A Haven in the Manor

Our friends have lent us their Manor House while they are away. What a blessing it has been for us! There is wild, historical beauty at every turn.

The beauty of produce

Well, my children are very clever. They discovered our friends' vegetable garden, went picking, and laid out a beautiful still life, without me even asking! It's quite beautiful.

Please welcome....Melissa from Wife in Training!!

I am in the superb chaos of house-packing for our move. My dear and new friend Melissa, fellow-blogger extraordinaire, is kindly guest-blogging for me so that you lovely readers have something to read while I am engaged profoundly in moving my family overseas.

Melissa writes a wonderful, funny, fascinating, insightful blog about her life and interests over at Wife in Training. I love her wry sense of humour, the fact that she is really well read, and that she has a unique and poignant interaction with her daily life. Also we have in common...Indiana! She fell in love with the state when living there a few years ago, and is insanely jealous that I am moving there soon.

Melissa is doing something fun for us - a series of responses to one of my Pinterest boards, kind of stream of consciousness, and a great way of getting to know her as well as comparing your response to gorgeous images.

Here is the board. Check back every day for Melissa response to each picture, and go say hi to her over at Wife in Training!

My New Babies

Yes they were born yesterday. Three girls and a boy.

Entered into

Photography that bursts with Megan-ness

I have to pinch myself when I look at Megan Stevenson's photography. It's because I can't believe that I am privileged to be friends with such a uniquely creative person. You know, she's my friend. And then I look at what she makes, and I think - I KNOW the person that did that!!

What's great about her photography is that it isn't just out-the-can professional stuff. Because I know Megan well, I know that each photograph oozes Megan-ness. There's a little bit of tongue-in-cheek, but can you really be sure? Or is she being serious...

Anyway, check out her portfolio. It's charming. Also, I discovered myself on there... try and guess which one is me! First one to guess right and comment the answer wins a $5 Amazon gift voucher!

My best things - No. 1

When you move countries, as one does, one starts to realise that there are certain things that are more important than others. This is because every item costs something to be packed up by a lovely man or woman in a box, put on a ship, and sailed by a captain and crew to the port near our new home.

If you think about it like that, you realise that some things you couldn't care less about. Other things you feel sick in the bottom of your stomach at the thought that someone took the trouble to sail it all the way over the seas to another continent. Like my mum who moved house during a very busy time in her business. She had no time to clear out her drawers or cupboards. Everything was packed, including a drawer of pens most of which didn't work...

There are also things that I would never part with, no matter how much they cost to move, like my vintage Alfa De Luxe Sewing Machine. She's a beauty.

Some things I have collected over my life so far that have moved with me wherever I go. This is because they are small and light, and they somehow convey to me the sense of home, no matter where I am. I decided to feature some of these special objects because they are wonderful things to collect over your life knowing that you will be able to take them with you, perhaps even into the nursing home when you are really ancient...

My first object brings me so much joy every time I walk past it. I get little glimpses of my darling children's faces at different stages of their lives.

The great thing about this mobile is that it is cheap and easily available at Amazon. You could do so much more than using photos too. If you have done anything creative with one of these please leave a comment with a link!

I bet you saw this on

or

A walk in the morning.

I know that I am mightily blessed to live in an idyllic English Country Village. As we are moving on from here in a couple of months, I thought I would celebrate a little of the unique Englishness we have been privileged to partake of (especially in the Spring time).

As I occasionally do, this morning I took a walk through our village, Hinton St George, population 400, to Dorothy's Tea Room to have a cup of coffee.

The roses are in full bloom, and the spring flowers pregnant with bees.

I know this shot could have been taken fifty years ago, but I promise you I took it this morning.

Dorothy's is a quintessential English Tea Room, serving cream scones, fresh cakes and delicious coffees (as well as lunches for the hungry) in an assortment of china. They sell local crafts, host speakers for the over-50s, and are generally community minded. We always feel welcome there. And they are extremely generous with their clotted cream.

So, after a satisfying walk, I made my way home and I am glad I will always have a record of the simple joys of living in England.

Continuing on the yummy theme

Today I made Broccolli and Stilton soup for lunch. Mainly because I love it, and I felt like it. Also because it is incredibly filling, you don't even need bread with it. And it makes enough for the rest of the week. The recipe is incredibly simple. It is a variation on Nigella Lawson's version in her book Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast.

Stilton is the quintessential British cheese (alright, I know there are die-hard Wensleydale fans, and some may even champion cheddar). It is the Roquefort of England. I love it because it is creamy enough to ofset the bitter taste of the blue veins running through it.

Now that I think about it, I must try a new recipe with British sausages (Cumberland, or perhaps Lincolnshire), tossed with steamed in-season broccolli and crumbled Stilton. Who says British food can't be fabulous!

Post a comment, and I will send you the recipe for this gorgeous and easy (yes five minutes total cooking!) soup.

A Morning in the Life of... and a much-needed confession

This is how my life goes most mornings, but as you'll see a little later on in my morning I made a decision.

Woke up and prayed with my family - here (note pink fluffy blankets)

Had crumpets and maple syrup, and fresh Americano coffee for breakfast (made with our special stove-top espresso maker)

Got kids dressed and ready for school
Enjoyed peace and quiet while reading my daily blog feeds

More coffee, shower, clean up kitchen, sit down to my computer. (This is the view from my workspace)

Get hungry.
Decide to make new yoghurt cake recipe my mum sent me.

Just mix everything in one big bowl and put into cake tin or alternatively makes about 24-25 cupcakes.

1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1 cup sunflower oil

2 cups sugar (I use about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cups self-raising flour

pinch of salt

3 extra large eggs

1 tspn vanilla

mix together with beater until smooth.

180 degrees for about 45 mins  (usually little less) or about 20 mins for cupcakes

Why is it that, no matter how hard I try, I can't manage to make cupcakes without a mess?

Now, with a fresh cupcake (no frosting because I ran out of icing sugar) and a cup of tea, I will tell you the decision I made.

I have been reading a lot of what I would call "creative" blogs for the last few weeks and they are all beautiful. Each might have a different focus, such as parenting, photography, fashion, interior design, craft. I find them inspiring, but I was reminded this morning of something important.

It read the blog Stuff Christians Like. It challenged me to write more.

You may have noticed (and this is the confession) that I have been posting a lot of short posts with pictures and links. This is because I have had serious bloggers block, and did not have anything to say. So in essence I was being lazy. The thing with pictures (very image-heavy blogs) is that they don't take any mental work, or brain-power to appreciate. You look at it, you get inspired, and it's done. Reading a blog, absorbing the ideas and perhaps critiquing them, takes more time, more mental energy. And yet that is the kind of blog I want to write. 

So, my decision is that I will try to step up to the plate on this one. I have had a few weeks of experimenting with my blog, and now I am going to try and make it my very own instead of a clone of other creative blogs. That is dangerous because I might lose all my readers! But I am tired of trying to create something that looks like a thousand others.

Don't worry, I will still post pictures! But I will attempt to get my brain bubbling again and put some thoughts down as well.

Thanks for your patience while my blog personality matures!

A great Australian Photo

Having recently returned from five weeks in Australia, the nostaglia has set in so I really enjoyed photos posted today on The Sartorialist. This one is what I would call a typical Australian scene (but that's only my opinion).