Nini Makes

tiny steps

Today, midday

At dawn, a week or so ago

A few weeks ago

At dawn a week or so ago

My favourite Lady's Mantle, at dawn again

Resident turtle, a few weeks ago

Our tiny shed. Admire the ivy-free roof that does not leak on our mower

These photos are all over the place, much like my head at the moment. I had a GRRRRRRRR, moment with Typepad and lost this original post so here it is again condensed – probably better that way.

Our garden is made up of a small courtyard which now is home to things that don't have a home in our new home. Like the children's trampoline, extra shelves and some junk; I saved you from the image but if you really want one I'd be happy to share. From there you can climb up to a little terrace and then on to the main garden. The main garden is level with most of the roof tops in the village. As you might imagine, lugging bags of compost up is interesting and not a little bit four letter word inspiring.

As we've rapidly tumbled from spring into summer weather here, the garden has surprised us with some real delights. Amazing roses, wild-looking gladioli and sweet poppies. Lots of work is still needed to get it into shape and honestly I think next year will be the time but we're enjoying what we have now. 

So if you're in the neighbourhood stop by for a cold one. We have space for you to sit and put your feet up and I might even take down the laundry – don't worry, I won't ask you to fold.

Happy Wednesday,

Jx

18 days

Pair of House Martins 

It takes a pair of House Martins about 18 days to build a nest (only a few days to prepare their existing nest from the previous year). 18 days may not seem long for a new home, but consider that amount of time in bird years. They are amazing architects and so selfless. Imagine carrying mud in your mouth, back and forth from puddle to nest for 18 days, after having flown thousands of miles from equatorial Africa. Do you think their little chicks appreciate it? Probably ;)

Taking a peek; image taken around midday

I don't have a good view of my garden bird feeders in our new home but I've moved my computer to an upstairs location that just happens to be right underneath the eaves of our house where eight pairs of House Martins nest. At certain times of day their frantic activity is mesmerizing. I can't help but stop and watch their comings and goings when I hear the familiar screeching starting up. 

Off to catch more flies

I've been trying to capture them with my cameras for the past week but haven't had the best luck. I managed one shot with my good Canon and long lens yesterday afternoon (2nd image) and a couple with my little Lumix just before sunset. I wish you could see their silky blue/black feathers and sweet little faces better. Most mud nests here in Somerset are a reddish colour because of the red colour of the soil here. You see it a little better in second picture taken at midday.

::: Note – click images for a closer look :::

While I haven't been dashing out to try and photograph the birds I've been trying to meet deadlines this week. Now I must be off to finish another big one. Before I do I must mention a very important fundraising effort Margie is involved in. Margie and her family are taking part in the, 2012 Walk for Memories, a Canadian-based charity raising money to support individuals with Dementia. Learn more about this important cause and the devastating advance of this disease by visiting her current post, here.

Happy Wednesday!

Jx

in-between

Wall garden

I'm savouring in-between time right now. I feel like these ferns that are sucking every drop of moisture from cracks in this wall. Finally getting back into making, squeezing five minutes here and five minutes there, in-between this and that and it seems to suit me just fine at the moment.

The incessant rain has subsided, now we soak up every last ray when the sun appears. Gracie even had a full day of it on Saturday when she went riding, more pleasant than the downpours she's experienced for the last few weeks, which of course didn't put her off.

Village fair

Turns out our village has a huge fair each year; bands and beers, antiques, art and lots of food – we had a fantastic time but I have no decent piccies to show. Here's a funny video about the day that I found, it gives a tiny glimpse. The rain poured in the morning during set-up then it was sunny and warm for most of the day, perfect.

Fi's sparrow

At the fair we got a big bag of roving from sheep and alpacas up the road (bought from the farmers, not the sheep and alpacas :) It was a great opportunity to introduce Fi to needle felting, she's making a sweet sparrow. 

Grasses wearing rain drops

The rain hasn't stopped me and Pippi getting outside everyday, if it had we'd have missed so much.

Drenched dandelion

Like the way dandelions are transformed by water...

