A New Bible Study and a Walk Back In Time

A week ago today I wrote my final exam and it feels so SO good to be done. I've been spending this past week getting stuck into the things I've put aside for so long. 

My husband and I also took took two days to visit the Yorkshire Dales which was wonderful. I am feeling refreshed!

I have also started a new Bible Study which I am loving so I thought I would share it with you because when you find a great, biblicaly sound resource, it's too good not to share!

Years ago, I came across Melanie Newton of Joyful Walk Ministries. She writes the most wonderful Bible studies which are Christ-focused, grace-based and scripture rich rather than just commentary filled.

Instead of her studies really depending on a flashy speaker, her studies really encourage the reader to dig deep into the Word for yourself and to depend on Jesus to help you apply what you learn.

The other thing I love about her studies is that she offers them for free. Oh yes, you can buy them printed etc but she offers them free because it's the Word of God! 

Currently I am working through the God-Dependent Woman: Life Choices from Second Corinthians. In my last podcast I spoke a little bit on empty next and seasonal life changes and how, to my deep regret, I forged on ahead with my own plans. I really want to get back to being a God-dependant woman and not to just rush headlong into things. 

This study is inspiring me to better understand God's character and inspiring me to trust in Him, to let go of my need to control everything and let Him work in and through me.

So I'll leave that there - if you are looking for a solid Christ-focused bible study, check out her website and pick a study that is relevant to your own life circumstances right now. Let me know which one you choose!

 Now that I am no longer chained to my desk and computer, my daughter and I have decided to take a day each week or at least every few weeks and visit some of our favourite National Trust properties.

I have to say that it is rather nice going out during the week - the weekend's can often be very busy. We also like to re-visit properties and I think my husband finds that a bit boring, so I have the perfect companion when we set out on our adventures because she is just like me and loves to re-visit places we love.

This property is the industrial revolution property Quarry Bank Mill. We have visited this property at least 3 times prior to this visit and honestly, I'm going again when summer is in full swing! I love the gardens, the trees, the space. 

My favourite part of this property has to be the Apprentice House built to house the child workers who were given food and board in exchange for their labour. 

Up to 90 children stayed in this house so things would have been very cramped and certainly not as idyllic as it looks like now.

There is an orchard just along the path and to the left. It's not a large orchard but it has at least a dozen fruit trees. Off to the side of the orchard is a little pond where ducks can take a dip.

I love the veggie patch in front of the house. Being an enthusiastic gardener myself, I have to say that I am envious of the space to have such a lovely kitchen garden. I particularly liked this sign - it reminded me that wanted to make a little Peter Rabbit blue coat for my garden for the summer months. I think it would add a bit of whimsy to my English cottage inspired garden.

Across the way from the Apprentice House is this lovely field which was full of wild grasses, dandelions and clover. We just stood admiring the field and trees in their early spring splendour resting under a pretty impressive skyscape!

Isn't it just beautiful, peaceful and soothing to the soul! I do love being out in nature.

As usual, I found the most interesting and best room in the house to be the kitchen. I just love a good kitchen! I find them to be quite simply, comforting and inspirational. I'm sure I say this everytime I share a National Trust visit with you - but it really is the heart of the home. 

From this room people are nourished, loved, cared for. 

Conversations happen, caring happens, loving happens, living happens.

And of course, I could not leave Quarry Bank without some of their very own woven cotton woven on their heritage looms. 

I think that I'm going to use this fabric in a little wall-hanging quilt. I will combine it with some of my own little stitchery designs which speak of hearth and home. If it works with any degree of success, I will share the little stitchery designs with you.

Well, that's the end of our little trip to Quarry Bank Mill. I hope you enjoyed coming along. Until next time... may you have a peaceful and blessed week.

Perfect Day...

Have you ever watched the intro to Beatrix Potters Peter Rabbit series? Oh it's just lovely! One of my favorite things. It opens with 'Beatrix Potter' painting in the Cumbrian countryside... it's all just so perfectly English and shows exactly what our lovely countryside is all about. Here, I'll show you...

I love how the rain washes the countryside clean - you can almost smell the rain hitting the earth. Well today is one of those days here in my bit of England. The scent's and scenes instantly conjured up memories of the clip shown above and of the song 'Perfect Day' by Miriam Stockley - which is just heavenly to listen too.

Wanna hear it?...

I love how puddles form and great big clouds dress the expanse of sky...

I love how the rain sits on the spring flowers, delicately balancing and dressing each leaf and petal with little 'diamonds'.

