Summing Up Sunday, 12th July

A went to Cambridge to visit T and H (and to a VetEd conference) for a few days. Looks like they had a good time!











J and E played a mean game of Scrabble with M and J's mum (and another with A on return); sat in the field and felt the space around us; spun/crocheted/cross-stitched; read in the garden, and enjoyed it being summer.

Everyone has been reading lots; the garden has been grow-grow-growing, and A found two cauliflowers she never knew about! These are the Persian buttercups (thank you Mr FX):

Everyone been to see new kittens (!), amidst worry about our 13-year-old Kirry-cat who has a mass on the side of her neck. J removed it on Friday, so it's a bit of a waiting game...

No Guardian quiz - we're rather out of the habit!

Looking forward to: book club for A and J next Sunday; a potential party for A on Saturday night; a YA binge for E; the peas being picked; the long summer evenings, and a new edition of The Train Game.

Noah's Ark for Baby Sol

Now, this goes back a looooong way. A friend of the family had a baby waaaay back in September. I meant to complete this for his birth. Then for Christmas. Then... well. It could be for his first Birthday, but that feels like cheating him out of a present somehow! So here it is, only seven and a half months late!

It was a long stitch done from a kit, so I can't take all that much credit for it. It's a lovely design, though, and I hope that it gets hung in his bedroom somewhere if mum and he like it. I personally love the bright colours and the animals. (I also mastered the art of French knots somewhere along the line - wahey! Although I have a strong suspicion that I have forgotten already...)

Then, it was just backing it (recognise the starry material from my first tote bag?) and putting a cane through the top to hang.

Welcome to the world, baby Sol.

(Even if it's really late!)

Wordless Wednesday, Week 10: The View From My Window

Summing Up Sunday: July 5th

Best Event: It's A Knockout - J got covered in foam, soaked in a thunderstorm, climbed some plastic mountains, jumped through hoops, dressed like a Telly-Tubby and did a four person sack race, all in aid of Pet Savers charity BSAVA! Despite the rain, a really fun day for both participants and spectators. AND Coombe Cottage hay from Maidens' Piece for the first time - really exciting!

Best purchase: A's new sparkly shoes from Rieker! Even more sparkly than they looked online!

Enjoying: 'The Gilmore Girls' - somewhat to our surprise. It's pretty old, and has surpassed our expectations. Rory and her mother, Lorelei, are an odd American family muddling their way through life and work with mostly funny, sometimes touching energy.

Reading: 'Flight Behaviour' (A - reread of a brilliant novel), 'The Miniaturist (among others, E - one of Mr B's reading spa books, good read), 'Gut' (J).

Best things in the garden: the rose tree (again), and the first beautifully stripy courgette!


Travels: London for a 90th Birthday (J), RSPCA to see cats and kittens (A/E), visiting J's mum bearing flowers and playing Scrabble.

Best News: Lacey has a new home!

Crafty things: painted runner bean poems afoot, hats being tie-dyed, pots being painted, more bunting being made, cross-stitch still being crossed...

Happy July xx

Wordless Wednesday 1st July 2015: Glastonbury

Summing up Sunday 28 June 2015

One Molly Tunnel anniversary and the first potatoes from the garden (the Molly Tunnel is our polytunnel put up by J and little M last year. It has housed sheep, hay and tomatoes so far and was decorated with flags as thanks on its birthday, the 22nd.) 

Two birthdays remembered (Cand R share the same birthday - we just managed to get in the post their gifts, garden twine for R and 'The Miniaturist' for C) 

Three unexpected days at Glastonbury (because of an ill RSPCA vet J was offered a place at the very last minute)

Five friends met to Wivvie walk around Pitminster ending up at the Queens Arms (wonderful walk through fields and wet grassed lanes with some beautiful Charolais cattle watching us)

Six bunches of sweet peas picked and given during the week (amazing tower of sweet peas in full flood sown in January and planted out in March. It's great having flowers you have to pick to keep them coming...) 

A moderate amount of rain (at last!)

Seventeen bunting flags made for a new baby (the baby is not here yet but he or she has some great duck bunting to go to her mum S next week) 

Millions of flowers on the Rose tree (a cutting of Cedric Morris, taken by Mickey in Suffolk in 1997, now taller than the house and completely covering an old ornamental crab in white and yellow centred sweet blossom. An amazing sight.) 

In Praise of Mr B's

As some of you may know, today marks the end of Independent Booksellers Week. It's great to see support for independent shops, as so many people (I'm guilty too!) will opt for the easiest way out, and just buy something from Amazon. And even in terms of bookshops, Waterstones and Blackwells have a pretty good monopoly of the market...

