Spring gardening

I expect many of you, like me, have welcomed this warmer weather and the opportunity to get out into the garden this weekend.  Henry is still too young to be taken out for walks so I am pleased that he can get into our garden and have a run around.  Isn't he growing?

I love Spring flowers best of all and a friend gave me some beautiful narcissi and daffodils yesterday.  The scent from the former is wonderful.

I have been pricking out coriander seedlings and repotting them so hope they survive.

and planting some sweet pea seeds which will hopefully look something like these from last summer!

(Image of sweet peas wreath from Pinterest)

Noa Noa

First of all thank you to all of you who left kind comments on my last post; I certainly wasn't fishing for compliments but it was nice to receive them!

I was lucky enough to win a £100 voucher from Noa Noa Lincoln recently and chose this dress which is absolutely gorgeous, I was so pleased with my choice.

The fabric reminds me of a Liberty print and I also love the pink tucked waist band and lace on the hem.

Here is a photo of me wearing it, not a brilliant photo but as you can see someone else wanted to be
included!

I have always liked Noa Noa clothes.  Unfortunately we don't live near a branch so most of my purchases have been by mail order but I have never been disappointed and never had to send anything back.  Here are just a few of my purchases.

The first item I ever bought was this weekend bag which I still love and has been greatly admired on its travels.

I still like this quilted top but, alas, it is too small for me now (or rather I am too big for it!)  I bought the matching belt and added a silver clasp.

This jacket is so pretty too and I have teamed it with the Noa Noa necklace/collar I recently bought in their sale.

I love the different back on this cardigan

and the contrasting waistband on another dress both bought last year.

Lastly is this dress which is still available on Noa Noa websites.  I have worn it a lot, it is so comfortable (when you get to my age then this is an important element!) and can be dressed up or down, so very versatile.

(Please note that this is not a sponsored post, Noa Noa have no idea I am writing this, nor were they aware that I am a fan when I won the voucher.)

Growing Older

This year I hit a milestone birthday which used to be known as when a woman started receiving the 'old age' pension.  OLD AGE!  Good grief!!

I don't like getting older; some people embrace it but the fact that I am going to be 60 fills me with horror!  Okay, I know it's better than the alternative and the longer you live the more birthdays you have (or is it the other way round?) but it hardly seems long ago that I was feeling this way about my 30th birthday.  I think I have skipped a couple of decades somewhere along the line and my 40s seem a bit of a blur to be honest.  I just can't believe I have been on this earth for 6 whole decades!

There are some advantages to being older though I can't think of many!  Oh yes, car insurance is cheaper!  Don't get me wrong, I have a great life and feel blessed to have good health and a lovely family and friends but I just don't want to be 60!  I want to stay at 59.

Actually the whole point of writing this post is about healthy eating and looking after oneself.  Over the years I have reached a weight I am not comfortable with and want to lose 1.5 stones before my birthday in October.  I can't do anything about the wrinkles or the grey hair (other than hide it with hair colour) but I can have control over my weight.  I want to look in the mirror on October 28th and know that I look as good as I can for a 60 year old.  I've never really had a weight problem until 'middle age spread' well, it spread!  I've always considered that I ate healthily too but I have been following a regime from a personal trainer who advocates eating no processed food and no diet 'crap' (as he puts it).  I have been doing this for 4 weeks now and love it because I can eat real food (butter, full fat greek yoghurt, olive oil etc. etc.) and still lose weight.  I feel great and the weight is coming off (though slowly I have to admit).  I always used to skip breakfast maintaining that it made me feel even hungrier rather than satisfied but now I have porridge with fruit and honey or greek yoghurt and granola.

I have never made granola before but this is the recipe I use -

300 ml apple juice
150g oats
150g sultanas
Pecan nuts (as many as you want)

Heat the apple juice till it thickens slightly into a syrup.  Mix in the dry ingredients, spread this onto a baking sheet and bake until crispy.  (I found this did take quite a while and I had to separate it into small bits).

I have a board on Pinterest featuring older more mature ladies.  This lady caught my eye, not just because we have the same name but can you believe she is 101!

 

''Ruth is turning 101 next month and she is looking forward to celebrating with all of her friends and family. She is a wonderful example for us all to take care of ourselves and to age gracefully". 

This is another lady accompanied with a lovely quote from The Velveteen Rabbit

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes don't see as well and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. "But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand" The Velveteen Rabbit...

My teddy will be celebrating the big 60 with me as we are the same age....

...though I like to think I have worn better over the years!

Does your age bother you or are you quite content with your advancing years?

Pictures on my walls

Not long before my Mum died she bought this watercolour picture and asked me to find out anything about the artist.  It is painted by Edward Renard, ARCA (Associate of the Royal College of Art) (1880 - 1909, what a short life) who was a Yorkshire painter and watercolour artist.  That's all I can find out.  I just love the detail of these figures.

I can remember my Mum buying this original sketch many, many years ago.  I don't know who he is and the picture is not everyone's cup of tea but I have always liked him and the picture has held a fascination for me.

He can be seen at you enter our house, not a very welcoming face!

I framed this baby's pillowcase several years ago too.  It belonged to my great grandmother.

Easy Like Saturday Morning

The perfect start to the day....

Wake up Henry.

Wake up Henry, it's time to play.

Then a walk along the beach.

It promises to be a lovely day.

Then home for breakfast.  Mmm, porridge, prunes and honey.  Delicious.

And a new copy of 'The Simple Things' pops through the letterbox.

Now off to the airport to collect my husband home.

This rather tatty postcard which I have had for many years says

My heart is so sad, my hopes so deferred
My nights pass so weary - the day's joy deterred
Whilst I pray for your safety - yet fear
All darling, because you're not here.

I was just thinking of all those people who will be enjoying Valentine's day together today yet so many others are separated from their loved ones who are in unsafe places.

This video looks so dated but I couldn't bear to listen to this when my husband was away whilst in the Navy.

 

Newlyn School of Art

We have been studying some of the artists who were involved with the Newlyn School of Art at my little art group.  I hadn't realised that there were about 130 artists who studied there between 1880 and the early twentieth century.  Newlyn (near Penzance in Cornwall) attracted artists because of its light, cheap living and availability of models.  Many of the artists were fascinated by the fishermen, their lives and their families.  Perhaps the most well known of the artists is Stanhope Forbes and his wife Elizabeth who later formed the 'Forbes School of Painting' in 1899 and promoted the study of figure painting.

Just look at the detail in these paintings of his

The Health of the Bride (1889).

  A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach (1885)

The Saffron Cake (1920)

Going to School (1917)

The following paintings are by Elizabeth Forbes

School is Out (1889)

Blackberry Gatherers (1912)

Boy with a Hoe (1882)

Some of the artists, particularly Walter Langley, showed the hazards and tragedies associated with a fisherman's life with women looking anxiously out to sea or grieving when a loved one has drowned.  

For men must work and women must weep (1883)

Disaster ((1889)

The paintings I would love to feature here are too numerous but I will end with one of my favourites which is often used for greeting cards so you may recognise it.

The Beach by Dame Laura Knight (1909)