a pot of tea to go with the marmalade?

365:055 Sharks ahoy?

This one's from the local harbour - alternative text - "sharks chase boat up ramp"?

365:052 0710am

Lovely surprise this morning when I had a look out the bedroom window - a fresh snowfall - unusual when we're just yards from the beach.

365:047 Ah Bliss

My favourite kind of "radio" therapy - BBC Radio 4, a mug of tea and peace and quiet. Perfect end to the day.

365:044 Brushing up against history...

One of those old fashioned things I don't do so often is polishing my footwear with wax and brushes, even though I love the smell of the tinned shoe polish. I've got lazy and generally use the bottles with an applicator sponge attached. The brushes we use were my granda's from his time in the RAF (1938 - 1945). His id number is cut into them, but doesn't show up on the pic. The brushes live in a wooden shoe caddy made by dad as a sample piece to inspire his woodwork class long ago... so doubly special. (New camera due on Monday so an end I hope, to blurred, wick pics.)

365:036 TGIF

Thank goodness it's Friday... and chillin' out time for ten minutes. I taught myself to play backgammon on a flight to the States last year.