HOWEVER. The independent booksellers are biting back! There may not be thousands of them, but I'm sure you'll agree with me that there is absolutely nothing like a small bookshop. The level of service, the intimate feeling of being with books, the personal recommendations, that feeling you get that you're in on a wonderful secret...

Well, I'll share my 'secret.'

I've talked plenty about Mr B's already, but I just want to sing their praises again. They are a wonderful independent bookshop in Wells, tucked away but quite near the centre. It's deceptively big! There are just so many books inside! Two stories, floor to wall with books. I have done a Reading Year with Mr B's (see all my reviews!), and I did a Reading Spa this year. I am slowly-slowly making my way through these books - I'm eking them out as much as my patience will allow me too, as the thought of not having them is too painful to consider!

A Reading Spa means paying to have a 'bibliotherapist' sit down and talk to you (tea and cake available!) for half and hour or so, and then they go off and find books they'll think you'll like. It's magical! And a Reading Year is most definitely the best present I have ever had. You get to know your bibliotherapist, and then they will send you - beautifully hand wrapped in brown paper and string, with Mr B's seal - a book through the post every month. It is so exciting!


My bibliotherapist is Emma, and she has been fantastic. We've continued to correspond intermittently, and it's just amazing to have someone in tune with my reading tastes.

Mr B's also host talks and signings from authors!! I haven't been lucky enough to go to one, but they have sounded exciting; they're even going to have Louis de Berniere later in the summer, as well as Justin Cartwright! So, some really big names.

Here is a little Q&A from Emma, the best bibliotherapist out there!

How long have you been working with Mr B's? Just over two years now!

What's the best thing about working there? Getting to talk about books all day and meeting such wonderful book-loving people. I particularly love being a ‘bibliotherapist’ and doing the Reading Spas with people, or choosing books each month to post out to people as part of the Mr B’s Reading Year. Both are great ways of introducing people to books and authors they may never have come across before.

Who is the favourite author you've met? My favourite author I’ve met would be China Mieville. I used to work as a bookseller at the Cheltenham Literature Festival and so I’ve met a fair few authors in my time, but none had impressed me quite as much as China who took the time to recommend me loads of SF authors as I was just getting into the genre at the time. As for recent fave author meetings… I would definitely have to say Kirsty logan (The Gracekeepers). She was just super lovely and it felt like I had met my book twin because we had such similar reading tastes!!

What books are you looking forward to this summer? So many and it’s hard to narrow it down. I will cherry-pick a few for you: ‘The Last Pilot’ by Benjamin Johncock, ‘The Seed Collector’s by Scarlett Thomas, ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara, and of course ‘Three Moments of an Explosion’ by China Mieville!

Top 5 books of the year so far? Oooo…again there have been quite a few already! In no particular order: ‘The Honours’ by Tim Clare, ‘The Gracekeepers’ by Kirsty Logan, ‘Villa America’ by Liza Klaussmann, ‘The Buried Giant’ by Kazuo Ishiguro, and ‘Weathering’ by Lucy Wood.  

I would just like to celebrate Mr B's and all other bookshops like them. (Particularly them. But I'm biased.) Think about where you shop.

(I wasn't asked to write this post - I did it spontaneously because I love them so much!)

Some of my favourite Mr B's books:
Prep by Curtis Sittenfield
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon 
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent <= Best one!

Goodbye Kittens

A and E have been visiting a beautiful litter of kittens in the last month or so. The mother, Lacey, was found heavily pregnant as a stray. Now, kittens need socialising with at least four people within the first six weeks of their lives - so we were actually doing a good deed! (Honest!) Lacey had six kittens, but since she was so emaciated to begin with there was worry she wouldn't be able to feed such a large litter. She did marvellously: the little kits were as fat as butter! Lacey, unfortunately, lost some weight, so had to go back early from her foster home to the RSPCA. But now, she is doing very well - just waiting for someone to take her to her forever home.

All the kittens have been adopted now, and off to wonderful homes. This is great news, but it is very hard to see them go. Fallen in love, I have to say! I was able to name them, which is a great privilege - I wonder whether their new owners will keep the names? I'll never know.

So here we say goodbye to them all.

Alder, Fennel, Huckleberry, Juniper, Chicory and Cally (Calendula). Hoping for happy forever homes.

The RSPCA are a wonderful charity, and need supporting. There are so many cats that are unwanted or strays for one reason or another, and the staff work tirelessly to help them, along with a huge number of volunteers. As a punter, you don't see all the work behind the scenes! Before these kits even got to the RSPCA, they spent six weeks in a wonderful volunteer's house, gradually growing used to the world without the stress of other cats.

