tarviragus

Trying to get hold of this technology and hoping this might work - it's Friday wheat surfing (there's no sound on my camera - it's old by today's standards):

 

Have you got something to say about this Midnight:
 

You bet. Poor Midnight was attacked by a little native pony called 'Max' and both his front legs are bandaged and waiting to be x-rayed to see if anything is cracked. The poor old fellow just doesn't deserve this. Still, he moved round his box quickly enough for his usual polo so he's obviously not too bad.

So I had to ride a horse completely unknown to me called Tarrow(?) - I'll have to find out how it is spelled. I was taking things very slowly and I asked Alison about him. She said that he was a thoroughbred ex-racehorse. At which point I wanted to jump off and run for cover but as it turned out he was gentle and steady (ie not too forward going). We worked on transitions between walk, trot and canter and worked on circles and changes of reign and serpentines. If this is what he is really like all the time then he is as forward going as I am ever likely to want after being tanked around the arena by that little thug Blue the other day. So a thumbs up so far.

I've had a bit of a knitting marathon going on as I wanted to finish this to take on holiday with me. It is called a Clapotis and it is the second one I've made. This one is a lovely pastel shade for summer and it is made of bamboo yarn. We call it the dirty dishcloth because my dear Mother-in-Law said during coffee on Sunday "that jumper you're knitting looks just like the discloth I mopped up some spilt beetroot with". Aw, you've just got to love them, haven't you. To be fair she is very stressed at the moment so she is completely forgiven for not meaning it as it came out. Still, it will now forever be called the dirty dishcloth.



 

Also off the needles last week this felted French Market bag made from some beautiful wool I bought from the Coldharbour Mill when I was in Devon a couple of years ago visiting my brother and his family.
 
Now what's next - I'm off to Ravelry to get some inspiration (I'm Thistledown there for anyone else lurking over there). What is this Plurk thing they've all gone made over?

Well here's the purple hair:



And Friday in his yellow bandana
 

 

Well, my lovely internet friend Jane Brocket has done it again. This time she has come up with a cookery book with recipes for food from all of our favourite childhood books.

It has a beautiful purple on the cover with a drawing of my all time favourite childhood character - Milly Molly Mandy. It is wonderful. 

My childhood was full of happy days helping with baking and sitting down to groaning tea tables on Sundays.

This is a real feel-good book I would recommend to anyone who loves old-fashioned kitchen treats.

I can't think of anything nicer this time of year than a stroll round the vegetable patch collecting bits and pieces for a delicious salad for lunch:

This year I have been seduced by the colour of flowering veg - these beans are a beautiful apricot.

This is the dark crimson flower of asparagus pea

I don't know if this multi-spotted ladybird is friend or foe

Deep purple of sage
 
with its blue flowers
 

a rare double geranium called summer skies is all but over

Motistone lettuces
 
and Yugoslavian red
 
tiny yellow toms

peppery old gold radishes
 
and the promise of exotic red French beans to come, provided that bug I caught in the photo, bottom right if you click on the picture to enlarge it, has come to help fight off invaders
 
Ah, the result of my labour of love. Dressed simply with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar - my lunch awaits.
I wonder what you are growing and eating this year?

 
How could you resist? Well here is Midnight after his favourite treat a polo mint. 
This week our lesson was brilliant. It was raining quite heavily so thankfully we were able to use the indoor school. We worked on general improvements for both horse and rider.

First, we warmed up and then began to improve our performance. Midnight was working on getting into an outline and using his hindquarters to power his body. He did so well and soon his tail was straight and his movements swinging, forward going without rushing and his back rounded but best of all he was totally relaxed.
I had to work on not moving my lower leg back and pushing down through the heel. Also using my shoulders to turn into the corners relaxing my elbows and keeping my hands closed around the reins. I'm also prone to looking down at Midnight but had to remember to look up and ahead anticipating the next bend etc.

Secondly, we had to get ourselves straight which we did eventually and also to work at keeping a working walk rhythm when stretching down into a free walk on a long rein. Midnight stretched really well, kept up the rhythm (which is difficult for him) and was tracking up nicely.

Altogether one of those rare but memorable lessons when things just seem to go so well with rider and horse being together and enjoying themselves. I just love that horse. No wonder I always have pocketfuls of polos.

Here finished is the 'my so called scarf' knit in a lovely manos del uruguay wool. It was a lovely pattern to knit and is very soft - just perfect for a cold wet summer's day!


And here is my haul from the Craft Fair yesterday - more grey but this time some llama wool from Becks over at Yarnsmith.co.uk.



And here is some felted soap which Becks made, I couldn't resist and it smells divine (too lovely to use, so it is perfuming my stash at the moment). You will be able to find it at Becks shop over at Yarnsmith.co.uk soon.

