Snowy walks

Well - it finally arrived yesterday, even though it looked like sieved icing sugar falling from the sky all day long and eventually gave us about 4/5 inches. I must admit I do like a good snow shower of large snowflakes which can mesmerise you as you gaze out of the window. But I'm not complaining. We took a walk to our daughter's Sunday afternoon through the woods with my camera in tow.

 

It was quite magical

 

 

 

  

 

 

 and so still - just the occasional bird tweeting

 

 

I don't drive in the snow and ice so this morning's school run was of the more

 healthier walking kind.

 

 



 

which took us up a pretty steep hill  through the woods

 

 

 

towards the church at the top  

 

 

and up through the churchyard 

 

 

A bit out of puff when I got to the top  (must get fit) - but the view was stunning

 

 

 

 Dropped L off at school and then did the return trip which was much kinder on my legs!  

 

 

 

Not sure why I don't do this more often. The excuse normally is that L, at eight years old might not be able to manage to walk the hill whereas in actual fact it was ME that was getting left behind and L that kept saying "come on Nan". So - after I get fit, watch this space!

 

Finally,  I would like to thank all my blogging friends for your wonderful comments recently. I apologise that I haven't replied to them all but revision is getting in the way at the moment. I do appreciate all the lovely things you have to say and they certainly lift my day.

 

Have a good week

 

 

 

To Snow or not to Snow..that is the question

Hi Everyone. Well I was hoping to post some lovely snowy photos today, but no, it is positively Spring like here. Not a hint of it. Just a very hard frost this morning and very very cold temperatures. To say I am envious of the rest of the country is an understatement. I might well live to regret that statement if we get snowed in and under next week and I can't get the car out. 

However, the photos I took today are giving me some consolation as I haven't had a stroll around my garden for ages and was quite pleasantly surprised.

 

These pansies are on our front porch and were planted last Summer

 

 

How they've survived the battering winds and rain that we've endured

this winter, I'll never know

 

 

This Hebe looks like this all year round and is beginning to flower

(can you see the merest of mere white stuff on the lawn?)

 

 

Another favourite - Hebe with Euonymous

 

 

This ornamental grass has been in a pot on my front garden for donkeys of years

but still manages to put on a brave face - I love the colour

 

 

This evergreen Rhododendron always comes up trumps and looks so pretty in May

 

 

So, that's my non-snowy, unseasonal winter garden. However, as we speak, I've just spoken to my sister Barbara who tells me that the weather forecast is predicting heavy snow showers this weekend -so watch this space.!

 

 

I'd like to give a warm welcome to my new followers - Liz, Vanessa, Perpetua, Joy, Rosemary, Lacy Crochet and Kristie. Thank you for joining me, it's lovely having you aboard.

 

 

Bye for now

 

Have a lovely Wednesday evening and keep warm.

 



Belgium - part 2

Another highlight of our recent trip to Belgium was to visit the city of Ghent. Many of you already know that I am on the last leg of  my History degree. My current module is Art History - Renaissance and I'm loving it.

We have to choose a particular piece of artwork to research and write about in our final 4500 word essay in May. I have chosen the famous "Ghent Altarpiece" painted by the renowned artist brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck from the Northern Renaissance workshops, in what was then called the Netherlands but today known as northern Belgium.  So it was no co-incidence that we made this trip which has gone a long way to aiding my research with the added bonus of being able to view this masterpiece  for real at St Bavo's Cathedral.

 

featuring "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" 

 

 

This impressive Gothic cathedral is one of the most famous landmarks of the city of Ghent 

 



where this sculpture of the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck stands outside

 

 

 

The deli's and bakers shops were so tempting

and I love that you can have a coffee or beer in the same establishment

as an antique shop/art gallery!

 

In Brussels there were many flea markets but sadly not enought time to visit

 



 

and allthough I was done with Christmas, it was interesting to see the
Christmas markets, which I'd never seen or been to before

 

I hope you enjoyed this tour of our short but sweet trip..

 

Bye for now

Random acts of kindness...

 

 

 

Aren't these a breath of fresh air 

 

I've never seen tulips so early in the year before. They were given to me by a very kind lady who I've never met, who took my place on a pre Christmas lunch  that I could not attend due to a funeral. She belongs to our local church and a mutual friend from our Home Study Group asked if she wanted to go. I love acts of kindness and remember seeing this quote.