There are still many cats all over the country (including Lacey!) that need homes. Even if you don't want a cat yourself, there are many ways to help: donations, cat cuddling (!), foster homes, socialising, cleaning... Without the RSPCA, there would be many more distressed felines in our streets. 

Anyway, good bye to my little kits (I know they're not mine really). I will never forget you all.

Wordless Wednesday, 24th June: Welcome Home

Summing up Sunday week 6

Best outings...

J and A's cycle ride along the strawberry line to Axbridge and the Lamb for supper on Saturday evening.
A and E's visit to see Lacey at Brent knoll RSPCA cattery, though sad she hasn't yet been re-homed.

Achievements ...

16 pieces of Raku pottery sitting on the windowsill glinting in the sunshine.

Singing in a Joyful spirit concert with A in an octet on 'I heard the voice.' 

Most exciting happening..

A badger visited in the night and dug a small hole at the side of the drive to find and eat a wasps nest. The debris, and the poor old wasps were scattered across the driveway first thing in the morning. 

Visitors...

Sue and David came to train game - great fun! 

Best thing in the garden...

The wonderful sweet peas and the night scented stocks. Come and see more over here!

And something we want to remember...

Sarah Raven's seed range of flower seeds for cutting -looks fantastic so we are disappointed we didn't discover them a few weeks ago, but there is always next year.

And the score in the guardian quiz was ... 4 out of 15. Did you know that Mick Jagger had six children, and yet none of them had silly names?

Happy June x

Blog Tour: Ash to Steele, Karen-Anne Stewart

This is a stop on the 'blog tour' of Ash to Steele - go and check out the reviews on other sites if you

would like some more opinions!

http://makingconnectionsgroup.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/ash-to-steele-by-karen-anne-stewart.html
http://wiccawitch4.blogspot.ca/2015/06/ww4bb-mcbt-presents-review-of-ash-to.html#.VYSSklqJnzJ
https://universalcreativityinc14.wordpress.com/2015/06/11/ash-to-steele-by-karen-anne-stewart/
http://www.hamsterwheeljunction.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/ash-to-steele-karen-anne-stewart.html
https://theangelspearl.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/blog-tour-stop-excerpt-review-ash-to-steel-by-karen-anne-stewart/

Extract:

   His confession knocks the air out of me just as ruthlessly as if he punched me in the stomach.  I gasp, desperately trying to fill my lungs with air, “I am yours. You’ve always had me; even when I hated you, you had me.” 

   All coherent thoughts disintegrate when Breck grabs my shoulders, pulling me against him.  The heat of his body radiates through my skin as his hand runs behind my head, sliding up my neck until his fingers are tangled in my hair, pulling it until my mouth is almost touching his.  The intensity of his gaze weakens me.  Steel blue phases into a stormy gray as his mouth collides with mine. 

   My head spins. My knees go weak as I collapse against him, my body not able to handle the intensity of the sensations exploding inside of me.  Breck’s lips claim mine with such power, for one second, I am afraid.  I know the danger of losing myself in him, but then the fear is gone; there is no one else I would rather lose myself to. 

   His hand fists my hair as his kiss deepens, his tongue pushing, probing, demanding access.  Opening my mouth, I kiss him back.  The feel of his lips conquering me, the taste of his tongue as it slides over mine, colliding, taming, plundering, sends the sweetest shivers down my spine.  His teeth graze my bottom lip, nipping and lavishing as his tongue tastes my lips, then plunges inside again, breaking me to his will.  I need him with such desperation, I cringe at my weakness but allow him to tame me.

This isn't my 'typical' genre of go-to book, but I was glad to be offered the opportunity to read and review it. It's really great to read something that's a great romance, after a lot of really philosophical stuff lately. Karen-Anne has offered me the perfect antidote! 

From Ashe to Steele is an adult book, recommended only for readers 18+ due its strong language, mature scenes, and some instances of violence. A big change from my beloved YA and literary books!

Karen-Anne Stewart is an American novelist who I haven't come across before; her debut novel was Saving Rain, which went on to become a trilogy and nominated for two awards! According to Stewart herself, she 'enjoys spending time with [her] family and friends, hiking, and visiting new places.' Now that sounds up my street!

She certainly does not shy away from sensitive and potentially difficult issues. There are two point-of-view characters: Breck and Emma. Emma, a preacher's daughter, moves away from home, escaping from a difficult relationship to launch her career as an artist. Breck already lives in Boston, and is more enigmatic. He's broody and good-looking and the kind of guy that you know means trouble... They begin an odd sort of friendship, but both know from the start that it could develop into something much more. And then it gets complicated...

