Biirthday Musings

It is Friday once more and although the warmth of yesterday has gone, the sunshine hiding a little behind the thickening cloud, the day still has that special feel. I do so love Friday and the promise of the weekend ahead.

I have to admit that this weekend may well not be the relaxing one I would hope for as Lucy is having a birthday sleepover. The Big Day itself is not until the eighth (next Tuesday) when she will enter the world of the teenager, but this weekend will be one of giggles and pizza and chocolate brownies; a weekend of make up and making lotions, of cinema and popcorn; a weekend where I must hold on to my annoyance when trying to sleep to the tune of squealing girls...hmm, pass the wine already.

It does seem that birthdays go on for ever now - she said in the voice of an old and eeyorish maid - with weekends being the appointed time for sleepovers and the actual birthday involving a tea with guests in the form of grannies and friends too er... well, old really, for the weekend do. I would add that in my book to be not a teenager and therefore 'too old' is in this case considered a Good Thing!

Of course, we could make life a little easier for ourselves. We never did the party bag thing when the older children were tiny and the notion first came in partly because I always felt that the whole point of the party was to celebrate the birthday child not to seemingly reward children for turning up, but mostly because there was never any money to spare for the extras this would entail. I know things can be made for very little, but this has always entailed time and time is always precious when you have a spread of ages from baby upwards as was the case.

A slice of homemade cake and a balloon would be packed off with each child, me dreading the inevitable cry of 'but where's my party bag' from the little one on the verge of tears as its mother hustled it out the door. And of course, this meant more awkwardness when my own children would receive a bag at the parties they attended in return. What of my notions of celebrating the birthday child then?

I have never sorted this one out and actually quite like the idea as the years roll on, but feel what was done for one - albeit XXX years ago - must in turn be done for the rest, and so it is still a piece of cake, still homemade, still a balloon on a piece of string that they leave with.

And now Lucy is older? Well, the pizza and brownies, chocolate muffins and birthday cake are always made by us, but it is what the children request. They love my very thin, messily floppy tomato-topping-down-your-shirt style of garlicky pizza it seems. They love making beauty potions with Davey (who makes THE most gorgeous lotions and bath things, by the by) and eating his oozingly gorgeous chocolate birthday cake.

It would be so nice to just open some packets for once and throw it all in the oven. Ahh, but I can dream....

as I make up yet another batch of brownies and slug back another glass of the red stuff.

(P.S. I love it really!) x

A Little Look at Autumn.

Autumn in Cornwall hasn't been what I was hoping for so far. Where many of you have had glorious sunshine and hot, hot days we have been experiencing damp, sometimes muggy, sometimes really chilly weather. As some of you say though, it does give an excuse to light the fire - not that I ever need one. And there is beauty to be found even in the dankest of days.



Beautiful seed heads have an almost structural quality to them



which I translate into my handmade covered notebooks



Raindrops catch the fading light and hang from every surface.



Hard to tell these soggy flower tops were once the childlike flowers of feverfew - dainty daisies dancing in the breeze, now reduced to a static display of decay.



All around are the things which give me ideas for my work particularly at this time of year. I somehow relate to autumn more than any other season, though I find things I love in them all. I like having a little reminder like this lavender cushion so that I can enjoy it all without always having to get wet to do so!



When I see such beautiful things in nature it inspires so many ideas which is why I capture them in photographs. These often become a separate art form which inspires me as the lens takes up the shadows and highlights, offering a new image from the one I originally saw. Having these cards in my sewing room is a quick means of having a reference point for me.



There are still plenty of blackberries around, though I doubt they will be there much longer if this picture is anything to go by. See the pretty calyx left by the dropped berry; it almost looks like a flower in own right.



No matter, I will be able to look at these instead in the darker months and know their time will come again.



I picked up these windfalls this morning when feeding the ducks and collected up a pile of wood from the woodshed to use on the fire tonight. I have plans for a lovely roaring fire to accompany my knitting.



Isabella has plans to help me make another plum, apple and blackberry crumble. This one had a sprinkling of cinnamon and a goodly slug of our homemade plum gin to help it on its way.



Yes, even a grey day can be beautiful.



What are your plans tonight? x

A First Outing.

Our first trip out on the Mermaid today; here she sits in all her slightly grubby, slightly dishevelled beauty waiting for us to come aboard. Please excuse the not-so-very-good photos; I'm afraid I just clicked away rather than actually considering what the outcome was!



Miss Isabella had a slight twinge of nerves as the reality of a rocking boat sank in as we clambered onto our bench and insisted she needed to go home...didn't last more than about a minute and the rest of the time was pretty much as you can see here!



I, of course, was away with the fairies dreaming of all the coves we can explore (once we get a little outboard engine as rowing is not the quickest way to cross the harbour and sails don't appeal when it is as busy as it was today) and all the picnics on tucked away beaches.



Dear Mr Davey, was in his element



I feel I may have some competition here...hmm, that wasn't on the agenda. Luckily, Dave isn't one of those people who wants to talk endlessly about the ins and outs of boating or wants to spend forever tinkering about with the blooming thing leaving me at home all weekend because 'it has to be done'.



