Snowdrops

Snowdrop time. Here in the UK you are not allowed to gather snowdrops from the wild but years ago when on a popular woodland walk I found a path covered in slightly squished bulbs that a dog had dug up. Since they were going to be walked on anyway I reckoned it was fine to 'save' them and took them home. Those 5 or so bulbs have grown over the years to become about 12 clumps dotted around both our gardens. The cyclamen are beginning to flower as well. Ive never liked cyclamen, I always associated them with supermarket plants at Christmas but now that the garden is growing more to my plan it's easier to have them as part of a more naturalistic planting, both the Autumn and Spring ones. It's a thrill to see the tiny coils unwind themselves and pop out a tiny head of jolly colour. The cowslip is flowering today as well.

Thanks to all for your comments on my last post, it's been lovely to make brief contact with old blog friends. I'm going to try and make myself do one post every month this year. I've had a non-bed day today so I'm feeling perked by that after the longest post exertion low I've had in a very long time. I usually crash for anything between a day and 2 weeks after seeing people but with all the snow clearing of winter this has lasted over two months and ha freaked me out. Not that I'd do it differently. If I hadn't been clearing the snow on the flat roof it would very likely have collapsed, so I feel all the efforts of December were really worth it.

So in the spirit of achieving something beyond bed I got much needed clothes washed and hung out to dry in the suddenly milder day. The ladybirds (ladybugs) were also waking from hibernation today, stretching their legs in the sun and looking as glamorous as ever in their red coats. I imagine I know how they were feeling, it's like being kept in a stale box and then suddenly having space and air all around you. I could feel myself unfolding. I even let my pasty legs get some sun on them, I worry about not getting Vitamin D when I'm bed bound so today was a good 20 minute top up for them. They are so white, but no match for a snowdrop.

Six Days in France - My first public book

'Six Days in France' - Front cover


'Six Days in France' pages 12 + 13


'Six Days in France' pages 48 + 49


'Six Days in France' pages 54 + 55


'Six Days in France' pages 36 + 37


'Six Days in France' pages 28 + 29


'Six Days in France' pages 60 + 61

By now you'll have guessed my M.E. got worse rather than better hence my long blog absence, which makes me even more happy that I've finally managed to collate some of my photo's from France 2006 into a book that can help me travel in my mind, even when I'm confined to my bed. Unlike my previous books this one is available to buy, just click here to preview or order a copy. The photos above give a flavour of what's inside. And to tempt you even more you can get 20%* off using the code ADBLURB by 31st December 2011.

*Offer valid through December 31, 2011 (11:59 p.m. local time). A 20% discount is applied toward a minimum product total of $12.95. Maximum discount is USD $200.00 off product total. This offer is good for one-time use, and cannot be combined with other promotional codes, gift cards, or used for adjustments on previous orders.

With my muscles and mind in slow motion these days my old photographs really help to slow the worrying leakage of memories from mind and putting them together in a way that satisfies my eye provides a creative outlet. With that in mind, watch this space towards the end of the year for news on the companion book, Six Hours in Italy.

So what else has happened since my last post? Mostly gentle gardening to keep my muscles working. Mr P's garden has reaped the benefits and with my energy so low he has been amazing at helping with any heavy digging that was needed to transform his plot. He now loves it as much as I do and gets endless pleasure from the plants, animals and insects that now fill it in all seasons.

Oops, I've wilted! Was planning to write a bit more and add more pics but my energy has just evaporated, that's how it is these days. Perhaps another time. So let me just wish you all a Happy New Year and say how much I miss all your blogs that I used to read so much. I want to again in the future. I hope all your lives have had plenty of highs to keep you going through the tough times that most people are having these days. Enjoy the little triumphs as much as the big ones.

Six Days in France by C. Daniels | Make Your Own Book

Still alive

Checking in after a massive long blog break to let you know I'm still alive! My M.E. has been worse so I've needed saving all energy for family visits and the occasional friend which means my blog has had to take a back seat. Thanks to everyone who has been leaving comments while I've been away. I'm sorry I've not been able to reply and that I've not been visiting blogs this year.

