I love the contrast of the vibrant orange hue with the earthy, grey-green leaves; a snapshot of a spring-time walk this week. Happy Friday!
CC x
I have no idea where April has disappeared to. Somewhere in the midst of Easter eggs and blossom falling like delicate fragrant snowflakes May has appeared. Along with the delight of two bank holidays, May always rejuvenates my love for living in the countryside, opening the front door to fresh air and birdsong.
Last month I set myself five goals. Some I have to admit were more difficult than others, and because of the sheer speed with which the days seeped away I wasn't as dedicated as I had hoped. However, I can happily report that I did indeed make more time for reading, attempting to read in snippets rather than sitting for hours at a time, and I feel so much better for it. Can you miss reading when it's gone? This month seems to indicate there's truth in this musing.
Secondly, I feel quite proud that I managed to blog at least five times a week for the entire month. Admittedly this was made easier by a holiday spanning two weeks in the centre of the month, but I feel I have carved out an effective routine and intend to stick with it as best as I can (life permitting, of course). My organised chaos was temporarily a haven, but it has slipped this week as I returned to the rigmarole of working life. My slouching habits haven't improved much either, though I have made a conscious effort to sit better in the mornings. Finally, my random acts of kindness appeared sporadically throughout the month: I started a monthly donation to Water Aid, sent letters to distant friends and re-connected with family members I don't see very often. A fulfilling, if extremely busy, month.
For May I have set another five goals:
- Don't sweat the small stuff. I talked here about how I over-think things all the time, and I fear this will be a hard habit to break completely. However I am more motivated than ever to try and let go of things that ultimately will not matter, than should not be festering in my thoughts for longer than a second. Life is too short, as yesterday highlighted even clearer.
- Get to grips with wedding stationery. We're designing our own and so far this hasn't progressed much further than sketches on scraps of paper and ideas floating around in our minds, but I feel like now is the time to start to see progress. We're toying with a leaf motif and I want to have a go at stencilling some designs; I'm quite looking forward to letting my artistic side emerge once again.
- Make more time for Mr CC. We often sit in an evening; one on the laptop, the other drawing, writing or watching something on television, and although we chat, we don't actually set aside time just for us. Money, work or general exhaustion usually limits our weekend and evening activities, but sometimes you just need to forge ahead anyway and forget these limitations.
- Start stocking up the freezer. By this I don't mean frozen ready meals and chips; oh no. This will require far more time and dedication, but far greater rewards: I want to make a batch of dinners to freeze so that we are able to eat healthier mid-week when we often have no motivation or energy to cook something delicious. I plan to set aside a day at the weekend for this. Full freezer here we come!
- Take more photos. I go through phases; at university I was incredibly snap-happy and never stopped, and when I'm off work I'm still the same now, but often I'll forget and regret it deeply. I'd like to get out first thing in a morning and remember to take the camera with me at a weekend. I'd also like to be able to document the progress in our garden more fully.
So there you have it, five more goals. Do you have any thoughts for the month ahead?
CC X
Today is going to be a tough day. This morning I am attending the funeral of a family member who passed away suddenly and far too early in his short life over Easter. I've cried, I've questioned why, and I've pulled strength from my reserves, for ultimately these things are sent to try us and to make us stronger. So from today I will try even harder to be happy, to be grateful for everyone and everything, and to see life as a miracle.
CC x
April has been a month spent mainly outdoors; just as it should be!
(From top left) Barter Books - a bibliophile's heaven; chocolate Easter bakes courtesy of my mum; the views walking up to Lindisfarne Castle; framing the view at Dunstanburgh Castle; a spring-like fusion of floral colours; Hadrian's wall; beautiful blossom; a somewhat old-fashioned method of transport; a hazy holiday sunset.
What have you been up to this month?
CC x
I've mentioned once or twice on Twitter that Mr CC is taking up beekeeping, and he is beyond excited about the new course he has just started. Beekeeping has been experiencing somewhat of an incline in popularity over the last year or so, which is encouraging when you consider that the population of bees is declining; if the decline continues at this rate then the future of bees is bleak. Greenpeace state that without insect pollination, 75% of our crops would "suffer some decrease in productivity"; the days and joys of eating apples, strawberries and tomatoes for instance, would be over.
So what are we supposed to do about it? I'll leave you in Mr CC's safe hands... Bee keeping can have a bit of stigma attached to it: namely that only old people, farmers and people with too much time on their hands keep bees. I'm here to prove that not only is bee keeping making a come back, but that it's also essential if our countryside is to continue to grow and progress in the same way.
So why did I take up beekeeping? Besides the fact that honey is delicious and has many uses, I wanted to play my part in sustaining the future of a species. Bees are fascinating creatures that have been harvested by man for over 6,000 years; they can provide honey, pollen (pure protein), beeswax for crafting, and increased pollination for plants within 3 miles of the hive. Keeping bees is an excellent way to help save an insect so crucial to the future of the ecosystem, and over the next few months I will be writing about the highs and lows of my new hobby obsession.
So what about all of you non-beekeepers out there; what can you do to help the plight of the bee? Luckily, Help Save the Beeshave produced 10 top tips for things you can do.
I'll be posting over the next few weeks about how you can achieve some of these, particularly focusing on bee-friendly plants and (quite obviously) how to become a beekeeper. For now, I hope my first blog post hasn't been a disaster, and please do comment or send an email if you have any more questions about beekeeping. Next time I'll be taking you through what you need to start up as a beekeeper, including how to build a hive.
If you are interested in keeping bees yourself, check out courses in your area via The British Beekeepers Association here.
Happy Monday!
CC x
An indoors Floral Friday this week; courtesy of Mr CC these blooms are definitely brightening my kitchen windowsill.
CC x
Pretty much the entirety of the week leading up to Easter was spent in walking boots. Mr CC and I went away to Northumberland and met up with some of the CC clan (of which there are numerous members...) for a few days of gorging on local produce, hiking over the hills and long overdue catch-ups. It was bliss, and the sun shined every day! We went to so many places that I'll be blogging about over the coming weeks, but first here is a day out with a different: Beamish.
The 'living museum' close to Newcastle explores Northern life in the 1820s, 1900s and 1940s; it boasts a farm, a colliery, a manor house and even a town complete with shops where you can buy real items as if you had truly gone back in time. If you read last week's post, you will no doubt have gathered that the 1940s farm was by far the favourite spot of Mr CC. As we arrived at the farmhouse the scents of home-made scones wafted through the doorway and lured us into the heart of the 1940s home: the kitchen.
The best part of it for me was the larder shelves; although they were intended to show a different era it was surprising how many dishes and pots I recognised from our own kitchen!
The town came a close second to the farm. Boasting a bakery, a co-operative store, a print shop, sweet shop and even a pub, the Edwardian street is the perfect spot to imagine what a pre-war Northern town would have been like. Unfortunately we missed the morning's bread from the bakery, but Mr CC indulged in a pint of Beamish Gold in the pub and we contented ourselves with an ice cream!
We ended our day with a trip on the waggonway and boarded for a short steam ride through the Georgian landscape, watching the white smoke curl against the vibrancy of the blue sky.
I would highly recommend this as a day out not only for history nuts like Mr CC and I, but also families as there are plenty of interactive activities - you can even take a ride on a tram if little ones don't fancy the walk! One final word of advice: if you want the fish and chips, be prepared to queue. The smell was overwhelmingly tempting, but we resisted as the queue snaked around the entire building...
Have you ever visited Beamish; what did you think?
CC X
I'm starting a(nother) new blog series about my garden. I'm a very nosy person generally, and I like to be able to connect what I read with what I see, so what better way to do this than a round up of things that are sprouting through the soil or in the polytunnel right now. (From top left) Tiny, sweet radishes ripe for eating whole in salads; growth in the polytunnel; buds appearing slowly but surely on the apple tree; mounds covering the early potatoes we recently planted; beautiful blue hiding amongst the long, lush grasses; pea plants emerging; a host of golden daffodils - still gloriously in flower; lots and lots of seed planting; my favourite daffodil in the garden - a late variety so only just flowering now.
How's your garden looking this April?
CC
x
Last month I read Hemingway's 'A Moveable Feast' and what a feast it was. As previously mentioned, Paris is one of my favourite cities in the world; I love the winding back-streets, the elegant architecture and the patisseries. Especially the patisseries. Hemingway captured his Paris perfectly; the Paris of Fitzgerald and Joyce, struggling to make ends meet but happy nonetheless, parties of Gertrude Stein and copious amounts of wine. I finished wishing it could go on another hundred pages, already planning my next trip to the city.
I have also started to read Alistair Horne's 'Seven Ages of Paris' in response to this month's choice, although I feel as though it will be a dip-in-and-out-of book, and as such I have chosen a different book, a novel, for next month.
'The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite' is not a new book (it was published in 2009) however it is one that has been lost at the back of my bookshelf, and as such has been overlooked. I was recommended to read it by a family member who thoroughly enjoyed the crafting of character and emotional storyline. Do let me know if you have read this one before!
As always, check out Circle of Pine Trees for more information about The Year in Books or for some more great recommendations. Happy reading!
CC
x
Beautiful blossom for Good Friday; feeling thankful for new life. Enjoy the Easter weekend! CC
x
...returning at the end of a gruelling day to this view:
...the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the windows:
...a pile of books and magazines ready to inspire:
...a place to grow my own:
...and a soft somewhere to drift off to sleep.
What's your home?
CC
x
P.S. This post was inspired by the writing prompts here - why not join in?
Today's recipe has been a favourite in our household since I can remember, mainly because it takes so little time and effort (there's a bit of a theme going on here with my recipe posts...). I used shortcrust pastry this time (and I cheated) but you can also use puff pastry if you'd prefer.
Feta Cheese Flan
Ingredients:
- 1 roll of pastry (or make it yourself to fit a standard sized baking tray!)
- 1 block of feta cheese
- 1 large red pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 a courgette
- A sprig of rosemary
- Pepper
Instructions:
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (356°F).
- Place your pastry onto a baking tray and score a border around the edges (approx. 2cm).
- Chop your cheese into chunks and slice your vegetables thinly.
- Place the cheese, vegetables, rosemary and pepper onto your pastry.
- Bake in the oven