I don't know how I missed photographing the llama as they were sooo beautiful but if you go over to http://www.melfordgreenalpacas.co.uk/  you can see them there.

I got a newsletter today in my email from Yarnsmith in which Becks says she has started a new blog over at http://blog.yarnsmith.co.uk/ . When I took a look at her new blog this morning she mentioned that she would be at the Country Fair at Heveningham Hall today. Well, as my daughter and I were at a loose end today we decided to drive out to Suffolk for a day out in such typical British style. As you can see the Hall is magnificent:

The hotdogs irresistible:

Especially enjoyed with a magnificent view and a military band playing and marching:

Of course there were the extremely handsome Suffolk Punches with their straw plaited manes:

How lovely is this:

A grey and white guinea pig (oh we so wanted one of those):

In the walled garden strolling around whilst some had their tea with another band playing:

There are not too many of these curved walls left (neither I nor my sweet daughter with her degree in garden restoration and design could remember the correct name for this type of wall) (later edit: 'cinckle-crankle' designed by Capability Brown):

There was even a softly, romantic sea of cornflowers in a mini wild meadow:

Beautiful outbuildings to sit under with a locally made icecream:

An orangery:

The chance for a helicopter ride to view the estate:

Outside the orangery - ah! that's where they got their icecreams:

Back later for the next Punch & Judy show:

Time to wend our way home passing all the newly sheared sheep sheltering under the trees:

Tomorrow I'll show you the lovely yarn I bought from Becks stall.

I don't believe in diets - especially not yarn diets. Warning: for those of you with weak dispositions, the following journal entry contains explicit yarn photos.

 

This lovely cotton is soon to become a Japanese inspired Jekka bag.

And here we have the makings of a new scarf ...

 

A Louisa Harding hat...

 

A lavender pillow/reading cushion....



Some new needles on which to knit some of said things, of course.


Here is how the pillow is supposed to turn out:


Oh and this stainless steel wool from Habu which is cast on already for yet another scarf.


And speaking of Habu, this is the yarn I've cast on for Neptune by Skiff:


It is combined with this wool, also from Habu:


It's looking good so far...but then again so are the other four things I've cast on recently and am working on each as I feel like.
 

What a lovely hobby knitting is. Thank goodness for my ipod nano which keeps me company with podcasts about - yes, you guessed, knitting or maybe an audio book about - yes, you guessed again, knitting. Anyway must away know or my quota for today will not be completed.

Hope you are enjoying whatever your hobbies are too.

Yesterday, 17 June, we celebrated our thirtieth wedding anniversary.

 

Thrice happy they who through lie's varied tide
With equal pace and gentle motion glide, 
Whom, though the wave of fortune sinks or swells, 
One reason governs and one wish impels, 
Whose cumulation is to love the best, 
Who feels no bliss but in each other blest, 
Who knows no pleasure but the joys they give 
Nor cease to love but when they cease to live. 
If fate these blessings in one lot combine, 
Then let th'eternal page record them mine. (extract from poem by Thomas Blacklock)

 

Have you got time to come for a walk with Friday? Great follow us.... 






















 

That was fun, thanks for your company.

Out take:
 
Yes, it was very wet and slippery (one minute my subject was nicely framed, then the next all that was left was an arm in the air).

 
::summer nectarine cakes::donna hay:: summer issue #25::

Made with eggwhites, a very little butter and ground almonds, these little cakes were made in a jiffy and eaten warm from the oven.

Scrummy.

This week was the annual Suffolk Show. My daughter and I decided to go along. We had the longest journey ever to get there. It should have taken no more than half an hour but because of an overturned lorry took us two hours. The upside was that as two ditsy women in a small green car decorated with butterflies we toured the English countryside in beautiful sunshine - taking in the picturesque village of Dedham - twice and then joining the motorway not far from where we had left it. Oh well, it was her fault, definitely (I bet she has said it was mine over on her facebook!). 

And, yes, you have guessed it - as soon as we got into the showground it rained - hard! Even so, here are some views of what we saw at the Show - Enjoy:


























 

 All that rain meant that my dressage competition was cancelled as the indoor school was flooded. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Ravelry (Ravelry.com) Knitting Community can find my project on Thistledown's page.

At last, I finished this lovely wrap over cardigan called Arisaig. It was a free pattern from Knitty.com and designed by the Scottish designer Isolda. It was a fairly straightforward pattern but because it needed my concentration and because it was a dark yarn I found it could only be worked on when the conditions were right.

That said it fits well, is going to be very useful as it can be used all year round and is very flattering. I knitted it in Rowanspun 4 ply tweed which is much softer to wear than I thought it would be.

Now...I've got some new knitting books on order so there should be another project to look forward to soon.

What to do on a dismally wet day - indoor gardening, of course. If you have time have a browse with me through some lovely gardening books.