Not had energy for photography but here is a nice turf topped wall I saw when visiting my Granny...


And because it matches in colour, a rhododendron in bloom behind a shed...


My own garden has taken a back seat this year but Mr P has been gradually implementing the plans I did for his garden and it is shaping up wonderfully. It's quite common for him to wander around it before work enjoying the new growth and pouncing upon perennial weeds with a passion I couldn't have predicted. Most of the plants have been grown from cuttings or divisions with some key shrubs bought at sale prices but he's made a couple of special purchases like this lovely Amelanchier Lamarkii which is berrying up nicely just now. Not sure if we'll get to eat the berries as the blackbirds have just noticed them. Here is it's Spring blossom...



Having found a new love of gardening he bought a Brill Razorcut manual lawn mower. It's BRILLIANT! No more wasting electricity on the garden. It's a quality product that will last and can be repaired and maintained throughout it's long long life so he didn't mind the higher price tag, it will totally pay for itself in time. It's lovely to hear the purr of the Brill instead of the loud noise of electric or petrol mowers and the cut is great, his little patch of grass has never looked so good. I'd particularly recommend the Brill to people with arthritis or similar joint problems because it is so much gentler on the body than anything else I've ever used. Currently it comes in two sizes and it's the smaller Brill Razorcut 33 we've been using because, but there is a larger one, the 38 and also I think a motorized version for larger gardens.

Oh my goodness, it's taken 2 days to write this, no wonder I'm not blogging just now. Wishing you all the best of health and weather until I pop in again. Until then, I'll be taking care of myself in a quiet way.

Sleepy Hedgehog

I am not the only one round here who sleeps through rare sunny days...



We call him Heath (get it, Heath Hedger). I nearly stepped on him last month as he snoozed on a wee sunny patch on the narrow path. You can see more of the wildlife in my garden on my Folia pages.

7 minutes of sky

July 8th 2008, 8.08pm to 8.15pm (click to enlarge)

A month ago I took pictures of the fast changing sky for seven minutes, these are just a few of them. It was like having a whole month of skies fly by in one ad break. Sky is all I seem to show you these days, but not being out much and not being on the internet either means sky is pretty much the best thing I see each day (not today, day 3 of grey skies and floods).

You probably guessed I've not been well. It takes a lot to stop me blogging. Still not ready to do regular posts but I thought I should update a bit, it's been over 2 weeks. One great piece of news is that my neighbour has asked me to plan her garden for her. When it is done I will be able to enjoy it too so I'm choosing plants for year round interest and going for lots of scents and varied foliage. It feels great to be able to apply my mind to something creative even though I can't do the physical making.

I've still not visited any of you and have taken to inventing stories in my head about what you might be doing, they are all very extravagant... I imagine Susan painting huge murals everywhere, Heather be commissioned to do pinhole wallpaper for a range of exclusive (but not pretentious) boutiques, Lisa collaborating with everyone I admire (oh wait, she's doing that already!), Anna suddenly moving to an island off Indonesia that is threatened by rising seas (not unlikely). I've had these thoughts about all of you who I normally visit. I'm especially thinking of those of you with aches, pains and chronic illness, you know who you all are, I hope you've been having more good days than bad.

Clouds, again...

Still too tired to blog but always watching the sky and snapping it when I can. That big black cloud dropped 10 minutes of the heaviest rain then the sun came out. We've had two really summery days and tomorrow also meant to be good. The cat is loving it, and is recovering well with lots of sunny places to sleep in our gardens. I went to check on him yesterday (has to be watched as his medication gets reduced) and instead found a sunbathing hedgehog! I took some pics but not uploaded them yet.

Much thanks to everyone who is commenting and visiting even though I've not been doing many or varied posts. I've not been completely useless, 2.5 years late I've finally started trying to edit my Swedish holiday / Ice Hotel photo's. So many images, they are quite refreshing during these few hot days. When I get to blogging more I'll start showing some of them, until then you can see previous photo's I blogged of the Ice Chapel, the Kiruna Snöfestival, and the Ice Hotel.

