I saw one ship...

The tide is turning

Like most people, I'm looking back on the year and reflecting. There's been too much drama, not enough laughter and sometimes it's just been a blur.

But the year is ending on a much more positive footing and I can't wait for a new beginning.

Those of you expecting a Christmas card from me (in vain) I'm sorry; you'll understand why when we speak. I'll find you all in 2010 and make up for it.

On this cold December day, stay warm, stay healthy and stay in touch!

Square Eyes

That winter project, 2"X2".

Fleeting

Autumn, flies by. It seems like it has only just arrived and already the leaves I'd planned to photo are on the ground. So, this is Autumn colour 2008. With an arty twist courtesy of some basic photoshopping.

The weather is a mixed bag so my winter project is well underway and now I crave a wet & windy day for the excuse to do nothing but sit & sew. That said, we are sofa-less at the moment, and neither armchair is affording me the comfort to sit for hours. Oh I hate to say it, but roll on December, when the humungous 4 seater arrives!

If anyone out there still reads my nonsense, please drop by and say hello. It's been a busy few months as ever and finding the time, not to mention inspiration, to post anything has been, well, non-existent. I really appreciate the care & detail others seem to cram in and am always in awe of other people's creativity and humour. Check out a few of my favourites listed to the right.

Hot 'n' Spicy

Well, some long overdue sunshine brought out the crowds at this weekend's Chilli Fiesta, here at the beautiful West Dean Gardens in Sussex. Man, it was packed, so packed in fact it took us 30 mins to find the car afterwards, the car park seeming to have quadrupled in size whilst we were visiting.

Whilst I didn't take a camera today, these pics were taken about a month ago at a less busy show at the gardens. The greenhouses are just stunning; I have a thing for Victorian greenhouses and want one of my own one day (replete with Victorian gardener perhaps, a la Lady Chatterley?)

Anyway, that's enough hot 'n' spicy for you. Isn't the neat row of pots (all full of different chilli varieties) just adorable?

I've been busy trying to get some gardening of my own done this year (you'll remember I have two four-legged handicaps). Some successes, some failures but it's a complete addiction and I have my eye on a scrappy corner of the garden that is soon to become a raised bed and composter. Unlike Farmgirl Susan, for me I grow most of my veg in the front, and if you saw how small that is, you'd wonder why I bother. The hardest part is learning what plants become completely rampant (baby pumpkins, courgettes) and knowing when to only try a few seeds. Check out Susan for some invaluable tips, she's absolutely right but she's got 240 acres, so a little more room to go mad!

Anyway, here's some more of those fabulous gardens - do check it out if you're ever down this way.

P.S. Some of you may have been experiencing problems loading this site, apologies, I think the offending widget was Radio Betty which has been consigned to file 13.

Pandora the prize-winning pig

Congratulations Suzy & Stu!! Want to see more pork? Click here & here.

Morning Glory

5 Years Old today!

And still a couple of scamps...remember this? And this? Or this? Apologies for the grainy quality of this shot; as you can see, from an early age, these two needed locking up - a quick trip to the hardware outlet saw us creating these makeshift pens from aviary panels in an attempt to let the little ones enjoy part of the garden but without destroying it.

Oh how wrong could we be?

Six months on and this is what remained of the lawn (number one, oh yes, a second was laid and destroyed before the year was out). See that pile of twigs top left? Mmmm, tasty lavender. To be followed by rosemary, jersey lillies (not a good move) and well, pretty much anything green. It all became a sea of mud pretty quick.

Ah but, that was soooo long ago. And all is forgotten. Happy Birthday boys.

Been gathering up pics & thoughts in my blogging 'down' time. Those aviary panels came in handy this Spring - updates to follow as & when I get round to it. P.S. Does anyone want any new music on Radio Betty. Time for a change maybe. Your suggestions are always welcome.

Gone but not forgotten

A lovely horse is always an experience.... It is an emotional experience of the kind that is spoiled by words. ~Beryl Markham

Time Out

Tired of scratching around for inspiration & in desperate need of a new laptop (aaaargh!). Taking some time off from blogging. Back in a while.

Roberto Formaggi

Or cheesy-bob to you & me. OK, probably just my sister and I then.

I recalled our nickname for the common wood louse this week whilst chatting at work. I was convinced someone would know what I meant but they all gave me that look reserved for the village idiot.

When I told my sister tonight though, she said it was 'our' name for the little bugs. How did we come by the moniker? We can't remember. But it has passed into our family's folklore.

Do you have a name for something known only to your family?

Oh, and I had no cheesy-bob photos (how weird do you think I am?), but instead this brightly coloured Italian bug. Answers on a postcard please.

Career tips - part one

Well over a month since posting - if I have any readers left, please forgive me.

Don't remember where I picked this up from, but it always makes me laugh. And we all need that don't we?

Pig of a Week

First of all, I must credit a much more professional photographer for this shot, whose name I don't know (Suzy you must tell me so I can list the credit). If you are a regular on these pages though, you will have encountered these prize-winning pigs before and you'll know I have a rather soft spot for them. See more of them here, here & here.


Every week it seems, is another busy week - but I know plenty of people working harder than ever for what seems like, less & less - I am not alone.

In the early days of creating this blog, I had plenty of outdoor photo opps, but since selling Bunny, weekends seem entirely taken up on, well....other things. So the blogging has all but ground to a halt. And, at this time of the year, evenings are a write off. Too much tv.

As an aside.....

Why do husbands always leave the room with the tv on a channel/programme you can't stand, when you've just got comfortable, laptop on lap (where else?) and the tv remote is 10 feet away?

Anyway, I can't remember the last time I wrote from the top of my head, so apologies if I'm a bit random. It maaaaay be the vino consumed over dinner.

"Pour me another one hon whilst you are in the kitchen."

Mustn't grumble, life is good. January (surely the bleakest month) is nearly through, the tax bill is paid (even if someone else is now owed), we are fed & watered and I for one am looking forward to those loooong summer days.

Hypnotic

http://vimeo.com/1309452

And tell me you don't end up humming it all day.

Peace on Earth

Time to wish all my friends & family, 'virtual' or otherwise a Merry Christmas and as always, give thanks for reaching this point in the year in good health if not always, good mind. But, I count my blessings and hope you & yours have reasons to be grateful also.

In lieu of having anything decent to say, below is my absolute favourite poem. I can't remember if I posted this last year, if so I make no apology. And whilst the theme is bleak (google it if you want an academic take on it's meaning), it paints a different, more superficial image in my mind.

And what would Christmas be, without superficiality?

Merry Christmas one and all. Love from Betty.

Whose woods these are I think I know,

His house is in the village though.

He will not see me stopping here,

To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer,

To stop without a farmhouse near,

Between the woods and frozen lake,

The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake,

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep,

Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost