Time Flies!

I thought I'd get round to posting a bit more often, but it seems I'm as slow as ever. However, I am delighted to say that those manky old bulbs that I bunged in at the last minute have decided they'd rather live and give me a spot of colour in one corner of the garden, than die, even though I was sure I hadn't planted them deep enough for them to flower.

Spring flowers always make me want to smile! One of our Priests popped in for a cuppa last night, after doing a "heavy" shift at the school, hearing confessions - (unfortunately, I don't thing he got a lot of customers.) He said that his mother always loved gardening, and how civilizing he thought it was to  have a well-kept garden. It made me think maybe I should overcome my reluctance to do anything with this one since we are mere tenants. I have been silly really, thinking like that, since we've never stayed long enough in any place for me to reap the benefits of my endeavours (in terms of the overall picture, although I have seen some wonderful plants develop). Maybe I should make an effort to get this one up to scratch, so that even if we move on, someone else will have the benefit of it.
Trouble is, finding the time!
I've just discovered in the last few days a new article of clothing, that every modestly-dressed young miss needs for her trips to the park - "Skorts" - a mixture of skirt and shorts, and today I made up a pattern for a pair and completed them so that my friend's little girl would have something to wear in the garden.

All cut out and ready to go!

Is it a skirt?

No, It's a skort!

 Been knocking out Mantillas too, just in case anyone wants one - there seems to have been a proliferation of ladies starting to want to cover their heads at Mass, so I've been asked to make a few...

I like to make them nice and big, so that they don't feel like a doily stuck on the top of one's head!

Maybe after Easter I'll start digging the garden, and getting rid of the nettles, eek!

Blog Revamp; Now I Really Must do Something About the Garden!

I do like Roses and so I thought I'd change my header and background, especially as there are no rose bushes in our new garden.  As we are now in accommodation that has been provided with my husband's new job, the garden (having had several tenant carers in the past few years) although tidy, is in need of a bit of TLC. Actually, I'd have to say it's more than tidy, it's rather boring, but do I want to go to all the effort of digging up the invasive weeds, and planting out new borders and shrubs, if we are not destined to stay here any great length of time?  (Somehow, we always seem to move on after about 5 years of hard labour in a garden - yep, just at the moment when it was all beginning to come together..sigh). I did purchase a huge load of bulbs very cheaply in December, but when I tried to dig some borders up there was such a tangle of roots that I didn't get very far. So the poor things sat in the garage, until a few weeks ago, when I had a mad hour or so of plonking them into the soil wherever I could. I wil be intrigued to see if any of them come up!

Still, we do have two fine Pigeons who like to be sentinels for Our Lady of the Compost Corner (we really must find her a more fitting niche!).

Blogging can be useful to some!

I was recently thinking about deleting this blog, since I seem to find so little time to post things; and the initial impetus for writing it has gone, or rather, I have moved on from it. We will be quitting sunny Shropshire in the Summer, and I shall miss the countryside around here. We will, hopefully, have a proper Parish, where we can regularly attend the Mass of Ages, with not an altar girl in sight (and I do love little girls, I really do - probably more so because I was never blessed with one!). We will no longer have to drive for 30 - 40 minutes on a Sunday afternoon so that we can attend an Old Rite Mass at the awful time of 3pm (I'm guaranteed to start dropping off during the sermon at that time!), but I will miss the people of the peripatetic Latin Mass community, although they are now dwindling fast due to the establishment of a regular 6pm Latin Mass in the parish of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in Staffordshire (thanks be to God!). We thought that there would not be many at Mass today, so were pleasantly surprised by the presence of a family - a young couple, the grandparents, the three year old son, and three week old daughter, who don't normally come. It was the mum who made me think maybe I should carry on posting occasionally, as she mentioned, over tea and tabnabs after Mass, that she'd recently discovered my blog, and found it helpful - she must have been reading some of my early posts, which dealt with our attempts to adopt (I rarely go back and read what I wrote, so I can't remember what's there that could have been helpful to her!!) When I first met her, we were both attending a home-educating group, and her little boy was about two then, but I knew she longed for more children. Having been in her position, I can honestly say I would have been of little help in encouraging her, as by then I had realised that prayers don't always get answered the way we want them to. I firmly believe that God doesn't give us what we want, but what we need. I am also heartily glad for her that what she wanted was what God knew she needed, and she now proudly holds a beautiful little girl! Praise Him!
As for the home educating, we are still in a quandary as to whether to carry on once we move. Our son is really flapping his wings, longing to fly further and further from the nest - all to be expected at his age, despite his inability to find anything he needs when he wants it, "Mum, where is my ..." "Right in front of your nose". But perhaps that's just a male thing, "Darling, where is my ..." "Just here, where you left it..."
Is school what he needs? - the good Lord seems to be giving him an opportunity to go. It's not what he wants, (mostly because he fears hard work, I think!). I'm not sure it's what I want, (I'd rather he remained a dunderhead and kept his Faith and purity), but God knows what is best, and we're hoping He's going to make it clear to us what should be done.