It was part romance, part drama. The characters were good fun; I particularly liked Emma's best friend Jess and another friend called Gavin (awesome bouncer, who was the right mix of funny and caring). I think Karen-Anne is going to be writing some more about Gavin, so watch this space! The interaction between the characters was great, and Karen-Anne's use of dialogue is superb. The point of view switches between characters: mostly Breck and Emma, but occasionally some of the more minor characters too. I liked the two main protagonist' perspectives, but I found it slightly more confusing when the other characters got a look in too! However, as I continued through the novel, it

was no longer a problem.

Ash to Steele builds to a huge climax, that leaves the reader screaming at all the characters: 'Why didn't you all say this earlier?!' (Or maybe that was just me.) It was certainly a very exhilarating roller-coaster ride to the finish!

One thing I'd love would be able to see Emma's artwork! How cool would that be? I know it's not really possible, but it would be amazing to have a collaborative artist willing to knock up some of her pictures. Maybe a thought...?

I'd like to personally thank Karen-Anne Stewart for giving me the chance to read this book - it was fast paced and exhilarating, and great to get out of my comfort zone a bit! Thank you so much.

LINKS:
Goodreads
Amazon  

Barnes & Noble:  

Author Bio: 

Author of New Adult Romance who doesn't shy away from writing about sensitive issues and hot heroes.

Karen-Anne Stewart has always adored reading and has now fallen in love with writing. Her written works are The Rain Trilogy: Saving Rain, Healing Rain, and After the Rain, Ash to Steele, and her newly released paranormal romance novel, Feel. Her debut novel, Saving Rain: The First Novel in The Rain Trilogy, was a nominee for the Book Junkie’s Choice Awards, and Saving Rain and After the Rain were nominees for the 2014 RONE Awards.

When Karen-Anne isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, hiking, and visiting new places. She fuels her addiction of creating new stories by her only other addiction, caffeine, and listening to a myriad of musical genres. Tucked away near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Karen-Anne lives with her husband, daughter, three dogs, and their cat. She plans on writing new adult romance as long as her fingers maintain dexterity.

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6920317.Karen_Anne_Stewart

Website:  http://www.karen-annestewart.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SKarenAnne

Giveaway!!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/29d5a56834/?

Wordless Wednesday 17th June 2015: From Decay to Soundness

Summing up Sunday: Week 5

We've been growing: borage, love-in-a-mist, squash pumpkin things, polyanthus tuberosa pearls (came free with the dahlias, which are doing well!), and remaindered carrots and sweetcorn plants from 'Sandra's' World - pretty good stuff! Most things doing well, although lots of aphids on the broad beans...

We've been reading: 'Life After Life,' Kate Atkinson (A - enjoyable after a few false starts), 'Ancillary Justice' and 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk' (J - both very good, particularly AJ), bits and bobs (E): 'The Sandman,' (good), 'Stolen' (mediocre), started 'The Darkest Part of the Forest' (great fun.)

We've been going: busy week! Visiting kittens at the RSPCA (saying goodbye as they went to their forever homes yesterday...), drive to Uphill Beach (lovely, breezy and quiet), concert at Bristol Cathedral (not a great programme, but a good experience), J's trip to Devon to see a cousin, and Raku Pottery Take Two at The Walled Garden, including a slightly chilly picnic.

We've been doing: reroofing the garage! (J), practising spinning (A&E), finishing making a peg loom (J&E), sewing a present for a friend (A&E), charity shopping (A)...

Best part of the week: having T and H for the weekend, a real treat!

xx

Craft Catch-Up

We haven't been doing any writing about craft on the blog for... about a year?!? Seems unlikely, but there we are! So, here is a very quick catch-up of some of the things we've been doing. There were quite a few more, but we didn't take photos of everything....

Hanging for friends' wedding (made on Tilly with some hand stitching)

T and H's 10 year anniversary was last September (!) so this was their celebration quilt.

 

Scarf for H's Christmas present (modelled by J).

The leftover wool which was made into socks for T's Christmas (no photo).

 

Decoupaged tea-light holders for Christmas presents.

Sock monkey for Little M's birthday.

Two different latch-hook kits (here's one) - an autumnal tree and a puppy.

Leaving presents for staff I had lived and worked with for 8 months or so - painted and then fired at a local-to-there pottery shop. (PS. Yes, those are shoes. And yes, she does like shoes.)

A gardening book for cousin B's birthday.

 

 

Decoupaged tray for J's birthday - a new in tray.

And that's all we took pictures of! Fairly sure that there must have been a lot more bits and bobs throughout the year (plus lots of cards etc) but this is everything we have evidence of.

What crafts have all you readers been up to?

Wordless Wednesday 10 June - Sunday Breakfast