Apple blossoms

and the way this old apple orchard is taking it's sweet time coming into bloom.

Larch love

And I'd also have missed out on picking up these fallen larch branches, I love their flower-like cones. I used a little in-between time to circle them up and put them on the wall.

Gracie, lovely pony April and, Cath her instructor (an amazing horse whisperer)

Spare moments have also led back to a long neglected dolly, her face is coming together every time I steal 5 minutes. She's a surprise for a special little person.

Face WIP

Other stuff. I finished The Life of Pi the other day (again chosen from the Oxfam bookshop, and again a title I wouldn't normally choose). It was a good read, it ambled along nicely yet it's chock-full of philosophy to ponder. It was more than good really, I loved it.

Also, our new little garden has been receiving some much needed TLC, mostly in the way of clearing out dead stuff, harvesting the abundant ground elder and mowing the weeds. I spent at least an hour sawing down ivy that was wriggling it's way under the felt on the shed roof and I used muscles I haven't used for years – ouch. BTW, if you pull yourself up on to a roof with ivy, then cut down the ivy, make sure there's another way of getting back down ;)
We're starting to uncover a sweet space with some wonderful flowers, old roses, lovely bay and more surprises popping up everyday. We just have to find the right place for our bird feeders and the space will feel more like home. 

I'm also learning about lots of great activities in the area. I want to take the sourdough bread making workshop, join the Pilates class, the sewing group, the creative writing group, the weekly art workshop... not sure if I have enough in-between time for everything on offer, maybe just one thing.

I hope you're stealing in-between moments for yourself, if so what are you doing with them? 

Jx 

New routines and discoveries

Abandoned

New routines are being hatched. Saturdays have become quality time for Gracie and her new best friend, April, the pony. And while Gracie is busy T and I explore our new surroundings. 

Last Saturday we tripped over this abandoned hamlet while we were walking in Exmoor. Apparently it's inhabitants left or died out during the Black Death of 1348. Some research says people still lived here until Victorian times but we saw little evidence to support that suggestion.

Wall with a tree growing out of it

The dry stone boundary walls seemed to go on forever and one can only imagine how long it must have taken for a small community to construct them, especially when a lot of time was dedicated to the art of survival. 


Peak out that tiny window to a valley below

If this area was abandoned in the mid 13th century, when was it first built and inhabited? Tris and I were imagining the long walls being constructed during feudal times, the land being portioned off to tenants.


Wall meandering through the woods

On this particular day we walked for miles and didn't come across another soul, unless you count the deer that were spying on us from the safety of the thick woods. The quietness added to the old and creaky atmosphere.


Nice pattern

I love that the building techniques used all those hundreds of years ago are still used in the area today. The dry stone walls (no mortar used), the simple building construction with local stone, lime mortar and lime-wash... it's all around us.

Pretty ponds

The ponds and streams with little bridges crossing them at the base of the hills are clear and beautiful and there's lots of smaller life to explore.

Life in old logs

Then it's time to cruise back over the gentle rolling hills to find Gracie again and make our way back home. 

Springtime landscape

The geology of the Exmoor area is so varied. This section of hills we hiked are covered in slate with some sandstone and granite too. Here's a short pamphlet that shows how mixed this relatively small geographical area is, I know some of you are into this sort of stuff, I find it fascinating and you might too.

Can't wait to see what this coming weekend brings (though it really should involve the last bits of unpacking, lots of cleaning and catching up on laundry).

I hope you're weekend is full of small adventures, or big ones!

Jx

A quick look

Hanging laundry at the Woodshed

One of the funny details I forgot about moving house is that daily life still must go on even if I have a hundred boxes to unpack (or more) and furniture to shift and utility companies to sort out. The dog still needs walks, the laundry still needs washing (if I can get to the machine) and deadlines still must be met. Sometimes my children even expect a square meal, good thing we've moved to a village with an excellent shop – they turn their noses up at frozen pizza, even though I explain that it's a square meal because it comes in a square box ;)

Pippi bringing me the antler she found

Living in a temporary state of disarray has meant my absence here and I've missed you blog; the process of creating I've missed even more. I'm bursting to make things which admittedly has sometimes led to crankiness, but we're getting there.