 

"I expect to pass through life but once.

If therefore, there be any kindness I can show,

or any good thing I can do to any fellow being,

let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it,

as I shall not pass this way again"

 

William Penn (1644-1718)

 

On a similar note I must just show you these lovely old Dutch bobbin-lace bobbins that were very kindly sent to me by  Heidi from Holland. who knew I was starting a small collection and posted them off to me..

 

Such a kind thought and a lovely addition to my collection which you might remember seeing in my post here

 

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted

 

See you soon

Belgium - part 1....

I'd like to say hi to my new followers Terri, May and Izzy - welcome aboard and hope you enjoy my blog as much as I enjoy writing it. 

I can't believe I've been back from Belgium for a week now and not posted anything yet. Both John and I have been brought down with this flu virus thingy that is spreading like wildfire and probably caught on the tour coach we were on in Belgium. We've both laid low for the last five days and for John not to go to work and take to his bed - well that says it all.  But hey ho, the sun is shining today and it's onwards and upwards into the New Year which I trust you will all have a happy one.

Well our trip to Belgium was lovely, the weather wasn't perfect - only raining at night - but mostly we had some sunny but cold days. We visited Ostend, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent and Brussels during the four days but my main focus was on Bruges and Ghent.

Bruges is located on the River Reie and is the capital of the province of west Flanders. Often called the "Venice of the North" it connects with Ostend, Veurne, Ghent and Sluis via its canals.

  

This medieval town with its cobbled streets and assortment of shops is a photographer's dream

Beautiful lace shops

And chocolate shops

As well as the pretty waterways

These canals were everywhere and you just can't stop yourself from snapping them!

The buildings were so pretty - these look like old almshouses 

and churches - way too many to photograph

 We were only here for an afternoon and wished we'd had more time. I'd rather have missed the trip to Ostend that morning and spent more time in Bruges. Have to come back again methinks! 

I'll pause here  -  but will return with a few more photos from Ghent and Brussels.

Has anyone else been having trouble uploading photos - the browser button isn't appearing in the "Select a file/photo" box. I checked the Blog help page and it seems there is a problem at the moment when uploading from Internet Explorer. They suggested going into HTML mode to upload a photo and then going back into Compose mode to write the post. So annoying and time consuming.  They are working on it and here's hoping it goes back to normal very soon.

Bye for now

Ring out the old ....

...and ring in the new ...

 



Part of the medieval Southwark Cathedral with a backdrop of the newly built Shard

on a recent visit to London

Just a quick post to wish everyone A Happy New Year and hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Ours was great and we spent some fun time with our children and grandchildren. I must say though that it is really nice to be able to get back to normal again after all the hype and rushing around before the big day, love it as I do. The  tree has gone and the decs are down and all is calm again in our household. We are now off to Belgium for five days - to the medieval towns of Ghent and Bruges which we are much looking forward to.

Must just show you this unseasonal cherry blossom I spotted two days before Christmas in Southwark.  How odd is this?

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BLOGGING FRIENDS

 

Will catch up with you all next week.

 

 

Patricia

Seasons Greetings to all my Blogging friends....

 

...and wishing you all a Healthy and Happy New Year.

 

 

 

 

From our happy home

Through the world we roam

One week in all the year,

Making winter spring

With the joy we bring

For Christmas-tide is here.

 

Now the eastern star

Shines from afar

To light the poorest home;

Hearts warmer grow,

Gifts freely flow,

For Christmas-tide has come

 

Now gay trees rise

Before young eyes,

Abloom with tempting cheer;

Blithe voices sing,

And blithe bells ring,

For Christmas-tide is here.

 

Oh, happy chime,

Oh, blessed time,

That draws us all so near!

'Welcome, dear day'

All creatures say,

For Christmas-tide is here.

 

Louisa May Alcott (1832-88)

 

 

A short break now until after the New Year but in the meantime hope to catch up with all your posts. I've enjoyed this year immensely sharing my days with you all and in turn reading all your delightful posts and comments.  I've just realised that my one year blogging anniversary has just passed me by without realising - how time flies!

Bye for now

 

Patricia x