The Hill in.....February! & Giveaway Results...

So many apologies for only now posting this!! I have just been so, so busy...work, family...I had a photoshoot for my new website (details soon!) on Friday, which was an amazing experience ! Lots going on. And snow too!! A few weeks ago, I actually dared to think that Spring might be here. I took Alice for a walk on the hill, the day before she was clipped...I neither wore, nor needed a coat and the little one was panting away with the heat by the end! And then yesterday we woke to thick snow...it fell all day...and the wind and frost this morning is transporting us back to January!

I took these pictures on the last day in February...almost a month ago now...



the gorse was spreading its coconut fragrance along the path edges...



I loved the look of this fungus, too...









the landscape was still bleak, brownish and empty...but the sky was a watercolour painting that morning...Alice sat on the steps of the memorial in her thick coat, now long gone..like a teddy bear!




The road up to the hill is twisty and rough...it will be slippery with ice & snow right now, so we are walking in the park and alongside the canal until it thaws out!

And now, finally, those giveaway results...I felt so bad that I am almost a week late with these, that I have added two further prizes so that 3 of you will receive a little gift to cheer you until Spring really is here!

The winner of the Jane Austen stamps, Pride & Prejudice and the Comic Relief mug is.....Janice!! So many congratulations...I don't have a surname, Janice, so I hope you know who you are! If you email me at the address on the blog (mozartsgirl1756 at gmail dot com) and let me have your postal address, I will send it off to you ASAP!

And now to the other little things...next out of the hat (or mug, actually!) was WarmQuilts who wins...


this book of crossword puzzles, which should keep you occupied on any journey, or on a dull day...I love the cover, hope you do too! X

I smiled when the next name emerged...I love Julie Whitmore's beautiful pottery, so I hope that she will like some of Emma Bridgewater's in return?!

Julie, I will be sending you this tiny baby mug painted with robins...



I know you love birds as I do, so hope that you will enjoy it sweetie!

Send me those addresses, ladies, and I will get them sent off to you before Easter.

I loved reading all your stories of beloved pets...they absolutely climb into our hearts, don't they?

Sending much love for a wonderful...and hopefully warmer....week to you xoxo

A Special Love & a Giveaway....

I saw a photo this morning that really affected me. It showed an elderly woman in a hospital bed...clearly very ill and reportedly close to death...but her face was very calm and beautiful and she had one hand resting on the curled up form of a gorgeous ginger cat. Apparently the hospital had allowed her to share her last hours with her beloved friend, and the result was clear to see. It brought tears to my eyes and really made me think about the wonderful richness that the love between humans and their pets brings to life.
We were brought up with dogs in our home, and we were so fond of them...but they were family dogs, shared by us all, and it was our Mum who had the responsibility of feeding and walking them - we were really too young. It wasn't until we moved to the farm and had plenty of room that we were each allowed a rescued puppy of our very own to care for....



Of course, my beloved Poppet is just a memory now...but she lived for almost 19 years and shared so much of my life...helped me through so many formative experiences...her fur was often damp when I cried over early heartbreaks with my face buried in her softness! Leaving her to go to university was harder than leaving the rest of the family...at least I could still talk to them and they knew why and where I was going. But I always came back to her,and when I eventually left home for good she was with me. Our lives were entwined...as my life broadened out and I began working,I had be careful to take her into account and adjust my routine around hers...but she gave me so much in return. I owned cats, too...always rescued...two at a time, older ones that no one else seemed to want. They lived out the rest of their months or years with us, surrounded by warmth, love and the care they needed. At times when the rest of my life seemed to be falling apart, they were always a comfort, always so happy to see me....and always a reason to keep going, to get outside for that walk, to get up in the morning even when it felt so difficult.
Of course, one cold November day after being at my side for over half my life...Poppet was gone. It was time. Her beautiful dark eyes were clouded, her muzzle grizzled and she felt so frail and small where she had once been strong,lean and confident...but it took me a long, long time to get over her.
There have been many poems written about the very real grief of losing a dearly loved dog. This is one of my favourites...and it always brings tears!

" Goodbye. May he who next shall own
My garden spare this tiny stone
That marks the spot where, trouble-free,
You sleep (and dream, perchance, of me).
I hope he will; yet wherefore fret?
We could not, if we would, forget
Each other. When, in turn, the dark
Shall glaze my eyes, your joyous bark
Will greet me, echoing to the sky.
Till then, dear loving heart, goodbye..."



And I tried to remember that, I really did...until this little scruff captured our hearts! How could we resist? And now we wonder how we ever lived without her..






Before and after her recent haircut!
Caring for an animal...any animal...can add so much to a life, I believe. It's also a huge responsibility. Alice thinks that she is very big & powerful! But, in reality of course she, like every animal, holds no real power at all. She is entirely vulnerable to the whims of humans. Completely reliant on us for food, for water, for exercise...that is what people have done in domesticating creatures. Alice is one of the many lucky ones...she can take all these things for granted, and know that she is safe and so loved. And we are, of course,so lucky too!