Here's a quick look at where we've been. The two images above were at of our temporary lodging at the Woodshed, a little holiday home when we were between houses (and without Internet access). The rest of these are from the last week and a half which have been crazy but fun. Good friends even came to stay two days after we arrived and they were very good humoured about wading through boxes (thank you Dianne and boys).

Though we've been in Somerset for such a short time there's already lots to love – like hearing the bells ring out across the village from the church just up the hill, amazing walks and incredible nature reserves, stunning views, welcoming neighbours, a beautiful riding school for Gracie to join with lovely horses and not silly prices and very importantly, a pub with great food and brilliant local brews.

A new creative space in the making

Gracie finally gets to ride, she's been begging for years

Wild pony and her foal on Quantock Common approaching the parking lot

Walking above the village

Special visitors

View from our walk above the village

Thank you for the emails and comments of concern wondering if I'll return; yes I will – see, I'm making a start already with this quick hello. Thank you also to friends who gave us all a lovely send-off before the move, you'll be missed!

Now I'm hoping to get back here more regularly and start making visits to friends soon too.

Jx

Back soon

Pastures green

I didn't realize I'd be taking a blog break. Lots of changes round here and nearly over the biggest, a house move and a move to a new county too. This image via Google is of some of the countryside near our new home, can't wait to get my walking boots on and start calling Somerset home.

See you soon,

Jx

Consolidating

I'm in that mode again. Whittling down all the crap that's accumulated around us over the past two and a half years and getting ready to shove it all in to boxes to move. Some things take me extra time though, like my vintage linens and textiles. Even though it's Sunday I was up at the crack of dawn to sort through some of these in peace, and as usual I'm deciding not to part with most of it. I am parting with some of my more modern fabrics though and as I have no time for selling them I'll divide them up between some of my more keen young students to start their own fabric stashes; Gracie already has a stash of her own started.

On another note, Tristan has posted a tutorial for his indoor shuffleboard type game. It's very detailed, including a fabulous video he put together with his mother as amateur camera woman. Check it out and let him know how you like it if you get a chance.

Hope you're having a restful Sunday. 

Jx

Expect the unexpected

Sparrowhawk, image by Hiyashi Haka via Flickr

This morning I saw a sparrowhawk carrying off a young bird in it's talons. That bird was probably hopping along minding it's own business, pecking the frozen ground in search of loose seeds and grubs when suddenly two giant feet appeared out of nowhere and whisked her away.

It's easy to feel like a small, defenceless bird when things happen unexpectedly. Lately I've been involved in lots of quick action to take control and minimize nasty surprises. It's been busy and a little scary but mostly empowering. I've got an even busier time ahead with lots of personal changes over the next few months but I'm sure the outcome will be good.

Though I haven't been around here on the blog there's been a lot of fun stuff happening behind the scenes. We fashioned a Pippi Longstocking hairstyle for Gracie for a book character day at school, it involved aluminium wire bending and wrapping and plaiting and pinning and it worked! She created her own outfit to match the hairstyle.

Gracie has also decided dipping lollipops in chocolate is culinary genius and so do her school friends who nearly knocked her over to buy them. The children are being encouraged at school to create a business to fund a charity; selling out her lollies two days in a row in a matter of minutes means she's off to a bloomin good start.

And on one of our recent subzero days Tristan invented an indoor shuffleboard game with one of my empty ribbon spools, he'll link to his own tutorial soon but it's super fun to play – it's been our post-dinner entertainment this week.

I've been hand stitching some patchwork strips to repair my ageing linen duvet cover. I'll probably need to bring in the machine though to speed up the process because the tear is becoming too big too fast. 

The birds in the garden (especially the blue tits) have been acting as if it's spring, nasty shock they had with the big freeze this week. We added an extra fatball feeder before the serious cold set in to help out.

And we've finally had enough snow for snowman building this week but a little more tobogganing action before the winter ends would be nice. Our snowman likes cuddles, see? He's asking you for one now (careful though he gets all melty).