Meanwhile, I shall try and enjoy my garden as it comes into bloom, for the last time before we rent our house out, knowing that there is little likelihood that it will be cared for overmuch by tenants...


The blue and white garden that I have longed for, is still not in evidence, although there seem to be plenty of blues coming out at present, the whites will probably only put in an appearance after this lot have died off - ho hum...







I thought this rather an apt word-picture of the garden, which was reluctantly brought forth from my son's pen, as a description of what he could see from the school-room window...
"Through the French doors I see a red pot on a black wrought iron stand, which is sitting on the lawn, in the middle of which is a clothes drier. Further down, a bench with a metal arch sits, and after it a pond, over which a tall clump of bamboo hangs. There are shrubs around the pond, and up each side of the lawn there are flower beds, fillled with flowers, shrubs and bushes; and beyond the pond the untidy patch of wilderness that used to be a vegetable garden, is in full bloom with dandelions, daisies, forget-me-nots and buttercups. The shed which is hidden by the bamboo, stands behind the pond."

Beautiful Buddleia-Basking Butterflies!

What a delight to come back to this view from beyond my grubby kitchen sink! There are so many butterflies feasting on the buddleia, that I had to dash out and capture some pics.
This one obliged with several poses..



And I just managed to get a shot of this chap before he flew away!


We're off to Lisieux for a few days tomorrow, so Happy Feast of the Assumption to one and all - we'll be popping in to Reading on the way for the EF Mass, and to visit some home-schooling friends. And then in Lisieux, on Sunday, they should be having one of the first Traditional Latin Masses in a long time, at the Basilica, (to which we were alerted by Fr Hermeneutic's blog!) so we hope to be able to attend that. It's funny, but when I first began to be drawn to the Traditional Mass, people used to try to convince me that the New Mass was a wonderful invention, that did away with the dry dull old one, and one thought would come to me, "But what about people like Saint Therese of Lisieux, and other great Saints - surely they were happy with the Mass the way it was?"
I shall remember the intentions of all you bloggers, and especially recommend the married ones to Louis and Zelie Martin, although I fear they may not be "in" at present - their bodies having been exhumed, due to the investigation in to their cause for canonisation. Apparently they won't be "home" again 'till September, still, I'm sure Therese will put in a word for us with her ma and pa!!

Transient Beauty

I was looking at other people's blogs, and admiring their garden pictures, especially their roses. I love roses, but wouldn't choose to grow them, simply because I don't have the knowledge or time to take care of them and get the best out of them; mine always seem to end up covered in some sort of dreadful aphid or black spot disease. Despite all this, though, the few rose bushes I inherited with the garden (and my principle is, if it's a nice plant, then keep it till it dies of its own accord, or too much vigorous pruning on my behalf) have produced some lovely flowers, and I thought I should rush out and take some photos before they all get ruined by the rain and wind that is a constant feature of our summer weather this year!




One very large rose bush which is well established, and surviving nicely by my kitchen window had roses in various stages of loveliness, and it got me to thinking about our perceptions of beauty.


We start out like this rose bud,











Then life causes a bit of wear and tear, but we still look blousy and attractive,














Even when we get storm - damaged we can retain touches of glory,














But, eventually, we must wither and die.


















However, the wonder of it is, that God sees us like this all the time ...






















And if we let Him, He will transform us into this,






















So that we can join all the Saints in glory, to Praise Him eternally.

Hello again, here's a meme.

Hello my vast readership, I've been feeling down lately, due to my own obnoxiousness, and lack of discipline, so although I've been doing things, like,

knitting,

having a birthday,









gardening,

and occasionally, homeschooling,
I thought I'd pick a nice meme to do, which I found on UKOK's blog, and as she said,

"Feel free to pick this meme up if you feel so inclined, but please remember to let me know in the combox that you are doing it, so that I can read your responses on your blog!"


