Sunday, 15 December 2013

I loathe housework and that doesn't really go well with being a compulsive collector of stuff. I find it hard to part with endless bits and pieces, beautiful cards, dried flowers, shells, bits of wood, childrens' drawings and handmade cards. You name it, I've got it somewhere. A lot of it is lying around on the dresser and with the imminent arrival of Christmas, visitors and the overwhelming desire to decorate the house for the festivities I had to get rid of the last year's dust. So, I have been washing, polishing and sorting today. Groan. It does look nice though, and ready for the Christmas greenery and candles etc.

I can't let today pass without introducing you to the latest member of the family. The wee girl moved in next door last night and is the sole property of my granddaughter who is constantly exasperated by being outnumbered by boys in her household. So, welcome little Missy, and I hope the other cats in these parts are as welcoming as the black labrador has been! I am pretty sure the terrier won't be! She loves to chase cats. Ho hum.

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In a vase on Monday - colour

The intense colours in my vase this week come from nasturtiums, sweetpeas and a single glorious zinnia! Their beauty and love of life speak for themselves and need no further words from me! Enjoy!

Found items IAVOM

I am on holiday on the Inner Hebridean island of Colonsay. It is my happy place. Thoughts of Colonsay rattle around in my head each and every day I am not here! I haven't got a vase to share this week but some lovely things I have found over the past few days, which are just as beautiful as a vase of flowers! I hope you agree! Here are some leaves of giant rhododendrons, growing in the outer gardens of Colonsay House. Some skeleton leaves of magnolia. The dried stem of a kelp seaweed. A couple of conkers (can never resist those!), and a branch heavily populated by a number of lichens. The air on Colonsay is so clean that lichens flourish here!

Colonsay postcards - on arrival

The first thing I do, once we have unpacked our car, which has been groaning with all the stuff we need for a week's stay in the holiday cottage, is head for the outer gardens of Colonsay House. It is a place of wonder for me! I particularly love the leaves of the giant rhododendrons. There are many different varieties, all planted in the early 1930s. The outer gardens are generally overgrown, having had little tending over the decades. That makes them even more magical! The old woodmill falls apart a little more every year, but that's fine by me because I love corrugated iron and especially if it's rusted! And of course the bees. Colonsay's beekeeper, Andrew Abrahams, has one of his apiaries on the edge of the pine wood. So lovely - the hum of busy bees and the heady smell of the pines. We are here - finally! Delayed by four months by the wretched virus, but now I am on holiday! Hooray!

the running wave

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