 Happy Wednesday, hope to see you soon,

Jx

Fixing

Breakfast?

The photo has nothing to do with my post but Gracie made her own breakfast and offered to share it with me but a hummus, tomato and olive sandwich just didn't appeal.  I took a photo though because she likes to make all her food look pretty.

I've been in minor, new year clear out mode but major fix-it mode. When we returned home from California to hurricane force winds it was no surprise to find a window blown out of the old garage in the garden, on closer inspection I realized it's made of plexi-glass, not the real stuff. I got out my hammer and nails, removed the moulding that remained around the frame, manoeuvered the plexi back in then repaired the moulding. It wasn't hard to do, no wood cutting with fancy tools involved, just my hammer, a screw driver and a few nails.

Window fixed

The top of the roughly made fence which happens to hold up our Sky dish had also collapsed. I only discovered this after several non-TV days. Not really a problem, until my children eventually staged a revolt – I wasn't up to arguing with two jet-lagged kids coming down from Christmas holiday sugar high. That particular repair is temporary because I simply hammered the fence back together again with the help of children lifting the wooden rail up for me. 

I also repaired and hung the post box that the home owners just had stashed in the bushes at the entrance to the house. Don't know why this one took me so long to get around to.

Also, my Jakar electric pencil sharpener, which I LOVE, was also broken, due to a long drop to the stone floor when I was moving stuff around in my craft space. I got out my screw drivers, disassembled the pencil sharpener and had a good look around. I found the source of the problem, fixed it, plugged it in and realized, when it wouldn't work that there was another problem with it that I'd overlooked. After a gigantic sigh I opened it back up, found another potential problem, fixed it and it worked – this time I gave myself a pat on the back.

Clearly on a roll, I took apart Tristan's broken alarm clock (using my eyeglass repair kit) found potential problems, put it back together again and it worked, pat-pat.

Now the small space heater that I use daily during the winter needs a repair, I'm wondering if it's a step too far. Though when I took the hedge trimmer to have the cable replaced I thought "I could have done that." Of course fixing that wouldn't have been necessary had I not "trimmed" the cable along with a hedge.

And on the topic of tools, I fell head over heals for this site, I have my eye on far too many items there to list but first up would be a nice new knife for whittling and general gardening use. 

Speaking of fixing, forgot to mention I took Gracie to see Hugo over the Christmas break and we both loved it so much. I really recommend seeing it in the theatre if you still can.

Are you a fixer? If not, next time something breaks just open the broken thing up and have a look, you never know.

Fixing for me has also been of the mending variety, more on that later. Off now to "fix" a huge tear in my favourite but ageing, linen duvet cover.

Happy Monday to you,

Jx

getting out on grey days

Sunshine inside

Sitting under a grey sky meant a very wet walk this morning and enjoying the sunshine inside. My first bundle of daffodils of the year is making my desk sunny and bright.

Nature notes

I came across an old page of "nature notes" while I was sorting out ugly, gigantic piles of paperwork. Living in a country that often sees days on end of grey skies in the winter, I used to make up little nature scavenger hunts to help get the kids more interested in getting outside when it was cold or wet.

These little nature notes only took a couple of minutes to write up and worked well to get the children to look more closely at the world around them. Sometimes they would fill in answers when they got home and more often than not only one kid participated, but I know the other one was still taking it all in.

It's easy to make them up to match the environment where you live. If it's damp out, rub a candle over the page to keep it dry, if it's rainy then pop it in a plastic bag. 

On this particular sheet these are the questions I asked: 

• Can you find any animal homes?
• Can you still see any fallen leaves?
• Look out for birds with bright colours. Can you see any?
• Are there any fungi still around?
• What kind of trees do you see that still have leaves?
• Are there any bright colours in the hedgerows? What do you see that is brightly coloured?
• Have you seen any animals that live under ground? How about mini beasts?
• Did you find any puddles to jump in?

Very simple and achievable, that was key. I wish these sheets still worked for T & G. Nowadays I resort to bribery more often than not and we stop for a special treat half-way through our walk. 

Hope you have sunshine where you are today. 

Jx