Tiny harvest

My 1st blueberry! There bush is only 3 inches high so there are only five berries this year, but I can honestly say it was the best blueberry I have ever tasted. Grow little bush, grow.
Update: It produced about 64 berries the next year. Yee-ha! More details on my Folia pages.

Hectic days, sleepless nights

Sun, wind, showers, the gulls are loving it

Once again, I've neglected my blog. I've not even been checking comments, but I am trying to go through them today. And goodness only knows how many emails I've missed. I'll try and catch up a bit this week. For anyone wondering why I've been blog absent read on, for everyone else, some pictures from June.


Thalictrum at Malleny Gardens


Remnants of June

On the day I started to recover from my own infection, the cat began to succumb to one of his own and nearly died. It was awful, and with Mr P away for a week I had to manage all the vet trips myself. Given that I can't even get to the shops to buy my own food, this was somewhat of a challenge. Fortunately my stress levels got high enough that the adrenalin kicked in and helped me handle the travel, after a fashion. The vets got his temperature down after a few days and he finally ate and drank one week after stopping and he was able to come home before Mr P returned. He's still weak and has lost a lot of weight, but he can walk again and seems keen to keep an eye on his territory, though god forbid he gets into any fights at this stage. I bloody love that cat.


My tall Hebes are bursting with flowers for the bees

The nights when he wasn't here were awful, I couldn't sleep at all, and then when he was here I still couldn't sleep as I was so worried about him dying. Lots of tears, then lots of joy. Now that it's all over I'm completely wiped out and have had no oomph for blogging at all. Plus I seem to be having serious problems with my eyes. I'm a bit shocked how fast my sight has deteriorated in just 2 weeks so I'm guessing I'll have to get my eyes tested and start wearing specs. Hopefully that will sort things out. In my darker moments when the cat wasn't here I was planning what kind of art I would make if I went blind! I do get carried away with my thoughts, good or bad. Lucy also got the all clear from the vet, her lump was just a fatty cyst, nothing to worry about, and her wound is healing well.


Such a lovely background for wild flowers.

After the rain...

Dramatic skies at 10pm last week after yet another torrential downpour. It was a bit like being under a stormy sea full of undulating waves, really quite beautiful, and these photo's don't do justice to the intensity of the clouds. The dark bits were so dark, you could almost feel them sagging from the weight of water inside them. We haven't had any consistently dry weather yet, and the forecast for the week is grey skies, rain and an average temp of 12-13º, an echo of last July. The extra wool blanket is back on the bed and I needed a hot water vottle on my feet last night (the cat agreed and spent the night on the bottle too, instead of tucking into my cold arms. He is very unimpressed by all this wet weather and spends a lot of time sheltered under a conifer.

The perils of popcorn

Blogger won't let me upload images, not sure if it will even let me post this. I'll try again tomorrow. After 10 days of feeling extra awful I realised I had an abscess on my molar. The culprit was a piece of popcorn husk!

Once I realised what it was (when it was so hugely swollen that my self help brain kicked into action (finally!) and I made a mouthwash with diluted apple cider vinegar & geranium oil (because I had run out of Tea Tree oil) to kill the bacteria and sooth the pain which I used every 2 hours through the night. I also made pressed on a teaspoonful of sodium bicarbonate to draw out the nastiness.

By the time I saw the dentist the next day I had pretty much cleared it, except for the piece of popcorn. He said he would have given me anitbiotics if I'd come to them earlier, but that what I'd done had been really effective so there was no need for any medication. I was so pleased with myself, I hate taking antibiotics and you know how much I believe in the power of vinegar for all manner of things.

Apparently the infection had been really severe but I had attributed the feverishness and feeling awfulness to my other ailments and didn't really take the gum/tooth pain seriously until I found a pea sized lump in the middle of my jaw which, it turns out, was a swollen lymph gland. I thought lymph glands/nodes were at the back of the jaw and under the jaw, but there are little ones all over the place. You learn something new everyday. I'm rather fond of my little bit of lymph now, the unsung hero of my jawline. I wonder how long it will take to go flat again?

So the moral of the story, if you get popcorn under you gum and you can't reach it with floss, go to the dentist before it turns nasty.