Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether summer clothe the general earth
With greeness, or the redbreast sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch
Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
Or if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silent icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.



Sunday, March 25, 2007

An Enjoyable Weekend




The weekend in question is not the current one but March 17th and 18th which so far I haven't written about. The two photos above show the gifts and cards I received from my three children on Mothers Day which was last Sunday in the UK. Flowers from Neil and Ces and Jules and Matt and chocolates from Steve and Hannah.
Saturday was the day that L and I went off to London to the Country Living Spring Fair with the usual First Class travel and breakfast on the train. It's a day of self indulgence for us and we enjoy ourselves immensely, though by the time we stagger back onto the train again in the early evening we are in a state of near collapse! L's daughter, who lives in London, met us for lunch - which in my case consisted of salmon and smoked salmon with a salad, this was followed by a lovely pear and almond tart - delicious:)
These are some of the things I bought this time and I blush to admit that they were all for me except for this


a cute little T-shirt for Kaitlyn.



L assured me that any fool can relace deckchair canvas so I bought enough of this to spruce up my two deckchairs for the summer! The background colour is a pale green, it doesn't show up that well in the photo but it's all in what I call ice cream colours.


I couldn't resist this book, it has projects in it that even I feel I could manage!


A hand thrown salt pig - I love the green glaze and the rustic look of it. It's from a pottery in Canterbury who do other nice things in the same glaze and some of them may well find their way into my kitchen eventually I think:)


Another mug to go with the one I bought at the Christmas Fair, I find it hard to resist anything with hens on:)


This is a lovely Crown Derby teacup and saucer dating from 1925, used as a candle holder but I bought it for the lovely flower design. There were two and L bought the other one - we often buy the same things though in many areas our tastes are very different. The weather in London was nice too though at home in Yorkshire they had a horrid wet and windy day - this was followed by an equally horrid grey, damp,miserable week and it was wonderful to finally see the sun break through again yesterday afternoon.

15 comments:

Lynda (Granny K) said...

Lucky Rowan!! Glad you enjoyed yourself. One of these days i'm going to make it to one of the shows. We can fly down from Bpool on Ryan air very cheaply, providing we book in good time. The flight goes to Stansted and their is a shuttle train.

I need orange said...

It's lovely to take a trip like that with a friend. Especially with a bit of shopping thrown in!

I always wonder if it's "too much trouble" before I go, but I'm almost always very glad I went.

Janet said...

I've been away again and come back to see all these wonderful goodies you found on your trip. Plus those flowers at the beginning of the post are just beautiful! I especially like the very last tea cup/candle....the pattern and colors are so pretty.

rel said...

Rowan,
I'm cautiously optomistic, that the drugs have put me back in my proper place.
It sounds like you had a perfectly wonderful Mother's Day, (beautiful fleurs). Good for you to make some purchase for Rowan. She is a most deserving soul if ever there was one! That salt pig took my eye. That's not a "girly" as the other things you picked up. ;-)
Even though those excursions can be exhausting, somehow they also seem to rejuvenate.
Have a great day...hope your sun is shining!
rel

Anonymous said...

Sounds wonderful - I'm glad you enjoyed your day :)

peppylady (Dora) said...

Never know what one may learn of blogs.
If I keep on reading different blogs I may find out about all types of celebration on Mothers Day world wide.

What beautiful things you got in London. I only can image taking a train on trip.
In my area their no real mass transit system here.

Naturegirl said...

Happy belated Mothers Day! Ours here in Canada is in May! Oh you did find some lovely treasures! I so love the salt pig..I have several with different salts in each! There are such a variety of salts in the gourmet stores!Have a great week! Hugs NG

Anonymous said...

Oh your flowers and gifts are lovely! I have 3 sons ages 14, 12, and 7 and look forward to Mothers day too. Here in the US Mothers day is on May 13th.

Sheila said...

Belated Happy Mothers Day Rowan.
The trip sounds like fun, and I enjoyed looking at your purchases.
I have so many china cups and saucers that I never use, it gives me an idea..perhaps to make them into candle holders and give as gifts. Do let us know if you make any of the crafts in your new book.
I will return your email soon..xx

Ragged Roses said...

Sounds like you had a great time and you bought some lovely things too! you must have been very tired at the end of it.
Kim x

Gypsy Purple said...

What a lovely blog you have...enjoyed my time here!!

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous day out - I'm distinctly envious! You bought some beautiful things too - the little green glazed salt pig looks very Medieval.

Anonymous said...

Hi Rowan,
Sounds like you had a really nice weekend both at home and in London. I really must get to that fair one year and I love the way you travel in style.

kate said...

What a fun trip that must have been! There is something about taking a train that makes any trip special ... and you bought some lovely things. I like the Crown Derby ... very pretty!

Betty said...

Your treasures are all beautiful and useful as well. A garden show is always rewarding....

I thoroughly enjoyed your previous post with the gorgeous pictures of your flowers....