Sunday’s quote
“In a world where everyone seems to be larger and louder than yourself, it is very comforting to have a small, quiet companion.” -Peter Gray
Our garden has colour!
Basil
I’ve been a little sidetracked this week, all my best laid plans and attempts at being even slightly organised have gone completely to pot. I partly blame this fella here, his name is Basil. Yes, you guessed it, he’s the latest addition to our ever growing woofie team. I’d like to make it clear that […]
Sunday’s quote
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” – Wayne Dyer
Nature corner
Weekly photo challenge: Change
What a difference a year makes! Then… …and now.
The mower that refused to give up
Last year I posted about our lawn mower’s survival (see here) and it’s battle with the overgrown weedy stuff that passes for a lawn in our neck of the woods. We hoped and prayed that the rickety old thing would make it through the season and save us having to dig into our pockets for […]
Sunday’s quote
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” – Martin Luther
It’s a b-e-a-utiful day!
It’s been a b-e-a-utiful day here today! I dragged the factor 50 sunscreen out of the cupboard and busied myself this morning like a busy, buzzy, little bee. Aside from half a bed, all the seed potatoes have been planted. Ordinarily I would have completed the task but I got up a little later than […]
Billy, you’re priceless!
Poor Billy boy he’s been a little down in the dumps, he thinks he’s worthless. After all, two leva isn’t a lot of worth… I’ve convinced him the price tag stuck on his beautiful little paw was obtained in error. I’ve done my best to console him, he’s had tummy tickles, lots of cuddles and […]
Weekly photo challenge: Colour
When I saw this weeks challenge, I told myself that I wouldn’t take the easy way out and post lots of photos of flowers. So I’ve dug deep and found this little selection from the archives. The Minoan Palace of Knossos in Crete has some great examples of colour within it. And the garments worn […]
Sunday’s quote
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!” – Robin Williams
Hello Spring, it’s nice to have you back
Sunday’s quote
“Try to be like the turtle – at ease in your own shell.” – Bill Copeland
Seed stratification triumphs: Corylus Avellana
Last year, after a conversation over a glass of wine and a packet of salt and vinegar crisps, hubby and I concluded that the best and cheapest (but certainly not the easiest) way to landscape our large garden would be to grow trees and shrubs from seed. We drew up a list of our preferred […]
Walled in
On Sunday the wind eventually died down enough to allow hubby to make repairs to our poor old wall. It’s a make do and mend but at least it’s secure and the dogs can roam without worry again. The whole wall is going to be demolished once our garage and drive have been built anyhow […]
Sunday’s quote
“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.” – Alphonse Karr
Travel theme: Time
For Ailsa’s travel theme this week, I’ve chosen the amazing clock tower in the Central Bulgarian town of Tryavna to portray the theme of time. The tower dates back to 1814, the clock mechanism being added a year later in 1815. Taking prime position in the town square, it stands at a height of 21 […]
The blustery day
I was going to be a good lass today and post about one of my stratified seed growing triumphs, but other factors took over and instead I’m showing you photos of our little unscheduled adventure. This morning, our front gate and wall collapsed in the crazy winds that have been with us since late last […]
The sky tonight
And as a reflection in the living room window.
The storks are back!
I saw my first white stork today. One of about 30, actually. Okay, I know it’s a dodgy photo and there’s some sort of splodge on the lens which is undoubtedly something to do with the buttered toast I’d been eating yesterday as I was faffing around trying to get the camera to work. Just […]
Travel theme: Green
I love this weeks travel theme!
Boots and shoots
The run up to spring is easily my favourite time of the year. I get great pleasure in casting aside my winter head and replacing it with one that’s far less cumbersome. Once on, the dust and cobwebs are soon blown away and gardening takes on a whole new meaning. The march towards spring is […]
Sunday’s quote
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” – Marie Curie
Happy birthday, denobears!
My little blog is one year old today and I must confess, when the notification came through, I was surprised. How quickly this year has passed! When I signed up for WordPress, I really didn’t have a solid plan for my blog and was unsure of the direction that it would take. After a year […]
Weekly photo challenge: My neighbourhood
My neighbourhood is in the heart of the beautiful Bulgarian countryside and I never tire of looking at the views. The following photos were taken by camera not phone: I’m sorry but my phone is of the era where it was designed for just that purpose, i.e to be spoken through, not to take photos […]
Travel theme: Roads
A selection of roads well travelled for this weeks’ travel theme. I snapped this wibbly, wobbly-looking road as we ventured up the mountain on Corfu island. This road is more of a causeway, leading to the rock that houses a hidden fortress in the town of Monemvasia, Greece. Fabulous Greek olive trees hug each side […]
Sunday’s quote
“When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, ‘Oh yes – I already have everything that I really need.’ “ – Dalai Lama
Weekly photo challenge: Forward
Moving forward in the race of their lives at Ancient Olympia, Greece. Not so much forwards as backwards, this photo was taken from the rear of the safari vehicle in Kenya. A pretty walkway in a monastery in Corfu, Greece. Heading into the unknown in Rhodes, Greece. Time to walk the plank in Turkey!
A teeny bit of garden colour!
It doesn’t take much for my plans to be knocked off course. That’s my way of saying that I haven’t achieved anything I’d set out to do today. I promised myself faithfully I would spend a couple of hours studying Bulgarian and completing some of my English literature course. Instead, I’ve cleaned out the bathroom […]
when dogs speak their truth, we should listen
Reblogged from Nancy Tanner: Dogs don’t lie. I’m not sure if they have ‘the ability’ to lie or not, but I have never met a dishonest dog. If there is one species that lives in the moment, truly in the moment, is honest, and speaks his truth, it is the dog. I’ll be quite honest, […]
Mrs Sparkly’s Ten Commandments Award
Passing on awards swiftly really isn’t my strong point. This little beauty is another perfect example. It’s been sitting around since October and to be honest I’d forgotten about it until I discovered a piece of paper with it written on. Okay that kind of proves that housework isn’t one of my strong points either. […]
Travel theme: Bridges
This gorgeous little bridge is part of Salt Lick Lodge in Tsavo West National Park in Kenya. During our safari trip, we were privileged to stop in some great accommodations, including the magnificent lodges of Voi, Amboseli Serena, and Taita Hills. For us though, Salt Lick Lodge was purely a stop off to allow our […]
Sunday’s quote
“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” -Satchel Paige What a deliciously interesting question! Something to ponder over….
A Spiritual Tonic
Reblogged from PositiveBoomer: 10 Spiritual Tonics~ 1. Stop worrying. Worry kills life. 2.Begin each day with a prayer. It will arm your soul. 3.Control appetite. Over-indulgence clogs body and mind. 4. Accept your limitations. 5. Don’t envy. It wastes time and energy. 6. Have Faith in people. Cynicism sours the disposition. 7. Find a hobby. […]
Happy 1st birthday, Bess!
Ten months ago, we collected a dirty little bundle of fluff from a dog owner friend of ours and brought her home. With 2 large dogs already in tow, we had no intentions whatsoever of adding to the canine count. But, and yes I guess it was inevitable, the moment we set eyes on this […]
Signs of life
What a beautiful day it’s been today! The sun shone (a little), the woodpeckers pecked and made that amazing noise that only woodpeckers can make and I got to spend a good part of the day in the garden getting lots of dirt under my fingernails. Yippee! At long last, the ground has dried out […]
Weekly photo challenge: Kiss
After hours of scouring through my photos, the only snogging one I could find was of hubby and I on our wedding day. I think it’s a pretty good one though! It was taken aboard the Imani Dhow at the Severin Sea Lodge Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya in 1995. The lovely couple with us are […]
Sunday’s quote
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” – Reinhold Niebuhr
Travel theme: Mountains
If given a choice between a mountain or sea view, I’d choose mountain view every time. The funny thing is, I lived with a sea view for 4 years in Southern Greece. Fear not though, all was not lost. If I turned away from the sea to face the house, a mountain view appeared. So […]
Quick, run!
We’re being invaded! I love these seriously strange cloud formations.
Weekly photo challenge: Surprise
Surprises can be nice or nasty or we can simply surprise ourselves by something we achieve or say. Whilst on a family holiday in Turkey, a nice surprise awaited us when we returned back to our hotel room after a day at the beach. As well as the usual job of making up our beds, […]
A sorry walnut tale
Oh Mr Walnut Tree, what is this meager offering that you present to us this year? And to think that you showed such promise… Just how many walnut loaves, muffins, biscuits and scones does it think I’m going to be able to prepare with this skimpy yield? Has this hot, dry, intense summer been the […]
Sunday’s quote
“A dream is an image of what can be conceived. A vision is to see that the dream can be achieved.” – Wes Beavis (from Become The Person You Dream of Being).
Green is a colour too
With so many shades of green to admire in the garden right now, it’s fast becoming my favourite colour. Now, if I could just get hold of some paint similar to the shade in photo 4 for the wall surrounding my fireplace… Judging by the shape of it’s leaves, even the hosta is in love […]
Sunday’s quote
“Remember, happiness doesn’t depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely upon what you think.” – Dale Carnegie
Siesta time
The temperatures may not be as intense now as in previous weeks, but that hasn’t stopped our pups from heading to their favourite spots for an afternoon nap… Briar doesn’t actually understand the word ‘nap’, she prefers full on sleep. So the less disturbance she gets from man or sunshine, the better. The soft (but […]
Reader appreciation award
What can I say, I’m both honoured and ever so slightly embarrassed all at the same time. My embarrassment is not down to the award nomination, but the amount of time it has taken me to accept it. I’m ashamed to say that I received this award nomination over 3 months ago. I guess the […]
A very useful week
It’s been a busy and fun first week back! Our garden has continued to be a success thanks to my green fingered hubby who remained in Bulgaria whilst I trotted around the globe (well ok, the UK anyway). His diligent plant watering during the hottest summer here in years has meant that we have a […]
Sunday’s quote
“Recipe for having friends: be one.” -Elbert Hubbard