What time is your alarm clock set to? Don't have one, but Mr and Mrs Blackbird, who are nesting in our hedge (and we don't have double glazing, so we hear them whether the windows are open or not) seem to start their morning racket around 5.30, 6 a.m., most mornings. (Whether or not I get up then is not to be revealed at this juncture).
What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Ah, 'tis the eyes, always the eyes. (That goes for the female variety too!!)
What movie do you know every line to?/What is your favorite movie? Might as well lump these two together, since I've just asked my dearest what my favourite film is, and he, with his usual candour answered, "you don't really have one, do you?" so that's why I wouldn't know the lines to any (although I could sing you quite a few of the songs from "Mary Poppins", if you'd like).
Is anyone in love with you? Well, my faith tells me that Jesus is, but I can't ever really "feel"that, except when my darling hubby forgives me my transgressions, and then I know He does too. But I feel that my husband is.
Do you eat breakfast daily? Dead right I do, it's the only thing that gets me out of bed, some mornings, the thought of a great big cup of dark STRONG coffee, and some toast (with raspberry jam on).
Do you sleep on your side, stomach or back? I'm a fidgeter. When we were first married, my darling husband used to call me the "Fidget Midget". So that tells you something about my stature too.
Who was the last person to make you mad? Me, moi, myself. Of course, I blame 101 other people, but deepdown, even whilst I'm doing it, I know who's at fault.
Are you a lover or a fighter? Tell you what, sometimes, I LOVE a good fight!!!
Are you a morning or evening person? As long as I've had enough sleep, I'm ok either way.
Are you a cuddler? Yep, with those who are dear to me.
Are you a perfectionist? I'm afraid so, which is why it takes me so long to post anything - I have to at least attempt to get the punctuation right!!
Have you ever wrote a poem? I have never, in my life, to my knowledge, ever "wrote" anything. However, I have written a poem or two, in my time.
Do you have more guy or girl friends? I have very few of either, I have the ideal husband (who is shouting from the bathroom as I write, "don't say that......do it, do it, do it," , but I suppose I have more girls than boys as friends - mostly homeschooling mums. (And I'm happy that way).
How many tickets have you gotten? Very few, we rarely go out. (You mean, for the theatre, of course?).
Piercings? Yeuch. (I am appalled at people who stick things in their tongues, around their eyes, and in their noses - for the latter, doesn't the snot get stuck in it?).
Do you have a tattoo? What do you reckon?
Are you patient? Ha ha ha ha ha, manic, hysterical laughter - you should've seen me this morning, in rush hour traffic, having left less than half an hour for a good half hour journey. 'Nuff said.
Do you miss anyone right now? Yes, but I won't go into that.
Tea or coffee? Thick strong Italian coffee in the morning; a nice refined cup of darjeeling in the afternoon.
Regularly burn incense? Nope, I let the thurifer do it.
Ever been in love? Still am.
Best room for a fireplace. Well, ours is in the front room, which seems fine to me, only we're having problems with it at the moment. But I won't go into that.
What do you do when you’re sad or upset? Cry. Eat sweet things. Talk to my husband.
Afraid of heights? Not particularly.
Can you change the oil in your car? Don't know, never tried!
Favorite flower? Ah, there you have me. I love blue flowers, and white flowers, and I keep trying to get my garden to grow with an abundance of blue and white flowers. I've just sown some Himalayan Blue Poppy seeds, let's see if they grow. I am partial also to aubrietia, growing down a sandstone wall, although my sandstone wall is in the shade, so the aubrietias ain't doing too well. But I make do with the flowers that I can afford, or that I am given, so if they aren't all blue, it don't matter, hence the rather gorgeous pink and deep purple tulips in the garden at present.
Favorite hangout? I love being at home, and in the garden.
Middle name? Anne.
Most romantic sounding language? Italiano.
Ever been overseas? On numerous occasions. Holland (aged 14 - got very drunk on Amstelbier) France - miserable school exchange, but I did improve my French, Germany, miserable meeting up with a boyfriend from university who was about to dump me, and who did so when we got on to Italy. But Italy was great, so who cares about the ex.! Spain, restoring an old Church, up a mountain - beautiful setting, if primitive living conditions. Spain, France and Italy on several other occasions. Croatia, Belgium, Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, the USA, and Mexico. But I've also been to Scotland, and Wales, and they deserve a mention even if one doesn't have to cross any seas to get there. Last year we went as a family to Rome, and hubby and I both, for the first time in our lives, felt an inordinate fear of flying, so maybe our days of roaming are o'er! But, I'd still like to see bits of China, and New Zealand, and maybe Canada.

God's Providence and Trench Warfare

Look what came out of the garden this morning. My boy decided to dig a trench in what was the potato patch last year, (it had something to do with trench warfare, I believe. I blame that dratted homeschooling family we know with six boys for introducing my little darling to the concept). I've been longing to dig it over, now that we are having some sunshine, and if I'd just asked him to do it for me, he would have run out of energy after the first spade-full, but as he decided, on his own initiative to dig a trench, and I knew this would be at least helpful in getting the plot dug, I let him have his fun. Mmm, I could get into this 'unschooling' type homeschooling. He found the small pile of spuds - they don't seem too bad considering they've been in the ground all winter. I then decided (since he'd got every single spade, fork, trowel and hoe out of the shed) it was about time to dig up some of the leeks and parsnips on the plot next to the ex-spud plot (can't use the same ground again this year for the spuds, apparently). Look at how well they've grown - well, by comparison to the three beans I got out of my fancy Italian bean crop last year. The reason there's plenty of them left, is that I don't really like parsnips, and only use leeks in moderation, and it's been so wet and murky all winter that I couldn't be bothered to make the (short) trip to the vegetable plot to dig 'em up!
Anyway, the lads love parsnips, so I suppose I'll just have to get my pal's curried parsnip soup recipe out (yeuch) and make it for them. What martyrdom we wives and mothers go through!


I thought the veggies on the edge of the sink would have made a good still-life, but by the time I would get round to painting it, they'd have self-composted.

That reminds me of a lad who was in my year at art school. He wasn't noted for his attendance record, so imagine our dismay when he came in one day with a dead fish to paint. Yes, it sat there for a week or two, waiting for him to come back and paint it - I can't remember how the situation was resolved, suffice to say, I was pretty glad I worked at the other end of the studio.


(We love the family with the six boys, by the way - they're expecting their 7th child in the Summer, aren't they blessed!)