I love how it feels when I am inside looking out of the rain-speckled windows with a hot cup of tea cupped in  my hands, the steam gently drifting up and touching my face.

*SIGH*

what a perfect day...

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Weekend Adventures :: Speke Hall Liverpool

 Hello, my lovelies! How lovely to be back here talking to you. Since starting back at work my time is stretched and no longer all my own. I'd love to spend more time blogging, creating, and dyeing yarn but life is always a bit of a mix isn't it?

I wanted to take you along to a National Trust property we visited recently. We haven't been exploring nearly as much as we would have liked for obvious reasons and National Trust is only offering timed and limited tickets to their properties which you have to book online. They release their tickets each Friday and each Friday comes and goes and I forget, remembering a little too late when all the tickets have been snapped up.

Amazingly, I managed to get myself together one Friday and booked tickets for us to visit Speke Hall in Liverpool. Thankfully the ended up being beautiful, you always risk drippy weather here in England, its the nature of living on an island.

We decided to take a picnic along with us which I'm so very happy that we did. It was simply marvelous! The first picnic of the summer - hopefully, we can squeeze in another before the autumn arrives!

Speke Hall is a wood-framed, wattle-and-daub Tudor manor house. It really is very impressive and very wonky! The house was not open due to covid so we enjoyed walking through the gardens and viewing the house from the outside.

This is what I love about England, would you just look at that picture, the atmospheric summer sky, the greenery, a building hundreds of years old that has presided over countless lives of people we will never know. Witnessing the passing of time and private moments of ordinary lives. It's all quite amazing and I feel incredibly blessed to be living in a land with so much history. I'll never ever tire of it and I will never lose the appreciation I have to live here.

Walking around the house in the peaceful gardens, I imagined what it must have been like to live in this house as a little girl. I'd imagine that Alice in Wonderland would have had similar lovely gardens to play in and it would be a garden like this that she would spy the white rabbit and follow him down the rabbit hole.

Yes, my imagination has been molded by great British authors for when I read these books this was exactly what was conjured in my very fertile imagination!

Along the outer edges of the garden surrounding the lawn in front of the house were these magnificent hydrangeas. A tumbling wall of them. Right then and there I decided that this is what I want in my own garden. I love hydrangeas and have three much smaller shrubs. Three is simply not enough! 

They are quite an old fashioned flower, aren't they? I remember them being prolific in my grandmother's garden and I think that is perhaps why I'm always drawn to them and roses. They are a link to my family, my past. If you haven't noticed by now I'm quite a traditional 'old soul'. I'm absolutely convinced I was born in the wrong era 😂. I love everything old, slow and simple and would be quite happy checking out of the modern world and exchanging it for a Georgian, Victorian, or at a push, Edwardian existence.

So, in a bid to build my hydrangea collection I have taken slips of my current three bushes and am propagating 6 more. I fully intend to take a walk around my neighbourhood and ask for slips from my neighbours as there are quite a few varieties that I wouldn't mind adding to my garden.

Propagating Hydrangeas

Anyhoo, I have meandered off track, back to Speke Hall...after having wandered around the gardens we settled down on the lawn in front of the house and enjoyed a wonderful picnic that would have satisfied the Famous Five on one of their adventures or perhaps the Secret Seven who always seemed to have the most delicious spread at their secret meetings.

Iced tea, scotch eggs, cold grapes, pork pies, and chicken and salad wraps were enjoyed by all. We sat chatting about this and that and resolved to try and get in a few more picnic days in National Trust gardens before the end of summer.

I feel very blessed that our adult daughters still love 'exploring days' with us and that they want us to keep these times together. I love that they still love visiting these properties and don't find them old and boring. I love that a simple picnic can still bring so much joy. The best things in life are absolutely free!

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Exploring Again

I said I'd be back here with chatty general posts and here I am 😊. For the first time in months we have been out exploring again and boy...does it feel fabulous!

Sunday was so lovely and sunny, a stark contrast to the new week so far! We decided to get out of the house on Sunday and go to the beach for a walk. We are within 30 minutes of numerous beaches and the drive to get there is as beautiful as the destination. 

When we arrived at Thurstaston Beach the tide was way out and you could see for miles. I feel so blessed that we have this right on our doorstep and I am sure that we will be visiting this place a lot more now that things are opening up again.

Now doesn't this picture make your eyes swim! The boat in the background looks like it is floating and don't you love how the man is right at the top of the mast doing whatever repairs it is you do up there.

