miss marie's miscellany

Sparkling

Fun with sparklers at Sunday night's bonfire party!

Bulbs and gardens

Yesterday  was another sun-filled day, and I went with my sister to Greenbank Garden, for a bulb fair, and a good look round this beautiful garden. The bulb fair was good,with all the usual spring flowers, with lots of different varieties. We both indulged in a little purchasing!

The Greenbank Garden is a National Trust property, in a quiet leafy area of Glasgow. It's set in between woodland and fields, and is a walled garden with a lovely mixture of formal and less structured planting.I visited once before in spring 2008, before things had really started blooming, which was still enjoyable, but it was more lush and colourful this time. The first thing we saw was this buddleia festooned with butterflies and bees; there must have been at least 4 of these butterflies!

There is an elegant Georgian house at the front of the garden which isn't open to the public, a shame as the views of the garden from inside must be lovely. 

Shades of Jane Austen!

Once we'd crossed this immaculate lawn in front of the house, we saw this gate inviting us into the walled garden

It really is a garden of delights, so much to see. Paths lead you round the garden

This one was lined with bamboos, which swished in the gentle breeze

There's some interesting topiary - I love the snail and the dog!

Lots of flowers of course

Some beautiful tall thistles

and teasels

This lovely water nymph fountain was hidden away behind a hedge  - only the sound of the fountain guides you to it

We both loved this sheep having a nap in the shade

There are plentiful benches to sit and take in the view- I liked this arbour with rose design

  

Exotic flowers and plants in the glasshouse

There are some autumnal touches here and there adding to the rainbow of colours

Wonderful to sit and feel the sun on your face and look at the blue sky

I'm so glad to have visited this garden when it looked so lovely, and to enjoy it with my dear sister. It was a real shot in the arm for us both; sunshine, flowers, shopping and tea and scones, that's got to be a winning combination!

July collages

It's been a lovely month, holidays, flowers galore in the garden, happy times spent with people dear to me. So many photos too; I counted them up, 650 photos, phew! So after much deliberation, here's the best of my July.

Last days of summer

 Some good times from the end of the holiday, spent in Liverpool. A Sunday visit to another beach in Formby, just a couple of miles north of the statues from the last post. This beach is next to some gorgeous pinewoods, which normally we'd have had a stroll in; but we didn't want to miss the sunshine!  The day was just perfect for sitting on the beach feeling the sand between your toes

Watching a windsurfer

Looking at the clouds-very unusual stripy cloud formation

Flying a kite

Also, a Monday trip into Liverpool to the Albert dock and the Tate gallery to see the Colour Chart exhibition on just now, which was good to see; I feel more enlightened about the concepts which go into making pieces of art using media I wouldn't always expect to be used in an 'art' exhibition. This was a girls' outing so we had to include a trip to the posh cafe for a naughty but nice cream tea!

Whilst we girls were being culture vultures, the boys went off for something exciting. It was my nephew E's 11th birthday, so as a treat they went for a cruise on an amphibious vehicle called the Yellow Duckmarine,  Here it is approaching

And it's out of the water

It's safe to say they were very excited and enjoyed it immensely! 

Pizza and birthday cake afterwards!

 

Yorkshire days 4

A visit to Newby Hall and Gardens near Ripon. There's so much to see here I hardly know where to start!

Wonderful gardens, the centrepiece and star attraction being the long borders in front of the house

The gardens are set out in 'rooms', set to each side of the main border

Here is Sylvia's Garden, a peaceful haven, named after the current owner's grandmother, and the Rose garden

                                                                                            

Other lovely sections of the garden included a rock garden, autumn garden, white garden, tropical garden, 2 lakes and a lily pond.

Delightful to walk around discovering yet more variety and beauty.

There were many lovely flowers, but this sumptuous gladioli was the winner of the day for me

A lake with weeping willows and black swans

An adventure playground with swings and slides, boats and bridges and this funky fountain to dodge under

and a miniature railway

A sculpture park in the woodland outside the gardens

Another visiting sculpture exhibition of work by Zimbabwean sculptors

All of the sculptures were for sale; much as I loved some of the works, my wallet just isn't full enough to purchase something so monumental; admiration is all I can manage.

The coffee and home baking in the cafe was delicious, and I'm told by the 3 little ice-cream connoisseurs I was with that the ice cream was great too!

This was my favourite place by miles visited on this holiday; we were the last people to leave, so it's safe to say we had a great time.

.....something for everyone and much to enchant and delight.

Yorkshire days

On holiday in Yorkshire, and having a great time. We're spending the week in a lovely old farmhouse, complete with hens in the garden

who provide us with lovely fresh eggs

So far we have been on a trip on the Embsay Steam railway; here's the engine changing ends

And the train waiting at the beautifully kept station at Embsay.