And now to that promised giveaway...
I've tried to find some things that are different, and lovely...I hope I've succeeded!
Firstly, I have this beautiful presentation pack of the new Jane Austen postage stamps...



There are six in all, each is a watercolour representing one of her novels...



Difficult to show you in detail! But limited edition and quite perfect, I think. To go with them, I picked a special mug that's been made for Comic Relief...also known as Red Nose Day,which takes place here on March 15th.This is a charity event held bi-annually in the UK, raising millions for all sorts of good causes...with a comedy theme...



hence the quote! There are different souvenirs each time, so this is only available in 2013...and will hopefully brighten someone's kitchen!
I'll send these, together with a paperback edition of Pride and Prejudice, which celebrates 200 years in publication this year...



to the name that I draw a week from today- Monday 18th March. All you have to do to enter is to leave me a comment on this post...I'll send it anywhere, so you can enter whether you're in Boston, Lincolnshire or Boston, Massachusetts...or even further away! You all mean so much to me!

Hope you have a wonderful week...good luck! Xoxo

Loving February...

February can be a difficult month....after a long, dark January it's tempting to believe that maybe Spring is arriving....then something happens to remind you that, in fact, it's still far away...






It can be a little depressing...so I decided to spend some time looking for the lovely things!



I found these...struggling up through their snowy quilt...nothing will hold them back...



This little chap hangs in the 'bird tree'...which is a feeding station for so many sweethearts each day. This month I've seen nuthatches, goldfinches, long-tailed tits, green finches, blue tits and even a green woodpecker...but the newest addition to the garden bird life is...



This beautiful boy. His name is Niles. He's a Crane. If you love 'Frasier' as much as we do, you'll understand....! In a few months, he'll have day-lilies growing about his feet...
Things are gorgeous inside, too...



I made marmalade...



This is the cranberry orange version...many jars now tucked away for eating & giving away...



The cold weather is a good excuse for eating. Bread & butter pudding...slightly wobbly, filled with eggs, cream, raisins & orange zest...






Brownies...of course...walnut or double chocolate...well, you need plenty of insulation against the cold! I have to admit that I don't actually eat all these delights...they are orders for my bakery customers! But I do indulge sometimes...



My afternoon break means a big valentines cup of Lapsang Souchong tea...often with...



A hot toasted tea cake, spread with butter...which is one of my absolute favourite treats!
Bringing some outside beauty inside is a good way of cheering the last days of winter...



Whether it's sunny daffodils...



Or deliciously scented hyacinths...it's a wonderful perk for a dark corner..



And I have a big stack of new books..



Work projects and lovely things to do...the days are full and happy...and the sun has just come out!




It's Valentine's Day, of course...


And I've been reflecting on what love really means...it's different for everyone, I guess. But for me, real love means being warm-hearted, open-minded, generous, accepting and tolerant...getting through the not so good days together and then basking in the joy of the great ones. I am lucky to have so much love in my life...in all its many forms...romance, family, friends, children and this little girl...



Sleeping quietly as I write...

I share my love with you all today, and every day! Thanks so much for reading and commenting...it means a lot to me, truly.

And in celebration of that, my next post will contain a special giveaway...
See you soon! Xoxo

The first signs...and the hill in January

Last week, the snow was thick on the ground...



Ice was a real problem when walking or driving, and Alice was a snow dog....



This week, it's all change! The temperatures are mild and, this morning, the sun was actually warm! So lovely to be out and making the most of it...



We started out in the woods...Alice hates mud, so she picked her way carefully around the edges of the path...



While I squelched right through the middle in my wellies.....



The woods were so beautiful...although the wind was whipping through the trees and chilling the shade...






And then, suddenly, I began to see little emerald green shoots everywhere, poking up through the carpet of leaves...



The beginning of the carpet of bluebells which will be here in a few months time...we stood and contemplated that delicious thought for a few moments...



Before continuing on through the gate and onto the hill...
Life was all around here too, of course...



These are wild juniper berries...soon I'll try and remember to bring some sturdy gloves so that I can brave the thorns and pick some...so good in anything pork- related, or crushed in a gin & tonic...
I've decided that my monthly blog project this year will be to photograph the view from the top of the hill from the same point each time...so here's January!






It will be wonderful to see that huge ploughed field turn from brown to green to gold to brown...and the trees too!
We got home to the churchyard and I remembered that I wanted to show you these beauties as well..



Already fully out and spreading around the foot of the laburnum like stars...



And further on, the joyful aconites...



With their little green ruffs framing them perfectly, I always think they look as though they're smiling! Anyway, their summery colour adds a hopefulness to the gloom of winter...



And with the daffodils pushing their way through the cold earth once more, the spring doesn't feel so very far away....

Hoping that you are seeing green shoots wherever you are this week..real or metaphorical! Xo