As you walk onto the beach there are signs that say you are not to go out onto the mud-flats...clearly, someone didn't read the sign. It must have been quite heartbreaking to have to call a cab to take you home! On that note actually, there was a long jetty type thing that stretched out across the seabed. I gather it's for launching boats, some cars were out there which I'm assuming belong to the man up the mast and others in the near vicinity. My darling husband stepped off to grab a shell my daughter wanted and before he knew it he was knee-deep in thick, sticky, smelly mud! It took a bit of effort to get unstuck! And that's why you take note of the signs!

It was so lovely to see how much wildlife there was. crabs galore, shrimps, and tiny fish.

The sunshine was so warm, hardly a breath of wind, we felt like we were on holiday. I could feel the cares of the week just slip away. 

We came across a stranded jellyfish. We picked it up and popped it into a pool of water but it seemed we were too late. The poor thing had already expired. The shrimps and small fish almost instantly began feeding on it. The circle of life I suppose.

We were blessed to watch this kestrel hover above the grassed dunes looking for something to snack. They are just so beautiful!

The landscape of beach, rock, sand dune and cloud scattered sky...stunning! I find nature just so therapeutic and marvel at the wonder of God's creation.

And look at what is on the very edge of the beach... a whitewashed house. My dear friend was just telling me about this house and how she would love it. She grew up on the Wirral and I think it wouldn't take much to entice her from her Manchester home to here. Who wouldn't want to live right on the estuary far from the maddening crowd!

The colours of the beach, ocean, and boats are quite inspirational. This boat reminded me of a photograph I have of my youngest when she was about 3. She was sitting at the base of a small lighthouse in Kalk Bay Cape Town. It was the traditionally painted red and white and she was wearing a blue and red striped jumper - I don't know why this image brought that to mind but I'm inspired to stitch something beachy. I'll get my eldest to work on an illustration that we can turn into an embroidery project I think.

The beach just holds so much inspiration. Let me tell you if I could have popped this sea-weathered log into my car I would have taken it home. I love how bleached it is.  

As we left the beach and made out way back up to the car butterflies flittered by. This peacock landed picture perfectly on a weathered boulder with a gorgeous bit of bright green moss...I feel a new yarn colourway beginning to brew 😄. Inspiration is everywhere. It seems to have brought back a little inspiration for my eldest illustrator daughter too. She has been struggling with 'illustrator block', is there such a thing? Well, there's writer's block so why not a creative block for artists?

We had a lovely chat about how she sees her illustration style developing and what sort of job she hopes to do once she has finished her degree. Like me, she wants to work for herself so we chatted about what to do and how to implement it. Behind us youngest daughter and dad were chatting about uni and future plans - this I only found out later at home. It struck me how important it is for us to do things together that relax us all enough to be able to have these conversations. It reminded me so much of our homeschooling days.

Once home we pottered about in the garden and then our vicar and his family popped by for a visit which was just lovely. He had good news...our church is opening up again from this Sunday! Of course, there will be no singing and no communion but how lovely to just be with our church family again, to walk into our lovely stone church and hear God's Word.

Have a blessed week everyone...

A Few of my Favourite Things

As you know...its the simple and small things in life that bring me much joy. I thought that I would share a few of my favourite things that have brought me joy this week.

I've always been a bit of a soap-n-water kind of girl with regards to skincare. It seems to have worked for me for the most part but lately I've seen that my skin could do with a little extra pampering. It seems a little dryer than it used to be which shows up those fine lines rather well, much to my horror.

In my quest to find beauty products that work for me without wasting money on buying products that may or may not work for me, I have signed up for the Glossybox. Have you heard of it before? Its a monthly beauty box subscription. Each month you get a pretty box of 5 beauty products to try out delivered to your door. I've taken out a 12-month subscription which puts the cost at £8.50/month plus postage.

The box contains makeup, skincare and hair products from leading brands. Some are testers and some are full-size. It's a great way to try things out at a reasonable price rather than buying something you think sounds good at full price and finding out its a disaster. 

I must say that apart from getting to try out some great products I love receiving the pretty box each month, it's a real treat for the price of 2 or 3 coffees. If you want to give it a try hop on over and check it out HERE.

Around the home this week I've hung up the summer bunting as summer is literally just around the corner. Perhaps I should have hung it up earlier because we have been having such fantastic spring weather this year.

The little garden shed has its bunting and two strings have been hung on the gazebo. There is just something about bunting don't you think? It is so festive and joyful and makes everything just that little bit extra special. 

I had a little string of crochet bunting I made a good few years back but that seems to have disappeared or been misplaced. I will have one final look for it this week but may have to get going on another string. You can never have too much bunting!

I have been working on Lucy's (from Attic 24) Dune Blanket. It took me a few go's to get the pattern right but once you get the hang of it it's easy enough to do. I love the soft muted colour pallet which is very reminiscent of our time spent living near the ocean.

Do you have any favourite magazines that you subscribe to?

I subscribe to 'Landscape' magazine and look forward to its arrival each month. this week July's edition arrived and it's full of tasty-looking summer recipes, crafts and of course articles on the beautiful English countryside. 

If you are keen to get a feel for what it's all about then pop on over to their website and have look. If you love all things British and seasonal then this is definitely the magazine for you. I keep all my copies and have a lovely basket full of them, about 4 years' worth. 

When I plan my seasonal decor or activities I always bring out this magazine for ideas...and Pinterest of course.

Finally, I just had to share a picture of my gazebo at the bottom of the garden. It brings me such joy for many reasons. During the day it's lovely to go down there and sit away from the house looking back over the garden. It's peaceful and I can hear the wind rustling in the branches of the tree overhead, listen to the birdsong that never seems to stop, watch the bumblebees go about their business oblivious to my presence and the squirrels who like to dance along the fence tops as they ponder whether to brave raiding the bird feeder with me sitting in such close proximity!

When the sun slips away at the end of the day we put on the lights and it is transformed into a magical fairyland, a perfect spot to enjoy with friends in late summer. I think that it will be just as lovely in the autumn as long as we add a burner and cozy blankets for warmth.

Now...I'm off to get lost on Pinterest as I have some summer 'home blessings' to plan which incidentally is another of my favourite things!

Blessings to you all...

Happy Days!

Hello my friends. This week has been such a happy week for me for a few reasons. First...this time last year we were packing up our home in Devon and moving back north! I can't believe that we have been back here for a whole year. The moment we left Devon I felt a lightness, that horrible claustrophobic feeling that I lived with for three years lifted and has not returned (sorry Devon). 

I've just been feeling so very content and grateful to the Lord for His provision. 

Secondly, last weekend I accompanied my husband to Sheffield to one of the hotels he runs - which happens to be the one he ran before we left for Devon. It was a football day and the owners of the hotel own the football team too so when there's a game there is always a crowd. We decided to go the night before and have dinner with friends from that side of the Pennines. Driving back to Cheshire on Saturday afternoon we decided to take the route through our old home town, my beloved Chesterfield and through the peaks, a route I traveled fortnightly with the girls to their homeschool art class.

Oh my goodness! It was so SO lovely. I absolutely ADORE Derbyshire and I've told my husband that we are definitely retiring there 😅. I even made him stop so I could take a picture or two. I would have made him stop more but thought I may be pushing my luck LOL. Along the way from Chesterfield to Manchester, you pass through the lovely village of Baslow where there is a building just covered on one side with Virginia Creeper. I always looked forward to seeing it in the autumn as we drove by. Driving past it on Saturday reminded me how much I love that plant. I used to have one along the back fence of my Chesterfield house. Well...I decided that my little farm house needs a Virginia Creeper so I treated myself and bought one. Hopefully it will thrive and we shall have many years to come enjoying it's autumn foliage.

Two more sleeps until early autumn begins! Oh my gosh I've been counting the days. With the calendar start of autumn I think it is perfectly acceptable to start decorating for autumn don't you? I've been keeping my autumn candles locked away and resisting the urge to light them and I may...just may...still hold off until the meteorological start of autumn later in the month. But this weekend the autumn bunting is definitely being strung up! Happily, I've noticed a few turning leaves already. Seems slightly early but I'll take it!

As you can see from the picture below, I have started knitting some autumnal socks. Its the nicest pattern although it took me a ridiculous three times of starting and frogging at the beginning. But finally I am on my way with the pattern and it gets easier with each pattern repeat. 

You can't see much of the pattern in this picture but if you pop onto Ravelry you can have a look. It's called Nutkin...isn't that just a very autumnal-sounding pattern? The yarn is my own. It was a skein that I was not happy with so over-dyed it with this lovely ochre-colour. I listed it in my shop but it's one of those that never shifted which I'm quite happy about because now I get to knit with it and I am loving the little specks that are shining through the ochre. Its such a happy colour.

Hay making and bailing is happening in the fields around us at the moment. I do love watching the fields being cut, left to dry and the bailed up. It gives one such a sense of peace...or at least it gives me a sense of peace. I love the rhythm of the year. Its the gentle repetition of seasonal living that marks our days and years.

Happily (another happy), it's weekend time again. We have our vicar and his family coming over for lunch on Sunday - we get on so well and we are looking forward to seeing them. My plans for Saturday are to do a bit of batch cooking and making our seasonal Bramble Apple jam - I have loads of apples already and will probably spend Saturday morning scouring the hedgerows for blackberries. What are your plans for the weekend?

Whatever they are, I hope that you have a blessed and joyous weekend. Blessings to you all my lovely friends...

Five on Friday :: A Weekly Roundup

Hello my lovely friends. Here we are at the end of another busy week, I hope that you have all had a good one. I find Five on Friday a great way to sum up those little bits of our lives that are so ordinary yet, I find that there is beauty in the ordinary and I still strive to find joy in the small things in life.

1. Summer Inspired Yarn 

I've been playing around with the dye pots and summer is my inspiration. You may have seen these new colourways on my Instagram account if you follow me there. Above we have The Hullabaloos, inspired by the classic book 'The Coot Club' by Arthur Ransome. Arthur Ransomes Swallows and Amazons serious was a favourite in our homeschool. We read The Coot Club on a boating holiday we took one summer on the Norfolk Broads. The book was set in the exact place that we were cruising which made it all the more enchanting.

Pictured above from left to right is 'Summer Riot' and 'Let's Make Jam'. I believe the names say it all. As I was experimenting with new colourways I only have one of each in my Etsy shop. I knitted up a little sample of Summer Riot and I just love how it knits up...so pretty.

2. Canal Walks

Now my Victoria-Leigh (my eldest) and I took this little walk along the canal about a week or two ago but I couldn't resist sharing it with you this week. It was so lovely, we are lucky to have so many beautiful places to walk nearby.

Love this sign. There was a man fishing a little further up from another sign that said 'No Fishing' 😂

This is our church from across the field, I really love our church. So happy to have found our church 'family'.

The dandelion season has now passed but I do love the beauty in the details that nature has to offer up.

My beautiful girl, so blessed to be her mama.

3. In the Garden

Our garden is one that has been neglected by the previous occupiers for many years. There's just about nothing there so we have been slowly cleaning up, tidying up and planting. On the patio, there was an empty planter of some sorts, I've filled it with herbs and pansies. It's looking so good, the plants are growing and seem quite happy there. They get full sun from about midday.

In the front, we planted two Clematis...I just adore these plants and have wanted one (or two) for the longest time. I don't ever recall seeing them when we lived in Cape Town. We have planted them against walls along the front of the house. I can't wait to see how they climb and cover the wall with their pretty flowers.

This one is called 'Oo la la'

and this one is called the 'Dutchess of Wessex'

We've planted some bedding plants along the drive although it looks like something is eating them so I may have to rethink that. I won't put slug pellets downs as they are harmful to hedgehogs and birds.

We even have a wildlife bit of the garden planted by God and nature 😄. I really love this little patch. Some may look at it and see weeds but I see perfection. This little patch is a-buzz with insects. This garden is and will be, an ongoing labour of love.

4. Home Blessings

The front door is looking cheery and summery. Pots of pansies seem to be rambling happily, my Easter wreath really should come off the front door but I feel it could be for summer too with those carrots. Over the weekend my DH put up my front door blackboard that used to hang outside my front door in our Chesterfield house.

I usually put a seasonal message on the board and then add little decor touches. As you can see I haven't done that yet as I found I don't have any chalk, so I need to get that sometime soon.

And inside the house, I have the first peonies of the season. I love these flowers and their season is so fleeting so I say enjoy them while you can. I planted a peony in my garden on Sunday, I'm sure it will bring me plenty of joy for many years.

5. She Passed!

Finally, Victoria-Leigh passed her drivers license a couple of weeks ago. She was so happy and I have to say it is a blessing having someone else with a drivers license and car. When I sit in court, which is usually for a full day, It is mighty helpful to have someone at home who can drop Jessica-Laine at work, or generally just let them get out and about as they wish.

Jessica-Laine is planning to take her test in the next month or two. She drives pretty well although we may need some extra practice on her reversing...😂

She was hoping I wouldn't notice...yeah right! Fortunately, she missed my beautiful hydrangea and this was before we planted it up a bit more.

Only a tomato plant was sacrificed and Jessica-Laine dutifully went outside to wipe the scars of her poor reversing from my flower bed. 

And that about wraps up this weeks Five on Friday post. What have you been up to this week?  Wishing you all a wonderful weekend everyone and I shall see you back here very soon 😊

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