We visited the Bolton Abbey estate; what a fantastic place, so much beautiful countryside to walk around and enjoy

We took a canal cruise 

Whilst we were on the barge, lots of ducks came alongside wanting food. Amongst all the birds, we saw this swan and her cygnets.

Rainy days ahead....... more on that tomorrow.

Sunday castle

A family outing to Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. 

We started with a picnic by the loch next to the castle

Then off to explore.

The palace is ruined,and has no roof, but you still get a sense of the grandeur of its hayday. Very impressive!

 In the entrance courtyard  was this magnificent fountain,with its lifelike carvings. 

This can be seen in full flow in the summer, which would be quite a sight.

Lots of nooks and crannies to discover

You could fit plenty of bubbling cauldrons in the this fireplace!

The ceiling of the wine cellar.

When we were in here, deep in the depths of the building, the sound of the wind outside was hugely magnified, sounding very much like a ghostly woman moaning, which amused all the adults and spooked all the children! Or perhaps it was the other way round!?

The view from the top

The climb up many stairs and the slight touch of vertigo were worth it to see this.

 

And a walk by the loch, to finish off a lovely day.

  

Perfect Perthshire Python

Yesterday, I took a trip out with my sister A and her family to Doune Castle in Perthshire. We were so lucky with the weather, glorious sunshine and blue skies for the whole day, and  it was a treat to have such a lovely afternoon  to enjoy this beautiful 14th century castle and grounds. 

The castle was used to shoot some scenes in the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", which explained why there were people shouting various lines from the film, and much memorabilia to buy in the shop. I even thought I heard someone banging 2 coconuts together, but I must have imagined it! 

We enjoyed a picnic by the river.

And a little sun-bathing, whilst enjoying the beautiful view.

Then a good look around the castle.

It has a labyrinth of passageways and stairs, and gives an insight into what it must have been like to live in such a building. The doorways were so low and the stairs so narrow it felt a little claustrophobic to us all. But there was a real sense of history too. All the people who had walked where we were walking, centuries before us. 

The boys boldly climbed all the way to the top of the battlements, but A and I were delicate damsels and wimped out half way up the stairs, retiring to solid ground and a bench with an ice cream!

There had been a wedding earlier in this room, the Great Hall.

What a romantic venue!

A grand day out.

Weekend collection

A whole weekend off, that's a rare treat. On Thursday evening, I felt so tired I thought I'd spend it lying in a dark room, but by Friday morning I was up to speed again thankfully. Here are my highlights:

1) A couple of long lie-ins, much needed! So nice to be able to turn over and go back to sleep!

2) Curling up with a good book

3) A new houseplant

I think it is a Christmas cactus!

4) Feeding sister no.1's cats

Tullulah and Chloe!

5) A lovely meal with friends

They brought me a present to add to the collection of hearts!

6) Crochet

This is my latest project, more of which later in the week.

7) A trip to Edinburgh armed with Easter eggs and flowers to visit  sister no.2, brother-in-law and 2 little nephews.

8) Lots of gardening.

I spent 3 afternoons digging for victory, so I think I deserved the following!

9) 

Well, it's not Easter without a bit of chocolate!

Hope you all had fun too, dear readers!

Learning to crochet

Having been a devotee of several blogs which feature crochet for a while now, I thought, rather than sit here cluelessly thinking how lovely it looks, that I should learn how to do it. I can knit pretty well, so how different can it be, I thought. Hmm. Off I went and bought a couple of hooks, a couple of books. Plenty of wool in the house, from my knitting projects, this should be a doddle

 

My confidence didn't last long, in fact, it was well and truly dampened..... after starting and stopping and starting again, I couldn't get it at all. The patterns were written in a strange language, which was incomprehensible to me. Much grumpiness ensued. Feeling daunted, I mentioned to my mum that I was trying to teach myself, but was having no luck. She came to the rescue, as mums usually do. She has a friend who can crochet who is happy to show us both how it's done! Marvellous! Off I went the other night to Mum's house, and after half an hour round the kitchen table, I was finishing off my first square. It looked a bit uneven, but  it wasn't too bad at all. 

 I have practised every day since then, and I think( and hope) that I have improved!  I found a tutorial for crochet flowers at the wonderful Attic 24, and here are my first attempts in all their modest glory.

They've multiplied!

I also found this tutorial for hearts

 

It may look far from perfect, but it makes me feel really happy that I've fathomed out the mechanics of how crochet works. And I understand the patterns!  

So, I bought this little stash of goodies at the weekend, and I hope to be able to show new (and vastly improved) fruits of my labour at a later date. Soon.