To start, a collection of modern gardening books. In and Out of the Garden is a delightful collection of drawings by Sarah Midda. Then the Potting Shed Papers by Charles Elliott is an American 'honorary' Englishman whose collection of essays are brilliantly written and observed. On then to A Gentle Plea for Chaos by Mirabel Osler is another collection of shrewdly observed essays on gardening life. Then the wonderful Flora Poetica edited by Sarah Maguire (whose introduction is well worth a read)  a collection of poems about flora - just delightful. Finally, Peonies by Jane Fearnley Wittingstall is the story of the peony with wonderful pictures and planting ideas. Next is a collection of antique gardening books which restore the spirits even on a disgusting day like today. See what you think when we peek inside:



Even the typeset is a delight,

as are the legends and

what could be more enchanting than to find someone's notes tucked inside telling you what they like and dislike. A lesson in not being so precious with one's books as your own little pencilled in notes will be nectar to a future reader like me.

The plans look hand generated - would they be put together by a computer programme today and so loose some of the individuality of each illustrator's style?

How formally dressed he seems to us now.

Yes, there is the wife waiting at the door, supper on the beautifully laid table - everything fresh from the garden. No wonder marriages are not lasting too long these day's when our roles are so blurred (yes, I am joshing).

So charming, someone has sat on a rainy day like this and hand-painted the illustrations.

A book from the Red Cross Library - health and safety probably don't allow this any more.

My oldest gardening book, how lovely would it be to have tracing paper inserts to protect images in our books today. Although I have to say that some of my children's books with their amazing inserts (letters, birthday cards etc) show how lucky we are with what we can achieve now.

An invalid has perhaps gone through the book pencilling in notes and page numbers whilst on the road to recovery.
 
Teaching children to garden - well it still goes on.
 

The blogging of it's day really, here is a collection of the thoughts and observations of one lady and her garden - much better done than my feeble effort.

Starting with a poem she has written and finishing with another to her beloved pet pug (the edges of the pages are so because they had to be torn apart by hand).
 
 
Well, there is so much to inspire but it is still raining outside......

A quick look at the Mint in my garden



 

From the top: apple mint, spearmint, variegated applemint and 'Alopercuroides' Bowles' mint.

Minthe was a nymph beloved by Pluto according to Greek mythology. She was turned into a plant by Pluto's jealous wife. Thank goodness she did because this is one of the most useful and flavoursome herbs. 

There are so many variations of mints and these are just a few found in my garden on Saturday morning. 

You can dry, freeze or infuse leaves in oil or vinegar to preserve them but I just love picking them to smell or throwing a handful in a drained pot of boiled new potatoes with some butter and covering with a tea towel so that everything is infused together.

You can make sauces, vinegars, syrups and teas with them. You can grow them near roses to ward off aphids. You can rub on a new beehive to attract bees. Use dried leaves in pot pourri or scatter pennyroyal leaves in cupboards to deter ants.

Best of all you can put a sprig in your jug of Pimm's in the hope that summer weather will return soon - see next post.

 

(This is Jordan warming up for a dressage test last month)

Jo's Monty was lame and so she decided to ride Cherry one of the riding school horses instead. It was a really pleasant day and so we went into the outdoor school which has a lovely surface which the horses seem to enjoy (see above). Well, not knowing Cherry, Jo decided to see how she would respond to being asked for a little speed. After a good gallop round the school, Jo decided that this was going to be a lot of fun. 

Midnight and I were quietly working on getting ourselves straight and started working on the exercises we were doing last week: riding squares away from the support of the 'wall' around the school and half-halting before turning, using the outside leg. It was going well. Midnight came down into a lovely outline and a really good trot.

Back to Jo who by now had found Cherry's true colours - not dissimilar to Monty's really - no steam. It had become just as hard work for Jo as usual and so in an unusual situation we both used the same schooling areas but were working on completely different exercises. All in all it was a very enjoyable and interesting way to work and gave us a much needed lesson in how to warm up at dressage competitions when you have to share the school with lots of others all working on their own things. Hope it works on the night.

I thought it might be interesting to have a potter round my garden


 

There is always plenty of weeding to keep us occupied.

 

And there is no mistaking where our garden is this month. You will see as you pass by on the road this lovely red flowering hawthorn. So don't be shy - come on in......



So first I have a little quiz. What flower do you suppose this is above?



To give you some idea of scale, here it is against my hand.


 

Nope, not a rose but a gigantic appleblossom. I think this needs to go in a record book. I wonder if there will be giant fruit to follow?

Next time you have time to visit the garden, we'll have a look at some herbs, shall we?

Sometimes you've just got to give in to your inner child:










 

Does that look like fun, or what? See those torpedo lights, those pink and green tyres! My Petro Zillia I got for Christmas will be seen this summer cruising around the island with no particular place to go.

And in case you were wondering the title is a reference to this:



(As I could not find any copyright information I hope it is alright to show this image here)