The life and adventures of a mildly dotty old bird.
Monday 31 August 2020
You are stronger than you think.
Friday 28 August 2020
Holi"days"
Thursday 27 August 2020
Churches Conservation Trust
Wednesday 26 August 2020
The Ten Native American Commandments
Tuesday 25 August 2020
Houdini and Cut Knees
After several months of not seeing one another [save for the odd long distance wave when I work up near her],my friend H dropped in for a cuppa and a natter on Sunday. Mr GBT made a big batch of raspberry jam recently, so a jam themed bake was in order for her visit. He made jam tarts [pastry refuses to behave for me] and I made a batch of these that I call Sticky Blobs. That's not my choice of name, but the one given in my Be-Ro Recipe book. However, I gather in some quarters they're called Cut Knees....maybe next time I make them I'll use apricot jam, lime marmalade or lemon curd because I can't now unsee that image in my head!! I kept that little nugget to myself when I offered them to H😃
Monday 24 August 2020
Slow Stitching
My name is Aril and I am a slow stitcher....unlike others this was not a conscious decision on my part just down to my aversion to using sewing machines. I have to say for me I find, as an anxious soul, hand sewing very soothing and absorbing. It relaxes me yet I am still being productive, whilst enjoying the process. After several weeks of gently chipping away and letting the piece evolve as I went along I have completed my bathroom blind. It will have batons across the back so that it hangs straight and I'll paint the pole [former cot bar!] white shortly. Bar the hooks from which it hangs there has been no outlay....all recycled and upcycled.
Out of curiosity I asked TYM how he felt about living in a home where his parents are always making stuff. He chuckled and said he didn't know any better!!
Arilx
Friday 21 August 2020
In need of a gardener?
Apparently one of our local beauticians is now offering gardening alongside some of the more conventional options you might expect😉
This lot are the masters of the cheeky A board and they have brought me much mirth over the past few years. Have a good weekend!
Arilx
Thursday 20 August 2020
A Local History Walk
Seeing as the temperatures had reached much more manageable levels by Sunday it seemed the ideal time to sally forth and follow one of the history walks for the nearby village of Pulborough. I know parts of the district, but not over on this side, so with our flask and packet of biscuits packed we headed out for a spot of local adventuring.
Wednesday 19 August 2020
A wide mouthed frog
Please excuse the poor photo quality....no flash on a dull February day back in 2017 was always going to have its challenges. A pile of National Trust magazines were given to me a weeks ago and reading through last night this turquoise ceramic frog was featured. As it's from at Standen House which is a regular haunt of mine I wondered whether I had taken any photos of it on one of my visits. Turns out Lady Luck was on my side and there it was lurking at the back of one [I was actually photographing something else at the time].
The purpose of this rather unusual piece was to keep spoons/ladles warm. Filled with warm water to heat them through this would thus prevent the sauces/ gravies being spoilt by coming into contact with cold cutlery when the staff were serving the family members during meal times. It's Victorian in date.
Arilx
Tuesday 18 August 2020
Left to my own devices.
We are lucky to have a couple of fantastic independent delis in the town centre. This one is run by an Italian family and they always have innovative window displays. Even their hand sanitising station is done with humour and panache.
Monday 17 August 2020
A Fairy's Final Resting Place
Friday 14 August 2020
Blue Friday
It seems that there are far fewer blue flowers than other colours, so I greeted this one with great enthusiasm when I came across it on my recent visit to the Prairie Garden. We've enjoyed eating our first ever home grown tomatoes this week [seedlings from our neighbour] and welcomed the rain after a warm few days.
Hope you all have a good weekend. Not sure what our plans are at present bar a takeaway which TYM is treating us to as he's received a large and unexpected tax rebate!
Arilx
Thursday 13 August 2020
Night time robbery!
With the high temperatures at night we're currently experiencing there's no thieving of the duvet here at GBT at present. Under normal circumstances I am a horror for this....reeling the duvet in a like a fishing line and then when I overheat [I am a woman of that marvellous age who can change temperature every five minutes for no apparent reason!] then hurling it off. This is all done in my sleep, but I do feel for Mr GBT who, bless him, does his very best to retrieve his share without disturbing me!! Thought this funny cartoon might be familiar to some!!
Arilx
Wednesday 12 August 2020
The Old Lady
I think it's fair to say that I was much happier to discover this beautiful moth hiding in my client's sunroom on Monday than it was being disturbed by me wielding a feather duster! Rather disgruntled it settled for long enough for me to be able to grab my phone. With so many more species of moths than butterflies in this country and factoring is that many are brown it's a bit of a nightmare for a novice like me to identify them easily. Thankfully on this occasion I was about to ask for help on a suitable FB group when the first post on the feed came up with an identical image. It goes by the rather charming name of the Old Lady Moth and is another new one to me.
Many people seem happy to spot butterflies, but have a real aversion to moths. Perhaps it's because many are night flying. Folkloric associations tend to bear this prejudice out with certain white moths being interpreted as ghosts or ancestors returning. At St Non's well near Looe heaven help you if you didn't leave a bent pin for the fairies for you would be followed home by a mass of Pisgey moths. Certain colours also pertain to future events...a white one in your home meant an imminent death, brown one foretold of an important letter winging its way to you and a black one was a deceased soul reincarnated and just dropping by for a visit!
Would it surprise you to learn that I really rather fancy having a go at doing a bit of moth trapping [and releasing safely afterwards!]...when I looked into it though I found it was quite an expensive thing to do so a pipe-dream it remains. Meanwhile I shall content myself with the occasional discovery such as this!
Arilx
Tuesday 11 August 2020
Fourth Generation
Phew...it's been a bit of a scorcher these past 24 hours hasn't it. Hope you're all bearing up. Personally I'm not a natural lover of heat, but by planning what I do and working at a measured pace I get by.
We deliberately didn't go hell for leather over the weekend...just a gentle stroll into town early on Saturday to run a few errands with a thoroughly enjoyable poke around the oldest graveyard in the town, before heading home before the mercury soared too high. A gentle session of hand sewing to make some progress on the bathroom blind and a splendid evening spent in our friends' garden and joined by another couple who we haven't seen in several months. It was topped off by their young hedgehog doing its rounds before we left....sadly an increasingly rare sight these days. Sunday followed much the same pattern.
In between enjoying the odd pint of ale or cider we've all been drinking far more water than our more normal choice of tea and coffee. As of this week this has been TYM's vessel of choice. He came home from uni as a reformed character.....gone are the fruit flavoured ciders and now his sup of choice is real beer...he must be my son after all if he is a bitter drinker like his Mother and Grandfather. His Dad most definitely is not!! He mentioned in passing a few weeks ago that my Dad has a pewter tankard that had belonged to his Dad from the days when you would leave it at your local pub and they would hang it above the bar in anticipation of your next visit. He was delighted when said tankard was gifted to him a few days ago and it's been pressed into action with immediate effect. The thought that this family heirloom is now owned by the fourth generation has really tickled him I really hope that my Grandfather [who died before I was born] would be pleased to see it being used and enjoyed. Methinks that a trip to a local brewery within walking distance for all three of us to taste their wares might be on the cards very soon🧉
Arilx
Monday 10 August 2020
Awen
Friday 7 August 2020
Stand well back!
Thursday 6 August 2020
Pellucid
Wednesday 5 August 2020
Third Time Lucky
Tuesday 4 August 2020
The bright side of life
Hurstpierpoint
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