No for us Mermaid, though lovely, is intended for fun: sailing with the children, rowing around our beautiful rivers, going on picnics in new, hidden places and generally having a good time.



And I do truly promise not to bore you with endless talk of her either, but for now please indulge me!



Isabella found the sea air gave her an appetite.



And Lucy-Lu has a big smile on her face throughout despite a pounding headache that the fresh air could only help a little.



We pootled around the harbour searching out all the names of the other boats and watching the cows in the fields bordering the water from a different angle to usual.



Yes, all in all, it was a good first outing.



A hungry child waiting to row home for tea.



Off to eat the enormous stew & dumplings I made ready for our return and to spend the evening knitting by the fire, glass of wine to hand. Till next time, dear Mermaid



Oh and before I go, look what arrived here on Friday: a fantastic gift from our fabulous, lovely, just brilliant friend Diana. She is such a thoughtful person and we were both very touched by this gift. The River Cottage Handbooks are so well written and even the introduction by the god that is Hugh was enough to make me want to get going, thoughts of delicious meals making my mouth water as I read. Fishing is such great fun (well, we think so anyway). Thank you sweetie and looking forward to taking you fishing some time soon! x



What did you get up to today? x

New Pipany products!

Oh I am so excited! I have finally, after sooo much procrastination and uhmming and ahhing and basically doing anything I could to avoid it, put my new stationery range onto my pipany website. At last!



It was a job and a half I must say, but I am so thrilled with the look of them in all their cheeriness that I can't quite think why I didn't get them done much sooner.



The range contains both cards & postcards and are all taken from my photographic images of the things I see around my Cornish home. These are the things which inspire me and feed into many of my designs for my products. Things such as this..



and this..



The cards are available to buy either individually or in sets of three and have been left blank inside for you to add your own message. The cards come in four sets: autumn Fruits, Seeds & Grasses, Skies and River Views



while the postcards have an additional two themes - Cornwall and Seashore - and come in sets of 5.



And of course, as with everything else in my shop, postage is free to the UK! Oh dear, I sound like a very bad salesman..



I will be changing the range fairly frequently as my camera finds new things to grab me on my travels, things I want to share in the hope that you may love them too.



I won't show all the range here as it would spoil the fun, but I would love it if you could pop over and let me know what you think (please be gentle!).



Now I need a strong cup of tea and a biscuit! Have a great day x

(P.s. Kate, Diana has booted me up the proverbial and there will be an email full of mortification winging its way to you later today...sigh x)

What I Haven't Done.

Oh where are the days going? There are so many things I feel I am not getting to, so many things I can see that need doing. For example, I haven't potted up the sweet peas bought in such anticipation weeks ago. They sit on the courtyard sneering every time I pass by, darn things.



(Look away all ye of a nervous and fragile disposition).
I haven't cleared our drive which now acts as a dumping ground for all that should be placed in a skip. It is hidden from view until I open the gate ... which I do every time I head off to my sewing room. (I am shaming myself in the hope of producing action on my behalf).



While we're about it, allow me to introduce you to our garage, another 'job' pending. Hopefully we are tackling this in the summer holidays, because otherwise I think it will take over the entire house!



On a more aesthetically pleasing note, I would like to show you a little of the fabric I bought in a charity shop: 4 metres of this gorgeous silky lawn mix which is similar to a Liberty lawn and could well be Liberty lawn. I bought all four flowing metres for £5.00. Yes, enough to make floaty tops and skirts or to just drape beguilingly along with



another floaty fabric in a beautiful shade of green which isn't apparent from my hasty photo. The pattern is wonderful too and would make the most lovely of tea dresses (I love the thought of a tea dress somehow as it conjours up images of dainty china and daintier-still cucumber sandwiches alongside pretty piles of iced cakes on cake stands).



A wonderful eight metres of fabric for just £10.00. Just too perfect but all I have managed is to gaze at it and sigh with longing at the idea of making something lovely to wear. Soon I hope. I also hope I'll remember to make time to enjoy these pretty dog roses and their soft fragrance; so ephemeral like the flowers themselves, here one second, gone the next.



I want to stroll along the river banks and soak up the peace



Ahh, I can see the sparkly waters in my mind as the ripples flicker in the bright sun.



And I wish I would make myself pick up my knitting in the evenings, though it seems that lethargy creeps over me before I realise it, stealing life from my legs and rendering me little more than a partially comatose rendition of my former self! Sorry Davey, you'll have to wait a little longer for your jumper (well, I ask you...fourteen balls of wool indeed!).



But perhaps most of all, I WILL get around to putting my latest addition of my pipany range up on my website so that I can show you my sets of cards and postcards, all made from prints of the various photographs I take and put on here, and now selling (nearly) as a result of all the kind and lovely comments I receive from many of you suggesting I do so.



There, I have said it and now action will have to follow - after all, tomorrow is another day! x